Yama Reborn-Chapter 434 - 431 [Staggered Space]
Chapter 431 [Misaligned Space]
Chen Nuo pounced silently, his right hand shooting out to grab Li Yingwan’s wrist. Li Yingwan’s expression darkened; she immediately twisted her wrist in a grappling maneuver. However, Chen Nuo offered no resistance, allowing Li Yingwan to grip his wrist, while his left hand reached for Xicheng Xun.
Xicheng Xun opened her palm to grasp Chen Nuo’s fist, then pulled and pushed, seemingly trying to shove him away. But Chen Nuo quickly spread his fingers, interlocking them with Xicheng Xun’s. Hooking her wrist, he exerted force with both arms, pulling both Li Yingwan and Xicheng Xun down with him.
Onto Niveer’s body.
Niveer was quick too, landing an elbow strike straight to Chen Nuo’s chest.
Chen Nuo gasped, Damn it! he cursed inwardly, but dared not waste time.
Teleport!
「·」
The Fourth Seed had emerged from the ruins, watching from a distance as Chen Nuo and the three young women vanished from where they stood on the ground.
Lightly brushing the dust from his clothes, he closed his eyes, sensing the spatial fluctuations. When he reopened them, a strange smile touched The Fourth Seed’s lips.
WHOOSH!
The Fourth Seed disappeared from his position.
「·」
"..."
Behind the ruins, from behind a collapsed section of wall, Brother Lei lay prone, eyes wide as he watched Chen Nuo, the three young women, and The Fourth Seed disappear one after another. Brother Lei grew anxious. Just as he was about to jump out and follow, a hand suddenly reached from behind, clamped over his mouth, and forcefully dragged him back.
What the fuck?!
Brother Lei was terrified and struggling fiercely when he heard a familiar voice in his ear, "Brother Lei, it’s me, Zhang Linsheng."
Phew...
Relief washed over Brother Lei. He turned his head, and Zhang Linsheng released his hand. The two exchanged a glance.
Brother Lei’s eyes sparkled with surprise, "How come you’re here too?"
"I fucking don’t know either," Zhang Linsheng shook his head.
"Then why were you holding me back just now?"
Zhang Linsheng’s expression was very serious, "That person was clearly after Chen Nuo... and he’s very strong. Didn’t you see Chen Nuo being chased? If you jump out, you’d be asking for death, wouldn’t you? Besides... what if the opponent uses you to threaten Chen Nuo? Wouldn’t that ruin everything?"
"Uh..." Brother Lei thought for a moment and nodded.
That made sense.
The two quickly exchanged information.
The hotel where Brother Lei held his wedding was not far from the city center. So, after the initial chaos of falling into this world, he saw the signal flares in the sky and ran all the way here.
As for Zhang Linsheng, his situation was a bit more complicated. He had run out from his house on Daming Road. In times of danger, people instinctively run towards familiar places, so Zhang Linsheng originally intended to run home. His home was in Jiangning District, in the southern part of Jinling City. However, the south then exploded, with entire blocks enveloped in the blast. Seeing this, Zhang Linsheng realized the south was unreachable and decided to run towards the city center instead. His destination was Daming Road. Aside from Jiangning District, Daming Road was the place he was most familiar with in Jinling City, and Brother Lei and his group were the people he knew best there. After arriving, he also saw the signal flares.
They had both witnessed the chase between the three young women and The Fourth Seed, as well as Chen Nuo’s arrival, while hiding by the roadside.
They both knew they couldn’t intervene in a battle of that caliber and could only hide for the time being.
Moreover, in such a situation, Zhang Linsheng arguably kept his composure better than Brother Lei.
Brother Lei was a thoroughly ordinary person.
Even though he had acquired some self-healing abilities, he had never encountered this kind of world.
Zhang Linsheng was different.
At least, he had once been captured and taken to the northwest, experienced the Guo Clan kidnapping incident, and personally participated in some battles.
At this moment, Zhang Linsheng indeed seemed calmer than Brother Lei.
"I can’t quite grasp what’s happening right now, but it seems like all the people in this place have disappeared.
Moreover, not just people, but there’s not a single living creature! I ran out from home; the entire southern region was in ruins, so I could only head towards the city center. All along the way, I couldn’t spot a single breathing creature.
Did you hear that voice earlier?
A voice was calling out Chen Nuo’s name, apparently trying to capture him."
Brother Lei immediately nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I heard it! What kind of ability is that? Like a soul-searching spell from TV, or a thousand-mile voice transmission?"
Zhang Linsheng thought for a moment, "Something like that—never mind what kind of spell it is, that person definitely came for Chen Nuo. And it seems Chen Nuo can’t beat him, which is quite troublesome."
"There’s an opponent even Chen Nuo can’t beat?"
Zhang Linsheng glanced at Brother Lei, saying with a wry smile, "That... you’ll have to ask him yourself when the time comes."
"So what’s going on with us? How did we end up here?"
"I don’t know," Zhang Linsheng shook his head. "But the one thing I am certain of is, it definitely wasn’t Chen Nuo who brought us here! Chen Nuo has no reason to do such a thing."
"Then it must be the work of that opponent!" Brother Lei nodded.
"That’s why I stopped you just now, I didn’t want you to show yourself! What if the opponent wanted to capture us in order to threaten Chen Nuo..."
"Exactly, exactly, you make sense!" Brother Lei nodded earnestly, "I was being reckless earlier... but what do we do next? Just stay hidden like this?"
"First, we need to find a place to hide. We need to ensure our own safety and not be found by that villain.
Then, if there’s a chance, it would be best to contact Chen Nuo. But above all, we must ensure we aren’t discovered."
「·」
BANG!
Four figures materialized out of thin air and plummeted to the ground, the impact leaving them completely disoriented.
Chen Nuo struggled for a moment, quickly releasing the three young women beside him, and flipped over to spring to his feet.
Fortunately...
The spatial point of the teleportation wasn’t too far off. They were only five or six meters above the ground. Any higher, and they would have been injured.
No sooner had Chen Nuo flipped to his feet than Xicheng Xun launched the first attack!
Xicheng Xun lunged into Chen Nuo’s personal space, her elbow striking towards his chin!
Chen Nuo dodged the strike by tilting his head, but Li Yingwan was already sweeping her leg in a roundhouse kick! Chen Nuo raised his arm to block. Her kick landed on his forearm, causing Li Yingwan to grunt in pain and stumble backward, biting her lip.
Niveer, already on the ground, used a standard Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique to lock Chen Nuo’s legs, trying to bring him down.
Chen Nuo seized the opportunity to do a side flip, braced himself with one hand on the ground, and leaped away!
Seeing the three young women ready to attack in unison again, Chen Nuo quickly retreated a few steps. "Wait a minute!"
The three young women looked at him coldly. Before Chen Nuo could say anything further, Li Yingwan had already drawn a gun, aiming it at Chen Nuo without hesitation and pulling the trigger!
BANG!
Chen Nuo swiftly dodged, and a bullet whizzed past his ear!
Damn it! Did I train you all too well back in the day or what? Chen Nuo cursed inwardly.
Just as he was about to speak, thunder rumbled and storm clouds gathered in the sky!
Damn it, they’re on us too fast!
Chen Nuo had no time to explain to the three young women and roared, "Follow me!"
He then dashed into the entryway of a nearby residential building.
Li Yingwan wanted to shoot again but was stopped by Xicheng Xun, who pressed down the gun barrel and whispered lowly, "Follow him for now! He seems to have no hostility towards us!"
Niveer also looked up at the turbulent sky where, faintly, The Fourth Seed’s figure began to materialize. "Quick, let’s go! That guy is catching up!"
The three young women immediately followed him into the entryway.
「·」
This was the north of Jinling City, in an old urban area just outside an ancient city gate known as Yijiang Gate.
The historic river-crossing campaign landed here, and at an intersection in this old quarter, there still stands a monument commemorating the event.
Looking further back into history, the humiliating Treaty of Nanking, which Huaxia was forced to endure, was also signed here.
And for Chen Nuo, this place held a special significance.
This is where he grew up.
Not the Chen Nuo from No. 8 Middle School, but the Chen Yanluo from his past life.
Here, in Jinling City, was his true "home."
「·」
In this life, Chen Nuo’s rebirth, according to the categories of web novels, would be considered soul transmigration, one might suppose.
After returning, he had visited this place once.
He had found the home of his previous life, but to his regret, no trace of his existence remained.
When he had visited that time, he found his former home occupied by strangers.
Everything around him was the same, yet this world was missing one "Chen Yanluo."
His parents, his family from his past life—they all existed.
During that first visit, as Chen Nuo was leaving, he had bought a pack of cigarettes—counterfeit Yuxi brand—from the small shop downstairs.
He rushed up to the fifth floor of the apartment building in one go.
There were three apartments per floor. Chen Nuo went straight to the door on the far left, which bore the number 504.
He effortlessly twisted open the lock and stepped through the door...
Chen Nuo suddenly froze...
「·」
It was an old-style apartment. Upon entering, there was a small space that served as a living room—not a standard one, just barely large enough for a dining table, which had to be placed against the wall.
The floor was covered with old-fashioned plastic floor covering, printed with a lotus pattern. On the walls were old-style white ceramic tiles, standard for the 1990s.
A calendar hung on the wall. Next to it, a picture frame was nailed to the wall.
In the photo, a fair-skinned young boy laughed heartily at the camera, making an old-fashioned "V" for victory sign with his fingers.
The photo was taken at a zoo, with a caged tiger in the background behind the boy. His classmates were also in the photo, surrounding him. One was accidentally half in the frame—Chen Nuo could even remember that classmate’s name.
Standing in this tiny living room, he could see the kitchen to the left, its walls covered with white tiles and an old-fashioned cabinet.
The refrigerator was a single-door model, a brand that had long since disappeared—"Xiangxuehai."
A ceiling fan dangled overhead.
Chen Nuo walked through the living room, flanked by two bedrooms to the south and north, respectively.
On the door of the bedroom to the left, there were posters of celebrities; Andy Lau, the pop superstar, still sported his stylish center-parted hair...
"No... no... this isn’t right... I’ve been here before... it wasn’t like this!"
Chen Nuo stood there, muttering to himself.
Something was definitely wrong!!
On the first day of his rebirth, Chen Nuo had visited this place!
An unfamiliar stout man holding a bowl of noodles had answered the door.
Chen Nuo was certain that in this lifetime, in this world, this house that had once been his was now inhabited by someone else.
Although he hadn’t entered at that time, he had looked inside from the doorway, and the furnishings inside were completely unfamiliar to him!
But now...
At this very moment, returning here, opening the door, entering, everything he saw...
The floor covering, the tiles, the furniture, and the photographs, the posters...
Everything was proving one fact to Chen Nuo:
This is my home!!
This is my home!!
This is my former home!!
「·」
The three young women had followed Chen Nuo into Apartment 504. Upon entering, they saw the pretty boy standing there, looking utterly stupefied.
Li Yingwan was the last to enter, casually closing the door behind her.
The three young women quickly communicated with each other using hand signals.
Xicheng Xun whispered, "I’ll subdue him!"
Li Yingwan replied, "He’s quite tough, I’ll help you!"
Niveer interjected, "I’ll look for an exit!"
All three chimed, "Action!"
「·」
Xicheng Xun charged from behind and wrapped her arms around Chen Nuo’s upper body, applying a close-quarters rear-naked choke!
Almost simultaneously, Li Yingwan pounced on Chen Nuo’s waist from behind!
Together, they slammed Chen Nuo from the doorway into the room, all three tumbling onto the bed inside!
Xicheng Xun tightly locked Chen Nuo’s neck and arms, while Li Yingwan quickly adjusted her position to immobilize Chen Nuo’s legs.
The entire process went so smoothly it surprised both young women; the pretty boy hadn’t resisted at all.
But then, at that moment.
"Shh!!"
Niveer suddenly gave a signal, then quickly dropped flat to the ground.
The young women turned their heads to look...
The figure of The Fourth Seed was hovering in mid-air, slowly materializing outside the window!
A deathly silence fell over the room.
The Fourth Seed’s eyes swept across the room’s interior through the window, and then... he simply floated away.
The three young women exchanged glances, and Niveer immediately rushed to the window...
Then, a surprising scene unfolded before her.
The Fourth Seed scanned past window after window...
"You can’t escape... Little mice, come on out..."
The three young women were dumbfounded.
Suddenly, Niveer realized something.
She gestured to her companions, "He... he seems unable to see us?!!"
The two young women on the bed, still pinning Chen Nuo down, were equally astonished.
And just then, Niveer’s face changed. "Not good!!"
BOOM!!
A loud explosion resounded!
「·」
The entire residential building collapsed with a ROAR! As if under immense pressure, the structure was crushed downwards. All the steel and concrete shattered completely, flattened as if by a giant stapler.
The Fourth Seed rose slightly higher, then frowned as he surveyed the ruins below.
"They got away?"
Shaking his head, his figure swiftly vanished into the sky.
「·」
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three young women in the room exchanged looks for a while.
Niveer suddenly gritted her teeth, "I... I’ll go out and take a look!"
Then, Niveer walked out of the bedroom, returned to the living room, and carefully pulled open the door of Apartment 504, peering through a small crack...
Niveer was stunned.
The door hung suspended in mid-air... at what had been the height of the fifth floor. But all around it—above, below, to the sides—was empty air. Only that single door, which had appeared so suddenly, was now ajar.
Niveer was startled, then she immediately closed the door.
And the moment the door closed.
In the air, the door too disappeared.
「·」
"We... it seems... something here isn’t quite right.
We..."
Niveer spoke with a slightly unnatural tone, furrowing her brows, "It seems like... the building was collapsed by that guy, but this apartment alone... seems to be untouched."
After a pause, Niveer seemed to finally find a term she deemed fitting, "It’s like... a misaligned space!"
At this moment, Li Yingwan and Xicheng Xun remained silent. Instead, it was the pretty boy, still pinned down by the two young women, who spoke.
Chen Nuo sighed, "Just as I suspected... Within one space, there’s another, independent space."
"What did you say?!" Li Yingwan glared.
Chen Nuo glanced between the two, let out a light sigh. "Alright, let go of me first."
"First, tell us who you are! And why are we here! What exactly is going on... and..."
Chen Nuo frowned and then, he suddenly moved.
Xicheng Xun, who had him in a chokehold, yelped in pain as she was flung aside. Chen Nuo then grabbed her wrist and twisted it.
Then Chen Nuo kicked Li Yingwan, who was clinging to his legs, to the ground.
The two young women hadn’t had time to react...
WHISH!
Chen Nuo snatched the blanket from the bed and flung it open with a flourish!
Xicheng Xun and Li Yingwan were pushed together by Chen Nuo, and then, the two young women watched in utter shock as...
The blanket descended, enveloping them!
The two young women were rolled together like a snowball, tightly wrapped in the blanket.
Chen Nuo lifted the bundled blanket with one hand, tossed the two young women onto the bed, then, with extremely practiced movements, flicked his finger. The curtain cord flew into his hand.
With a few swift motions, he tied the blanket securely!
Xicheng Xun and Li Yingwan, trussed up in the blanket, shivered, utterly dumbfounded!!!
What the hell... This technique... This action... I’ve seen this episode before! Tch!
Chen Nuo narrowed his eyes. "Well? Do I need to hang you two up as well?"
THUMP!
Nearby, Niveer had already knelt directly on the ground!
"...BOSS???"
「·」
「·」
[Just to clarify for readers who are concerned: My updates haven’t been frequent over the past two days, but I’ve been active on Zhihu. Some are questioning why I have time for Zhihu but not for writing properly.
My explanation is: I have writer’s block!
Browsing Zhihu doesn’t require much brainpower; it’s purely a way to vent, wander aimlessly, and look for inspiration. It’s painful for a writer when they lack inspiration and ideas.
Do you think that if an author can’t write, they should just sit in front of the computer, tear their hair out, think, think desperately, and keep thinking—that that’s what it means to be dedicated?
That’s not helpful!
One needs to do other things, to get distracted, to break the routine, to find some inspiration.
Simply sitting there, fixated, will only make one’s thoughts dig deeper into a rut they can’t escape.
This recent part of the story has been particularly tough to write. Sigh...]
「·」
