Chapter 22: The Allure of the Time Sequence Weapon Beckons

Chapter 22 The Allure of the Time Sequence Weapon Beckons

[Councilor No. 22 wondered why I was so resolute.]

Yang Zicang coughed lightly a couple of times, expelling a solidified clot of blood, then spoke in a faint, failing breath:

–I know, I’m not worth the councilor’s time to come and present me with a choice meant for a swift end. So, if this thing is poisonous, whether it’s a lethal toxin or not makes little difference to me now—either way, using it or not, I’ll die.–

–The reason you’ve appeared, is that this thing has some healing properties, but their effect probably won’t allow me a full recovery, regardless. Enhancing the curative’s effect only fuels the outcome, not reverses the course of events.–

There was no response from this councilor.

Full recovery would still take some time, but the scabbed wounds were no longer enough to render him immobile.

After wedging the iron door back into place, Yang Zicang walked out, leaning on his gun, while his chest kept feeling a cool, wriggling sensation.

He thought to himself, his guess had indeed been correct, though it was also a gamble—a bet that the councilors weren’t perverted sadists who delighted in watching others sink into despair.

And that probability was far less than fifty percent.

Haaah…!

He exhaled a murky breath tinged with the smell of blood.

Yang Zicang arrived at the edge of the iron pipe jutting out over the cliff, looking down at the chaotic, broken gap of the path below.

It was a scene of utter desolation; even the rapidly healing wounds ached from the intense discomfort.

Tiny, blunt rays of light refracted toward him.

–{_Ah, Brother ZiCang, you, you actually…!}_-

At that moment, Liang Xi, who had been observing as an Invested Person, reached out in shock to find that the awe-inspiring figure Yang Zicang was still alive. This nearly drove the other side to ecstatic frenzy.

A warmth swelled in Yang Zicang’s heart.

–Sorry, I wasted two hundred years of your lifespan. I’ll find a way to repay you double as soon as possible.–

With these words, Yang Zicang plunged headlong into the dark, abyssal depths.

–No need, ZiCang Ge, as long as you’re here… Ah!–

The scold, Liang Xi, watched in shock as the man with unsteady footing leaped off the cliff.

Thud! As Yang Zicang’s trajectory shifted and he landed heavily on the iron plate, Moxel sent back two sets of feedback.

[My ribs have collectively offset 1.11N.]

[My lower limbs have collectively offset 2.6N.]

[The rest of my body’s frame has offset 4.3Y.]

–Hiss~ Don’t worry, I won’t die just yet. But damn, it still hurts after all.–

Yang Zicang propped himself up with the Lance and stood.

He had a realization—this Chronos offset was the time required for complete recovery after injury in the original world.

{Bro, can your ability change trajectory in mid-air? By the way, Captain Luo Xin just strictly ordered that no one is allowed to kill even a single rat monster inside the nest anymore.}

This was precisely what Yang Zicang was worried about.

Just one more left.

If one more rat monster died here, that thing might very well manifest. Even the outsiders seemed to know this.

Yang Zicang was puzzled for a moment before saying:

–Yeah, I was just wondering whether I should crowdfund to broadcast the situation here—looks like you already know.–

Along the way, the leaderless monsters reverted to their cowardly nature, scurrying away and hiding the moment they sensed someone approaching.

{Bro Zicang, I found something—I knew there’d be good stuff hidden in this nest.}

In front of the young man in the sensory projection lay a shattered vessel on the ground, inside which was an object resembling an incense-burning iron ball.

–What’s that?–

{It seems to stimulate the muscles of living creatures. The rats mutated because of these things scattered around in the nest. If that demon weren’t about to appear, Captain Luo Xin would definitely take advantage of the leader monster’s death to come in and scavenge them all.}

Liang Xi took out the small iron ball, the size of a pebble, and began to head back.

The two of them struggled for quite some effort before finally meeting near the exit.

–Chronos War Gear?–

As Yang Zicang drew near, Liang Xi suddenly stiffened, gazing intently at the silver Lance.

–Haha, that’s right! This is the very thing you’ve been dreaming of…–

At this moment, the stench of the young boy was overpowering.

Seeing Yang Zicang’s surprised expression as he approached, Liang Xi, who was grimy with filth, showed an embarrassed smile.

–I, I had to do this to avoid the beasts detecting the scent of a human.–

–You truly are a brave soul.–

Yang Zicang jested and flung the spear directly to Liang Xi, making the boy almost leap into the air.

–Ah, a hundred years, it’s a Cent-Arms! Ah! Aaaaah!–

Liang Xi howled and pranced about, clumsily twirling the ancient weapon in skewed flourishes until his skin flushed with excitement.

This was an incredibly rare Cent-Arms—it was said that only a few leader figures of major teams within the city possessed something like this in their hands.

–ZiCang-bro, one day you’re definitely going to be a big shot. Compared to you, I’m just a nobody.–

Liang Xi handed it back to Yang Zicang with a tinge of disappointment.

–No, not just me,– Yang Zicang smiled, –We—both of us, will certainly become big shots.–

But within his smile lay a trace of gravity, –Having tasted life and death twice myself, I’ve already come to understand a truth.–

–What truth?–

The boy lifted his small face to look at the man, whose expression had turned more somber. In the dim light, the outline of his profile appeared resolute and exuded strength.

–To be reborn from the jaws of death—that’s what the Council members need to see from us.–

Yang Zicang raised his head toward the icy apex of the pipeline, yet his gaze seemed to pierce through the boundless void, staring into nothingness.

–Before the end of this month, I will have to earn enough Chronos to cover both myself, my companions, and those I wish to protect.–

The youth spoke as if muttering to himself. Meanwhile, Liang Xi was pondering what the Council members were.

After waiting for a few seconds in anticipation, Moxel gave no response.

–Did I guess wrong?– Yang Zicang thought to himself, –Perhaps this level of challenge won’t move the Council members, or maybe they simply don’t care about any of this.–

A few hair-thin lines sliced through the air.

Yang Zicang glanced at the gun by his side.

With this thing around, not only could he not return to the stronghold, but he also couldn’t accept any mental link.

By default, Yang Zicang rejected all contact with Moxel. Following his instructions, the young boy traveling with Yang Zicang also defaulted to refusing all mental links from Moxel.

Liang Xi was thrilled to keep a secret for Yang Zicang, which made him consider himself part of Yang Zicang’s crew.

The faint touch of the force field brushed across his skin, and the shadowy corridor ahead finally revealed a bit more light.

[I’ve finally left this damned space.]

Yang Zicang felt that since his recent near-death experience, Moxel seemed to have forged a deeper resonance with his soul.

Moxel could, at any moment, clearly voice some of the surging thoughts racing through his mind—like this very exclamation.

So then, what exactly is Moxel?

[I am me, the great Quad!]

Yang Zicang helplessly rubbed his forehead.

The entrance to the passage was right before them. Liang dashed out first with a trace of excitement. Knowing he reeked, he deliberately kept some distance from the young man.

Yang Zicang watched with a smile as this boyish kid scouted ahead.

Then Yang Zicang’s gaze grew heavy—in his eyes, Liang Xi’s speed was increasing rapidly.

This acceleration wasn’t just in his running pace; it also included the boy’s head turns, his limb movements, and even the fluttering frequency of his hair.

If his own acceleration turned an ordinary person’s run into something light and close to professional athlete level, then Liang Xi’s change in speed was more like a –frequency boost.–

The frequency of Liang Xi’s every movement had become incredibly fast—so fast it was as if a movie had been pressed fast-forward.

–ZiCang Ge? Hurry and come here. Hey, ZiCang Ge, why aren’t you moving?–

After just a few seconds of observation, as abruptly as the folded Moxel lines had surged in earlier, the overlapping voices of the boy reached Yang Zicang’s ears.

The young man’s heart involuntarily sank.

–Can you hear me? How’s my speech speed?– Yang Zicang said.

Rapidly shifting expressions flashed across Liang Xi’s face. He ran back, his briskly shifting posture gradually normalizing the closer he came.

–Just now…–

–You heard what I said, right? I dragged out each word for too long, didn’t I?–

Liang Xi nodded.

This world was indeed perpetually overflowing with sudden threats. Clearly, this was no place to stop and study the matter in detail.

–We should get out first.–

Inside the cave behind them, that demon creature could emerge at any moment. And if there’s danger outside, we still might have a chance to deal with it before it turns worse.

–Just now, I saw your movements get slower, really slow, like a sloth,– Liang Xi said.

–So, from your perspective, your gestures seemed normal?–

As the two took no more than a couple of steps, a slow-moving airflow crept in from the outside along the passage.

The airflow grew faster and faster, then quickly returned to stillness after just a few seconds.

Glancing back at the darkness behind, a faint, elusive sense of danger lingered throughout the pitch-black tunnel.

Was it the problem of the monster nest, or the problem of the outside world? Perhaps the answer lay within this very current of air.

The time within the region covered by the airflow had been accelerated!

Yang Zicang instinctively thought of the conditions for the Nightmare’s birth, and the Defender that would soon be born.

As for the last remaining rat monster—could it too be neutralized by time?

Was the purpose of the time shift to accelerate the final gestation of the Defender, or to hasten the death of the rats?

Either way, the outcome was the same.

Yang Zicang felt suffocated—in a mental sense.

[Adjustment ability activated. Number of marked targets: 2. I will expend Chronos at a rate of 2R per second.]

Having drawn ten years of lifespan for a quadruple boost, two figures—one shorter, one taller—darted swiftly through the ruins of a concrete steel jungle.

The evening sky was thick with purple mist; the sun was almost setting—it should have been around five or six in the afternoon.

[As the great Quad, I sense that the Chronos trajectory is in a state of unstable diffusion.]

–ZiCang, do you feel it? The rate at which my life is draining is speeding up.–

Not only was there an accelerated time differential between the outside world and the nest, but his own life was also draining faster here.

However, exactly how much faster remained impossible to confirm. It might even be fluctuating on its own.

In any case, this was unsettling news—beyond knowing that danger lurked there, everything else was shrouded in uncertainty.