Yang Zicang handed the mask back.
It was at this moment that Snake Gui shoved the mask back into Yang Zicang’s hands.
“You are the hero who helped everyone twice. I trust you. “
Yang Zicang was a little shocked as he looked at the mask in his hand. The man before him was entirely shrouded in his robe, looking somewhat sinister, yet no one would have expected him to have such audacity.
After packing up and organizing the items here, Yang Zicang solemnly took his leave of Mr. Ge. Amidst the man’s reluctant yet awkwardly feigned “regret, ” he carried the two things out.
Whispers rippled through the hall as the crowd watched the Mist Folk haul the wooden log away.
“Sir, you are welcome to come again. ” Hader, whose attitude had done a complete one-eighty by now, bowed and scraped obsequiously at the door.
Monkey Tao, who wished to leave with them, was politely detained by Mr. Ge’s people and could only watch him go.
“What are you even thinking, Yang Buchen? ” Xue Qi said, sticking close to him, a bit annoyed. “Wasn’t this supposed to be about completing the mission? Instead, you’re having me tag along while you nose around the conference hall. “
Yang Zicang turned with a smile, looking at Hua Mi who stood on the dock, a mix of loss and resignation in her eyes as she felt the gentle breeze.
“What do you think, our esteemed scholar? “
“Me? I don’t know what you’re planning, ” Hua Mi looked up, pondered for a moment, then said, “but I feel like you must have gained something. Oh well, bring me along next time if it’s easier, since it’s just to cover my rent anyway. “
Thinking about how troublesome it all was without even securing a single Glimmer, Hua Mi’s hope of obtaining a Bloodline Statue of her own—either soon or even within many years—had faded significantly. She was even starting to worry about the rent at the Fee Travel Hotel, and could only wish to prove her worth in learning and using magic patterns, earning enough to cover it.
“Who told you I didn’t gain anything? ” Yang Zicang said, planting the mast firmly on the ground. “Don’t worry, the intelligence I needed was already in my hands long ago. These, ” he gestured to the rod in his hand, “were all just distractions. “
“Really?! ” Xue Qi leaped up in excitement, spinning around to hug the equally joyful Hua Mi.
“President… are you, are you playing me? ” Hua Mi stammered, stunned.
- ｛Dark Script Twin Crystal Pendant: Distributor February. Di’an announces that my radiance-bearing prelude has now given birth to a ‘New Node’.｝
-｛Single Crystal Agate Ring: Distributor February. Di’an indicates that the glorious prelude I am nurturing has birthed a “new node. “｝
“Wow, it’s true! Mr. Di’an has tipped me off too. ” The two girls leaped up once more.
“Shh. ” Yang Zicang raised a finger to his lips. “Alright, good to know. Don’t draw the others over here later. “
“Oh, okay. ” The two immediately quieted down. “So, that thing in your hand is completely useless? “
He had indeed bought this seemingly useless wooden stick at the end just to maintain his persona, so that Mr. Ge wouldn’t grow overly suspicious.
Fogfolk were just like that—whatever might birth something “interesting ” to them, they would become obsessively determined to get their hands on it.
Xue Qi, now in a better mood, proactively took the hefty wooden stick from Yang Zicang’s hand. After feeling it over, she said:
“This surface has been deliberately smoothed down… Hmm, maybe the valuable part on it was destroyed long ago. “
“So that’s why it’s been lying around so long, and no one could figure out what it belonged to. “
“If we can crack its secret, maybe we can gain another pool of Radiance. ” The moment Xue Qi finished speaking, the three suddenly froze in unison.
-｛East Dark Text Double Diamond Pendant: Distributor March. Li Feng expresses pre-ordering the brand-new glorious prelude I am currently nurturing!｝
“Huh? “
-｛Distributor May. Valkyrie expresses that I am currently nurturing a brand-new glorious prelude.｝
-｛Single Agate Ring: Distributor February. Di’an indicates I am gestating a splendid prelude of radiance anew.｝
The three exchanged glances and nearly understood that everyone must have received the distributor’s prompt.
Yang Zicang’s movements came to a complete halt.
“This means… we might be able to unravel this mystery.“
“We.” All three sank into a pensive silence for a moment. Xue Qi said, “I mentioned ‘cracking the secret,’ right? Well… then the others must have said the same thing. But this thing still lies here utterly ordinary as a fishing pole.“
She lifted her head, solemnly gazing at the two for a moment:
“So the only answer is… am relying on you both.“
“……“
“Us?” Hua Mi tilted her head left and right, glancing at herself, then fixed her eyes on this wooden staff.
“Could it be related to some magic patterns? Mm… I know very little at all.“
Yang Zicang pondered. It was because this wooden rod resembled the one in Joshua’s hand that he’d bought it. If it were just the three of them who might crack its secret–earning simultaneous alerts from all the distributors–then it suggested… his eyes flickered with a glint.
“I’ve got an idea. Wait for me… Hmph. Since we discovered it together, we might as well go in together.“
“Go in together? Where to?“
Yang Zicang fixed his eyes on both of them. “Keep your minds calm and simply close your eyes. The inside is unusual; if you get agitated, you’ll be trapped in your own devised dream with no way out. Be prepared.“
Saying this, Yang Zicang took a business card from his pocket and handed it to Xue Qi. Then a faint phantom glow appeared on his own hand, and he touched one of his three remaining business cards.
Instantly, a fluctuating energy began to expand, enveloping him.
The surrounding world became hazy and blurred, as if a mist of fluorescent light, mixed with various colors, was rising from the earth.
His eyes elongated, his skin tone normalized, but his figure became much more solid. Yang Zicang turned his head to look at his own hand.
This mast had transformed into a pillar of light that seemed to pierce the sky.
“What the… ” Beside Yang Zicang, Bai Yuxian, who had been waiting for a long time, stared in shock at the thing in his hand. “What is this thing? Where did you get it from? “
｛It feels like I have touched something.｝
The ethereal flames of the Source of the Holy Spirit on Yang Zicang’s hand continuously touched this pillar, extending the soaring beam of light. After watching for a few seconds, “Hold this for me, ” he said, then looked at the floating business card marker not far beside him. He walked over, used the card to tear a small fuzzy hole in the void, and reached outside to pull in two people.
｛Shock｝, ｛Fear｝, ｛Amazement｝, ｛Confusion｝…
“Aye? ” A wave of mixed emotions instantly appeared on Hua Mi’s face.
Bai Yuxian immediately walked over, raised his hand, and the gathered, surging energy fluctuations quickly dissipated.
-｛East Black Patterned Diamond Pendant: Distributor March · Li Feng expresses pre-purchase of the new glorious prelude I am nurturing!｝
Xue Qi, who had been staring in surprise at the mast’s changes upon entering, lowered her head to look at the pendant on her chest.
-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi indicates a new node has been born in the glorious prelude I am nurturing.｝
The voices of several distributors rang out. Meanwhile, on the mast before them, the one not held by Yang Zicang, the light was gradually fading.
On its wooden pole, a faint pattern was dimming slowly like a light source losing power.
“No wonder!“
Hua Mi, who had just been startled, immediately understood why the distributor only gave prompts when it was Chairman Yang, or even only when her “group of three,” decided to investigate this mast.
Merely bringing this wooden rod into this Sub-Aether Field Space was not enough to activate its peculiar concealment.
“We need to record the pattern on it,” Hua Mi said with some concern. “Just as well—those fading parts will be safer to leave unrecorded this time.“
Just as she reached for something, she suddenly realized her appearance had become much clearer, as if rivaling her own physical body.
“Huh, what exactly have we become?“
“Ah, this… it’s hard to explain, because I don’t know either.“
“It’s like this here—none of us appear in our human forms,” Bai Yuxian said.
With this person following, Yang Zicang dared to bring the two ladies in together, allowing everyone to witness this moment.
The young girl was using her personal “Nightmare Notebook ” to somewhat clumsily sketch the pattern of some unknown magic rune.
Seizing the opportunity, Yang Zicang led Bai Yuxian a few steps aside and quietly asked, “You don’t mind if I ask you a couple of questions now, do you? “
“Of course not. “
｛Waiting｝, ｛Sincerity｝, ｛Contemplation｝…
“That person who came with you, where is he now? “
“You mean ‘Ming Tao’, right? Hmm, I left him behind in one of the zones of this world. “
｛Unease｝, ｛Worry｝, ｛Wanting to leave｝, ｛Not wanting to leave｝…
Yang Zicang stared at the man before him in momentary astonishment.
After a couple of seconds of thought, Bai Yuxian spoke: “If you suspect me, you can just take him and go. Well… saying this makes me sound pretty noble, doesn’t it? But… I’d like to vaguely reveal a piece of information. “
“What? “
｛Honesty｝, ｛Inner Conflict｝…
“The Hundred-Crown. ” Bai Yuxian’s gaze became pure, like that of a warrior who had made some kind of resolution.
“Even if this epoch officially ends, I might not simply disappear… because the Parliament selected our souls. “
There was a flash of shock in Yang Zicang’s eyes.
He saw Bai Yuxian immediately raise his arm and point it at himself. This time, he could see it clearly—it was a wristwatch emitting a faint glow.
Though its light was not as fierce as the blade’s radiance of the Gaze-dispelling Sword, it still possessed power that could ward off waves of ambient concentrated thoughts.
“What exactly… do you mean? ” For that instant, Yang Zicang almost doubted his own ears.
“This is perhaps the greatest gain I, as an intelligence liaison, have made in this lifetime. ” Bai Yuxian suddenly looked up at the sky.
｛Calm｝, ｛Certainty｝.
“At least for us so-called original inhabitants. ” He shifted his gaze back to Yang Zicang. _”Perhaps we too are preserved here in this land by some Holy Being.
“Perhaps the new land is too small for everyone to survive in; perhaps we might damage the land that could exist, so we must conduct screening. In summary… “
He spread his arms. “I am now handing him over to you. That way, even if I face destruction along with the end of this evolving world, perhaps because I’ve done a decent job over the years, the Council might grant me the chance to reappear in some future evolutionary era. “
Yang Zicang fell into a deep silence.
Am I really dead?
｛I am reminiscing about “A Memoir of an Ordinary Man: Yang Zicang “.｝
Which is real, and which is false? Where exactly did I die, or have I not died at all? That memoir only contains images of my future self on Earth.
“Are you doubting your own identity too? ” Bai Yuxian said.
Yang Zicang looked up. This man’s gaze was far too sharp. And though he was the one interrogating him now, wasn’t he himself also being interrogated?
After a moment’s thought, Yang Zicang finally lifted his head and looked at Bai Yuxian:
“Have you ever heard of ‘A Memoir of an Ordinary Man’? “
Bai Yuxian genuinely paused for a moment this time.
“I didn’t expect you could pose a question like that. If that’s the case— “
｛Survival｝, ｛Possibility｝, ｛Unbelievable｝
The Surging waves of Essence-thought energy, scattered instantly by a flurry of fists, dissipated rapidly.
“If that’s the case, I’m a bit more certain I might just keep living. Friend, let’s trade this secret for a ticket to the Next Era Land. “
Sensing such a stark shift in the other’s attitude and will to survive, Yang Zicang’s entire face, which had started to shimmer with thin, scale-like armor patterns, now betrayed a slightly anxious look.
“Fine, ” he said, holding back his emotions. “Then let’s trade that information after we’ve reached the Next Era Land. “
At that moment, Yang Zicang almost wanted to head straight to the western shore of the continent to register and secure a boarding pass.
But Bai Yuxian spoke up: _”No need, Mr. ‘Hero.’
“You saved so many people’s lives and turned their fates around. If we can’t even have that much trust, then even if we make it to the Next Era Land, I think all that’s left between us would be transactions, not friendship. “
Yang Zicang’s eyes widened instantly.
Bai Yuxian glanced at the girl beside them, who was watching their exchange, then turned back and said in a low voice:
“Regarding the ‘Memoirs of an Ordinary Man,’ I once came across fragments of it in a top-secret file about the Fogfolk. “
“What is it? “
Yang Zicang asked, his voice tense. The biggest question haunting his mind ever since the Demon Hero Hall had been the authenticity of that “lifetime ” of his.
“Have you heard of ‘Evolutionary Computation’? “
“Evolutionary Computation? “
“Hmm… Looks like you don’t know. Even among the Fogfolk, this secret is only known to those with the highest intelligence and actual strength. Anyway… There’s this thing that can supposedly calculate our future. “
With those words, Yang Zicang’s doubts about the “memoir ” in his mind immediately lessened.
Sometimes he even wondered whether this “memoir ” was truly his.
Did he really die from the monster’s attack?
Or did an apocalyptic disaster strike the Earth?
Was he just a vegetable, living in a dream?
Or perhaps he was only a blank memory vessel for some otherworldly person, simply… playing the role of Yang Zicang?
Yet… besides the completeness this identity’s memories gave him, those life scenes on Earth—the vivid images before his eyes, the feelings and pains, joys and expectations—were all so incredibly clear.
If he had truly gained an extended life, he believed he would never forget that twenty years of life, even far into the distant future.
How could such a life be merely inscribed and defined by a memory record?
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