A big thump resonated as a sand barrier blocked the way of the Yellow Turban’s hand. This seemingly fragile barrier managed to completely withstand the attack at the cost of Imhotep’s face turning paler than before. The attack had injured him.
(These strange monsters are the bane of my existence just like Zheng said, or more accurately, the bane of all beings that exist in the same form as me. Are there other beings who encountered the same situation that I do?)
Curiosity sparked within Imhotep. He had heard a lot about God’s Realm from Zheng before Zheng fell into the deep sleep, since he would need to decide whether to join team China after their mission. The more he learned, the more he realized he didn’t know. Were these Yellow Turbans created to counter beings like him? What exactly was this world he lived in? What was the reason of existence for the natives of this world?
The situation didn’t allow him time to ponder further. Imhotep’s power became useless against the Yellow Turbans. Neither the liquid absorption property of his sand, the erosion of his energy had any effect on them. He so wished he could smack the five Yellow Turbans into a pancake.
(I can’t hold them any longer. They are stronger than when they were in Shanghai… We should leave first. They shouldn’t be able to match my speed in my whirlwind form.)
He gave a shout to TengYi and LiuYu. “Be careful! I am going to carry you off!” His body transformed into whirling sand and expanded outward. The sand enveloped the group before the next attack came. Imhotep carried everyone to the air, including those who were asleep.
(We escaped? That was easier than I thought.) Imhotep was thrilled.
The whirling sand could turn into a sandstorm at his will. However, a sandstorm formed outside the desert wouldn’t be powerful. The whirling sand also moved at a faster rate.
Imhotep flew fifty meters away then with a big thump, everyone dropped off the whirling sand. Fortunately, they were only flying four meters above the ground so the impact wasn't too strong. Imhotep was knocked back into his human form. His body trembled and blood seeped from every feature on his head. This was the first time his human form bled.
A translucent barrier floated in the sky. It was formed by the five colors representing the five elemental attributes. This barrier was what struck Imhotep. It looked awfully similar to Formations from Cultivation.
The group let out a sigh of relief when they took off but the sudden change knocked their heads into a daze. By the time TengYi and LiuYu climbed up from the ground, the Yellow Turbans had already surrounded them. Four huge beings floated above the ground. Their huge hands and bodies could easily crush any human… Wait, four?
The two raised their heads to see the wind attribute Yellow Turban floating directly above. More importantly, its fist was crushing down on them.
Screams were rushing up their throats when the wind Yellow Turban’s body compressed inward at its center. The yellow cloth formed a cone with the sharp point on the back of the Yellow Turban. A loud bang followed right after. The cloth started to crumble inch by inch.
TengYi and LiuYu recognized it was the sound of the Gauss sniper rifle. The sound of the shot reached their ears after its bullet struck the target. This meant that Zero had arrived!
Up in the sky ten thousand meters away, Zero crouched on the Sky Stick with the rifle aimed down. A magic bullet was loaded in the rifle. It was powerful enough to destroy the Yellow Turban as he had expected. Furthermore, the monsters needed time to close their distance.
(They are coming fast! Is it teleportation?)
The other four Yellow Turbans had vanished from the scope by the time Zero readied his second shot. He quickly moved his eyes off the scope. The eye related enhancements he exchanged allowed him to see far with his bare eyes. These Yellow Turbans crossed a thousand meters within this short amount of time. They were blinking forward like a video that was skipping ahead, suddenly disappeared then suddenly reappeared. The Gauss sniper rifle sounded again.
(It’s not a problem! There’s a pause after each blink. Each blink crosses a thousand to a thousand five hundred meters. I have about ten blinks worth of time… That’s enough!)
The unlocked mode and body enhancements raised his sniper skills by a great degree. Zero fired four shots one after another, blasting the remaining four Yellow Turbans into pieces. Not one shot missed its target. His firing speed and accuracy were nearly flawless.
“I handed the metal plate to Kuomintang. Xuan said humans in this world won’t be able to read the technologies contained in the plate within the next two hundred years so we can hand it to them. Once the alliance was formed, Xuan had me rush over. He said you will need my strength if Zheng is still asleep.” Zero explained the reason that he was here. He followed Xuan’s order as soon as he finished his task in Chongxing and thus saved the group at the last second.
TengYi and LiuYu exhaled a long breath. They looked at each other and saw the rejoice in each other’s eyes. Xuan did not abandon them or else they would be done by now. And of course… Xuan never expressed his thoughts like he was too prideful to do so, or didn’t bother, or looked down at everyone else.
“Speaking of Zheng, how’s he right now?” Zero asked.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the people sleeping on the ground, which included Zheng. The Yellow Turbans didn’t wake them from their sweet sleep.
Zero sighed. “We wouldn’t be in such a tight corner if everyone’s awake. HongLu and Xuan could each lead a group and complete this mission from two sides. Our manpower and mobility would be nothing like the current situation. I will protect you until Zheng wakes up per Xuan’s order.” Zero calmly said.
(If the Yellow Turbans’ growth is proportional to their previous existence, will I still be able to kill them before they reach me when their blinks are faster and farther?)
Zero’s attacks were at both extremes of strong and weak. With enough distance, he could kill someone a hundred times his stats. Yet, at close range, he could die to a well skilled fighter with half his stats. He killed the Yellow Turbans with ease in this fight but any attack from them could smash ten Zeros in one hit.
(We can only wait and pray for Zheng to wake up before the Yellow Turbans grow strong enough to kill us. Is Xuan’s group going to be alright without me?)
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter!?” ChengXiao shouted. “How can it not matter? Retard. Are you planning to throw me away after forming the alliance with the Communist Party?”
“That’s a fact.” Xuan said in a serious tone while holding the silver plate. “Because you are not going to meet the Japanese to form an alliance, you are there to threaten them.”
“But it does matter! Brute Force is a pillar to a threat and yet you prohibit me from using force. What am I going there for? A trip?”
“Uh -- not a trip.” Xuan said. “You are going there for negotiations and threatening.”
ChengXiao paused for a moment on the other end of the plate. Then his voice erupted. “Then let me go destroy a division or something. You know I am your stereotypical nationalistic youth. Why did you think I can restrain myself from doing anything after I see the tragedy that's happening in Shandong? I can’t act as merely your telephone!”
“One does not kill the envoy during a war.” Xuan calmly said. “Neither does the envoy kill the warlord. An envoy is the tool to enable both parties to communicate. Heng has already completed the goal of threatening. Your goal is to obtain the rest of the Buddha statue, not to act on your desire. We have confirmed two points regarding the Japanese army. One, they secretly entered Shanxi. Two, they have at least one piece of the statue. Your mission is to threaten them, make them hand us all the pieces they have, and make sure at least one person knows the total number of pieces it was split into.”
“This world is not the real world as I have reminded you. Don’t invest your feelings into this world. The mission is your top priority, ChengXiao. After that, I won’t care what you do.” The temperature in Xuan’s tone dropped. “So. Don’t drag down the team with your personal feelings. Or else…”
“I -- I get it!” ChengXiao shivered and immediately replied. “I get it. Don’t sound so ghastly. It’s scary. Your personality is scary enough to begin with. This tone only makes it worse. I will do my best. Do I really can’t do anything other than threaten the Japanese?”
Xuan suddenly sighed, “You are a fighter specialized in single target combat. Groups of under a hundred are what suited for you to take on. Heng’s strike at a division was a difficult decision to make already. Neither you nor Zero are designed to fight numbers over ten thousand people. Kampa and WangXia are the better options. However, WangXia has his mission, which leaves you to be the one to meet the Japanese military officials in Shandong.
“Furthermore, await my orders with preparation. If the Japanese officials insist on not handing out the statue pieces, I will have WangXia bring you the Magic Cannon. Though it’s better to not use the Magic Cannon within China. This is our situation. We have less than four days. Zheng is asleep and Zero is forced to stay and guard the other group. Our information is still missing the whereabouts of two pieces. I can only do the best I could. Pray that we aren’t in hell by the time Zheng wakes up.”
Xuan never expressed his thoughts. Perhaps he was too prideful of his wit or looked down at everyone else’s, or perhaps the lack of emotions made him think the action was unnecessary. No one could ever guess what he was thinking. Yet, he was expressing his mind to ChengXiao which surprised him. In the end, ChengXiao had no other choice. He stepped onto the Sky Stick and flew northeast.
While ChengXiao was heading northeast, Heng also began his flight at the same direction. His orders were to await the next order at the destination and to assist ChengXiao in case he started a fight with the Japanese army, because ChengXiao lacked the ability to fight large groups. WangXia was heading east at this time. He would cross the Pacific Ocean and seize the statue piece from the U.S. navy before the fleet reached their homeland, and destroy the fleet.
As for Zheng…
(This is boring. I am falling asleep in a dream from this boredom.)
Zheng had stayed on this uninhabited island alone for two months already. The Assassin’s Clan brought the children away with helicopters so he was left here by himself. He was able to follow YinKong everywhere on the island and boarded the helicopter. But after it flew a few hundred meters away from the island, he dropped off from the helicopter as though it did not exist. His movements were confined to the island.
(Does this mean YinKong’s deepest memory happened on the island and the change happened here?)
Zheng took a deep breath. He adjusted his mental state and unlocked the third stage to emulate YinKong. Once done, he struck a nearby tree with his fist, breaking it in halves.
Zheng didn’t waste his time in this dream. He tried his best to learn the techniques from the Assassin’s Clan and searched for ways to interact with the dream world. There was only one method that he found. The closer his emulation of YinKong was to the real person, the more strength he could use in this world. Zheng could use up to fifty percent of his strength when he ran the emulation at maximum.
(Is it because this is her dream? But I am emulating the girl that I know from God’s realm and not this girl who always holds a smile on her face. Or do the two YinKong’s of different personalities and power coexist?)
Zheng was right to worry. The appearance of the new or actually old YinKong once led him to believe the girl he knew from God’s realm was gone. He was overjoyed when he came up with this conjecture. Dream world YinKong was strong but that cold girl who accompanied the team for so long was their comrade.
The air vibrated slightly from afar while Zheng was thinking. A sound was transmitted to the uninhabited island. Zheng looked around to find ten helicopters in the distance. These were the tools the Assassin’s Clan used to transport the children, the newest model of military helicopters. Which also illustrated the money this clan possessed, a clan that had existed for thousands of years.
The children finally returned to this uninhabited island after two months. They landed in groups. Zheng was teleported to YinKong the moment her feet stepped on the island as though they were linked through something special. He followed her around like a ghost as he used to.
(Nine, ten, eleven… Everyone in her group is here. Nothing drastic happened after they left.)
Zheng let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that the change happened somewhere he couldn’t see and he would miss the opportunity of leaving the dream. At the same time, he worried about when would the change come. This YinKong was still young. She had a few more years before reaching the age that she entered God’s realm. Zheng didn’t want to spend several years in this dream. But there was also no signs of the change coming.
The children went their separate ways as they once were shortly after. Some left alone, and some in groups. YinKong’s group held a brief discussion before splitting up to gather food and water.
Zheng watched YinKong gather food and ice chunks like usual. Night fell and her group assembled. They laughed and ate until they fell asleep.
An hour after, YinKong lightly leaped up and ran into the forest like a cat. Zheng floated behind her for several minutes until she stopped at a tree.
“Come out, ZhuiKong. I have questions.” YinKong immediately said. She leaped up the tree.
A dark figure came out from behind the tree. ZhuiKong gave a bitter smile at the girl above. Before he got to speak, YinKong hurriedly asked, “I didn’t get the chance to ask you. Is Rui-Kong injured? Did they attack the two of you during your plan? Tell me. Damn brother who can’t even protect his sister.”
ZhuiKong said, “It was my mistake… That can leave for later. We sneaked into the restricted area of the clan and found something special. It was those things that injured her. You know? Our speculations were wrong. The elders aren’t raising us to become the next generation of the clan. At least that’s not their goal despite the special genes injected into us. We can only become their tools.”
YinKong calmed down and thought for a moment. “The agreement we made is I will find a way to solve the heart’s devil and you will sneak into the core areas of the clan to find out the truth… That means you discovered something significant? What was it?”
ZhuiKong nodded. “Yes. We sneaked into the core of the clan without any trouble… and there, we found two clan members who are at the fourth stage. Rather than members, it’s more accurate to call them mindless monsters.
“We initially thought the heart’s devil is the obstacle to reaching the fourth stage, like the Heaven’s Retributions during ascension for Cultivators. Failure equates insanity and eventually death. Success and one would reach mid-fourth stage. However, the existence of those two monsters changed my mind. We might not die upon losing to the heart’s devil. Our minds would become blank, which is what the elders wish for. They raise us as the insects in a Gu, growing up together, reaching the fourth stage, and losing our minds to become their tools. Living tools with human bodies and power but no thoughts of their own! This is the goal of the elders and our destination!”
ZhuiKong became more and more emotional as he went on. He was shouting at the end. YinKong sealed his mouth with her hand immediately until he calmed down. She said, “Give me an idea of what happened there.”
“Sister and I sneaked into that place. There's a secret building underneath the headquarter just as we thought. When we tried to advance further into the building, two monsters blocked our way. One looked seventy percent human with a giant body. The other looked only thirty percent human and resembled a snake with wings. Their strength was shocking. We were not a match for them. Rui-Kong used her special ability and found that their minds contain barely anything aside from violence. The only thoughts that flow through their minds are killing every living object in their sights and broken fragments of their human memories. They grew up like us, unlocked the fourth stage then lost their minds.
“That’s about what happened. Rui-Kong received physical injuries and her mind is not in a bright condition from contacting that violence.” ZhuiKong gave a deep exhale.
YinKong forced herself to calm down then said, “I have an idea in getting through my heart’s devil. I will also keep an eye on Rui-Kong’s condition… But it worries me that losing the battle to the heart’s devil turns a person into a mindless walking corpse instead of dying. Do the elders have the technology to control these monsters?”
It was only a guess at this point. The two discussed but couldn’t come to an answer. They decided to sneak into the core area of the clan together the next time they return. They wanted to get pass the monsters and head into the most important area. The discussion then turned to YinKong’s discovery on overcoming the heart’s devil.
“The heart’s devil is a person’s biggest obsession or desire. I speculate there are two forms it can take. One, not being able to let go. Like loving a person, hating a person, reaching for a goal, wishing to kill someone, or simply surviving. This desire will become the heart’s devil when it grows too big. Two, not being able to obtain. Like the person you love, a thing you love, a stage you wished for your whole life. When this thing eludes you for too long, it also becomes a heart’s devil.”
YinKong sighed. “My heart’s devil is probably not being to let go of all of you. The day I can abandon you is the day I will break through it. I don’t know which heart’s devil Rui-Kong has. If it’s the second form, I don’t know how to overcome it. Maybe the second form is more difficult to overcome.”
ZhuiKong suddenly embraced YinKong in his arms. She accepted it without fighting back in embarrassment as she used to. The two held each other quietly until ZhuiKong finally spoke again. “You must have stepped on the border of activating the heart’s devil numerous times during these months to get so much information. It’s dangerous, you idiot.”
“That’s a different question.” YinKong laughed. “At least… I found a way for everyone to live on. I am satisfied.”
“Idiot. If, I am saying if one of us falls to the heart’s devil, you have to kill that person. Don’t let us become a mindless living tool. A future where we lives without a mind is miserable. I’d rather choose death. If one day I should fall into this despair, I will kill all of you, including you and my sister. Let me… bear all the sin by myself.”
“No…” YinKong tightened her fist and muttered. “I won’t let that day come. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you. We won’t die. We won’t become tools. We won’t!”
(So this is the cause of the change? Zhui-Kong’s promise and how he has acted in the realm…)
Zheng didn’t know the true history yet. However, he had a feeling the change was looming near!
Four days and three nights had gone by. Team China had less than half the time left. The Buddha statue’s pieces were still scattered over the world. The first group was protecting the Buddha’s head in Shanxi. ChengXiao was heading to the Japanese occupied area in Shandong. Heng was following behind him. WangXia was chasing after the U.S. navy fleet in the Pacific Ocean. Xuan remained in Shanghai.
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