Zhou Liren never intended to expose the ability of his savior.
But with the head of Cargo Crew, a major client, pressing for answers and facing the intangible aura radiating from Yang Zicang, Zhou Liren dared not conceal anything.
–He said his name was Wuying, but he has several names—he even mentioned one called Shi Qian. Quite strange, but a good person. He turned invisible to carry me out of the cave and then fled quickly.–
–Shi Qian… invisible?–
–Yeah, uh, Captain Jia, do you know this guy?–
Helping someone on a whim? Was it because he’d accepted the bounty from the Lord of the Wastelands and was looking to get close to this area?
Yang Zicang, who had originally planned to head out to Hubville, sat back down and said with a slightly grave tone:
–Come on, tell me everything you encountered in detail, especially about this Shi Qian.–
……
Nearly a week passed.
On Sunday morning, Yang Zicang, just back from Hubville and having slept for only three hours, suddenly felt a gentle nudge on his eyelids.
{Wake up!}
Yang Zicang opened his eyes to see an adorable little face occupying his entire field of vision, right before him.
–Cut it out, I’m still dead tired.– Suddenly spotting this thing nearly pressing against his pupils, he didn’t even have room to tilt his head back.
The little elf, dressed in a white light dress, hovered up from her eyelids, holding something like a pen in her hand.
After Yang Zicang got up, she would occasionally hover near his nose and ears, sometimes even perching on his shoulder.
{I’m their Reporter, Liliya, and from now on I’ll be writing your influence report on the Shibin Wastes! }
Her sharp yet sweet, delicate thoughts rang out in Yang Zicang’s mind.
{Get up, you sleepyhead. Today’s a new start—you need to earn at least ten points of fame this week, or else I’m off! }
–Haven’t I got no fame at all yet this week?–
With the beasts around the mountain cleared, ordinary people found it tougher to enter, and the market had stabilized in scale. The week had just begun, and Yang Zicang’s fame value was still a bit shy of the ten points needed to file a report.
{The editor-in-chief has already taken notice of you and sent me to keep tabs. Get up quickly—you might just get taken on by the chief editor later. }
–Why should I listen to you? You’re just a reporter, not my live-in maid!–
Yang Zicang drawled lazily.
Shwaaa, shwaaa!
The little spirit fished out a crumpled piece of light paper from somewhere, picked up a pen as long as her fingernail, and wrote: Sunday: Yang Zicang only woke up at noon, indifferent to Liliya’s reminders. He’s no proper fame-seeker.
Even though the paper was tiny, these messages only needed a glance to enter the young man’s vision—minuscule characters as small as a needle’s tip could be directly comprehended.
–Go write somewhere else, don’t try to deliberately infuriate me with these words.–
Yang ZiCang gently brushed her aside with the back of his hand.
{Hmph!}
The little creature glared at him angrily, then vanished with a shwoop into the light orb.
The scent of the incense ball drifted over, and Yang ZiCang shook his head, his drowsiness slightly lifting.
–Morris hasn’t woken up yet. What exactly did he encounter?–
Last night, after implanting the platform into Boboli, Yang ZiCang returned to Hubville once more, staying for three hours.
According to Ju Yin Chase’s investigation, Morris had visited a woman who could make telephone calls to the future.
However, because it was the middle of the month, the woman had already gone back to her city to help settle the newcomers, so exactly what happened remained unclear—only the possible outcome of that call was understood.
–If one wants to change the future, there’s a high possibility that danger will arise after the change, leading to death.–
Yang ZiCang rubbed his head. Something had gone wrong with Morris after he made that call—was it because he learned about some future intelligence?
He stepped out of the tent.
–Skewers here, fresh grilled skewers! These are powerful monsters from A-Class sceneries, eating one will unblock your meridians. Come and try them now!–
–Fries, cola, chocolate—the taste of home.–
–Wear a beast-skin coat, enjoy a refined life.–
In the days since selling incense pellets, the ferocious beasts on the outskirts had been nearly wiped out. Many people were now gathering materials and crafting ground-type Sanctuary Moxel. At the same time, large patches of forest were being cut down in preparation for the low temperatures of autumn and winter.
It is said that every year, people who venture out in spring can pick up a large number of Shin engines, because the winter cold claims many lives.
Amid the crowd’s greetings, Yang Zichen arrived at Robin Luo’s room. This guy had lost a fair amount of weight over this period.
–Getting up so early—can you handle Xiao Mateus so well exhausted?–
Yang Zichen glanced at the small orb of light in the sky. –I’m fine. Can you check on Morris’s condition for me? I learned more about him last night.–
–Spill the details.–
–He visited someone who can dial the future. According to Bobo-li, he was trying to reach his fiancée. He doesn’t know if she entered this world with him.–
–So it’s because he’s worried about his fiancée he went to see that lady. Mm, go on.–
Yang Zicang sat on the chair beside Robin Lo’s bed and said,
–According to Futown Chief, a phone call can last at most three minutes, consuming three thousand years within that time; exceeding it would cost a massive amount of Chronos. And here’s the key point: if you hear something unacceptable about the future and try to change it, you’re likely to die. That’s the price of altering the ‘Anchor Future.’–
Robin Lo’s expression grew heavier with each word.
Yang Zicang exhaled and continued, –At the same time, Ms. Mai Ya also admitted that most callers inexplicably learn bad news for themselves.–
–Incredible.–
Robin Lo cracked his fingers, hesitating as he looked at the young man across from him and said,
–Obviously, your friend didn’t just call one or two years ahead. It must be that three years later, something he found unacceptable triggered this anomaly. But from the call to his return, there wasn’t much time. What could he have done to change the future? Did you check his itinerary after leaving Hubville?–
–Ju Yin Chase already investigated. He didn’t do anything on the way home, just went to sleep and slept till now. It’s speculated that his ‘soul’ might have some issue. That’s what an official from Hubville’s Construction Department said—he has talent in that area.–
–Soul? Huh, so that thing actually exists…– Robin Lo pondered for a moment, then activated his Moxel.
[I’m digging up the latest intel on Morris for a second time; this will cost me 10N of my principal.]
Yang Zicang watched Robin Lo nervously.
Suddenly, the Moxel on Robin Lo’s chest convulsed violently. He coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the ground, nearly collapsing.
–What’s wrong!–
Yang Zicang rushed forward to steady Robin Lo.
–It’s… nothing, coughing… just a cough.–
Robin Lo’s eyes went wide as he stared at Yang Zicang. It took him a long moment to catch his breath before speaking: –Don’t worry. It’s exactly as you said—his soul is damaged, so he’s currently sleeping to repair it. Should be fine in a few days.–
–But this… you get hurt from gathering intel too?–
–I think I glimpsed something terrifying. That thing… how should I put it? It wasn’t even trying to hide its presence; I nearly died just from knowing it existed.–
–It seems to be lurking in Morris’s Sea of Spirit…–
Yang Zicang’s hand, holding Robin Lo, went rigid.
–In Morris’s Sea of Spirit,– he murmured.
……
A file landed on Li Mi’s desk.
–These are the new recruits we found this time. None of them have a Moxel. Also, those three you’ve been keeping an eye on—their spirit energy is looking better and better. No wonder Yang Zicang taught them those secret techniques.–
–These secret techniques can also be used by ordinary people—I truly never would have guessed that.– The ruddy-faced man before them said with satisfaction, –How are you progressing on organizing the mental-based secret techniques on our side? Do we have any?–
–Only two volumes, and neither is particularly good. The ones Yang ZiCang gave them are the best, after all—they’re secret techniques circulating in Hubville, obtained only by masters capable of stabilizing A-Class Crosspace.–
Li Mi studied the list carefully. On it were people’s ages, years, and simple notes on their mental state.
–I understand. Let them practice for now. In two months, select those who have made good progress to acquire the Moxel. Half a year from now, we should know whether these secret techniques are useful for obtaining high-line Moxel.–
–Understood, Boss Li.–
……
Lee Zhinan glanced at the cold man staring at him from behind, then turned and walked forward.
{I’ve already sent someone to test it. Even with those incense pellets, this mountain can’t be entered. The phantom we saw at the very beginning should be inside the mountain.}
–What if he attacks me?–
{Based on my reasoning, you should have plenty of time to escape. Anyway, go in and take a look first. If you find any good stuff, remember to bring it out. The more you bring out, the longer you’ll live.}
{If you can bring out items related to psychic abilities, I’ll let you go.}
Lee Zhinan could only pray that this man was not deceiving him. He didn’t even dare curse the demon in his heart, uncertain if thoughts could be transmitted telepathically, yet terrified of being discovered by him.
Because a knife had been sewn into his body by this man.
Such a nightmarish freak possessed an entire set of those monstrosities!
…
As they gradually approached this lofty mountain, faint murmurs seemed to whisper in his ears, and each time, he smelled a fragrance that emanated from the very depths of his soul.
｛It really works.｝
The Bandaged one sat casually in the distance on the ground, fiddling with a small, ruddy-bladed dagger in his hand.
–That scent… It’s Wang Chaoguang…–
Lee Zhinan felt like vomiting, but the urge to retch remained lodged within him, unable to escape.
The forest was dense. After half a day, he discovered a tunnel entrance within the mountain, its gate built from colossal rock bricks like the portal to a military fortress.
｛This is it. Go take a look inside. Good luck.｝
Lee Zhinan, hesitating at the entrance, suddenly felt a stabbing pain wrenching inside him as the knife was twisted. He was drenched in cold sweat and could only helplessly force himself to move deeper through the tunnel.
After advancing barely a hundred meters, countless vines seemed to erupt from nowhere, covering every inch of the passage in an overwhelming wave.
–Ah!– Lee Zhinan turned around in fright and fled, but in the next second, a rough and eerie thought voice echoed.
{A clear-minded one who can resist illusions… Save me…}
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