Robin Lo picked up a hoe from the side and said, –I’ll go too.–
–Count me in too; I’ve already memorized that map,– Zuo Feixian stepped forward as well.
Xiao Liu also walked over and said, –I’m coming too. After all, if it’s stone, I can lend a hand carrying it.–
The vehicle actually held several dozen puppets, but Yang Zicang didn’t stop these three, since those unconscious creatures were clumsy and unreliable.
–Alright, come on board. Take Lyu Zhi and the others away first.–
The four stepped onto the train.
[Dispatch!]
In an instant, the train shot off into the distance, already hundreds of meters away before even finishing its stealth transformation. Yet the speed quickly slowed, as it distanced itself further and further from Xingmiao.
–Kid Matt Chao’s speed sure skyrocketed,– someone remarked.
Robin Lo gazed out the window at the rapidly receding scenery: –Where’s the first stop?–
Zuo Feixian and Yang Zicang exchanged a knowing smile.
–Our old friend, naturally—Mr. Ning Yang.–
In the small Peng Zone standing on the desolate plain, scattered lights gradually flickered to life.
–The day was fine just a moment ago; how did it suddenly turn dark?–
–Penglord, you don’t think there are monsters, do you?–
Ning Yang cast a sidelong glance at the newcomer beside him. Just as he cautiously lit the torch in his hand, dispelling the darkness around them, a sudden gust of fierce wind accompanied by a thunderous roar came rushing in.
The man in the brown leather jacket next to him flinched in fright, instinctively grabbing Ning Yang’s arm.
–Penglord, there really are monsters!–
–This wind…–
A mix of surprise and doubt laced Ning Yang’s voice. –Huh? Could it be Yang Zicang is here again?–
The wind was as deafening as the breath of an ancient beast, abruptly shattering the silence of the wilderness.
–Why is it so loud this time?–
His words had barely faded when the sharp sound of wind appeared behind his shoddy stone hut.
Ning Yang was about to head around back to greet them when suddenly a linear beam shot toward him.
{Old Ning, I’ll borrow this stone for a bit.}
The moment Ning Yang picked up a torch and dashed over, his expression changed drastically.
To his disbelief, Robin Lo and Zuo Feixian had already moved in perfect sync—one swinging a pickaxe, the other hefting a crowbar, jointly prying up the prized slab of stone that Ning Yang had been guarding, rupturing it from its strong, dry grip against the hard ground.
With a thunderous crash, the stone slammed to the earth, dust exploding into the air.
–Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?–
–I’ll explain later.– Robin Lo replied briefly.
Meanwhile, Yang Zicang on the train had deftly caught the –hijacked– stone, while Zuo Feixian and his companion flickered their figures, lightly bracing their palms to vault onto the train.
Accompanied by a deep, power-laden roar, the train, like an awakened beast of legend, slammed through the shackles of space, plunging headlong into the vast darkness, vanishing into a void without a second’s lingering.
The firelight flickered across Ning Yang’s face; his initial shock gave way to a rueful shake of his head.
–I knew it. Sigh, these thirty thousand Chronos points aren’t so easy to earn.–
……
The sudden darkness cast the hearts of all who lived off and depended on this land into a panic as deep as this inverted day and night.
Earth’s day and night, the rotation of seasons—over a billion years, its march had never faltered. This was a truth deeply ingrained in everyone’s mind.
The very nature of heaven and earth was so.
Even in this desolate place, with the land barren and the climate harsh, the fundamental rule of day and night should have remained unchanged.
Now, people finally realized this was merely their own wishful thinking.
–Light the torches, all men, come out now. Prepare the Chronos in case a powerful monster appears.–
–Could there really be monsters?–
–Haven’t the monsters already appeared? Even our lifespans are used as weapons now—what more could be impossible?–
–Using lifespans as weapons… perhaps that is this world’s god showing us mercy.–
In this Peng Zone, people muttered to themselves. Even though this place was called a large Workpen Settlement by others, the people here were still gripped by panic.
This land had no government, no nation, no military—only iron rods and their own lives in their hands.
An upright figure stood in the center of the compacted earthen square, surrounded by Peng Zone citizens holding torches.
Beside this upright figure, who was gazing up at the sky, someone said:
–This is nothing short of a world turned upside down, isn’t it?–
The man in gray-and-white Zhongshan suit abruptly turned his head, his face exuding authority without anger.
–Do not disturb the people’s morale. At worst, we die. Demons and monsters were once human too—why should we fear them?–
–Yes, Sun Penglord,– the man said, his face showing shame. –Forgive me, I misspoke.–
Sun Daoru turned around. A red circular glow emerged on his chest, and a Quad radiated outward.
–To have carved out a patch of land in this world is already fraught with danger. But precisely because of that, we have nothing left to lose.–
This red Quad swept across the tens of people nearby.
Each felt an extra layer of faint ripples enveloping them, the ripples emitting subtle audible waves like unceasingly murmuring, nagging whispers.
–With Sun Penglord here, it should be fine.–
Amidst the hushed chatter, the crowd abruptly heard a rushing wind whipping in from afar.
[Woooosh——]
–It’s here!–
–There really are monsters!–
Chaos erupted within the Peng Zone.
–Prepare for battle!–
Boom! A blast of gale-force wind collided through the air as a phantom-like Crimson-Yellow Subway materialized from the darkness, hurtling straight towards a critical stronghold deep inside the Peng Zone.
–It’s a Psychokinetic-type Nightmare!–
Radiant streaks flickered and spread outward.
{We are Big-Fleet Side, the Cargo Crew, and we wish to borrow your Divine Stone to brace against the coming upheavals.}
Hearing about taking the prized rock from their Peng Zone, the crowd was greatly alarmed. Yet stopping its advance was already an impossibility. The train passed straight through the cluster of buildings, slamming into the structures hundreds of meters beyond, completely disregarding the forbidding forces they mustered.
Having briefly pondered, Sun Penglord remembered the name he’d recently heard from a short while ago.
–Big-Fleet Side?–
The Chuo Cargo Crew had suddenly shot to fame, with whispers that their captain once wiped out the Wild-Chariot Big-Cargo Crew with just a few people, and rumored to have recently accomplished extraordinary feats in a distant land.
Sun Daoru bellowed furiously, –So it was you? What do you mean by stealing the divine stone from our Peng Zone?–
A crimson wave of sound rolled with his roar, surging overwhelmingly like a tidal wave. Countless solidified sonic ripples emerged, as if an army of thousands was charging through the sound waves toward the distant gale.
{What a horrible noise.}
Little Matt Chao sped even faster, charging toward the innermost hall at the rear.
Inside the dark stone hall, rocks stood tall. As the phantom of a train flashed across them, Robin Lo and his two companions had already leaped down. In a single second, he raised his pickaxe, while Zuo Feixian, perfectly in sync, struck a rod into the crevice beneath the rock.
Bang! With a swing of the pickaxe, Little Liu used a running start to slam into the boulder with a Iron Mountain Lean posture, toppling the waist-high stone instantly.
–Stop!–
The crowd outside scrambled in disorderly panic. Though they had yet to arrive, sonic waves had already appeared.
[Chime Night.]
In the darkness, Chime Night was even more potent, and out of the hundred-plus charging outsiders, at least half were seized with terror.
The suspicion and panic that had already festered in their hearts magnified in that moment, like emotional bombs ready to explode—many lost control on the spot.
Most of those who lost composure were the ones whose Moxels had not been overridden by Sun Penglord.
At the car door, Yang Zicang was startled; he hadn’t expected such a powerful effect. It seemed the drastic shift in the sky and earth had plunged everyone here into sheer panic.
–Don’t panic, everyone. We’re not here to rob you; we need this to fend off the coming crisis.–
With that, the three men had already hoisted the boulder and handed it to Yang Zicang.
–I told you to stop. Big Jia’s side, are you trying to become enemies with our Dingshi Greenhouse?!–
Several figures exuding a chilling aura emerged from outside; these were the bedrock powers that sustained Dingshi Greenhouse.
The burly man took a Lance from his companion, the silver-white Moxel on his chest flickering as Chronos poured into it.
–You must be Jiazi Term? I hear you can control trajectories. Try to dodge my spear strike. Drink, ha!–
Boom! The spear’s silhouette shattered instantly into countless projections, striking forth—none could tell which was real, which was fake.
The three men had just lifted the heavy stone and were climbing onto the vehicle, which sat a meter above the ground, when they were immediately overwhelmed by these spear afterimages.
–I don’t have time for your nonsense.–
Yang Zicang raised a hand, and in everyone’s eyes, an unknown dark silhouette in the shape of a small black hole abruptly materialized right before the spear’s projections.
Ding!
Spearhead against spearhead!
The silver-white Lance, shot straight out from the black void, precisely struck the incoming spear shadow. The immense force sent it flying, and with a thump, it embedded into the ground at the feet of the man in front.
The tail of the spear emitted a buzzing tremor.
–How is that possible!–
The man was astounded. He had already elevated his level to 99, and with that single thrust, dozens of afterimages had appeared.
As long as the main entity remained unharmed, these spear shadows would not dissipate—yet the opponent had instantly found the main strike he had launched!
Yang Zicang breathed a silent sigh of relief, thankful that he’d used Chime Night at the very first moment. Now, all objects in the vicinity could provide him with feedback information; finding people or things was no challenge at all.
–Penglord, this guy is no ordinary foe. Let’s all go in together.–
Moxel flickered before a few of them, when suddenly a shout rang out from behind: –No, don’t attack him!–
Sun Penglord, who had just arrived, turned to look. The one shouting was the man in his Peng Zone who had gained the favor of the divine stone—he alone could occasionally communicate with it.
He had crafted what must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of Shin Engines for Peng Zone, making his contributions immense.
–Why?– Sun Daoru demanded, his tone stern.
The newcomer, panting heavily, planted his hands on his knees: –The sacred stone told me… it’s leaving. These people—they’re the ones it brought to take it away.–
As soon as the words were spoken, the panicked crowd ahead felt their fear instantly dissipate as they gazed at the four figures either crouching or standing on the train.
It was Yang Zicang who had withdrawn his secret technique.
They exchanged glances with each other.
–It chooses to leave.– Sun Penglord murmured, looking at the rock, then at the young man on the train, –Really?–
Yang Zicang, who had already retracted the Chime Night, nodded to the crowd.
The train entered the wind.
More and more people arriving witnessed the wind cutting through the stone hall, quickly dispersing into the darkness of the night.
{Next stop…}
–Haotian Greenhouse.–
Whoosh—the train raced across the land like a phantom, swift and silent.
Despite possessing two rocks, it hadn’t yet transformed into a grim midnight train but had already taken on some semblance of that aura.
Zuo Feixian gently touched the rock beside him, feeling as if he could sense the energy it continuously emitted, assisting the train to travel faster across the land.
–Feixian, when did you arrive at the Shibin Wastes?– Little Liu asked idly.
–Me? Hmm, seems like it’s been two or three years. The past is like a dream; I can barely recall it now, heh, don’t be surprised—I just don’t want to dwell on it.–
Little Liu sighed as well, as if reminded of his own experiences.
–It’s okay, I understand.–
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