Without Morris’s help to alternate Chronos, Yang Zicang dared not rashly accept others’ Invest or recklessly use his own Chronos.
He gazed at the vines ahead and said coldly,
–Recovering fifty years of void Chronos every two to three seconds… Then I’ll just exhaust you to death using the Chronos Weapon.–
With a firm and powerful lift of his hand, a silver Lance emerged from the spinning black vortex.
The man above looked at the suddenly appearing weapon in Yang Zicang’s hand and let out a self-mocking laugh tinged with envy.
–As expected of a Jiādōng Boss who built his success from scratch—having such a fine treasure! Cough…–
On the other side, Boss Zhuang and those watching through him beheld the sudden weapon, and the phrase –priceless– sprang into their minds.
{So, brother, you still have such a treasure—is it a storage space?}
Spatial items were already rare, and such a portable spatial treasure was even more precious, its value immeasurable.
–It’s the storage space inherent to this spear. Anything else stored inside will be destroyed.–
Yang Zicang’s figure charged forward swiftly.
The young man wielding two weapons moved his hands rapidly. Initially, the vines surged forward like a tide to attack, but before long, they dared not overstep and retracted all outward tendrils, using them solely for defense.
–The principal amount is only thirty to forty thousand Chronos, just a few hundred attacks.–
Yang Zicang pursued it, striking blow after blow, sparks flying amid the thumping sounds.
A small orb of light appeared at the top of the pit, where the ethereal figure of an elf in a cute little red vest drifted, gazing downward.
{Hehe, the tricky liar Yang is pretty impressive, huh.}
–Don’t disturb me.–
{So fierce.}
The small orb flew down, jerking around near the young man’s shoulder, startled as it dodged the vine’s attacks.
Yang Zicang moved with lightning speed. Soon, a small patch of the vines caught fire, dispelling the darkness inside the pit. He gradually closed in on the wall, where the branches were thicker and sturdier, yet still couldn’t withstand the rapid strikes of the two Chronos weapons.
[My sword neutralized so many 50N forces.]
[My spear neutralized so many 100N forces.]
[As expected of me, the great Quad! Moxel!]
–So strong.– The one who had thought he wouldn’t survive watched the actions below, reigniting a spark of hope for life.
Whoosh! The silver spear suddenly vanished, reappearing beside this person. With a thunderous roar, the Lance, trailing a crimson afterimage, pierced the main vine binding him.
The suspended man crashed to the ground, his body riddled with holes large and small. Many of his blood vessels had been replaced by plant matter; it was a miracle he was still alive.
–Th-thanks. Its augmented Chronos should be nearly exhausted—less than thirty thousand left.–
Upon hearing this, the Moxel on Yang ZiCang’s chest flickered, and his hands moved faster. But just then, the ground trembled, and the trunk began to bore downward, trying to flee.
–It’s trying to run,– the man on the ground said, weak but agitated.
–So it really is a plant-type monster that can move.–
Yang ZiCang thrust even faster, no longer conserving augmented Chronos. He spread Chronos out and then drove the spear in a single strike.
Boom!
[I’ve offset 33,732 N!]
The pit’s walls collapsed with a roar, exposing a deep, narrow cavern behind them.
Yang ZiCang felt a visceral ache, as if his teeth were grinding in pain.
By selling incense pellets, he had seemingly earned over two hundred thousand—sounds like a lot. But faced with such an foe, the Chronos he had toiled so hard to acquire vanished in the blink of an eye by one-twentieth.
He promptly used a small coin he kept on hand, replenishing the 5,000 N it held.
｛Bad Yang, well done!｝
Within the small cluster of light, the little red-vested spirit approached the wall alongside Yang ZiCang. The original trunk portions inside had decayed like rotten timber, with chilling currents of air surging inward.
By the wall, the unfamiliar spirit journalist within the light cluster and Yang both craned their necks, peering inside.
｛What’s in there?｝
–Why don’t you take a look inside?–
｛…Damn bastard, trying to send me into harm’s way.｝
–You won’t get hurt, will you? Hey, you’ve even picked up a Chinese idiom now.–
The floating little creature puffed out its chest, as if boasting about its own cleverness.
Even if something was down there, it had fallen too deep, and retrieving it wouldn’t be a quick job. Yang ZiCang turned around, pulled out the healing ability sphere given by Ju Yin Chase, and used it on the severely wounded man lying on the ground. The man’s torn and broken skin visibly healed before their eyes, though it would still take a long time for him to fully recover.
–Cargo Crew Chief, I’ve gained some extra memories… about this monster.–
–What’s in them?–
Yang ZiCang asked as he contacted the rider, instructing him to come assist.
–Someone brought me—no, brought this tree here. It’s someone… who can enter the mountain where the Phantom stays… There’s a tunnel there, and inside it is the main body of the plant…–
After speaking those words, he fell unconscious.
–Phantom Man.–
That mountain was no longer a secret; even ordinary people had long known that a Phantom Man could be found there to attack anyone who approached.
The long-haired man scurried in with a lantern in hand, fleeing in utter panic.
–Captain Jia~–
He rushed in with a wail, sliding into a kneel on the ground, his face filled with shock as he cried out in astonishment:
–Ah, Captain, you managed to eliminate it so quickly! My admiration for you flows like the waters of the Yellow River…–
A small orb of light circled around his shoulder. Yang Zicang, looking at this disgraceful display before an elf, let out a sigh and quickly said:
–Don’t start that crap with me, just help me carry him.–
–Oh.–
……
Half a day later, when the man awoke, he found himself lying on the single bed inside the tent.
The outside world had already fallen into darkness; one of his teammates lay slumped over the bedside table, sound asleep.
As he had just sat up halfway, he saw the tent fabric suddenly bulge into a silhouette of a human shape, followed by the side curtain being flipped open. Zuo Feixian burst in hastily, clutching a pencil sketch.
–Hey, is the person who brought the vine out of the tunnel from your memory, in this drawing or not?–
The wounded man stared at the portrait, the corner of his eye twitching. –Who drew this? How can anyone identify anyone from it?–
–Tch.– Zuo Feixian poked his shoulder with a finger, then pointed at the twisted, unrestrained lines of faces depicted one by one in the portrait.
–Is this one? And this?–
When his finger moved to an exceptionally wild portrait, the wounded soldier looked at its eyebrows, mouth, and the mole on its face, hesitatingly said:
–It kinda looks like this person.–
–Really!– Zuo Feixian cheered as he looked at the portrait he was pointing to; to its left was a name, Wang Chaoguang.
–Wang Chaoguang? Damn! I knew this method would work!–
Zuo Feixian turned and rushed out.
……
After communicating with several people, Boss Zhuang personally wrote down the information about Yang Zicang and placed it into the bookshelf behind him.
–The gun this Jiazi Term holds might very well be a Cent-Arms.–
Across the table, a silver-haired beauty twirled her keys in her hand.
Boss Zhuang took a deep breath and said to her, –It seems we truly need to win him over. Apparently, this guy has actually taken down a Deterrent.–
–A Deterrent? What’s that?–
–It’s…–
The woman with the exquisite features raised her chin, her white, delicate neck supple and soft. Seeing this, Boss Zhuang was lost in a daze, forgetting what he was about to say next.
She lowered her fingers, resting her elbows on the broad, sturdy table, and propped her small fists under her chin with a smile.
–Darling, you lost today. Give me a thousand Chronos.–
Boss Zhuang sprang to his feet, leaning on the table as he said, –You locked the door yourself today. No one could get in! That doesn’t count!–
The girl leaned her head forward and scoffed, –Hmph, what, aren’t you glad we’re alone together?–
Boss Zhuang blushed, a little embarrassed.
–But you always play cards with just me.–
–What, aren’t you willing? Hmph, I knew you had ulterior motives. I was only testing you, but one test was all it took to expose your flaws.–
–I—I—I am willing.–
A fleet of luxurious cars came to a halt outside the fence gate of the Unique Frequency Inn.
A few guards at the entrance watched them with puzzled eyes.
After an attendant pulled open the spotless, dark-colored car door, a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl with twin-tails stepped out, flanked by several people around her.
An exquisitely composed attendant said in a calm tone, –This is one of the primary information exchange points in the Shibin Wastes.–
Dust swirled in the air.
The girl looked ahead, revealing her sharp little canines: –If this were inside a brain, these clusters would be called neurons, right?–
–Yes.–
The attendant gave a slight bow before straightening up, his eyes fixed vaguely ahead, as if he could only see the three steps directly before him.
–Honored guests, are you looking for lodging?–
The few at the door dared not be negligent, rising and walking over without delay.
To own so many luxury cars untarnished by nightmare corruption in this godforsaken place, one must surely be an extraordinary figure of immense power.
–No, we’ve come for another purpose.–
–And that would be? Can we be of assistance?–
–Certainly.–
The young girl raised a small gemstone Rubik’s cube and fixed her gaze upon these men:
–The influence here breeds a reputation far too tainted, so we’ve stopped by to cleanse it. The best help you can offer is to become nourishment for the earth.–
Instantly, their eyes flew wide open, the red and white Moxel lights on their chests flickering rapidly.
A glowing ring flickered into sight in the young girl’s eyes.
[Obscured Radiance Annihilation, First Ring: Unheard.]
Immediately following, within this ring emerged a second ring that pushed the first outward, expanding its reach.
[Obscured Radiance Annihilation, Second Ring: Unseen.]
The gemstone cube pulsed once.
The building ahead turned translucent and then exploded in an instant; even the sound of the explosion was obliterated.
They disintegrated into fine dust, reverting to raw energy, shimmering within a forty-to-fifty-meter radius in a spectacular vision like a shattered universe.
The young girl’s figure slightly wavered.
–Even with purified bloodlines, it’s still quite strenuous. Could there be a problem with the bloodline intelligence they gathered?–
–Executive Hu, you’ve done exceptionally well already.–
Beside the girl, another tall, slender attendant spoke:
–According to collected intelligence from the old world, purifying bloodlines is the correct path. You’ll grow stronger in the future, reaching such power with first and second-circle bloodline mysteries without borrowing the chief editor’s treasure.–
–Mm, I hope so.–
She twisted her slender, swaying figure and walked toward a sturdy, heavy, spacious sedan. As she took her seat, the girl gazed at the space void, where slowly emerged rings of white and red.
Within the floating rings, faintly shimmering digits sparkled.
320N, 2152.3N, 45N, 12Y, 8700N…
–These Life Rings—being able to access them now was something the old world’s denizens could only dream of. Divide them among yourselves.–
–Thank you for your gracious gift, Executive Hu.–
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