The archives room was a compact small library.
The books inside were all protected by special glass display cases. “Because you, Mr. Yang, possess as many as eleven recorded tracks of blazing glory, you are permitted to read eleven pieces of content preserved in this region of the current epoch. “
Lion Angulo, the regional affairs liaison officer, led Yang Zicang to two large bookshelves on the north side.
“The first shelf before us contains the rewritings made here by the people from the last cycle of fate. Since you have given birth to the flash of a group’s radiance or a colorful light, you have the authority to read them using the entries of blazing glory in your hands. “
With that, the man looked toward a bigger bookcase further inside and added, “However, the time frame of the reading materials cannot exceed the next day recorded—specifically May 3rd. “
Yang Zicang carefully identified the text on the bindings; they were more precise than the written descriptions in the Lost Illusion Company.
“Did the people from the previous cycle of fate manage to prolong this era of Land-Stage? “
Angulo fell silent for a moment, then lifted his eyes:
“As it happens, this matter is linked to the secret that those ember-bearers of the last epoch chose in response. Unless you consume one glowing beam to view the files without me being able to just tell you right now. “
“Additionally,” Angulo pointed in another direction, “that section contains some general information about the next era, Lucero. If you wish to read it, it costs three Catalog entries of Radiance to exchange for one copy. But it only covers the very basic introductions.“
Yang Zicang, his attention originally fixated on the bookshelf before him, involuntarily drifted over, a wave of hesitation stirring within his heart.
-｛Distributor FebruaryDi’an is observing my current life experiences.**｝
“What is your decision, Cuckoo?“
“I… ” Suddenly, a shiver ran down Yang Zicang’s spine, and he whipped his head around to look beside him.
Shaking his head left and right, he found the bird poking its sinister little head out from beside his collar:
“What ~ are ~ you ~ going ~ to ~ do ~ then? Answer me!“
Under the astonished gaze of Leon Angulo, Yang Zicang’s hands whipped through the air, closing in a grab at it.
With a ‘smack’, Yang Zicang swatted his own neck, but the little bird had already swiftly circled his head, a name card dangling from its beak, before swooping down and landing on the back of a nearby chair.
“I want to look at that stuff over there,” Cuckoo chirped, its beak pointing towards the bookcase containing the data on the next era, Lucero.
“You… when did you get so close?” Yang Zicang was now drenched in cold sweat. He shuddered to think about the consequences if this creature had ventured close aiming to kill.
“What kind of bird is that, Hero Sir? Isn’t that your pet?“
The little cuckoo bird immediately hopped up, “You’re the pet, human! You’re the pet in this house! But you guys have something good to drink here, I’ve seen it all, heh-heh… heh-heh-heh… “
Yang Zicang felt a pang of frustration in his heart, mixed with intense seriousness. What was he supposed to do now?
-｛Distributor Fourth Month·Odyssey stared at my present life experience with a terrified gaze.｝
-｛Distributor Odyssey gave me a “bad review. “｝
-｛Distributor Odyssey revised the rating and gave me a “neutral review. “｝
“What are you up to? That guy is about to come over, isn’t he! “
“Oh, my foolish Buchen human, did you really think Cuckoo could come in without making an oath? You’re truly a wingless creature with more brains than wisdom! “
The little bird flicked the business card from its beak a few times, “Anyway, you’re my defeated opponent now, and a defeated opponent who tricked me into signing a pact. Come on, go open that cabinet and show Cuckoo the fun parts of the next epoch-world. “
Yang Zicang inexplicably breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He took a step back and whispered to the regional liaison: “There’s a Defender sealed in that thing on its beak, one that’s not so keen on doing its job. “
Lion Angulo was startled by this and instantly pressed a button on the device at his waist.
“What have you done! “
“Heh, guess what I did, ” Yang Zicang said, smirking coldly at it.
The corridor outside the door was suddenly filled with the sound of rapid footsteps, and waves of oppressive, suffocating pressure fluctuations permeated the surrounding air.
This near-real metal bird’s face instantly twisted with terror. With a whoosh, it lunged forward, charging up abruptly, and the space around the entire chair was swiftly enveloped in a thick, chaotic energy. This same chaotic radiance erupted everywhere throughout the room—in various sizes, on tables, chairs, and stools, at the service desk and the bulletin board, even the green plants and vases in the corner of the room—all glowing with that chaotic light.
Under intense and shifting pressure, they expanded rapidly, as if trying to capture that swift, flying object in the air.
“Damn you, Yang Buchen!” Cuckoo jerked its head away with a swoosh, tucking the business card under its wing. Its body dissolved into a rippling pulse, charging through the air and vanishing entirely.
“It’s gone!” Lion Angulo’s gaze swept through the air, searching. Thump, thump—several footsteps rushed in from the door. A group scattered throughout the room, searching every corner. One of them, dressed as a head of security, spoke: “We’ll go confirm at the sub-ether point field if it’s shown up there. You people…“
His eyes fell to Yang Zicang. “Mm… I hope you can clear out quickly; our people will be waiting here for you.” He glanced at his watch, then looked up and said, “Best not exceed fifteen minutes. We’re going to seal off and do a full sweep now.“
Yang Zicang sighed and nodded.
Glancing at the bookshelf marked with an iron plate reading “The Era of the Ring-Sundial,” Yang Zicang pointed at this cabinet that held the evolution records of the previous Track of Fate.
“First, let’s see how everyone dealt with the world’s doomsday crisis last time. We can look at that other cabinet next time. “
Lion Angulo turned the key to open the cabinet door and selected two documents from inside. “Out of these two, the first is a countermeasure proposed by a few Ember-kindlers in the later stages of the last Wood Weave Calendar, and the second corresponds to the outcome of that plan. “
“According to the records in the Holy One’s memoirs, it seems that everyone ultimately perished in the disaster. “
“Yes. “
Yang Zicang took the two volumes—The Initiation of the Pancontinental Moonlight ProjectandThe Complete Record of the Pancontinental Moonlight Project.
A flicker of light passed through his eyes, as if recalling something, yet he wasn’t quite certain.
“A disaster where everyone dies… “
Yang Zicang’s hand touched the cover ofThe Complete Record of the Pancontinental Moonlight Project. After a pause of a few moments, he opened it. Quickly glancing through it, his pupils abruptly contracted.
“All of humanity has become… the living dead… “
The few people around, who were warily surveying their surroundings, turned back in astonishment. Yang Zicang looked up at the liaison beside him, his gaze tinged with both anger and sorrow.
“So this was their response… their plan…? “
The regional affairs liaison’s face was full of helpless melancholy. “They had no better option either. Still, it allowed them to acquire a piece of ‘Ancient Gold’ grade information. “
Yang Zicang felt as if something struck him in the chest.
The quarter-hour passed quickly. Yang Zicang, who had re-borrowed the true history to witness the continent’s end, saw exactly what Saint Sjornushimin had seen. Beyond witnessing vast territories—cities, factories, trenches, and mountains—all swallowed by an indescribable ironvine that cocooned and devoured life one by one, he found only a scant few, shielded by bloodline powers, recorded as fleeing by boat across the seas.
The flicker of hope just kindled in Yang Zicang’s heart withered to nothing as he returned to the small courtyard.
In the prior era, so many outstanding minds on the continent had gathered as one, yet they couldn’t conceive a better way to preserve this world. Instead, they resorted to a bioviral agent designed to lunarize the world, merely stringing its miserable survival along—paltry compared to the true Moon People of the Lunar Realm.
“Mr. Buchen, have you seen Miss Luna? “
Thorn burst out of the house in a fluster.
“No. What’s wrong? “
“She’s gone. “
Yang Zicang’s mind instantly cast aside all thoughts of the Pan-Continental Moonlight Project and the future of Mu Tao World. He strode toward the living room, reaching the door of the small chamber. Inside, Lyonado was reading a letter. Spotting Yang Zicang’s approach, he handed it over.
“——Uncle Thorn, and Sir Hero, by the time you read this letter, I should have already set off for the new place I need to go… Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself now. I believe that someday in the future, we will meet again. By then, I will have earned as much as Sir Hero, and… “
The rest was left unwritten, but Yang Zicang had a vague suspicion of what might have happened.
Indeed. A girl so intelligent, who from childhood had learned a language and knowledge known only to herself, stored them completely in her mind without anyone to share or discuss them with, and carried them into the future. How could such a person, after facing a dense series of abnormal events, not become suspicious of this world?
Yang Zicang carefully folded the paper.
“It’s alright, Mr. Thorn. I believe Miss Lena will excel in what her new identity requires her to do. “
……
Some leave, some come, and some come only to leave again—this was a sentence Yang Zicang had read in a magazine over the past two days.
His intuition told him this phrase from the article might be a code for certain people, but he merely glanced at it before flipping past.
By the time noon arrived, after changing out of his medicinal bath-soaked clothes, Yang Zicang followed the nurse who had been applying ointment to him these past two days, heading to the adjacent clinic.
“Haha, madam, your eye is as sharp as ever. “
“Not quite. I’m simply naturally quite interested in such exquisite craftsmanship. “
Yang Zicang’s gaze swept over. That familiar face felt the stare, turned with a smile sparkling in her eyes, gave a slight start, then nodded and followed a sharp-eared woman in her fifties who was also leaving.
It was Yao Xiaoqin. Without faltering in his stride, Yang Zicang followed the nurse into the clinic.
“Mr. Yang, your skin is much better than it was at the very beginning. I believe in a few more days you can rely solely on topical medication for the later stages of treatment. “
“Thank you for all your hard work. “
He was filling in an admission form and, as if idly asked, “Are those two staying around here too? “
Most people who came here to rent space for business rarely entered the residential district.
“Neither of those two ladies is simple. I suggest you don’t waste your time on them, Mr. Yang. Someone’s already learned a hard lesson from that before. “
Yang Zicang nodded, feigning understanding.
He could be almost certain now: Yao Xiaoqin had already recognized him.
It was the same room. After his medicinal soak finished dressing, Yang Zicang stepped to the door and sensed someone waiting for him quietly on the other side.
His hands, grown tougher with age, twisted the knob quickly. He had barely opened it a crack when a slender figure slipped swiftly inside. Yao Xiaoqin fixed her calm eyes on the man with the burned, indifferent face, looking up in full focus.
“How did you end up so hurt? “
“It’s a lot better already. And honestly? I’ve grown to like this face. “
Yao Xiaoqin fell silent for a moment. Her eyes darted for a quick glance her bag.
｛I activatedSilent Night.****｝
In Yang Zicang’s perception, a delicate recording device lay hidden in the lower compartment of this bag, with a slim cassette tape precisely and stably secured inside.
However, the entire person across from him was cut off by the pervasive force of the rented land, serving as a reminder that illegal conflicts were not permitted here, or else one would pay the price.
“Why haven’t you come to see me for so long? ” Yang Zicang thought for a moment, then switched to a tone resembling an angry boyfriend questioning his girlfriend.
“I don’t think that kind of relationship between us is any good, ” Yao Xiaoqin said, glancing sideways at her bag. “When will you be heading west? “
After uttering this sentence, she opened her mouth and silently formed the word “now.“
“Hmm… It shouldn’t be too slow. Time is already running short. And, I’ve also come to know some secret things about this continent. On the way to the west coast, we should encounter matters that could give birth to new radiance. “
“What’s that? Can you take me along? “
“Heh heh. “
Faced with this response, the woman couldn’t tell whether he was being deliberate or simply playing the role.
“C-can I still go back there? ” The woman looked up at him, her brows tightly furrowed. She then raised her hand, presenting a brass key that brushed against Yang Zicang’s hand.
Sensing absolutely no feedback from it, Yang Zicang’s heart suddenly dropped with a thud.
His gaze turned deep and intense. He yanked the woman tightly around the waist, already clenching a key in his palm.
｛I am preparing to offer a tip for the unlocking device of COSTELLA HOTEL.｝
But at this very instant, Yang Zicang’s heart suddenly tightened, and he halted his movement.
He carefully scrutinized every detail of Yao Xiaoqin’s face, the strands of hair wrapping around her, even the contours of her ears.
“Can you dance?“
“Me?” Yao Xiaoqin’s brows furrowed sharply. “You… you don’t trust me anymore?“
Yang Zicang was momentarily speechless.
She let go of his hand, took two steps back quite naturally, gave a slight bow, and then raised her head with an affected smile, asking, “What dance would the President like to see me perform?“
“Oh! Su Man, so you’re here!” A woman’s voice suddenly called out from the distant corridor, accompanied by the sight of two men turning the corner and approaching.
Yao Xiaoqin glanced at Yang Zicang and lowered her eyelids. “Su Man is actually my real name. I’ll dance this one for you another time. If you have a boat ticket…“
Before she could finish, the trio had already come up to them, the two men greeting her with polite courtesy.
“So you must be the famous hero himself! What a true honor! We never imagined we’d meet such a grand figure here. Haha.” The group chimed in warmly.
Yang Zicang smiled, then looked at the people who were about to take the woman away and said, “Please wait a moment, everyone. I’d like to have a few more words with my member.“
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