Forge a path to success

Van der clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Now we're in the same boat. They really don't treat you like one of their own."

In reality, this was overestimating their own abilities. Ji Qiufeng's silence didn't mean he was unaware; a complete bone from an Ultimate Body True Machine and an unknown creature capable of transplanting such a thing into a human—it's hard to say which is more sinister. Anyone would weigh the risks involved, and Ji Qiufeng intended to cover for them.

"They've been too nice to me," Chu Hengkong said with a wry smile. "Now I'll have to work overtime..."

"I've wanted to say for a long time that you're addicted to your work."

"I've always been dedicated to my job." Chu Hengkong stood up. "Where are Qi Su and the others?"

“That’s exactly what I was going to tell you.” Vande pointed several tentacles toward the sky. “You missed a big commotion while you were unconscious, the kind that’s worth remembering.”

Chu Hengkong looked up. Among the islands above Huilong City, a slightly larger dark shadow had appeared.

Chapter 92 Hey buddy

They returned to headquarters and took the elevator directly to the workshop area. Now, there were convenient airships (modified from the Black Workshop's aircraft) available for rent between the various sky islands, allowing them to reach a new sky island in just ten minutes. They saw simple, old stone houses, trees and flowers planted around the plaza, and the dragon and cherry blossom statues restored to their original state in the center of the plaza.

As they entered the square, Qi Su was softly chanting in front of the Dragon God's long beard. It was a song that even Fan De had never heard before; the melody was ancient, but the lyrics were relatively original.

"That's pretty interesting, what kind of music is this?" Van der asked, leaning closer.

"Today's new work, 'The Song of the Silver Arm,'" Qi Su said with a smile. "It tells the story of a silver-armed assassin and his magical bewitching friend, on a great adventure to protect souls from terrifying machines."

Van der said shyly, "You'll make people feel embarrassed if you praise them like that!"

"Just kidding, it's actually a story about two squid eating a stone."

Van der got angry: "He's the only one who ate the stone, I'm innocent! Don't drag me into this!"

"You're an accomplice, an accomplice~"

The demon and the little girl started yelling at each other, and Chu Hengkong felt much more at ease watching this scene. He looked around and found that the environment had hardly changed at all, and even the damage he had caused when he fought the real machine was intact.

"Youyou is quite strong," he exclaimed.

"We spirits were born of our homeland, and are also bound by it, unable to leave this town..." Qi Su smiled shyly, "So Lord Huilong moved the entire Yingshi Town back. This is truly a miracle!"

Vande drawled, “And you called it a silly dragon not long ago…”

"Nonsense! This is baseless! You are not allowed to slander Lord Huilong!"

This time, it was the little girl who was getting impatient. Vande hid in his pocket and began loudly chanting "The Song of the Little Devil Priest," while Qisu poked its eyelids with his staff. Chu Hengkong suddenly felt like he was taking care of a child. He waited quietly for the commotion to end, during which many townspeople greeted him gratefully, while he floated around without touching the ground. Finally, he didn't have to pretend to be alive anymore, which made the townspeople feel much more relaxed.

"What are your plans after this?"

"I haven't decided yet." Qi Su put his cane back. "Too many things can change in a short period of time. I need to think it over carefully... I might continue as a craftsman, or I might find another way. In any case, I want to help everyone survive."

This answer greatly pleased Chu Hengkong. He thought of the spirits who had left earlier and sighed, "It's such a pity about Xiang Fuzi."

Qi Su also felt a little sad: "Even if the scholar waits until this day, he will not come."

"He's got no chance of survival?" Vande asked in surprise.

“If one day you also become a ghost, you will understand.” Qi Su smiled. “For us, life is a glimmer of light that obscures the road ahead, while death is an eternal sleep that is within reach. Whatever Brother Bernfar’s intentions were, he did protect us and helped the scholar to rest in peace. I am very grateful to him.”

Bernfar. That eccentric monk, a man devoid of joy or sorrow. Willing to protect Yingshi Town with the gray mist, yet unwilling to take any action against the advance of the true machines. Chu Hengkong turned back to savor his words and actions, discerning a clear meaning within them.

"He was a kind man to the dead."

"It's best for the living to stay away from him!" Van der shouted. "You'd better completely erase him from your memory. That thing... once in a lifetime is enough!"

Chu Heng wanted to press for details, but Fan De refused to say more. They chatted with Qi Su for a few minutes, then strolled out of the town and took a taxi-style airship back to Zhongting. On the way, they noticed that there weren't as many townspeople as they remembered. It seemed that some people, like Xiang Fuzi, hadn't gone elsewhere but had instead chosen to rest in their homeland.

"Just thinking about those guys makes me feel like we've worked for nothing," Vande said dejectedly.

"I think things are fine as they are now." Chu Hengkong said nonchalantly, "People cannot choose to be born, but they can choose to die. In the past, they could only die in worry about being coveted by foreign enemies, but now they can rest in peace in the joy of avenging their great enemy. This is also a kind of happiness."

"That's right, we've done some end-of-life care!"

Once Vande understood, he immediately became cheerful. He was always carefree and happy wherever he went. Chu Hengkong took out the large silver-eyed book, about to say something, when he suddenly remembered something.

He opened the title page of the large book, where several words were severely distorted:

Knowledge...wisdom...eyes...touch...

Mysterious...The Realm of Submersion...

call!"

These vague words gave Alex ample motivation to summon the "omniscient god," and also made the newcomer assassin firmly believe in the evil nature of this thing. But now, looking at Vand and then at these words, it's not so much different from what he initially expected, but it's also completely unrelated.

He placed the large book in front of Van Der: "Can you explain this?"

Vande's eyes suddenly turned an awkward shade, like a cabbage.

"This involves a bit of personal privacy..."

"explain."

“I confess, I confess.” Vande surrendered on the spot. “Actually, it’s like this. You should be able to see that our Eye Demon race is not lacking in intelligence and knowledge, but we lack a little bit of racial talent in direct combat... So generally speaking, the first thing we do when we embark on a journey is to find a travel companion who can fight and withstand attacks in order to avoid being bitten to death by a passing beast.”

“That makes perfect sense.” Chu Hengkong nodded. “So?”

"After leaving the library, I wandered around for a long time, unable to find a single intelligent being I could communicate with, and nearly starved to death several times," Vande said with a mournful face. "I figured it would be too embarrassing to just go back to my hometown like this, so I came up with... a brilliant and innovative idea!"

Chu Hengkong stared at it expressionlessly. Van Der gestured, "Think about it, I may not come over, but I can go to the mountain! I set up a reverse summoning circle on the manual and then sent it into the current as a message in a bottle. Whoever finds the manual will inevitably have a fateful connection with me, which means they are my destined meat shield... ah, no, travel companion! That way, I'll find a travel companion and be able to start my journey!"

"Ah..." Chu Hengkong suddenly realized, "So you had a flash of inspiration and threw away your graduation certificate."

"Pfft!"

"With wishful thinking and beautiful imagination, you completely forgot that finding this book might involve a strange beast, a demon, or something worse." Chu Hengkong continued, "Fande, you truly deserve to be called a top student."

Van der rolled on the ground a few times, then stood up and argued, "I had a final guarantee! It's just a minor problem!"

"So what about that insurance?"

Van der snatched the manual, flipped to the title page, and angrily began writing with his tentacles. Chu Hengkong watched as a series of startling letters appeared, piecing together the tattered text—

"Full of knowledge and wisdom! The learned Van der Rohe is looking for a travel companion."

They refuse all combat, but are more than happy to help you with their eyes and tentacles.

No financial donation is required; simply place any medium with text on the brochure and invoke it.

Let's explore the mysterious Realm of Submersion together!

We await your call!

Vande raised several tentacles, defending his wisdom with utmost seriousness: "So what!"

Chu Hengkong took a deep breath, as if preparing to unleash a thousand-year-old Qi technique. He was a man of calm and composed demeanor. He was always unperturbed. He remained detached. He was never swayed by external factors…

He completely lost his composure, grabbing the eyeball and roaring, "You really think this thing is useful?! Vande, you're a complete idiot!"

Van der covered his face and ran away, pleading, "Please stop cursing, have some decency..."

"A life-saving gift, full of hope, given to a top student, was thrown away as a message in a bottle. What will the librarian think? Forget being angry, he'd laugh if he found your corpse! You'd be the laughingstock of the whole library!"

"Why has your sharp tongue increased by 300%?! What good does it do you to rub salt in my wounds?!"

He should have realized it sooner. This idiot's eyeball has absolutely nothing to do with the word "serious"! It certainly has abilities and a background, but that pure-hearted stupidity rooted in its heart destined this guy... to be a pure-blooded good-for-nothing!

Chu Hengkong once again told himself that arguing with a good-for-nothing was pointless. He tapped the cover of the large book and said helplessly, "What are you going to say later, Vande?"

"First, we need to get something good to eat. Thank goodness we escaped that hellhole; it's definitely worth celebrating." The Eye Demon immediately recovered. "We also need to keep an eye on those undead. After all, we brought them out, so we have to take responsibility. Then I need to observe you for a while to make sure your bones are alright. And then..."

It paused here, its fluent speech becoming hesitant and stuttering. It scratched its forehead with its tentacles and admitted, "After that, maybe I'll just hang around here, or maybe I'll go traveling... In short, I'll take it one step at a time."

The atmosphere became a little stiff. They both realized that after this summoning incident, they had no reason to hang out together anymore. Things had to go back to normal: the Eye Demon would continue his journey, and the Assassin would remain in the city as his detective.

"I thought you were going to ask for the tentacles back," Chu Hengkong tried to start a conversation.

“I’d almost forgotten.” Vande waved his tentacle. “Forget it, are you going to chop your hand off? We can’t go back anytime soon anyway, we’ll see when we find a way…”

What's the next destination?

“I don’t know. I’ve made a list of several targets, but I’m a little afraid to go out. You know that’s all I’m capable of; if I encounter some heretic, I’ll just be waiting to die.” Vande sighed. “I might need to find another travel companion, or at least hire a human shield, so I need to work and earn some money first…”

"You can go to the workshop to have your relics appraised; it's very profitable."

"Sounds good, suitable for my non-manual labor."

The atmosphere then lightened, and they chatted about work locations and wages. Vande quickly calculated that it would only need a week to cover its food and lodging expenses, and another 65 days would be enough for a safe trip to Little Dust Island. Chu Hengkong recommended several good restaurants and comfortable hotels suitable for small-sized races. Vande repeatedly expressed its gratitude. Finally, it took its own large book and carried it somewhat laboriously on its back.

"This thing is actually quite heavy," it said. "Anyway, well, it's a bit early, so I wish you all the best in advance."

Chu Hengkong didn't respond. He scratched his head, hesitated several times before finally speaking, and seemed extremely unaccustomed to it.

“Dude,” he said, “we actually get along quite well.”

Van der stood there dumbfounded for a while before finally saying, "It's not bad."

“I’m unlikely to stay in the city forever; I might have to travel for work in the future.” He gestured. “Besides, you’re unlikely to like working. Anyway…”

He was amused by that tone and laughed first. He stretched out a tentacle towards the Eye Demon: "Meeting is fate, wanna hang out together?"

“Sure,” Van der shook his hand. “Why not!”

It laughed too, its round eyes curving into crescent moons. Their loud laughter drew the attention of passersby. Van der threw the book back and happily jumped onto the assassin's shoulder. Chu Hengkong couldn't help but chuckle; he felt an unprecedented sense of ease, immersed in the damp breeze of the courtyard.

There are always some people with peculiar and unconventional thinking, who cause trouble every day without reflecting on their actions, freeloading without a care in the world. Their idiotic views infuriate you, and their moronly behavior leaves you speechless. Yet, despite all the cursing and swearing, they will also fight alongside you, sharing a gun, going down into the trenches, and rolling around in the mud. No matter how cowardly they may seem before, they will fearlessly stand in front of you in a life-or-death situation.

You know that in his eyes you're just another one of those things, but you'll still cheekily raise your hand and say, "Hey, bro."

That's probably your true friend.

The setting sun cast a long shadow of the assassin, while the Eye Demon murmured incessantly in his pocket. Over the course of the next meal, Vande integrated into the small group, becoming a somewhat unpopular new member.

The old day has ended, and a new adventure will begin in the new. And in a corner of the Netherworld, a story belongs to the dead and the true machines…

It's not over yet.

·

The Netherworld God Kingdom, its capital.

A deep fog pressed down from the sky onto the earth, and the ruins of the former temple stood tall, like broken spear tips. In the heavy, silent decay, the majestic shadows of beasts, as imposing as mountains, vaguely appeared. A gray-robed monk stood in the fog, turning the pages of a yellowed scripture.

The pages were filled with names, nearly half faded and nearly half clear. The last name to fade was Xiang Fuzi, and two more names were recently added at the end of the page:

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 have proper rest. To enter the Gray Zone and use magic to bring back the dead is to betray destiny and circumvent the principles of the gods…”

"But death is an inescapable fate, and time has etched your names into it!"

Bernfar closed the canon and laughed dryly. His hair dried up and fell out, his flesh crumbled away, and his upright face instantly turned into a skeleton.

He stepped into the mist, clasped his bone claws together, and said as if in prayer, "Wait. Wait. When the bell tolls..."

"I will personally escort you to your funeral."

A deep bell tolled from the gray fog, and the skeletons holding the scriptures appeared silently. Bernfar stood at the head of the procession, leading the monks in prayer toward the statue of the god in the fog.

They are servants of fate, followers of time. The second abyss of the turbulent realm, the heretical path of death.

For the deceased themselves, these are merely funeral processions subordinate to the gods. They uphold the great cause of the funeral gods, helping life to find peace in death.

·

Northeast of the Senluo Secret Realm, the battlefield.

A great battle has just ended. There once stood a fortress here, ruled by the "chosen ones" favored by Black Moon. This Black Moon City was at odds with a "General" of the sixth point from the native Shura Island and the contractor of the delusional illusion demon "Greed." The three forces fought for three years for control of this strategic location.

Two minutes and 15 seconds ago, the Empire's forces wiped out all the forces involved in the war and also flattened the fortress.

Four immortal machines traversed the high ground piled with corpses, using their disintegration rays to recover resources. Above them floated several colossal warships resembling aerial cities. The fleet's commander-in-chief, the Ultimate True Machine Think Tank Fortress of Mass Point 5, glided along its trajectory and flew deep into the mothership.

Before it stood a colossal, semi-transparent blue sphere, from which information from all corners of the Senluo Secret Realm flowed in and out like water, forming this truly spectacular information celestial sphere. A pure white steel giant stood within the sphere, processing intelligence and making decisions at a speed unmatched by any think tank, personally controlling the course of this chessboard of the Senluo Secret Realm.

The Supreme Commander of the Eastern Theater of the Mysterious Realm of Senluo, the Divine War General - Eternal Calamity.

"Commander, two special test reports," the think tank reported.

New information flowed into the celestial sphere, and then the sphere instantly dimmed. The crucial intelligence that shaped the continent's destiny was carelessly discarded by the Eternal Calamity like waste paper. Only the information transmitted directly by the think tank remained on the celestial sphere: two special experimental reports from the YM1876 experimental field.

All information regarding the test subjects was displayed on the Celestial Sphere, which the Eternal Calamity read intently. The first report was an analysis and summary of the "separation of the ghostly body and the transformation of the flesh into beasts" of the divine kingdom's life forms after the shattering of the Netherworld Divine Path. The report pointed out that life forms existing in the divine kingdom in pure ghostly form did not become demonized despite being subjected to various stimuli, while all life forms inevitably transformed into beasts upon death. The report concluded with a preliminary suspicion that the purity of the ghostly bodies of the divine kingdom's life forms was a residual influence of the Netherworld Divine Path, while the transformation into beasts was a manifestation of the pollution from the external path of death.

The Eternal Knights agreed with this assessment and began reading the second report: a summary of the battle at Singularity Z-3000-3.

"The formatting is incorrect after line 876." This is its first sentence.

The think tank responded: "1.2 seconds before the experiment ended, the S-987572 immortal machine actively shut down the verification circuit. It is speculated that the report ended with it being manually completed."

"So it was a soldier. I will remember this soldier's death." The Eternal Calamity finished loading. "Next time Z-3000-3 is sighted, dispatch units with a mass level one above it to engage in combat..."