Under the dappled shadows of the trees, the black car was bathed in the shifting moonlight.
Leaning against the car, Veronica suddenly spotted Yang Zicang’s figure as he strode over on the path from the roadside. While such a tall frame wasn’t rare in her own home, finding a handsome face like his in her circle was uncommon.
“You asked to see me? “
“Mn, ” Veronica withdrew her gaze a bit awkwardly and glanced around. “Well, I asked you to come because there’s something… something from my family. “
“An item? ” Yang Zicang handed her a pastry brought from General Ross and lowered his perception of the intermediary beacon signals, which he had already set relatively low.
-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi is radiating a leisurely mood.｝
-｛Distributor Tata Mingqi noticed my movements.｝
Yang Zicang lowered his hand from touching his necklace and observed the girl’s movements as she accepted the pastry.
Seeing this gesture from the young man, Veronica, who had never received such a handsome and extraordinary little gift from a boy before, felt a strong and peculiar sensation rising within her. Slightly unnerved but nervous, she took it, held it in both hands for a look, then placed it on the car hood. Her voice sounded somewhat brisk as she said:
“I’m guessing you all, Mr. President, are probably looking for advanced technology worth bringing into the next Era Land. So I wanted to lend a hand. So I looked up some of my family’s antiques. “
-｛Distributor May Valkyrie is paying attention to my current life experience.｝
Yang Zicang’s heart stirred. He immediately minimized his perception of the remaining distributors’ beacons to the lowest level, allowing them to perceive only a vague impression—as if he were on a private date with a girl.
“Antiques… Does your family have many ancient items? ” Yang Zicang asked, leaning against the car hood.
She shrugged. “Our family’s ancestors immigrated from the previous Era Land. According to my family, we alone had a large ship back then. Hah, so there are a great many things we brought with us. “
Yang Zicang chuckled and said in a joking tone, “I heard that the most important rule for us locals is never to reveal all your secrets to a Mist Folk. Especially someone like you, who sounds like you’re hiding a treasure trove of them. “
Hearing this tease, Veronica stuck out her tongue, a slight chill returning to her usual demeanor, but a smile lingered at the corners of her mouth.
Yet she briefly wondered inwardly if Chairman Yang’s slightly impertinent joke was a deliberate attempt to create some distance between them.
“So I’ll just lay all my cards on the table, ” she declared confidently, exhaling through her nose. She handed a photo to Yang Zicang, turned her delicate face, and fixed her gaze on the man beside her, her black hair swaying gently.
Yang Zicang took the photo and saw a large piece of machinery made of copper and iron, bearing the structural beauty of a steam engine yet tinged with the eerie novelty of a simulated modern control system. Countless tiny indicator lights formed a simple display, while brass switches densely lined its side, giving it the look of a few special control systems which coalesced powered steam power with an ultra-retro operational aesthetic.
“This… was it brought by your ancestors? “
“Uh-huh. ” Veronica nodded slightly. “Chairman, it’s been in our family for over four hundred years. But we still can’t use it today. I have a feeling it wasn’t designed for this era. “
Yang Zicang’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“What is it? “
“A special control system for converting steam energy into electrical power. “
“Brilliant. “
This is… a scientific creation from the people of the previous era, designed in advance to counter the more ancient age, fearing that the scientific environment of this era would be unable to produce such things, so they borrowed those laboratories equipped with precision instruments.
-｛Distributor May Valkyrie indicates that I am nurturing a brand new radiance.｝
Yang Zicang withdrew his focus.
“This item, what do you plan to do with it? “
“I want to bring it to that new land you all wish to go to. “
Her figure, a head shorter than his, stood beside Yang Zicang with an air of delicate girlishness. Yet the words she spoke carried a spirit of boldness few possessed.
Veronica crossed her arms and said with a snort:
“Only you Fogfolk can discover that new continent, so if I don’t ask you, I wouldn’t know how to get it over there, right? “
“Well… ” Yang Zicang’s lips curled slightly.
“What’s the matter, President, are you hesitating? “
“No. ” Yang Zicang raised his hand and grasped the photo.
“Such a machine will definitely need someone to watch over it. Veronica, ah, shall I just call you Nika? Miss Nika, I think your family should send more people, so you’ll have each other’s backs when you get there. “
Surprise appeared on Veronica’s face; she hadn’t expected President Yang Buchen to be so agreeable. She had still been thinking about how to broach the topic and request some slots for companions.
-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi gave me a “Favorable Review. “｝
-｛Distributor February. Di’an wanted to know what was happening; he had a feeling I was engaged in a transaction.｝
“I’ll come up with a list and a report on past events as soon as possible. “
“Of course. ” Yang Zicang straightened up and said again in an amiable tone, “And about the ancient artifacts of your family, make absolutely sure you never mention them to anyone. “
Veronica also understood the stakes involved. Even something of this nature—had it not been for a slight slip from the cousin her family had high hopes for—she herself might never have known of their existence to the end of her days.
The girl grabbed the cake, happily climbed into the car. Then, as her beautiful eyes looked on, she saw the photo in the man’s hands catch fire, blazing with light.
She was a bit taken aback.
“Even after you’ve gone back, you can’t casually reveal that you have this kind of machine. So, it’s best not to let this photo get around. “
“Is it that serious? ” A genuine sense of gravity welled up in Veronica’s heart. “I understand. Thank you, President. ” Then, a little shyly, she lowered her head for a moment before raising it again. “Then… see you next time. Good night, President. “
“Travel safely. “
Yang Zicang watched as she waved, started the engine, and drove away.
Once she was gone, Yang Zicang glanced at General Ross’s office building in the distance, and then at the patrolling guards surrounding it.
“Something related to electricity, ” he murmured. A machine like this—the more secure it was kept, the better.
The young man took out a key.
｛I pay a tip of 10N for the lock pick of COSTELLA HOTEL.｝
Beside his slender figure, shimmering, wavelike energy veins appeared, concentric rings that expanded outward to envelop and encircle him.
Scenes of the hotel room materialized around him. He quickly stepped forward, breaking through the dissipating energy, walked across the room’s carpet, pulled open the door, and immediately saw Room 408’s guest, who had just taken the food cart inside.
“Get out! ” Catching sight of that gaunt face and those hollow eyes, Yang Zicang flickered forward and charged. The rats leaped down from the food cart with a clatter, squeaking in alarm.
Bang! In that instant Yang Zicang got close, the door—already half-closed—abruptly slammed shut.
“Tell me your name. “
“Huh? ” The person inside looked into the peephole.
“So when I build your grave later, I can finally set up a proper epitaph, right? “
The person’s eyes wavered for a second. “Hey… have you seen my pot? “
“You still want your… ” Yang Zicang paused, then tilted his gaze. “Yourpot? “
“Ah? ” Samus gasped in surprise, then drew in a sharp breath deep into his lungs. “I-It said there was a… some kind of plan… ” His muttering faded to a stunned whisper only he could hear.
The light behind the peephole darkened. Yang Zicang turned directly and strode off quickly toward the second floor.
Inside, Samus clutched a loaf of bread, pressing his eye nervously against the peephole.
“Hey, don’t you wanna talk? Seriously, just—plenty of money from the next Lu years load, and, uh… and a house, two wives. And a casino on top of that! Yeah, a casino—oh, and also a horse! “
His eyes seemed to bore holes as he pressed tightly against the peephole, searching for an angle to see the hallway.
Outside the circular hole, several long-haired rats that had jumped back for fear the food cart would fall and crush them could be seen. One figure that had been lying on the ground got up, waved the small shovel in their hand, and brushed off their bottom.
“Really gone? So decisive… That was already a cheap price. ” Themisthenes muttered, thinking of the missing pot.
……
On the outskirts of Krun, no sooner had Yang Zicang appeared within the small stone-box-like underground room of a civilian house than he felt a slight chill.
Before long, the sound of wind gently rippled through. At his summons, the train reappeared, carrying Cheng Yunze, An Xi, and a few others. Slightly surprised why he was here, Cheng Yunze asked:
“Not waiting at the Admiral’s for the list of Hellfire Sect members? “
“It’s still being tallied. We’ll excavate the basement here first. “
“What, you… ” An Xi and Wang Zhi stared at Yang Zicang in shock.
—｛Distributor February. Di’an wants to get a more detailed understanding of my current experience.｝
Yang Zicang gently increased the sensory allowance of the distribution beacon for him.
“Why dig it up? Moving the location? “
There was a slight chill in the air, and black shadows loomed everywhere outside the house. The sounds of human voices and insect chirping usally heard at night had all vanished, leaving the scene vast, eerie, and silent.
Yang Zicang pulled a page of the journal from his arms. The handwriting on it had become completely faded, as if leached of color.
“This is a page from the memoirs of the Holy Sage Siyolnühimin.“
Cheng Yunze was seeing— indeed, even hearing of— this item for the first time, and was immediately captivated. Yang Zicang’s many other encounters over the past few months inevitably stirred his curiosity.
“Could it be… a book page?” he suddenly thought.
“That should be it,” Yang Zicang nodded, looking at the words on the memoir page that were about to fade away entirely. “Because of our efforts, the content of this page, which records memories of the coastline and parts of the Baijin Mountain range, is on the verge of being completely rewritten.“
“So what does that mean?” Both Cheng Yunze and several others were drawn in by the curious prospect of this saint’s memoirs.
“Once this page of the memoir is fully rewritten, we can easily obtain a piece of ‘Radiance.’ Moreover, many of the people and events recorded on it may also bring us ‘Glory’ through continuously altering the fates of those described within.“
“Good heavens, President! You’ve still got such fine treasures as these. It must be able to generate quite a bit of Glory, right?” Wang Zhi said excitedly.
As for Anxi, she had long since learned of the existence of this item from Yao Xiaoqin’s prophetic, proleptic revisions.
Yang Zicang was slightly embarrassed. “As far as I know, if you keep holding it, according to the course of history, over centuries you can indeed slowly rewrite people’s destinies to give birth to many ‘Radiances.’ But if you completely alter the historical destiny of a region to give birth to a ‘Flash,’ then you should understand—many things would not happen, and there wouldn’t be so many ‘Radiances’ either. “
A few of them pondered this for a moment and then understood the principle, silently nodding in agreement.
Cheng Yunze said, “Is this page of yours about to be completely rewritten? “
“It is about to be completely rewritten. But the history it once held has already happened. The present changes are also because the apocalypse is nearly upon us—the people in the mountainous areas have mostly fled and gone into hiding. Moreover, this owes a debt to the actions of the Golden Cup Heritage, which reduced the scale of the Iron-thorn Vine’s outbreak. Otherwise, I might never have been able to see it completely rewritten. “
“Are you implying…? ” / “You mean…? “
“Yes. ” Yang Zicang opened and displayed this page. As he concentrated his mind on the thought of wanting to preview the recent future, blurred text slowly began to appear on it.
——June… on the… day,… entirely covered the land with iron-cable vines, snatching away the lives of people, birds, and beasts…
——June… day. After deliberating through the entire night, I felt I should still complete this matter while I can still remember the lifetime journeys of so many lives…
“…dedicating the Ring of Life / Offering the ‘Ring of Life’ to the Moon Realm. ” Cheng Yunze’s gaze trembled slightly as he continued to read the drifting words on the page. “Gifted the ‘Coin of Fortune’ / Fed the distributor… the ring of fortune. “
Anxi leaned in close, “To the royal court… the Ring of Power was delegated down. Ah, these are all things I don’t understand—what are they all about? “
“They are the pulse rings that manifest after the five bloodlines. “
“Such information! ” Cheng Yunze was thrilled all over and shot a grateful glance at the calm Yang Zicang. Then, a bit puzzled, he looked at the page.
“Why are the dates so blurred they can’t be read clearly? “
“Because the world has changed, ” Yang Zicang explained. “As long as you hold this page, you’ll know. Moreover, the closer you get to the final moment, the more clearly you can read the memories of what people—at the end—struggled to preserve in that true history recorded by the Saint. “
Cheng Yunze touched the paper with his hand and nodded in understanding.
“I see… so back then, some people were doing something quite similar to what we’re doing now. “
“Unfortunately, the memoir I obtained only covers a small border region. “
“If we had an entire volume, I can’t even imagine what kind of events might unfold, ” Wang Zhi murmured from the side.
“Don’t delude yourself with such fantasies, ” Yang Zicang said, retracting the page.
“The world originally recorded by the Saint—the earliest date was barely the 18th, and the latest only the 20th for one part. But right now, the timing itself is uncertain. So our safety might not see a complete resolution within just those few days. That’s my speculation. “
“June 18? ” Cheng Yunze’s expression shifted. “Doesn’t that mean… less than fifty hours remain! “
“Pretty much. “
Everyone in the room looked around nervously, throwing quick glances outside.
“No wonder—over these past two days, news has been filled with iron vine disasters erupting from seemingly nowhere resulting in heavy casualties, yet without any mass war front being reported. “
“So the final days of the apocalypse are already this close. “
As they murmured, their gazes fell to the ground. They had an inkling of what was happening.
“You want to take the stone cellar here with us? “
The Demon Train slid forward a little, as if trying to get a better look at the room beneath the flipped stone slab below, guessing that this was definitely the job it would have to do.
But upon comparison, the big star Little Machao realized its own body wasn’t even half the size of that room. It froze in place, stunned.
Yang Zicang rolled up his sleeves and said, “We’re going to dig out what’s under here now. “
“And move it where, onto the airship? “
“No, across the sea. “
{You did plan on doing this. } The Demon Train said in surprise, {But I can’t fit it. }
“No problem. ” Yang Zicang smiled, “I’ve got experience with this. We just need to take it apart. Getting it across will just require you all to find a place to reassemble it. “
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