Chapter 21: Echoes from the Ancients (Part 1)
Atlas came back less than an hour after he left. The scene when he came back scared Beichen so much that he almost dropped his jaw on the ground.
He was seen carrying a bear of similar size to himself in his left hand, dragging the leg of a dead deer in his right hand, holding a dead rabbit in his mouth, and with a tiger's tail wrapped around its tail. The tiger's huge corpse raised a cloud of dust on the ground as he walked into the cave.
“You…you…”
Beichen was dumbfounded in the photon barrier.
"Atlas, there's no need... to hunt so many, right?!"
As Atlas opened his mouth, the rabbit fell to the ground:
"Because I didn't know what kind of meat Beichen liked to eat, I hunted them all."
"But...this is such a waste, right? I can't finish all the meat at once, and it'll spoil quickly. Wouldn't it be unfair for the animals to die like this?"
"Don't worry, Beichen. I still have 1,000 cubic meters of storage space left."
"Oh...that's good..." Beichen just breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly came back to his senses, "Wait, do you have a storage space too?!"
"Yes."
Atlas nodded, then lined up the corpses in front of Beichen.
"What kind of food would Beichen like to eat?"
"Uh, deer?"
"Okay. Searching...search completed."
Probably having found the cooking method from the database, Atlas put the other corpses into the storage space, then carried the deer corpse out, while Beichen was once again in a daze in the photon barrier.
The vague feeling of unease that had been there since the night he saw that huge strange beast surfaced again.
A weapon of war, possessing the Moon Envoy.
Ever since Beichen came to know this world, these two competing species have had obvious representative colors.
The weapons represent gold, they have golden blood, the Star Vein Seeds also have golden eyes, and the possessed Moon Messenger represents blue-purple, the color of blood and the color of the Star Spirit Cannon are also blue-purple.
From a standpoint, they are natural enemies, but they have a lot in common.
First of all, they all use star power as energy.
Secondly, there is a day every month when the power fluctuates extremely.
And then there's something I just learned today—they can all use the storage space.
Finally, a very scary hypothesis: if the blue-purple and gold colors correspond to the Possessed Moon Envoy and the War Machine, two creatures that wield celestial power, and the user of the blue-purple celestial cannon is the Possessed Moon Envoy—
Then, could it be that the one who can use the golden spirit cannon is...!?
Beichen remembered the broken finger of the giant beast, and then remembered its roar that could incite weapons.
"No... no way... it shouldn't be..."
This assumption is too terrifying. Just the possession of the Moon Messenger alone shows that the world is already so barbaric. If even weapons can become that kind of thing, then how can humans survive?
Just as Beichen was trembling with fear at his own imagination, a fragrance drifted into the cave, causing Beichen, who was already weak, to stop thinking about it and swallow hard.
Then Atlas came in, holding a golden plate in his hand, on which were placed several skewers of fragrant meat and some delicious-looking small red fruits.
"Thank you, Atlas, for your hard work!"
She took the plate and gave her a grateful smile. Atlas immediately wagged his tail with joy, then sat down beside her and looked at her intently.
Beichen took a few bites of the barbecue and felt a little uncomfortable when he was stared at:
"Atlas, you won't eat?"
"I have enough energy, no need to consume food. ...Beichen, are you thirsty?"
"Even if I'm thirsty, you can't give me water that way anymore!"
"……oh."
The swinging tail immediately dropped down, and several black lines slid down from the top of Beichen's head. He could only cough lightly a few times to change the subject.
"Where did this tray come from? Was it in your storage space?"
"Yes. I got it from the living quarters of the Silenkrad base during this break to recharge my energy."
"Ah! Speaking of this!" Beichen said as he devoured the barbecue. "I heard from Xiangying and Heihuo Sujie that you went to the moon? It was full of strange, uninhabited buildings? And you stayed there alone for over a hundred years?"
"Yes."
Atlas nodded expressionlessly.
"Beichen, do you want to go?"
"Hmm..." Beichen lowered his head and thought for a while, "I have to go there sooner or later. Maybe I can solve many mysteries by going there. But not now, at least not until I resolve these recent major events."
"clear."
Atlas nodded again obediently. Seeing him like this, Beichen felt a little bitter.
I was not his real guide, but I had to agree because the situation was urgent, which led to me getting such a great bargain.
In fact, he had no reason or need to be so considerate and loyal to her. Apart from the misunderstanding about the guide, there was actually no intersection between them. Although he always called Beichen "guide", from Beichen's point of view, it was a bit too much to accept his service with peace of mind.
——This thoughtfulness doesn’t really belong to her.
"Atlas…I'm sorry."
"Why did Beichen apologize?"
Atlas turned his head and stared at her strangely, a hint of confusion flashing in his red eyes.
"I don't hate you at all, but remember what I said when we first met? I'm not your mentor, so there's no need for you to be so nice to me."
“…”
Atlas fell silent, staring at Beichen with a blank expression, wondering what he was thinking.
"Beichen, are you going to abandon me?"
"Huh? No, no, no!"
Beichen hurriedly shook his hands, then racked his brains to recall the situation and found another explanation.
"Then, didn't you say at the time that I wasn't from this batch, so it was okay to guide across batches?"
"yes."
"...So, if one day you find your group's leader, he or she will be very sad, right?"
“…”
Atlas thought for a few seconds and frowned, a rare expression on his face.
“…I only want Beichen.”
"ah?!"
Beichen was stunned.
"Why?! I... I don't have any special abilities, you know?! Maybe your real guide is dozens of times better than me!"
Atlas frowned again, "I don't know either. I just feel comfortable staying with Beichen."
"……well."
Beichen sighed, then laughed and patted Atlas on the shoulder.
"I really can't just casually accept kindness that doesn't belong to me. So, if staying with me makes you happy, I'd be happy to have you as a friend. But if you ever find a true guide, I won't stop you from leaving."
“…I’m not leaving.”
"Maybe you won't say that then."
Beichen smiled as he looked at the tail wrapped around his wrist.
"But, since I met you, you've helped me so much... and you even saved my life this time. I'm truly grateful. Is there anything I can do for you?"
I don’t know if it was an illusion, but Atlas’s red mechanical eyes flashed with excitement for a moment.
"Then, estrus..."
"That's absolutely not possible!"
“…”
"Tell me, tell me something else, something other than kissing and getting horny!"
"Are all the others all right?" Atlas tilted his head and thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. "Then can Beichen accompany me on the night of the new moon?"
"The night of the new moon... ah, you mean the night of the star disaster? That night—well, I can. I'm actually worried about you that day. You won't go crazy and kill me, will you?"
"No." Atlas shook his head vigorously. "But I'm feeling very uncomfortable, so I want Beichen to accompany me."
"Yeah, no problem, it's just a small matter!"
Seeing Beichen agreed so readily, the corners of Atlas' mouth, which never had smile lines on them, curled up slightly in a very imperceptible way.
In this way, with the help of Atlas, Beichen's body regenerated at a fierce speed. After just one night in the cave, the large holes in the wound had almost healed, and tender red new flesh grew on his chest and abdomen. Although it still hurt a little to touch, it no longer affected his free movement.
──Of course, the price she paid was that she ate a whole deer to replenish the energy she had consumed.
The injury has healed, and the problem now is how to reunite with the three fighters of his own family.
"Atlas, can we set off now? I want to find Xiang Ying and Gemini Claws."
"Okay, searching—search complete. They're 32 sangmars east."
— Approaching 3 Sanmar?
It looked like they already knew where they were—yes, they had a map—so why were they heading in exactly that direction?
"Wait... Ruins."
She murmured.
Could it be that they didn't actually know where they were, but intuitively felt that their dispersion was related to the ruins, so they decided to try their luck at the ruins, and the ruins were near where she was?
The more I think about it, the more possible it seems. She rolled down the hillside because she heard that strange sound.
Maybe it really is the ruins causing trouble?!
"Atlas! Can you find any ancient buildings nearby?!"
"Okay, searching—search complete. There's indeed an underground structure east of 1 Sangmar. Beichen, do you want to check it out?"
"Let's go. We should be able to meet up with everyone there. Besides, the ruins are so strange, maybe we can find what I want to know! But..."
Beichen hesitated for a moment and looked at Atlas - these things had nothing to do with him.
Although he is a possessed Moon Envoy, his thinking circuits are pure and upright, and he is unconditionally considerate and obedient to me. Do I really want him to be inexplicably dragged into this?
"Beichen?"
Atlas shook her hand with his tail in confusion.
"Alas, I don't have any weapons to protect myself now, so I can only ask you to protect me temporarily."
"Um."
"However, we should wait until we reunite with the war machines before entering the ruins. You can just wait outside. I don't want you to be in danger. You are innocent."
"don't want."
In a rare move, Atlas expressed his objection.
"Eh, but..."
"I'm very strong. My power is 0.27 times the combined power of Xiang Ying, Hei Huo, and Su Jie."
"..." Beichen twitched his lips. "I know you're strong, but..."
"I'm going too. I'm never going to be in heat again."
Seeing Beichen's hesitation, Atlas quickened his pace and spoke.
"...Well, I didn't say you are not allowed to be in heat. That would be too cruel..." Beichen complained softly, then patted Atlas' shoulder soothingly.
"If you insist on following me into the ruins, there might be a lot of trouble, okay?"
"Does that mean there will be a lot of agency instructions?"
On the contrary, Atlas became excited because of this. His tail released Beichen's hand and began to wag rapidly, which made Beichen laugh and cry. Yes, he seemed to be looking forward to having a mission to do.
"Well, maybe... although it might be different from your true mission..."
"My mission is to complete the order, no problem."
“…”
In the end, Beichen could only sigh helplessly, thought for a while, and then suddenly seemed to have figured something out, and smiled with relief at the humanoid possessed Moon Messenger in front of him.
"Anyway, let's go, Atlas, and head towards the ruins!"
"yes!"
The strange whisper of "here, here" came to her mind again. When she was alone, she felt creepy because of the voice, but now there was such a powerful possessed Moon Messenger beside her, she suddenly felt that there was nothing to be afraid of, so she relaxed and calmly followed the guidance of the voice, leaving the cave with Atlas and walking in a certain direction.
Half an hour later, they returned to the broad stone platform where Beichen had fought against the Disaster Emperor alone, and the voice in their minds became clearer and clearer.
I think the reason why Beichen and the three weapons came here separately was definitely caused by the ruins.
"Beichen, right below here──…Who is it!!"
Atlas was halfway through his speech when he suddenly lowered his voice by an octave and looked sharply in a certain direction.
A light laugh was heard from the bushes ahead, and then someone parted the bushes and walked out.
“──”
Beichen took a deep breath. "This face is so impressive, I can't forget it even if I want to!" But the most important question is, how did this face appear here?
"I didn't expect to meet you so soon, and I didn't expect that this is what you're talking about."
"Long Whip Laughing Poppy!!" Beichen growled, "Why are you here?! Are you following me again?!"
Xiao Peng walked over to the two of them nonchalantly, looking towards the platform:
"I should be asking you this. These ruins are a place that no one unrelated to the Red Moon Priestess can approach. You also have this... Oh? A humanoid Moon Envoy?"
He stared at Atlas blankly, then revealed a beautiful, somewhat coquettish smile.
"It seems I shouldn't ask why you came in. How could someone who can stand so friendly with the possessed Moon Envoy be so easy to get to?"
"..." Beichen gritted his teeth, "Does that mean you are related to the Red Moon Priestess?"
"Of course." Xiao Peng nodded without hesitation. "I'm a direct subordinate of one of the 'Thirteen Moon Slayers', so I'm considered a pretty high-ranking official."
As he spoke, he raised the thing in his hand and shook it towards Beichen - it was a metal object that looked like a pocket watch.
"This contains a part of the remains of the previous Red Moon Priestess. With this relic, you won't resist me."
Beichen was shocked when he heard this.
As a stranger, he said too much.
If you are willing to tell everything to a stranger, it means you are either planning to use him for your own benefit or to kill him to silence him, right?
She slowly took a few steps back, and Atlas, who was standing beside her, sensed her murderous intent and stared at Xiao Peng, his body tensed.
"take it easy."
Xiao Peng smiled at her gently - even though she knew his true nature, the lethality of this face was still enough to make her lose her mind.
"I have no intention of investigating how you got here. I don't care about the existence of this possessed Moon Envoy. I only have one question: are you a secret explorer on the side of the world, or a fanatic on the side of the Red Moon Witch?"
"Of course it's the former!"
Beichen answered without hesitation, but added in his heart: Although I am the Red Moon Priestess herself.
"That's fine."
Xiao Ping pursed her lips seductively again.
"Are you interested in joining the 'Thirteen Moon-Slaying Sect'? One of them died last year, and the position is vacant."
“────Huh?”
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