"Couldn't you use your brain and think for a moment at a time like this?"
Wen Wen ground her teeth in exasperation and wanted to smack the back of his head again. "The total amount of Dragon Blood is fixed. Lawrence evaporated, so there's no need to worry about him. There was no residue at the scene, which means it must all be left in your body!
"The Mouth of the Ancient One's main function is healing and Restoration. It isn't specialized in something like Sin Corruption, which directly rewrites the soul and genes. You absolutely have to be careful. If there are any changes or unusual symptoms, call me immediately. Got it?"
"Oh, oh, okay!"
Ji Jue nodded. After carefully feeling around, he had to admit that he still trusted his ever-reliable Cousin. Since Cousin said he had drained it all out, there definitely shouldn't be a problem.
Besides, he had been eating everything with gusto lately and sleeping like a dead pig the moment his head hit the pillow. He was perfectly fine.
"..."
After a brief silence, Wen Wen hesitated for a moment before sighing. "To be honest, I didn't handle this very honorably.
"If the situation had been reported at the time, the Security Bureau's reward would certainly have included your share. But with Yacheng's current habit of letting even a fart leak through every crack, your Chosen Conscription would probably have become impossible to keep secret.
"By then, who knows how many demons and monsters would come knocking? Getting involved with them too early wouldn't be good for you. The last unlucky bastard was..."
She paused and did not continue. "I made the decision to keep your matter under wraps. If you think that was inappropriate, I can report it now."
"What are you talking about?"
Ji Jue laughed. He knew the Federation's nature all too well. How could he possibly trust it?
According to Wen Wen, during his Chosen Ceremony, he had summoned nine Superior Virtues in one go. Apparently, that was something extraordinarily exaggerated. If he had come from a noble family and been a high-ranking citizen whose family had received honors for generations, he might have considered throwing a grand banquet and showing off before everyone. But as a student with no one to rely on, carrying so many problems that couldn't withstand close investigation, he should probably avoid jumping into such deep water too hastily.
These days, hot-blooded male protagonists were no longer in fashion. Everyone survived by hiding. The longer one could hide, the longer one hid. Wen Wen helping him keep this secret down actually made him breathe a sigh of relief.
As expected of Big Sister—she was truly loyal!
He said nothing, merely giving her a thumbs-up. Wen Wen smiled as well, seeming to feel much better.
"All right, then that's it for today. Rest properly."
At the end, she patted Ji Jue on the shoulder and gave him a mysterious smile. "Once you've recovered after some time, I'll introduce you to a good opportunity!"
"Really, godfather?"
Ji Jue was overjoyed. After hesitating, he felt embarrassed about eating, drinking, and taking so much from her. Gritting his teeth, he forced out a standard business smile.
"Wen Jie, you know, I'm still quite charming..."
"Get lost!!!"
Wen Wen gestured without even turning her head and slammed the door behind her.
She was so decisive.
Like a scumbag who pulled up his pants and refused to take responsibility.
.
.
And so, Ji Jue spent more than half a month resting in the hospital. In reality, if not for that bastard Lawrence, he might have slapped on a patch and gone straight home.
First came the erosion from the Vortex Implantation Technique, then the infusion of a massive amount of Aberrant Spirit Essence. After overexerting himself to activate the Life Support Protocol by slashing open his own neck, he had undergone Dragon Blood Sin Mutation as well.
And finally, Minerva had punched him.
After going through that whole package, even something forged from iron would have shattered.
The only reason he could still live, move, and breathe was that Cousin had drained it quickly, withstood the pressure, and held the line. As for Ji Jue, he had been responsible for wasting everything.
Even a Chosen One couldn't be treated like that.
Relying on the Mouth of the Ancient One, he began his journey of overeating. Seven all-you-can-eat nutritional meals every day, without fail. He kept stuffing himself until even the rats in the hospital cafeteria were nearly moved to tears, finally replenishing more than half of his completely emptied health bar.
After the doctors examined him, the entire department applauded enthusiastically as they saw the unlucky bastard off, urging him to hurry up and leave.
And so, they kicked him out the door.
Still unsatisfied, Ji Jue swaggered over to the Lu Family and had another massive meal. He put on the classic performance of eating an entire pig in three bites, making Lu Ma wipe away tears while cooking and curse the hospital for being inhuman, asking how they could have starved such a perfectly good child into that state.
At last, under the shocked and terrified gazes of Old Third and Youngest, he left behind a box of extracurricular exercises, picked up half a packed white-cut chicken, and swaggered away.
He felt as though life had reached perfection.
"This is what life is all about."
Ji Jue lay in his own doghouse with his legs crossed, enjoying the familiar comfort.
He spent most of the day cleaning the house, replaced the refrigerator, hummed as he took a shower, then lay on the bed and read for a while. With nothing else to do, the years were peaceful and beautiful.
How damn wonderful was this? Wasn't it far better than fighting Lawrence in a Life and death struggle?
There was no comparison!
Thinking that his beautiful life was built on that bastard's corpse, Ji Jue was moved to tears. He clasped his hands and prayed. Good riddance!
He hoped that if Lawrence was aware beneath the Yellow Springs, he would continue to squeeze out whatever remaining value he had and add bricks and tiles to Ji Jue's beautiful life—
BOOM!!!
A sudden thunderous noise exploded in the depths of the night. Ji Jue jolted violently and tumbled off the bed in fright. He instinctively looked left and right, only to discover that the sound had actually come from downstairs in his own house.
No way?!
He cautiously stuck his head out and looked down from the stairs. He saw that the newly repaired door of his home had been smashed open again?!
His heart, which had only just settled, immediately rose into his throat again, and he couldn't help wanting to curse.
But why did this scene feel so familiar?!
In the silence, he seemed to hear faint, brittle sounds. His hair stood on end. Feeling around, he pulled out a Steel Rebar and crept downward step by step, until he saw two winding trails of mud stretching from the doorway to his kitchen.
In the weak light from inside the refrigerator, half the door hung precariously from it and swayed slowly, concealing the intruder behind it. Only the sound of chewing continued to come through.
And so, Ji Jue's suspended heart finally died completely.
"My new refrigerator!!!"
He screamed, his eyes nearly splitting with rage. The secondhand Noble Purple he had reluctantly spent over six hundred on that very afternoon, advertised as ninety-nine percent new, had been wrecked again.
"I'll fight you bastards to the death!"
Roaring, he swung the iron rod and charged into the kitchen.
Only then did he finally see the intruder in full. The eerie figure crouched beside the refrigerator, twisting its body and devouring food in great gulps, made him suck in a sharp breath despite himself.
That mud- and dust-covered pink shell, the Four-Hand Handlebars scavenged from a garbage station, the wheels from front to back that did not even share the same model, and the exhaust pipe Ji Jue had personally modified from discarded Sports Car parts...
It was the Little Lamb from his home, the one that had completely disappeared at Jici Hospital!!!
After being gone for so many days, however, it was completely unrecognizable. At least, the Little Lamb he knew would never crouch on his refrigerator like a living creature, open its shell to reveal a mechanical structure resembling a huge mouth, and gnaw on—
"My white-cut chicken!!!"
Ji Jue's tears finally threatened to spill.
Hearing Ji Jue's roar, the Little Lamb seemed to pause for a moment. Then it sped up frantically. It tossed its head back, swallowed the chicken bones into its "mouth," quickly left the refrigerator, and backed into a corner.
Its headlight flickered, as if spying on his expression.
Cautiously.
Thus, in the dead silence, it edged a little closer, then retreated a little, then edged closer again. Finally, it raised its handlebars and rubbed against Ji Jue. Its headlight switch clicked on and off and on again, while its horn beeped incessantly.
It began wildly shaking its mudguards.
Just like a dog wagging its tail.
"You... you..."
Ji Jue recalled Wen Wen's solemn warning from half a month ago. Suddenly, darkness swam before his eyes. He felt that fate was like a boomerang, and after half a month, it had finally smashed into his face.
Now, he finally understood where the Dragon Blood left at the scene had gone...
"Beep—!!!"
The Little Lamb seemed to have misunderstood something. Its entire front wheel suddenly lifted, and it sprawled onto Ji Jue, writhing excitedly. Beneath its plastic shell, its huge mouth split open, and a rubber-like tongue slick with motor oil licked his face.
Ji Jue lay down on his back expressionlessly and stared at the sky.
He was tired. Let it all be destroyed.
.
.
"There's still some time before Destruction."
Beneath that same sky, an old woman sat on a stone in a Wilderness camp and gazed at the ruins in the distance. "Although it isn't far off, once we get through this stretch, we should at least be able to delay it for another ten-odd years."
The voice on the phone paused briefly before continuing its report.
"All right, I understand."
The old woman nodded. "We can't leave Quancheng just yet, so I'll have to trouble everyone with the matters in Yacheng. The Hai Zhou Garrison Commander won't waste manpower for this long either. There should be results soon."
After a final exchange of greetings, the call ended.
In the silence, only the night wind shrieked mournfully.
From the ruined city in the distance came wails like those from hell. Strands of black mist rose into the sky and vanished into the darkness.
She acted as though she heard nothing, merely lowering her eyes in contemplation.
Blood Thirst Syndrome, the grotto beneath Quancheng, the Westward Expansion Plan, those people from the Holy Land, Chief of All Spirits, the Restoration Unification Society, and the endless Solomons constantly stirring up trouble behind the scenes... not to mention Nirvana, lurking in the shadows!
Myriad-Change Worm Lawrence had been confirmed dead.
The Dragon Offering Society had yet to take any concrete action, but it was unlikely they would let the matter go.
As for that child Wen Wen, the speed at which she had emerged was unexpectedly fast. However, given her personality, once she established a foothold, would she really "turn over a new leaf" and become a good little girl?
The future chaos could practically be seen already.
A smile curled at the corners of her lips.
She seemed to be looking forward to it.
But when she raised her head to gaze into the night, the smile gradually vanished, leaving only solemnity.
"What exactly are you people thinking?"
She stared into the empty night sky and asked softly, "Isn't this world chaotic enough already?"
No one answered.
The night remained silent. The stars shone like the eyes of gods, distant and cold, never swayed by the cries and turmoil upon the earth.
She withdrew her gaze.
There was still a mountain of unprocessed work in her inbox. Central City had sent another inquiry. It wasn't just Central City—people from more than a dozen major cities across the Federation, and even the Empire... practically everyone she knew was probing for information in roundabout ways, asking about what had happened some time ago.
So much time had passed, yet they still showed no sign of stopping.
Compared with that grand and earth-shaking Mandate of Heaven Ceremony, the hidden danger beneath Quancheng seemed to have become nothing but an insignificant fart.
Self-awakened Chosen Ones had always been hot commodities. What was more, this was a terrifying scale unprecedented not only across all of Yacheng, but across Haizhou and even most of the Federation...
The Twelve Supreme Goodnesses—nine had descended!
Even one of them would be enough to establish the Celestial Foundation. With nine descending together, how astonishing were the variables poured into this?
"After seventeen years, a genuine Mandate of Heaven Summoning."
She sighed softly and turned toward the camp.
The summer-night wind blew, gradually turning cold. After some time, once two or three heavy rains had passed, the chill would probably begin to rise. The leaves would yellow, then fall with the wind.
Another troubled autumn.
Before you continue