Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 327 - 53 Qiong Qi
Chapter 327: Chapter 53 Qiong Qi
Chapter 327: Chapter 53 Qiong Qi
Li Yan closed the photo album, and suddenly, his heart stirred. It seemed there was some important discovery on Black Rider Ghost’s end. Before he could move, a sharp surge of anger emanated from the direction of Black Rider Ghost. Without a word, Li Yan exited the corridor and rushed towards another area being searched.
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Bang!
A flock of Sudu birds flew out from the shattered window frame, followed closely by an intense explosion of flames that illuminated the entire room.
Black Rider Ghost, clad in armor with gaps twined in flames, flew backward out of the main entrance, accompanied by a two-meter-tall tracked war machine.
The base of the war machine was modified from an old tank, but instead of a fortress and turret on top, there was a half-mechanical humanoid trailing thick, black smoke. Its left arm was a mountain cleaver forged from alloy, and its right arm consisted of twin sections of an automatic cannon. Countless dark red bullets spewed forth, each collision bursting into an orange flame, spectacular in their ferocity.
However, Black Rider Ghost was no longer the same as he had been before. The Five Directions Elder on his shoulder had somehow contracted into a bundle at some point,. The veins on the bundle turned a bright red and spread across the pitch-black armor as if they were ever-twisting deep red flames. In no time, the demonically red patterns had covered Black Rider Ghost’s entire body, adding a hint of devilish charm and evil to his appearance.
Li Yan leapt down from the windowsill and saw Black Rider Ghost, covered in red patterns, crashing mightily against the old-fashioned war machine.
“Transform, eh~”
Li Yan teased Black Rider Ghost, and inside the dark building, several blue electronic eyes lit up. Three rumbling war machines formed a triangle and charged towards Li Yan!
Unfazed, Li Yan raised his fists and opened and closed them sharply. Suddenly, a clear surge of water erupted from the ground, submerging the war machines and Black Rider Ghost alike.
Black Rider Ghost emerged in a splash, but the four war machines weren’t so lucky. The water around them persisted, clinging and refusing to dissipate no matter how the machines struggled, unable to break free from the grasp of the water. Puffs of smoke from the explosions rose from the water, and after little more than two minutes, just the hissing sounds of steam could be heard. The blue eyes of the half-mechanical humanoids lost their luster entirely, and plumes of white smoke emerged from the water one after another. The war machine humanoids ceased their operations completely, motionless.
Seeing that the half-mechanical humanoid war machines were now short-circuited and scrapped, Li Yan let the azure currents of water recede. In a matter of a few breaths, even the water droplets on the war machines and Black Rider Ghost had vanished without a trace, leaving only the back of Li Yan’s hand still dripping wet.
The formidable half-mechanical humanoid war machines, which had braved the charge against Black Rider Ghost of the Nine Luminaries caliber without falling short, were easily taken out by Li Yan’s water streams.
Ever since he was ambushed by a suicide attack from a Super Sensitive Yak, Li Yan had truly grasped the use of Wu Zhiqi’s powers. How stupid must he have been to think of using water bullets to hit people before?
If he truly pursued the lethality of water, he’d just need to envelop the enemy’s head with a water blob, covering their mouth, eyes, and nose. This causes suffocation and loss of vision. On a chaotic battlefield, this was practically no different from killing the opponent, yet it expended minimal energy with a strong effect.
As for expanding on this idea, as well as naming the previously used mixed ice-water shield and such, Li Yan hadn’t yet decided. After all, similar applications would be frequent in the future, and he didn’t want others to think of him as a cringeworthy fanatic for silly names…
The three-story building that the war machine humanoids had charged out of was likely Yu Shu’s former private research facility. These mechanical beings were also experimental combat equipment once produced by Pompeii Armaments. Their frontal firepower was comparable to a fourth-level, but their overall performance was far inferior to the standard fourth-level Bear-style Tanks, and they were not mass-produced. Yu Shu had bought them back just for automatic defense.
The research facility was deserted, without any valuable equipment or data remaining. It was an accidental activation of an old large computer by Black Rider Ghost, the kind easily as wide as a house, that had startled the deep-seated mechanical guards.
After entering the building, Li Yan unexpectedly found racks of cold weapons and empty rooms showing signs of fighting, a testament to Yu Shu’s interests.
When he, along with Black Rider Ghost and the multitude of Sudu birds, reached the underground level where the mechanical attack had occurred, a glass case rose from the dark hole in the center of the large control platform. Inside was a model of an old sniper rifle, which Li Yan recognized at a glance as lacking a trigger.
This was it.
Suppressing his sense of relief, Li Yan opened the glass case and fitted the trigger that had brought him here onto the model. His palm warmed, and the broken trigger seemed to merge onto it seamlessly.
Then, nothing happened.
A Fleeting Glimpse!
[Barrett M82A1 Special Purpose Sniper Rifle]
Category: Firearms
Quality: Fine
The barrel is made from a highly active metal found within a certain fruit, equipping it with memory fusion capability.
Note: Who would use such a metal to fabricate a thermal weapon? That’s just insane.
Li Yan furrowed his brows and immediately removed the bullets from this sniper rifle.
Sure enough, the bullets in this rifle were not the ordinary M33 or M8 models, but displayed a vivid green color.
[Memory Bullet]: Non-lethal, upon hitting a human body, it can transmit a large amount of information instantaneously.
Li Yan exhaled deeply and reloaded the bullets.
“Fancy stuff,” he remarked.
He handed the rifle to Black Rider Ghost, then pointed at himself.
“Shoot me.”
…
The film scene opened by Ramu Jue, accompanied by the emblem of the Big Ben Institute and a solemn English speech, unfolded the prologue.
“Tonight, I take this opportunity to make a speech, as we have reached a critical moment in the war. Today, at 4 AM, Hitler has attacked and invaded Russia. There was no declaration of war, no ultimatum…”
The speaker was a man with a buzz cut, to be precise, a Chinese American. Liang Zhengyong could vaguely recognize his features, although the man in the movie appeared so young and spirited.
His name was Su Ling, the first director of the Big Ben Institute. He had participated in the war that directly led to the onset of the harsh winter, steadfastly standing with the Allies. He had designed and overseen several top-secret projects, including the Manhattan Project that birthed the first atomic bomb. After the winter, he joined the efforts to establish order, became an important partner for Pompeii Armaments, hosted the Shuishu Park salon, and passed away a few years earlier…
“I know, about Shuishu Park, about the people I’m going to mention next, Black Star war machines, and even the three major powers, you can’t be completely unaware. But what I know must far exceed your understanding,” he said.
Liang Zhengyong remained silent, while Qiao Xing and Liang Wei exchanged glances at one another.
These two young men had grown up together, feeling immensely complex emotions for one another due to their families’ opposing political stances. However, even they were puzzled by Ramu Jue’s words.
“What does Commander Liang think about Su Ling?”
“He is the pride of the Chinese People…” Liang Zhengyong paused, “No, the pride of mankind.”
“Commander Liang mustn’t be ignorant of that part of history. Countless people have praised Su Ling for his scientific contribution to that war, but have you ever thought, why is it that shortly after the Allied military weapons make a breakthrough, Hitler’s troops also break through their technical bottlenecks?”
Liang Zhengyong shook his head disdainfully, “Foolish speculation. Where’s your evidence?”
No sooner had his words faded away than several photos and document contents flashed sequentially across the screen. Liang Zhengyong’s gaze flickered, and he remained silent.
“Let’s change the direction a bit, shall we? Regarding Shuishu Park.”
Ramu Jue sighed, and as the camera panned, the screen showed a multi-headed, multi-tailed monstrous beast’s shadow, looming nearly fifty zhang large, beneath which sat a young man in a Big Ben uniform.
“I don’t think there is any Genetic Potion that could cause this kind of effect…”
Liang Zhengyong slammed his hand on the table, “I will continue watching the movie, and I can listen patiently to what you say, but I need a conclusion. What do you think the guests at Shuishu Park really are?”
“I don’t know either.”
Ramu Jue shrugged his shoulders, and the words he let out next made Liang Wei and Qiao Xing think he was insane, but in reality, this was the logical answer that Ramu Jue had provided.
“Maybe they’re aliens.”
…
Along with the bullet entering his body, on one hand, Li Yan lamented that the Black Rider Ghost really shot straight from the hip—when told to shoot, it really shot; and on the other hand, he cursed that the damn thing had no killing power, one shot made my chest hurt like hell, and it would leave a normal person either dead or crippled.
Immediately after, his field of vision was engulfed by prolonged darkness.
After a long while, a fine rain began to fall from the sky.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter…
Yu Shu walked across the damp rooftop, heading towards the edge where a man in a white lab coat sat, a bottle of amber whiskey beside him.
“Did you really kill him?”
“It’s more like replacing him, fulfilling his mission, and then doing more than he did. I will be in charge of the Alamos Laboratory the day after tomorrow.”
The man turned his head, locking eyes with Yu Shu, revealing four white teeth. “I can change this world.”
He picked up the bottle and pointed toward the desert of the State of Mexico before him.
“Many people dislike your plan. Take Zhao Jianzhong, for instance, he’s the oldest among us and one of the Ten Masters. If he opposes you, no one will support you.”
Li Yan’s field of vision contained only this man, and these words came from his own perspective.
“I will also become one of the Ten Masters, and there’s nothing remarkable about that. Zhao Jianzhong has meddled enough, he has no right to interfere with anything beyond Heaven Jiazi Nine.”
“Some also feel that you’re undermining Yan Fu.”
“No, no, no, by Yan Fu’s standards, I’m merely causing a small change in the direction this world is moving forwards. This is something even those Proxies of Heavenly Master and Divine Master agree with. They actually share my ideology deep down; they’re just too embarrassed to act on it.”
“Even so, your task will be extremely difficult to push forward. You might think you can outsmart everyone here, but I don’t believe the recent earthquake was a coincidence; this fruit is rejecting your actions.”
The man put down the bottle. “It wasn’t easy to find a fruit that has developed so similarly to our world. No matter what I face, I won’t give up.”
He became serious. “If I succeed, I’ll become the first Yan Fu walker to harvest a fruit alone.”
“Suit yourself. After all, we’ve become quite familiar. I don’t want to see you heading to your death.”
“Will you help me?”
“If there’s a benefit to it, I might consider.”
The scene changed, and Li Yan saw the man running about, delivering speeches, conducting experiments. He had many companions, from politics to business, and even the military and media. A part of these people were Earth Endurance, some were Yan Fu walkers, and his goal was to provoke and steer the inevitable war towards a bottomless abyss.
Dust veiled the sun, surface vegetation died swiftly or mutated, the earth cracked, the oceans became polluted, and ruins spread across the continents.
War, apocalypse, radical changes to human bodies caused by intense radiation, and after the extinction of more than a billion humans, beneath the wasteland, there emerged a group with infinitely potential genetic evolution.
“By inheritance alone, the Five Directions Elder is the limit. Yet still there are those who have reached even higher realms. To do that, we need to draw sustenance from countless fruits. The ‘sustenance’ we obtain can only be partially absorbed, after all, most of the fruit’s native systems conflict with our inheritance. So, why shouldn’t we actively cultivate a fruit, allowing this fruit’s sustenance to serve the Yan Fu walkers wholeheartedly?”
“Perhaps there will be no art, no peace, no science and productivity in this era, but even the dirtiest refugee could possess genes with infinite potential!”
“In the genetic evolution process that can’t be quantified, we’ll find the one that is most suitable for Yan Fu walker’s constitution. I have decided to name it Genetically Modified Agents.”
“Yan Fu walkers are flawed, and even Zhao Jianzhong can’t answer too many of our questions. Zhao Jianzhong says the relationship between walkers and Yan Fu is symbiotic. Sorry, but I’m a conspiracy theorist. I want to find the answer my way.”
“They all will join, as long as they see the benefits. Zhao Jianzhong, Cao Yuanchao, and those Proxies of Heavenly Master and Divine Master.”
“As for the guilt of sacrificing others, they will pile it all on me and then enjoy everything with a clear conscience. What matters is, they stand by my side…”
“As for me, I don’t care about these sacrifices.”
