In front of the stage, Huang Xu picked at his dry, cracked lips.
“Can I rewrite it? The handwriting is… just too ugly. “
Among the densely packed names on the roster, the strokes of the two characters for “Huang Xu ” were simply too unsightly to decipher.
“No problem, as long as you can tell who you are, ” Wang Zhi said, turning his head back. Cheng Yunze, standing beside him, silently read the handwriting and content on the page.
He had come to realize internally that the bidding must be related to the ownership of the rooms. So that’s how it was—people living there weren’t entirely at ease either. Once this dawned on him, Cheng Yunze put the matter aside. Right now, he didn’t have the mood to worry about things unrelated to his own team.
“Are you two done? My heart’s feeling a bit restless. I want to go in right now. “
After some thought, Huang Xu said, “Captain Cheng… has something unlucky happened to you? You want to go back and change it? “
“My comrades are in danger. When I left, they all fell into the water. I don’t know if their future can still be changed if they’ve actually died. “
“Died?! ” Huang Xu’s eyes suddenly flew wide open, his wooden staff gripped tightly in hand.
｛Radiance: – subtitle…｝ Suddenly, Huang Xu thought of more—the century-old new branch. His heart tightened again, desperately wishing he could return to the very moment before A Qing had died, carrying medicine or a healing orb with him!
But could saving people in the past by going back really work? Once again, Huang Xu grew uncertain.
But fortunately, the Captain Cheng in front of him could provide verification right away. His eyes fixed on Cheng Yunze’s somewhat distressed expression.
Huang Xu stomped his wooden staff with vigor, “Alright. Let’s go now. “
With his movement, a curtain-like illusory scene appeared beside the staff, in front of the bar counter.
The smiling Manager Mus tracked the movement with his gaze, looking toward the phantom curtain that had appeared in the hotel.
Two little sprites leaned in closer; Little Suansuan’s finger flickered, lightly touching the drapes with hanging textures, but his finger the size of a grain of rice passed straight through.
{Huh~? }
“Let’s go! ” Huang Xu thrust his staff forward as a scouting rod, and it penetrated the air like an elbow plowing through a water curtain. Then, to the astonishment of the two little ones, he stepped forward and vanished into it.
Manager Mus stared quietly ahead. A few seconds later, he said with a smile to the two little ones: “Welcome to the feilü Hotel. “
……
The bus transformed into a translucent vehicle of telekinetic thought, twisting through the world weave at insane velocity, billowing toward the sea realm around its rim realms.
Inside the cabin, a few people who were chatting suddenly felt their surroundings turn strangely dim.
As they looked up, a winding, faint golden path spun abruptly from distant nowhere into solid being in the darkened carriage: making itself material from farther places proceeding zoom into material.
“What is that! “
A mysterious chill pulsed through the carriage-closure as their whisper.
Cheng Yunze, engrossed in reading some draft papers, clipped them carefully sandwich within wood plate as clamp presses gesture movement.
Anxi, who had emerged on the path, rose and raised an arm to protect the two men from Mortav’s team beside him.
Wang Zhi and the man brought by Zhao Anlong all looked at this faint golden path that had appeared inside the Demon Nightmare Train.
“Someone’s here! “
A youthful figure, clad in clothes so worn they were nearly tattered, stepped forth from the path with a faint, confident smile, leaning on a wooden staff. With a single step, he traversed the boundary between the illusory and the real, coming to a stop between the train cars.
The atmosphere froze for a second.
“Who are you? “
The people present were slightly tense.
Huang Xu, still smiling, stared at Cheng Yunze. After waiting two seconds, the smile on his face faltered. He swiftly turned his head to look back; there was no one behind him.
Clang! Wang Zhi drew a weapon from a wooden crate of arms, pointing it at the mysterious visitor radiating an otherworldly aura.
“Huh? ” Huang Xu’s forehead suddenly broke out in a cold sweat from the shock.
They didn’t follow!
The Cheng Yunze and Wang Zhi before him were both looking at him with wary hostility.
Recalling Cheng Yunze’s mournful expression from before, and thinking of the material named Everlasting Regret…
This had to be when Cheng Yunze’s point of no return began!
No way! Huang Xu’s teeth chattered. Only one person could come through at a time?!
I don’t even know what’s happening to them.
Cheng Yunze, standing before them, expressionlessly began to conjure a golden skeletal moon angel, while those beside him rolled up their sleeves. Anxi’s body radiated a bloody Chrono-Void Flame, and a faint, radiant ring flickered in another’s eyes.
“Wait. ” He stepped back and shouted.
The men ahead, who seemed about to resort to violence, paused briefly.
“Who exactly are you, sir? ” Faced with this man who suddenly appeared with a severed palm, the occupants of the carriage were also filled with apprehension. After all, this was a moment when the train was in motion.
You were the one who invited me back. Damn it!
Huang Xu was just about to say this, but at this moment, he abruptly restrained himself. How could he believe such nonsense as “coming back from the future “?
“I saw the future. ” No sooner had he said this than the men ahead instantly emanated a fierce hostility.
They charged over without another word.
“Go find Yang Zicang immediately. You must race against the clock, or something very bad will happen to you very soon. “
At that instant, Huang Xu was overwhelmed by a great terror. He looked at the charging man with a four-ring halo in his eyes. The aura this man exuded terrified him nearly to the point of despair.
But the wood grain on the pathfinding rod in his hand lit up in an instant.
Following the guidance of the wooden staff in his hand, Huang Xu subconsciously took a light step and, by a hairsbreadth, appeared in the carriage behind this one, facing them.
“So strong! “
They stared at the path of light that had just appeared.
In that moment, a flickering image of himself single-handedly building a wooden hut flashed through Huang Xu’s mind, and a certain feeling made him realize that this fragmented experience seemed to have merged into the exploration staff in his hand. The radiance melting from that image rekindled his sense of pride.
What is this? But there was no time to ponder, for Cheng Yunze’s time was now incredibly precious.
He gripped the exploration staff with the same surging confidence and passion he had felt when he single-handedly forged that shelter, and stared at the man with the indifferent expression in the carriage.
That man met his gaze.
“You don’t have any more time to wait. Go and find… ” Just moments ago, he had blurted out the only piece of information he knew in a panic. Now, although Huang Xu still didn’t want to utter that name, the reality of the situation forced him to say with obvious disgust:
“…go find Yang Zicang. This is the plan you yourselves set. “
“Ourselves? ” Cheng Yunze and those around him were startled.
None of them had expected that the mysterious being emerging from the path of light would bring such news.
What exactly is going to happen next? Cheng Yunze wondered, Could it be… there’s something wrong with the Painted Sea?!
“Ah, right. I remember now. ” Huang Xu’s voice drew the attention of the startled group once more.
“We should also need to find that incredibly powerful person next to Yang Zicang. ” Thinking of this, Huang Xu nervously scratched his neck to conceal his inner unease. If that person were to try and take this treasure, would he be able to escape using just this wooden staff?
Cheng Yunze hesitated for two seconds, then said, “Who are you, and why are you here? “
This person was too strange.
“You’re wasting the precious time we’ve fought for. ” Huang Xu said impatiently. “Listen, Cheng Yunze, and you, Wang Zhi of the Lighthouse Tour Group! “
“Ah, so I’m involved too? ” Wang Zhi straightened up in surprise.
This was the first time someone had formally addressed him by that identity, the Lighthouse Tour Group.
The concerned thoughts of the distributors transmitted into everyone’s hearts.
Everyone present felt that things were truly taking a turn for the worse.
“If you don’t listen to my advice now, then everyone here, and everyone where you’re about to go… well, at least only the two of you will make it back to the inn. “
{Director Huang, why have you willingly run into my belly? }
“Ah right, and the big star, Little Machao, that makes three of you! “
Huang Xu suddenly felt a suffocating pressure around him that tightened his mind. In the midst of this danger, the scout staff once again glowed with a faint light.
An instinct told Huang Xu that he could use it to instantly leave his surroundings and appear outside the train.
“Are you trying to attack me? ” Huang Xu looked towards the source of the telepathic voice within the carriage, instantly furious.
He stomped the scout staff heavily. “Just wait, you’ll regret this sooner or later! When the time comes that you have to beg me, it won’t be something that can be solved by simply offering materials. “
They’d reach the Scroll Sea in just two more minutes, and something deeply regrettable was about to happen… Did that refer to what was there?
Just as he was pondering this, a voice sounded in Cheng Yunze’s mind.
-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi gave me a thumbs down.｝
“Huh? ” Cheng Yunze glanced at his accessories.
A distant voice rang out:
“Little Machao, the place you’re heading to is very dangerous. When the time comes, you’ll only be able to flee like drowned rats through the Light Gate, all wet and miserable, to the Land of Lost Frequencies! “
Suddenly, everyone lurched backward.
The demon train slammed on its brakes, followed by the sound of crashing waves and the vast, roaring ocean right beside their ears.
“He wants to anchor our future? ” Anxi pointed at Huang Xu and shouted nervously.
“No! ” Cheng Yunze’s voice rose in panic. “He’s modifying our future! Little Machao, we need to go back, now! “
The train was already doing exactly that.
Under the reflection of the full moon on the sea, the straight track of the train twisted like a bent magnet, making a 180-degree turn as it abruptly accelerated back in the direction it came from.
“Where did that man go? ” Anxi and the others inside rushed to the window. Through it, they spotted a tiny glimmer of light on the sea, flickering briefly before being swallowed up by the darkness of the night.
{Don’t worry about where he disappeared to. That’s the train captain’s enemy, Director Huang. }
The voice of the Demon Train left the crowd filled with doubt. “And you still listen to him? “
“He was talking about our secret! ” Cheng Yunze said urgently.
{I suggest you give me the green light to accelerate. }
“Just head straight back to the inn! ” A bad feeling sparked in Cheng Yunze’s gut. Though he didn’t know why, it felt right to listen to the train. “Chairman Yang is in Blackwink Citadel; we can get there instantly. “
{Oh. You’ll have to pay me back for the expenses I’ve used. }
With that, energy fluctuated around the train, enveloping the entire carriage.
Standing on the faint path of light shimmering across the seawater, Huang Xu gazed at the train paused in the distance. He felt a faint daze as a wisp of breeze seeped through his tattered sleeves and collar, raising goosebumps on his skin.
“Uh, is this a lake or… the sea? Uh, huh?! “
Inside the Fei Lü Inn.
Manager Mus on the first floor was reading an old room charge slip when he suddenly heard a horrific shriek like the squeal of a pig being slaughtered.
{Ah——! Quick, hurry up! }
It looked up as if instinctively seeing the source, and with abangand a rumble, the train turned into wind and crazily sped through the corridor, carrying everyone along.
Before those inside could even steady themselves, they saw the surrounding scenery shift, andwhoosh, the train stopped abruptly in front of Room 303.
“What’s wrong with you? ” Wang Zhi shouted.
{I saw the future! We need to hurry! Stop dawdling and open the door for me. }
“You saw the future too? “
Wang Zhi jumped off the train. He had just twisted the door handle less than halfway open when he felt a tremendous gust of wind brush by him. The ethereal train carriage darting past the room, vanished into thin air.
Wang Zhi stood frozen in place.
He peeked inside the room; it was deathly silent, but an indistinct sense of unease welled up in his heart. It was like realizing he had just thought of a problem, only to immediately forget it — a kind of nagging frustration.
He just couldn’t remember.
Always on the tip of his tongue. He scratched his head.
“Weapon case? No… “
……
Yang Zicang, along with Ma Shuo, Kim Crest, the biologist Jean Ussy, plus He Yishu and Zorro, arrived in front of the courtyard gate of the Special Command Headquarters’ colonel office.
Beside them was a wide avenue, lined with streetlights between the shady trees. However, some of the lamps flickered from exposure to wind and sun.
He Yishu looked at Yang Zicang, who was reading through the notebook in his hand.
The biologist and the botanist beside him muttered quietly to each other.
“Soon we’ll be able to verify whether the Hellfire Sect’s rituals were actually related to the high-altitude phenomena concerning those plants. “
“If the Doomsday Fiend truly delights in cold, we’ll have even more methods to handle it. ” The botanist couldn’t wait any longer. “I really hope we can confirm this right away. Hmm, Edgar… “
“How much longer do we need to wait? ” Jean Ussy craned his neck and raised his voice. Kim Crest, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality.
“We should have enough time, ” Yang Zicang said, glancing up at the moon. “The train will be back soon… “
{Whoo— }
A faint sound of wind rose through their thoughts.
Yang Zicang fell silent and tilted his head to listen. Then he saw, at the far end of the road, under the light-dappled tree shade and among the escort of guards, the figure of a middle-aged peasant, limping slightly, emerging into view.
Yang Zicang suddenly felt a bit drowsy, reaching up to touch his head as he looked sideways at the “Goatherd ” walking over from beneath the illuminated lamp.
The two people by the roadside abruptly halted in their steps.
Rumble…
A high-speed phantom train shattered the air, stirring up dust as it rushed past the two!
“President! “
{Hurry up and follow me to pick up Zhao Anlong. }
The fogginess in his head quickly receded as Yang Zicang heard several urgent voices say, “What’s going on? “
Cheng Yunze leaned out from the doorway:
“A man named Director Huang predicted my future would be very grim… he said only by seeking you out could I possibly change it. I think something must be going wrong out at sea. “
Yang Zicang was startled.
{That’s the place! No time to explain, get in the car! I’m about to race ahead! }
He had never seen Little Machao so panicked before. Yang Zicang looked at the people gathering around him and handed the notebook he was holding over to Kim Kleist, saying to the others,
“You all go ahead with the meeting. You know very well what needs to be confirmed. “
Huang Xu? How could he…
{I feel like I need to go faster… }
Without another word, Yang Zicang nodded to He Yishu. “Admiral, I’ll leave that side of things to you. “
“Don’t worry about it. You go ahead and take care of business first. “
The secretary who had been waiting in the courtyard for some time pulled open the car door. As Yang Zicang got in, before he could even ask what was going on, the Science Demon train let out a sharp whoosh and darted off with half of Yang Zicang’s body still hanging out the door, plunging into the deep, dark tunnel ahead, stirring up a gale that sent leaves swirling and vanishing from sight.
“Are you going in? ” this adjutant asked the few people outside.
The soldier brought the Goatherd closer as well. “Gentlemen, the man you requested has been brought. “
He saluted and stood still.
“And this is? ” Jean Ussy looked at this plain-faced man beside the soldier.
“Oh, ” the man said nervously, rubbing his hands together, “Heh heh, I’m just a farmer. “
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