Forge a path to success

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Chapter 105 Helping Those in Need

At the beginning of the creation of the Shallow Realm, the three spirits worked together.

Light, with His wisdom and foresight, created the perfect blueprint, and thus the concept of all things came into being.

The giant spirit used His skillful and powerful hands to turn the design into reality, creating the primordial material world.

The shadow sculpts the world with its whimsical ideas, painting it with color. Thus, the world is no longer monotonous, and everything has its own unique characteristics and personality.

The three primordial spirits worked together, and the original world was thus created. They celebrated this great work for a long time. The giant spirit lifted the world, preparing to place it outside. At this moment, the shadow suddenly wanted to play a prank. It tripped the giant spirit, causing it to fall hard. The beautiful and exquisite world slipped from its grasp and shattered into many pieces of varying sizes.

But the giant's body was too large, and with that fall, it crushed the shadow beneath its belly. The shadow screamed and cried out, and it took quite a while for the giant to roll over and pull the shadow out. This unfortunate accident flattened the shadow, so from then on, everyone's shadow was flat.

As the shadow was flattened, His breath swirled among the fragments of the world, becoming a dark, flowing stream. This stream, called "Yinqi," eventually transformed into an endless ocean. The fragments, large and small, enclosed by this ocean are the dust islands we inhabit.

You might question how the world could have been born from such a ridiculous scramble. But it is absolutely true, because when the giant stumbled, the light was right there watching. This story was even written into the song by Himself.

—Excerpt from The Earthly Song, Genesis, translated by Van Der.

·

"...So the dust islands in the Dust Realm vary in size because they were broken very unevenly back then. The largest dust island, the Senluo Secret Realm, is almost half the size of the original world, while those in the corners or those that have been destroyed and reborn countless times are so small that they look ridiculous." Vande pointed out the porthole, "This is one of the most ridiculous ones, pitifully small."

"How big is it?" Ji Huaisu asked expectantly, leaning against the porthole.

“About half of the central courtyard,” Chu Hengkong said.

"Seriously? This is so small and it's considered Dust Island?!"

Beyond the horizon stood a guiding lighthouse resembling a jade pillar, and amidst the surging waves, a small, pristine white port city slowly emerged. The trio, leaving their hometown for the first time, arrived at their destination amidst the shouts and cries of the chief detective.

Golden Leaf City has a total area of ​​approximately 500 square kilometers and a permanent population of 70. Although it is an independent dust island, its size is more like a "city". Many years ago, a great war that swept across the entire Dust Realm burned this dust island to ashes. After the war, a magic scholar visited this place and placed a small metal block to test their newly developed modular building technology. Its scientific name is Standard Small Urban Template.

This small metal block absorbed the chaotic energy dissipating after the war, transforming it into power to construct magical golems, allowing the newly reborn Golden Leaf City to rise from the ground. Like most port cities, this town's fate rose and fell with the tides. During the heyday of Dragon City, Golden Leaf City prospered due to its port trade; however, the twenty years of closure of the shipping lanes caused the small town to rapidly decline. Now, three months after the shipping lanes reopened, merchants and vagrants from all directions have flocked in, and the small town is beginning to flourish again.

"On the surface, the strongest person in this city is the scholar Jin Ye, and the one who built the city in the first place." Chu Hengkong flipped through the documents as he walked. "In reality, as soon as the waterway opened, outsiders came. Those who dared to board the ship alone were at least 2-point mass. Jin Ye was just a mayor in name only."

The town's architecture was modern, resembling a first-tier city from his hometown in the early 20th century. Chu Hengkong, with his long tentacles and spear, walked the streets looking like a medieval cult mercenary who had wandered onto the wrong set. Although this place was incredibly rustic compared to the magical Huilong City, Ji Huaisu still looked around excitedly: "Wow, this place looks quite suitable for retirement... Our stone... friend is here?"

“Theoretically yes, but more likely it’s been gnawed on by something, or used as a pickling stone,” Vande said from his pocket. “Trees, you know, it’s not surprising how pathetic they can be… Hey!”

Chu Hengkong suddenly stopped, almost falling out of his pocket: "How could you drive like that?!"

"The road is uneven," Chu Hengkong said, looking down. "There are stones."

There really was a large rock, its surface smooth and shiny, its color as white and tender as an eggshell. This rock seemed to have inherited the true skills of that shadow spirit, appearing at their feet without them noticing. Ji Huaisu felt that if it were him, he would probably have tripped over it like the giant spirit. But Chu Hengkong reacted quickly and dodged just in time. He looked at the rock with great interest, his tentacles wrapping around the gun on his back.

"Oh...oh oh oh..."

A muffled murmur emanated from the ground, and the white stone trembled slightly in everyone's sight before rising up! The two men's gaze shifted from looking down to looking straight ahead, and then from looking straight ahead to looking up. They saw the stone growing larger and wider, its massive size knocking away bricks and casting shadows large enough to completely envelop the two of them.

It was a round, smooth, pure white... egg-shaped boulder, four meters tall!

"What kind of demon dares to cause trouble here!" Vande exclaimed in shock.

"Oh...oh oh oh...oh~ oh, oh..."

The stone... the stone egg... the giant egg seemed to be trying to express something, but without success. It swayed left and right twice, and clumps of debris fell from its surface, carving out crooked characters.

[Silver hands... a spear... black hair... you must be...!]

Chu Hengkong stood with his hands behind his back, poised to take his first step towards making a name for himself in this other world. The giant egg shook violently twice and displayed:

You must be Zilong!

"What does Guan Zilong have to do with this? How do I resemble Zilong? Don't assume I'm Zilong just because I see a silver spear!"

Then, Detective Chu suffered a major setback. Giant Egg was also excited, quickly writing: "[Zilong, have you forgotten? I am Lü Bu!]"

“You’re a ghost Lu Bu, you’re an egg…” Chu Hengkong felt utterly devastated.

Lu Bu's egg bounced wildly: "Zilong is always a benevolent and righteous man. Now that an old acquaintance is in trouble, I hope you will save me!"

"What reason would Zilong have to help Lü Bu?!"

Lu Bu was greatly alarmed: "Zilong, have you forgotten the camaraderie we shared in battle? We were the Knights of the Anti-Dong Zhuo campaign, heading to Chang'an together to seek the Holy Grail!"

"Ouch... my head hurts so much..." Chu Hengkong covered his head with one hand, "What sins did I commit in my past life to deserve this kind of mental attack..."

Ji Huaisu was equally surprised: "This egg's aura is comparable to that of Van Der!"

"How could I possibly compare to this thing? I might as well just admit defeat!"

Compared to this newly hatched intelligence, both Zilong and Lü Bu were temporarily relegated to the sidelines. From these few words upon his first appearance, one can deduce that this person… this egg's level of intellectual weakness is no less than that of Fan De. He is likely a master of intellectual depletion capable of directly confronting the Eye Demon Clan among idiots, a ruthless character whose low intelligence even Chu Hengkong cannot help but show him respect!

But Jinye City has a population of 70, and he's definitely not the only victim tormented by this egg. In the short span of two sentences, dust billowed on the other side of the avenue, and a group of thugs wearing bandanas and eye patches came rushing towards them, followed by a burly, shirtless man. That man was ruthless; before even speaking, he drew a thick-backed broadsword: "Stop, you bastard! Don't run again!!"

The bastard hid behind Chu Hengkong, trembling with fear.

Ji Huaisu patted his partner's shoulder sympathetically and stepped forward: "May I ask what business you have with this egg?"

As she spoke, Ji Huaisu tilted her head slightly, the tip of the knife grazing her nose. The burly man's eyes were fierce, filled with greed: "If you know what's good for you, get lost and stay away from my prey!"

The group of thugs also grinned maliciously, their eyes filled with malice. Chu Hengkong tilted his head slightly, and Fan De explained in a low voice, "Do you know pirates? They're stupid barbarians who stumbled upon Dust Island by chance and plunder everywhere."

"I've dealt with them before," Chu Hengkong nodded. "They're a bit dumber than the ones from my hometown."

At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Van Der, who was peeking out, as if they had seen some rare treasure. The burly leader, his face beaming with delight, grabbed it without a word: "This is something special, give it to me—"

Chu Hengkong raised a finger and tapped it on the man's wrist. The burly man paused, then withdrew his hand. As if about to say something, he took a step back, when suddenly a burst of blood erupted from his chest, six ribs bursting out like two bone claws slashing from the left and right!

The appearance of the bone claws triggered gusts of eerie wind, and strings of skulls were carved into the ghastly white bones. This pirate captain was surprisingly resilient; these bone claws, capable of injuring the spirit body, were his signature, domineering killing move. The bone claws aimed straight for Chu Hengkong's eyes, and the pirate captain was overjoyed.

When he arrived, he sensed the man's abundant vital energy. There had never been such a skilled fighter in this small Golden Leaf City before. He must have received news of the tree seed and come here. Since he was new to the place and unaware of its secrets, he certainly wouldn't go all out at the start of the battle. This was the perfect opportunity to feed him.

In the struggles of this city, the faster and more ruthless the attack, the greater the advantage. His all-out surprise attack is aimed at striking first and eliminating a competitor!

The pirate had calculated his move meticulously, but the man suddenly vanished from his sight. His field of vision rose instantly, reaching the same height as the giant egg. He heard a heavy rumble, followed by gasps of alarm, his clothes fluttering in the air, and all his men were behind him…

Chu Hengkong stomped out, sending everyone flying into the air with a single step!

He raised his left arm, and tentacles coiled around the spear shaft like snakes. Of the twenty-eight men, including the bandit leader, he fired only one shot. The spear tip pierced the bandit leader's heart, and the pure white spear light, after penetrating his flesh, split into twenty-seven streams of soft force that fell, knocking all the remaining pirates unconscious to the ground!

He retracted his arm, twirled the gun, and lightly tapped the buttock on the ground. The gun tip remained pure white, without a trace of blood. Ji Huaisu clicked his tongue, thinking that the martial arts skills that allowed him to break through his body with his spirit after mastering them were truly impressive. Then, as expected, he heard the terrified screams of the surrounding citizens.

She turned her head and saw the giant egg shaking excitedly like a star-struck fan, displaying a line of huge characters:

[Zilong is so brave!]

"Say that about Zilong again and I'll stab you."

Why? QAQ

Chapter 106 Golden Leaf City Treasure Hunt Competition

"This... Egg? How did you get involved with these people?" Ji Huaisu asked.

[Cloth was just foraging for food...] Egg wrote pitifully, [He stole one of their apples and almost got killed; it's a sign of moral decay and the decline of human nature.]

"They've all become thieves and still have the nerve to criticize the world?"

The thief's stolen goods are perfectly legitimate spoils of war!

The egg devoured a large piece of bread and wrote with an air of righteous indignation. The shop assistant, who resembled a white, fluffy bat, was struggling to serve the third plate of roasted meat bread. The surrounding citizens stared at the giant egg, which single-handedly blocked the entire aisle, with expressions as if they were observing a rare beast released from its cage.

This egg, whose real name was unknown, claimed that it had angered pirates because of its hunger and had come to seek help from Zilong, who was wise and powerful. Chu Hengkong thought that the egg's words were about as credible as Fan De's intelligence, but since it hadn't shown any malice, he didn't mind taking it for lunch... However, the egg's enormous appetite made him take notice.

Thirty minutes after being seated, this egg had devoured three servings of roast duck, two platters of fried seafood, and five golden leaf pancakes (a local pastry similar to pizza), and was now tackling the newly arrived large portion of bread and roast meat. Its method of eating was as bizarre as its very existence: its thin outer shell temporarily detached, transforming into sharp, slender claws. The claws appeared hollow, allowing it to suck food into the shell with a single pierce. This method of eating was remarkably efficient, having already defeated the enthusiastic Miss Huaisu, who was known for her large appetite, ten minutes earlier, while the egg seemed to have plenty of room to grow.

"But I didn't expect Zilong to be so decisive in killing that thief," Egg wrote cheerfully. "I thought you would give that person a chance to repent."

"I'll say it one last time, I'm not Zilong, I'm Chu Hengkong." Chu Hengkong sighed. He felt he was sighing more and more lately, probably because the number of unreliable people around him had increased exponentially. "I'm an assassin, I'm not that picky about who I kill."

"Oh? Oh oh oh? Oh..."

The egg stopped writing, and an unintelligible muttering emanated from within. After pondering for a long time, it hesitantly wrote: "I've never heard of your name before... Could this place be the late Eastern Han Dynasty?"

Chu Hengkong got a little agitated: "The late Eastern Han Dynasty is a time period, not a place. How exactly did you read the book?"

Egg was also very excited: "I read every page carefully, so I know very well. The late Eastern Han Dynasty was a world outside our homeland!"

"I really can't go on..."

Seeing that Chu Hengkong was suffering from severe mental breakdown, Fan De stepped forward without hesitation to negotiate on his behalf: "This... egg! First, tell me what kind of environment you think this outside world is?"

Egg proudly writes: [The so-called outside world is a chaotic battleground where the Knights of Dong Zhuo, the pilgrimage team from the Grand View Garden, and the Twelve Beauties of Liangshan clash for the Holy Grail. At night, the Flower Monk Lin Daiyu wields the Ruyi Jingu Bang (a magical staff) to reap lives; by day, it's the stage for the final battle between the Roc Ninja and Erlang Shen, where Wu Song and Hercules, wielding the Broken Steel Holy Sword, storm the Heavenly Palace; Charlemagne rides the Alps, the sun god; and the Flying General Lü Bu's loyalty is unparalleled!]

Chu Hengkong slammed his fist on the table, his scream resembling the roar of a seal that hadn't eaten for three months. Ji Huaisu patted his partner's back gently, feeling deep sympathy: "Ah Kong... although I don't understand what it's saying, don't take the egg too seriously..."

"What kind of person are you to write such utter rubbish?"

The egg arched forward, as if raising its head: "I am the proud and powerful warrior, Lü Bu!"

“No, you’re an egg,” Van der said.

I came to the late Eastern Han Dynasty in search of my destiny. Is Chu Hengkong the same?

Van der remained calm: "He went out to buy supplies."

[The "smacking sounds" during the shopping segment implies a search for something, and while the overall atmosphere and purpose are somewhat unpleasant, the "smacking sounds" suggest you're still keeping me here for dinner. I understand your purpose. This cake is delicious!]

Even Vande couldn't hold back this time: "Finish what you're saying! Don't go eating cake when you're getting to the point!"

【I'm full, thank you~】The egg rolled around, 【As a reward for the meal, I have something to tell you.】

[Your response was excellent; when you kill, you have to be swift and decisive. In this city, prolonged fights are never a good thing.]

When Chu Hengkong looked up, the egg had already rolled to the restaurant entrance, and the last line of words was engraved on its back:

Good luck, warriors with great smells! The treasure hunt is fierce, I wish you all the best!

The egg rolled a few times and disappeared from everyone's sight, probably to go somewhere else to pretend to be a rock and cause trouble. Ji Huaisu nudged his partner beside him: "What kind of creature is that from your hometown?"

“My hometown has evolved for 46 billion years and has never produced such a bizarre creature.” Chu Hengkong waved his hand helplessly, “Search it on Fande.”

Vande ate fries with his tentacles: "I don't remember, probably some recently appeared species."

"There's no reason for a new species to know the story of my hometown."

"So you found a relic that drifted ashore. If you scavenged for trash in the workshop district for a year, you'd become an expert in the world of sinking creatures." Vande wasn't interested in the egg; it was more concerned about the stone seed. "Let's go, let's hurry up. The egg said 'treasure hunting,' so we're probably not the only ones looking for trees in Golden Leaf City. If we don't move soon, we might end up collecting seed husks in the sewers."

Chu Hengkong seemed to want to say something, but then got up to pay the bill. Ji Huaisu noticed this detail and vaguely understood her partner's feelings just now.

From the games on her phone and her partner's occasional recollections, she could deduce what his hometown was like. There were no Ascended beings, only a single type of intelligent life, and the dominant civilization seemed to be a sub-technology derived from the Empire's technological advancements. A gun-wielding assassin would undoubtedly be an anomaly there; to rise above such an incongruous environment, one would have to risk their life.

Chu Hengkong spent 22 years there, so even if he didn't have any lingering feelings, he must have some memories, right? That's why he still clings to the old entertainment from before, and that's why he pays special attention to those strange terms.

"If you're curious, go find the eggs."

"Complete the task first, then do your side jobs."

Chu Hengkong touched the envelope in his pocket. The wooden envelope felt rough to the touch and carried a peculiar fragrance. Youyou said it was the work of Shi Zhong, a material element of the Senluo Divine Tree clan.

·

"Finding a seed in a city of 70 people is like finding a needle in a haystack."

"It's much easier than that; the ocean is boundless."

The penthouse suite of the Saint-Laur Luxury Hotel in northern Jinye City.

Wu He sat by the window, gazing at the scenery outside and sipping fruit wine. A large map lay on the floor, and Shakes, holding a pencil, was carefully studying the city's terrain. On the bed behind him sat a fully assembled anti-materiel rifle, its 1153mm length exuding the unique elegance of industrial technology.

The Tier 2 Relic, "Black Ball," is a custom-made relic specifically designed for reconnaissance and range. Among Shax's many guns, this weapon's firepower is unremarkable, but it's relatively easy to use; its comfortable handling is more valuable than any legendary weapon. After memorizing the map, he put away his pencil and broke off one of the two scope pieces from the Black Ball.

The circular lens rapidly deformed, revealing a concealed propeller and a miniature robotic arm. It grazed Wu He's wine glass, flew out the window, and landed on the rooftop, becoming a makeshift reconnaissance device.

“Actually, my talisman array has a detection effect,” Wu He said.

“Double insurance,” Shakes said succinctly. “Tell me your thought process.”

"This has to do with the target's habits... Do you know the Tree of Life?"

Shakes shook his head; he had only heard of this race occasionally before.

"Those are truly remarkable life forms. They are considered one of the oldest races in the Submerged Realm, alongside the Ancient Dragons, existing even before the First Abyss appeared. If dragons are the 'gods' guiding civilization forward, then the Divine Trees are the 'gods' nurturing civilization's growth." Wu He, with a sip of wine, drew a small tree on the table. "Stone Seeds are the first-order particles of the Senluo Divine Tree race. They are not large in size, but their outer shells are incredibly hard, said to be comparable to the highest-grade relics of the same level. Each Stone Seed is a seed of civilization; they cherish hope, courage, love, and order, and they grow through the positive activities of life."

Shaks frowned: "A tree-shaped firefly corpse?"

“You’re mistaken. They don’t ‘absorb’ those powers; they just use their existence to accelerate their growth, just like plants love fertile soil.” Wu He drew waves representing fragrance next to the sapling. “Once it grows successfully, the stone seeds can emit a special ‘fragrance,’ a gas that can uplift people’s moods and strengthen the life around them. A very friendly little potted plant, isn’t it?”

The aroma. Shax twitched his nostrils. As a skilled sniper, he could accurately distinguish the scent of blood from a target's wound from hundreds of different smells, but in a vast city, this became extremely challenging. They needed more olfactory assistants, inconspicuous, yet ubiquitous…