–Yang Zicang turned the tide of battle—both headquarters and the Brave Eagles are threatening him!–
More voices rose louder, each person desperate to sing praises for fear Yang Zicang might hold a grudge against them.
Listening for a moment, Zhao Anlong wore a peculiar expression as he looked at the man before him and said, –Honestly, if it weren’t for… I’d really want to take you away right now.–
Hesitating slightly, he urged with some unease:
_-Good kid, make sure to deliver that sword to her hands. As a deal, I’ll tell you a secret: in the Forge Cross—and note, only the Forge Cross, not any other alien space—you can accumulate over ten thousand Chronos without leaving the city.
–But the moment the space stabilizes, you’ll leave instantly. Got it? And don’t delve too much into otherworldly matters here, or else we’ll become enemies then.–
–I understand. Thank you. Don’t worry, I’ll put that weapon in her hands.–
-Do you even know who she is?-
–Relax, Chu Chiang still has two thousand full-bound Chronos of mine, and Zhao Xuemei once invested one hundred years with me.–
Zhao Anlong’s face lit up with joy!
–Oh, good, good—ha ha ha. So you’re all acquainted.–
He said with a sly smile, –Then take me around for a bit. It’s been ages since I last returned. If you know Chu Chiang, lead me to see them, okay?–
Though he appeared to be trying his best to act normal, Yang Zicang’s psychic sense kept telling him that this man was dangerous, extremely dangerous—he was watching him, watching him with some kind of intense desire.
Ever since Zhao Anlong stood before him, despite his efforts to suppress his aura, a constant pressure radiated, making Yang Zicang feel as if he could be utterly annihilated at any moment. As a result, he forced a smile.
–Thank you for your help. You can go back now.–
Zhao Anlong’s face changed instantly.
–You bastard.–
Zhao Anlong reached out to grab Yang Zicang by the clothes, but as his words fell, a dense, golden electric light flickered between them.
–How ungrateful… Take back what you said…–
The two seemed to exist in different dimensions, the golden lightning separating them from each other.
–Fuck you! Now, take me to see Chu Chiang!–
Thunder rumbled. Zhao Anlong’s figure grew more and more illusory.
{Using someone and then throwing them away, huh? Don’t let me see you again…}
Crackling, Zhao Anlong vanished behind that electric field.
{Good, you didn’t agree to leave with him.}
Councilor No. 41 seemed to be in a good mood; his usual calm, unwavering tone now showed he had the leisure to chat with him a bit more.
The moment the pressure vanished, Yang Zicang felt his blood begin to flow again, his mind clearing considerably. After a moment’s thought, a sudden flash of inspiration hit him.
–Wait, wasn’t the original function of that summoning card to let me select someone to take me away?–
{That was indeed its true purpose. Had you made the request, he would have had to prioritize taking you away. But since you refused proactively, he was able to take someone else.}
Yang Zicang finally mustered the strength to stand up from the now-ruined ground; this monster’s lair had ceased to exist.
–Ah, isn’t that… Zhao Xuemei she—–
Yang Zicang felt a twinge of regret, wishing he had taken Zhao Anlong to see his girlfriend earlier.
That guy, clearly unable to fully control his acting skills, shouldn’t have deliberately kept it from him; it reeked of a conspiracy, didn’t it?
Cent-Arms spun, shrinking into the black hole and vanishing.
{Despite your refusal to leave, there were still benefits.}
–Benefits?– Yang Zicang looked up with curiosity.
The night wind poured into the pit, now twice its original size, making the air much fresher.
{Because you defeated a Challenger, your city’s ranking has been improved.}
{Your reward for this will appear in the city ranking assessment at the end of the year. When the time comes, strive to pass it.}
–Shouldn’t my reward be given now? Do I have to wait for some other event to trigger it?–
{The summoning card itself is a reward, but since you haven’t profited from it, that year-end reward is an extra compensation from me. It must reach you under a legitimate pretext.}
Well, I suppose I really have that Councilor No. 41 to thank for this.
–So, what exactly is this extra reward for me?–
Yang Zicang made small talk. He felt a flood of questions he wanted to ask but couldn’t seem to recall a single one, so he opted to stall for time.
{The memoir of an ordinary person.}
The Councilor’s gaze vanished.
Every silver Moxel citizen across the entire city suddenly received a message in their minds:
[The Resister has been eliminated. Eliminators: ElectYang Zicang and Flare-Zhao Anlong. Each ally receives False Zero Chronos 300N.]
[I have received False Zero Chronos 300N, effective until the end of this month.]
Yang Zicang sensed the newly acquired yet uncontrollable three hundred additional Chronos.
……
The night wind howled fiercely. Standing on the now much more barren ground, Yang Zicang turned his head to look—a scene of utter desolation lay before him.
Fortunately, although the people looked covered in dust and dirt, the energy diffusion from the Defenders carried little Chronos. After the initial shock wave offset several decades from their lifespans, more than ninety percent of these people survived.
–It’s… finally over.–
Muttering these words softly, they turned to look at Yang Zicang with eyes filled with complex emotions.
Some envied him, others feared him, and some were pondering whether this kid had managed to gain some new benefit yet again.
Amidst the churning soil, Huang Hsu crawled out, looking dazedly at the dust half-covered on the ground. His mind involuntarily thought: was that guy back there even human—and where had he come from?
Catching Yang Zicang’s gaze from tens of meters away, Huang Hsu, as if waking from a dream, turned his head slightly, shook off the clods of earth and grit from his face, and said not a single word.
His bus-like –child– never appeared again from start to finish.
–Where’s your monster now?– Yang Zicang walked closer.
–Just kill me.–
–Oh? You don’t seem so crazed anymore.–
–Ha, monsters can affect human emotions. I won’t argue with that. Make your move; I still have a few hundred years to spare for you.–
Huang Hsu closed his eyes.
A gentle breeze swept across his face. He opened his eyes again and saw that the young man who had gotten off the same bus had already walked far away.
Huang Hsu felt the Moxel in his chest. The connection with the nightmare of the bus was now extremely faint, as if the other party had completely given up on him.
–Nightmare…–
He muttered the word in a low voice, then suddenly burst into tears: –Huang Hsu, what have you done… Why did this…–
Yang Zicang climbed back onto the ground, where teams of people were voluntarily searching through the ruins for those buried alive.
Although everyone possessed Chronos to neutralize impact damage, without food and water, once a critical point was reached, Chronos would constantly offset the damage, ultimately leading to a painful death.
Morris, who had been closely watching the situation, was deeply shaken.
{He’s so powerful—can something this formidable still be considered human?}
At the same time, he was privy to some information—the missing had gone to another place after all.
–Who knows? Maybe humans could always be this strong.–
Yang Zicang expressed his heartfelt gratitude.
–No matter what, this time, I owe it all to you. If there’s an opportunity in the future, I’ll repay you.–
{Ah, Mr. Zicang, if you truly want to repay us, just find a way to let us follow your lead. But what a pity—we’re in different cities, and even forming a team wouldn’t let us enter your turf.}
Yang Zicang gazed up and chuckled: –Though we’re not in the same city, we pulled off a pretty solid job this time, didn’t we?–
{It was perfect!}
A boy’s voice chimed in, in somewhat awkward Chinese.
–You must be Popoli?–
{I’m Nunns. Bobur. Poli! But it’s no big deal for a pro player like me to call me Popoli, hahaha.}
–Thank you, Popoli, and thank you all. I need to get in touch with someone on my end, so I’ll cut the line here for now.–
He had been fighting Chronos, that colossal horde of the Xiongying Guild, with just the strength of two men—only with Morris’s help could he have ever succeeded.
……
Nearby, those who caught sight of Yang Zicang hesitated, unsure whether to leave or come over to greet him, as at least half the people around now had once tried to persuade him to give up.
Little did they expect he’d fought for every member of Yinyin Moxel to gain three hundred years of Vestige Chronos, including the newcomers who weren’t even equipped with Moxels yet.
No one would die this month from Chronos deductions!
–Zi… Mr. Zicang,– some people stuttered, faltering on the spot, unsure of what to say.
–Hurry up and save the hostages.–
Yang Zicang left these words behind and headed toward where Liang Xi and the others had been. But as soon as the connection was severed, several folding lines flashed over.
They had actually been trying to contact him all along.
Sensing the –Invest Declaration– embedded within them, more than half were requests for him to help.
Yang Zicang randomly linked with one of them.
{Great, finally connected. Master ZiCang, please hurry and help us save the people at headquarters!}
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