Act.11 · Kiss a Fool

Foreword:

A person without loyalty and integrity cannot stand in the world.

[--Cheng Yi]

[Part 1: The Child of the Fireman]

On the cold bathhouse street, Meteor and William gazed at each other from a distance of more than ten meters.

They were like two honest and straightforward children, about to have a fair and just duel.

"Bu Liuxing, it's a pleasure to meet you." William clenched his fist, showing no intention of drawing his gun. "Just now, you neither attacked me while I was relieving myself, nor did you use the filthy sewage in the latrine to attack me—frankly, anyone would be terrified of such disgusting things. If you were a despicable and shameless opportunist, I don't even want to imagine what a miserable end I would have suffered."

William raised his fist in celebration, feeling fortunate to have escaped death.

"I'm so lucky! To have met an opponent like you! I'm so fortunate!"

Meteor laughed, his pearly white teeth gleaming inside his bulletproof helmet visor. His thick eyebrows and large eyes twitched with his laughter. "Don't be shy with me!"

William continued, "I'm here to arrest Soviets; you're not my target—"

"--Don't you want to fight me?" Meteor interrupted immediately, "I don't care who you're going to catch! William! What you're saying is too complicated! This freezing, godforsaken place is slowing my brain down!"

This put William in a difficult position; he didn't want to hurt this straightforward and naive young man.

Based on his age, he is 144 years old this year, which is similar to A Xing's age according to the growth cycle of the giant's descendants.

"Bu Liuxing, you are a Homo sapiens, while I am a giant. I think Homo sapiens are clever and cunning, and they are social animals. Why didn't you call your companions? Do you want to fight me one-on-one?"

William was so surprised he couldn't close his mouth. He looked at the excited and warlike Meteor. Although the kid was nearly two meters tall, in terms of arm span, weight, and elemental energy, A Xing was still Homo sapiens in William's eyes. Homo sapiens Homo sapiens giants had completely different ways of surviving and hunting.

A Homo sapiens actually tried to arm wrestle with a giant.

William didn't understand, he didn't understand at all.

"Give me something spicy, William!" Meteor was eager to try, putting on the wolf head mask, the Rose Shining Stone sparkling, but not yet at full power. "How many people have you eaten? How many have you killed? Tell me all the bad things you've done! Like you're showing off your war achievements, tell me all the bastardly and disgusting things you've done, and I'll beat you up! Then I'll become stronger!"

A Xing's idea was very simple: such a huge unit was simply the best training target.

Ming Ge is about to emerge from his cocoon and become a butterfly, but A Xing is still in the pupa stage and hasn't made any progress. He has a strong sense of crisis that is almost driving him crazy.

Although 3301 repeatedly told Meteor--

--You've done a great job.

--The process of a passenger's advancement and transformation at a train station is like this; it can't be rushed.

--Don't take Jiang Xueming's transformation efficiency as a reference value.

But if Meteor could listen to reason, he wouldn't be Bu Liuxing.

The Red Stone People undergoes its transformation through intense battles, making it the favorite host of the Madness Butterfly.

Their intense emotions after defeating a powerful foe can make their spirits even stronger. Red Stone People are common, but enemies willing to duel with Red Stone People are rare.

William was like a fresh and delicious ingredient; Meteor could sense incredibly powerful primal energy emanating from this giant's body.

This guy is over 330 centimeters tall, and his core strength should be close to two tons.

The exposed skin of his arms was covered with many scars, especially the horizontal scab on his nose, which looked like a claw mark left by Brown Bear.

He's a very good opponent!

She's a great teacher!

Just then, William covered his forehead, unsure of what to say.

He glanced at the multi-functional communication terminal. More than forty minutes had passed since he left the outpost to carry out his mission. If he wasted too much time here, Staff Officer Cliff would probably come and deduct his pay.

"Meteor."

William felt no fighting spirit whatsoever. Seeing A Xing rubbing his hands together, he thought it was as childish as a junior student eager to duel you and asking, "Who's in charge at our school?"

William said, "I have never eaten anyone, nor have I ever killed anyone."

Bu Liuxing rushed towards William in one stride, his outstretched fist stopping abruptly halfway through its trajectory.

He was completely stunned, and the Rose Shining Stone from the wolf-head mask went out. "Huh?"

William scratched his unkempt hair at his temples, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"In fact, I came here with the people of the Heaven's Ladder in search of my father's tomb. At first, I thought these hybrid giants were my twin brothers, but as time went on..."

He bent down, opened the photo album on the terminal, and held Meteor's chin, making Meteor look clearly.

"--My eyes and hair are treasures given to me by the Fire Giant [Surter], but these big brothers are either blond or black-haired, and their eye patterns are different from mine."

Meteor squinted, carefully examining the group photo of the Birch Tree Unit.

Apart from William, the eye markings on the other giant hybrid warriors were all very strange.

William was quite embarrassed, and even unsure of his own lineage and true identity.

"They all claim to be the child of the [Fireman]. It's making me wonder if my dad is really my dad. It's so confusing. Am I the fake one?"

Meteor scratched his head along with William, and after thinking for a long time, he finally said, "I didn't know who my biological father was to begin with. Maybe it's a good thing I don't know?"

William laughed loudly, "No! Absolutely not! That's why I came here."

"William." Meteor grabbed William's Molle strap, pulled the big man's head down, and whispered, "You really haven't eaten anyone?"

William's thick eyebrows furrowed, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

"I don't have that ability. To prevent infighting and cannibalism, Homo sapiens have prions in their brains and central nervous systems. Perhaps the individuals who receive the blood transfusion, along with the Lord of Cinder, can withstand the malevolent thoughts of these vengeful spirits—I don't like human flesh at all, and I don't have the ability to eat people."

William pulled two frozen, cracked watermelons out of his bag and put them in his mouth like he was eating apples.

"I like sweets, especially frozen ones."

After saying that, he stuffed another watermelon into Meteor's arms.

Meteor looked at the fruit, which was about the size of a head, and felt unsure how to put it in his mouth.

"William, can't we really have a fight?"

He spoke to William like a little kid who wouldn't stop in front of a toy store.

"This is a rare opportunity! You said you're going to capture Soviets? Brother Yibu is my good friend, are you going to capture him? What for?"

William immediately frowned. "Take him away and exchange him for money."

Meteor immediately said, "Are you short of money?"

William simply squatted down and sat with Meteor on the platform outside the bathhouse.

"Without money, I can't move an inch. I have to buy double tickets for buses, pay five times the price for food, and even when I stay in a hotel, I can only sleep on the carpet. If my snoring disturbs other guests, the owner will make me pay compensation."

Meteor pouted, "You kidnapped Brother Yibu, what will the people of Heaven's Ladder do to him?"

"They might eat him." William answered truthfully. "When Staff Officer Cliff ordered me to do similar things before, I would always ask whether to capture him alive or dead. If it was to capture him alive, I would steal or rob him, and the Lapis Lazuli Guards would send me to the detention center to be imprisoned—and when I was released, Staff Officer Cliff wouldn't blame me. He thought that we giants all had some problems with our brains, and that such accidents were normal."

William thought for a moment, then continued.

"If all you need is a corpse, that's even simpler. Just find an execution ground or cemetery, dig up a body, and mutilate it beyond recognition. Staff Officer Cliff knows my capabilities; I usually don't leave any intact corpses in my possession."

Meteor asked doubtfully, "Didn't he ever suspect you?"

William: "The other hybrid Titans all like to steal food. What they deliver to Staff Officer Cliff is either missing limbs or headless, so they can only be sent to the kitchen as military rations. I just need to do a little better than the others."

Speaking of this--

William, looking distressed, clutched the rune stone at his chest and muttered to himself.

"How am I supposed to find a scapegoat for your brother Yibu in this godforsaken place?"

Meteor suddenly realized. "You're just short of money, right?"

"Yes, I just need money." William was stunned.

Meteor immediately handed the HC card to William.

"William! There's so much money in here! It's Hui Stone Currency! I don't remember exactly how much, but there should be around 100,000! It's all yours! It's all yours!"

William's eyes widened like saucers.

For him, earning tens of thousands of Hui Stone Currency would mean working for Staff Officer Cliff for several years.

Are all the passengers on the Abyssal Railway this rich?

William never intended to work at the train station. Once he stepped into Ming De's territory, he would no longer be able to find his father's tomb and would no longer be a free man.

"Bu Liuxing! Are you really going to give me that much money?"

A Xing didn't care about these material possessions at all. "Take them, take them, take them! As long as you're willing to fight me! From what you're saying, you've run all that way, hanging out with a bunch of weird fake giants, working for ogres, all to find your father—my brother was also looking for his family before. I know your difficulties, and as a righteous person, I can't just sit idly by!"

"Thank you!" William extended his hand.

A Xing gave him a high five.

And so, Ah-Dai and Ah-Gua forged a lasting friendship.

"Shall we fight first?" William put down all the firearms he was carrying.

Meteor told William not to rush, "Wait! You need to find a way to provoke me first! Otherwise, I'm no match for you!"

Without the boost from the sapphire, Meteor's physical stats were no match for this giant.

He needs anger and passion, and he needs very strong mental energy to stimulate his physical body.

William turned on the rugged phone, but his large fingers couldn't handle such a delicate little device. He struggled for a long time before finally opening the chat app and talking to Meteor.

"I've watched a lot of TV dramas. Do they have to be like the villains in the stories, first mocking you, belittling you, verbally attacking you, and then letting out a few eerie cackling laughs? Wouldn't you be angry?"

Meteor was unmoved by this kind of plot and didn't care at all.

He needed to come up with a simple and direct way— A Xing had tried many methods to maintain his anger before, such as listening to all sorts of infuriating news or stories, but now he was somewhat numb to it.

This is a very dangerous sign. If the brilliance stone cannot be awakened, the meteor will probably have to go to the Spirit Elder to exchange it for another stone.

The two big guys looked down at the small phone again and again, and finally found something useful.

That's a provocative tactic in boxing; trying to kiss your opponent in the ring is the Ultimate Insult.

William's expression changed.

"Can't."

A Xing was eager to try. "Shall we give it a shot?"

William: "No, I can't. I haven't met my destined giantess yet. I can't give you my kiss."

A Xing threatened fiercely, "I've given you all my money! A person without integrity cannot stand in this world!"

William gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and kissed A Xing on the cheek.

Are you angry?

Meteor was stunned for a moment, then a strange anger surged up inside her.

"Yes, yes, yes."

He put on the wolf head mask, and a spirit emerged from his palm, giving William a thumbs-up.

"It can do it! It really can do it! Brother William! I feel incredibly excited! My energy is surging!"

At that very moment--

--Right now.

William told A Xing not to act yet, as he sensed an even more terrifying and cruel spiritual pressure coming from the armory gate not far away.

It comes from the descendants of a calamity beast, making it very special.

When Meteor turned around, she saw that 3301's mouth was extremely wide open and his eyes were glazed over.

The half-wolf girl's expression was priceless, and Teacher Xia Xia raised her hand to shut her junior's mouth.

Xia Xia whispered to San San, "Your employer seems to be bewitched by the enemy."

330 pulled the gun out of his pocket and cocked it in one smooth motion.

A Xing and William scrambled into the men's restroom in a panic, only to hear the machine gun fire and the explosions of bullets, like popcorn popping. The openwork murals in the bathhouse were smashed to pieces, and watermelons left in front of the porch were blasted apart and scattered by bullets.

You can see these two big guys clinging to the narrow corridor of the cesspool, hiding next to the sturdy steel beams and pillars, just one step away from falling into the cesspool and drowning.

William lowered his head and said to Meteor, "This method won't work; your wife has a much stronger temper than you."

The meteor looked up and shouted to William.

"Don't make a sound! One more step and you're in hell!"

[Part ② - The Grand Funeral Hall]

Half an hour passed.

Jason and his group finally figured out the composition of this giant hybrid warrior.

--Bu Liuxing's ears grew bigger, and there were several lipstick marks on his face.

It is a territorial mark left by Unit 3301.

A Xing was like a robust macaque, whose swollen, protruding ears were pulled out by 3301, leaving him looking at the waitress with a pitiful expression.

The half-wolf girl first used her human form to apply the same lipstick shade as the popular "bad woman" trend on social media, and then smacked A Xing on both cheeks.

Then it switched to half-wolf form--

"--This is good, this is good." A Xing's eyes lit up.

Before he could finish speaking, 3301 pressed A Xing's head down and left a wolf-like kiss mark on his forehead.

Teacher Xia Xia watched from the side, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as she tried to chuckle, then popped a candy into her mouth.

The group hurried toward the Monument to the People's Heroes. Jason and Yibu were very worried about the new giant mercenary. After all, just an hour ago, this seemingly innocent giant was a soldier on the Heaven's Ladder.

Upon arriving at the Monument to the People's Heroes, the patrolling soldiers who were collecting the bodies of the frogman troops remained at the site. When they saw the giant Birch Tree approaching, they all saluted and made way.

There were only eight of them.

William shouted, "Line up!"

The ogres obeyed obediently, as if they had heard a direct order from Chief of Cliff.

William was Cliff's most favored and beloved tool. Such a loyal giant warrior was an example of the Heaven's Ladder.

The soldiers stood ramrod straight, awaiting inspection.

Then what happened?

History always repeats itself in surprising ways.

There were seven more twisted corpses on the ground, and one more that was half-dead.

Each frogman squad was equipped with a heavily armored assault soldier, and this person survived to the end.

Even in his dying moments, the soldier continued to curse William.

"You traitor! What kind of magic has bewitched you!? Have you stopped believing in the sun?"

William lifted the 200-pound giant and twisted him gently, as easily as unscrewing a Coke bottle cap; the enemy's neck made a cracking sound.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time! If you really want to know why..."

William and A Xing smiled broadly, gave each other a Thumb -up, and were about to explain the whole story to the corpse.

"He gave so much!"

Jason covered his forehead.

Like Jason, Yibu covered his forehead.

The two finally overcame their distrust.

They simply couldn't believe that such a reinforcement was someone Meteor had picked up while using the toilet, tricked into coming with money and a kissing ritual. It felt like a farce, very fantastical and unreal.

Following the stone platform of the Monument to the People's Heroes, Brother Yibu found an organ relief. He then took out his pen and pressed the notes of "Katusha" on the trapdoor mechanism of the relief.

The code is simple: when Yibu was young, many children who loved learning and art would run into the shrine of the Monument to the People's Heroes to pay homage to the martyrs.

Aside from the City Hall, this is the most sacred place in the entire RSH. You must not make loud noises here, nor approach the shrines or touch the spirit tablets.

If Jason is right, the entrance to the underground city is likely here. In addition to the worship ceremonies, the governor and leaders of various departments have to clean the dust off the spirits of the fallen heroes. These dignitaries enter the shrine every week.

The accordion music stopped. The large statue in the central square gradually sank down, making way for a wide road, about two lanes wide. The entrance to this underground passage was more than four meters high, almost wide enough for a freight truck to pass through.

The orange safety lights on both sides lit up, illuminating the smooth road leading to the mourning hall in turn.

Without stairs or handrails, this road is like a signpost leading to the underground parking garage in the community, with only speed bumps and lights and speed limit signs.

William had never seen Soviets industrial facilities before, and muttered, "Amazing."

People walked in silently, descending the steep slope for about sixty meters and two hundred meters. They could see political propaganda posters and children's scribbles on both sides of the road.

Yibu found the reset button for the trapdoor mechanism among the dense graffiti and closed the door.

Further ahead, you'll see a triangular crystal platform, about eight meters high, standing at the end of the tunnel.

Inside this transparent crystal pedestal lies a ton of ashes, whether from the surface or underground, whether from illness or war, whether railroad workers or successive rulers of the RSH, all will eventually return to this enormous white crystal.

There are inscriptions in both Chinese and Russian in front of the shrine.

"I once existed on Earth; this is the only thing you should remember."