Yama Reborn-Chapter 418 - 415 【Davarishi】(Back from meeting, resuming updates)
Chapter 415: Davarishi
Chen Nuo remained in place, a strange feeling lingering in his mind for a long time, before he finally discerned the direction in the darkness and headed back.
After several teleportations during the fight with Kamisou Ichiro, he had strayed far from the bar.
By the time Chen Nuo returned, it was already the middle of the night.
Even if these adventurers led dull lives, the bar was practically deserted by midnight.
Chen Nuo walked into the bar, looked around, and then saw the female mercenary sitting at the bar counter, waiting anxiously.
Seeing Chen Nuo return, Selina seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and immediately dropped her glass, walking over quickly.
"How did the talk go?"
Chen Nuo shook his head. "Everything’s fine now."
"How do you know him?"
After thinking for a moment, Chen Nuo felt it would be better to warn her. "You should be careful in the future. Don’t contact this guy anymore... um, he’s with the Octopus Monster."
Well, not telling this woman that Kamisou Ichiro was the Octopus Monster himself was for her own good.
Hmm... Kamisou Ichiro probably wouldn’t appear before this woman again... right?
It was hard to say.
None of these Seeds seemed to have a normal brain.
The encounter was a mutual calculation between the Octopus Monster and Chen Nuo.
But Kamisou Ichiro’s contact with Selina hadn’t started just today; it began several months ago.
So, did all these Seeds enjoy doing such seemingly pointless things?
Selina raised her eyebrows. "Someone from the Octopus Monster?!"
Then the woman immediately asked, "Then... maybe I can try to see if I can get news about Vanel from him!"
When Chen Nuo heard this, his face suddenly changed!
Vanel!!
Damn it!
When he met Seed earlier, how could he have forgotten to ask about this?!
Seed clearly knew Vanel’s whereabouts, and Chen Nuo had already told Selina that he would try to ask Seed!
But why, when Seed appeared today, did he completely forget about Vanel??
This...
It was definitely not because he was careless or simply forgot!!
Chen Nuo knew very well that for someone with spiritual power, their spiritual ability was their greatest strength. A person with strong and abundant spiritual power wouldn’t simply forget things!
And after meeting Selina, learning about Vanel’s mysterious disappearance, and knowing Seed was aware of the situation, he had clearly resolved to ask Seed.
But... as soon as they met, he completely forgot?
This was not normal!
So...
"Another mental suggestion, blocking one of my memories? Do all these Seeds like to play this game!"
This was the third time Chen Nuo had encountered a mental block targeting him—a lock on a specific memory.
The first time, all his memories of his trip to Antarctica in his past life had been locked away.
The second time was his trip to Antarctica in this life; after returning, he had somehow completely forgotten Kamisou Ichiro, an important participant and companion.
The third time... concerned Vanel! The moment he saw Seed, he completely forgot about Vanel.
No need to ask; it must have been Seed’s doing!
But...
There were still some doubts.
Chen Nuo believed that with Seed’s ability, if he wanted to make him forget Vanel completely, he could do it.
Yet the memory lock Seed had cast on him didn’t seem very comprehensive; it merely prevented him from remembering while they were face to face.
Seed didn’t seem to care if he remembered afterward.
So...
"He just didn’t want me to ask about it in person?"
Damn it, that guy... he didn’t kill Vanel, did he?
That didn’t seem right either.
Could it be that he would find it problematic if I asked him directly?
Or... he didn’t want to tell me Vanel’s whereabouts?
However, the most important point was...
Does Vanel hold some special significance or value for Seed?
That night was very fruitful for Chen Nuo, but it also raised many new questions.
First, he obtained some important information about the Seed group.
The "competition" mentioned by the Gray Cat had only four contestants left.
One was Seed, one was Kamisou Ichiro of the Octopus Monster.
Besides them, there were two others: one called "the annoying guy" and another referred to as "the coward."
It was not difficult for Chen Nuo to infer.
The coward... no need to guess, that naturally referred to... the Gray Cat!
And the remaining "annoying guy" was a Seed whose identity Chen Nuo had yet to uncover!
The identity of this fourth Seed was currently a major concern for Chen Nuo!
"So, let’s deduce... The Seed in the Antarctic base that tricked Old Corot into running out... this person is definitely not Seed, not Kamisou Ichiro, nor the Gray Cat. Therefore, it should be the fourth Seed, the one referred to by Seed and Kamisou Ichiro as ’the annoying one.’ Furthermore, it has another identity... The host Seed that turned Lu Xixi into a Chosen One!"
The latter deduction wasn’t difficult to make either.
Lu Xixi was also a Chosen One.
But the one who made her a Chosen One wasn’t Seed, nor the Octopus Monster.
And certainly not by the Gray Cat.
That only left the fourth Seed.
So, the information Chen Nuo had gathered so far indicated:
The identity of the fourth Seed is that it was the Seed that tricked Old Corot out of Antarctica; additionally, it is the host Seed that made the Star Sky Empress a Chosen One.
And this fourth Seed remained, for Chen Nuo, the most mysterious one thus far.
It had never shown its face.
Overall, the Gray Cat seemed to pose no immediate threat; this timid fellow had repeatedly declared his withdrawal from the competition.
As for the other three Seeds—be it Seed, Kamisou Ichiro the Octopus Monster, or that mysterious "fourth person"—
they all seemed to be observing and waiting, not having taken any proactive measures yet.
Except for the incident with Kamisou Ichiro of the Octopus Monster—and that was because Chen Nuo himself had taken the initiative to probe, leading Kamisou Ichiro to take advantage of the situation and try to set him up.
To be precise, having recognized Chen Nuo as a Chosen One, Kamisou Ichiro had tried to use him to ambush the Seed backing him.
Beyond this, they seemed to have refrained from any destructive actions against the world so far.
A substantial amount of information had been gathered.
Currently, it seemed the puzzle pieces regarding the various Seed factions were mostly assembled, and the overall situation was becoming clearer.
But there was one thing Chen Nuo still couldn’t figure out.
Why did Seed say...
That Chen Nuo had imagined Seed to be too powerful?
Bai Jing stood before the mirror, meticulously arranging her hair. She gazed at her reflection—her face as delicate as a young girl’s—yet she frowned with dissatisfaction.
Then, she swept everything from the vanity into the trash bin.
Turning, she stepped onto the balcony and looked at the middle-aged man lounging on a deck chair, soaking up the sun. Bai Jing took a deep breath. "I... want to ask you something."
"What is it?" The man with the face of the Electric General smiled warmly, lowered his newspaper, and looked up at Bai Jing.
"Do you think I’m not pretty enough?"
The man laughed, "Why do you suddenly ask such a question?"
Bai Jing sighed softly, "I’ve always known I’m not beautiful enough."
Elder Bai Jing—now Ms. Baijing—truly couldn’t be considered a beauty.
Although she had reverted from an elderly woman’s appearance to a youthful state, growing younger by the day, she now looked almost like a twenty-year-old Caucasian girl.
But even rejuvenated by decades, she still wasn’t a great beauty.
There were some freckles on her skin, her hairline was a little high, making her forehead seem broad.
The curve of her cheekbones lacked softness.
In summary, the Bai Jing of this moment, judging purely by appearance, was a youthful and pleasant-looking Caucasian girl.
But she was not a beauty.
The man shook his head, chuckling softly, "I don’t think so."
Bai Jing sighed, but her gaze was serious. "I know you’re just comforting me. I also know..."
Bai Jing pursed her lips, "You’ve always liked beautiful women. Back then... the women you associated with were all more beautiful than me."
The man frowned slightly, "Why... suddenly bring this up?"
Bai Jing said slowly, "Ever since you sent people to hunt down the Star Sky Empress, I’ve been worried."
After a pause, she added in a low voice, "The Star Sky Empress has always been called the most beautiful woman in the Underground World by those foolish people."
The man laughed, rose, and took a couple of steps closer, gently stroking Bai Jing’s hair, "Your question is very silly."
Bai Jing was silent for a moment, then her face broke into a smile. She shook her head. "I don’t know what’s gotten into me. Maybe the hormonal changes from my body becoming younger have made me a bit emotional. I won’t bother you with such silly topics anymore."
The man smiled, turned back to the deck chair, and curled up like an old man basking in the sun. Then he suddenly chuckled, "Didn’t your BOSS say he wanted to see you? When is that scheduled?"
"I don’t know. He’ll summon me when he wants to see me. But maybe he’s changed his mind. It’s been many days since I last heard anything. I heard that little fellow in New York has been doing well, stirring up a lot of trouble. Those fools in the Elders’ Council are almost eradicated, and the remaining members have become very docile. Perhaps... the BOSS doesn’t need me anymore."
Hearing this, the man sighed faintly, "That really is a pity."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking I might have had a chance to meet this mysterious and powerful Octopus Monster."
"When did you get back?"
Early in the morning, as Fox walked into the kitchen, she saw Seed sitting at the dining table, eating fried eggs.
Seed looked up at Fox, "I’ve been back for a while... Want some eggs?"
"No, I need to diet. I found out last night I gained weight again."
"’Aren’t Ability Users supposed to have fast metabolisms and not worry about getting fat?’" Seed said with a laugh.
Fox pressed her lips together before whispering, "The end-of-year dance is coming up, and I’m worried no one will ask me... Seed, your abilities are so incredible. Do you have any way to make me slim down immediately?"
"Sure."
Fox’s eyes brightened. "Then can you help me..."
"’Starting today, no sweets, and run for half an hour every day. Also...’"
Before Seed could finish, Fox walked away dejectedly. Then she grabbed a fork, sat down next to Seed, and nonchalantly began to spear the eggs on his plate.
Seed sighed and simply pushed the plate towards the girl.
Only then did Fox beam, smiling as she ate heartily.
For some reason, seeing Seed back that morning, right there in the kitchen, significantly improved Fox’s mood.
The guy hadn’t just vanished without a trace.
"What were you doing yesterday?"
"Meeting an old friend."
Fox asked curiously, "Your old friend... is he as powerful as you are?"
"’Hmm... actually, you could say he’s not human.’"
"..."
Alright, Fox rolled her eyes before asking cautiously again, "Then... you came back pretty quickly."
"’Because there was a troublesome young fellow I was afraid would ask me questions I didn’t want to answer, so I slipped away.’"
"What questions?"
"’I locked up a friend of his.’"
"’Locked up? You locked someone up? Where?’"
Seed smiled but didn’t answer, instead pointing upwards.
"’My house?! You locked someone in our attic?’"
"’Don’t be silly. If a grown person were locked in your attic for this long, wouldn’t you have noticed by now?’"
"Then..."
Seed still smiled, pointed upwards again, and then added, "Actually, I’ve locked up more than one person."
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
"Houston! Starting extravehicular activities now!"
"Activating life support system, Roger One is exiting the craft..."
"Oxygen pressure normal, life signs normal... Hey buddy, your heart rate’s a bit high. Don’t get too excited."
"I know, Roger Two, but you’d find it hard to stay calm too if you were me. After all, this is..."
"Alright, alright, Roger One, keep your cool. Don’t forget, this isn’t ’the first step’ anymore."
A dim gray surface, more barren than any desert, lay below.
In the surrounding gloom, everything seemed chaotic, except for the distant, round... blue planet.
An astronaut in a bulky, silver-white spacesuit slowly jumped down from the lander.
In the low-gravity conditions, he moved lightly, his body gently rising and falling, almost floating.
In the vacuum, no sound could carry.
"’Roger Two, Roger One has landed and is now entering Sector Zero...’"
The astronaut reported while slowly exploring further...
"’Roger One, maintain your direction. Try not to get too excited.’"
"’Received. I...’" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
「Five minutes...」
「Ten minutes...」
「Half an hour later...」
The astronaut’s EVA was nearly complete, and by this point, he had ventured quite far from the lander.
On the slope of a small crater, just out of sight of the lander...
Suddenly, a scream tore through the communication channel.
"FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Roger Two inside the lander almost jumped from his seat. "Roger One! Roger One! What’s wrong?!"
Soon, after a burst of static, Roger One’s voice came through the comms, tinged with utter disbelief and terror!
"’What... what the hell is this?! Damn it! How is this possible?!’"
Roger Two, in the lander, asked anxiously, then switched to the ground communication channel, "’Houston! We might have a problem! Roger One is in danger! I request permission for an EVA to conduct rescue operations!’"
Unfortunately, the message was sent, but there was no immediate response from Earth.
"Damn it!"
The astronaut in the lander (Roger Two) slammed the control panel in frustration, then quickly tried again, "’Roger One! For fuck’s sake, talk! What the hell happened to you?! Respond!’"
"’ZZZ... ZZZ... ZZZ... I... I’m here!’"
"’What happened?!’"
"’I...’"
From the other end of the comms, Roger One’s voice came through, somewhat indistinct, relating something utterly preposterous.
There was even... a hint of an emotional breakdown, a sob, in his voice.
"’Roger Two... you... I... you’ll never believe what I saw!’"
"’What did you see? Surely not aliens? An alien spacecraft?!’"
"’It’s not aliens... It’s... FUCK! DAMN IT! I fucking saw a person! A man! Hell! He even gestured at me... Wait... let me get a better look... FUCK! Did he just flip me off?!’"
Roger Two was dumbfounded. After a second of silence, he said, "’A human? Is it a landing craft from another country? That’s impossible! We haven’t received any intelligence that any other country has a landing plan in the near future! There couldn’t possibly be any other humans here besides us...’"
"’You can take that crap and tell it to those suits at NASA in M Country! He’s right in front of me! Damn it! Damn it, he’s walking towards me! And... can you imagine?! This guy... he’s not wearing a spacesuit! DAMN IT! How the hell can he survive out here without a spacesuit?!’"
Alright! Roger Two immediately made a judgment: This guy, Roger One, this elite astronaut painstakingly trained by M Country’s NASA... he must have gone mad.
Though it was alarming, it wasn’t unprecedented.
Astronauts were informed about certain risks during their training. Under great stress or emotional fluctuations, especially when working in outer space, there was a very small chance they could develop such stress-induced psychological issues.
Listen to what he’s saying! Seeing a human here? Who supposedly flipped him off? And isn’t wearing a spacesuit? If that’s not madness, what is?
"’Roger One! Please calm down! You’re hallucinating! What you’re seeing isn’t real! There are no other humans here, much less one without a spacesuit. I must remind you, it’s lunar night. The current surface temperature is minus sixty-eight degrees Celsius, and it’s still falling! So, what you’re describing is impossible!’"
Roger One, inside his spacesuit, heard his companion’s voice through the comms, patiently trying to offer psychological guidance...
Guidance, my ass!
He, however, was staring intently ahead. Then, he suddenly took a deep breath and cut the comms, not wanting to listen to his companion’s prattling.
Right in front of him, by the rocks of the crater, no more than ten meters away...
A burly, rugged man with an intimidating scar across his face stood there.
And this man was wearing only what looked like a thermal jacket.
Yes! No helmet, no spacesuit—just what appeared to be an ordinary thermal jacket.
Roger One, the astronaut, took a deep breath and, excitement bubbling, took a few steps closer.
He watched as the burly man paced back and forth anxiously.
His movements were confined to an area no more than five meters in diameter.
Suddenly, as the astronaut took another step forward, he felt his body pass through an invisible barrier.
His body immediately registered a distinct change!
The gravity had changed!
His body suddenly felt heavier, his feet pressed firmly against the ground by a tangible gravitational pull!
Even more bizarrely... he could actually hear sounds!
Although muffled by his helmet, and the sounds were faint and somewhat distorted...
But... damn it! This was the Moon! A near-perfect vacuum! How could anyone speak out loud here, and how could sound waves propagate?! This defied science!
Then, something even more mind-boggling happened!
He... understood what the other person was yelling!
It was a phrase...
"Sukabule!"
Huh?! Wait! Is that... Russian?!
FUCK! Had Russian technology advanced this far? Allowing astronauts to perform EVAs without spacesuits? Enabling sound to travel in a vacuum?! This... this... Was this technological advancement, or some kind of damn evolution?!
