In the evening, a huge blanket appeared above the bustling tent area.
Many people had gathered there, having just held a large ritual ceremony nearby.
–Look up in the sky, something is flying.-
–That’s the cargo team leader from the big Jiafang.-
The shadow of the giant blanket fell.
Yang Zicang jumped directly from the air. At the moment of landing, he slowed down slightly, landing his feet gently on the ground. Then the blanket swished back, falling like a silk scarf or vest around his shoulders.
–Wow, so handsome!-
Some ladies on the ground had stars sparkling in their eyes.
Yang Zicang had no intention of showing off, but whenever he took the train, he would inevitably suffer from fever and nightmares at night. Although Lucid Sense could help him recover, it required more than an hour of meditation, which was quite a hassle.
Besides, Little Matt Chao had run off somewhere unknown by now.
The silk scarf landed precisely in his hand. It was perfect in every way, except that when transformed back into its original form, it was something a girl would wear.
–Oh, Master Zicang! What an honor, what an honor to have you here!-
A plump man trotted out from the newly built house.
–Just you alone, Captain Zicang? Your female companion didn’t come along?-
–I have no female companion, just me. Tent Master Zhang Xian, and everyone, please don’t stand on ceremony. Just call me Xiao Yang or Zicang.-
His real name had long been exposed, so Yang Zicang no longer bothered with the alias.
–Oh, I’ve taken on a goddaughter—she’s as beautiful as a fairy and very considerate. I’ll introduce her to Master Zicang later.-
Yang Zicang gave a helpless smile. –No need.-
The surrounding people warmly came to greet him. Yang Zicang turned and spotted Li Shangxiang’s figure in the crowd, who was smiling and waving at him.
……
Inside Hub Town.
After sleeping for many days, Morri used a recovery-type ability ball to heal his body, then went out to eat with Boboli.
–Zhenxiu Fang, let’s eat here. It’s a newly opened restaurant—they say their soup nourishes the body, which is good for your recovery.-
–I’m already pretty much recovered.-
–If you were really recovered, your complexion wouldn’t be so pale. The treatment ball only mends your body; it won’t instantly restore your vitality. Come on.-
The costly, delicious food arrived quickly, and the two ate while chatting.
Morri asked again about Yang Zicang’s recent situation, and the unease in his heart grew stronger. According to what was said on the phone, Yang Zicang had lost Moxel only recently. Now it was almost mid-July, and he could lose Moxel at any moment.
But did he really want to do this?
Changing the future would mean his own death, and he didn’t even know what had happened to Julia.
–What’s wrong with you now?-
Boboli’s pale blue eyes swept over him.
–Why are you eating with such an uneasy look? Were you even listening to what I just said? I told you I’ve been swarmed by people forcing me to sign proxy training contracts lately.-
–Sigh.- Morri put down his chopsticks. –What’s Yang Zicang doing right now?-
–Having dinner with Shi Qian.-
–Cough!- Morri nearly choked on the tea he’d just swallowed. –Shi Qian?-
–Yeah, oh, I hadn’t even gotten to Shi Qian before, just bragging about your ability ball. Actually, Shi Qian is an organization.-
Morri stared at Boboli. He felt as if the boy across the table had multiple afterimages, and he barely heard what was said—his mind was stuck on that one phrase…
—Shi Qian is an organization.
So the information he knew from the future had been told to him by Boboli?
Morri lowered his head, eyes wide, listening to each word that struck him like a suffocating blow to his chest.
–This time… the Shi Qian team… really helped a lot…-
Boboli held his chopsticks in a peculiar but nimble way. While picking up food, he said, –Wuying used invisibility to steal several key body parts from that Xingmiao Great God.-
–Wuying? Invisibility? The one who attacked your Brother Yang last time?-
–Nope, the ability is exactly the same, but it’s a different person. He’s a really kind-hearted guy, helped Brother Zicang several times.-
Morri forced out the words: –Different person…-
Voices kept reaching his ears. Morri felt dizzy; he stood up, swaying on his feet.
–Hey?-
–I… need to step out for a bit…-
Morri muttered, staggering toward the door, –It’s real… they can steal Moxel…- He pushed the door open in a daze and collided head-on with several people.
–Watch where you’re going, you idiot!-
–Yo, if it isn’t Alexander.-
Morri didn’t even care about the shouting from the person beside him. He just wanted to go anywhere, to escape, to get away from Boboli, and he didn’t want to hear any news about Yang Zicang.
He wildly thought of Julia’s face and the tender love she had shown him.
The images of their first meeting, their travels, their experiences of moving to a new country to work together…
–If you lost Moxel, so be it. I’ll send you new artifacts into the Lost Frequency Land. Maybe you’ll still be a quadrilateral, and maybe you’ll still be very powerful…-
–Hey, I’m talking to you! Can’t you hear me?-
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed the man by the shoulders and yanked him around. Morri turned his head, and his dazed eyes finally focused.
–Xiao Yushan?-
–You still remember me? I was the one who brought you into Hub Town! And now you don’t even say hello when we meet? What are you still doing here anyway? Where did you get the Chronos?-
–My Chronos…- Morri paused. –I earned it here.-
Only he himself knew how desperate he had been back then, but all that changed in an instant.
Thanks to that wish talisman.
Yes, thanks to the wish talisman.
–Heh heh.-
Xiao Yushan wore a disdainful smirk.
–Last time I saw you coming out of Quanbei Road, seemed like you were doing pretty well.-
–I don’t live there anymore.-
–Yo, you even eat at Zhenxiu Fang now.-
One of the group said to Morri with a smile.
–I heard the rent for that kind of place is two to three hundred Chronos per month, plus the three-hundred Chronos deduction at the end of the month, and then your daily expenses. Are you planning to enjoy yourself there before you die?-
Morri turned to leave, but was grabbed again.
Xiao Yushan pointed at his clothes and said, –You bumped into me just now, didn’t you see? It’s dirty.-
When Xiao Yushan learned that the guy he had kicked out of the team had been living in Hub Town for nearly half a year, he was genuinely surprised.
If you have a Chronos weapon and minimize the offset on the Chronos principal, stabilizing an A-level zone would net at least thirty to forty thousand Chronos. But after splitting it among dozens of team members, exchanging for resources, buying supplies, equipment, and low-level Chronos weapons, everyone was still scraping by—no one dared to even think about luxury.
Yet here he was, renting a big house for months, and his situation just kept improving.
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Yushan suddenly had an epiphany.
The only possibility was that this foreigner had been holding out on them.
……
A few more people came walking together from the road—all familiar faces, all former teammates.
Morri looked at them. Several of them greeted him—after all, they had fought together before, and not all of them were mocking.
–Brother Yushan.-
–Let’s go into the private room. This guy looks pretty lost. Just let him go.-
His teammates saw that the captain was deliberately picking a fight, so someone tried to dissuade him.
Boboli came running out.
–Leave? Fine, but first pay for this suit, how about that? Custom-made, 10,000 Chronos.-
Hearing this, not only Boboli and Morri were taken aback, but his teammates and passersby near the entrance were also stunned.
–What’s your problem? This suit of yours is worth at most a dozen Chronos,- a bystander said.
–Captain, is that really necessary? We’ve fought shoulder to shoulder,- the teammates advised, unaware of whatever grudge this former vice-captain held against the man.
Morri frowned at Xiao Yushan.
This man was about his height, but his presence far outweighed it.
–Alexander, I know exactly what kind of scum you are, and I know exactly what your ability is. Today, with the whole squad coming for a team-building in town, it’s the heavens opening up to let me run into you.-
–What do you mean?- Morri’s eyes flickered with gloom. He moved his hand, slipping out of Xiao Yushan’s grip like a loach.
–Oh, now you’ve learned some kung fu?-
–What do I mean? Don’t you get it? Pay me Chronos—or to put it more plainly, give me back my Chronos!-
–Give back?-
Boboli stood beside Morri. Though two heads shorter, he planted his hands on his hips with considerable spirit.
–Give back your big head! Chronos were earned by us. Wait—Morri owes you Chronos? Morri owes you Chronos? Hah, you must be joking.-
Boboli sized up the group from head to toe.
The clothes of Morri and his companion were indeed very stylish. Compared to this group that had just trudged dozens of miles from the city to Hub Town for a team-building retreat, it was like city folk sizing up country bumpkins.
Anger immediately flared across Xiao Yushan’s face.
After all, he was the deputy captain of a large team capable of stabilizing an A-grade crossover zone, and he was already qualified to become captain—the old former captain was now barely acknowledged by anyone.
Yet here, in this town, he was being humiliated by a half-grown kid, and right in front of so many people.
The red-haired young man stepped forward and said, –Kid, even if this is Hub Town, getting hit still hurts. I suggest you show some respect to our captain.-
–I suggest you show respect to our captain too!- Boboli said, enunciating each word.
–Your captain?-
Everyone turned to look at him simultaneously, then shifted their gaze to Morri.
Morri’s mouth fell open. It seemed he really was, in fact, a captain.
–What’s our team called again?- he inexplicably asked Boboli.
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