The short sword was covered with an illusory white-gray layer, and the gray flames on the iron sword touched the iron lock through the returning perception. The intense elemental attribute of “Metal ” was heavily fed back from it.
With focused concentration, he controlled the part of the elemental force field related to “Fire, ” which trembled, condensed outward, and extended, covering the blade of the short sword.
- ｛Distributor April • Odyssey gifted me a “Favorable Review ” with blazing passion.｝
BOOM!
Another explosion filled with shrapnel detonated right in his embrace.
This time, Yang Zicang squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He felt fragments slicing across his skin; around him, two soldiers who had crouched to the ground, lacking Stellar Yuan protection, had the misfortune of shrapnel piercing their heads.
He exerted force and slashed with his hand. The powers of “Void-Null ” bloodline carried by the Voidal Zero Blade, combined with the neutralizing energy of the Five Elements Force Field, finally severed the shuttle’s linking joint with a “snap. “
A damp sensation began spreading from his chest. Rising, Yang Zicang pressed his head through the pervading mist and looked down at his chest, where traces of blood were already seeping through.
As he got up, the gun muzzle on the opposite bus spewed tongues of fire!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets pierced through the weak bus paneling, instantly turning the interior into a death metal storm. The soldiers attacking Yang Zicang clearly hadn’t expected their foe to open fire so directly; as a result, two of them were struck and fell down.
“Damn it! They didn’t say they’d silence us! ” Some of the men still lying on the ground screamed in shock.
A few bullets spiraled past Yang Zicang, altering their trajectories. Two of them were diverted to strike nearby soldiers, but neither managed to pierce through the defenses of their bodies.
Seizing the moment as everyone inside the bus scrambled for cover, Yang Zicang moved like a panther freed from a trap, his body sliding like a fish toward the rear. The short sword in his hand traced a cold arc, precisely severing the pneumatic rod of the back door.
Boom!
The rear door burst open, and a fierce gush of wind roared in.
“He’s making a run for it! “
The shooters on the opposite bus instantly swung their guns around.
But Yang Zicang didn’t leap out recklessly. Instead, he violently shoved a nearby corpse toward the door!
The moment the body hit the ground, it drew most of the gunfire.
｛Trajectory Dispatch!｝
In that brief window, Yang Zicang dropped low, vaulted out from the rear of the bus like a phantom, but he landed on nothing. Instead, he caught the rear bumper with one hand, his body dangling beneath the speeding bus like a banner.
Silent Night had already sensed the four silhouettes pulsing with more intense energy signatures on the other bus. Twisting his body along the chassis, Yang Zicang rolled off in another direction, tumbling to the ground.
Glancing at the bus whose fuel tank had just burst into flames, Yang Zicang, still rolling along the ground, quickly vanished into the vicinity, pulling out a business card in his hand.
-｛Distributor May Valkyrie has given me a “negative review. “｝
Hiding behind a tree, Yang Zicang stared at the card in his hand for a silent moment.
-｛Distributor May Valkyrie has awarded me a “Favorable Review. “｝
Yang Zicang tucked the card away.
“Seems like my guess is getting closer to the truth. “
A figure from another bus jumped down and quickly approached.
-｛Distributor February. Di’an indicated with rich experience that I have fully conceived and ushered in a glorious prelude.｝
-｛Distributor Di’an lowered… heightened my current perception.｝
-｛Di’an is observing my present life experience.｝
-｛He gave me a “Thumbs Down “.｝
-｛Distributor April, Odyssey, sternly pondered a deep concern.｝
“These are… the distributors paying attention to me because of the inn. ” Yang Zicang felt his thoughts growing slower and slower. “It’s time to leave. “
Under the lock of four runners closing in at high speed, Yang Zicang grasped the key that had appeared in his hand.
｛I tipped 10N for the COSTELLA HOTEL lock picker.｝
Yang Zicang noticed that within the energy rippling outward to envelop him, there was now a faint trace of colorful radiance.
Thud…
He collapsed onto the room’s floor, his fingertips trembling slightly. “Not yet… Hua Mi and… Xue… Qi… ” But the familiar pain in his chest was already surfacing more and more clearly, as if he had returned to that place again…
Where?… The rat hole… That’s the place.
Surely I’m not going to die again. A powerful will to survive surged within Yang Zicang’s heart.
｛Panel Member 10 fixes their gaze upon me.｝
｛Ground-Haze Bedchamber.｝
｛The Panel Member doesn’t think I need help.｝
Increasingly dazed, Yang Zicang felt whispers surging like waves in his ears. Struggling to lift himself in the stone coffin, he grabbed a few Ability Spheres and pressed them one by one with all his force.
｛I have activated Cell Vitalization.｝
｛I have activated Radiation Purification.｝
｛I have activated Wound Cohesion.｝
｛I have activated Traumatic Memory Attenuation.｝
Pfft! A splash of dark green blood burst from Yang Zicang’s mouth as he fell onto the carpet and sank into a deep sleep.
Soon after, a small bird poked its head out from the collar of Yang Zicang’s ear. It shook itself vigorously, sneezed, then flew up and landed in front of a business card lying by the bedside. Pecking its beak at the letter “Y ” on the card,
it found no resistance. Using its beak, it flipped the card over twice, revealing the letter “B. “
“Hmm, that’s right, Cuckoo. “
With that, it suddenly seemed to realize something. Twitching nervously, it turned around and stared menacingly at the man lying motionless on the floor.
After listening intently for a long moment, it judged the quality of his sleep by the faint but steady rhythm of his breathing. Satisfied, it landed on the bed, rolled over twice, then stood up and spread its wings. From beneath itself, it pulled out one after another—a total of five business cards. Staring at them intently, it pecked at the one reading “Soldier No. 4 ” for a glance, then extended a wing to pick up “Little Soldier No. 1 ” and look it over.
“Sigh, either the clients don’t listen, or the contractors listen but don’t work. What a miserable world this is, Cuckoo. “
Then it stuffed all those cards back in, keeping only its own before flying over to Yang Zicang. It rubbed the card back and forth all over his face, hands, waist, thighs, and ankles with its head, as if marking its scent on him. After a good while, it tilted its head back, waved the card twice, then tucked it back under its wing.
“All done, OK Cuckoo. That should buy us a few more days of that fantastic ether taste, Cuckoo. “
It licked its beak with its tongue.
“One must endure hardship to achieve great things. Do you really think this little bird can be bought off with just one measly bottle of your booze? “
Thump, thump, thump!
Two knocks came from outside the door.
Cuckoo immediately snapped to attention, glaring warily at the entrance through the suite door. It flew over and landed on the doorknob.
“This room seems empty too. ” A muffled voice mumbled from outside.
Thump! Thump!
The man outside knocked twice more. Just as the sound of his footsteps seemed to be turning away, Cuckoo twisted its neck inside and asked sharply:
“Who goes there? “
The sound of the retreating footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
“Who’s in there? “
“And who the hell are you? “
“My name is my brand. I’m Zhao, Grand Marshal Zhao Anlong. Guest in room 407. And you, who are you? “
“I—am—the Herald commended by all small-event firms! The Tactical Vanguard’s Angel of Intelligence!! I am the Beacon Messenger esteemed by all distributors, the Three-In-One Incarnate recognized by the Sicilian Knucklehead Tactician—the most suave and dashing Tactical Cuckoo in the entire clockwork world! “
“What? ” Zhao Anlong’s medium-short black hair rustled.
“I am the emperor axle songbird handsome enough to make screws fall off, ‘Cuckoo,’ the iron bar man! Do you get it?! You piece of a hammer Marshal, since when does a Marshal come knocking on the door asking who lives inside? You brainless fool, even if the guest tells you, you still won’t know who it is. Who knows which random walk-on named Zhao Anlong crawled out of? “
“You! ” The man outside shot flames from his nostrils.
Bang, bang, bang! His fists slammed against the door.
“Eek! Squeak, squeak, squeak! ” On the hallway outside, two thread-thin velvet rats stared in terror at the dents being hammered into the door panel beneath his fists.
“You mongrel! Get the hell out here! “
“I’m not coming out. “
“Are you trying to make me take on this room of yours as my first challenge?! “
Confronting that small, shrill voice, Zhao Anlong, now a bit more burly, ground his teeth in fury. “Are you not afraid of dying right this moment under my fist?! “
“If you’ve got the guts, challenge me. Come on then. “
“Fine, fine, fine. Never have I met such a hard mouth. “
“My mouth is tougher than you think. And every part of me is just as hard as my mouth, facing the roar of the gale without a shred of wear, for an entire day. “
“You’ve got guts. You just wait for me. “
His nose twisted with rage, Zhao Anlong pounded down the stairs with powerful strides. He stopped bothering to knock on any other rooms and, following the instructions in the letter he’d received, rushed to the first floor. There, he saw a figure on the sofa staring back at him in surprise.
Zhao Anlong’s demeanor grew somber.
“And who are you? “
“Who? Me, uh, I’m She Liyu… You can also call me A Pineapple. That’s the new name I picked out over the past couple of days. “
“Fine, Pineapple. Who of yours lives in Room 407? “
Short on manpower, She Liyu, who couldn’t make it work with She Liqi, had been tricked into coming back by She Liqing. Dazed for a moment as he thought it over, he suddenly realized this guy wasn’t one of their own. Damn it! The inn had been breached!
“Looks like it’s our President Buchen. ” She Liyu said without a moment’s hesitation.
“Buchen… Cuckoo. And a president? ” Zhao Anlong raised his hand, aiming it at She Liyu’s head. “Excellent, excellent. Tell me everything about your president, or else you’re dead. “
Boom! A fierce blaze erupted from his body, filled with phantom images of various buildings, objects, and even shattered human figures. A faint halo shimmered within his pupils.
“Our chairman, he…” Lynx Rain said while quickly investing a key fob, one that originally belonged to He Yishu, temporarily borrowed for his use.
Sensing a sudden surge of energy beside him, Zhao Anlong eyed it with suspicion before realizing its eerie resemblance to the aura that had just wrapped around him moments ago.
“Stop right there, you bastard!“
His figure seemingly teleported beside Lynx Rain. He threw a punch like a sledgehammer pounding a drum, striking the spot where the vanished energy fluctuations had been. Even so, the force was enough to vaguely send Lynx Rain’s not-very-tall silhouette reeling away.
“Damn piece of trash. Whew…“
Shaking off his fist, Zhao Anlong turned around and walked toward Mr. Mus, who was standing behind the counter with a thin smile.
“Welcome to feilü the Lodge, honored sir. We still have vacant rooms available for occupancy in theory. However, the fee is merely one life story of yours, deemed worth the telling.“
“Save that bullshit for later.” Zhao Anlong propped his elbows on the counter. “Who is the mongrel in Room 407?“
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