Chapter 12: The Road to Transformation
Compared to the "cyclops jellyfish" on Hugos' body, the illusion of the seahorse demon was clearer and larger. The bone-white seahorse in the air was about the length of a child, and it silently extended and retracted its mouthparts, as if sipping invisible wine.
This time, Chu Hengkong had experience. The moment the demonic image appeared, he swung his tentacles and lashed out. But the tentacles passed right through the seahorse demon's body, like a fleeting phantom. The seahorse demon rose slowly and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Don't waste your energy. The illusion cannot be broken." Ji Huaisu said.
Chu Hengkong regretfully retracted his tentacles and talked about another unusual phenomenon: "There are also shadows on the soldiers. Can the devil possess so many people?"
"Strictly speaking, it only possessed Sansen Wangxiang. The rest of the bandits were victims of the demon's infection. Otherwise, how could they be so organized and impulsive?" Ji Huaisu moved his fingers slightly, making the gesture of controlling a puppet. "In fact, the only one who was truly obsessed to the point of madness was Sansen Wangxiang. The others were so trapped in the demon's power that they thought they missed their homeland just like him."
"But they miss home too," said Chu Hengkong.
He saw some of the bandits walk out of the gray tower in a daze, abandoning their weapons. They looked up silently, their sights seemingly able to penetrate the water curtain and reach far, far away.
The weapons flowed steadily, the sunlight filtering through the curtain of water shimmering with a faint white. The curtain of water seemed so close, yet so distant, like another world. Just as people on earth strained to see the sun, yet couldn't see the sun on the other side.
"What's the point of leaving the water curtain?" Ji Huaisu said softly, "It's just like walking from darkness into a deeper night."
"You're very artistic," Chu Hengkong agreed casually. He was busy picking through a pile of scrap metal, searching for any trophies that were still usable.
Ji Huaisu was afraid that he was hiding something dangerous, so he quickly squatted down to help him clean it up: "What a literary fool! I told you that you are an outsider after all, don't you want to go home?"
She felt that this man's personality was quite strange. Generally speaking, no matter how calm and steady a person was, he would ask for advice on how to get home. She was ready to let the other party accept the reality and offer comfort, but Chu Hengkong never showed any related emotion, as if he didn't care at all.
"I don't have any concerns over there, so it doesn't matter."
Ji Huaisu was so calm that he didn't know what to say. He could only respond in a muffled voice: "...Oh."
Most of Sansen Wangxiang's modified machine guns had been chopped up by his own water jet. After a long effort, the two men salvaged them, only finding a few intact round magazines and two blue stickers that looked like relics. Ji Huaisu, upholding the attitude of a senior who supports newcomers, offered to share half of the bounty with Chu Hengkong, but Chu Hengkong refused.
He knew that Ji Huaisu had been the main force in this assault from beginning to end. If he had acted alone, it would not have been so easy to break through the tower's defenses. He wanted more relics, but he never took anything beyond his share.
Chu Hengkong finally received the two stickers as consolation prizes. He casually tucked them into his large book as bookmarks before descending the tower with Ji Huaisu, one in front of the other. By this time, most of the salvage workers who had been driven away by the bandits had returned. Their gazes were filled with awe, but not gratitude.
Chu Hengkong looked around but didn't see a single member of the Resurrection Corps. Instead, a few people in black robes were watching from a distance. They sensed Chu Hengkong's gaze but remained silent and motionless, as quiet as crows coveting a corpse.
"Don't worry about them." Ji Huaisu waved his hand. "Go find Mrs. Ansa and explain the situation. Then we'll escort Sansen Wangxiang back to the courtyard. After that, you have to memorize the patrol routes and some important locations. There's still a lot of work to do."
Chu Hengkong nodded. Thinking that patrolling and other daily tasks would probably take up the entire day, he naturally asked, "Captain, are you free tonight?"
Ji Huaisu took a step back on the spot, with a look of horror in his eyes: "What do you want to do, kid?!"
"I want to fight you."
·
At 7:30 in the evening, we returned to the canteen of the resurrection unit.
Shortly after the shift change, the team members, having toiled all day, took off their helmets and tucked into the cafeteria, munching on squid rice and free waterweed syrup. The cafeteria was bustling tonight. Captain Huaisu, perched on a stool with one foot, held a bowl of rock sugar syrup and spoke with a particularly cheerful air.
"Everyone, let's get acquainted. This is the new recruit, Chu Hengkong, who officially joined last night. He's incredibly skilled, having taken out two demon-possessed individuals in one day! If you run into any tough guys from now on, look for him to take care of them."
"Welcome, welcome." "Those tentacles aren't in vain." "Brother Chu, you're really capable!"
Everyone applauded in unison, while the more lively ones used the flattery as an excuse to crack jokes. Their hostility dissipated considerably. Firstly, the fact that such a dangerous individual could join the team showed that the City Lord had passed the test and was definitely not truly possessed by a demon. Secondly, this individual's combat record was truly impressive; he had single-handedly taken out wanted criminals that had required the combined efforts of several teams. Everyone wanted to befriend such a master.
“…”
The team members' warm greetings went unanswered. The protagonist of the welcome party sat at a single table in the corner, staring at a plate of stewed crucian carp in a trance, a true loner marginalized by the event.
The atmosphere became a little tense. Xie An, who was tending to herbs by the windowsill, saw this and quickly put down his shovel and moved over. "What's going on? Comrade Killer, have you discovered something serious?"
Ji Huaisu took a sip of the sugar water, his eyes moving around lively. The veteran team members immediately became interested and listened attentively.
Chu Hengkong didn't pay any attention to what was happening around him. He stared at his right hand and thought hard.
"I just had an arm wrestling match with Ji Huaisu." He said slowly.
Xie An's mouth almost stretched to his ears. He pretended to be concerned and asked, "What's the result?"
"...I didn't win." Chu Hengkong was puzzled.
The team members clapped their hands on the table and laughed, filling the cafeteria with a cheerful atmosphere. Chu Hengkong became increasingly troubled as he pondered the matter. Ji Huaisu had previously said that if a real fight broke out, it would just be a bullying match. He had even thought about showing off his skills to open the eyes of this girl... but within three seconds of sitting at the table, he was completely defeated, and he was the one who was enlightened.
This didn't make sense! She was so slender, and she wasn't some muscular woman who'd taken lots of drugs, nor was she possessed by demonic powers. How come after years of hard training, he couldn't even break a woman's hand?
"No, hey, buddy." Jie An laughed so hard he almost gasped for breath. "You're going to compete with the Transformers in physical fitness when you have no idea what to do. How much did you drink?"
"You've done your best, Hengkong team member." "What a warrior!" "Taking on a stab at Captain Huaisu is a testament to your courage. With such a heroic spirit, you'll surely become a high-quality macho man and excel in the world in time!"
The team members whistled and cheered. Chu Hengkong came back to his senses, sighed to the people around him, and asked, "Is the Transformer the 'Mass Point One'?"
Ji Huaisu, who was just looking for fun, was surprised when he heard this: "Seriously? You haven't come into contact with the path of transformation?"
"Be more tolerant of newcomers. It's not uncommon for some islands to block information about ascension so that it becomes a privilege for a few people," the man said with a smile.
Father Huaisu walked into the cafeteria, fanning himself with a paper fan, his demeanor as leisurely as a tourist. The team members, who were chatting and laughing, immediately stood up and saluted, then consciously moved to the sides of the cafeteria, leaving ample space. Only Ji Huaisu and Jie An sat still, their expressions as usual.
Father Huaisu sat down opposite Chu Hengkong, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Are you curious? Why is it that despite your diligent training since childhood, you can't match Huaisu's strength?"
"Very curious." Chu Hengkong said seriously.
Father Huaisu picked up a piece of crucian carp with his chopsticks. "Imagine this: there's a strong crucian carp. It practices new crucian carp boxing techniques every day, and it's undefeated in battles with its own kind, making it a true prodigy. One day, this crucian carp challenges a human to a duel. The human has never learned martial arts and is of average physique. Who do you think will win?"
"It's so suspenseful~" Ji Huaisu said in a strange voice.
Chu Hengkong's mouth twitched: "Not really, right?"
No matter how much a fish exercises, it is still just a fish. In the eyes of humans, that is not strong but fat. However, humans will never think that they are as weak as a crucian carp.
"Reality is so cruel. Most crucian carp are powerless against humans. This is a difference in 'status' that has nothing to do with talent or hard work." Father Huaisu closed his fan. "But! The world of Shendong is vast, and life is wonderful. Among the countless dust islands, there are methods to elevate 'status'."
"We call the individual beings of life 'sephirah,' and the method that elevates the sephirah is called the 'path of transformation.'"
Chu Hengkong's gaze met with that of Old Man Huaisu, and his nerves tensed. That sharp feeling of being seen through returned, this time with true power in his opponent's eyes. Suddenly, a blazing fire erupted from those still eyes, black flames bursting forth, engulfing him!
Chu Hengkong's head was splitting, and he almost cried out in pain. In just one glance, a vast ocean of information flooded into his mind, exploding like a raging fire. So much information nearly paralyzed his processing ability, and he could only try his best to see, unable to maintain his thoughts. He saw young children practicing boxing under a waterfall, young men hammering steel before a fire, and generals roaming the battlefield, severing the throats of monsters with their sharp blades; he saw a wondrous city-state in the jungle, an ancient kingdom under the cherry trees, machines and demons fighting in the ocean, and a red dragon soaring across the sky... and all of it was contained within a gigantic form. It was so magnificent, so great, that countless islands were encircled by it...
Chu Hengkong couldn't bear to watch any longer. The raging stream of thoughts threatened to consume him. But then the burning sensation receded, and his vision suddenly cleared up.
Across the table was the same leisurely man, his dark eyes as still as a pool of water. Chu Hengkong breathed heavily, his fingers sinking deeply into the wooden table, yet he was completely unaware.
"What is that?" He spoke intermittently. "Is that... the existence... above the 'point of matter'?"
"Who knows?" Father Huaisu said nonchalantly, "It's said that high-quality beings can influence the world with just a thought. To us on Dust Island, they're like gods."
He stood up, walked around the table, and patted Chu Hengkong on the shoulder: "You can see so many things, your talent is higher than I thought... If you want to improve, perform well, Hengkong team member."
(I originally wanted to return to the single update today, but I heard that there was a new book in the library with 4k words per day in the first five days... So today and tomorrow, I will still update twice a day...
My manuscripts are dying! (screaming)
(End of this chapter)
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