Chapter 92 Hi, buddy
They returned to headquarters and took the elevator directly to the workshop area. With the convenient airship rentals between the various sky islands (modified versions of the Black Workshop's aircraft), it only took about ten minutes to reach a new sky island. They saw the simple, old stone houses, the trees and flowers planted around the square, and the restored dragon and cherry blossom statues in the center.
When they entered the square, Qi Su was singing softly in front of the Dragon God's long beard. It was a song that Fan De had never heard before. The melody was simple, but the lyrics were relatively innovative.
"It's quite new. What song is this?" Vander asked.
"Today's new work is 'The Song of the Silver Arm,'" Qi Su said with a smile. "It tells the great adventure of a killer with a silver arm and his magical beholder friend, protecting souls from the terrifying mechanical clutches."
Fander said shyly, "I'll feel embarrassed if you praise me like that!"
"It's actually a story about two squids eating a rock."
Fander was furious: "He's the only one who ate the stone. I'm innocent! Don't put me in this!"
"You are an accomplice~"
The Eye Demon and the little girl started cursing and shouting at each other. Chu Hengkong felt a sense of relief watching this scene. He looked around and found that the environment had hardly changed at all, even the damage he had caused during the battle with the real machine was still intact.
"Youyou is quite strong." He praised.
"We undead were born from our homeland, and we're also trapped by it, unable to leave this town..." Qi Su smiled shyly, "So Lord Huilong moved the entire Yingshi Town back here. This is truly a miracle!"
Finder drawled out his words, "And you called it a silly dragon not long ago..."
"Nonsense! You're making this up out of nothing! Don't you dare slander Lord Huilong!"
This time, it was the little girl who got angry. Fander hid in his pocket and began to chant "The Song of the Little Devil Priest" loudly. Qi Su poked its eyelids with his staff. For a moment, Chu Hengkong felt like he was raising a child. He waited for the fight to end, while many townspeople greeted him gratefully, floating around without touching the ground. Finally, they didn't have to pretend to be alive anymore, which made the townspeople feel a little relieved.
"What are you going to do next?"
"I haven't decided yet." Qi Su put away his cane. "So many things have changed in such a short period of time. I need to think carefully... I might continue to be a craftsman, or I might find another way. In any case, I want to live well with everyone."
This answer made Chu Hengkong feel very relieved. Thinking of the deceased soul who had left earlier, he sighed, "What a pity for Xiang Fuzi."
Qi Su was also a little sad: "Even if the scholar waits for this day, it will never come."
"Is he so hopeless?" Vander was surprised.
"If one day you become a ghost, you will understand." Qi Su smiled. "For us, life is a glimmer of light with no clear path forward, while death is an eternal sleep within reach. Regardless of Brother Bernfa's intentions, he did protect us and help the scholar sleep peacefully. I am very grateful to him."
Bernfa. That eccentric monk, a man with no joy or sorrow. Willing to use gray fog to protect Yingshi Town, yet unwilling to take any action against the advance of the True Machine. Chu Hengkong turned back to savor his words and actions, picking out a clear meaning from them.
"He was a man who was kind to the dead."
"It's better for the living to stay away from him!" Vander said loudly, "You'd better completely banish him from your memory. That thing... encountering it once in a lifetime is enough!"
Chu Heng wanted to ask, but Fan De refused to say anything. They chatted with Qi Su for a few minutes, then strolled out of town and took a taxi back to the courtyard. Along the way, they noticed that the townspeople were not as numerous as they remembered. Some, like Xiang Fuzi, must have remained in their homeland, resting instead of leaving for another land.
"Thinking about those people makes me feel like our work was in vain." Vander was discouraged.
"I think it's pretty good now." Chu Hengkong didn't care. "People can't choose to be born, but they can choose to die. In the past, they could only die in the worry of foreign enemies, but now they can sleep peacefully in the joy of revenge. This is also a kind of happiness."
"Yeah, we're also doing hospice care!"
After figuring it out, Fan De immediately became happy. He was always carefree and happy no matter where he went. Chu Hengkong took out the big silver-eyed book and was about to say something when he suddenly remembered something.
He opened the title page of the large book, where several severely deformed words were written:
"Knowledge...wisdom...eyes...touch...
Mysterious...Shendongjie...
Summon! "
These few vague words gave Alex enough motivation to summon the "Omniscient God" and also made the newly arrived killer believe in the evil nature of this thing. But now looking at Finder and then looking at the words, it can't be said to be completely different from what he originally expected, but it can also be said to be completely unrelated.
He placed the large book in front of Finder. "Can you explain this?"
Vander's eyes suddenly turned into an awkward color like green vegetables.
"This involves a little personal privacy..."
"explain."
"I'll take it, I'll take it," Fander surrendered immediately. "The truth is, you can see that we Eye Demons are not lacking in intelligence and knowledge, but we lack a bit of racial talent in frontal combat... So generally speaking, the first thing we do when we embark on a journey is to find a companion who can fight and resist, so as not to be killed by a passing monster."
"That makes sense." Chu Hengkong nodded. "So?"
"I struggled for a long time after leaving the library, but couldn't find a single intelligent being I could communicate with. I nearly starved to death several times," said Vander, his face sad. "I thought it would be embarrassing to return home like this, so I came up with... a groundbreaking idea!"
Chu Hengkong stared at it expressionlessly. Vander gestured, "You see, I may not come over here, but the mountain can pass by! I set up a reverse summoning array on the manual, and then sent it into the tide as a message in a bottle. Whoever can pick up the manual must have a fateful connection with me, which means they are my destined meat shield... No, travel companion! This way, I have found a travel companion and can start my journey!"
"Ah..." Chu Hengkong suddenly realized, "So you had a flash of inspiration and lost your diploma."
“Puff!”
"With such wishful thinking, I completely forgot that the book I picked up might be a beast, a demon, or something worse." Chu Hengkong continued, "Fander, you truly deserve to be called a top student."
Vander rolled on the ground a few times, then stood up and argued, "I did make a final insurance! It's just a small problem!"
"So what about the insurance?"
Fander snatched the manual, flipped to the title page, and angrily waved his tentacles to write. Chu Hengkong watched as the terrifying letters appeared one by one, completing the tattered words -
"Full of knowledge and wisdom! The learned and talented Finder is looking for a travel partner.
They refuse any combat actions, but are happy to help you with their eyes and tentacles.
No financial donation is required, just place any text-bearing medium on the brochure and call out.
Let us explore the mysterious world of Shendong together!
Looking forward to your call!"
Fander raised several tentacles and defended his wisdom with great seriousness: "What!"
Chu Hengkong took a deep breath, the kind he used to breathe before launching his One Qi, a Thousand Autumns technique. He was a man with a calm demeanor. He was always composed and unhurried. He stayed out of things. He was never provoked by external factors…
He was completely defeated. He grabbed the eyeball and roared, "Do you really think this thing will work?! Vander, you are really a complete idiot!"
Fander covered his face and ran away: "Stop scolding me, please spare some dignity..."
"What would the library director think if the life-saving relic you gave to a top student with such high hopes was thrown out as a message in a bottle? Forget being angry. He'd probably laugh if he found your body! You're the laughing stock of the entire library!"
"Why has your venom increased by 300%?! What good will it do you to poke at my wounds?"
He should have realized this long ago. This idiot eyeball has nothing to do with the word serious! He does have abilities and there must be a reason for them, but the pure and innocent stupidity deep in his heart destined this guy to be... a pure loser!
Chu Hengkong once again told himself that it was pointless to argue with a loser. He knocked on the cover of the large book and said helplessly, "What are you going to say next, Fander?"
"First, we have to go get a good meal. Thank God we escaped from that damn place. It's really worth celebrating." The Eye Demon recovered immediately. "We also have to keep an eye on those undead. After all, we brought them out. We have to be responsible to the end. After that, I have to observe you for a while to make sure your bones are okay. And then..."
At this point, it got stuck, its fluent speech becoming halting. It scratched its forehead with its tentacles and admitted, "Maybe I'll hang out here, or maybe go traveling... Anyway, I'll take it one step at a time."
The atmosphere grew tense as they both realized that after this summoning incident, there was no reason for them to mingle together anymore. Things would return to normal, with the Beholder continuing his travels and the Slayer remaining in the city as his detective.
"I thought you wanted to get the tentacles back." Chu Hengkong tried to change the subject.
"I almost forgot." Vander waved his tentacles, "Forget it, can I still chop off your hand? You can't go back for a while, we can talk about it later..."
"What's your next destination?"
"I don't know. I've listed several goals, but I'm a little afraid to go out. You know I only have this much ability. If I meet some heretic again, I'll just wait for death." Finder sighed, "Maybe I need to find another travel companion, or at least hire a human shield, so I have to work and earn some money first..."
"You can go to the workshop to appraise relics, it's very profitable."
"That sounds good. It's suitable for my kind of non-physical work."
The atmosphere lightened as they discussed work locations and compensation. Finder quickly calculated that it would only need a week to assess the cost of food and lodging, and another 65 days would cover a safe trip to Xiaochen Island. Chu Hengkong recommended several delicious restaurants and comfortable hotels suitable for smaller species. Finder repeatedly expressed his gratitude. Finally, it took its own large book and, with some difficulty, carried it on its back.
"This thing is actually quite heavy," it said. "Anyway, although it's a little early, I wish you good luck in advance."
Chu Hengkong didn't respond. He scratched his head, hesitated several times, and seemed extremely uncomfortable when he spoke.
“Man,” he said, “we’re actually pretty compatible.”
Vander stood there stupidly for a long time before he said, "It's not bad."
"It's unlikely I'll stay in the city forever. I might have to travel for business in the future." He gestured, "And it's unlikely you like working part-time either. Anyway..."
He was amused by the tone and laughed himself. He extended a tentacle towards the Eye Demon: "Meeting is fate, want to hang out together?"
"That's fine." Vander shook his hand. "Why not!"
It laughed too, its round eyes curved into crescents. They laughed loudly, attracting the attention of passersby. Fander threw the book back and happily jumped onto the killer's shoulder. Chu Hengkong couldn't help laughing. He immersed himself in the damp breeze in the courtyard and felt an unprecedented sense of relief.
There are always those with unique and eccentric mindsets, constantly stirring up trouble without a second thought, eating and drinking for free, and acting with impunity. Their idiotic ideas can make you furious, their idiotic actions can leave you devastated. But despite the rants, they'll still shoulder their weapons with you, fight in the trenches with you, and roll around in the mud. Even if they're as useless as I mentioned above, they'll still fearlessly stand before you in a life-or-death situation.
You know that you are the same thing in his eyes, but you still raise your hand and say hello, "Hi, buddy."
That's probably your true friend.
The setting sun lengthened the killer's shadow, and the beholder chattered in his pocket. Over the next meal, Finder blended into the group and became an unwelcome new member.
The old day ends, and a new adventure begins. And this story belongs to a corner of the netherworld, to the dead and the real machine...
It’s not over yet.
·
The capital of the Netherworld Divine Kingdom.
A thick fog pressed down from the sky onto the earth, and the ruins of a former temple towered like the tip of a broken spear. Amidst the heavy, gray, and silent desolation, the silhouettes of majestic beasts, as majestic as mountains, vaguely emerged. A gray-robed monk stood in the mist, flipping through a yellowed canon.
There were many names written on the page, half of them faded, and half were clear. The last name to fade was Xiang Fuzi, and at the end of the page were two more newly added names:
Chu Hengkong. Fan De.
"This won't do. This won't do." Brother Bernfar muttered to himself, "Life should follow its own end. The dead should enjoy a proper rest. Entering the Gray Realm and relying on magic to return to life is a betrayal of destiny and a circumvention of the gods..."
"But there is no escape from the fate of death. Time has already engraved your names!"
Bernfar closed the scripture and laughed dryly. His hair dried and fell off, his flesh weathered away, and his upright face turned into a skeleton in an instant.
He stepped into the mist, clasped his bony claws, and said as if in prayer: "Wait. Wait. When the bell rings..."
"I will personally bury you."
A low bell chimed through the gray fog, and the withered skeletons holding the canon silently emerged. Bernfar stood at the front of the procession, leading the monks in prayer to the statue of the god in the fog.
They are the servants of fate and the followers of time. The second abyss of the world of sinking and moving, the path of death.
For the deceased themselves, they are merely a funeral procession subordinate to the gods, carrying out the great mission of the funeral gods and helping the living to die peacefully.
·
In the northeast of Senluo Secret Realm, there is a battlefield.
A great war has just ended. This place once housed a fortress ruled by Black Moon's beloved "Chosen One." This Black Moon city is at war with a Sephiroth-six "General" from Shura Island and a contractor with the delusional demon "Greed." For three years, these three forces have battled for control of this crucial territory.
2 minutes and 15 seconds ago, the imperial army wiped out all the forces involved in the war and razed the fortress in the process.
Four Immortals traversed a plateau of skeletal remains, using fission beams to recover resources. Above them floated several massive warships, resembling aerial cities. The fleet's commander, Seismic Point 5's Ultimate Real Machine, the Think Tank Fortress, glided across the track and flew deep into the mothership.
Before it lay a vast, translucent blue sphere. Information from across the Senluo Secret Realm flowed in and out like water, forming this truly magnificent information sphere. A pure white steel giant stood within the sphere, processing intelligence at a speed unmatched by even a think tank, making decisions and personally controlling the course of the Senluo Secret Realm.
The supreme commander of the Eastern Theater of Senluo Secret Realm, the Divine War Marshal Eternal Disaster.
"Warmaster, two special test reports." The think tank reported.
New information streamed into the celestial sphere, and then it dimmed instantly. The crucial intelligence that dictated the continent's trajectory had been discarded by the Narration like waste paper. The only information remaining in the celestial sphere was the information transmitted directly by the Think Tank and two special test reports from the YM1876 testing site.
All information regarding the test subjects was displayed in the celestial sphere, and the Eternal Tribulation read it intently. The first report analyzed and summarized the "separation of the spirit body and transformation of the flesh body" of the Divine Kingdom's lifeforms following the shattering of the Netherworld Shinto. The report stated that lifeforms in the Divine Kingdom, existing in pure spirit form, had not transformed into demons despite various stimuli, while all corpses inevitably transformed into beasts upon death. The report concluded with preliminary suspicions that the purity of the spirit bodies of lifeforms in the Divine Kingdom was a residual influence of the Netherworld Shinto, while the transformation into beasts was a manifestation of contamination by the Death Outer Dao.
The Eternal Salvation personally agreed with this assessment and began to read the second report: Battle Summary of Singularity Z-3000-3.
"The text format after line 876 is not standard." This is its first sentence.
The think tank responded: "1.2 seconds before the experiment ended, Immortal Unit S-987572 automatically shut down the verification circuit. It is assumed that the end of the report was completed manually."
"Then it was a soldier. I will remember this soldier's death." The Naraku finished reading. "The next time you sight Z-3000-3, send a unit with a particle level one higher than its own to fight..."
It paused for a moment, then modified its instructions: "No. Next time, I'll go myself."
"Warmaster, your order is quite unreasonable and carries the risk of a significant waste of resources," the Think Tank responded meticulously. True Machines are always like this: they faithfully carry out all correct orders, but they will also immediately question any unreasonable orders.
"You have insufficient clearance. Read this."
The Warmaster sent it a highly classified document and returned to intelligence processing. The think tank carried out its instructions. It was a report recoded by the Warmaster, which began by explaining the naming convention for the experiment numbers. Z-3000-3, representing the third unique singularity discovered in the year 3000 of the Candlelight Calculation.
This is followed by information about the singularity "Chu Hengkong," including a personality analysis, strength assessment, and his birthplace. Hidden Section - 11.
Codenamed "Earth".
(I've been busy these days and need to go on a business trip for two days, so I need to rest. I'll be taking a two-day break. I'll resume updating on Saturday.)
(End of this chapter)
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