Three psychic alchemy objects slowly floated and rotated in the air.
Yang Zicang first looked at the crystal glasses, which had a fairly decent appearance. He wondered if wearing them to see Miss Xu Aiyuan would reduce the natural influence of her ability.
The thought barely surfaced before Yang Zicang shook his head and dismissed it.
–Hmm, let’s rule out the glasses first.-
Next was the small beehive shrouded in mist. Yang Zicang picked it up, brought it closer, and peered into a hole as small as a mung bean—the inside seemed empty.
–As for the ring… well, it doesn’t seem very useful either.-
—-My boss suggests you pick the ring.-
Outside the force field rippling with hexagonal wave patterns, a voice boomed, and with its roar, the voices of many other psychic entity owners also echoed through the conduit.
—-The glasses are better than the ring.-
—-The beehive might be more useful.-
All three prizes received a fair share of recommendations.
–Is it the anger of the oppressed burning in people’s hearts? The ‘Malice Force’?-
The young man’s brows furrowed slightly. He looked at the Wind Spirit Warrior and said, –I’ll take this small beehive.-
The psychic entity that offered the extra reward had a stronger –psychokinetic- attachment and could already understand Yang Zicang’s words. The warrior nodded, lightly pinched his fingers, and the floating beehive instantly became more three-dimensional, almost tangible.
It drifted onto Yang Zicang’s hand, the surrounding space growing chaotic, the force-field walls turning soft.
—The enemy’s malice can also brew honey.
Some words emerged on the small beehive in his palm like flowing light, then faded and dissipated.
—.
……
Over these two days, Hong Haocheng appeared quite mysterious in Zhang Miao’s eyes. This newcomer seemed to possess special channels of information, knowing the waters and terrain beyond this island like the back of his hand.
Though Zhang Miao had tried countless times to warn Hong Haocheng of the island’s dangers, he couldn’t dissuade the man from going his own way.
Now, under cover of night, the man was finally about to bring him to this island formed from fragments of City 11.
–We’re here.- Hong Haocheng lay flat on the water, turned his head, and gave Zhang Miao a thumbs-up:
–Kid, as a backup Chronos, you’ve grilled fish pretty well these two days. I’ll see if I can scrounge up some other food to treat you later.-
Zhang Miao yawned as he stood up from the water, wringing out his blanket.
Just then, several flashlight beams cut through the darkness.
–Finally gotcha!-
Hong Haocheng raised an arm and looked toward the shouting. Amidst the clatter of footsteps, four or five people with silver-white halos flashing on their chests surrounded them.
But then Hong Haocheng noticed that the flashlight beams were mostly aimed at Zhang Miao’s face beside him.
–Is that guy with the broken arm dead or not?-
–Talk, kid. Where’s that Enightmare plane?-
Hong Haocheng was left awkwardly out in the cold.
Zhang Miao glanced at him and said flatly, –The plane sank. That man is dead too.-
–Oh~- The burly man who seemed to be the leader among the four or five let out a sigh.
–A perfectly good plane, gone just like that.-
Sensing the regret thick in the air, Hong Haocheng relaxed a bit and joined in mourning the loss of the Enightmare.
Then the burly man looked up and said to Hong Haocheng:
–You, what kind of Moxel are you? Whatever, I don’t care what you’re called. Join us, or else—heh heh.-
–Heh heh heh heh.-
The group closed in, each holding a melee weapon that shimmered with a golden glow.
The leader licked his dagger as he advanced: –Ever heard the sound of a chest being split open? The heartbeat goes from ‘thump, thump, thump’ to ‘puff, puff, pa~.’ Come on, hand over your lifespan, then take us to the plane model.-
–What?-
Hong Haocheng turned to look at the ring on Zhang Miao’s chest, flashing from constant incoming contact requests.
Zhang Miao quickly raised his hands: –It’s not my fault! Look at my Moxel—it’s never been stable. I haven’t linked to a single Syn-Link request.-
A shifty-looking man emerged from the other side, smirking and dangling a rope: –I figured you’d come to this island. Hands on your heads! Surrender.-
–The Moxel might also fly—that’s a real treasure.-
So that’s it. Hong Haocheng raised his hands as he stepped ashore and strode toward the man swinging the lasso. Seeing the kid emerging from the water step by step, the shifty-looking man was quite pleased:
–‘You’re smart, kid…’-
Before the word ‘smart’ left his mouth, Hong Haocheng stamped his foot and in a single step barreled into the man’s chest.
Bang!
In the instant the two tumbled to the ground, the bald youth flipped over and lunged at the other man.
The tiny red ring on his chest flickered.
[Because I’m a magical triangle! I can triple the amplification!]
[452N! What immense years—can’t even be divided evenly!]
Before the man could react, Hong Haocheng’s fingers dug into the gap between his shoulder blades. With a twist and a pull, a crisp ‘crack’ mingled with the grating crunch of bones, and the man let out a scream like a stuck pig.
[I offset—offset 140N.]
Then Hong Haocheng gripped the man’s head with both hands. A ‘crack’ sounded from the throat, and his head was nearly twisted all the way around. But in that critical instant, the head jerked and eerily swiveled back a bit.
–Hmm?- Hong Haocheng was slightly taken aback. Was it because he hadn’t attacked with Chronos?
–Just a pale augmented glow, not even a thousand years of augmentation, and you dare to be so insolent?-
The others beside him charged even more furiously. Thud thud thud! In the chaotic fight, figures tangled together. One of them suddenly broadened his shoulders, tightly grabbing Hong Haocheng, as a golden phantom emerged on his hand.
–Die! Ah~ Ooh~-
Hong Haocheng kicked backward, landing squarely on the man’s groin. Just as he freed his arms from the tight grip, a stream of filth sprayed like a fountain from another man’s mouth.
Blargh!
A yellow-brown gunk mixed with half-digested vegetable leaves showered down on him, the stench making Hong Haocheng almost vomit. He wiped the filth from his eyes, spat –Pah!-, and with a kick sent the man stumbling away.
Pale-faced Zhang Miao dashed into the water and swam away.
Hong Haocheng also rushed out of the –fountain- and plunged into the lake.
After swimming a distance, Hong Haocheng surfaced, having repeatedly washed himself, and yelled angrily, –Damn! Isn’t there any safe place here?-
Curses rang out from the shore.
–Eh, what’s that?-
Hong Haocheng noticed something reflecting the moonlight on the distant water. He took a deep breath, submerged, and swam swiftly toward it like a nimble fish.
–A safe place? Well, besides the relatively safe interlaced space I mentioned earlier, there’s an absolutely safe place: Hub Town. But only experts can get in—or the teammates of experts. Hey? Where is he?-
Zhang Miao looked around. The person who had been beside him a moment ago was already gone.
Suddenly, the silent night air was torn by the roar of an engine. The water’s surface split rapidly as a small boat rushed in from the distance.
The burly man on the shore saw the wake slicing across the water and shouted in alarm, –Ah! That bastard stole our boat!-
–Bring it back! That’s our yacht!-
–Fuck your ancestors!-
The boat—something like a yacht but covered in a scaly shell—pulled up sharply beside Zhang Miao. The bald man grinned, reaching out toward the water, and said:
–What a find! Picked up a monster yacht as soon as I landed. Hurry up and get on.-
–You call that ‘picking up’?!-
Zhang Miao was hauled onto the boat by Hong Haocheng. He spat and leaned against the railing. –Still, you’ve got sharp eyes. I didn’t even know there was a boat here. This really is a good catch.-
–Not just a boat—there’s food, too. Ooh, citrus—source of sugar! Sachima, rice packets, not bad… and chocolate! Thank you, Mother Nature, for the bounty.-
Zhang Miao looked back at the figures stomping and cursing on the shore under the lights. –Without a boat, they’re going to have a hard time getting back. By the way, Brother Hong, you’re amazing. Are you a martial artist?-
–Not really.-
Hong Haocheng recalled that he had only undergone special training for a month, and during their travels, he and Feng Juguan would occasionally squeeze in a few practice sessions. Yet in that brief span, he had already mastered these combat moves—all thanks to the power of the fused monster.
–Can you teach me martial arts? I can find a way to get you Chronos.–
–Then I’ll have to think it over very carefully.–
The wind sweeping across the lake turned ominous, and suddenly fine ripples spread across the water’s surface.
Hong Haocheng and Zhang Miao had just stuffed a piece of jerky into their mouths when they both involuntarily looked toward the shore.
A gust of wind pressure flattened the reeds along the lakebank. A dark, viscous blue energy body, three to four meters tall, emerged from the darkness, swinging its massive palm toward the group that had sensed something amiss and turned to stare.
–Ah!–
Amid their screams, it seized one person and dragged them into its viscous blue energy form.
The victim’s cry instantly ceased.
–What is that thing?– The jerky slipped from Hong Haocheng’s hand onto the boat. –Is this the ‘giant’ you mentioned?–
–They must be… the ones who were once the powerhouses of City 11,– Zhang Miao swallowed hard. –They’ve lost their human consciousness and become monsters.–
The remaining four scrambled into the lake. The towering energy monster lunged forward, snatching one person in each hand, and amid their despairing screams, it shoved them into its belly, where they were instantly dissolved by its energy.
Hong Haocheng rushed to the stern and yanked the Enightmare engine module. –You brought me to this place? Damn it, I knew you couldn’t be trusted.–
–It’s my first time too, bro. And I did tell you it was dangerous.–
–Do you have any idea how huge that thing is?– Hong Haocheng shouted from the boat. –Terrifying—I can’t even throw it over my shoulder!–
The giant on the bank seemed afraid of water. It stood at the edge, glanced at the two in the lake and the distant boat, then turned and walked into the crumbling phantom of the city in the dark.
The two figures swam toward the boat.
–Help!–
–Please, help us! We’ll give you the Chronos—just save us!–
Zhang Miao looked at Hong Haocheng. –Should we save them?–
–Do you think I graduated from kindergarten?–
The speedboat quickly veered into the darkness beside them, and the fragmented silhouette of No. 11 City gradually came into view for the two.
–It’s huge—almost as big as a small county town.–
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