Lately, Lin Sijie felt he had become a celebrity in Rose Creek.
Though no one discussed it to his face, the girls’ giggles and whispers, along with the odd looks from some work crew members, told the short man that his performance that night over half a month ago was now known to many.
Xu Aiyuan, the Rose Queen who would rather die than let the enemy keep their leverage; Yang Zicang, the cargo team leader from the major client, who turned the gun on himself upon realizing it was a psychic field; and… himself, who could break the real-descent psychic domain field.
All had become fodder for private conversation.
The first two were fine, but when it came to him… some of those heartfelt words from that night had already been memorized backward and forward by others. This made Lin Sijie feel tortured wherever he went; sometimes he wanted to slap himself twice—why had he confessed in front of so many people for no reason? Now the very person involved was in that hall, and he didn’t dare approach it anymore.
–Sigh!- Beneath a collapsed brick wall, Lin Sijie tossed aside the brick he was holding, plopped down heavily on a beam used as a makeshift stool, took a couple of gulps from his water bottle, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
–In the long river of time, who will stay by your side in the end? Only heaven knows.-
Footsteps approached. The thin man looked up.
A figure wearing light brown glasses and clean white clothes appeared outside this ruined section of the city wall.
–Who are you? Please report before entering.-
Lin Site stared grimly at this visitor dressed like a star. On the Lost Frequency Land, someone wearing such attire was almost certainly a being with formidable or bizarre abilities. But he wasn’t afraid now, because Mr. Morri had given him an incredibly powerful secret technique.
–Hello, Mr. Lin Site. I came specifically to find you.-
–Looking for me?- The scrawny man was taken aback. Compared to this person, he was just a grimy little potato—they were from completely different worlds.
–I come from the Lost Illusion Company. My name is Yu Bifang.-
–Oh, the Lost Illusion Company again? Haven’t you already come looking for me?-
–Ah? That must have been Starlight Illusion.- Yu Bifang gave a soft laugh. –I’m not one of them. I come from a different Lost Illusion Company; we’re called Black Fish.-
–What do you do? Is it also about extracting and guiding intersecting spatial information bands?-
Yu Bifang crouched down as well, grabbed two bricks from nearby to sit on, and then said:
–In our former world, countless lost-thought waves were like a raging flood. If Starlight Illusion is like the river regulator, splitting the flood into fine streams and channeling the tamed water to parched land, then we are the treasure hunters who dive deep into the torrent to claim its riches.-
Lin Site grasped the general idea at once.
–So your work is more dangerous?-
–Yes. Walking through those cataclysmic torrent waves as a psychokinetic entity is an extremely, extremely perilous endeavor.-
Yu Bifang, clad in a pristine white suit, nodded.
–There, you may encounter psionic wave bands as terrifying as solar storms, but you might also reap rewards as dazzling as diamonds—an accident could plunge you into hell, or it could earn you treasures like the jewels of heaven. So you must consider carefully.-
He had received a job invitation from the Lost Illusion Company over ten days ago. At the time, Lin Site hadn’t hesitated to reject them. He only wanted to stay at Rose Creek and protect the Rose Queen with his own strength.
But in the following half-month, Lin Site had felt growing pressure from gossip and scrutiny, after all, he had been a hidden quadrilateralMoxel all along. He had also heard about Yang Zicang’s subsequent performance in the psionic field.
With such power, he couldn’t even compare.
He had soberly asked himself—sometimes the protection he wanted to give might just be wishful thinking.
–If I join you, can I come back here?- Lin Site asked the bespectacled man before him.
–No.-
–Then I refuse.-
–You don’t have to answer so quickly.-
Yu Bifang took out an invitation, resembling that of the Starlight Illusion, from his pocket and handed it to the man.
–Also, take this for transportation—after all, crossing the ‘Dead Mist’ without a vehicle is impossible.-
Lin Site stared at the small silk scarf the man had given him.
[I have obtained Unknown Replica No. 1. Remaining usable time limit: three days, it seems.]
–Isn’t this Yang Zicang’s…-
–The transformation of garments into flying carpets is a very ancient and secretive alchemy. Quite coincidentally, our company happened to salvage partial formulas of this secret art from the ‘River of Lost Thoughts.’ Although the road to restoring a precious-grade item like the one Mr. Yang Zicang holds is still very long, we can still manufacture these temporary versions.-
–Wow. No wonder.-
Lin Site stroked the silk scarf in his hand, sensing how to use it.
Yu Bifang stood up and glanced at the figures busy repairing the buildings around them.
–The Earth keeps spinning 365 days a year, even with so many people missing. Hmph, young man, don’t let your hormones fool you.-
The man grinned at the scrawny Lin Site.
–Anyway, if you decide to take the job, set off within two days. At the Lost Illusion Company, your strength will grow tremendously. And once your mental power is enhanced, everyone who looks at you will think you’re incredibly handsome!-
–Wha, what?- Lin Site looked up.
–On behalf of the company, I look forward to your joining. I’ll take my leave now.-
This person turned and walked away step by step, just like an ordinary man. It took him a while to go far, his figure growing smaller and smaller.
Lin Site stood up, glanced at the hall behind him, then looked toward the figure that had vanished in the southwest.
He gritted his teeth, waved the scarf—bang!—and it transformed into a floating flying carpet.
Lin Site took a deep breath and, under the stares of the astonished bystanders, sat down on it. The carpet shot up high with a whoosh, then zoomed off into the distance.
Below, Yu Bifang soon noticed the gaze from above. He looked up, adjusted his glasses frame, waved at her with a smile, and continued on foot.
Lin Site was startled to realize that he hadn’t simply vanished. Shouldn’t someone like him just use some ability to teleport back immediately?
The flying carpet slowed down, hovering at a low altitude.
–Want to come along?- Lin Site asked.
–No thanks, I’ll just walk. It’ll only take a few days.-
–A few… days? Have you been walking all this way?-
–That’s right.-
At that, Lin Site felt her brain short-circuit for a moment, then the corner of her mouth twitched. –Alright… then, take care, sir.-
–Thank you. See you at the end of the month.-
……
–Is death redemption? If I still have any wishes left, please… continue struggling in this eternal hell for me…-
Amid a violent explosion, a bloodied, torn arm reached out, using every last ounce of strength to hand the half-rolled, tattered scroll to the man before him, then shoved him away with all its might—
–Go! We are the strongest mercenaries in this world—no mission is impossible! Go! Take my place as captain and bring it back…-
The scene rapidly collapsed with a shudder, like an explosion playing in reverse. The woman’s eyes snapped open, her heart pounding like a drum, fine beads of sweat beading on her forehead.
The roar of the airplane engine gradually replaced the explosion in the dream.
She took a deep breath. This dream again—no matter how much time passes, these memories remain unforgettable.
A few minutes later, looking at the deep night, she threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and walked barefoot to the door.
[Why is it that even here, she still refuses to wear shoes?]
[Perhaps only this feeling of solid ground beneath her feet can bring peace. Only like this can she feel that the earth still exists…]
She dragged her small suitcase to the middle of the aisle and raised her hand to push the door open.
Hong Haocheng was sleeping soundly, his body tangled haphazardly in the blanket, sprawled precariously near the edge of the bed, as if he might fall off at any moment.
–It’s already the fourteenth.-
She walked over, sat down beside him, and gently caressed his cheek. Her fingertips lightly traced across his skin, as if confirming that he was truly real.
–Will you be able to do it…-
She pressed a little harder on her caress, a barely perceptible sorrow flickering in her eyes… The end of the journey was not as beautiful as she had imagined.
Hong Haocheng’s breathing was steady. His eyelashes quivered slightly, as if responding to her touch in his dream.
–My husband really is handsome. Maybe now I know why I married you in the future.-
Feeling the touch and this ethereal voice in the darkness, the man, exhausted from two weeks of travel, groggily opened his eyes and saw a gentle figure sitting by his side.
–What do you want now?-
She got up and crouched down, her face just level with the boy in bed.
–I want to take my husband to a place.-
–What? Where? We’ve been everywhere these past two weeks.-
She showed a beautiful smile, then stood up and slowly untied her light veil.
Hong Haocheng’s eyes went wide.
He slowly swallowed, looking at the woman’s graceful figure and said, –You… you’re not… for real? Didn’t you say you were taking me somewhere?-
Her hand moved to the sheet and pulled it open…
–To my heart.-
–Hey! Mm…- His lips were sealed by something.
Hong Haocheng felt as if he was caught in an irresistible ocean storm, like a fish swept along by a warm current, unable to resist being carried by the waves. He wanted to break free, but couldn’t resist this bone-deep tenderness.
In the deeper night, Hong Haocheng, who had fallen asleep, found himself awake in his dream.
–This is…-
He suddenly found himself falling.
Around him were thick clouds, and his body was like a gliding fish, leaping down toward the dark but fire-covered earth.
Just as he was flailing in loneliness and panic, suddenly a hand held his. Hong Haocheng looked to the right, and a woman in white, like a spirit, also turned her head, smiling at him.
{Don’t panic, this is my heart.}
–Your heart… why is the world like this? Am I really in a dream? It feels so real.-
Like two diving fighter jets, her other hand pointed forward, and suddenly the surroundings shifted rapidly, as if gods were moving heaven and earth.
The scene changed abruptly—the fire-engulfed buildings quickly restored themselves, and the mountains and rivers became stunningly bright and beautiful.
–These buildings are so strange. What is this place?-
Hong Haocheng gazed at the silver raindrops falling from the sky like countless delicate bead curtains.
The woman tugged his hand and pulled him into an embrace. Hong Haocheng looked at the face before him—elfin, even more beautiful and pure, a face that didn’t seem human.
–I’m so lucky to have met a woman like you,- he murmured.
The young man realized he had truly fallen in love with such a soul.
{Because you have successfully awakened the ancient lost bloodline, the trace of lost bloodline that awakened within you is so pure that it even accommodated the –Painting Trail- bloodline of the monsters.}
As the woman’s words faded, Hong Haocheng felt something awakening within him.
His eyes widened as a sense of appetite surged in his heart.
At that moment, Hong Haocheng suddenly saw countless trajectories behind the woman—golden-purple, red-purple, intricate and complex, the countless lines traced the land she had walked, the paths she had trodden.
–Tens, hundreds, thousands… billions? Twenty-five billion square kilometers?-
Hong Haocheng, still falling, thought of the monster that had devoured his classmates in the rented house. He felt that thing reawakening within his mind!
That thing inside him was not dead yet!
The one who was talking to me before was it, that monster!
[Delicious…]
Leave a Reply