Technological practice: leading the human race to the stars

Chapter 48 Chess Player

"What's wrong with you?!"

Yuan Ze caught a glimpse of the familiar figure, and hurriedly lowered his mask, rushing forward like an arrow from a bow. Halma followed closely behind him, and the two of them supported Yang Lao's shaky body.

The blood from the corner of Yang Lao's mouth dyed his pale beard red. With trembling hands, he pushed Yuanze and Harma back with his cane, and said in a firm voice: "I'm still fine, you guys go!"

Behind them, another portal slowly opened in the void. Old Yang spurted out another mouthful of blood, staining his front red.

"Mr. Yang, let's go together!" Yuanze shouted anxiously.

However, Elder Yang shook his head, his eyes determined: "No, I must destroy everything here. Otherwise, they will track where you are going."

The space ahead began to ripple, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake.

Old Yang ignored his own injuries, nor did he care whether Yuanze and Halma were injured. He only knew that he had to complete his mission.

The two only felt an invisible force pushing them suddenly backwards, and the next moment, they were sucked into the portal.

At the moment of disappearance, he tried to look forward, only to see that Old Yang's figure became increasingly blurred in the shrinking gap in the door, and finally turned into a point of light and disappeared into the endless darkness.

"Your use of space is still as good as it was back then."

A figure slowly emerged from the ripples in front, a tall and majestic old man, his dark glasses could not hide his deep gaze.

"Li Songming, I didn't expect that we would meet again in this way." Old Yang's voice was low and powerful, echoing in this space.

"The conditions I proposed at the beginning were not bad, right? Working with Young Master Haiming, with your abilities, you will definitely be valued. Wouldn't it be much better than being an intelligence chief?" There was a hint of persuasion in Li Songming's tone.

However, Elder Yang just sneered: "One of you attacked your own father, and the other attacked your own apprentice. The two of you are really in cahoots with each other and have vicious hearts."

Li Songming shook his head gently: "I can't help it. You know my ability. Everything I do is for the benefit of the family. For the sake of the overall situation, someone has to make sacrifices."

"Sacrifice? Humph, aren't you just relying on your ability in fortune-telling? Do you really think you can calculate the fate of the world?" Old Yang sneered with disdain.

Li Songming was silent for a moment, staring at Mr. Yang closely: "What if I say, I can do it?"

Hearing this, Elder Yang's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Oh? You could have predicted that? Then why did you let Yuan Ze run away? How could you have predicted that you would step into my home turf? Li Songming, you'd better pray for yourself."

Li Songming nodded slightly, but his smile revealed an unfathomable meaning.

"Mr. Yang, you and I both know that fate is a mysterious thing. Sometimes, even with the most advanced instruments capturing a trace, it is difficult for people to fully control its direction. Yuanze, that child, may be destined."

Hearing this, Old Yang narrowed his eyes slightly, with a hint of cold light flashing in them: "Hmph, don't give me that. I know your calculations, Li Songming, very well. However, don't forget that there are always some powers in this world that cannot be seen by your magic."

Li Songming shrugged noncommittally: "Maybe, but there is one thing I can be sure of, that is, no matter how you and I fight, the general trend of the world has already been determined. All we can do is try our best."

"Do your best?" Elder Yang sneered. "That's easy to say. Do you know how many people will suffer because of your selfishness? What you call doing your best means sacrificing the interests of innocent people in exchange for your so-called family glory?"

Li Songming's face changed slightly, as if he wanted to argue something, but he quickly regained his composure: "Mr. Yang, there is no such thing as absolute black and white in this world. Winners and losers are just a page of history. You and I are just pieces on this chessboard. This is called, being forced to do things against one's will."

"Involuntarily? Humph, what an involuntarily!"

Old Yang laughed out of anger: "Li Songming, remember, there are always some people in this world who will not succumb to your calculations. As long as I, Yang, am still alive, I will never let you do whatever you want!" Li Songming looked at Old Yang deeply, with a hint of complex emotions in his eyes: "Old Yang, you and I have known each other for many years, why do you have to do this? I know you are also thinking about those children. But you have to know that sometimes things in this world are not something you and I can control."

"Li Songming, don't try that on me!" Elder Yang interrupted him abruptly. "If you still have feelings for me, just let those children go. They are innocent and should not become victims of your struggle for power and profit."

"You want to beg me for mercy now? Where were you, old dog, when the master of the family was surrounded by me? I don't know how you got the nerve to talk to me about justice?"

"I……"

"Hahaha, if the sacrifice of a few children can bring peace to society, what's wrong with that? For this cause, I will not hesitate to kill the head of the family."

"Bah! You are unworthy of being the elder of the Li family!"

"Besides, you owed more than that. You were the one who abandoned your wife and children. Do you know how they died? They died because they covered your escape."

"I don't want to run away!"

"But as an intelligence chief, exposing your identity is really a bad idea. You must be doing this for that kid Yuanze." Li Songming looked in the direction where Yuanze left, thoughtfully.

“He is our hope!”

Old Yang stomped his cane and disappeared with a whoosh. He took advantage of the structure of the house and attacked in a mysterious way.

However, Li Songming's abilities are incomparable to the past. He doesn't even need to wear a battle suit with attached AI to accurately predict his position and dodge every attack with ease.

On the other hand, each of Yang Lao's attacks became weaker and weaker, and his speed became slower and slower, so that he revealed a fatal flaw.

Li Songming struck him lightly, and the battle suit transformed from the cane on Old Yang's body revealed its true form, shattered on the ground, and broke into pieces. Combined with the previous injuries, Old Yang fell completely in a pool of blood, his eyes full of tears and unwillingness:

“Is this the end…?”

"Now you finally have someone you want to sacrifice for."

"For an intelligence chief like you who hides in the dark, for someone like you who abandons his wife and children and lives a miserable life, this is really unbelievable."

After Li Songming finished speaking, he squatted down and said a few secret words to Old Yang, whose pupils gradually dilated.

Old Yang, who was lying on the ground motionless, was obviously stimulated by something. His pupils contracted instantly, as if he was having a last burst of light, and he looked at the elder in front of him in disbelief.

His body seemed to be injected with adrenaline. He pressed the blood on the ground, straightened his upper body, and tried to lean his back against the wall. He seemed to want to say something to the elder in front of him, but he was choked by the blood in his throat and couldn't say a word.

As the space gradually disappeared behind him, Li Songming looked at him with satisfaction.

Old Yang leaned against the wall helplessly. He tried to straighten his back and respond to Li Songming's gaze, but his body was no longer under his control. His vision began to become blurred, as if an invisible mist had blocked his eyes; his face was as heavy as a huge rock, making it impossible for him to make any expression. Gradually, his facial muscles became stiff, and all his expressions were frozen at that moment.

Li Songming also left this space. He knew that Mr. Yang had made the most correct choice he could make.

As for myself, the next goal has already been determined.

(End of this chapter)