Chapter 113 Post-match Summary
Half an hour later, we arrived at TTT Express Hotel.
Night was approaching, and the sky darkened. The chilling air from the turbid tears still lingered, adding a chill to the night in this small port city. No one ventured out tonight, their doors tightly shut, leaving the path to the knights who emerged from the fog. They spoke no words, and did not disturb the inhabitants. They simply patrolled silently, like soldiers marching through their territory.
Ji Huaisu pulled the curtains and sank into the soft sofa.
"It looks like the knights won't be gone anytime soon. We'll have to try to operate in stealth."
"There's no point in stealth. Those things will start attacking as soon as we leave the hotel." Chu Hengkong placed a cup of hot chocolate on the table. "Don't even think about going out tonight. On the bright side, the others can't move, so Shizhong is safe for now."
Vander snuggled in his small blanket made of towels and said, "I'm glad you still remembered the poor tree. I thought we were here for a big fuck party."
"Come on, that frozen bald guy is really scary..." Ji Huaisu made a face, "And the situation is too chaotic. I'm a little confused by all these things happening as soon as I got to the island."
Chu Hengkong pulled off the small towel: "Fander, tidy it up."
"You two have brains, why don't you use them?" Finder pulled the towel back. "The situation isn't complicated. Besides us, the only people who have entered the game are the five lone rangers. The Heartbroken Guang Shi Qing Ye, Dan, the Baldy Zhuolei, the Black-Faced Talisman Master, and the man who fired the gun."
"The sniper was hired by the talisman master." Chu Hengkong said.
"Why?"
"Eye contact. A talismanist will occasionally keep an eye on the distance. If it's considered defensive, the frequency is too low. It's more like a subconscious check on the movements of friendly forces."
Finder was surprised. He hadn't expected this man's observation skills to be so terrifying. He hadn't participated in the battle much, yet he could still notice such a small detail. He lumped the sniper and the magician into the same category, and had some ideas in mind.
"I think I understand their idea. They're going to set up a defensive position and launch a counterattack..." Vander scratched his head with his tentacles. "It makes sense, but it's a bit weird, beating around the bush."
Chu Hengkong nodded: "That group of people is very strange. The talisman master has the ability to kill everyone in the field, but he has been hiding his abilities."
Ji Huaisu was unhappy: "Hehehe! You look down on me a little bit."
"It wasn't me who said that. It was the Immortal Machine who said that." Chu Hengkong relaxed, the suppressed blood in his eyes surfacing. "The Immortal Machine has identified the Talisman Master as a 'high threat'. This rating means he has a chance of defeating me in a head-on fight. This isn't an evaluation you'd get from a normal Sephiroth 3."
"That's quite convenient." Finder said in surprise, "So the Talisman Master is the strongest at the moment."
"No, the strongest one is the sniper." Chu Hengkong said firmly, "From now on, don't act separately. If he targets me, I may not be able to protect him."
"Don't worry, I'll never take it out of your pocket again." Vander waved his tentacles. "It's likely that all these people came here for the stone seeds. Maybe there will be a chance for cooperation in the future. In my opinion, the hardest ones are those things outside..."
It pulled aside a curtain and looked at the chaos on the street. In Vander's eyes, those things were still walking mosaics, with no trace of human beings.
"Are you sure they are of your kind?"
"I'm 100% sure." Ji Huaisu nodded vigorously. "I don't know how you see it, but in my eyes they are standard 'knights', with the same light shield and shadow blade as me, but with even more advanced skills."
This difference in perception is rare. The unified standards of the imperial emperor have long been part of the Shendong world; people shouldn't have different views on the same species. If the reason for this phenomenon is unrelated to innate factors, then it means that Ji Huaisu has some information that they don't know yet.
Putting aside innate differences, only information gaps can lead to different perceptions. Vander felt like he had some ideas...
At this moment, a premonition of danger crept through him, like the ominous creaking of feet on a frozen lake. He rigorously controlled his thinking, not letting his thoughts pry open the sealed knowledge. All his lessons had taught him to explore the mysteries to the point of no return. If he didn't want to die from a sudden disaster, he'd better start by investigating the smaller things around him.
Fander patted his head and said seriously, "Looks like we have to do an extra job besides looking for the tree. Let's go look for Jin Ye tomorrow morning. As the first person to come into contact with this Dust Island, he should have some clues."
It and Ji Huaisu looked at Chu Hengkong together. The killer said nothing, staring intently at his palm.
"Akong?" Ji Huaisu asked.
He finally came to his senses and said, "That's it."
As a killer, he had never shown such a state before. He was as absent-minded as a student who was dreaming. He walked to the door, saying that he wanted to wash his face. When he opened the door, Ji Huaisu called him.
"Akong, what's my threat level?"
Chu Hengkong was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"This thing only evaluates enemies, you are a teammate."
The door closed gently, and Ji Huaisu fell on the sofa hugging the pillow, his eyes not as bright as usual.
Fander huddled back in his quilt and said lazily, "Why are you so serious? Why does a mere Niying have to compete with the masters of Particle 3?"
"I'm not being competitive, it's just..." Ji Huaisu sighed, "I've been his boss for most of the past six months, but now I need him to protect me when I go out."
"Comrade Huaisu, you can't be so stubborn. It's normal for a team to have different strengths." Fander began to persuade him. "Of course, the brave and fighting wolves are important, but our retreat drum is also an indispensable part! We are a small team now, so everyone should just do their own thing..."
"But my specialty is fighting." Ji Huaisu said sullenly.
Vander was momentarily stumped. He possessed extensive knowledge and unique hypnotic abilities, so he had never worried about his own combat effectiveness. But Ji Huaisu was also a man who used his fists more than his brains. How could a warrior who lacked the ability to dominate a battlefield be effective?
"Just... don't compare yourself to a pervert," it offered a fragile comfort. "Niying is pretty good too, better than me."
Ji Huaisu didn't say anything, just curled up on the sofa. Fander felt a little uncomfortable seeing this, so he slipped out the door and wanted the inspector to come over and enlighten his comrade, but he found Chu Hengkong still staring at his palm at the door in a daze.
In his palm lay a bullet. This bullet had killed Seth Lun at the end of the battle. It was severely deformed due to the overly crude trajectory planning, and the materials used were nothing special; it was just an ordinary, fine product. Fander didn't understand what was so appealing about this little thing, but Chu Hengkong's mind was mostly immersed in the bullet.
He looked at it so intently, as if he saw his own past in it.
·
North of Jinye City, Saint Lar Luxury Hotel.
Wu He hurriedly pushed open the door. His trouser legs were covered in mud, and his hair was still covered in frost. He looked rather disheveled. Few people could maintain a cheerful mood in such a state, and Wu He was no exception. He wanted to shout as soon as he entered the room, but the strange situation in the room suppressed his anger.
Shakes leaned against the wall, standing on one leg, his chin propped up by one hand, his eyes staring blankly out the empty window, like a sharp-tongued, wandering, tough detective.
Wu He was a little horrified when he saw this: "...Shax?"
Shax was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly, acting as if he were sleepwalking.
"Is there a possibility that one day when I'm out on a mission, a strange creature with a tentacle arm and an eel head, wearing a green coat and gnawing at the Turbid Tears Ice Armor, suddenly runs into my sniper range and says I'm your former mortal enemy. Then I can fight him again..."
Wu He took two steps back and said, "Honestly, have a drink to calm yourself down. You're in such a mess right now!"
Shax rubbed his eyes vigorously and sat down on the bed. He looked extremely tired at this moment.
"I'm going to need a drink when this is over." Shax shook his head vigorously. "This is ridiculous, too many nightmares... I really should get a dream-editing surgery..."
"I can recommend a good doctor to you later." Wu He turned serious. "Now let's get down to business. Tell me why you didn't kill that Zhuolei?!"
His tone grew increasingly agitated, almost questioning. The final shot had seemingly killed it instantly, but he knew the elementalized Turbid Tear wouldn't die so easily. It had only lost a large portion of its body, its ghostly form having long since dissipated with the ice shards.
Shaxx became a legend by killing the Scourge. There was no reason for him to make such a low-level mistake, exposing himself but not killing the enemy. It could only be intentional on his part.
When he raised his head, Shaxx had returned to his original appearance, calm and indifferent, as if he didn't care about anything.
"Why did that Turbid Tear target you?"
Wu He was impatient: "He killed my mouse——"
"Why would he target 'you'?" Shax repeated. "Your rats are some distance away from the hotel, and you're controlling them with talismans. How could a delirious Turbid Tear track them back to your base?"
Wu He was startled at this. The battle had come too fast, too soon, and he was so enraged by the defeat and the unexpected that he momentarily ignored this most illogical question. As Shax had said, the Ascendants of the Supreme Path were brutal and unruly, and delicate work like reverse tracking wasn't their forte. The Iceman hadn't a single relic on his person, so how could he possibly have tracked down the base?
He forced himself to calm down: "Someone has some advice for it..."
"Or maybe someone is guiding it from behind," Shax said. "I left a hook inside it to see if I can catch the fish behind it."
Wu He hesitated. He wanted to criticize the sniper for being unnecessary, but then he realized the mastermind behind this had no good intentions from the moment he came after him. Shakes's decision to stop the fight and hold back was the most appropriate solution at the moment. After thinking it over several times, he smiled wryly and said, "...You've thought it through."
Even so, this still doesn't feel right, Shax thought. Even if someone was manipulating the Turbid Tears, Wu He's fate today was a bit too coincidental. His luck was bizarrely bad, but something as mysterious as luck wasn't something to be discussed openly.
"You're too concerned with gain and loss," Shax said flatly. "Don't pretend to be rich if you don't have money."
Wu He laughed disdainfully.
"You've totally misunderstood. I'm well-off. Whatever I lost today, I can get back in less than a day!" His smile grew increasingly sinister. "It's precisely because I don't need these things that I'm looking for that tree... I must get that tree!"
He sat under the light, his profile obscured by shadow, a greedy look tinged with a strange dread, as if he wanted to escape something, but couldn't.
Shakes waited for him to speak, but Wu He remained silent. His employer's concealment once again irritated him. It was petty to continue to conceal the truth even when the situation was so bizarre.
After a while, he couldn't help asking, "What's the name of that eel?"
"I don't know, but he's very strong," Wu He said. "I recognize that skill where his will and energy become armor... He's at least a particle level 3, and he's definitely on the path to the Tao."
"Oh. It seems that he is from Zhengxuan Palace like you."
"You think too much. If I have that ability, why should I hire you?" Wu He smiled.
Still hiding, still hiding, as if revealing something that anyone with a discerning eye could see would be a grave loss. Shax was truly unhappy this time. Wu He was decent enough when things were going well, but he became anxious and worried when he encountered a little setback.
He began to maintain the gun, and soon the room was filled with the smell of maintenance oil. The two of them remained silent.
(End of this chapter)
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