At this moment, Lee Zhinan had encountered the so-called mechanical monstrosity the vines had mentioned. It was utterly unlike the robots of Earth’s humanity; it was a puppet crafted by another civilization using magic runes and crystals, akin to a war chariot.
Fortunately, it seemed someone had been here before—the great hall was strewn with shattered mechanical puppets and human remains, leaving only a single, bloodstained mechanical giant still operational.
Confronted by these roaring, rotating mechanical constructs, Lee Zhinan’s entire body trembled. In the past, his greatest trials had been facing wild beasts like jackals; he had never witnessed such perilous scenes as those of the past few days. Were it not for the soothing scent of flowers within him, this young man would have long since teetered on the verge of mental collapse.
｛Don’t be afraid. I’m here.｝
No sooner had the bandage—which had been in Syn-Link with him—spoken than, with a pfft, a blade pierced through the skin on Lee Zhinan’s chest from the inside out.
Lee Zhinan looked down at his chest, where the scalpel’s hilt, adorned with small red eyes, extended outward.
｛Grasp it. Prepare to infuse your Moxel, Channeling Chronos for enhancement!｝
BOOM! RUMBLE!
The ground quaked. Lee Zhinan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as the right hand holding the scalpel was suddenly yanked into a raised posture, confronting the charging mechanical beast head-on.
–My, my hand’s numb.–
The bandage chuckled and said,
{Maintaining limb numbness will better suit the conditions of being dominated by a sterile scalpel.}
The foremost mechanical behemoth rushed in at breakneck speed, several of its mechanical arms, long as sharp spears, gleaming with a cold light as they rose.
[The Bandage Doctor Invested 6000N in me.]
The scalpel jerked violently, and Lee Zhinan’s hand was naturally dragged forward by it. All of the Chronos were poured into the blade. When the terrifying machine closed in to within a meter, the scalpel abruptly jerked again, dragging Lee Zhinan out of the crushing range before releasing itself to shoot forward.
Boom! Crack, crack, crack!
It precisely pierced the gaps between the machine’s parts. With a few grating sounds, the machine exploded into pieces.
From amidst the bursting debris came a strange voice:
{Success probability of surgery is 93%; the remaining 7% counts as its inherent attrition~ In other words, one hundred percent!}
[I have gained 1000N.]
{Now hurry up and pick me up.}
The scalpel, its small eye looking upward, spoke as if commanding a servant.
Lee Zhinan took a step forward, then suddenly stood dazed in place as a platform materialized behind him.
–Woo~–
The surrounding hall rapidly twisted, surging with energy.
Since losing the wooden stem, energy flowers had reappeared on Lee Zhinan’s body. He quickly snapped awake from his stupor, grabbed the nightmare scalpel, and charged toward another stone staircase not far away.
–Who are you!–
Lee Zhinan turned his head in terror, staring at the bizarre subway that had materialized beside him.
The phantom figure and the small light orb both appeared high in the sky.
The phantom’s eyes flickered with starlight, and as energy violently trembled, the grand hall folded in on itself from the center, like a book closing its pages, seemingly intent on crushing anyone trapped within.
{Ah!}
The spirit inside the small light orb let out a nervous shriek.
–This is just an illusion!–
Yang ZiCang roared at Robin Lo, who was on the verge of losing himself, but the fat man’s face was already contorting like a seizure victim, utterly unable to hear anything.
Yang ZiCang, carrying several incense pills, flashed a hint of madness in his eyes. He grabbed a pill and shoved it into his mouth. As his lungs expanded, the air surged in, carrying the fragrance deep into his organs, instantly sharpening his mind.
The looming train vanished again.
Boom!
A golden radiance cascaded down from the sky, covering everything.
As he ran, Lee Zhinan turned his head in despair. Suddenly, a hand from the train yanked him into the air and threw him. In the next instant, his body flew uncontrollably, hurtling straight toward the stone steps.
–You go first. I’ll hold them off.–
Lee Zhinan, swaying in the air, saw that at the door of the train flickering between nothingness and reality, beside the owner of that arm, a massive white monster resembling a centipede surged forward, bringing a crimson tide toward the Phantom Man.
–In an A-rank space, nothing appears that is unbeatable,– Yang Zicang roared, as if trying to convince himself. –Even if you’ve come to the Shibin Wastes to relax some restraints and grown stronger, you can still be defeated!–
[Roar!]
Paleshade Wyrm was cloaked in a red phantom as it lunged forward, biting ferociously.
–The illusion is fading. Don’t think you can fool me!–
Yang Zicang shouted, grasping the train door and vanishing into the wind in an instant. Paleshade Wyrm sank its jaws into the body of the phantom.
[I’ve neutralized 2000 N.]
The phantom dissipated.
Paleshade Wyrm’s nostrils suddenly swelled to five times their size.
Its pupils shifted downward as Duskrend Fang rippled. Its fangs caught on the phantom while its canines trapped half a torn pair of purple undershirt, full of holes, hung upon them.
Having just reached the topmost floor, Lee Zhinan discovered that the phantom figure had twisted into existence, standing before him. It looked down at him with cold indifference, radiating the aura of a formidable expert.
{You’ve managed to get this far—good. How about we make a deal?}
Beside the black stone platform behind the phantom, a corpse had already begun to rot. Its hands clutched a transparent crystal shaped like a small pyramid, inside which was a humanoid figure resembling the one before him.
But the figure inside the crystal wasn’t as awe-inspiring and domineering as the phantom; instead, he appeared impatient, dressed in ordinary rags—hardly any better than the other ordinary people he often saw entering this world.
[I’ve discovered the Chronos Weapon.]
A voice rang through Lee Zhinan’s mind: –The Chronos Weapon?–
{So there’s a Chronos Weapon here—lucky break. Go pick those things up, and after you return, just follow my orders.}
For once, the unyielding voice from the bandaged mouth carried a hint of delight, sparking in Lee Zhinan a glimmer of hope that he might finally escape this living hell.
His eyes fell on the corpse’s waist, where something like a long, sharp awl hung—it was definitely the Chronos Weapon!
{Ignoring me?}
The phantom’s figure erupted with a burst of unrestrained aura.
{Do you truly believe I can’t kill scum like you, mere trash protected by the Fragrant Lord!}
Faced with the sudden eruption of an overwhelming aura, Lee Zhinan was stunned. A piercing pain shot through his hand as the red scalpel crawled up his arm like a parasite.
–Ah!– Lee Zhinan snapped back to reality, screaming in agony.
–Woo—–
A gust of wind howled from behind him.
Lee Zhinan’s body was adorned with red scales, his face twisted in a vicious scowl as he stepped forward.
–What a waste. I’ll just take it myself.– The voice emanating from the snarling Lee Zhinan’s throat was eerily calm.
Illusion finally revealed a hint of frustration behind its anger—he had already twisted the human’s will, yet still couldn’t force him to kill himself.
｛Get out of my way, all of you!｝
The pyramid crystal pulsed with waves of energy, refusing to give up as it tried again.
A gale surged up from the bottom of the stone steps, the semi-transparent train hurtling toward the standing Lee Zhinan at full speed.
Something seemed to writhe up from Lee Zhinan’s neck. Suddenly, his whole body radiated a phantom gold-red glow. The grimace on his face faded into a faint smirk as he raised his head, watching the train attempt to devour him by hurtling through his figure.
Little Matt Chao, who had intended to engulf Lee Zhinan, recoiled in shock.
｛He’s packed with Chronos galore! I dare not devour him, not one bite.｝
Lee Zhinan charged towards the stone platform while shouting quickly at the phantom within the crystal: –Stop the train, and I’ll take you out and ensure your soul doesn’t perish.–
The phantom, whose power was futile, changed expression in alarm.
Though the other might be deceiving him, he had no choice. Even if he drove these people away tonight, without a physical form, he would remain here, and the vine monster, which had already obtained permission to leave, would seize the treasure that stored his soul.
He could only gamble—wait until he saw the mastermind behind this man, then find a way to escape.
In an instant, he made his decision: ignoring Lee Zhinan lunging at him, he instead channeled all his energy toward the crazily approaching train, rolling it back.
–Little Matt Chao, devour the treasure!–
{This crystal has no psychic entity; I can’t do it.}
The train twisted and emerged within the illusion, the space ahead seeming stretched. Lee Zhinan, seemingly left behind, rapidly caught up and surpassed the subway’s speed.
Yang ZiCang grew anxious and shouted suddenly: –Xue Laoe!–
The surging energy stalled.
Seizing this momentary pause, Robin Lo, with the aromatic pill forced into his mouth, lunged out from the train door.
A gleam of sharpness flashed in Yang ZiCang’s eyes. This Robin Lo was incredibly decisive!
This brief moment was so fleeting that the two had no time to communicate, but Robin Lo only felt his body suddenly accelerate—Yang Zicang had activated the Moxel to alter their trajectory, hurtling them toward the small pyramid-like crystal perched atop the stone ahead.
Yet Lee Zhinan moved even faster, his fingers already brushing the edge of the small pyramid, while Robin Lo lagged over twenty centimeters behind.
But at that instant, the pyramid-shaped crystal abruptly left the stone platform and vanished without a trace.
The bandages controlling Lee Zhinan’s body stiffened in shock, twisting just in time to snatch the Chronos War Device from the corpse’s waist as he stumbled backward.
–Eighty years?– he exclaimed in disbelief.
Bang! Robin Lo slammed violently into the stone platform.
[Grav-Arc!]
A silver Lance wreathed in crimson light shot out of a swirling black void that materialized in midair, blasting Lee Zhinan’s arm—still gripping the War Device—to shreds. Simultaneously, an ability sphere crossed several meters to land in Robin Lo’s embrace.
The bandaged figure broke out in a cold sweat, watching the silver Lance twist and shrink back into the black void.
–What the hell is that?!–
Caught completely off guard, the being was stunned. Gasps escaped Lee Zhinan as his severed arm scabbed over rapidly—though he resumed a calm composure in his expression, backing away while a crimson-gold phantom aura shimmered forth from his body.
–Who else is here?– Lee Zhinan said coldly. –Is it Wuying? Hand over the item.–
Robin Lo, clutching his stomach and breathing in sharp gasps, sat down against a stone platform. He had already reached out and grabbed hold of this Chronos weapon, which delivered 80N per strike.
–Little Matt Chao,– Robin Lo said through gritted teeth.
The wind stirred as a car door appeared beside Robin Lo; the fatty was yanked into the vehicle by Yang Zicang, who was holding an incense pellet in his mouth.
–Ah, I’ve finally obtained the weapon closest to the Cent-Arms.–
As soon as Robin Lo plopped down on the ground, the youth beside him handed over an incense pellet.
–Quick, put the incense pellet in your mouth.–
–No rush.–
Gripping the Chronos weapon, Robin Lo pressed his lecherous face close to the ancient bronze patterns on the cone-shaped sword: –Let me first taste the flavor of time~–
Yang Zicang’s face twitched. He turned his head to look at the youth standing by the broken wall and said vaguely:
–Should I call you Lee Zhinan, or should I call you Bandage?–
–Heh, Jiazi Term, this body of mine can still recover its original consciousness. There’s no deep-seated grudge between us; let me leave, and we’ll call this feud settled.–
Yang Zicang furrowed his brow. –Fine, but only if Lee Zhinan gets into my car.–
–Hmph, that’s impossible. However…–
Leave a Reply