Chapter 120 The War Reignites
"There is a 'taboo' buried beneath the ground of this dust island.
Putting this word on paper would sound overly exaggerated, like the self-righteous boasting of a young person, but I really can't think of a better description. I can't study them, I can't find a clue, I can't even identify what they look like. I only know that whenever a conflict arises on the island, those things will emerge from the gray fog to stop the fight.
Perhaps they are related to the reason why this island is so desolate, or perhaps this is just some kind of unique local beast phenomenon... I will think about it carefully after the city construction is completed."
The following pages contained Jin Ye's account of the city's early days, words brimming with the pride of a creator. Ji Huaisu showed no interest and, despite Fander's protests, quickly flipped through the pages until he reached the next chapter.
"...The expensive detection equipment I've purchased is unable to identify the power of the 'forbidden' beings. Flowing Pearls is stretched to its limits. I've chosen to change my approach and observe their impact on the world.
This decision was incredibly wise, and I noticed many details I'd overlooked. The damage caused by the "Taboos" disappears without notice. The previous morning, during my experiment, I witnessed a "Taboo" slash through a magical lion puppet and sketched the entire process. But by noon today, the abandoned lion puppet appeared intact in my storage, and my sketch turned to a blank page, as if nothing had happened.
While I still remember, I will record yesterday's experimental process in a standard format.
(The following five lines are blank)"
"...I'm very glad I used the ambiguous word 'taboo' to refer to them, otherwise I would have forgotten my diary long ago.
Yesterday, a new experiment was conducted, witnessed by hundreds of witnesses, and the municipal building was razed to the ground. This morning, I woke up to a peaceful Golden Leaf City, and went to work as usual. It took me the entire morning to reason about my actions yesterday.
This is insane. How can the influence of a race... a force... be so easily erased? Who is hiding their tracks behind the scenes?
If human subjective memories can be freely tampered with, and objective traces can be erased by that power, then how can I obtain "proof" of its existence? Isn't an existence that is neither verifiable nor falsifiable nothing but an idealistic fantasy? Am I supposed to emulate the idiots of the Supreme Path and resort to free judgment?
I can’t write anymore, this is fucking ridiculous.”
A long section then filled with Jin Ye's various speculations and complaints after his speculations were overturned. After eighteen pages of trivial rants and drunken chatter, a new speculation was born.
“…Just think simply.
I can't realize it because the world won't let me see it.
The evidence is gone because the world has erased it.
To put it bluntly, the Shendongjie doesn't want to see it. It's something that shouldn't exist! Erase all evidence, and it will 'no longer' exist!
(New Page)
“…Three pounds of fruit wine has a significant effect on academic research. Researchers have made great progress in six months without drinking it for a single night.
I got an idea after drinking too much. If the 'forbidden' is rejected by the world... forgotten by the world... then it's a species that never existed. Isn't this just like the great war that 'never existed'?
·
Shax read the contents of the page synchronously, his interest growing.
(What is the war?)
(You don’t know?) Wu He was surprised.
(There are wars everywhere in the world of Shendong.)
(That was just a local conflict. Throughout the history of Candlelight, there has only been one major war, and it is said that war affected all of Dust Island.) Wu He paused, (I'm afraid of death and don't want to say too much. Just treat it as a final battle between good and evil.)
Shax questioned: (There are so many wars involved but no records?)
This is the mystery of the war. There are no records, no witnesses. Future generations know only what happened but not why, hence the name 'War in the Mist.' Wise men say the war shattered history. Under the influence of the shattered time, even those who witnessed it cannot recount their past to future generations. Wu He pondered, "The phenomenon in Jinye City does indeed resemble the war..."
(It’s very interesting.)
(You should retreat.) Wu He ruined the atmosphere with one sentence, (I don't want to bring trouble upon myself.)
Shax considered it carefully, and his reasoning told him his employer was right. He decided to read for another three minutes, then retreat regardless of what the gold leaf manuscript said.
On the other side of the window glass, Vander stared with his big round eyes.
"What war? I don't know."
"The library's top students are a bit watered down."
"No matter how talented I am, I still have to read textbooks. How would I know anything that's not in the books or taught by the teachers?" Vander spread his tentacles. "I think Mr. Jin is drunk! He's even making up this 'great war that never existed' thing! He's just making up this whole thing about a few natives fighting."
"This doesn't sound made up." Ji Huaisu muttered, "I remember Dad mentioned it before. Their coming out to develop the city was related to the post-war reconstruction... It was said that many important figures died back then..."
"If you're curious about this, why not wait until you get home and ask about it, or look at the manual."
There was a clanging noise upstairs, and Chu Hengkong shouted to everyone that he was dismantling the magic puppet. Fander couldn't wait to turn the page, his curiosity also piqued.
But what followed was irrelevant. After proposing this hypothesis, Jin Ye failed to implement it, unable to find a breakthrough. So, he turned to simulating "taboo" data from battle traces, using it as a reference to develop a series of new inventions, hoping to achieve success. However, these inventions had little practical value, and no one was optimistic about his research. During this period, he became increasingly manic, driven by a desire to prove his talent and single-handedly push forward the quick-success, large-scale factory project.
Then came the major dust explosion accident.
"Assholes! How dare they blame me! I'm the mayor of this island. Their houses, food, and even the air they breathe, everything they have is given by me!
A production accident? A bunch of scum who aren't even Transformers have no business criticizing my research. Damn unworthy! Unworthy!!
I will kill everyone in the newspaper office tomorrow. Don't think public opinion will be of any use to me! !"
But in fact, Jin Ye did not dare to go against public opinion, because his research resources still depended on waterway trade, and Huilong City would not welcome a mayor who disregarded human life.
He grumbled for a long time, but ultimately did nothing and saw no sign of reflection. He then regrouped, intending to return to pure academic research. He wrote a vague and ambiguous investigative report under the title "Taboo" and intended to send it back to the Dustless Land. However, the city of Huilong had fallen, and the shipping route was cut off, so his letter could no longer reach this tiny island.
"Complaints, complaints, temper tantrums..." Vander began to lose patience and turned the pages at an alarming speed. "I haven't done anything in the past twenty years. How mediocre."
Ji Huaisu initially felt a bit of sympathy for this man, but after reading his diary, he lost his sympathy: "His talent and character are both terrible."
"Your character is even more mediocre than your talent." Fander said mercilessly, "This has nothing to do with academics. What do you think Chu Hengkong would do if he were here?"
Ji Huaisu said without hesitation: "Dig a big hole to check the ground..."
At this point, she suddenly understood and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "What were you doing earlier?"
·
How boring, Shax thought.
The initial deductions were somewhat interesting, but the rest of the story was completely ground zero. This scholar, using various excuses to deceive himself, simply couldn't muster the courage to delve into the truth. This person embodied this dull, underworld world, blessed with supernatural powers, mysterious paths, and an endless variety of options. But few could effectively utilize these resources, leaving the vast majority withered and pale beneath their radiant facade.
"...How could time have passed so quickly? I thought I had plenty of time, but now it's been 20 years... I can't delay any longer. Tomorrow I'll order the factory to produce the parts, and I'll assemble the drilling rig myself. I must explore the underground while I'm still alive..."
It took twenty years to make such a decision, and a mediocre guy could become a staff of 2. Shax missed his hometown more and more, and missed those who could achieve ten times the achievements with one resource.
"...The person who delivered the goods today looked familiar. On a whim, I checked and found out he was a survivor of the accident that year.
God is blind! He let such a loser live. Even if he died, there wouldn't be so many troubles!
Let's put this matter aside for now. It's not advisable to get angry before something big happens. Let's go to the underground and take a look tomorrow!"
"...We should make some more preparations and activate the self-sealing device we've designed. Just in case anything goes wrong, we'll have a safeguard..."
The next page is blank.
Ten pages of blank space.
The pages of the book were quickly turned, and suddenly the ink that penetrated the back of the paper jumped out and turned into two consecutive pages of cursive script.
“When you enter the realm of death and see the supernatural power, you will understand the world.
Leave the old body and embark on the great road, only then will you know your true self!
Taboos are a laughing stock, and hell is heaven!"
"I was truly wrong. How could I have believed the tricks of the Dustless Land and learned such third-rate skills? The holy land of scholarship lies in the Spiral Tower. If I remain in this flesh and blood, I will never reach the truth in this life! And what about freedom and life?
It's never too late to change your ways! Start your experiment now, find a fool to teach you the lesson this afternoon, and change your ways within a week.
The Supreme Being ascends to God, the Supreme Being ascends to God! If you are not the Supreme Being, how can you ascend to——"
Shaxx looked away, sighing in annoyance.
It was a cliché, a repetition of the same old story. I'd seen countless idiots like this, their dullness practically a gift. The subsequent developments were a no-brainer: experimental mishaps, a failed switch to the Supreme Path, and the unlucky chosen one becoming a wandering iceman. The Supreme Path to Godhood prized individuality, yet the deaths were always the same, ugly ones. I'd grown tired of the homicides I'd endured as a staff of pain, and after all this time, it was still the same.
Is he at work? How many more cookie-cutter fools are there to watch? Is this the office of Hell, where demons hide in the air and watch his boredom for amusement?
He suddenly lost interest. Boring legends, boring people, boring employers, it was all the same, no matter how many times it was repeated. He already knew this superficial hell held no meaning for him, just as he already knew he would never encounter the snake again. Better to spend his time tracking the Iceman; at least guiding his dark hand would be a little more enjoyable, at least powerful.
(Retreat, Shax.) Wu He urged again.
(Ah. Change of scene.)
He took one last look before putting away his sniper rifle. The hem of his green coat flowed down the stairs, intertwining silver threads into two entangled snakes. The man in the green coat came to the window.
He saw the killer's face clearly.
The trigger was pulled, and the bullets were fired. A circular path was instantly cleared among the yellow leaves scattered on the hillside. The self-combining ammunition exploded, igniting a violent roar that echoed throughout the valley. The impact of the projectiles shattered the glass throughout the mayor's mansion. An instant later, the crushed bullets were ejected, and countless transparent fragments were thrown back into the sky!
“Ha, haha, ahhahahahahahaha!!”
His nerves trembled. Electricity stung, his blood burned, and the tension of death itself gripped his internal organs. Boredom was instantly swept away by the whirlwind, his mind devoid of meaningless thoughts. Only the relentless echo of wild laughter echoed, a mad, hoarse, almost hysterical laugh. Amidst that laughter, a stream of fiery red flame shot back into the void, leaving a burning scar on the side of Shax's face.
The killer didn't move, didn't even think, just laughed continuously, shouting out fantasies that only he understood. He was so wrong. This damn world still had meaning. You still couldn't predict what would happen next... You still couldn't predict where the gun would be pointed!
"See you in hell, sacrificial snake!!!"
Chu Hengkong slowly lowered his right hand, the hastily crafted Qi armor nearly crumbling as he heard wild laughter in the distance. No, even if he knew nothing about the person's voice, he would never forget the pain in his memory.
Shock, confusion, bewilderment, amidst many emotions, the name of the former enemy came out of his mouth.
"Shax ibn uld..."
“——Chu Hengkong!!”
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
