I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1086 Terrifying Phenomena

Looking at Bai Ziling's pitiful and aggrieved face, Zhang Chen revealed a gentle smile in his eyes: "Silly girl! I am a real man. If I relied on a woman for protection, I would have no reason to live in this world."

"The future world will be chaotic. I must do everything I can to find a way for ordinary people to survive, so that they have a chance to live." Zhang Chen sighed softly, his eyes filled with emotion, and pulled Bai Ziling into his arms, extinguishing the light in the darkness.

The next morning, Zhang Chen got up for a walk and saw Zhang Jun standing in the courtyard practicing standing meditation. His skin vibrated in a strange and mysterious way, clearly indicating that he had already mastered the essence of it.

"Good aptitude and good comprehension; he's destined for great things." Zhang Chen thought to himself, then turned and lit the blast furnace.

Just as Zhang Chen was busy, a sudden roar of a motorcycle filled the air. A military truck pulled up outside the repair shop in the distance, and a squad of soldiers, armed to the teeth, jumped out. The truck doors opened, and Liu, a guard, an officer, and a driver emerged. Liu, his face filled with shock, scanned Zhang Chen's yard. At that moment, Wang Gong, hearing the commotion, came out of his house. Liu hurriedly stepped forward and knelt before Wang Gong, stammering in panic, "Wang Gong, I...I...I didn't know you were here...You registered as Engineer Wang, I never imagined it was you, sir!"

"Get up quickly. I am now just a prisoner under your command. How can I accept such a grand gesture?" Lord Wang hurriedly helped Liu, the warden, up and down. His words were full of gentle smiles, and he remained as humble and dignified as before, neither condescending nor self-deprecating.

"You are incorruptible and dedicated to your duty, a pillar of our great Han Dynasty. What wrong have you done?" The prince patted the other man's shoulder with a smile.

"Your Highness, all officers of the Mountain Battalion are reporting for duty!" An officer jogged over and saluted, interrupting their conversation.

The prince turned to look at the other party: "The things are ready. Send someone to put them on the carriage."

Zhang Jun had already prepared the engine. He waved to the officers, and a group of soldiers jogged over and together loaded the engine onto the vehicle.

Wang Gong turned to look at Zhang Chen, who was standing in the courtyard eating melons: "If the engine's performance is really as good as you say, I won't be coming back after this trip. You can do whatever you want with the things in my room. Wait for my good news."

After Wang Gong finished speaking, he got into the front seat of the military vehicle. Zhang Jun waved to Zhang Chen, "See you in a while." Then he jumped into the front of the vehicle, and the soldiers followed. The military vehicle disappeared into the snowstorm in a grand procession. Instructor Liu bowed to see them off until the sound of the vehicle could no longer be heard. Then he slowly raised his head, wiped the cold sweat from his temples, and turned to look at Zhang Chen. His eyes showed a hint of awe: "Brother Zhang, you're going to make it big. You've taken such good care of Wang Gong. When Wang Gong is reinstated, he will definitely not forget to promote you. At that time, I will have to trouble you to look after me."

"What are you saying, Officer Liu? We're brothers, we should look out for each other, shouldn't we?" Zhang Chen said, his words still very polite, which made Officer Liu look at Zhang Chen even more favorably. With Zhang Chen taking in Prince Wang today, and with this connection, he would surely benefit from it in the future.

The engine was top secret, so Liu Guanjiao was naturally not qualified to know that Zhang Chen had provided the engine for the prince. He didn't even know anything about the engine. But even though Zhang Chen had taken the prince in, it was still a great favor.

"The prince was just exiled, but he has been reinstated. It seems that not only will he regain power, but he is also very likely to be promoted further. With his current status, wouldn't he become the prime minister if he were to take another step forward?" Liu Guanjiao's voice was full of shock.

Zhang Chen smiled but didn't say anything. Instead, he invited the other person into the house for a drink of water, but Liu, the warden, refused: "There was an accident at the mine, and I have to deal with it. I don't have time to linger here. Let's drink tonight. I'll bring you some food and drinks tonight."

Liu, the warden, hurried away, leaving Zhang Chen staring silently at his retreating figure until it completely disappeared. Only then did Zhang Chen slowly lower his head and continue forging.

Days passed by, and a week went by in the blink of an eye. One day, a truck driver who came to get his tires repaired chatted with Zhang Chen and said mysteriously, "Master Zhang, you should be careful when you go out these days."

"What's wrong?" Zhang Chen asked.

"Didn't they blast out a bottomless pit in the mine a while ago? Strange things spawn in that pit; everyone who entered it turned into bones without even realizing it while they slept. I heard there's a great horror in that pit, a legendary evil spirit that comes out at night to harm people," the truck driver said.

"Now it's not just those who went into the mine who are suffering bad luck; many miners who were working hard in the mine have turned into skeletons in the dark. The mine is now in a state of panic."

"Really? Is that true?" Zhang Chen asked, feigning ignorance.

“It’s much scarier than you can imagine. I’ve heard that many miners have already started to flee,” the truck driver said.

The two chatted for a few more minutes. Zhang Chen finished repairing the truck and watched the truck driver drive away, his eyes filled with regret: "If nothing unexpected happens, that truck driver won't make it through tonight." He had discovered the mark of a demon on the truck driver's body.

"Are there really evil spirits in that mine?" Bai Ziling came out of the house, her face pale, as if she had been frightened.

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this and said with certainty, "Yes! Moreover, at least fifty people have died at the hands of that evil spirit. That evil spirit is no longer just an ordinary evil spirit, but an extremely ferocious demon."

"What should we do? Should we just run away?" Bai Ziling asked Zhang Chen anxiously.

Zhang Chen smiled lightly upon hearing this: "What's there to be afraid of? No matter how powerful that evil spirit is, it's nothing more than an ant that I can crush with a flick of my wrist."

At this point, Zhang Chen took out a bell about the size of a thumb from his pocket. A red string was tied to the bell, which he put around Bai Ziling's neck: "As long as you wear this bell, I guarantee that evil spirit will avoid you like the plague."

His divine golden light has also begun to gradually recover, and he has imbued the bell with the laws of sound and the divine golden light, turning the bell into a magical artifact.

"But are we just going to stand by and watch that evil spirit harm people?" Bai Ziling's eyes showed a hint of reluctance: "That's more than fifty families..."

Zhang Chen remained silent for a while before saying, "In the long river of time, the lives of dozens, hundreds, tens of thousands, or even tens of millions of people are too insignificant, like a speck of dust."

Bai Ziling fell silent upon hearing this, and after a long while, she said, "This world is truly cruel!"

The two said no more and began to busy themselves. When night fell, they finished their hot pot of mutton. Zhang Chen walked out of the house and looked up in the direction of Daxing Mountain. He saw a red light, imperceptible to the naked eye, shooting straight towards Dou Niu from that direction. "If that red light develops for another month, ordinary people will definitely be able to see it, and it will cause even greater panic. Right now, that ghost is still just a 'Bound Earth Ghost,' unable to leave its place of death. Its cultivation is only at the level of nocturnal wandering. Perhaps it can reach the level of daytime wandering in a month."

“However, this is also an opportunity I’ve prepared for Wang Biao. Wang Biao should be able to condense his martial arts blood in a month. His martial arts blood can intimidate the Yin spirit. He may not be able to kill this evil ghost, but he can easily suppress it.” Zhang Chen’s mind was filled with calculations. He intended to elevate Wang Biao’s status. The higher Wang Biao’s status, the more advantageous it would be for him.

"Within this month, people will discover that guns and cannons are useless against that evil spirit, and they will fall into unprecedented despair and terror. If Wang Biao can seize the opportunity to stand up, his status and position will surely be pushed to an indescribable level by the Great Han Kingdom. And Zhang Jun, who will break through to the martial arts realm one day, will also benefit. The Zhang family's resurgence is just around the corner." Zhang Chen put his hands behind his back, a calculating look in his eyes: "Hehe, with the help of the two of them, who dares to make things difficult for me?"

With Zhang Chen's assistance, the two will surely be the first to break through the martial arts qi and blood, leading others by an era and becoming leaders of this era, while also gaining a powerful backer.

Of course, there was another reason why Zhang Chen didn't take action: the Bound Earth Ghosts couldn't leave their territory. If the miners didn't go mining, they wouldn't be harmed by the ghosts. But now it seems that these prisoners have no human rights in the Daxing Mountains. Even if an accident happens, they are still forced to mine.

On the second day

As a roar echoed outside the village, Zhang Chen and Bai Ziling stood at the gate, watching the dozen or so police cars speed past. Bai Ziling said, "The police are here? The matter has become so serious that it can't be suppressed anymore. The police need to step in. I wonder if the police can suppress that strange thing."

Zhang Chen shook his head upon hearing this: "The police force is protected by the nation's fortune, so they can protect themselves from ghosts and monsters, but it's impossible for them to subdue those ghosts and monsters."

Bai Ziling didn't say anything after hearing this. The two were about to turn back when they saw Niu Aihua and a local villager walking hand in hand from a distance. The two embraced each other and looked very sweet.

"Didn't Niu Aihua get close to Li Bai a few days ago?" Bai Ziling asked with a surprised expression.

“Where would those educated youths find the strength to work? Local villagers are the best choice for female educated youths.” Zhang Chen remained noncommittal about Niu Aihua’s moral decline.

(End of this chapter)