Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 13 Beware of People Using Umbrellas on Sunny Days
In the evening, when Li Yelai arrived at the East City branch after get off work, the iron guard standing at the gate greeted him.

"Night General, I heard about it. Seven consecutive aerial steps, one stab to kill a Void Realm creature. Well done!" Iron Guard patted Li Yelai's shoulder with his heavy metal hand: "As expected of Yang Chen's team member, you have the style of the First Team back in the day!"

Li Yelai's shoulder ached from being patted by the guard, whose surname was Chen. The other guard's surname was Wang.

They were all border guards stationed at the East City branch. They were also veterans of countless battles.

After meeting Li Yelai several times in the past few days, we've become quite familiar with each other.

Li Yelai, clutching his shoulder, asked, "What was the style of the first team back then? What was it like?"

Li Yelai was very curious about the team he was on.

On the forum, Li Yelai found traces of the champion team known as the number one team in the third border city where he belonged.

Its achievements are exceptionally impressive, including suppressing Class B forbidden objects, wiping out a branch of the Ember Church, and even repelling an invasion of the Calamity Forbidden Zone.

It was once incredibly popular, but now there's been no activity. It seems some posts have been deleted from the forum. Of course, it's also possible that information of this caliber wouldn't be posted on a forum.

Even Cheese, a senior member of the first team, refused to say.

After a moment of silence, the Iron Guard responded with a metallic voice from within its helmet: "Humanity will eventually perish, only faith will endure. Don't ask any more questions; you will know when the time is right."

Li Yelai's heart stirred.

Gone? Could it be that the once-champion team lost its glory because of the heavy casualties?
Tie Wei added, "Go ahead, Yang Chen has been here for a while. If you go now, you'll probably see a good show."

A good show? Li Yelai didn't ask any more questions, and after saying goodbye, he went straight into the branch office.

They quickly located Yang Chen's training room.

Because there were many staff members and office workers gathered there, making it quite conspicuous. Cheese was among them, and when he saw Li Ye arrive, he waved to him.

Li Ye squeezed through the crowd and came to Cheese's side. Through the protective glass of the training field, he saw the shocking scene on the field.

Yang Chen, clad in lamellar armor, wielding a halberd and carrying five heavy javelins on his back, strode forward across the field, each swing of his halberd creating a sonic boom.

Opposite him stood a man wearing an axe-shaped helmet and dark brown plate armor, wielding a heavy greatsword in one hand and a large round shield in the other. He swung his sword with tremendous force!
The two sides fought fiercely, and the ground beneath their feet shattered. The clash of weapons caused the air currents to explode repeatedly. If it weren't for the protective glass, the onlookers would probably have been affected.

The power they unleashed was so overwhelming that even Li Yelai, who had witnessed Xiang Yu's illusion, was horrified.

I never expected Yang Chen to be so powerful, and he was even using a halberd.

Now, Li Yelai can be considered half-skilled in marksmanship. He can clearly feel that even if he completely masters the Eighteen One-Handed Throws, he may not be able to compete with him in terms of skill.

"This is..." Li Yelai asked.

"The two captains are sparring, the kind where they don't use their abilities," Cheese replied. "The one fighting against our captain is the Third Captain's Furnace."

The next moment, the plate-armored knight instantly swung his large shield against his halberd and then slashed with his right-hand longsword.

But Yang Chen reacted extremely quickly. The halberd that had been parried was quickly turned around, and at the same time, he twisted his body and thrust back with a backhand spear.

It slammed hard into the longsword, knocking the plate-armored knight back several meters. He barely managed to stand, leaving two deep gashes in the ground with his legs.

Before the plate-armored knights could launch another attack, Yang Chen took the javelin from behind him and threw it instantly with a force that made everyone's faces change, even producing a sonic boom!

Plate-armored knights can only raise their large shields to block.

With a muffled thud, the plate-armored knight managed to deflect the javelin, which slammed into the ground and embedded itself halfway into the earth.

But right after that came the second spear, and then the third and fourth spears!

The plate-armored knight cursed and swore, only managing to raise his shield to parry before being knocked back several meters again.

The third and fourth javelins completely shattered the plate-armored knight's fighting ability; he could no longer even hold onto his shield.

All he could do was shout, "Stop, stop, stop! We lost!"

Yang Chen put down the fifth spear and laughed, "You are a Myriad Manifestations Path cultivator. You've already shown great strength by fighting me head-on without using your abilities."

"You couldn't even last five minutes, so you were just putting on an act all along?" Furnace, unable to lift his left hand, could only drop his longsword and remove his helmet with his right, looking at Yang Chen and saying, "Fine, then according to the bet, I'll give you the materials for that Myriad Manifestations Elixir. You really got a good deal, several hundred merit points!"

"Thank you so much, hahaha." Yang Chen smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "I'll send you some good materials next time I get them."

Then, Yang Chen saw Li Yelai and Cheese in the crowd and waved with a smile.

A few minutes later, the three arrived at an office, which was the first team's exclusive work area.

Yang Chen removed his lamellar armor and placed his halberd aside. To Li Ye, he said, "You did very well on the last mission. But using aerial stepping before completing training is too dangerous."

Others may not know, but Yang Chen, as the captain of the first team, is well aware of it.

Li Yelai didn't even do any training before starting the trampoline. Anyone else would probably have died from the fall.

Li Yelai explained, "The situation was urgent at the time, and I didn't think much about it. I just did what I felt I could do."

“I know, this isn’t blaming you,” Yang Chen replied. “Your strength and talent deserve recognition. Your courage and decisiveness are even more commendable! You could have escaped there, but you chose to stay. If you hadn’t mustered your courage, even if Cheese had fought back desperately, at most you would have only managed to replace that monster.”

Cheese nodded in agreement; Li Yelai had indeed saved her life.

"To be able to kill victims and Void Realm creatures on the first awakening is indeed exceptionally powerful, but one cannot be arrogant or take such risks. I've seen too many talented psionicists fail miserably, while those like me with mediocre talent have survived. Caution is crucial!"

'If I hadn't seen the battle just now, I almost would have believed it,' Li Yelai thought to himself.

Yang Chen picked up a box, opened it, and took out a scarlet longsword.

It was none other than Li Yelai's psionic weapon.

“I heard you’re going to take on some side jobs. I don’t object to that, since it’s your personal matter. The processing department neither refuses nor encourages it, so we won’t arrange any support or logistics for you. So, just in case, you should still bring this psionic weapon,” Yang Chen replied.

"It's just a side job, do you really need this kind of weapon?" Li Yelai was somewhat taken aback. He had prepared a jet axe, which should be enough.

According to the detective, it was a private matter within a wealthy family, and Li Ye was merely using his position as a detective's assistant to earn some extra money.

"It's hard to say. I took a side job investigating a stolen jewelry store back then, and I unexpectedly ran into a victim of a second awakening. He beat me so badly I ran away with my tail between my legs." Yang Chen complained, "It's always better to be careful."

With that, he handed the scarlet longsword to Li Yelai: "Now try out the abilities of this psionic weapon and practice it until you're proficient."

Li Yelai nodded, picked up the scarlet longsword, and asked, "How do I use this ability? There don't seem to be any buttons on it."

“Guide your psionic energy to your weapon, and then you’ll understand,” Cheese reminded him. “Since you were able to master the psionic barrier and aerial stepping so quickly, this shouldn’t be difficult either.”

'Actually, it's quite difficult.' Li Yelai thought to himself. The reason he was able to master the psionic barrier and aerial stepping in one go, and even quickly improve his combat skills, was entirely because the battlefield illusion created by Xiang Yu's mask made Li Yelai feel as if he were there, greatly accelerating his learning speed.

Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, did not possess psionic weapons. This is likely because psionic weapons were not yet developed in that era.

Therefore, he could only rely on his own understanding from now on. Li Ye calmed down, followed the cheese's instructions, and felt the well of his soul.

A few minutes later, they could faintly sense a power emanating from the psionic well.

That is psionic energy.

Humans opened the Well of Psionic Energy, drawing power from the Void.

Then, Li Yelai channeled his spiritual energy into the weapon, and suddenly, he felt the weapon become an extension of his limbs, becoming much easier to wield.

"Very good. Now, activate the psionic weapon's abilities. And be mindful of its consumption." Cheese's voice came from beside my ear.

Li Yelai nodded.

The next second, several eyeballs on the crimson longsword began to move.

Cheese and Yang Chen's eyes flickered slightly.

Because Li Yelai suddenly disappeared from their sight for a fraction of a second.

"Visual interference!" Yang Chen nodded and asked, "How much did it consume?"

Li Yelai sensed his psionic energy response: "About five percent. That means I can only use it a maximum of twenty times before my psionic energy is completely depleted."

“That’s normal. Psionic weapons involve using other people’s abilities. The consumption will be greater. However, this doesn’t include the consumption of your mask and psionic barrier.” Yang Chen replied, “Now use your ability and calculate the duration. Calculate your combat duration.”

Li Ye nodded and left the office, going into the spacious training room. He did this to avoid giving misfortune an opportunity.

Then, he activated the Overlord Face Mask.
An hour later, Li Yelai obtained more detailed data on his abilities.

The Vientiane Face Mask consumes 1% per minute.
The energy barrier triggered when attacked consumes 1% to 5%, based on the barrier strength that Li Yelai himself strengthened.

Using a psionic weapon for visual interference consumes 5% of its cost.
Even if Li Yelai activates his psionic barrier during a sustained attack, his mask can be maintained for about half an hour.

Psychic recovery usually requires psychics to rest or meditate.

Restoring psionic energy during combat is a very difficult and inefficient technique.

After obtaining this data, Li Yelai and the others began to think about how to hide their scarlet longsword.

"Don't we psionicists have any storage rings or anything like that?" Li Yelai asked. "Captain, how did you manage to sneak it out?"

“After a psychic awakens for the fifth time, they can put their psychic weapons into their soul well and pull them out when they need them,” Yang Chen replied. “You can’t do that now.”

"Such a long weapon... even if you put it on a map of the Yan Kingdom, it wouldn't work, would it?" Cheese also complained.

The three of them crouched in a corner, intently watching the crimson longsword. They discussed how to get Li Ye to come and carry the longsword on a mission in a grand manner.

Just then, a person dressed as a panda mascot passed by the training room and approached the three of them.

That's 'Doll,' a powerful psionicist. He's said to be the strongest processor in the East City branch.

But its terrible curse infects everyone who sees the 'doll's' true form with fear. The sounds emanating from the 'doll's' mouth are enough to drive anyone insane.

Therefore, they can only wear the mascot costume every day, preventing the outside world from seeing any skin or uttering any words. Communication relies entirely on psionic typing, which is said to be extremely fast.

They usually stay at the branch office and participate in frequent discussions on forums and group chats.

It's not that he's a chatterbox, but rather that he's too lonely.

Li Yelai strongly suspected that his sister was similar to the curse of the 'doll'.

'Dolls' are something outsiders cannot look at directly, as if facing a flood or a ferocious beast; they are the source of fear.

The younger sister, on the other hand, cannot look outsiders in the eye, as if everyone is a monster.

One cannot be looked at directly, the other cannot look others in the eye. It is a curse of two extreme outcomes.

At this moment, the 'doll' picked up the billboard, and words appeared on it.

[What are you guys doing here? Count me in! (ノ￣▽￣)]
“The doll, we’re just figuring out how to hide it.” Cheese replied, “Do you have any ideas?”

Although a curse makes it difficult for people to communicate directly with the dolls, they are still very friendly towards them.

The doll was initially surprised: [So big?! !!! ∑(Дノ)ノ Can't the branch just ship it over when needed?]
Then, the panda doll, upon learning of the situation, immediately put its hands on its hips, and the billboard displayed the words.

[I have an idea (^_)☆]
Half an hour later, at the apartment in the old town.

Wearing pajamas and with her hair disheveled, Li Yunyan stared at Li Yelai at the door, lost in thought.

"Brother, you went to set up a stall?" Li Yunyan asked tentatively.

At this moment, Li Yelai was carrying a backpack and a large black umbrella. His appearance was indeed somewhat strange.

Yes, that's the doll's idea: to hide the scarlet longsword inside the parasol.

Honestly, this is indeed a method; street vendors do it this way.

But Li Yelai can't always carry a big black umbrella, can he?

Li Yelai inwardly complained, but he had no better solution.

After returning home, he began contacting detectives.

"Detective, I'm almost ready. When are you going to do some side jobs?"

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow. We can attend the dinner together then.” The detective replied, “By the way, the client is a bit particular. So, I’ve prepared a suit for you as a gift.”

"Um, it might not be a good match." Li Ye glanced at the large black umbrella and hesitated for a moment before stopping himself from speaking.

"Don't worry, I've estimated your height and weight. I guarantee it will fit perfectly!" the detective said confidently.

So, on the next day.

When I saw a tall, handsome man in a suit standing by the roadside holding a large black umbrella.

The detective gasped.

His employer, an elderly but robust butler, looked on with astonishment and fear upon seeing Li Yelai's attire.

He inexplicably recalled the patriarch's instructions.

Beware of people using umbrellas on sunny days!

(End of this chapter)