Thinking of that power which countered his own and could make bullets swerve, Yuan Kun’s face turned ugly as he climbed to his feet and said slowly,
–Great Grandmaster, alright. I, Yuan Kun, accept you as a friend. Everyone, let’s apologize to the boss together.–
A few teammates obediently uttered phrases like –sorry– and –apologies– to the group of about twenty ahead of them.
–But us?– The Backland Boy glanced at the incense pellet in Yuan Kun’s hand.
Yuan Kun didn’t even bother to acknowledge them.
–I remember now. The Grandmaster—it’s him!–
One of the Backland Boys pointed at Yang Zicang in surprise. –It’s said that the Wasteland-Convoy Great Cargo Crew was destroyed by them!–
The Kongshan Cargo Crew’s members thought for a moment—though they hadn’t witnessed the scene, news had spread that the Wasteland-Convoy Great Cargo Crew had set their sights on a Minor Penglord and was casually taken down by passing travelers.
Recalling the description from the rumor, Yuan Kun suddenly linked the few in front of him with that prior news, and a chill of horror surged in his heart.
He looked at Song Penglord: –You… Is it really you?–
Yang Zicang cut off his secret technique, and the overwhelming panic in everyone’s chest instantly dissipated.
The faint fragrance overflowed, and the group took several deep breaths, gradually calming their minds.
–Beware, Huang Che has a ghostly figure—he’s the most dangerous one, known as Ming Ying.– Yuan Kun quickly offered a well-intentioned warning to mend the rift between everyone.
–We’ve already tangled with him.–
–You’ve crossed paths!–
At that, Yuan Kun was utterly convinced.
If anyone in this barren wasteland struck fear into hearts and demanded constant vigilance, it had to be Ming Ying. But this Jiazi Term, he’d somehow already thrown down with that big shot from Huang Che.
Yang Zicang said, –He can turn invisible, but to attack, he must drop the stealth—that’s his weakness.–
Everyone around was speechless; it seemed Ming Ying had taken quite a beating at Yang Zicang’s hands, with even his vulnerability exposed.
These folks were really low-key. If they hadn’t stepped out this time, who would’ve known such players existed in the wasteland?
Yuan Kun sighed inwardly, thankful he hadn’t stirred up bigger trouble today, or he’d be greeting the King of Hell. He only hoped he could buy more of the mountain provisions Lord Penglord had ordered next—these incense pellets were the key.
……
Over on the other side, Aya was the most excited of all.
The Moxel link on her chest had almost never broken; by now, two squads had witnessed the deeds of the Dusk Canopy crew from start to finish, and their faith in the incense pellets’ effects was unwavering.
The person on the other end of the Syn-Link has already excitedly told Aya to please keep a few incense pills for them, as someone would come to pick them up later today.
Time slipped by, and before they knew it, it was noon.
–Captain Jia, we failed to recognize your true stature earlier. Please accept our apologies.–
–Please sell us a few more incense pills. Waiting until next week feels far too long—we want to enter ahead of time.–
–Yes, just name your price!–
As they were speaking, another team approached.
–Five hundred per capsule.–
Aya said this to them; it was the Chronos price set by Yang Zicang.
Yuan Kun, who had been pestering them stubbornly from the sidelines, stepped forward and said, –That price works. Give us ten more too.–
Aya glanced over at Yang Zicang.
–Let’s go with five hundred for all of today. And aside from what we’ve already agreed on, no more sales.–
Aya acknowledged his decision.
At night, inside the tent, Aya kept poring over the records in her notebook.
— Cone Mountain unit, 3 capsules, 1100 years.
— Rear Wasteland boy, 2 capsules, 1000 years.
— Li Brothers, 1+5 capsules, 3000 years.
— Lijiang unit, 2+7 capsules, 4650 years…
A full page—this was today’s income.
Even though she had already counted them several times, Aya couldn’t help reading them over and over again.
The tent flap rustled open as Ning Yang stepped in.
–Ya’er, I…–
–Penglord.–
Ning Yang abruptly choked back his words, then shifted, saying,
–How much did they earn today?–
Aya finally showed a genuine smile:
–Twenty-one thousand seven hundred and fifty! My God, and this is only the first day.–
Ning Yang walked over and looked at the paper; the final total was the number 21,750, written in Aya’s handwriting.
His heart was pounding.
–I knew we made a lot today, but I didn’t expect this much. Sigh, when will I ever be able to do the same?–
He understood why the speed of the greenhouse’s development was vastly different from his little Peng Zone.
The gap was too great.
–I didn’t expect it either. There were people rushing to send Chronos even for five hundred coins apiece. If Brother Yang hadn’t finally set that number, I bet someone would have paid even higher.–
–Yeah. And once the supplies from his place are sold, that’ll be another good chunk of income.–
Ning Yang felt no jealousy at all, but a sense of disappointment was inevitable.
……
Robin Lo, sent back to the station by Yang ZiCang, lay on the bed. He quietly pulled the cotton quilt over himself. Beneath the covers, the glow of the Moxel flickered.
[I am initiating a second intelligence excavation regarding Yang ZiCang’s recent goals. This will cost me 10N of principal.]
[Second intelligence excavation failed.]
No new information gained. Robin Lo softly let out a puff of turbid breath and sank into thought.
Liang Xi walked into the room, yawning.
–Brother Luo, I heard Brother Yang had a good day over there. Mm, try to keep your snoring down.–
–Heh heh, you get a good rest. I’ll take the night watch.–
Robin Lo lay on his side, propping his head up, faintly picking up the sounds of laughter from Fan Xiuyun and the others next door.
It was a good start—everyone was energized today, except for Liang Xi.
Because he was still getting familiar with this place, and at this critical moment when the team was earning their first pot of gold, Li Mi in the city had asked him to go and help stabilize an A-grade Crosspace that had just appeared in the new month.
–But, looking at it from another angle, I guess I’m quite an impressive figure.–
Lying in his bedding, a smile crept across Liang Xi’s face as he drifted off into a slumber.
……
Earth.
Countless visions of different landscapes churned in his mind, gradually fading away.
Hong Haocheng opened his dazed eyes.
Sitting by the bedside was a figure with an upright, unwavering back. The man carried the aura of a soldier, though it was uncertain—he was dressed in a navy-blue sailor’s uniform with black trim.
–Where is this?– Hong Hao (hào) Cheng turned his head to look at the person beside him.
–At sea.–
–At sea?–
Hong Haocheng tried to sit up, only to find that he couldn’t sense any part of his body to draw strength from—his hip felt numb and limp, refusing to cooperate.
–Or rather, beneath the sea,– the man with the soldierly bearing replied.
A humming drone echoed in his ears, the resonance of machinery. Everything here felt uncanny, and even the air carried a strange tension.
–What… happened to me?– The young man looked around.
The iron-plated room was tiny, and now he could finally feel his body swaying.
The entire room was shaking.
The numbing tingling was fading, yet his awareness of his body was growing stronger—crisp and keen.
It was then that fragmented memories began to rush back.
He had been standing on a desk chair with one foot, a teacup in his hands as a makeshift microphone, crumpled script pages in the other, passionately howling out lines of the play trembling on those papers.
—–I, the favored child of heaven!–
—–I shall stride across this land…–
In the living room, his friends gathered around, some holding popcorn, others nursing drinks, erupting into waves of laughter and applause from time to time.
Senior Zhang Shumin laughed and teased, –Haocheng, you really are our ‘favored child of heaven,’ hahaha!–
–Beta-test this show for the new students, and the counselor will definitely be rolling their eyes at you.–
The phone rang…
The shattered fragments of memory quickly faded.
At that time, he had been rehearsing a play, and then a stranger called—twice. The woman on the other end urged him to leave, to get out now.
But he had ignored her and hung up.
After that… he ended up here.
K’ka! The thick but not large circular iron door swung open.
Hong Haocheng looked up as two people wearing masks and sky-blue uniforms walked in, followed by a middle-aged man with gold trim on his uniform.
–Awake? Hmm, recovering quite well. Come on, young man, try to sit up.–
–Who are you?–
–My name is Feng. You can think of us as a non-governmental department that handles special incidents.–
–Non-governmental?–
Hong Haocheng looked somewhat bewildered as he let these people direct him.
But right now, he had no choice, and besides, something did seem off about his body. Hong Haocheng tried to prop himself up, only succeeding after several attempts.
Only now did he notice that the color of his skin was different—the area below his waist was almost pale and smooth, with a similar hue near his chest.
He clenched his hand into a fist and then released it.
His entire body radiated a rugged vitality, like a human leopard, his fists brimming with strength.
–What… happened to me?–
–Your rental house was attacked. We found you in the rubble,– the man said.
–And my friends? Are they still alive? Who did this, terrorists?–
Terrorists—though it was a word he’d only heard on TV, it was the first thing Hong Haocheng thought of. Who else would attack ordinary people in the middle of a city?
–Your friends?– The three exchanged glances, their expressions shifting slightly.
The last to enter, the middle-aged man with an imposing presence, said:
–Young man, if you want to know the truth, from now on, your life no longer belongs to you. Of course, practically speaking, it doesn’t belong to you anymore already.–
–I don’t know anything,– Hong Haocheng said, raising his hand in panic.
The other pulled out his phone and turned on the screen, which displayed a string of numbers.
–This is the number that last called you. We’ve found out who the person is. Have you ever seen her or not?–
He swiped the screen, revealing a picture of a beautiful girl with a smiling face.
Looking at the female image on the phone, Hong Haocheng thought for a moment, recognizing that girl.
–Two days ago, I bumped into her on the street, and her files scattered all over the ground. Even scolded her for it. She seemed to be called… what…–
–Her last name is Wang.–
–Oh right, I saw the name on the documents, that the one. Huh, why would she call me? And you, uh, why does my body feel like…–
Hong Haocheng sensed something was wrong.
–Miss Wang actually intentionally engineered the collision. According to her, it was an opportunity for you to meet; without doing so, you would never come to know and understand each other.–
A chill ran through Hong Haocheng, as if he had been targeted by someone who seemed normal but was actually a crazy, twisted individual.
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