Godwin stared at the silver-gray eyes of the young man opposite him.
To be honest, he felt at odds with the idea that “Nemo Light is a superior demon”. As the largest mercenary group on the surface, over the years, Godwin himself had encountered several superior demons who used human bodies.
He was very good at distinguishing them.
No matter how good the surface work was, there was always a little cold detachment in the eyes of a superior demon. Even if the flesh, blood, and body on the surface were lost, it was nothing more than a loss of strength and health for them—just like a painful, unpleasant, and debilitating deep cut on an insignificant part of a human limb, which usually wasn’t fatal.
They had a fundamentally different definition of “survival” than the rest of life on the surface.
After the “Demon Slayer” Aurorae eliminated those ambitious, crazy guys, most of the rest were the types who came to play and have fun. In the view of superior demons, this was closer to a game of manipulating surface puppets from the Abyss. They only need to simply abide by the rules of the game set by Aurorae.
For the true surface race, the surface body represents only one life.
No matter how disguised the demons were, they couldn’t really understand the obsession of other lives in this playground to “live”. Their indifference and detachment were exacerbated by their great power.
He had never read it wrong.
But Nemo Light’s body language didn’t have much reaction despite being poked in a sore spot. Facing the question of “how he saw through the illusion of a superior demon”, he did seem a little embarrassed and distressed.
The black-haired mage of Tumbleweed scratched his cheeks and uttered a few words, as if struggling to speak.
There was no anger or gloom in his eyes, but instead there was some guilt.
Although he didn’t intend to express any opinions on the love between men, Godwin couldn’t deceive himself—When Mr. Light looked at his cousin, the softness and attachment in his eyes wouldn’t lie.
It was too contradictory.
Godwin stood quietly in the corridor, waiting for the other party to give him an answer. His instinct was frantically clamoring, “This person is very dangerous”, but his long-term accumulated experience told him with great certainty that Nemo Light didn’t meet the characteristics of his well-known superior demons.
In fact, the great Demon King, who had just experienced the torture of a three-hour boring meeting, had a rusty brain and was drawing a blank.
Nemo thought anxiously that he must give a relatively natural answer as soon as possible.
When the magic array gave a prompt, he expected that this situation might happen, but the circumstances were special at that time, and it was impossible for him to remain silent in order to conceal his identity.
Nemo originally hoped that Godwin would speculate on a possible approach by himself like the rest of the strong people in that group, or easily push it to “the dirty and dark techniques of a Black Chapter”. Of course, just in case, he also prepared a set of rhetoric in advance…
But Godwin was staring at him with an extremely solemn expression. Forget telling one or two joking lies, Nemo found that he didn’t have the courage to make a long, bullshitted speech in front of this acquaintance.
“Uh… How to put this. Actually…”
“Actually, this matter is not suitable for telling you.”
A familiar lazy voice sounded, and an arm was put on his shoulder from behind. Nemo instantly guessed the identity of the uninvited guest.
Jesse Dylan showed off his signature sweet smile. “Our mage is a bit introverted. You see what he looks like. Let me talk about it. I don’t think you mind, dear Mr. Light.”
Nemo nodded stiffly.
“It’s like this. Mr. Light’s gray parrot is actually a superior demon.” Jesse touched his chin. “Its race is relatively rare, and it just happens to have a special ability to be sensitive to illusions.”
“It’s impossible for the superior demon to choose an animal body with an extremely low magical ability, like a parrot. Even if the contract could be obtained more easily, the parrot’s body is extremely fragile and cannot exert much power. This isn’t reasonable.” Godwin immediately pointed out.
“Of course, of course.” Jesse continued with a smile. “Mr. Light and Mr. Ramon didn’t lie to you. That parrot was still an intermediate demon when I joined! You know, it once secretly left the team by itself and ran to the Abyssal Church.”
The blond young man snatched the staff from Nemo’s hand very naturally.
“This is a powerful prop that no one can see through. You see, you should be able to feel the extremely powerful superior demon aura here. That parrot found it. Our little parrot definitely had an adventure.”
Nemo glanced at the handmade staff made from the materials of a lamppost in silence. From the bottom of my heart, he admired Jesse’s ability to talk bullshit.
Mr. Dylan perfectly mixed truth and lies. His own staff did have a powerful enough superior demon aura. After all, the bone ball was from an intermediate demon, until it accumulated all the corruption from Colestoro at the Church of Silence.
Nemo was distracted for a few seconds as he thought about what the Nightmare Leopard was doing now.
Godwin took the staff with a headache. “You mean, the demon in your team has upgraded?”
“Yes, this is not a good thing that can be advertised everywhere. Mr. Light wasn’t possessed by it, nor was he technically a demon warlock, and our leader didn’t want to swear by it indiscriminately.” The smile on Jesse’s face got bigger. “You know your attitude towards demons… Plus, like you said, even if it’s upgraded, the power of its flesh is still limited to the body of a parrot. In conclusion, it’s not that dangerous.”
The gray parrot did look terribly timid, and in the few meetings it had, it looked shivering and trembling. Godwin stared at the dark bone ball at the top of the staff, thinking seriously.
According to Jesse Dylan, this kind of thing did make sense. It hadn’t adapted to the role of a real superior demon, and the current Oliver Ramon could deal with a superior demon that was attached to a gray parrot.
“I understand. Thank you for your explanation.” Godwin nodded indifferently at Jesse. “This matter is really not suitable to be publicized. You’d better keep an eye on that parrot. If it attempts to replace its body with a human by making a contract, I’ll indeed intervene.”
Then he turned to Nemo. “Sorry, Mr. Light, for delaying your time.”
Although the demonic aura during the witch incident in Caleb Village was still unexplainable, right now, he still lacked precise evidence that was related to Tumbleweed. Although there was still a residual sense of violation in his heart due to unwarranted suspicion that would continue to haunt the other party… This wasn’t his style of doing things.
Godwin politely handed back the staff and turned around. His dark red cap fluttered in the air.
After confirming that Godwin had gone far, Nemo let out an earth-shattering sigh. “Thanks, Dylan.”
“By the way.” Jesse touched his chin. “Actually, I’m here to find you, dear Mr. Light.”
Nemo raised his eyebrows.
“You know who I am, so I need to remind you in advance—the closer you get to the Abyss, the greater the suppression of my power. Now I don’t know what will happen in the future. You’d better not acquiesce to everything being safe because I didn’t say anything.” The smile on Jesse’s face was a bit stiff.
Nemo was silent for a moment. “Will you be in danger in the Abyss? I mean the kind that will endanger your life. If you’re reluctant, you can stay here. This is also part of the escort’s job, and I don’t think Ollie would mind.”
“It won’t be to the extent of endangering life. If my body is ruined, the impact would be estimated to be similar to the loss of a piece of flesh from a superior demon. It’s just… Oh, I shouldn’t be so unlucky.”
The blond young man shrugged his shoulders, his tone relaxed.
“I won’t leave the team because of this. After all, Adri will definitely follow you. I’m just giving you a heads up.”
The rest of the plan went surprisingly well.
After nearly suffering a big loss at the first array, the next reconnaissance team acted extremely cautiously. They no longer tried to repair the magic array but recorded as much data as possible without starting them.
As for descending on the road to the Abyss, the three reconnaissance teams relied entirely on the two dragons and the self-built teleportation arrays of adventurers—although the speed was slow and unstable, and the consumption of mana was staggering, at least there weren’t any fatal emergencies.
In the first three weeks, this approach still worked. Everything was calm, and there were no strange attacks. If it weren’t for the quiet destruction of these large teleportation arrays that required a lot of time and energy, people would simply think this was just a prank on the whim of a certain demon.
“Well, this is the fourth set.” Commander Rugo waved his short cane. “Is the data all recorded?”
“Yes, Lord Rugo.”
“Be more careful of the next one.” The one-eyed dwarf turned his eyes. “The depth here has exceeded 20 kilometers underground, and the means of communication on the surface should have failed. You must remember to record the information in as much detail as possible. One copy will be brought to Return Town with the puppet bird, and the other will be kept as a backup, just in case. I warn you, especially humans—don’t try to use abyssal communication spells to save trouble! No matter what type of demon the enemy is, they cannot be given the opportunity to eavesdrop on intelligence.”
“Yes, Lord Rugo!”
“Next… Well, do you have anything you want to say?”
The two dragons leaned forward. The red-brown dragon that had been carrying the Tumbleweed leader remained motionless, while the blue dragon that was with him stretched out its forelimbs.
[It’s too deep here. We won’t descend in the form of flight anymore.]
Unlike the one-eyed dwarves, the structure of the vocal cords of dragons prevented them from using human language, and most dragons didn’t like to turn themselves into human forms specifically for communication. They tended to take a simpler and more direct form—writing in the air with light.
[The concentration of abyssal magic is too great, and if we descend any faster like this, we may experience dizziness and fatigue, so we’re not sure if we’ll fall in mid-air. This is not a negotiation, it’s a statement. The flight is over. We will climb down with you.]
“Oh, I had guessed this.” Dwarf Rugo waved his hand indifferently. “Of course, everyone has to use their hands and feet next—it’s enough for now. You two can take a good rest. We’ll send a warning if needed.”
The blue dragon snorted and agreed. The reddish-brown one nodded a little, and it seemed that he was about to fall asleep.
For a moment, Oliver showed an expression close to joy.
Now, he really preferred to climb down by himself rather than ride a flying dragon everywhere.
In the past three weeks, things have been much simpler than they thought. Although he had also encountered several dangerous situations, most of them were unexpected encounters with the demon race, and the other party made it clear that there was no plot. Bluntly put, there were indeed several groups of particularly difficult intermediate demons who attacked sneakily, but they were all easily repelled by the ones leading them.
Some of the troops were left in Return Town, so there weren’t many people in the reconnaissance team, so it wasn’t difficult to guard them.
But the deepening darkness was really chilling.
As they descended deeper into the Abyss, the volume of the demons began to divide into two levels: the big ones were like whales floating in the air, and the small ones were close to mosquitoes. They exuded a weird brilliance as they wandered around in the darkness.
To avoid attracting deadly opponents, only the teams at the front and back ignited magic lamps powered by abyssal magic.
Everyone else wore a special crystal, connecting the people around them with a weak magic rope. They moved cautiously in the dark and always kept an eye on the status of their companions.
Oliver knew exactly why the expedition army had to use a large teleportation array to travel back and forth.
Eating and resting, and the feeling of moving forward in the dark was really uncomfortable. He could at least hug Nemo while resting and feel the warm body temperature of his lover. If one was alone, just maintaining one’s sanity would become a laborious task.
Not to mention the countless deformed monsters staring at them in silence in the darkness.
He kept his perception open at all times and once “saw” with his own eyes how a mage unknowingly stepped on the upturned lip of a monster. Fortunately, the giant was sleeping and completely ignored the group of “surface ants” on the move.
Despite being so powerful, he couldn’t help but sweat coldly.
This was the “safest” way the commander had chosen in advance.
Fortunately, the reduced reconnaissance team had more than a hundred people, and its operations were relatively compact. If this was replaced by tens of thousands of troops, this monster only needed to roll its tongue to break the entire team into pieces.
“Do you have any special feelings?” Oliver pinched the palm of his lover’s hand. The darkness was so strong that it felt like a layer of ink had been glued to his eyeballs. “If you think something is wrong…”
“No, don’t worry.” Nemo’s voice penetrated through the darkness, coming from close at hand, with a smile. “Compared to me, you should care more about it… Huh?”
In an instant, the lights turned on.
The dwarf Rugo obviously gave some kind of instruction, and the spare floating lights in the team floated neatly to illuminate the rock wall in front of him.
The rock wall was swarthy and rough, like a reef by the sea. It was full of holes, and the entire reconnaissance team was standing in front of the largest cave.
There was a faint light of fire in the depths of the cave.
“Lighting is allowed in the cave, so you’d better adapt your eyes to the light in advance.” The dwarf’s unpleasant voice was magnified by magic. “After passing the cave, it’s the Gravity Maze. Get your gravity pendulum ready and be prepared!”
“Is it still okay?” Oliver said nervously. “Why do I feel like the place called the ‘Gravity Maze’ is a bit familiar?”
“Do you remember the superior demon who worked with Telaranea when we were in Garland?” Nemo swallowed with difficulty. “I seemed to have… thrown it there from the surface.”
“…The one who seriously injured you? I remember it was Witherspoon.” Oliver muttered.
“That’s the name.” Nemo stared solemnly at the rock wall in front of him. “And I feel it.”
“It, uh, how is it now?”
“Very unhappy.”
The author has something to say:
Do you remember Witherspoon that directly caused the Demon King’s first awakening?
“There’s still an hour to go before we reach the shelter,” After about half an hour of silence, Chi Lei finally spoke again.
Ding Zepeng twitched his nose and mumbled hoarsely.
The hoverbike rustled and split the grass. After entering the complex terrain and relatively dense bushes, the last drone finally gave up tracking them and disappeared. Near dawn, the sky changed from dark blue to ultramarine, and the east turned slightly white.
“Zhang Yazhe’s choice was very wise.”
Perhaps it was because Ruan Xian wrapped his arms too tightly around his waist, as Tang Yibu’s voice revealed some suffocation, as if he was being strangled. His voice wasn’t loud as it blended in with the oncoming wind.
“If you want to forcibly take someone away in that situation, you can knock him out. Removing an important combatant and adding an unconscious male adult will only increase the difficulty exponentially.”
“I know,” Ruan Xian replied sullenly. He and Tang Yibu were originally unstable factors outside the monitoring of the Mainbrain. If he made too much noise, it would arouse the vigilance of the Mainbrain, which would be detrimental to the entire area.
He understood, but…
Tang Yibu spat out a string of words that sounded like a balloon was leaking as Ruan Xian unconsciously tightened his arms. “Please don’t continue to strangle me. I also have internal organs in my body.”
“…Sorry.”
As soon as the words were spoken, Chi Lei, who was driving in front of him, suddenly slammed on the brakes. Tang Yibu turned the hoverbike sideways and stopped immediately.
“There’s something ahead,” Chi Lei said in a hiss as he threw a nut in front of him. Like hitting an invisible soft wall, the metal nut that should have flown far away fell vertically into the grass. “It’s not a full-coverage barrier. Something is targeting us—”
The dark forest suddenly became bright. The dark part between the tree trunks crept blood red, and uncountable crimson circles of light lit up in unison around them, moving in small increments like floating ghost fires. These things had surrounded them at some point, but the entire process was completely silent.
Chi Lei reacted amazingly fast as a first-class explorer of the refuge. He raised his hand and smashed a large bowl-sized device—the blue light on the edge of the disc device lit up, and the crimson circles went out in unison. At the same time, the two hoverbikes turned off, and their smooth bottoms hit the ground.
“EMP bomb. Low-level machines and equipment will lose their function for five minutes.” Chi Lei moved to the rear of the hoverbike. “231, manually restart the hoverbike. You have thirty seconds.”
“Where are we going?” Ding Zepeng jumped out of the back seat and held the suitcase tightly in his arms. His voice was filled with confusion.
“I don’t know, but we have to keep moving,” Chi Lei responded, sounding troubled. He carefully wound a line of wire into a ball in his hand.
‘This won’t work.’ Ruan Xian’s mind raced.
Fortunately, the predicted variables weren’t bad. No researcher could tolerate having powerful unknown factors wandering around their own territory. He and Tang Yibu probably had the strength to repel these things, but in the surveillance range of MUL-01, they had to dance in shackles. Chances are this wasn’t the only wave of pursuers. There had to be a suitable plan—one that kept everyone safe but also didn’t make the entire escape plan “beyond the scope of human capabilities” and attract the attention of the Mainbrain.
Ruan Xian tucked his drenched hair behind his ears and stared at Chi Lei, who was a few steps away. He had his head buried in his hoverbike, and his face was ashen. The other party didn’t seem to be very focused. Most likely, he still couldn’t stop thinking about Zhang Yazhe and the clones.
…As well as other things. Since Zhang Yazhe was able to successfully deceive the machines, the machine that had just attacked them back then didn’t follow up after they had escaped. The Mainbrain’s pursuers shouldn’t have the ability to pinpoint their location.
“Tang Yibu, three questions.” Ruan Xian glanced at the surrounding environment and kept his voice as low as a whisper. “Can the Mainbrain obtain our life and death situation in real time?”
“According to my observation, if there is no detection-type machine to probe the body, it will take at least 12 hours—12 hours after the body dies—for the black box to be completely deactivated.” Tang Yibu quickly connected the wires. A pleasant, soft ringing rang out, and the hoverbike’s operating panel lit up again. “If a person is in the signal blind zone, the parsing process will be extended to about 24 hours.”
“What extent does the S-Type Prototype allow me to be, um, damaged?”
This time, Tang Yibu glanced sideways at Ruan Xian. “Unless a special attack is made against the brain, as long as it’s not twisted into pieces and broken apart, it can theoretically recover.”
Ruan Xian’s expression stiffened. He stretched out his hand, pointed to the dark corner, and threw out a final question. “Is that hill far enough from the city? Can you block and rewrite the information transmitted to MUL-01 over there?”
“The distance is enough. However, if the other party has high intelligence, the information blocking might be detected. By the way, now’s a good opportunity for us to retreat…”
“Chi Ge, go to the other side of the hill!” At the moment when Chi Lei successfully started the hoverbike, Ruan Xian shouted, showing an obvious sign that he had no intention of retreating. “Follow me!”
Chi Lei stepped onto the hoverbike and looked at him with red eyes. He pulled his face down and was silent for a few seconds, as if he wanted to refute it out of habit. However, when he spoke, he just spit out a few simple words. “Lead the way.”
Tang Yibu smacked his lips and took the lead in starting the floating hoverbike. He rushed towards the dark hill in the night.
A few minutes after they set off, there was a buzzing mechanical sound behind them. The machine that had just flashed red lights burst out of the trees, revealing its true form under the moonlight—the familiar four anthropomorphic mechanical legs, in the shape of a large hound. Those things chasing behind them resembled police auxiliary machines, but the aperture color was different.
Their backs were slightly arched, and several shooting drones protruded from the metal, leaving dazzling grooves.
“Mechanical police dogs,” Chi Lei muttered. “Xiao Ding!”
“Understood!”
Ding Zepeng spun around on the galloping hoverbike and sat down in the car seat. He fished out a long gun and neatly tied the suitcase to his waist while tying the gun belt to his abdomen. The entire process took less than ten seconds. After stabilizing his posture, he didn’t shoot indiscriminately—every time he shot, a mechanical dog or drone would fall out of the high-speed chase.
However, the speed of the mechanical police dogs was still faster. In less than five minutes, the leading ones leaned out their muzzles and tried to set fire to Chi Lei’s hoverbike.
Unfortunately, the ammunition flew halfway through the air before hitting the bullets that came flying at them, causing an explosion like fireworks. Ruan Xian didn’t turn back like Ding Zepeng. He wrapped his arm around Tang Yibu’s waist and turned to his side. The blood gun in his hand ejected dark bullets and shot down all the incoming ammunition.
In the slightly harsh explosion and wind, Chi Lei quietly followed Tang Yibu’s car like a colorful ghost.
“This way!” When he reached the steep side of the mountain wall, Ruan Xian took the lead and jumped off the hoverbike. He threw out an energy tank and used a bullet to detonate it, causing the nearest rows of mechanical dogs to explode.
Tang Yibu held Ruan Xian’s clothes tightly in one hand and climbed onto the cliff with the other. Chi Lei and Ding Zepeng closely followed. After Ding Zepeng climbed to the top of the cliff, he fired a few more shots, destroying all the drones that tried to climb up.
“Chi Ge, is there still infrared camouflage?” Seeing that Chi Lei was as quiet as a rock, Ruan Xian asked specifically.
“There are four more.”
“That’s enough. We still have six on our side. Not counting the heat of the hoverbike, just start two at a time, and it should be able to cover four people.” Ruan Xian motioned for everyone to get into the cave.
“What if we get blocked in?” Chi Lei finally frowned and returned to his usual skepticism.
“I know a way.” A place where the air was flowing would smell completely different from a dead end.
“Isn’t this the boss’ favorite hill?” Ding Zepeng put the suitcase behind his back and put one hand on the rock wall.
“Nn.” Ruan Xian walked at the end. “Large machines can’t get into this kind of hole. The cave structure here is complex and suitable for all types of breakage. It’s close to the refuge, so blowing up the entire mountain peak will cause panic. The Mainbrain should be able to calculate this account.”
“…But it won’t give up so easily,” Chi Lei sighed softly.
“I know.” Hearing the sound of metal friction coming from behind, Ruan Xian pulled the corners of his mouth.
Seeing the group entering the cave, the mechanical dogs changed their strategy. They used incendiaries that could drain the oxygen. The bombs exploded one by one, causing gravel and sand to slide down the mountain wall. However, under Ruan Xian’s leadership, the four people were slippery like loaches in a gutter, burrowing around the well-connected caves like ants in an ant’s nest. Seeing that there were fewer and fewer mechanical police dogs that could keep up with them…
Ruan Xian suddenly motioned everyone to stop and hide in the shadow of the rock wall.
His sense of smell and hearing were feeding back news at the same time. Ruan Xian turned his head and looked at the thick darkness behind them.
“…Someone is chasing us.”
Ding Zepeng was so shocked that he stopped breathing. Chi Lei’s brows were twisted so much that they could clamp mosquitoes to death. Only Tang Yibu was indifferent.
“It’s not an ordinary machine. It’s a human, or an android with human organs. He’s surrounded by the mechanical police dogs… No, he’s commanding them.” Seeing the incendiaries once again piercing through the darkness not far away, Ruan Xian settled his mind. “This way, hurry!”
Tang Yibu glanced at the familiar rock crevice in front of him and raised his eyebrows at Ruan Xian. They had just been here a few days ago.
Ruan Xian didn’t respond to Tang Yibu’s scrutiny. Without hesitation, he took out the rope ladder from under the roots of the old tree, measured the position of his footsteps for a while, and fixed it closest to Tian He’s body. Ding Zepeng wanted to come over but was stopped by Ruan Xian’s gesture.
Ruan Xian took out his pocket and divided the infrared camouflage that he had into two. “See the cave on the stone wall over there? You and Chi Ge hide over there. Turn on all the infrared camouflage and keep quiet. When the pursuers leave, return to the refuge immediately.”
“Ruan Ge, but you…”
“I’m not going back,” Ruan Xian responded calmly, as he was extraordinarily fluent in spitting out lies. “I remember what happened before I was injured. Xiao Ding, I still have my mission. This time I’m just dropping by to help.”
“A mission?” Ding Zepeng wiped his nose and honestly accepted all orders. “Then—then remember to come back and visit sometime.”
Chi Lei didn’t say anything, and simply glanced at Ruan Xian deeply.
Seeing that the two of them were hiding in an orderly manner, Ruan Xian listened carefully to the approaching footsteps of the visitor, stepped on the rope ladder, and stared closely at the cave closest to the rock crevice. Tang Yibu squatted on the edge of the rock crevice and had a face that was close to curiosity as he watched the excitement.
Several mechanical hounds burst out of the cave and rushed in like lightning. Ruan Xian took a deep breath, lowered his head, and yelled at the empty rock crevice. “Xiao Ding, Lao Chi, run! They are catching up—!”
Before he finished speaking, several incendiaries were dropped. The bomb exploded in the crevice of the rock. For a while, the dark rock crevice was filled with burning light, and bursts of smoke and tongues of fire rose up, like the entrance of hell. The powerful impact from the bottom lifted Ruan Xian up, and he was airborne for half a second before he slammed into the ground.
“According to the report, the remains of two human male bones were found at the bottom.” A cold and inorganic voice rang out among the sounds of the rock crevice collapsing.
Hearing the sound of the bottom of his boots grinding over stone debris, Ruan Xian quickly rolled over and climbed up while holding Tang Yibu. He didn’t specifically look back to see what the man looked like but ran wildly towards the farther exit with unsteady steps.
There was a muffled sneer from behind him.
“There is one left,” the man muttered. His voice was a little subtly familiar. “Chase.”
Ruan Xian ran outside in the humidity. The breathing method Zhang Yazhe had taught him was useful. This time, the knife-like pain in his lungs appeared very late. The artillery fire of drones and mechanical police dogs was blocked by the crooked rock wall. Ruan Xian dutifully played an image of running for his life and didn’t fight back.
Tang Yibu ran beside him, looking a little inexplicably excited.
“I think I know what you’re going to do next,” he said, putting his arms around Ruan Xian’s waist. He quickly ran in the direction of the refuge.
Ruan Xian opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“How far do you want to run?” Tang Yibu adjusted his arm posture and held Ruan Xian in front of him.
“Go to the tallest tree over there,” Ruan Xian replied.
“You’re shaking again.”
“Nobody likes being ‘killed’.”
“But you still came up with this strategy.” The darkness faded, and in the gradually clearer air, Tang Yibu announced calmly. “Worthy of a work by Ruan Xian. You’re a machine totally dedicated to serving humans.”
“……” Ruan Xian remained silent.
As they got closer to the tallest tree, Tang Yibu deliberately slowed down, put down Ruan Xian, and feigned to be weak. Ruan Xian pretended to be indifferent to him and ran stumblingly towards the refuge.
The mechanical hounds followed one by one as they passed Tang Yibu, treating him as if he was a stump full of mushrooms in the forest. The metal beasts rushed towards Ruan Xian, who was running in front, and bullets poured from behind him like a torrential rain. His lungs and heart were instantly pierced, and his chest looked like a honeycomb.
Ruan Xian threw himself on the ground, burying his face in the grass. The shelter uniform on his body was stained red with blood, and it quickly spread into the nearby grass.
The injury with this much loss of blood was assuredly fatal.
“The heart has been completely destroyed. There’s no record of this sample in the database. Is it saved and copied?” Behind him, on the right, the cold mechanical voice sounded again.
“No need.” The voice of the visitor didn’t even pant for a moment. It obviously had its own mode of transportation. “I know this person. Brave but not resourceful, average resume, just make do with luck and a little marksmanship. His pickup was probably arranged by Zhang Yazhe—the new leader of the refuge is probably Zhang Yazhe, so it’s good to take this opportunity to knock him around a bit so that he doesn’t take himself too seriously and thinks that anyone who dies can be sent back.”
“Yes.” The mechanical voice replied flatly.
Good. Ruan Xian quietly breathed a sigh of relief. At present, the other party’s judgement was exactly the same as his conjecture.
“Lift the blockade here. A-07, A-08, go clean up the rock crevice just now. Remove the smell and traces of burning. Don’t attract the attention of the refuge. B-45, automatically generate a draft report. Also, summon a few ventral cockroaches and have them eat this place clean.” The man’s coat brushed against the blades of grass, making a resulting sound. “Prepare to return.”
Ruan Xian held his breath and continued to pretend to be dead. His uniform was stained with blood and in tatters, but the body under the uniform had already recovered. All the bloodstains on the surface were recycled as much as possible. He felt pain as blood pumped through his veins, returning them back to his limbs. Not daring to tremble or scream, Ruan Xian forced himself to cling to the soil, imagining that he had already died and was rotting like a leaf full of insects.
The drone was still buzzing slightly in the sky. A mechanical police dog stepped on Ruan Xian’s back. The heartbeat hit his eardrums and the sound of the blades of grass rubbing against his ears was thunderous. He grabbed a little air from between his teeth, for fear that the sound of his heartbeat would attract the attention of any machines.
Calculating the time, Ding Zepeng and Chi Lei should have run to the foot of the mountain. As long as they maintain the infrared camouflage, according to the abilities of those two, returning to the refuge won’t be a problem. Even if the survival of the two was investigated afterwards, everything could be explained by the known information about the refuge.
The boots stepped on the grass in a soothing rhythm, and the sound gradually moved away. The roar of machinery in the distance became louder. The man was about to leave.
Go quickly. Ruan Xian repeated desperately from the bottom of his heart.
But those terrible boots suddenly stopped, and then took a step back, which sounded like he had turned around.
“Interesting. Why does sample 897 still have a life response?”
“Warning, warning. Implanting a sensor device other than an auxiliary chip into the sample is an infraction and violates the confidentiality regulation No.—”
“Article 64, I know. With just one sample, the Mainbrain won’t be too dissatisfied.” The man responded coldly. “I’m willing to be punished. Isn’t it just an extension of service period by a few years? Now re-block this mountain for me. If something goes wrong, I will go back and have a look.”
Then the sound of boots disappeared, and the rumble in the air quickly moved away.
Bad.
After confirming that the other party couldn’t detect him, Ruan Xian quickly sat up. Tang Yibu was already standing in front of him, looking at him with a smirk.
“Now, I guess you’re going to have to follow him.” The android said with interest.
“…Yes.”
The other side.
Chi Lei and Ding Zepeng separated the bushes in front of them breathlessly. There were still a few drones hovering over the hoverbike, so it wasn’t wise to retrieve them. Fortunately, the machinery that was patrolling around the hill just stopped moving and no longer radiated the surrounding area with an isolation grid.
Their grappling hooks were still intact, and if they used the forest to swing and leap their way back to the refuge, it would take less than half an hour to get back.
Hope was at hand, but unfortunately, the rumbling of machinery shattered that meager joy once more. The patrol machinery that should have stopped moving suddenly moved again, and Ding Zepeng almost slammed into the isolation grid that lit up again.
“They just cancelled it. What happened?” The young man squeezed the handle of the suitcase tightly as his face was covered in sweat.
Chi Lei’s brows were tightly locked, and his expression had never been so gloomy. He dragged Ding Zepeng back a few steps, raised his head, and looked at the rumbling sky. The rising sun had already appeared, and the little stars in the sky had become blurred.
A person with a grappling hook was swinging under a medium-sized aircraft and landed quickly towards the two of them. Chi Lei didn’t hesitate to take out his gun and shoot, but all the bullets hit an invisible barrier and bounced away from the figure. After the visitor stepped on the ground with his boots, the medium-sized aircraft split in two and stretched out six pairs of guns that floated symmetrically behind him. It looked like two open black shells.
Several mechanical police dogs stopped at his feet and squatted down obediently. The crimson circle of light on their heads was still blinding.
It was a sturdy, tall man. He wore a long black trench coat, slim style, and there wasn’t any intricate decoration on his clothes, like some kind of uniform. The half-face gas mask covered his face, and he had a military-like cap on that revealed a little pale skin that lacked sunlight and slightly too long black hair.
Those eyes were somewhat familiar, but they were full of indifference and numbness, plus a creepy playfulness.
Seeing that shooting was useless, Chi Lei slowly moved a few steps and blocked Ding Zepeng behind him.
The man discovered his little move and laughed unabashedly. Chi Lei was not shaken by the laughter. He still held his gun vigilantly with the muzzle pointing straight at his opponent’s heart.
He suddenly saw a little light in the bushes behind the man. He didn’t know when they got there, but Ruan Lijie and 231 were sitting in the bushes not far away, using the infrared camouflage metal boxes to reflect the light of the rising sun. The mysterious Ruan Lijie was covered in blood, was pale, and made a gesture to delay time.
It seemed that they still had some hope. Chi Lei was just about to breathe a sigh of relief…
Oblivious to the two people behind him, the person in front of Chi Lei pulled down his gas mask. The moment he saw his face, Chi Lei subconsciously stopped breathing, like he had fallen into an ice cave, while Ding Zepeng, who was behind him, fell flat on his ass and almost dropped the suitcase in his arms.
“Chi Ge, you’re still the same.” The man’s tone was smooth as he slowly pulled the gas mask down to his chin. “Seriously, your reaction is just as funny every time.”
What was revealed behind the mask was Ding Zepeng’s facial features.
The person looked a few years older than Xiao Ding, and there was no trace of honesty on his face. The temperament was like an open-edge military knife, gloomy and sharp.
The Ding Zepeng who was behind Chi Lei’s breathing became more raid. He had a tendency to breathe excessively. Chi Lei stepped back subconsciously, and his face changed from shock to blankness.
“Don’t be afraid, Xiao Ding. Don’t be afraid,” he said dreamily, not knowing whether he was trying to comfort the young man behind him or himself. “This is… This is an android. This must be an android.”
“Android? You mean the pile of garbage left over from the old world? A fragile human body plus an incomplete electronic brain is simply the worst combination. Except for the few who were given shells by MUL-01, the others are nothing more than inferior machines.”
The older “Ding Zepeng” had a bit more sarcasm on his face. He made a gesture, and a mechanical police dog passed by Chi Lei’s side and tore off his waist bag, plus a large piece of flesh on the side of his waist.
Chi Lei grunted bitterly as blood quickly stained his waist.
Dressed in black, “Ding Zepeng” quickly found the medicine box, opened the medicine that restrained the androids in disgust, and swallowed it in front of the two of them. The gesture was easy and casual, as if he was a cat holding down the tail of a mouse.
“Even if you don’t believe me, you should believe in Guan Haiming’s technology.” The man laughed again. “Don’t escape reality, both of you. It’s a pity, but I’m a human being.”
He pretended to extend his hand to the air in front of him, posing as a handshake. “Order Supervisor, Ding Zepeng. For the sake of distinction, you can call me Major Ding.”
In the bushes a dozen steps away, Ruan Xian almost dropped the infrared camouflage in his hand. He stared at the back figure in shock. Unlike himself, the man swallowed the pill firmly, and his tone didn’t sound like a lie.
If the so-called Major Ding was telling the truth… there were real humans in MUL-01’s camp, and the number of people was large enough to form an organization with a “title”.
Why?
The scene in front of him began to make him uncomfortable all over his body.
“Tang Yibu, have you finished yet?” Ruan Xian mumbled and asked in an extremely low voice.
“He’s equipped with a strong armor, not a defenseless detection bird. Once I block the transmission of information here, he will immediately notice it and then take Chi Lei and Ding Zepeng as hostages. Information blocking must be done after the armor is turned off.”
Tang Yibu gestured quickly in the air, as if he was conducting an invisible orchestra. “His armor is outside the network. I have to break it through others means—”
“How much longer will it take?”
“Ten minutes.” Even though the situation was so tense, Tang Yibu still exuded a certain unhurried sense of being an outsider.
“Too long. Let me help you. Give me an interface.” Ruan Xian quickly turned on the light screen of his electronic wristband. Tang Yibu swiped in his direction and countless pieces of data instantly filled the small light screen.
“How long will it take you to finish processing?”
“Four minutes at most.” Ruan Xian quickly scanned the screen for data. As soon as the wet clothes on his body showed some signs of drying out, they were wet again from his cold sweat.
“So a total of four more minutes is needed.”
Ruan Xian took a deep breath, leaned out his body slightly, and conveyed the time information to Chi Lei with gestures. Chi Lei’s gaze had already begun to drift, and Ruan Xian gestured three times before he pressed his cheeks tightly and nodded at a very slow speed.
“…Order Supervisor? I had heard that they were just a bunch of contraptions, but it seems you’re just the Mainbrain’s dogs, traitors to humanity.” Chi Lei’s voice was so hoarse that it didn’t sound like his own. He began to consciously pick up Major Ding’s words and try to converse.
“Ruan Xian is the betrayer of humanity. If he hadn’t insisted on going against MUL-01, the rebels would’ve been all but wiped out a long time ago, and the observation of the rebels wouldn’t have lasted so long. To be honest, you’re all paying for his caprice alone.”
Major Ding seemed to be a little interested. Without looking at more than a dozen black guns behind him, just by listening to his tone, he sounded almost like he was talking to an old friend.
Ruan Xian, who was cracking the data, paused.
“In order to preserve the so-called ‘human tinder’… he suggested that you install a black box, throw down false hope, and then ‘foster’ you here under the Mainbrain. He knew that the Mainbrain would be happy to swallow this bait and knew that you would die as a result. For example, Zhang Yazhe had just experienced his 92nd death.”
Chi Lei’s face was pale as paper.
“This is the first time you know the truth here, right, Chi Lei? How does it feel to be played around by your most respected Ruan Xian?”
“I…”
With three minutes left, Ruan Xian quickly broke open the encrypted data. His fingertips and toes were becoming paralyzed by tension.
“Because—because we are humans.” Seeing Chi Lei fall into silence, Ding Zepeng swallowed his saliva and plucked up the courage to refute, but his voice was still shaking badly. “If Professor Ruan hadn’t done this, we would be killed by MUL-01 in the first place. Now at least many people are alive…”
“‘We’?” Turning his gaze to Ding Zepeng, Major Ding’s voice suddenly became indifferent. “You are just a clone of me, and your memories are all fake, edited by me. Do you really think you’re human?”
Ding Zepeng cowered for a moment, and he looked at Chi Lei helplessly. However, Chi Lei just covered the wound and stared blankly at the void in front of him.
“Your life has only two uses.” Major Ding lowered his gaze and looked down at Ding Zepeng, sitting on the ground. The dozens of guns behind him turned their direction and headed straight towards Xiao Ding. “First, when I deal with people in the shelter, this face can make them relax. Second, you have made things more fun and helped me pass the boring time.”
“My life is my own. I—”
“Excessive worship of elders, lack of opinions, lack of self-confidence, and gullibility. It’s also worth mentioning that I replaced your athletic talents from my past. You see, if you implant such a boring life fabricated out of thin air, even ‘I’ can also become such a loser.”
Ding Zepeng pulled the suitcase behind him and shrank. “No…”
There were only two minutes left. Sweat dripped down the tip of Ruan Xian’s nose. They had already broken the armor device behind Major Ding. As long as they stopped the energy system…
“This is the fifth time we have had such a conversation,” Major Ding continued cruelly. “I also deliberately let you go back and clear your memories. Although it’s unlikely… If you are lucky and run away this time, remember to say hello to Guan Haiming before your memories get wiped.”
Ding Zepeng slowly raised his head in shock and looked at the “self” in front of him. “You know Guan Haiming?”
“One-sided.” Major Ding took a few more steps closer, and the gun behind him clicked softly as it entered the calibration stage. “Mr. Guan has always been the object of my admiration, and as a fellow informant, I can’t figure out why he insists on staying on Ruan Xian’s side.”
“Because Haiming is a kind person. A kind person doesn’t treat human life like a toy.” Ding Zepeng took two steps back as he squeezed the sentence between his teeth. He looked at “himself” directly in the eyes, with a bit more anger in his tone.
Chi Lei finally moved as he turned to the two of them. His eyes were complicated and sad, and it looked as if his entire body had drastically aged.
One minute.
“You’re not qualified to call him ‘Haiming’, and also you’re not qualified to be angry at me either.” Major Ding glanced at Chi Lei and found that he had no intention of fighting. He snorted coldly and continued to focus on Ding Zepeng.
“Why? This mouth belongs to me! If the Mainbrain doesn’t want it to be used, it can just kill us all and create a bunch of androids to observe. That way, it can edit the memories at any time, saving you a lot of trouble.” Ding Zepeng was still trembling, but there was a little angry smile on his face.
Thirty seconds.
“It’s certainly better to observe creatures that are close to their original ecology. Puppet shows are meaningless.” Major Ding glanced at the time on the screen and called out the operation interface of his weapon. “Don’t think too highly of yourself. You guys make this scene seem so pathetic, but to me, it’s just a daily data refresh.”
Ten seconds.
Major Ding thought for a while, and instead of activating his weapon, he took out his own gun and put the muzzle between Ding Zepeng’s eyebrows.
“I don’t like the way you laugh,” he said softly. “Never did.”
Ding Zepeng’s eyes were covered with mud stains and dust. He dug his fingers into the turf and stared at himself.
At the same time, Tang Yibu cleared his throat from behind the bushes. “The armor program is destroyed, and the exchange of information with MUL-01 is temporarily blocked. If you need me to get rid of him—”
A gunshot sounded.
The floating machine fell to the ground with a loud bang. The body that once belonged to a human fell heavily to the ground. His head was blown up by a bullet. Blood and brain matter spilled all over the ground. Memory, emotion, time, or the necessary parts that make up the “soul” slid down the grass and onto the soil.
Ruan Xian stood behind the bush with a gun in his hands.
Time seemed to be suspended. The smell of human tissue was mixed with bloody gas. He smelled the smoke from the muzzle of his gun, the heat of the rising sun seeping through the leaves, and the shock and fear emanating from his pores—others, as well as his own.
The sun had already risen, and his eyes were shining brightly, but his hands and feet were still cold. Perhaps he should vomit, be afraid, and collapse hysterically. This was normal. Even the most capable detective had to undergo psychological intervention after killing. There was no shame in this.
In an instant, he felt a lot of things, such as anxiety about the reality, sorrow for Zhang Yazhe, and worry about Ding Zepeng and Chi Lei.
But there was no guilt. He searched desperately for emotions, like rummaging through a drawer full of debris.
No guilt.
Ruan Xian lowered his gun. It seemed that he had broken the old chain that entangled a box with a single shot. The chain jingled to the ground as the demon floated out. It had been lurking there for a long time, scratching his heart from the inside day and night, but now it finally broke free and stretched its claws to the outside world.
“Tang Yibu, get ready to replace the intercepted data. His armor failed because of a malfunction and then he was attacked,” he heard himself whispering. “Then we leave here right away.”
He found himself taking a step, stepping over the body that had his head blown up, with the most appropriate soothing smile on his face, and walked towards Ding Zepeng, who was covered with blood.
“Good job, Xiao Ding. You bought a lot of time.” His voice was steady. “Chi Ge, you’d better leave quickly—”
“No,” Chi Lei said.
He raised his gun and fired wildly at the body of Major Ding on the ground. His face was blank. The gun was almost empty, and the body bounced uncontrollably on the ground as he fired. After he stopped, Chi Lei rubbed his hand on the barrel of the gun and raised his eyes to look at Ding Zepeng, who was shaking into a ball beside him.
“Xiao Ding, go back,” Chi Lei said wearily. “I can’t go.”
Ding Zepeng finally staggered up from the ground. He hugged the suitcase tightly and tugged at Chi Lei’s coat. His face was full of pleading.
Chi Lei took a step back.
“I have a bad temper and am suspicious as hell, but there are three people I would never doubt,” Chi Lei said slowly. The man was dyed in blood under the morning sun, looking exceptionally thin. “Professor Ruan, Lao Zhang, and you. You are my family. The refuge is my home.”
“Chi Ge.” Ding Zepeng’s eyes flushed.
“But today, my home is no longer a home. As far as my temper is concerned, I don’t have the confidence to go back to the refuge and act properly. In addition, like I said, I have a shitty problem of doubting this and that. Now I know that Lao Zhang lied to me, Professor Ruan lied to me, and you are…”
Chi Lei didn’t continue.
Xiao Ding wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Ruan Xian stood in silence as he stared at Chi Lei’s expression.
“This won’t work,” Chi Lei sighed. “I can’t work together with everyone without any problems, but I don’t want to leave this team, and MUL-01 shouldn’t want this to happen either… I want to keep trusting you guys. I have to keep trusting you guys.”
“Chi Ge, Chi Ge! Go back. Go back with me to Guan Haiming and let him wipe your memory—” Ding Zepeng suddenly panicked, realizing what the other party wanted to do.
“That will leave a record and I’ll become suspicious sooner or later. All in all, this matter has come to this point, and I blame myself for being incapable when we were in the city—Don’t cry! I’ll see you again tomorrow. Xiao Ding, you have to promise me that you’ll forget this when you go back.”
Then his eyes turned to Ruan Xian.
“Thank you for your help, Ruan Lijie. Although I don’t think that’s your name.” Chi Lei’s voice sank. “If you can do what you did just now… If you have the ability to interfere with the communication between that guy and the Mainbrain, replace me as the person who killed him in the replacement data. This way, MUL-01 will not notice you on the scene. I’ll pay you back for your little favor.”
He stuck the gun to his temple.
“But I still believe in my intuition, Ruan Lijie.” He grinned weakly, his eyebrows were gloomy, and his expression was a bit like when they first met. “…You’re a dangerous guy.”
Chi Lei’s tone was still a little vulgar and mean, and it was difficult to tell whether he was joking or lamenting in earnest.
Then another gunshot rang out.
Ding Zepeng’s knees softened, and he knelt on the ground. He covered his eyes and only saw dark red on his fingers. Ruan Xian slowly squatted down and patted him on the back but couldn’t say anything.
Half an hour later, over the city of artificial intelligence, in the mechanical cavity of the blind spider.
Pale hands grabbed the metal armrest, and after a few waves of liquid agitation, a man stepped out of the liquid tank with one leg. He casually pulled the bath towel from the shelf, dried his dripping hair, and put on a simple bathrobe.
“Good morning, Major Ding Zepeng. Your breakfast is ready.” As soon as his wet feet stepped on the ground, the electronic sound reminded him just right. Major Ding rolled his eyes and skillfully coughed out a small amount of fluid remaining in his lungs.
A hot breakfast was being served a short distance away, no different from yesterday’s. Major Ding glanced at it with a lack of interest and began to change his clothes.
“Prompt. First, in the early hours of yesterday morning, you once again violated Article 64 of the confidentiality regulations by implanting and activating a sensor device other than an auxiliary chip for the sample without authorization. This behavior increases the risk of being discovered by the sample. Your service time will be extended for 365 days.”
Major Ding hummed casually.
“Second, your communication time with the sample yesterday was 6 minutes and 23 seconds. If you exceed the prescribed 3 minutes, your service time will be extended for 15 days.”
“Hmm.” Major Ding responded absent-mindedly.
“Third, yesterday you made an inappropriate statement about the current management mechanism, and the relevant memories have been erased.”
“Inappropriate statement? Um… after meeting Chi Lei and the others, I guess I said something like how many times they had died. That’s just to shake them up. I have no complaints about the data refresh mechanism of the Mainbrain.”
“Reason rejected. Please keep in mind the guidelines. Data refresh does not equal death. As an Order Supervisor, please be cautious. Please remember that you are enjoying the best quality data refresh service. During your service time, you’ll never be troubled by illness, aging, or death.” The machine pulled a tiresome long tone.
“…Yes.”
Major Ding looked out the window. It was a sunny day today, and there was no cloud in the blue sky. The empty city under his feet rumbled as usual, receiving countless memories, calculations, and editing huge memory data from all directions by auxiliary chips—as the real black box.
He manipulated the spider-shaped surveillance machine, turned the viewpoint, and casually opened the communication device.
“Sample No. 24 Zhang Yazhe, sample No. 29 Chi Lei, the detector has confirmed both corpses and the backup refresh is complete. Two new human corpses were found under mountain peak No. 4. The deceased had taken an identity jammer, so they were unable to confirm their identity, but no obvious effect. Sample No. 897 Ding Zepeng has returned to the refuge, priority observation, data refresh aborted. End of report.”
Having said that, he turned on the largest light screen in front of him.
A burst of soft music sounded, and the cold mechanical voice was replaced by a soothing and beautiful female voice. “Today’s weather in petri dish No. 1036 is sunny to cloudy. There will be light rain in local areas in the evening. All 27 forest sanctuaries in the petri dish have started to operate. Please pay attention, Order Supervision Personnel, and correct any wrong data in time.”
The man skillfully pressed his palm on the cold operation panel.
“Greetings, Major Ding. Welcome back. Your data refresh today has been completed and you are in good physical condition. There is still 23 hours, 50 minutes, and 13 seconds until your next refresh. Have a nice day.”
“Withdraw quickly!” Zhang Yazhe reacted quickly and pulled Chi Lei, who was frozen from shock.
“Lao Zhang, did you see Lao Zhang?! Fuck me!”
“Yes, I saw it. You’re not crazy. We have to go,” Zhang Yazhe roared as he knocked the suitcase to the ground. “Xiao Ding is still waiting over there! Look at the situation. Do you really want to talk here?”
Chi Lei’s eyes flushed, and he shivered and cursed again. He finally glanced at the creepy storage area and followed in Zhang Yazhe’s footsteps. The hissing sound of gas rushed into the space was ringing out from all sides. Poisonous gas was being poured in at a rapid pace. It wasn’t advisable for them to stay there any longer.
“I didn’t hear anything. How come we were discovered?” Ding Zepeng was still guarding his old position. His face was a little pale. “Zhang Ge, Chi Ge, what should I do now?”
“Go up and hold your breath. Be careful of the poisonous gas,” Zhang Yazhe said it briefly and concisely, then he looked deeply at Chi Lei. “You go first, I’ll take the back.”
Ding Zepeng nodded. His grapple hook accurately hit a bump and was firmly hooked in place. He whizzed to the top of the hook, took out tools from his bag, and started trying to break the glass…
There was a crash and the thick glass shattered on its own. A hand pulled on Ding Zepeng and yanked him straight out the window.
“Ruan Ge?!”
“Xiao Ding, go to the bushes over there.” Ruan Xian made a quiet gesture and pointed to the bushes not far below. “I moved your hoverbike there. Don’t ask questions. Go quickly.”
Taking advantage of Ruan Xian’s command, Tang Yibu pulled up a shocked Chi Lei. The entire replication factory illuminated the nearby space as if it was daytime. The silent alarm should have spread far away. Several groups of giant machines of different shapes swayed closer, and a fleet of drones were flying their way. The blind spider machine lying on top of the city rumbled and collapsed its twelves legs, slowly descending its’ torso down to them.
“Hurry!” Chi Lei was followed by Zhang Yazhe. Ruan Xian wiped the sweat from his head. He already smelled the subtle fishiness of the poisonous gas. The last thing to be hoisted up was the auxiliary machine, which almost failed to pass through the narrow window.
Ding Zepeng quickly hid in the bushes as quiet as if he didn’t even exist. However, after Zhang Yazhe was dragged out, he sat on the building’s protruding slope with little intention of hiding himself.
“Split up.” Zhang Yazhe looked calm and there was no panic in his tone. “Xiao Ruan, you go with Xiao Ding and Lao Chi. I’ll take the auxiliary machine.”
Ruan Xian frowned.
“What bullshit! You think I don’t know you’re trying to play hero again?” Chi Lei also didn’t go to the bushes. He stood on the edge of the building without moving.
“…I’ll give you an explanation.” Zhang Yazhe stuffed the suitcase into Chi Lei’s arms.
“Come with us, or I’ll shoot you,” Chi Lei growled. He obediently pulled on Zhang Yazhe’s collar, and the two men slipped directly down the hook line. Upon seeing this, Tang Yibu picked up Ruan Xian and jumped to the ground.
Within a few seconds of them slipping off the roof, a few steel grippers descended and hit the destroyed window, shattering almost the entire small platform. Chi Lei’s hook lost its fixed point and fell to the ground like a dead snake. Zhang Yazhe spread his arms to protect Chi Lei’s head and the two fell heavily onto the lawn. It took them a while to recover.
Tang Yibu carried Ruan Xian on his shoulders. He straightened his upper body and pulled out his blood gun and shot straight into the joints of the steel gripper. After a burst of sparks, the steel gripper finally stopped moving.
As soon as he put away his gun, he cast a meaningful look at Zhang Yazhe.
At this moment, Ruan Xian didn’t intend to continue to hide his strength. The current situation was dangerous, and any little deliberate concealment could be fatal. If things had gone well for the three of them, it would be fine, but now that there was a change and he had already revealed himself, naturally he would not return to the refuge.
Without escaping Zhang Yazhe’s scrutiny, Ruan Xian smiled at him.
Seeing that the target was away from the building, bombs followed. Chi Lei pulled Zhang Yazhe forward and hid behind a rock. Tang Yibu and Ruan Xian dove directly into the nearest ditch as the wind roared past the two of them.
The four of them didn’t wait for the second wave of bombing. When the giant bomb-throwing machine moved its muzzle, everyone rushed to the bushes as bullet from the drones rained down on their heels.
“Xiao Ding, catch.” After confirming that Zhang Yazhe was still around, Chi Lei threw the suitcase containing the internal organs to Ding Zepeng. The machines were hurtling towards him, so he activated another batch of infrared camouflage and threw four small metal boxes around. About eight drones circled above their heads, ready to shoot.
Bombs. The flame raised by the bombs burned higher and the hot and murky air was no longer suitable for breathing. In the burning fire, Chi Lei’s lips trembled, and his face was covered with dirt and sweat. He tried to step on the hoverbike, but his legs were shaking so badly that he only succeeded after four attempts.
“Let’s go,” he chanted dreamily, not even bothering to investigate why Ruan Xian was here. “We need to leave, quickly.”
“Lao Chi, you and Xiao Ruan cover Xiao Ding. You guys take the other way and go straight back to the refuge. I’ll go around the Wild Cemetery side.” The silver moonlight poured down, slightly reddened by the flames. Zhang Yazhe was unusually calm in the chaos.
The auxiliary machine was firmly fixed by him in the backseat of the hoverbike, and the gun swayed following the drones in the air. Then it seemed to have received some instructions, and a green circle of light flashed, creating virtual images of the other two hoverbike behind Zhang Yazhe’s hoverbike.
In the virtual image, Ding Zepeng sat in the back seat of Chi Lie, while Tang Yibu took Ruan Xian. It was exactly the same as their current vehicle allocation.
“Zhang Yazhe!” Chi Lei’s voice was shrill.
“The Wild Cemetery covers a large area, and its signal blind zone are particularly strong. These things are stupid and will think you went into camouflage. Lao Chi, you’re not in good condition and I’m most familiar with the Wild Cemetery— We’re all adult. You know this is the most reasonable.”
“If you die, I’ll definitely dig up your body and cut it to pieces again.” Chi Lei’s voice was hoarse as if it had been grounded by sandpaper.
“Alright. When I get pass the signal blind zone, we’ll talk.”
“If you’re spouting bullshit, I’ll kick your ass when I see you.” Chi Lei started his hoverbike and pointed to the hoverbike in the dark forest. His voice had changed a little. Ding Zepeng, who was sitting in the back of the car, stretched his body. He looked like he wanted to say something but stopped. In the end he didn’t say a single word.
Zhang Yazhe smiled and looked at Ruan Xian who quickly jumped out of the back seat of the car. “Xiao Ruan has something to say?”
“Zhang Ge—” Ruan Xian wrung out the water in the corner of his clothes and took a few steps closer, but just a few seconds after he spoke, he was directly interrupted by the other party.
“Looking at this, it’s you who guided Tian He to see me, right? There are quite a few people who have access to my signature, but I know in my heart.” Zhang Yazhe stroked his beard and lowered his voice so that only Ruan Xian could hear. “Although I don’t have much evidence… I’ll bet on it. I won’t ask who you are. Thank you for your help, Xiao Ruan.”
Ruan Xian understood the words that the other party didn’t say. The black box couldn’t leave a record in a signal blind zone. No matter what identity he gave, “tomorrow’s Zhang Yazhe” would not remember his answer.
Looking at the smiling face of the person in front of him, the dark anger surged in his heart again. Ruan Xian gasped a few hard breaths before he suppressed the sticky cold emotions.
“Zhang Ge, you know very well the Mainbrain can choose to silence you just to simply and crudely eliminate the possibility of you spreading panic. If everyone goes back safely and the plan is successful, I think it will give priority to observing whether there are signs of chaos in the refuge— There are people who already know about it. As long as you continue to remain silent, it will not wipe out the entire refuge for no reason,” Ruan Xian whispered quickly. “Don’t give up too early, okay?”
Tian He knew about it, and so did Guan Haiming, but MUL-01 didn’t respond. It wasn’t that it didn’t allow a few humans to know the truth— As long as it was sure they were still trying to maintain this false peace. The problem only arose if it was “spoken”.
“Don’t worry. Don’t look at me like this. I’m quite afraid of pain.”
“Zhang Ge, why don’t you come with us. I’ll try my best—”
“Xiao Ruan, I can see that you’re a smart person.” Zhang Yazhe shrugged. “Do you think it’ll be safter for you guys if I lure these pieces of junk away?”
“In theory, but…”
“That’s not it. I have already decided. I don’t mind being copied, but I don’t know what Lao Chi and Xiao Ding will think. In any case, it’s good if they suffer a little less.”
Zhang Yazhe stretched out his hand and rubbed Ruan Xian’s hair.
“Since you jumped out to help and knew the truth, whether you intend to return to the refuge or not… You’re a good kid. Have a safe trip.”
The other party’s palm was big and warm, and it only made Ruan Xian’s heart sour.
Zhang Yazhe smiled spontaneously, started his hoverbike, and waved his hands at them. He then rushed straight to the direction of the Wild Cemetery like a phantom. Chi Lei gritted his teeth and led Tang Yibu the other way. Ruan Xian hugged Tang Yibu’s waist tightly. The other party’s temperature came through his wet clothes, and he was suddenly hit by fatigue.
Zhang Yazhe’s judgement was correct. After a brief hesitation, most of the drones and four-legged machines followed him.
[Lao Chi…] After driving for about twenty-five minutes, accompanied by the sound of shooting and explosion, Zhang Yazhe’s voice came from the electronic wristband. It seemed that he had thrown them off after passing the signal blind zone.
“You shithead.” Chi Lei’s voice trembled a little. Ding Zepeng sat in the backseat in silence as his feet tightly wrapped around the stirrups. His left arm held the suitcase tightly while his right held a gun; the knuckles were completely white.
[Since you have seen it all, I’ll need to explain. After all, when I lead the refuge, you will definitely be indispensable. Xiao Ding, this topic is actually not suitable for you, if you—]
“I want to know,” Ding Zepeng murmured in a low voice.
[Alright.] Zhang Yazhe’s breathing was short. They didn’t know if he was injured. [Lao Chi, you can talk to Xiao Ding later. Let me make the long story short— Our refuge has always been an observation room for MUL-01. It keeps us like bonsai trees for research and would prune us from time to time. If someone with adequate abilities dies outside, they will be stuffed back with a clone to ensure the refuge can last.]
“…You’re crazy,” Chi Lei sai numbly. “Impossible. If Professor Ruan knew… No, he clearly said…”
He didn’t go on. Ding Zepeng sat in the back seat in a daze as if he had become a woodcarving.
Maybe he knew what Chi Lei wanted to say, Ruan Xian thought. The “Ruan Xian” in the wheelchair said, “Don’t give up, hope is still there.” He also said, “Please believe that you’re very important.”
The tone of the voice was resounding, with a magic that could soothed the heart. It was a beautiful picture that covered the hideous bloodstain and cracked bullet holes of the wall, but it won’t make them disappear.
Chi Lei didn’t say anything. He was no longer trembling. He was just horribly quiet as tears kept following down his cheeks.
[Lao Chi, are you still listening?]
“……”
[In short, that’s it. My pursuers weren’t very strong. I was able to get rid of them after a while.] In the strange rumble, Zhang Yazhe’s voice was weak but held a smile. [I’ll going to the signal blind zone in the Wild Cemetery. See you tomorrow at the refuge!]
Communication was interrupted.
“I recognize that sound.” Tang Yibu broke the silence. “That’s the latest type— Ouch, Mr. Ruan, don’t pinch my waist.”
“…Stop talking. I beg you.” Ruan Xian gritted his teeth.
“Okay.” The android snapped his mouth shut.
Chi Lei didn’t respond and remained terribly quiet. He was still guiding them accurately. Except for his breathing and heartbeat, he was almost no different from a machine. Ding Zepeng bit his lower lip, trying to suppress the trembling of his body caused by his sobs.
A few kilometers away, the Wild Cemetery view was wide open. The cloudless night sky was dotted with stars.
Zhang Yazhe leaned on a concrete slab. He tilted his head and looked at the last tracking machine in front of him. It was approaching, intending to give him a final blow.
“You got tricked and followed me here, stupid thing. Can’t get in touch with the outside world, right?” Ignoring the bullet holes in his body, Zhang Yazhe grinned, revealing his blood-stained teeth. He turned his head slightly.
Here he could see the city of artificial intelligence not far away. The thing that resembled a daddy long-legs was still descending to the ground, leaving an uncomfortable and weird silhouette in the night.
“Ugh, I might have dreamed about this scene.”
Zhang Yazhe dumped out all the energy cans in his waist pack in front of him. He ripped open the packaging of a button bomb and paused for a few seconds with his eyes locked on the food cannister on his chest.
“…It’s a pity about this can,” he murmured before closing his eyes.
A searing white light tore through the night. The powerful explosion blew the moose-sized dangerous machine to pieces. The drones that have lost their target turned around like a headless fly for a while before flying back to the city.
Everything returned to calm.
Over the city.
“Suburban replication factory report. It’s recommended to cancel the backup correction of the organic printer. Although the backup correction can reduce the number of times the sample comes to print, there’s a hidden danger of directly exposing the storage area, which is not conducive to stability. Also, the patrol interval will be adjusted to nine minutes.”
In the “body” of the blind spider, a man who was sitting in an armchair stood up, crack his shoulders a few times, and then tapped the radar screen in front of him with his knuckles.
“Sample No. 24 Zhang Yazhe, backup refresh completed. Sample No. 29, Chi Lei, and sample No. 897, Ding Zepeng, are out of automatic pursuit range. The above two samples are ready to be refreshed manually. End of report.”
The man put on a long coat, a pitch-black half-face gas mask, as he spoke in a jarring voice.
He opened the door, and several mechanical hound dogs followed him closely.
“What a pain in the ass.” He pulled on his gloves, lowered the brim of his hat, and kicked a mechanical hound away. “Forget it. It’s also interesting to chase ‘yourself’.”
Kinky Thoughts:
So many twists and turns that I have no idea WTF is going on anymore.
This is the last of the free chapters on jjwxc. If you’ve been enjoying the novel so far and are able to, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. I used google chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.
The city ruled by artificial intelligence was getting closer and closer. Over the city, the giant device that looked close to a daddy long-legs was sticking out its long feet and adjusting its posture.
Ruan Xian didn’t speak anymore. He numbly hugged Tang Yibu’s neck, waiting for the android’s next words, but Tang Yibu didn’t speak again. He just stepped on the branch of a tree like a feline, and noiselessly advanced forward. He dexterously crossed the brushes, and the rustling friction merged into the evening breeze.
The possibility that Tang Yibu was MUL-01 was extremely low, and Ruan Xian knew this, but the silence that followed told him that Tang Yibu had no intention of giving him an explanation, so it wasn’t wise to continue asking too much.
“Now it’s my turn to ask you.” After a few minutes of silence, Tang Yibu asked briskly, “Since you don’t want to stand idly by, why don’t you forcefully intervene?”
“You deliberately falsified information for them to communicate and induced Tian He to express his thoughts, thereby terminating Zhang Yazhe’s rescue plan. The result is obvious. You failed.”
Ruan Xian looked at the three hoverbikes under the tree. Zhang Yazhe took the lead, while Chi Lei and Ding Zepeng’s hoverbike leaned back, protecting the left and right sides, respectively. There was no hesitation or confusion in the movements of the three of them.
“Forcefully intervene… I guess you mean secretly sabotaging Zhang Yazhe’s actions until Tian He dies or killing Tian He one step before Zhang Yazhe’s actions.” Ruan Xian tightened his five fingers that were clutching on to the fabric of Tang Yibu’s chest. The voice that came out was calmer than he expected. “It’s best they don’t know, so that the variables are minimal.”
“Yes, these are much wiser approaches.” Tang Yibu sounded quite approving, and he even nodded seriously. This action caused the android to break a few branches with his face. “The Ruan Xian I know would do this, but as his creation, you didn’t follow his will.”
“Because I am not him.” Ruan Xian’s voice was very low.
He wasn’t worried at all that Tang Yibu would discover the smell of lies—his body no longer belonged to the human category. Even if memory was emphasized, in the case of the black box, all the criteria of “self” had become confusing, and he couldn’t completely determine his identity.
Unexpectedly, Ruan Xian didn’t feel depressed or at a loss.
If one wanted to modify their memory, they tend to remove the worst parts. However, the pain of the past was still lingering in a certain corner of his heart, making it difficult to dispel like a vulture who found a corpse.
On the contrary, this was reassuring.
He was still alive and well. As long as the other “Ruan Xian” was still living somewhere in the world, he would have the chance to get his answer.
Ruan Xian stroked Tang Yibu’s collar with his fingers, and the touch of the fabric penetrated through the skin and climbed the nerves into his brain. Tang Yibu exuded a faint smell of soap, and the oncoming wind carried the smell of burning plastic. The outline of the dark bushes was sharp and clear. Retreating quickly from his side, he could see every vein of the leaves clearly.
The speed of the three hoverbikes was getting faster. Zhang Yazhe and Chi Lei’s expressions were calm, while Ding Zepeng looked a little nervous, but his eyes were firmer.
If he compared everything right now to an experiment, the variables weren’t complicated. He couldn’t control his thoughts, and various solutions naturally appeared in his mind. There were at least ten ways to allow Tian He to rest in peace and Zhang Yazhe to stay in the shelter obediently. What the two discussed earlier was the safest solution.
But that was only the optimal solution he unilaterally determined.
The guilt, gratitude, and attachment, just like the hair tightly clenched in the hands of those corpses, would take root in the end and gradually entangle the lives of others. If Tian He couldn’t be rescued, would Zhang Yazhe and the others suffer for it? How painful? Perhaps this pain wasn’t worth mentioning compared to death.
But he couldn’t be sure.
Ruan Xian adjusted his posture and quietly touched the scar on his left wrist with his right hand. He was also part of a certain “optimal solution”, and he didn’t like that answer.
“We’ll only provide cover and let them handle the rest,” Ruan Xian said.
“Okay.” The destination was right in front of him. Tang Yibu turned over and got out of the tree, letting Ruan Xian jump off his back to the ground.
The hoverbikes driving in front finally stopped. The group of people stood at the edge of the artificial intelligence city. The deformed building was quietly immersed in the night, and the sponge-hole-like windows emitted hazy light. From a close distance, the huge spider-shaped device made people’s hair stand upright. He wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but Ruan Xian always felt that it was tilting in the direction of where they were.
The goal of Zhang Yazhe and others wasn’t in the city.
Outside the towering wall, a group of termite nest-like buildings reclined obliquely. After the three of them hid their hoverbikes, they went around the bushes and headed straight towards the dull, odd buildings.
That was probably where the internal organs could be reproduced. Ruan Xian held his breath and listened to his surroundings, but found no strange sounds. He clasped the two blood guns tightly in his hands, bent down, and followed Tang Yibu.
The detection birds flew over their heads, causing everyone to sink down and activate their infrared camouflage as they buried themselves into the bushes.
“Don’t try to attack the system here. The city is too close to the control center of MUL-01, and it’s difficult for me to act.” Tang Yibu pressed Ruan Xian’s head lower. “In case this area is completely reset by it, we will all be in danger.”
‘I hope reset isn’t what I’m thinking,’ Ruan Xian thought dryly.
Zhang Yazhe’s ability was really outstanding. His movements were smooth, and he led the other two beautifully through all the blind spots. The auxiliary machine followed them quietly, carrying a suitcase-sized box.
Ruan Xian kept a distance of about fifty meters from them and dared not expose himself. All kinds of unexplainable noise floated out of the city, making the work of guarding the surroundings particularly difficult. Fortunately, the night sky in the early hours of the morning was as dark as ink and relatively peaceful.
After a line of dangling spherical machines floated by, Zhang Yazhe finally approached the entrance of the building. Tang Yibu shot out the grappling hook from his wrist and hoisted Ruan Xian’s waist as he pulled them up to the upper level.
Through the glass, Ruan Xian could see the scene inside the building clearly.
There was no light indoors, and the building was as quiet as a tomb. The intricately constructed machinery was quietly piled up in a pile, taking up most of the space, and the wires hung densely, like dilapidated cobwebs. Only a small part of the machinery was still on, as indicated by the light, emitting a nuisance sound of operation. The sound it made was as small as a butter knife scraping through butter. Several large water tanks were gurgling and spitting water bubbles, covered by a thin layer of accumulated dust on the glass. It obviously looked as if it hadn’t been taken care of for a while.
But Zhang Yazhe didn’t rush forward. He leaned down and threw a few small balls the size of marbles onto the ground. The small ball crossed the floor silently, and finally stopped slowly in the center of the room.
“Temporarily safe, the alarm system has not been upgraded,” Zhang Yazhe whispered.
“Nn. If the records are correct, the organic matter printer is nearby.” Instead of activating his electronic wristband, Chi Lei pulled out a piece of paper. Ding Zepeng was still holding a long gun, vigilantly surveying the surroundings.
“Wait another five minutes, just in case.” Zhang Yazhe raised a hand. “I’ll go in a while.”
“Are you really going to inherit the refuge?” Chi Lei retracted his outstretched foot and stood in the corner.
“Yes, that’s the boss’ intention. Once I start the inheritance process, I won’t be able to sneak out in the next few days.” Zhang Yazhe nodded. “Tonight is our only chance.”
“The boss is very stubborn. What if he refuses to accept it?” Ding Zepeng muttered.
“When the time comes, we’ll put the organs in front of him and see if he’ll throw them away in front of us. Before, he was just afraid that we… Ahem, die on this mission.” Zhang Yazhe laughed dryly. “He has worked hard for so many years, and in the end, he didn’t have a single good day. Watching him go, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Who wouldn’t,” Chi Lei’s voice was soft. “If it wasn’t for the boss, grass would’ve grown on my grave a long time ago.”
“Shh,” Ding Zepeng suddenly interrupted the two. “There’s movement outside.”
The three of them simultaneously pulled out their grappling hooks and spidered up the ceiling. A cylindrical machine came in from the entrance and rotated around for a while. It slid into the middle of the room and packed the small balls into its metal body, then slowly walked out.
“Not bad. It’s the oldest scouting type.” Zhang Yazhe breathed a sigh of relief. “There should be ten minutes before the next patrol. Let’s go, Lao Chi. Xiao Ding, you continue to be vigilant. Remember not to run too far. This is the blind spot for the auxiliary chip signal.”
“Understood.”
Chi Lei’s movements were quick. He glanced at the machine in the dark and quickly found their target—an organic matter printer with flashing lights, and the connected sink was full of tiny water bubbles.
Putting down his backpack, Chi Lei held a small screwdriver in his mouth, and cut the metal skin like leather, exposing part of the circuit board. He quickly twisted a few wires and connected them to a small test tube with wires in it. With Zhang Yazhe as lookout, Chi Lei didn’t even bother checking his surroundings.
He summoned the auxiliary machine, and the abundant power made the printer screen light up. Chi Lei quickly entered the data, and the printer let out low beeps.
“There’s still six and a half minutes,” Zhang Yazhe prompted.
In the window above the two of them, Ruan Xian held his breath—
The outline of a person gradually appeared in the sink, starting with his feet, then his legs, crotch, abdomen, and chest. Like an old-fashioned 3D printer, a human body was being constructed layer by layer.
However, when the printing progress extended to his neck, Chi Lei moved again.
The printing stopped abruptly. The sink opened, and a human body without a head was drenched and drawn out of the chute.
“There are five minutes left.” Chi Lei glanced at the time and kept the machine in the starting state. “Lao Zhang, switch.”
Zhang Yazhe took out his pocketknife, smoothly took the suitcase-like object on the auxiliary machine, and opened it wide. There were multiple compartments in the box, and each compartment was full of liquid. They were folded inward like mercury, and the faint bright blue halo broke through the darkness.
“Yo, it’s an antique. Nanorobot α-092? Which version?” Chi Lei tore off something like a water bag from the auxiliary machine.
“Talk less and help.”
Chi Lei breathed a sigh of relief and held down the headless body.
Zhang Yazhe moved quickly. He cut open the chest and abdomen of the body, causing the headless body to twitch a few times, and soon it stopped moving. As the blade wove, fresh organs were stuffed into the suitcase one by one and quickly submerged in liquid.
“Has the blood been collected yet? It’s useful for surgery.” Zhang Yazhe wiped the blood from his hands and closed the suitcase.
“It’s collected. There’s still a minute and a half left. I’ll decompose the remnants.” Chi Lei tied the filled “water bag” back to the auxiliary machine, manipulated the chute to rise, and the blood-soaked empty shell was poured back into the sink. The remaining flesh hissed and dissolved as if it had been submerged in strong acid.
“It’s done. Let’s go.”
“Lao Zhang, something is wrong.” Chi Lei frowned.
“What?”
“The feedback data seems to be a bit abnormal.” Instead of turning off the machine, Chi Lei quickly looked up the historical data.
“There’s one minute left.”
“There’s still time, there’s still time—Lao Zhang, Tian He’s sample data has been corrected just now. The sample seemed to be a little contaminated, and the machine filtered out the impurity of the data.” Chi Lei’s voice shook a little. “But without Tian He’s complete body data for comparison, it’s impossible to tell what the error is. It’s just a printer…”
“As long as the organs are fine, Lao Chi, let’s get out of here first.”
Chi Lei touched the operation interface of the machine with his hand, skillfully connected the electronic wristband to the printer hardware, and began to crack it quickly. “I have to make sure. In case there is a problem with the printing, this trip will be in vain. Give me some time, we can’t hurt the boss…”
He suddenly froze.
He didn’t know what the hacking command triggered, but the circuit board suddenly emitted a few traces of green smoke. With a beep, the originally dark space was instantly brightly lit. Heavy steel plates instantly fell at the entrance, and all the silent machinery started at the same time. It seemed that the place was filled with thousands of hornet’s nests in an instant, as the entire space was filled with buzzing sounds.
The space here was much larger than they thought.
The depths of the darkness, where no light could be seen day or night, were illuminated by lights. Cylindrical glass silos, like can drinks on a shelf, were neatly built together. Human bodies floated inside each glass bin. Men and women with their eyes tightly closed and their heads showing a bit of pink brain tissue—cybernetic brains that weren’t like androids but were filled with fine connecting wires.
The familiar faces were all there, and there were many copies. The elites of the refuge, accompanied by countless “selves”, slept quietly in the glass warehouse.
“At this point, do you still plan to join Zhang Yazhe and the others in ‘saving’ Tian He?” After returning to the small room in the refuge, Tang Yibu sat down on the hard board bed, patted the side of the bed, and motioned for Ruan Xian to sit down. “If they can’t transplant healthy internal organs, Tian He won’t live past this week. They will act soon.”
Ruan Xian didn’t plan to respond to this pet-like gesture. He leaned against the wall of the small room and stared at a certain point in the void without saying a word.
The neglected Tang Yibu stood up and leaned against Ruan Xian’s side. His gaze was burning. “You said, ‘You want to join their actions’, but Tian He, as the individual, wants to die—”
“I remember.” Ruan Xian finally spoke. He lowered his head blankly and activated the electronic wristband again. “Assuming that Zhang Yazhe and the others insist on acting, my thoughts have not changed. Tang Yibu, when were you originally planning to take me away?”
“Not sure. Whenever.”
“Good.” Ruan Xian zoomed in on the light screen in front of him and quickly tapped the virtual keyboard.
The rapidly refreshing text lit up Ruan Xian’s face. He was cracking the program intently, moving fast and gracefully, like a kingfisher skimming over the water. After entering the final command, he raised his hands and pressed the OK button.
A few seconds later.
Qiu Yue still boiled sweet rice soup in the end. Tian He drank a few spoonfuls. The rice soup was silky and sweet, but he couldn’t wash away the bitterness in his mouth. He glanced at the light screen wearily, as if he was trying to imprint every corner of the shelter into his mind.
Suddenly, a message popped up, and Tian He lifted his eyes.
[The truth about the refuge and your replacement. Talk more about it tonight at 21:00, ward.] The message was followed by Zhang Yazhe’s signature.
Tian He smiled weakly and simply replied, “Okay”. Besides, he could only live for a few more days. This, undoubtedly, was a good opportunity to explain the future to the next leader.
Zhang Yazhe came as promised, with a solemn expression.
“Don’t you have anything you want to say to me, Lao Zhang?” Tian He said it with a flat tone as he held the sweet rice soup that had gone cold.
“I never thought you were… Boss, what the hell…”
“That’s what you know. When did you find out?” Tian He stirred the milky white soup with a spoon and didn’t look at Zhang Yazhe’s eyes again.
Zhang Yazhe let out a sigh, looking surprised and confused. “You were the one who sent me the message telling me that you were replaced by MUL-01 as a replicator. I…”
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Yazhe quickly frowned and tightened his body. “Boss, is this a game?”
Tian He didn’t look shaken at all. His face flashed with a trace of surprise, and he soon calmed down again. “Well, I’ll have Xiao Guan check it out later. Anyway, facts are facts, so it doesn’t matter if this is a game or not. You’re here now, and I just want to explain the situation.”
“Are you really…?!”
“Well, I have been replaced by the Mainbrain twice, or rather, I have recorded it twice.” Tian He squeezed the edge of the bowl tightly. “I can’t get over this problem. The shelter has stabilized in previous years, so I can’t linger in the sickbay for too long. Anyway, MUL-01 will find a way to replace me, so let’s make it easier… Lao Zhang, in fact, you have noticed it more or less, right? Anyone who has little ability has a surprisingly hard life.”
“…Yes.” Zhang Yazhe pulled a chair for himself and propped his hands on his forehead. “The veterans are too lucky. It’s fine to overlook them surviving a major disaster once or twice. If this happens numerous times… I think those who are older have become a little more aware of it, but people don’t want to think about it. Professor Ruan clearly promised—”
“He should have only told Guan Haiming, and I only found out about it later. It’s not easy for Xiao Guan. I know that kind of pressure. Think about it, if everyone knew they were being kept in a cage for observation by MUL-01, and the friends and families around them didn’t know how many times they’ve been replaced, this place would be in total chaos.”
Tian He’s voice carried a bit of disheartened indifference.
“Lao Zhang, Qiu Yue took my healthy tissue the other day. Did she ask you to go to the city to make internal organs? Don’t lie to me, I can guess.”
“…” Zhang Yazhe didn’t say a word but exhaled tremblingly.
“You don’t need to save me. Let me go.” Tian He let out a few muddy coughs. “The last two years, the refuge has become too stable. It’s estimated that there’s not much observation value left. The changes these days are probably a hint from MUL-01. My leadership must come to an end. There must be new changes in the refuge to facilitate it… so it can continue to be observed.”
The last few words were squeezed out sharply from between Tian He’s teeth.
“You can’t just listen to the Mainbrain—”
“Lao Zhang, you have seen what it looks like on the other side of the dead wall. The world outside has gone crazy. Everyone needs a stable organization with trustworthy leadership. Xiao Li’s son and Lao Xing’s daughter have just been born, and Lao Gao is still taking care of those underage children. If you tell them and the shelter collapses, where can they go?” Seeing Zhang Yazhe fall into silence, Tian He smiled bitterly.
“What exactly does MUL-01 want?” Zhang Yazhe’s voice shook a little.
“It may be information about human resistant behavior, or it may be information about our survival skills. Anyway, it didn’t do more than that. As a product of being copied, I know very well in my heart that I still love this refuge… and my wife.”
“If you leave, what will Qiu Yue do?”
Tian He didn’t answer, but swallowed the sweet rice soup one bite at a time. His hand shook like a sieve, and the spoon in his hand knocked against the edge of the bowl with a clatter.
When he spoke again, he had already changed the topic.
“Let’s get back to business. Zhang Yazhe, I have watched you for so many years… Let’s count this current me as watching you for so many years. You’re a very capable person. I hope you can inherit my position. Sorry, Lao Zhang, but you need to know the truth so that you can better deploy personnel in the future.”
“Personnel deployment?” Zhang Yazhe said, slowly. “Boss, tell me the truth. I died too, haven’t I? My fucking luck from childhood to adulthood wasn’t as good as these past few years!”
“There are tasks that only you can do, and I know you will come back.” Tian He closed his eyes. “Sorry.”
Zhang Yazhe was silent for a long time.
“You haven’t wronged me.” About two minutes later, he responded with a hoarse voice. “I am Zhang Yazhe and you are Tian He. Do you remember when we first met seven years ago?”
“I remember. Your hair looked like a bird’s nest at the time.” Tian He smiled, his voice softened.
“At this point, how can you say things like ‘no need to save me’? I don’t care how many times I have died or how many times you have died. You’re the fucking leader that I know! You remember everyone in the refuge, right? You, no, you… Fuck, I feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s good to have that thought.” Tian He placed the empty soup bowl by the bed and looked at the tiny blue flowers in the light. “I just… don’t think the same way you do. Lao Zhang, promise me that tomorrow I will simply announce this matter, and then hand over the leadership to you. You go back and prepare to take over the day after tomorrow. I still have a few days left in this body, so if anything is not clear by then…”
“Okay, I promise you,” Zhang Yazhe suddenly said.
Tian He stopped talking, and for the first time, showed an obvious expression of surprise.
“My thoughts are indeed different from yours.” Zhang Yazhe seemed to calm down. “Isn’t that good? At least until that bastard Mainbrain gets tired of it, I, Zhang Yazhe, will protect this place as much as I can, and if this me is gone, the next one will still continue. I won’t run away like you, and I won’t tell anyone about it.”
“Lao Zhang…”
“That’s it. I’m going to smoke some cigarettes to calm down. Boss, don’t forget to contact Xiao Guan. The person who set this up knows about this and must be found. MUL-01 will not use such a human approach. It’s enough for it to quietly wait for you to die.”
Having said that, Zhang Yazhe strode out of the door without looking back.
“How terrible.” Ruan Xian, who was in the corridor of the medical ward, frowned.
“In my opinion, the matter has been resolved well. Zhang Yazhe’s thoughts are similar to mine—he doesn’t think that being copied will have any adverse effects. Now he’s willing to inherit the refuge, which is the best result.” Tang Yibu approached leisurely.
“The problem is here.” Ruan Xian strode to his room. “Tang Yibu, locate Ding Zepeng and Chi Lei.”
“Lobby.”
“Where’s Zhang Yazhe?”
“Heading towards them.”
“They should be in the dormitory at this time. I think they will act tonight. It was my forged information that disrupted Zhang Yazhe’s plan.”
“If there are unexpected factors, Zhang Yazhe usually adjusts the time and makes a new plan.”
“He won’t today.” Ruan Xian rushed into the room, equipped with a blood gun, and picked up the backpack he had already prepared. “Because Zhang Yazhe now knows that they will definitely ‘never die’. In his concept, Tian He is the one who really has a crisis of death. He calmed down too quickly just now. This isn’t normal.”
“…Then why are you following?”
Ruan Xian’s movements stopped for a few seconds. “No one is ‘immortal’, Tang Yibu.”
“You seem to know humans well.” Tang Yibu stretched out his hand and helped Ruan Xian tidy up his collar.
“It’s just that I’m more proficient in observing words and expressions.” Ruan Xian snatched back his collar uncomfortably. “Go, keep up with them.”
Tang Yibu didn’t move. “You are also very human-like.”
Ruan Xian’s heart tightened. Before he could spit out the words used to remedy it, Tang Yibu continued on his own.
“…It’s very interesting to observe,” he said with a smile as his golden eyes gleamed. “Come, I’ll carry you.”
Zhang Yazhe and his team rode their hoverbikes breaking through the deep night and rushed towards the brightly lit AI city. Ruan Xian, who was carried by Tang Yibu, followed closely behind the three of them. The cold wind swept across his cheeks. The thick, warm body of the man in front of him had taunt muscles full of strength.
In a trance, it gave him the illusion of a kindred spirit.
“Why do you observe humans?” The moment Ruan Xian realized it, the question had already blurted out.
He subconsciously wanted to turn his head, but found that he couldn’t move at all, then realized that he in fact had no body.
Yamamoto Kiyoshi’s blood-red eyes turned and fell on Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan.
“You found a body for me? The woman is too fat, but the man will do. Let me use him!”
Hong Rui’s body shook. He suppressed the fear and kept silent as he lowered his body and didn’t dare to move.
Then he heard Songen’s gentle voice say, “You almost lost your soul. The problem isn’t your body. With this, you can’t be like normal people, so don’t give them any ideas.”
Hong Rui breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily as his body had almost collapsed.
He didn’t care that the word “useful” was equivalent to an insult to him. The most important thing at that moment was to escape.
No one knew better than him how Songen’s methods were, and he didn’t want these methods to be used on him one day.
It was purely accidental that he would get to know this witch doctor. At that time, he and his business rival, Lin Ji, were competing for a piece of land in the south. In terms of contacts and financial resources, the Lin family from Lingnan oppressed him. Hong Rui had prepared for that piece of land for a long time but had to hand it over to the Lins in vain. Naturally, he was unwilling. At that time, Dong Qiaolan introduced him to Master Songen. The other party claimed he could make Lin Ji automatically withdraw. Hong Rui was half-convinced, but it didn’t take long for him to hear that Lin Ji had fallen ill, and the Lin family was exhausted trying to find a cure for him. As a result, the battle for the land naturally ended with him unscathed. Hong Rui had successfully won the land and taken his career to the next level.
From then on, he worshipped Songen and respected him like a god. After that, whenever he asked for something, Songen would take action to ensure he got what he wanted.
A local friend in Thailand once told Hong Rui that witchcraft was extremely popular in Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. There were countless sects of witchcraft, and Songen was among the top that specialized in black magic. He was ruthless and excellent with his means and had all kinds of spells readily at his fingertips. Not to mention ordinary people, even other witches and witch doctors were unwilling to easily offend him. This made Hong Rui more awe of Songen and he would never dare to offend.
Songen told Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan that he himself was a servant of Lord Mara. When Lord Mara woke up from his deep sleep, he would need a suitable body. He asked them if they were willing to assist him. If they were willing to help, when Lord Mara completely resurrected, they would be granted supreme power.
A status that is above all others or countless amounts of money would be readily available to them.
As a businessman who by nature chased interests, Hong Rui wasn’t willing to agree to this illusory request for an unknown date, but he didn’t dare disobey Songen. In contrast, Dong Qiaolan was much more pious than him. After she went back, she carefully selected the “vessel” for Lord Mara and eventually chose Han Qi.
As Han Qi’s former agent, Dong Qiaolan, was privy to all her private information. She sent this to Songen, who was satisfied, so without Han Qi’s knowledge, a conspiracy was tailored for her.
Dong Qiaolan first brought Han Qi, who was troubled by the entanglement of the infant spirit, to Songen. Songen personally looked at it and helped her expel the infant spirit, locked it in the jade charm, and painted her a bright future. After returning, Han Qi’s career drastically improve, with the secret support from Hong Rui. She then met Hong Rui, who was considerate and affectionate towards her, and she began to trust Songen, and gradually became convinced. After Han Qi got pregnant, Hong Rui also took her to Songen, who injected her with traces of qi and told her that her birth would bring her blessings and would make her immeasurably rich in the future, so she should take good care of it.
Han Qi believed it and was full of expectations for the fetus she was carrying, until she had a little accident at this time.
Her expectation of the child affected the infant spirit, whose soul was locked into the jade charm. That infant spirit was the one she had aborted in the past. Seeing that its mother had used it as a tool and loved the current child, it couldn’t help but become full of resentment, and it finally broke through the jade charm’s restraints, leading to the changes that occurred on the plane and also to a series of later events.
Naturally, Hong Rui didn’t know that Dong Zhi had inadvertently destroyed Songen’s arrangement for Han Qi. He only knew that Songen was ruthless and vicious, and now that he had broken Songen’s plans, he might also be punished. Since he was born, he had never been as worried and frightened as now.
But Songen ignored him and was still talking to the head.
“I told you a long time ago that China is full of capable people, and you can’t easily provoke them. You don’t listen to advice and just go there to kill people. This time, you were taught a lesson,” Songen said.
“I could have brought back the souls of a few cultivators that are adults, but I didn’t expect to be spoiled by one person. When I find a body, I’ll go to him and break all his bones!”
Yamamoto Kiyoshi’s cruel and distorted expression made Dong Qiaolan tremble when she saw it, and she hurriedly lowered her body and didn’t dare to look at it again.
Songen: “What’s that person’s name?”
Yamamoto paused and said, “They’re Chinese, named Dong and Zhi!”
Puppetry was actually a combination of yin and yang techniques and witchcraft.
Although Yamamoto was lucky enough to escape Dong Zhi’s sword, his body was already dead. At a critical moment, he could only steal the dragon and turn the phoenix* to save his current head.
*(偷龙转凤) Refers to using despicable means to exchange the original product with a fake one to deceive people.
All his cultivation base had been destroyed, and now he didn’t even know if he could find a suitable body to come back from the dead. Yamamoto could only stay in this dark little house every day and survive. It was no wonder he was about to collapse and go crazy.
Songen’s expression moved slightly. “I remember you had an accident in Lucheng, China?”
He turned to Hong Rui. “Do you know where Han Qi is these days?”
Dong Qiaolan looked confused.
Hong Rui thought about it carefully and said cautiously, “Before I went abroad, I seemed to have heard that she was filming in Lucheng.”
Songen looked at Yamamoto and smiled calmly. “It seems that this isn’t a coincidence. I didn’t expect it to be wrong. However, you don’t have to be angry. I think your hatred will be avenged soon.”
Yamamoto was extremely upset. “Now I want to know when you’ll find me a body!”
Songen comforted him. “Don’t worry. Even if you can’t find a suitable body, you can certainly be reshaped when Lord Mara is resurrected.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Songen’s expression suddenly changed. His eyes looked straight ahead, but there was no focus. It seemed as if he was looking at something in the distance through Yamamoto.
After a while, his body relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Hong Rui, “My lord wants to see you.”
Hong Rui couldn’t believe his ears. He thought he had heard it wrong.
“Yes, that great one?”
He didn’t even dare to say his name, not out of respect, but fear. The sense of fear that spawned from the bones.
Songen, however, wasn’t afraid to say the name. He smiled gently at him. “Yes, Lord Mara. How lucky you are.”
Hong Rui didn’t feel fortunate. He only felt scared, but he didn’t dare disobey Songen. He began to regret it deeply. He regretted that he shouldn’t have obeyed Dong Qiaolan’s temptation and set foot on this pirate ship in the first place, but now this ship had sailed into the vast sea. If he wanted to disembark, he would only drown.
He had an intuition that it wasn’t a good thing for Lord Mara to summon him. This intuition came from human hunting instincts for millions of years. However, Hong Rui knew that he couldn’t back down. He could only slow down as much as possible, in return for the subtle hope that the great one would change his mind in the next moment. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but secretly look back at Dong Qiaolan, hoping that the other party would suddenly make some noise, so he didn’t have to go and become an audience.
Songen smiled when he saw his small movements. Instead of interrupting him, he watched with great interest.
Hong Rui was taken aback by a cold snort. He raised his head and saw that the human head was staring at him, showing a kind of malicious look. He couldn’t help but feel a sudden shock, but he didn’t dare linger any longer, so he quickly got up and followed Songen.
In another passageway.
In fact, the surrounding scenery wasn’t bad, with green mountains and water, banana leaves swaying gently in the wind, and white clouds floated overhead, revealing the blue sky from behind them.
But Hong Rui was sweating coldly, and he didn’t have the heart to see anything at all. He was just thinking about how he could deal with this situation.
He had wandered in political and business circles and seen many big leagues, but what he was about to face was already beyond the scope of humans. With mysterious and unpredictable power, it could help lift him to the heavens but also instantly beat him down to hell, making his life worse than death.
“Master Song—Songen, later…” Hong Rui couldn’t help asking.
“Shh.” Songen made a gesture, and Hong Rui immediately fell silent, not daring to go on.
They have reached their destination.
The entire room in front of him, which was tightly covered by a black veil, was the place where the soul of the heavenly demon was nurtured.
Hong Rui thought fancifully that this place was located on the border and belonged to a zone that no one cared about. It was surrounded by dense jungle that covered and blocked out the sun. Coming here, let alone a road sign, if there were no locals to lead the way, one would definitely get lost and die out here. Even though satellite positioning may not be able to find this forgotten corner, this place wasn’t completely isolated from the world. The needs of resources could always be moved from the prosperous world outside at any time through Songen and his servants. Perhaps it was precisely this that the great one chose to be reborn here.
There was only a moment of distraction. When Songen uncovered the corner of the black veil and bent over to enter, Hong Rui immediately withdrew his attention and followed Songen’s example. He cautiously leaned into the room from the small corner that was uncovered.
Fragrance overwhelmed him.
The light in the house was very dark, and a few candles swayed unsteadily, but the aroma was a hundred times stronger than when he first entered the stockade. It penetrated all the organs Hong Rui used to communicate with the outside world and almost choked him out of breath. After trying to control his cough, he felt dizzy, and his hands and feet went soft.
There were many things scattered inside, including glass jars containing various animals such as snakes, scorpions, insects, rats, and other animals that Hong Rui couldn’t name and didn’t know what their purpose were. He just thought everything was strange. Of course, since entering the stockade, all the furnishings were weird, as the world of this witch doctor was very different from ordinary people.
On one side, there was a jar that was smaller than a pot but larger than an average jar. A middle-aged man was sitting next to it. In the dark, he could make out the typical Southeast Asian appearance; that was, his cheekbones were relatively high, his eyes were somewhat concave, but his entire body was completely wooden, and he wasn’t sure if this man was dead or alive.
Then Songen knelt down towards the jar, with his forehead against the floor, and said something in a weird tone that Hong Rui couldn’t understand.
Hong Rui didn’t dare to look too much, so he followed Songen, kneeling on the ground like him.
A series of long and fast words burst out of Songen’s mouth. Hong Rui was confused, but he suddenly felt something moving ahead. His curiosity was overwhelmed, and he quietly looked up and glanced at it from the corner of his eyes. He saw a black mist vaguely rising from the jar, getting thicker before it finally jumped into the nostrils of the man next to it.
The man’s body shook slightly.
In the dim light, his expression seemed to be distorted. His eyes turned white, and the corner of his mouth pulled out a cold arc. Hong Rui dared not take a closer look and hurriedly lowered his head.
He heard a strange voice, as hoarse as sandpaper grinding on an object.
“Tell me what happened outside.”
Hong Rui was able to understand it. The sound hammered heavily in his heart, shaking his body. His heart ached, and his throat was bursting with heat. He was dizzy and his brain swelled. He couldn’t help covering his mouth for fear that there would be blood coming out.
He felt that the burning gaze fell on him, like a hunter looking at prey at his fingertips.
Songen lowered his body even more.
“Lord Mara is here. Your devout servant, Songen Shawang, sincerely reports to you that, according to the news brought back by Yamamoto, the demon is dead.”
“Dead?”
The strange tone was echoed, as if it came from the mouth of the man sitting but was directly penetrated into one’s eardrums and knocked into the mind. Hong Rui felt even more dizzy, and he didn’t know if it was because he was inhaling too much fragrance.
Songen said respectfully, “Yes, without the command of the Archfiend, all the Sneaky Yaksha seemed to disappear overnight. Although I can still perceive the existence of the remnants of the Archfiend, it will take at least more than a hundred years in the human world for it to reform and take shape.”
“So, what about the earth demon?”
Songen: “There has been frequent movement on Toyo side recently. It’s said that they have clues from the stone tablets, and Yamamoto said that several groups of Japanese people want to attack them, so I think that earth demons may also awaken.”
“The Archfiend is too useless. You can’t count on it. Since the earth demon is going for the stone tablets, you can provide it with clues about them at the right time. You know what to do.” The man’s mouth opened and closed, conveying a magic voice that sounded like it came from the end of the abyss.
Songen became even more respectful. “Yes, please rest assured. I will never reveal the location of Lord Mara’s place. I am your most loyal servant, my lord. I am dedicated to resurrecting you as soon as possible. No matter the earth demon or Archfiend, they are not the object of my allegiance.”
The man laughed. His laughter was cold and chilling, enough to make a strong man shudder from the bottom of his heart.
Songen trembled slightly involuntarily.
The man said slowly, “You can speak easily now. What if you knew that the earth demon is looking for the stone tablets for a greater goal?”
Songen was so powerful in front of Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan, but he could only shake like a sieve in front of the great one.
“This servant—this servant is stupid and doesn’t understand what your excellency means…”
The man said, “When magic is abundant, it will gush out from the cracks in the ground. The red magic moon will arrive in the world, and the door of the abyss will open again. The earth demon will not submit to me. What he wants to surrender to is—”
He suddenly read a string of very strange characters that Hong Rui didn’t understand. He quietly raised his head and glanced at Songen, guessing that the other party might not understand either.
Although he got a lot of information here, Hong Rui only became more confused.
He knew that this great one was a legendary heavenly demon. After hearing it from Songen last time, he also went back to check the information and found that the heavenly demon was the demon king in Indian Buddhism. He was called Bo Xun or Mara*. From ancient times to the present, he was an extremely powerful monster. It was rumored that there had been many natural and man-made disasters in history that were planned by this demon from behind the shadows.
*Note: In Chinese, Mara is referred to as Bo Xun (波旬) or Bo Beiye (波卑夜). I’m using the translated name Mara for all these instances.
In the past, Hong Rui would scoff at these supernatural legends, but after he met Songen and saw the treacherous scene that could not be described in words with his own eyes, he couldn’t help but believe it.
It was only after listening to the conversation between this great one and Songen that he knew that in addition to the heavenly demons, there were also earth demons and Archfiends in the world.
The Archfiend was now dead, and the earth demon seemed to be looking for stone tablets. This great one wanted to be resurrected as soon as possible. Although it was also a demon, it didn’t seem to be on the same path.
Songen lowered his body. The low words echoed in the space filled with strange aromas.
“No matter how the world changes, no one can match my devotion to you. I will always be loyal to you!”
Hong Rui didn’t dare pretend to be dead, and hurriedly followed up when he heard the words. “Me, me too. I am willing to give everything to your excellency!”
Only then did the man seem to notice him.
The white eyes of the man quivered, and his head turned slightly to stare at Hong Rui.
Songen seemed to feel something and hurriedly said, “This is the person you wanted to see. His name is Hong Rui, a Chinese businessman.”
The man said slowly, “You just said that you are willing to give everything for me?”
Hong Rui was sweating like rain and stammered, “Yes, yes. I am quite successful in business. If you need money…”
“I don’t want money.” The man slowly raised his right hand and pointed at him. “Your body is good. I’m tired of using this one. Lend me your body.”
Hong Rui’s teeth chattered. How could he not know that his loan would not be repaid!
“My lord! Please let me find a better body for you! Stronger and better-looking than me. I can find anything you want!”
The man said gloomily, “I don’t want them. I just want you.”
Without saying a word, Hong Rui got up and turned his head and ran out, but as soon as he ran to the door, he suddenly had an abdominal pain like a strangulation, and he couldn’t take another step. He couldn’t help but scream in pain, bent over, and covered his stomach before rolling directly to the ground.
“Master Songen! Help me! I don’t want to die. Please help me plead with the Great One! I can do anything for you!”
He grabbed Songen’s trousers. His nose was full of snot, and he no longer had the demeanor of a successful person. He was more like a stray dog begging for mercy, begging for others to let him go.
Songen squatted down and shook his head mercifully. “Do you remember the water you drank on the way here just now? You were already hit by a curse at that time. I wasn’t going to let you leave, because if you go back, you’ll definitely be caught. Those who have discovered Han Qi will find clues about the Great One from you. I can’t let you expose my lord.”
He touched Hong Rui’s face, almost gently, but Hong Rui shook even more severely.
“I have done a lot for the great one… Please…”
Hong Rui found that he couldn’t move, so he could only let Songen’s slender hand touch his abdomen as softly as if he was stroking his own child.
The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Songen had torn his shirt open, split his flesh with his hands, and caught a three-meter-long white worm inside.
Hong Rui opened his eyes wide in horror, watching the long worm squirming slowly on the floor after it came out. He felt sick and wanted to vomit and turned his head to spit out a few big mouthfuls of blood on the ground.
“Go to sleep. If you fall asleep, you won’t know anything.” Hong Rui’s last memory was of Songen putting his hand over his eyes.
He wanted to struggle and wanted to escape, but all his actions were beyond his control in the eyes of others.
Hong Rui heard Songen ask, “Does your excellency want to use this body to go out and see the outside world?”
The man said, “No, I just want to change to a more comfortable body. My current strength is not strong enough…”
Hong Rui’s consciousness gradually became chaotic and blurred, his head tilted, he fell softly to the ground, and he never woke up again.
The man watched him completely lose consciousness and couldn’t help but smile happily.
“When the moment comes that the carnival comes to an end, these ant-like humans will crawl under our feet. We will have countless slaves and food. Songen, as my most faithful servant, I will allow you to enjoy all this with me.”
The black mist slowly flowed out of the man’s body, condensed and sank in the air, and gradually penetrated into Hong Rui’s hair, skin, and internal organs.
The man who had lost the black mist slumped on the chair as if all his bones were taken away, while Hong Rui slowly opened his blood-red eyes.
“Yes, thank you, my lord, for your gift.” Songen knelt down on the ground and kissed his feet.
Dong Qiaolan waited outside. From when the sun was still in the middle of the sky to the evening, Hong Rui and Songen hadn’t returned.
An ominous premonition gradually rose in her heart. Her palms were sweating, and her anxiety was unbearable.
She wanted to run away, but she dared not because Songen’s apprentice was staring at her coldly.
Seeing the sun set a little bit, the already dim room lost the last bit of natural light.
The head on the table suddenly sneered, “Do you want to run?”
Dong Qiaolan trembled slightly and hurriedly pulled out a reluctant smile. “No, I dare not…”
Yamamoto snickered and smiled strangely. “Your companion won’t come back anymore. I don’t know if you will survive tonight.”
Dong Qiaolan’s face turned pale as she flopped on the ground and began pleading with Yamamoto and Songen’s apprentice. “Masters, I have always been loyal to the master and have introduced many guests to him and taken no credit for the hard work. I—I will help the master do more things in the future!”
Yamamoto said coldly, “The person surnamed Dong is from the Special Administration Bureau. They found Han Qi, and they will find you sooner or later. If you go back, you will be caught!”
Dong Qiaolan murmured, “I will be very careful. I can change my name…”
Yamamoto laughed. “Why bother? Just stay here. I guess Songen won’t mind another vessel to practice his witchcraft on, right, Songen?”
He said to the person behind Dong Qiaolan. Dong Qiaolan subconsciously looked back, and as a result her head spun so fast that her body directly fell to the ground.
Songen stepped in from the outside.
“My lord said Hong Rui’s body is better than the original one.”
Yamamoto Kiyoshi turned his eyes. Now he only had his head left, and even the perspective of his body was limited, so he wasn’t used to it.
“Where’s my body? When will it be ready for me!”
Songen said lightly. “Your soul is severely damaged. Even if you have a body now, it’s useless. You should recuperate here. Maybe you can return to business as usual in three years.”
Yamamoto said irritably, “Three years! I have to wait three years?! If it weren’t for that person surnamed Dong, how could I become like this now! I want him to die! Died a hundred times worse than me! No, I want his body. Just let him be my new body!”
“What’s the use of yelling at me?” Even though he was furious, Songen remained calm and ordered his disciple, “Zabigan, send this woman to me. My spell is just short one last prop.”
The obedient disciple nodded slightly, got up, and dragged Dong Qiaolan away. The woman, weighing more than three hundred kilograms, was dragged away by him with one hand, without any effort.
—
Lucheng.
It was another fine day.
When most of the north had already begun to snow, there was still a slight warmth from the sea breeze. The fallen leaves weren’t necessarily withered and yellow, and the branches were still full of green, making people suspect that winter wasn’t coming, but spring.
Without the dry sand, dust, and haze, there was only the fragrance of flowers and the faint smell of the sea. Both Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo yawned at the same time, trying their best to curb the drowsiness caused by the afternoon sun on their bodies.
It was just that one person was lying down, and the other was still sitting in front of the computer, typing a report.
Liu Qingbo couldn’t help but show a blank look at Dong Zhi. “You’re so relaxed. As a leader, you don’t have to do anything!”
Dong Zhi yawned again, pulling up the thin blanket a little.
“Who said I don’t have anything to do? Without me, can we change to a new office so quickly?”
The author has something to say:
The most terrifying thing in the world is nothing more than greed that blinds your eyes, and it is difficult to turn back.
Do you remember Lin Xuan? The Lin family in Lingnan, where his father was cursed by witchcraft. Now the causes and consequences are connected…
Kinky Thoughts:
Lin Xuan appears in chapter 50. He helped the Japanese kidnap Dong Zhi. He tried to get dragon powder to save his father who’s been cursed by witchcraft. Now we know who’s behind it.
The police noticed the seriousness of the matter. Director Zheng came in person, and Mu Duo and Zhang Chong also arrived afterwards.
Dong Zhi was now the person in charge of the Special Administration Bureau in Lucheng. Although there was still the word “temporary” in front of the title, even so, he could make decisions on all matters under the jurisdiction of the Bureau in Lucheng. After consultation, both parties decided to cooperate in this case.
The scene was blocked, including the blood mass born from Han Qi’s abortion. Due to the unconventional aspects involved, it was brought back to the Special Administration Bureau for investigation.
On the other hand, they took statements from unrelated personnel, the focus being on Han Qi, since everything was related to her. Unfortunately, she was now in a serious coma and had to be transported to the hospital for rescue. If they wanted to ask her about the case, they needed to wait until the danger period had passed. Other people in the crew, including Han Qi’s assistant, were all key figures who may know more about the case. The ministry had to ask again for Mu Duo and the others to cooperate with the police to conduct a joint investigation.
Chen Guoliang was also taken away by the police for ideological education.
Zhang Han, Luo Nanfang, Boss Zhao, Hui Yiguang, and others were personally questioned by Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo.
The Lucheng office was so dilapidated that it was too embarrassing to bring them over, and for fear of damaging the country’s image, Director Zheng empathetically lent them a conference room with bright windows at the police office.
Boss Zhao was so rich and magnanimous that he immediately opened a room for them all and asked his subordinates to buy everyone new sets of clothing according to each person’s size, so that everyone could wash off the blood from their bodies and change into nice fresh outfits.
Two hours later, everyone finally washed up and gathered in the conference room.
Boss Zhao was impatient, and after holding back his curiosity for a long time, he couldn’t resist any longer. “Master, what the hell is going on?!”
Dong Zhi asked rhetorically, “Has Han Qi been pregnant once before?”
Boss Zhao shook his head blankly.
Hui Yiguang thought for a moment and said, “Three years ago, I seemed to have heard such rumors, and I also heard that this child seemed to belong to Zhong Huan.”
Zhong Huan was also a well-known male artist, but not as famous as Han Qi. He was on the rise, and his popularity was very high. Male stars generally had a longer shelf life, so it was conceivable that if there were no accidents, he would spend a long time in the circle in the future.
Hearing the name, Boss Zhao let out a long, gossipy tone. Seeing Liu Qingbo give him the stink eye, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand and indicated that he wasn’t making trouble.
Hui Yiguang said, “But you also know that there are many such rumors in the circles, some of which are false accusations mixed with truths and lies, so many people didn’t take it seriously, but her assistant and agent should know better.”
Dong Zhi nodded. “We will confirm this matter. I invited you here mainly to ask you one thing. Do you remember what you said before the black mist was wiped out by us?”
Zhang Han hesitated for a moment. “Yes! I thought I was just hearing things at first, but it seems to say… that it will make you—”
“Will taste the anger of destruction!” Although Luo Nanfang was old, he still had a very good memory.”
Zhang Yan: “Yes, that’s it, but there was also a string of notes in front of it. It was too long to remember!”
Dong Zhi said, “I hope you can recall the transliteration of that string of notes as much as possible. Even if you only remember a few characters.”
He and Liu Qingbo had a good memory, but they were busy at that time, and the notes were very long. They weren’t in English or Chinese, so even Dong Zhi wasn’t exactly sure he could remember them clearly, so he invited everyone present to come over to help recall them together.
Everyone began to rack their brains to recall at least one or two characters of what they heard.
But Mu Duo’s side had the echo first.
Han Qi was still under the operating table. The amount of bleeding was so great that it took a whole night for her to be discovered. It was unknown whether she would survive. Han Qi’s assistant fell to the ground last time and had glass shards embedded in her face. One of her eyes was almost blinded by it. After the operation, she was currently recuperating in the hospital, but she was still sane and could accept inquiries.
After asking, Mu Duo really found that Han Qi’s assistant had some inside information.
Three years ago, Han Qi really had an underground love affair with Zhong Huan. Later, the two broke up, and Han Qi miscarried the child. During that time, she was in a bad mood and was always suspicious. She felt that the child’s grievances were still lingering around her, so she became violent and lashed out a lot. Even her assistant wasn’t spared. Han Qi’s career had dropped into a downward spiral until she was introduced by a friend to a master named Songen in Thailand.
At that time, only Han Qi and her friend were there. The assistant didn’t follow. It wasn’t clear what they said when they met the master. She only knew that Han Qi was in a much better mood after she came back. She started talking and laughing, and her attitude towards her assistant was no longer harsh and irritable as before. After returning home, Han Qi’s career improved again, and she rose up the ladder, eventually meeting Mr. Hong.
“Wait, you said Mr. Hong?” When she heard this, Mu Duo couldn’t help but interrupt her.
The assistant nodded. “Hong Rui, the boss of Renhe International.”
This person was well-known, had invested a lot in real estate in the entertainment industry, and his industry net worth had attracted many people’s attention, which was why Mu Duo had naturally heard of him.
“How did Mr. Hong meet Han Qi?”
The assistant said, “Through the introduction of a friend. She met him at a dinner party. Oh, that’s right, that friend was also the same one who took Han Jie to Thailand. Her name is Dong Qiaolan, and she’s Han Jie’s former agent. I heard that the two had a good personal relationship, and they have been in contact since the termination of her contract.”
“What happened later?” Mu Duo subconsciously felt that everything was inseparable from Dong Qiaolan and even Hong Rui.
Assistant: “Later, Han Jie told me privately that Master Songen was really powerful. What he said would come true. She was able to walk with Mr. Hong and her pregnancy came earlier than expected. Thanks to the blessing of the master and the protection charm, her career became smooth sailing.”
Mu Duo: “So she was pregnant for a second time and the child belongs to Mr. Hong?”
The assistant nodded. “But recently, Han Jie has become suspicious again. She said that the dead child came back and that the master couldn’t calm the child. She was very scared. On the plane we were on that was flying to Lucheng, something almost happened.”
Mu Duo: “Does Mr. Hong plan to marry Han Qi?”
Assistant: “I don’t know about this, but Han Jie wasn’t in a good mood. Maybe she encountered something unpleasant on Mr. Hong’s side… I remember! She also said that the master said that the child she was now pregnant with was a blessing and would bring her good luck, fortune, and fame. The other child from before was unwilling to let go and wanted to come back to harm both mother and son.”
When she spoke of this, the assistant had a look of fear on her face. “I think Han Jie may have gone crazy.”
Seeing that Mu Duo couldn’t get any more information, she asked the police’s help to find Dong Qiolan and Hong Rui, while reporting what she found out from the assistant to Dong Zhi.
At that moment, Dong Zhi put down the phone and said to Boss Zhao, who was sitting to his right, “Do you remember?”
Boss Zhao nodded. “It seemed to be saying something like… Pasha Maha!”
Dong Zhi frowned. “Are you sure?”
Boss Zhao said aggrievedly, “That syllable is too long, and it fluctuates and is strange. I was so scared at that moment that I really couldn’t remember it.”
Liu Qingbo: “What I heard was, Saha Vima, but the ending was jumping too fast, so I couldn’t hear it clearly.”
Zhang Yan and Luo Nanfang also recalled the musical notes they had heard separately, and Dong Zhi recorded what they said one by one.
Finally, it was Hui Yiguang. She said, “I’m the opposite of you. I don’t remember the previous one, but the last part seems to be Bhatti.”
“Pasha, Saha, Vima, Maha, Bhatti.” Dong Zhi dotted his handwriting with a pen.
Liu Qingbo asked, “Then what did you hear?”
Dong Zhi hesitated. “What I heard seemed to be polo…ty, it was too fast in the middle, that I forgot.”
Boss Zhao said, “It’s not like English. Is it French or something?”
Liu Qingbo shook his head. “I’m sure it’s not French, German, or Spanish.”
Dong Zhi said, “Well, everyone, read what you heard accurately. I will record it for you and then ask a linguist later. It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember it well, but you have to speak clearly.”
Boss Zhao suddenly raised his hand and said, “Master, I know a linguist, but in Beijing. If it’s convenient for you, I will contact him right now. We can do a remote video?”
Since the battle at the hotel, Boss Zhao had also seen among these people in the flower stand who really had true ability. For example, Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi who killed such a ferocious evil thing. Even the police were polite to them. They seemed to have deep backgrounds, so he wanted to chummy up with them. It was estimated that if Dong Zhi wanted the stars in the sky, he would be the first to rush up to buy a rocket for him.
Liu Qingbo said, “We want real linguistics experts, not fakers!”
Boss Zhao laughed, “Of course, of course!”
He met this expert, whom he mentioned, during a cultural lecture that he attended. Although a businessman like Boss Zhao was involved in the entertainment industry, there was still a large gap between them and the real cultural world. Coincidentally, the lecture happened to be sponsored by him. As such, he had a meal with the scholars and had to endure a painful conversation that made no sense to him. Finally, he got the scholars’ numbers, which he thought he would never dial.
However, life was indeed wonderful, and now that number came in handy today. Boss Zhao got through the phone and gave a brief overview—Of course he was smart and omitted all the sections about demons and monsters and only said that he heard something, but it was difficult to recognize what language the other party was speaking. He wanted to ask some experts and scholars for help. The scholars naturally agreed in light of his previous sponsorship, so he connected immediately to a remote video conference.
Dong Zhi and the people there took turns saying the notes that they heard. The four experts at the end of the video lowered their heads and thought for a while, and then each gave their own opinions.
Three of them thought the language was Sanskrit, and only one thought it might be ancient Hebrew.
Among the three people who thought it was Sanskrit, an old expert who specializes in Sanskrit lowered the volume of the video with the help of his assistant and said to Dong Zhi, “What you just said isn’t a sentence. It’s probably just a word.”
Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo actually had faint guesses in their hearts. However, guesses are one thing and still need to be verified by the authorities. The words of the old expert undoubtedly further verified their guesses.
The old expert said, “If I guessed correctly, the correct pronunciation should be Pa^pi^yas.”
He paused and read very slowly.
Boss Zhao yelled first, “Yes, that’s right. That’s how I heard it; I remember it!”
Old expert: “This is a god in ancient India. Transliterated, it is Brahavima Vasavati.”
Liu Qingbo curled his lips: “It’s definitely not a good god, is it?”
The old expert said slowly, “This god, translated into Chinese, is Bo Xun*, also known as Mara, is the demon king of the six desires. According to Buddhist scriptures, it likes to obstruct Buddha’s practice the most, and its heart is always full of violent desires and evil thoughts, like thinking it’s fun to destroy the world. So yes, it’s also known as a heavenly demon.”
*Known as Mara, is a celestial king who tempted Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) by trying to seduce him with visions of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara’s daughters. He tries to stop Prince Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment, proclaiming that the seat belongs to him, but in the end fails. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth, and desire.
Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other at the same time, and they both saw undisguised shock in each other’s expressions.
At that moment, the phone rang, and Dong Zhi answered it.
“Mu Duo.”
“Bad news.” Mu Duo seemed to be out of breath. It seems she had been running.
“Tell me,” Dong Zhi said.
His composure seemed to infect Mu Duo. The other party gasped for a moment before she calmed down.
“Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan have disappeared. The entry and exit records show that they took the same flight to Thailand three days ago. We don’t know where they went!”
—
The Thai-Myanmar border was densely forested.
There was a vast tropical rainforest area with diverse biology, changeable climate, and steep terrain. Even the most experienced outdoor backpackers wouldn’t dare set foot here easily, because entering this area meant it was easy to get lost and sick, or buried under the claws of beasts. However, the most dangerous thing was the complex and interlaced forces here. Human trafficking, the production and trade of drugs, illegal armed organizations, and unimaginable dangers and chaos within the peaceful world was staged here every day. The locals would turn pale and weren’t willing to take a step in.
Unknown flying insects skimmed the dense and thick forest leaves, flew low along the dirt road ahead, buzzing past the heads of the three people below.
In front were dark-skinned men and behind them were two well-dressed middle-aged man and woman, who looked out of place. The man was thin and tall, while the women was short and fat. It seemed they had walked for a long time as they were panting currently, and their legs felt as if it had been tied to lead as each step became heavier.
If Han Qi or her assistant were here, they would be quite surprised, as the two people had a very deep relationship with Han Qi.
“Dong, did you bring water? Give me a sip.” Hong Rui swallowed his saliva and felt the burning pain in his throat. Sweat continued to flow out from under their hats, and the poisonous sun seemed to dry out every drop before it even fell.
Dong Qiaolan took out a bottle of mineral water from her satchel, unscrewed the bottle, raised it to her head and drank what little remained, then shook the empty bottle to signal that there was no more water.
“You didn’t even leave me a sip!” Hong Rui said angrily.
If he was still in the city, let alone a bottle of water, he wouldn’t even put ten crates of it in his eyes.
“If I don’t drink water, I will die of thirst!” Dong Qioalan was obese, and she was most afraid of walking a long distance. Unexpectedly, they got off at some unknown small village and had walked for nearly two hours. Before they reached their destination, she was already close to her limits as she was panting more severely than Hong Rui.
“I have water here!”
When the guide heard what they said, he turned his head and handed over his water bottle.
Hong Rui looked at the stains on the bottle in disgust, but in the end, he couldn’t resist his thirst, so he took it and raised his head and took a big sip.
“What did you put in the water?” he asked the guide.
The guide explained in broken English that there was a kind of herbal medicine in it, which was used to quench thirst and cool off, and that it could also prevent mosquitoes.
Hong Rui felt that the water was sweet and delicious, so he asked him when they returned to give him some herbs, and the guide happily agreed.
“Is that the master’s stockade?” Dong Qiaolan suddenly yelled.
“Yes, we’re almost there!”
A word from the guide made them all happy. The two temporarily let go of their fatigue, accelerated their steps, followed the guide, and quickly walked into the stockade.
Hong Rui quenched his thirst and found that after they entered the range of the stockade, the disturbing flying insects above his head seemed to disappear.
Counting this time, he had only been to this stockade twice, and he still felt strange, and there was a faint sense of fear.
Dong Qiaolan should have come more often than he did. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating, but he felt that Dong Qiaolan’s footsteps seemed to have slowed down, and the expression on her face was more cautious.
Hong Rui ran an emporium, so he had met countless people. It stood to reason that he should have cultivated some kung fu on Mount Taishan, but he still had an extraordinary fear here. This feeling was purely derived from the weakness and helplessness of humans in the face of the powerful abilities of the mysterious and unknown realm.
Every time he met with the master, Hong Rui would taste this kind of helplessness and timidity. He couldn’t even have the slightest idea of resisting, so he would only be at his mercy. Of course, this was also something he was willing to do because Master Songen was indeed powerful and could give Hong Rui anything he wanted.
When they stepped into the stockade, they smelled a strange fragrance.
It seemed to permeate everywhere. It wasn’t the smell of sandalwood, but something more intense than that. It made people feel happy and light in their bodies and minds.
There were several stockades scattered around, with the middle being the largest. Around the complex, male and female servants in square skirts could be seen everywhere. They turned a blind eye to Hong Rui and continued doing their own thing. A maid was kneeling outside the stockade, motioning the three of them to take off their shoes and go upstairs.
Hong Rui followed Dong Qiaolan and the guide upstairs. He was a little nervous and wanted to find some clues to reassure him from Dong Qiaolan’s expression, but the other party kept her head down and didn’t give him this opportunity.
The guide opened the bead curtain and entered the hall. Hong Rui followed, and the light suddenly dimmed.
There were two people in the hall.
One person sat cross-legged in the middle, while the other knelt behind him.
The guide knelt down first, then threw himself to the ground as he pounded his head harshly on the floor. His body movements revealed extreme respect and piety.
Both Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan knew him, and they bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Master Songen.”
Songen’s English was much more fluent than Dong Qiaolan’s stumbles, and his voice was also very low, with an undiscernible charm.
He held the incense in his hand and looked at the two uninvited guests, as if he hadn’t expected them.
“It’s not the agreed time yet.”
The house was cool and even a little cold, but Dong Qiaolan sweated more here than outside the house.
She knocked her head first, and then said, “Yes, but it’s like this. Everything was going well on Han Qi’s side, so we came to report to Master and have something to ask Master for guidance.”
Songen: “What?”
Hong Rui hurriedly said, “I originally wanted to coax Han Qi to give birth to the child first, but she insisted on getting married. But if she gave birth… and I marry her, wouldn’t that be a big disrespect? But Han Qi has been unstable lately. I’m afraid it will affect the fetus in her womb. What should I do?”
Songen’s eyes narrowed and when he looked down at them, it was more like he was talking with his eyes closed, but what took Hong Rui and the others by surprise was what he said.
“The fetus has died, and Han Qi is useless.”
Hong Rui’s face changed drastically. “This, this is impossible! I contacted her when I came here three days ago!”
Songen said lightly, “The child she was pregnant with before was locked into a jade charm by me to nourish her current fetus, but the infant spirit kept trying to resist, and this time even joined together with outsiders and strangled the container that nurtured Lord Mara’s demonic energy.”
“Then, what should I do…”
Hong Rui’s face was pale, like a dead man, and he didn’t have the slightest aura of being an all-powerful boss.
Songen closed his eyes. “My loyal tool has landed on the person who destroyed the container, and it will surely cause him to suffer serious consequences, but if it weren’t for your fault, these things wouldn’t have happened.”
Hong Rui kowtowed desperately. “Asking Master for forgiveness! I know I was wrong, and I’ll definitely find a better container for the Lordship again this time!”
Songen: “No, I have found one.”
He opened his eyes and showed a kind smile to Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan.
“Do you want to see it?”
Dong Qiaolan wanted to say no, but she was afraid of offending the master. She glanced at the disorientated Hong Rui and said cautiously, “If Master wants us to open our eyes, we are naturally very honored!”
“Then come with me.” Songen got up and walked in.
“Keep up.” The disciple behind him turned his head and said coldly to the two of them.
Seeing that Hong Rui couldn’t get up, Dong Qiaolan stretched out her hand and pulled him up.
Passing through a walkway, several people came to another room.
The interior of the house was airtight. All the windows were closed, and a layer of black gauze was used to cover them. A row of candles was lit in the surrounding corners, and the reddish candlelight trembled and swayed, like the fire of life would be cut off at any moment, which made people feel suffocated.
Dong Qiaolan was taken aback as soon as she entered the house.
Because the woman facing her was standing in a glass coffin with an unknown yellow liquid flowing inside, wrapping the naked woman inside. She had blond hair and snow-white skin and a perfect body that Dong Qiolan couldn’t help but look a few more times. The more she looked at it, the more she felt that this woman’s beauty didn’t look as if she was a real person. She had been in the entertainment industry for many years and had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of beauties, but no one could match the beauty of this woman. It was so stunning that she couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.
After sighing, she suddenly realized her gaffe and quickly knelt down and said, “Master, I’m sorry, I just lost my manners. It’s really, really…”
“It’s because she’s beautiful, right?” Songen smiled slightly, as if accustomed to her reaction.
Hong Rui also stared, but hearing Songen’s words, he hurriedly forced himself to avert his eyes with difficulty.
Dong Qiaolan nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes! She’s so beautiful that I’m dumbfounded. Truly worthy of your title, as Master can find such a great beauty!”
Songen’s expression was also very satisfied. Looking at the woman’s gaze was like looking at an unblemished work of art.
“I also think that she will be the best vessel to give birth to Lord Mara. A hundred times better than Han Qi.”
Hong Rui wished that the other party would forget about Han Qi and quickly agreed with him. However, Dong Qiaolan couldn’t hear his thoughts and said inappropriately, “That woman Han Qi, is it fine to just leave her alone?”
Songen didn’t answer her question. At this time, there was a low groan from the side. Dong Qiaolan and Hong Rui looked at the source, and their faces suddenly changed in fright. Dong Qiaolan even staggered back a few steps subconsciously and fell heavily to the ground as her fat body couldn’t support the sudden movement.
Hong Rui didn’t have the mind to help the other party because his own reaction was not much worse than Dong Qiaolan’s.
The two of them, one a successful businessman and the other a well-known broker, had seen countless people all over the world. Outside, many people even come to them every day and beg them for things. These two people lived at the top of the pyramid.
But now, they opened their mouths, like frogs on the surface, staring at a certain point in the room without any demeanor at all.
Hong Rui needed to mobilize his own self-control in order to control his urge to run away.
There was a human head on the table.
The other party had an Asian face with slightly long hair and somewhat drooping cheeks. Under normal circumstances, it should look like a charming and handsome face.
But if it was just a simple head, it wouldn’t make Hong Rui and the others, who had seen a lot of the world, so scared.
The eyes on the head were open slightly at this moment, and it was approaching Hong Rui with a strange smile and greeted them.
Under a closer look, the other party’s eyes still rotated, and his face would twitch slightly as if he was no different from a living person…
With the exception that he had no body.
If Dong Zhi and Mu Duo were here, they would recognize this old acquaintance right away.
“Is it better?”
Songen was accustomed to the existence of this human head, and his tone was kind, as if he was greeting an old friend.
Yamamoto Kiyoshi didn’t appreciate it but said viciously, “Do you think I can be well like this? Why don’t you give it a try!”
Is a celestial king who tempted Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) by trying to seduce him with visions of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara’s daughters. He tries to stop Prince Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment, proclaiming that the seat belongs to him, but in the end fails. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth, and desire.
“…That’s all we found.” Felix, the Preceptor Bishop, exhaled heavily.
After carefully evaluating the damage to the first array, the group returned back to Return Town on the dragon around 9 in the evening. The important personnel of the three teams held a meeting according to the scheduled plan. As one of the parties evaluated the situation of the magic array, Nemo obtained a chair and sat near the corner.
Godwin stood upright against the wall, while Oliver, wearing the skeleton helmet, supported the back of the chair with both hands and stood behind Nemo.
The reconnaissance team rented a large room. It was just that everything in Return Town was rougher than the surface—the gaps in the wooden slats were filled with dust, and the edges of the wooden round tables were sticky with unclean oil stains.
Thus, Nemo didn’t put his arms on the table in the same way as others. He crossed his arms and leaned on the back of the chair; his short ponytail swept under Oliver’s breastplate.
The two tried to pose in a serious posture, and this posture had been going on for more than three hours.
After a three-hour meeting, they were forced to describe everything they saw in the Carrion Stone Forest from multiple angles, over and over again. Nemo stared at the air in front of him seriously, but his mind was already numb and blank.
But they weren’t without some gains. At least for now, Nemo had finally figured out the composition of the three reconnaissance teams.
It stood to reason that the giant teleportation array dedicated to the expedition was shared by all intelligent races on the surface.
There are indeed many intelligent races on the surface, but not everyone was happy to send their compatriots to explore the Abyss. If you want to find the most typical, the elves deserve it. Those rich and shrewd guys prefer to use gold coins to buy the latest exploration information from other races than to go into the dangerous darkness themselves.
On the other hand, the Gatekeepers Organization funded the construction of a small castle dedicated to monitoring the status of the teleportation array.
Unfortunately, even the most sophisticated communication crystal couldn’t communicate with the surface across the Abyss. Obtaining information from the Abyss from the surface was extremely expensive and energy-consuming. Thus, even though such a place existed, there were still very few strong people who would be willing to observe there.
So the race representatives made an agreement to rotate the races responsible for observing the formation every ten years.
Nemo understood the mood of the strong of all the races very well at this moment. Let alone ten years, he would fall asleep on the spot after sitting here for three hours.
Looking at the main members of the reconnaissance team, he could tell which group of unfortunate guys were currently maintaining the formation…
As the number one religion of the human race, even if the Laddism Church didn’t want to lead this thankless task. This was one of the three teams that Tumbleweed and Horizon were escorting.
Since the Laddism Church took action, the Mooney Sect, the second largest religion, couldn’t sit still. The second team was full of people of the Mooney Sect, and this extremely xenophobic religion didn’t even ask for the help of foreign escorts.
There were no humans in the third team. In order to prevent humans from reaching a consensus among their compatriots and concealing important information from other intelligent races, some intelligent races were willing to send some of their members, mainly to monitor and assist.
Nemo turned his stiff neck and looked at the one-eyed dwarves and two dragons huddled in a pile on the opposite side of the table.
“Well, well.”
Finally, the commander-in-chief, the one-eyed dwarf Rugo, made an unpleasant noise in his throat.
“Our people say the same, so now I have to ask that question, Felix Waldron. The physical damage that is easy to repair is fine. Curses, pollution, and magic transformation are undoubtedly in the alarm range of the monitoring crystal.”
He paused for a moment, and his muddy yellow giant eyes swept across the Preceptor Bishop with an ugly face.
“I don’t suppose you didn’t have the mages maintain the magic array in time as well as recharge the monitoring crystal, hmm?”
“Naturally not! As you know, it was humans who found something strange this time, and we notified you as soon as we found the problem.” Preceptor Felix made a somewhat twisted smile.
In fact, the monitoring crystal hadn’t alerted. At the first sign of news, the Laddism Pope didn’t even bother to wait for kings to play ball. If he had waited for that group of old foxes on the throne to drag out the process, he didn’t know how long that would take.
The old man directly personally invested a lot of money and forcibly checked the state of the teleportation array from the surface, only to discover in time the fact that “all teleportation arrays may have been artificially damaged”.
No matter what demon did the work to manipulate the teleportation array, there was no doubt it was an extremely powerful superior demon who knew the situation on the surface very well.
But now, no matter what he said, it would only sound like a quibble to the other party. This time he really had to break his teeth and swallow it into his stomach, trying to show a good attitude so as not to annoy the grumpy one-eyed leader.
“Well, that is to say… If it weren’t for two risky humans wandering around in the lower abyss and happening to peek at the scene of destruction, this matter would only be discovered during the next expedition.”
Dwarf Rugo’s voice was cold and hoarse, and his attitude wasn’t at all gentle.
“Our people have determined the wrong coordinate at the end of the teleportation array, which is an unknown coordinate very close to the bottom of the Abyss. Everyone knows what that means—it means that once the teleportation array is activated, countless expedition warriors will be teleported into the unknown, desolate darkness. There isn’t any return array there, and it’s so deep that it’s difficult to get abnormal feedback back.”
“In the worst case, everyone will walk into the teleportation array stupidly like a sheep, and team after team will be thrown into the deadly dark wasteland. Judging from the size of the Abyss, they will eventually run out of supplies and die of exhaustion in the process of getting lost. And what about the surface? On the contrary, they would think that they were all killed by the Demon King, and stupidly planned the next expedition.”
The leader of the Moony Sect cleverly remained silent while the Preceptor Felix lowered his head. “I’m very sorry. When we return to the surface, I will definitely convey your words to our kings truthfully.”
“If the person who finds something strange is one of our people, the base of the human bone jade quota must definitely be lowered.” The dwarf tugged at his beard with regret and turned his yellow eyes on Nemo.
“Good job, young man.” He commended absent-mindedly. “At least there are a few humans who can see it.”
Nemo smiled embarrassedly.
“Next, we have to be vigilant.” Commander Lugo stood on a chair and knocked on the wooden table with his cane. “Humans, you leave one-third of the team behind. The rest will be dispatched at full force.”
The one-eyed dwarf let out a burst of gibberish chanting, his cane drew a few incomprehensible runes in the air, and a huge map of light spots unfolded in front of everyone…
“The large teleportation array doesn’t allow two-way transmission, but the deep array and the return array are not far apart. Until Phantom Ghost, we can repair five sets of round-trip teleportation arrays. Although the fifth set is in the Gravity Maze, which will be a bit troublesome to repair, the fundamental problem lies in the sixth set.”
“I remember that the sixth set is the deepest pair of teleportation arrays.” Felix took the initiative to speak, trying to calm the atmosphere.
“Yes.” The commanding officer’s face was so full of folds and beard that they couldn’t see his expression. “Looking at this trend, we need to consider the possibility of the seventh set of hidden emergency teleportation arrays will also be destroyed. After passing through the gravity maze, we must divide our soldiers into two teams, and each team will bring a dragon. Any questions?”
No one in the conference room said a word, and the two dragons had no intention of speaking.
“Very good.” the dwarf, Rugo, said in an unpleasant voice, pointing to the door with his cane. “Team representatives and important members stay. Other unrelated personnel leave. Now is the time to talk about serious matters.”
Outside the door.
“My arms are stiff.” Nemo moved his shoulders a few times. “God, he must have to repeat the whole thing five times. The one-eyed dwarfs are really particular.”
“After all, humans are very good at lying. Shall we go get something to eat? How about finding a new tavern?” Oliver rubbed his growling stomach. After a long meeting, the fried mushrooms stuffed into his stomach at noon had long been unable to play their due role.
Even if both the two dragons stayed in the conference room, Oliver, who was so hungry, had no complaints about being kicked out.
“Sure.” Although he won’t really be bothered by hunger, Nemo readily agrees.
“Wait,” Godwin said suddenly.
The two people walking in front of them stiffened their backs and turned their heads a little nervously.
“Ramon, I want to talk to Mr. Light alone. Mr. Light, do you mind?” Godwin looked serious.
“I… Uh… Ollie, why don’t you go to our room and wait for me. Also, take a look at Bagelmaurus’ mental state.” Nemo subconsciously straightened his collar, smoothing out the wrinkles caused by sitting for too long. “I’ll find you later.”
Oliver opened his mouth and glanced at Godwin a little uneasily. He wasn’t worried that Godwin would suddenly attack Nemo in a place like this. He was a little worried that Nemo would be caught saying something he shouldn’t say—even now, his Demon King was still not very good at lying.
But if he forced himself to stay now, it would look suspicious, so he had to pretend to nod easily and wave his hand. It wasn’t until he passed the corner of the corridor that Oliver dared to put on a worried expression. The leader of Tumbleweed took a breath, let go of his senses, and tried to listen to the conversation not far away.
“Mr. Light, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude to you.” Godwin’s voice was very solemn.
“No, it’s not that… I just had an intuition that something was wrong. Don’t pay too much attention to it.”
“Then, forgive me for taking the liberty.” Godwin’s voice was calm and polite. “According to the existing information, you seem to be just a demon worshipper who had a bit of bad luck, and your envoy is just an intermediate demon.”
“……”
“It was a complex illusion set by a superior demon, and you noticed it before everyone else. Even if the one-eyed dwarf would classify it as a human trick, or your special talent… But except for yourself, no one is more familiar with Tumbleweed’s resume than me. I know very well that you weren’t born with such abilities. A simple question, how did you do it?”
Bad.
Oliver, who had walked a distance, turned around. He had to find an excuse to rush back there and find a way to help Nemo. He knew that Godwin might be suspicious, and it seemed that his cousin didn’t intend to turn a blind eye to Nemo because of the ease of their relationship.
But before he took two steps, a hand patted him on the shoulder. The warm and soft fragrance passed by, and Jesse Dylan stopped his steps back, smiled, and shook his head.
“Mr. Dylan.” Oliver frowned slightly. “Please get out of the way, I have to… Wait, since you can calculate the future, does this mean Nemo won’t reveal himself?”
“No.” The orange fire in the corridor oil lamp illuminated Jesse’s beautiful face. “I mean, it’s more appropriate for me to go. Originally, I had something to make clear to my dear Mr. Light, which now seems like an opportune moment.”
Oliver hesitated for a moment, considering the limited time left for him to make a decision, and finally nodded.
“In addition.” Jesse turned around, his long blond hair draped loose on his back. “Not only Mr. Light, you also need to know this—”
“I can’t calculate anything about the future here.”
Opposite of Return Town, on an empty rock wall.
A figure gradually emerged from it without any hinderance. The hard gray rock wall seemed to have turned into mud in front of the man.
The figure stood silently on a projection of the rock wall, looking at the lights of Return Town on the opposite side. The man’s entire body was covered with old and dull armor. He stretched out his armored right hand and took out a small crystal ball.
A faint starry sky flashing in that little crystal ball, and a pale bone jade was embedded at the top.
“Interesting.” There was a vague voice in the armor.
“How so?”
“Bagelmaurus, that Corewen Flat Snake; it has restored its power to a superior demon in some way.”
“Oh, this is rare. At the beginning of Clementine Academy, I didn’t see it at all… It seems that its strength is even above me. And…”
“And with the help of someone, it completely erased its aura.” The armored man touched the hilt of the giant sword behind him. “I was also at Clementine Academy at the time. I’m pretty sure Light and the parrot didn’t react like this. He must have found us out—Nemo Light is more dangerous than we thought.”
“If you had promised me to kidnap Light and let me study him, there wouldn’t be so much trouble going on.” The sound on the communication crystal was very strange. It was more like the vibration of some kind of crystal than the human voice.
“It was a lapse of judgment on my part.”
“How rare that you would actually admit your mistake, the famous Lord Aurorae.”
“……”
“Well, let me change the question. What are you going to do?”
“Continue to monitor.”
“And?”
“If he really intends to stand on the other side of the surface, I will kill him.”
It was clearly noon, but the darkness and lights turned the atmosphere into night.
Unlike the four members of Tumbleweed who behaved like tourists, Godwin and Debby stood very quietly in the shaded corner. No matter who the person who came to negotiate was, the escort had no position to participate.
Tumbleweed’s few members wouldn’t come forward to join in on the fun on such a serious occasion, but their curiosity was still very strong. Oliver, not far away, was the first to react. He quickly retracted his gaze above the town and turned it to the owner of the voice, then he gulped.
The creature that made the sound was extremely short, and Oliver almost didn’t see it at first glance. The creature was as tall as less than half an adult and wore a strangely decorated short robe. Its head was twice the size of a human, shaped like an overstuffed jellybean, with the back of its head bulging towards the ground. There were no hairs or scales on the scalp, just wrinkles.
There was only one giant solitary eye, and under it were two snake-like crevices, with only nostrils and no nose. The mouth of that thing was smaller than that of a human, and it was almost buried by an overly vigorous hard beard, which looked a little uncomfortable. Its body didn’t have much in common with humans—the creature’s upper body was very long, its spine was bent like a shrimp behind it, and its limbs almost touched the ground after two folds.
Oliver had seen this creature in a picture book before.
One-eyed dwarves who lived underground all year round. They were extremely repulsed by sunlight, and their IQ was generally higher than that of humans. Despite their dark nature, the one-eyed dwarves are a genuine surface race, and they are one of the intelligent races with their own brilliant civilization. When it came to which race on the surface was best for exploring the Abyss, the answer was definitely these paranoid and xenophobic guys.
They weren’t good at hand-to-hand combat, and at the same time they were dismissive of the human adventurer system. Oliver had never seen a real one-eyed dwarf in his inn. He clung to Nemo, who was still lying by the fence, and listened intently to the conversation in the center of the wooden platform.
“Praise Vulcan.” The Preceptor Bishop half-crouched down and made a weird salute. “Venerable Lord Rugo.”
“Praise Vulcan.” The dwarf snorted perfunctorily, half-narrowed his giant eyes, and tapped the ground with the weird cane in his hand. “The humans under the Mooney Sect will be arriving in the morning. I know very well that you and they don’t get along, but I don’t want to see any stupid conflicts—this is the Abyss, and I’m the only one in command.”
“Yes.” The Preceptor Bishop responded good-naturedly.
“I will leave you some time for supplies and find a place to eat and rest by yourself. At three in the afternoon, take a few men to investigate the first damage array.”
The tone of the one-eyed dwarf was blunt, and it didn’t sound pleasant.
“The first large teleportation array that was destroyed is in the Carrion Stone Forest, not far from here, and it’s relatively safe. Remember, at three in the afternoon, call the people you have chosen here. It doesn’t need to be too many. Three is enough. The dragon clan sent two dragons to participate in the investigation, and this time, they will take one.”
“Understood.” The Preceptor Felix sounded relieved.
“Nemo, we can see a dragon.” Oliver patted Nemo excitedly. Nemo’s body shook, almost throwing the gray parrot in a daze on his shoulder into the Abyss.
“Seriously.” Bagelmaurus’ voice was still crying. “What are you excited about, huh?”
“The dragon?” Nemo huffed, trying to conceal the excitement in his voice.
“…I hate you,” the gray parrot murmured melancholy.
“Then you want to stay here? I think Mr. Dylan will take good care of you.”
“I’ll go with you! I’ll just go with you!”
Similar to what Nemo guessed, Adrian and Jesse were obviously not very interested in dragons, and Jesse seemed to want to have an adventure in Return Town. He hugged the knight’s long arm affectionately, without the slightest intention of letting go.
There were two fewer competitors for the quota, and Oliver was very satisfied.
On the other side, after seeing the expectant and supplicating gazes of the two members of Tumbleweed, Godwin wiped his face fiercely. “…Don’t look at me like that. Both of you go. I’ll go with you.” There was a real dragon in the Horizon Mercenary Regiment. Godwin felt a bit relieved that he hadn’t revealed this.
“Commander!”
“Debby, this is just the first stop. You can’t lose your big brother.”
After confirming that they could watch the dragon together, the leader of Tumbleweed contentedly found the tavern, and together with Nemo, they swallowed a few plates of fried mushrooms. They didn’t even bother going shopping, so they started waiting on the wooden platform after eating.
Then it became clear why the Preceptor Bishop was relieved.
In addition to the three guards, the Laddism Church only sent three more people: a Knight of Judgement, a mage, and that weird choir member, while the Mooney Sect only sent one knight. After seeing the one-eyed dwarf command them, it was clear that it didn’t intend to let the two surface religions act equally.
The knights of the Mooney Sect were surrounded by a few one-eyed dwarves, and their expression showed a bit of bitterness…
The influence of the dragon was amazing, which brought great relief to the combat effectiveness. The three investigation teams, which weren’t small in scale, only drew out less than 20 people.
The railing on the edge of the wooden platform lowered, and the dark Abyss opened its arms. A hurricane rose, and a very huge reddish-brown flying dragon rose from the Abyss, turned around, and attached its tail to the wooden platform.
As he made his first step onto the dragon’s tail, Oliver trembled with excitement. “Although the dragon doesn’t seem to be as big as I thought, this—”
“They have shrunk their bodies. Otherwise, this passage will be completely clogged up.” Godwin calmly pointed out. “When acting with humans, they usually shrink about three meters.”
Nemo carefully sat down on the back of the dragon. The dragon hastily tied a few ropes to its body, which could be regarded as providing them with a temporary gripper. Godwin’s gaze always swept over him, intentionally or unintentionally, so he didn’t dare to say a word and could only desperately express his excitement with his eyes.
If it weren’t for Godwin, he would have wanted to high five Oliver.
Unfortunately, when the dragon flew up, this excitement suddenly disappeared.
The back of the dragon was more terrifying than they thought, and this dragon didn’t intend to be considerate of the travel experience of everyone on its back. It flew freely, swooping close to the rock formations covered with huge crevices. After swooping for less than ten minutes, it made a sharp turn in the broadest gap, drilled in flexibly, and then made an emergency stop.
Oliver, who couldn’t even adapt to the teleportation array, almost suffocated.
Considering that Godwin already knew about the relationship between the two, Oliver didn’t hesitate to put an arm on Nemo’s shoulder and leaned on it. He closed his mouth tightly, tried to regain his strength, and suppressed his churning stomach.
If it weren’t for Oliver Ramon’s true strength, Godwin would almost be completely misled by his useless performance. In fact, some people had indeed been misled.
“Bad luck.” The mage of the Laddism Church jumped off the back of the dragon and steadily passed the two people in Tumbleweed. He specifically lowered his voice. “Don’t insult Zenni’s glory, sinner.”
But when he turned to Godwin’s side, his attitude visibly eased a lot.
The Knight of Judgement, who was walking with him, slowed down embarrassedly, but he didn’t say anything. The young man in the choir sat close in his chair and nodded at the two of them apologetically.
“Well,” Nemo raised his eyebrows at the back figure, “You are right, Mr. Lopez, we are indeed unwelcome.”
The Black Chapter were notorious in and of itself, and having experienced so much, they didn’t care about such trivial matters.
Godwin frowned and didn’t say much. He looked at the back of the Laddist mage with interest for a while. “Keep up, the investigation is about to begin.”
The appearance of the Carrion Stone Forest wasn’t much different from its name. Black and red stalactites could be seen everywhere, sticking unevenly from the top and bottom, and blood and flesh filaments connected to the cracks. From a distance, it looked like a mouthful of blood-stained monster fangs.
But this place wasn’t dark.
The high peaks of the cave exposed large pieces of shimmering crystals, and artificially placed magic lights illuminated this vast space. It could be seen that the path showed signs of much use as the stones and passages were smoothed by the soles of all kinds of boots.
Godwin drew out the holy sword and walked cautiously in front of the team, while at the end of the team were the two members of Tumbleweed—The two looked around while occasionally glancing at the shiny dragon on the team from time to time.
“There’s no demon aura here,” Nemo muttered. His gaze was glued to the wings behind the dragon.
“Yes, I can only feel a little bit of insects and small animals.” Oliver stared at the tip of the dragon’s tail dragging on the ground. “There won’t be any danger.”
“Are you on vacation? Don’t mention remuneration, you two should be paying the Laddism Church a fee.” The gray parrot nervously plucked its feathers with its beak and reminded them coldly. “Don’t look at that dragon. The person in front has stopped!”
Oliver and Nemo quickly retracted their gaze.
At first, the two of them didn’t notice anything wrong with the scene in front of them.
A circle of spectacular stone pillars surrounded a huge teleportation array. The magic array was sleeping, the lines were dim, and there were rough traces of destruction in a certain corner. The ones outside the stone pillars were obviously small transmission arrays made by individuals, which were much rougher in comparison, but many still exude magic fluctuations, and they should have been functioning properly not long ago.
The one-eyed dwarves moved extremely fast. They neatly broke through the closure spell between the stone pillars, and like a swarm of bees, they gathered in the destroyed corner of the teleportation array. Their slender fingers rubbed the soil next to the magic array, making a strange sound from their messy beards. The mage of the Laddism Church took out a pair of glasses and straightened his sleeves. Making sure that the corners of his clothes would not be soiled by the dirt, he took off the small luggage bag he was carrying on his back and took out a complete set of non-functional tools next to the magic array.
The dragon yawned, letting out a little spark, and looked at the luminous crystals on the rock wall at the top of the cave.
As the dwarf in command said, the environment here was peaceful and extremely safe, but Nemo always felt that something was wrong. It wasn’t intuition, but some kind of weird aura that existed.
But he couldn’t tell what it was.
After patting Oliver beside him and making sure that his body wasn’t affected by the Abyss, Nemo closed his eyes.
The flowing trajectory of magic instantly unfolded in the darkness before his eyes. Thin spider-like silk and the disordered flow of magic came from the self-built teleportation array. They twisted into a ball and barely connected to a certain direction deep in the Abyss. The magic flow trajectory of the large teleportation array was much more regular; the circuit was smooth and clear, and it connected to an extremely distant point.
Something was wrong.
According to his understanding, in order to allow time for rest and replenishment, the large teleportation array wouldn’t teleport too far at once. In a sense, this magic array was indeed destroyed—its destination was changed to an unknown point deep in the Abyss.
On the other hand, the flow of magic power above the magic array was also very strange. It flowed back and forth quickly, as eye-catching as a firefly in the dark.
A certain spell was taking effect.
“Get out of there!” Nemo made a quick decision. “Now, immediately!”
The four one-eyed dwarves suddenly turned their heads to look at him. Although they had doubts, they undoubtedly cherished their lives even more. The four little men bounced up in place and rushed out of the stone pillars. The mage of the Laddism Church frowned, as if he had no intention of obeying.
The dragon outside the stone pillar circle yawned again.
Godwin, who was closest to the mage, reacted extremely quickly. He silently shot out a spell that blasted the mage directly out of the range of the teleportation array.
“My test is halfway done!” The mage roared angrily, barely protecting the test tube with a little liquid in his hand.
Nemo approached and pulled the test tube out of the mage’s hand. He shook the soil at the bottom of the test tube and handed it to Oliver beside him.
“The inspection of the soil properties on the surface of the formation is the first step in the safety investigation.”
“And it’s about to be completed.” The mage gritted his teeth and pointed to the yawning dragon. “I also didn’t find any danger nearby.”
“Ollie, you stand in the teleportation array and continue to heat it. If the liquid turns black, it means that it has recently been affected by abyssal magic, and the opaque white represents surface magic. If it has not been disturbed in any way, it should be a clear, bright purple color.”
“Nonsense it–”
Then the mage stuck his shell in horror, and the beards of the four one-eyed dwarves exploded in an instant and fluffed up in a large circle—
The test tube in Oliver’s hand was filled with a beautiful bright purple liquid.
“This…”
“Because Ollie trusts me wholeheartedly.” Nemo curled the corners of his mouth. “Now you know what’s hovering there. Ollie, you can come out.”
“What’s the matter?” Oliver shook the crystal test tube containing the bright purple liquid.
“I just lied. If there has been no interference, it should be in a clear and transparent colorless state.” Nemo tapped the test tube in Oliver’s hand with his fingertips, watching it become as transparent as water. “Wow, Ollie, you really trust me.”
“Advanced illusion.” The mage’s expression wasn’t very good-looking. “Overlaying reality with perception. Praise Zenni…”
“Translation.” Oliver was still pinching the test tube carefully when he hit Nemo with his elbow.
“The corner that has been physically destroyed is just a cover.” The relaxed expression on Nemo’s face gradually disappeared. “Someone has rewritten the destination of the teleportation array and covered it with advanced illusions. Ollie, what do you think will happen next if everyone simply repairs the teleportation array, and the experienced inspectors get all the ‘normal results’?”
“Activate the teleportation array and teleport to the vicinity of the next teleportation array. Verify the availability and continue to repair the next one.”
“Yes. Once the professionals are supported by a ‘clear conclusion’ and it is determined that there is no problem with the repaired teleportation array, just a few of us escorts will stop at the next teleportation. Which brings us back to the question at the beginning, I think the destination of this teleportation array has been changed.”
Godwin, who was standing a few steps away, shuddered behind him.
Before Nemo made a sound, even he didn’t notice anything unusual.
“What about the real result?” The leader of Horizon asked in a low voice.
The mage took the test tube back from Oliver. He frowned and drew a complex illusion isolation array, and then placed the test tube in the middle of the white light array.
The liquid in the test tube appeared as dark as the void.
The black represented that the magic array had recently been affected by abyssal magic. Although Nemo talked nonsense about the reaction of “not affected in any way”, this sentence was indeed true.
There was no doubt that the one who did this was a demon.
The author has something to say:
Ollie: It’s a dragon!!!
Gray parrot: ??? Looks at Jesse, looks at Nemo, and finally, looks at itself. Are you serious…?
Nemo: It’s a dragon!!!
Gray parrot: Fuck, I want to withdraw from this team.
Since the Laddism Church was willing to provide a public luggage cart, Godwin and Debby didn’t intend to save much space for them specifically. Strength was important, but what they were about to face was an Abyss full of darkness and unknowns.
A little mistake or self-righteousness could prove fatal—Horizon wasn’t a fledgling small mercenary group. After countless battles, they knew this well.
Godwin wasn’t prepared to skimp on props and protection at all. When the two from Horizon returned, the sun had already set, and a few stars could be vaguely seen in the night sky.
Because there were too many items bought, it wasn’t convenient to enter from the main entrance of the Central Church with steep steps. Godwin easily manipulated the cart with magic and decided to enter from the rear of the church.
“…Remember what I told you.”
The acumen of this mercenary king was different from that of ordinary people. Although Oliver deliberately lowered his voice, Godwin distinguished it from other noises, and he stopped subconsciously. Noticing the difference, Debby also stopped and listened intently.
“I know you don’t want to be left here, and I don’t want to leave you here either. Alas, after all, your identity is special… It’ll be inconvenient to take you down to the Abyss.” Oliver seemed to be talking to someone with an earnest and serious tone. “Be obedient, okay? When I come back, I will definitely come to you as soon as possible.”
Debby huffed, and she stood still with a serious expression on her face.
“Okay, don’t pester me.”
The distance was far enough that they couldn’t see anyone, only that Oliver’s voice came from a remote corner with a helpless smile.
“I won’t keep you here all the time. You can find a place with nice scenery to rest. Just don’t let anyone see it. You know, I have a way to find you. Don’t be coquettish, I know you don’t like Nemo, but I—Hey, seriously, don’t throw a tantrum! I don’t know how to explain it, but you guys are completely different. Can you understand?”
The girl stomped violently in anger and put the bag in her hand on the ground. She took out her staff from her pocket and rushed aggressively to the corner where the sound came.
Godwin manipulated the trailer to keep up and finally caught up with his teammate. He found that Debby was looking at a man and a horse deeply.
I see. The leader of Horizon sighed in his heart. Oliver Ramon even started to become crazy enough to have a serious conversation with a horse.
It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t touched when he found out that Oliver was the same young boy who had stretched out his hand to him in the past. The biggest concession Godwin could make to him was to move the investigation of Nemo Light into the shadows—otherwise, they would always be on opposing sides as long as Light’s true situation wasn’t investigated.
Although Oliver swore that Nemo Light wasn’t a demon warlock, he still had the possibility of being deceived by Light.
If it weren’t for Debby Light’s insistence that her eldest brother didn’t have any magical talents, and the residents and archives of Roadside Town also proved this, Godwin would even instinctively believe that the opponent was a powerful superior demon.
Unfortunately, no superior demon would be stupid enough to make a contract with a person without magical talents.
But that was just a theory, and Godwin didn’t plan to give up completely because of this…
Every time he approached Light, some kind of instinctive fear would overflow from his bones, as cold as ice water, leaving a tingling feeling behind. It felt very slight, but Godwin didn’t intend to ignore it.
Not to mention the instantaneous sense of oppression he felt during the witch’s incident, for which he couldn’t find the source. Regarding the incident of the Withered Castle, Godwin didn’t think Oliver could do that alone.
Combined with the information revealed in the Alban coup not long ago, it was impossible for him to believe with peace of mind that Mr. Light was just an innocent demon worshipper because of a mere oath.
Young people who were in love were usually blind and would subconsciously ignore the suspicious things about each other.
Oliver Ramon was very powerful. Godwin wouldn’t have volunteered just because of worry like Debby, but at the end of the day, Ramon was his last family member, and if Nemo Light was an outright liar, a demon that had been lurking for a long time, he couldn’t watch it led his last blood relative to his death. Now that the Laddism Church had entrusted Tumbleweed with an escort mission, there was no better opportunity to investigate than this.
He may not be the Hero in the prophecy, and Godwin was no longer obsessed with this issue, but he wouldn’t simply give up protecting himself and his loved ones.
Godwin shook his head and used magic to pull up the cart again. He decided to leave the matter to Miss Light and Ramon to solve it alone, and he left as soon as possible to avoid the embarrassment of the two in front of him.
He delivered the things ordered by Nemo Light to the kitchen, then went back to the room to pack his bags and organize his equipment. There was no movement next door. Most likely, Debby went with Ramon to see Light.
Godwin lowered his gaze. He might be happy for Debby, but there was always a taste of worry mixed with this happiness. If Light was really just acting…
Forget it, he thought to himself. At least for now, Nemo Light would still be a “good brother”.
Staying alone until dinner time, Godwin finally returned to the small auditorium again, intending to enjoy the last calm dinner before the mission began.
However, before he could open the door, he heard a scream.
The leader of the Horizon instantly drew out the holy sword and broke in.
“No—!” Light’s nominal envoy, the gray parrot of Tumbleweed, was squawking sadly. Jesse had caught it by its feet as it flapped its wings frantically. “Let me go! Let me go! I want to leave this shithole!”
“This is a special service.” Jesse’s tone was gentle. “Seeing that my sweetheart isn’t here, I just whispered to you the answer… You asked me, so I thought you wanted to know?”
“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! …What did I do wrong?!”
“My heart is about to break, my dear Bagelmaurus. Obviously, you used to like me so much.” Jesse grabbed the struggling gray parrot and forcibly rubbed its cheek with his face. “And you and Mr. Light are also very close. What is this, discrimination?”
“Help!!!” All the gray parrot’s feathers exploded into a ball. It was shaking so hard that it couldn’t wait to shrink its head into its body.
Dinner was ready, but the only person in the room was the diviner of Tumbleweed. Nemo Light and the former knight commander wasn’t there. Godwin put away his sword and suddenly felt tired in his heart.
“Oh, welcome back.” Jesse index finger rubbed against his lips as he gestured a “hush” to the gray parrot, then he threw the sobbing parrot onto the sofa.
Godwin rubbed his temples and was speechless for a while.
“If you are worried about your teammate… the lovely Miss Light and our leader just went to the kitchen to find Nemo. As for my sweetheart, well, if I’m not mistaken, Adri must’ve gone for evening prayer.”
Godwin didn’t have much affection for Tumbleweed, the notorious sea scorpion level group. He barely smiled. Before he could think of anything to say, the four people who squeezed in through the door succeeded in taking away Jesse Dylan’s attention.
Debby rubbed her face, with some traces of embarrassment still remaining on her face, Oliver was curiously whispering something to Adrian, while Nemo Light put on a hot white cloth bag not far from the dining table. The rich aroma of baked goods wafted from the opening of the bag.
“You’re so thoughtful, dear Mr. Light. These people didn’t meet the Pope, so the table is full of light things. They didn’t prepare desserts at all.”
Jesse immediately ignored Godwin. He rubbed his hands into the bag, picked up a piece of snack shaped like a ring, and took a crisp bite.
“The taste is great, but the texture is a little rough.”
“Because it’s a treat for horses.” Nemo even sounded a bit serious.
“It’s okay. I don’t think it will blame me.”
Seeing Nemo stepping into the door, the gray parrot suddenly opened its throat and let out an unpleasant squawk.
“…Did you tell it?”
“I told it.”
This team wasn’t normal. Listening to these incomprehensible conversations, Godwin felt confused and lost his ability to judge. He pulled away the chair that belonged to him, decided to get rid of the nonsense and squawking in his ears, and focused all his energy on the food in front of him.
Time quickly slipped to noon the next day.
Unlike Horizon, who was exceptionally well-funded, everyone in Tumbleweed didn’t prepare too many magic props. The fuller goat was allowed to enter the small auditorium, and the burden on its back wasn’t heavy.
Although he had determined that it could enter the Abyss normally, Nemo was still a little nervous. He thought they would be teleported to the vicinity of the Abyss, and then enter the abyss from the entrance…
“Everyone will be teleported to Return Town.”
Several clerics spread out a huge carpet painted with a teleportation array on one side, and Felix, the Preceptor, stepped on it.
“It’s the boundary between the Abyss and the surface. Strictly speaking, it’s the limit zone that the surface teleportation array can reach. If there are people who have a poor tolerance for abyssal magic, it’s best to take medicine now, or wear protective gear.”
The small auditorium, which was slightly empty last night, was overcrowded at this time. Counting the Preceptor, there were sixty Laddism believers standing on the edge of the blanket with serious expressions. They wore different uniforms. Although they were theoretically clear about the composition of the position of the Laddism Church, Nemo could only immediately recognize the Knights of Judgement among them.
“Return Town is safe. The Knights of Judgement will go first, then the fire-bearers, choir, escort, and finally the assistant priests will bring the supplies.” Preceptor Felix instructed.
The teleportation array lit up on the weird carpet, and the knights in armor formed a line and quietly stepped towards the center of the magic array.
“Fire-bearers? Choir?” In order to prevent unnecessary confusion caused by overly similar faces, Oliver dutifully put on the skeleton helmet. He approached Nemo and asked in a low voice. “I have heard a little about the choir.”
“The fire-bearers are their mages.” Nemo also lowered his voice. After all the Knights of Judgement entered and disappeared from the teleportation array, the monks in red robes learned on their staffs and walked forward quietly. “It seems to be these people.”
Then, apart from the simple assistant priest who manipulated the magic cart, the remaining person in white should be a member of the “choir”.
The young man was sitting in a weird armchair, floating off the ground. His trousers under his white robe were empty.
A few wide belts went around his waist and abdomen, fixing him to the chair so that he would not fall from the seat. The young man was wearing a weird white hat—the hat was painted with complicated golden patterns, and the brim was extremely low, directly covering his eyes.
Before Oliver had time to take a few more glances, he had to keep up with the steps of the Laddism mages and step into the shining teleportation array.
Nemo thought blankly that this was a good thing. Oliver’s entire interest was in the choir member, forgetting for a moment his nervousness, and temporarily forgetting that he was dizzy from the teleportation array.
When they arrived in Return Town and stepped onto the land of the abyss, Oliver even forgot his weakness.
As the son of an innkeeper, growing up among the bragging chatter of various adventurers, Oliver naturally heard of Return Town. If Roadside Town was the closest human town to the Abyss, in a sense, Return Town was the closest human town to the surface.
He knew that Return Town was located in a deep mountain pass in the Ash Mountain Range, but hearing about it and seeing it with his own eyes were often two different things. Even after hearing countless adventure stories, he was still shocked by the scenery in front of him.
There was almost no sunlight here.
Trying to raise their heads, they could only see a little bit of sky light. From this distance, the vast cave entrance was very similar in size to the sun, but the light couldn’t illuminate the ground at all.
Return Town was built on a cliff, and the entire town had no “ground” in the normal sense. Compared with an ordinary town, it was more like a castle made of wood and metal with stone walls on the sides, huge but rudimentary. Buildings were stacked on top of each other, and countless bridges and ladders were intertwined. The stacked rooms revealed bits and pieces of warm light.
The teleportation array connecting the Central Church was carved on a stone wall perpendicular to the wooden “ground”, and people even thoughtfully erected wooden platforms and steps around it.
But in the crevices of the building, Nemo could still see the dark void under his feet.
The two members of Tumbleweed froze in front of the teleportation array. If they hadn’t been dragged off the wooden platform by the enthusiastic Debby, they would have been hit by the magic cart that followed closely behind.
Until everyone was in place, the two of them were still in a daze on the edge of the platform—except that Oliver stretched his neck to look at the sky above his head, while Nemo supported himself on the railing on the edge of the wooden platform and looked into the depths of the Abyss without saying a word.
“Welcome to the Abyss, everyone.”
A hoarse and unpleasant voice sounded not far away.
“The Laddism team arrived last, which is very good. Now all three reconnaissance teams are here.”
The author has something to say:
It’s officially going to the abyss!!
Now only the honest knight commander and honest Ann don’t know who Jesse is (……
——
Godwin: The sand sculpture of Tumbleweed prevents me from analyzing it normally……
Kinky Translations 