Act.18 [Metal Will Never Die]
Foreword:
We must fight to the very last moment.
[--Jiang Xueming]
[Part 1: Twenty-Five Vertebrae]
"What on earth is this thing!?"
Beneath the winding, twisting steel umbilical cord—
--Jason Megan stumbled into a new, unfamiliar city.
After navigating the rugged road, the group immediately saw a massive engineering elevator through the T-shaped connecting passageway.
It goes up on one side and down on the other, and it can continue to move forward, continuing towards an even deeper and darker straight road.
Three elevators were suspended from the access bridge of the driveway, and the red and green traffic lights were spotless. All signs indicated that this ancient city still had basic electricity, and that it was still alive even after so many years.
"What exactly is it?"
Jason covered his mouth and nose, his eyes filled with curiosity, but his expression was one of terror.
His extraordinary Inspiration nearly drove him to the brink of madness, leaving him as powerless and helpless as an insect glimpsing a human's rubber wheel. Even without wearing Lapis Lazuli, he could still sense this city of fire, its life rhythm, and its steel heartbeat from the thalamus in his brain.
If Jason were to describe it, this is like the spine of [Fireman Surtr].
Soviet engineers transformed it into its present form; from this transportation station, one can ascend directly to the ancient skeleton's load-bearing beams and reach the surface of the Fire Man's body.
Look up.
Peering out from the large elevator in the transportation station, one can see hundreds of reinforcing meshes, each over a hundred meters wide, intertwined and twisted together like dreamcatchers, weaving a thick cocoon for the Fireman's deep sleep.
These steel beams and iron cables are divided into twenty-five muscle joints, nailed to this huge keel spine. The torso of the fire people supports the main ground engineering of RSH. In the dark abyss of the underground cave, the joint beams connected to the spine nodes still retain the orange light source of the safety fog lights.
"What exactly is going on?"
Jason's eyes were unfocused and vacant, as if he were observing a mysterious creation invisible to the naked eye, only detectable by Inspiration.
"What the hell is that?"
This is a colossal object that cannot be described in just a few words.
At the farthest points of the southwest, northwest, southeast, and northeast corners, sixteen highways were built on the main framework at each of the four corners, but they were not for vehicles.
--Looking at the load-bearing and shock-absorbing devices and semi-circular pipe surfaces on the road surface, it seems more like a rapid response channel built for the fire elemental's subordinates, like a series of huge main blood vessels.
Miniature experimental models in materialism, such as the Big Frog -like engineering mechs, can also move quickly along this passage using magnetically attached legs.
Apart from Jason, no one could see the city beyond the elevator shaft. Ibrahimovic lay in front of the elevator's metal mesh, peering out through the holes in the metal plate, and suddenly began to weep bitterly.
"Davari!"
This Slavic man called out to his fellow travelers.
"It's a flag! It's a banner!"
People lined up in three rows and surged into the elevator.
--Under the influence of this strange and intense spiritual pressure, it would be difficult for a normal person to remain conscious. The leader had only shouted this once, and before Meteor could even think, his body was already pressed against the iron bars.
In the abyss, the dense steel mesh and supporting pillars, illuminated by orange fog lights, revealed the shapes of a sickle and a hammer. The pitch-black curtain transformed these golden-orange patterns into a black flag—just like Surter, trapped in Niflheim, never to see the light of day again, emitting slow, drawn-out breaths.
It smells like rust.
It smells like steel.
It smells like fire.
It tastes like blood.
The observation tower on the northwest side serves as a landmark, and further behind it, a bright red arm stretches straight to the sky.
Like waking from a long dream, amidst William's shouts, the Fireman's dead body, still in armor, moved slightly, breaking through the steel beams and chains, trying to burst out of the thick cocoon.
Half of its arm was still deeply embedded in the dark mud, while its forearm, which was over seventy meters tall, had already reached the surface.
Its shoulders, composed of thirty-two complex and enormous transmission gear shafts and ball joints, have been removed from the body and are now located three kilometers away from the torso and spine, serving as the ground-level foundation for the arsenal's nuclear power plant.
Yibu murmured, wiping away the tears on his face.
"Materialism."
The grenadier in the unit immediately exclaimed, "Materialism!"
The meteor didn't know what the word meant; he didn't even understand what the destination was or what it all meant.
"Materialism."
Like a voice-activated combination lock for a safe, the elevator started operating as Yibu uttered materialistic terms.
People haven't had time to look after each other, inform each other, or say or do anything.
Even the simplest telescope observation post hadn't been set up yet. The three groups of people split up in the elevator, heading towards the three machine stations in Burning Man's Power City.
Only Jason was stunned by this magnificent power, frozen in front of the spindle-shaped passageway of the center console.
The elevator was incredibly powerful, seemingly not designed for humans at all. Its ascent and descent speeds were like riding a drop tower. Jason's companions were thrown around in the stairwell, their cries of pain and shouts waking them up.
He ran to the well and looked down, his expression grave. "Oh no, they don't have a radio! What if they get lost in this city, or encounter danger?"
"There's no danger anymore, Jason Megan!" Wendy's cool tone and warm expression roused the Dacian man. "When you arrived here, there was no danger."
Jason was still hunched over the center console, trying to figure out what the symbols on the controls, written in coded Russian during the Cold War, meant so he could get his crew back. Hearing the waiter's riddle, he suddenly turned and asked, "What does it mean?"
"There are many people stronger than you, and countless VIPs with a stronger will than you." Wendy pulled Jason's hand and continued walking towards the spine passage of the central agency. "Why did the BOSS send you here? Why does Ming De trust you so much? It believes you can definitely achieve something on the border of Niflheim."
Jason had a rough idea about the BOSS's manpower deployment and schedule, but he wasn't sure. "The spiritual pressure environment here is very special. I can see things that ordinary passengers or VIPs can't see. So..."
"It's not that simple, Iason!" Wendy had already led her employer to the power unit in the first coccyx of the Fireman.
Inside this sealed steel chamber, the bone marrow had been completely removed, and steel beams and reinforcing ribs supported the fossil-like skeleton, its nerve center encased in solid armor.
At the junction of the spine, there remained a small, black, mud-like bead, about the size of a human head.
--This mud bead seemed to be in a weightless environment, floating quietly, enveloped by layers of graphite restraints, and one could vaguely see the astonishing electrical arcs of bio-energy erupting within it.
"This is Surter's cerebrospinal fluid." Wendy pointed to the mud beads at the junction of the spine. "It has been corroded by the Immortal Lune and can never return to the Fireman's body—but the Soviets didn't use thermonuclear reactions to destroy these elements."
The intense bioelectricity surging from the cerebrospinal fluid was almost like visible thunder, repeatedly striking the graphite of the isolation device. The current, like an immortal White Snake, licked the restraint layer again and again.
"If this cerebrospinal fluid returns to the Fireman's spine, it will become a [[Outlaw]]—a gigantic [[Outlaw]], just like his brothers, a walking corpse." Wendy pulled out Jason's Lapis Lazuli. "This behemoth's life form is very ancient, like the Kunming Fish's twenty-five segments; it only has twenty-five vertebrae. So..."
"Can I control it?" Jason had already learned to answer quickly.
During his journey, he had already seen many strange and wonderful underground creatures.
His pyroxene saved him countless times, and the properties of Lapis Lazuli were perfect for dealing with intense and raging flames.
Wendy Mills stated frankly, "I don't know, I'm not sure -- I'm not sure."
Jason Megan looked at her amulet, which swayed and shone with a golden light in the waiter's hand.
"Give it a try! How will you know if you don't try?!"
At the far end of the spacious room of [S25], a strong azure light burst forth.
Jason shouted the name of Soul Might--
"Windmill! Shatter my life-saving charm!"
The Lapis Lazuli bracelet was shattered into scattered beads by the force of the punch, which also accidentally created a round hole in the graphite restraint device.
The smooth blue stone fell into the pitch-black mud ball, and in that instant, Jason's pupils dilated, and everything went dark.
The remaining blue stone was still connected to his central nervous system, and a mountain-like spiritual pressure surged from the [S25] sarcomere spine toward his brain.
Almost instantly, he lost all consciousness, as if his five senses had been taken away and he was being consumed by the consciousness of the Immortal Lune and the Fireman.
"Iason —you share a name with the hero of Greek mythology, you have always been searching for the Golden Fleece in your life, wanting not only the cold, cunning blue, but also the noble, proud gold, and this is your stone."
Wendy stroked her employer's cheek.
"Aboard the Argo, we would cross the Black Sea to Colchis, where we would adventure with Hercules and Meleager, the son of the god of the hunt. In mythology, the hero abandoned his wife and children for the wool, leaving Medea behind, and his two sons were poisoned by their mother—ultimately Iason received his retribution, being crushed to death by a heavy log on the Argo."
"But your ending shouldn't be like this. Ming De sent you here to cure your mental illness, because there is no Golden Fleece in this world—you are not Iason, you are Jason Megan."
"Katusha shouldn't be Medea you abandoned on the road—you shouldn't be looking at her face while calling my name."
Starting with Wendy Mills' fingers, her skin cracked and peeled away, revealing the true form of Soul Might's psionic energy.
Jason's spirit dissipated like smoke, and the withered, rotten fossilized branches turned to dust, returning to Wendy's body and becoming Wendy hands.
It was a fluid-shaped humanoid body resembling cobalt blue glass. She had shiny blonde hair, like thousands of fiber optic connectors emitting colorful electrical signals. Her features were exactly the same as Wendy's, except that she had lost her human skin color and eye color.
Wendy called softly, "Wake up, wake up, wake up."
"Hah!--" Jason took a deep breath, and the black mud in his eyes quickly dissipated. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, trying to break free from the intoxicating illusion.
The brief conversation he had with the fire-man Surter just now nearly shattered his mental world.
"I saw it, I saw it." Jason tugged at Soul Might's arm, wanting to say something more.
"There's no time." Wendy patted Jason on the back. "Go to [S24] and put in your talisman, then [S23], and so on, until [S1]—I know you have a lot to say, and you can write all of that in your journal, but right now, he's not the Fire Giant, he's Materialism, and only he can help you defeat the monsters outside."
Jason nodded vigorously, barely having time to process the excess information in his brain. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose, just as Jiang Xueming had told A Xing at the beginning of the journey.
When a massive influx of information suddenly floods the cerebral cortex, intracranial pressure and blood pressure surge accordingly. The rupture of capillaries in the nasopharynx is commonplace. For Jason, this blood is nothing, but the throbbing pain in his brain is like someone is hammering a nail into his skull.
He could barely stand upright, and limped forward following Hunwei's guidance.
"Am I going to die? Wendy, am I going to die?"
"I don't know, you'll have to ask yourself."
"I can't feel my right hand. There's something wrong with my cerebellum— the Lapis Lazuli fell into the Fireman's cerebrospinal fluid, like a part of his essence is stuck there forever. It's devouring me, it's eating me."
"No, Jason." Wendy opened her employer's backpack and pulled out the Universal Elixir: "What you saw is amazing. It was once believed in, supported, and looked up to by 280 million people on this earth. It was a cause and ideal that they held onto for a lifetime."
"What? What? What are you talking about?" Jason stammered, the pain in his head not improving despite the injection of the Universal Elixir into his neck. "What are you talking about? You're confusing me."
Wendy helped her employer continue walking, "A single idea can unleash astonishing productivity in this country, uniting people and motivating them to contribute their essence. The number of scientists and artists, the technological advancements and leaps in civilization that emerged during the decades of the Cold War almost surpassed the total number of all the history on this land."
Jason stood before the [S24] mechanism, his right leg numb, as if it had been taken away by the Fireman's cerebrospinal fluid, and would never be able to move again.
"This is the materialism they created. The fire elemental won't hurt you. It's trying to communicate with you, to connect with you. It's also suffering from the torment of the Immortal Lune. Even if it turns into a lump of steel, it will leave its soul behind. Do you remember the essence of the [soul] in the Triad?" Wendy took out the second Lapis Lazuli and reviewed Hohnheim's Triad theory with Jason on the Abyss Special Train.
"One is only considered dead when their body is buried in the ground."
"A spirit dies only when no one sings its praises or mentions it."
"All creation decays, the books left behind are forgotten, and only then does the soul die."
When Jason inserted the second Lapis Lazuli into his spinal cord, he fell into a blackout again, his steely heartbeat like a great bell, almost knocking his soul out of his body.
The chaotic memories from the ancient past nearly robbed him of his entire personality, and the domineering psychic tide threatened to sweep him into a bottomless black ocean.
He felt himself sinking into the sea, flailing his arms wildly, letting the bitter, coarse sand fill his senses. The chaotic images and sounds assaulted his five senses until a smooth, azure arm pulled him back to the human world.
This time, he only briefly explored the profound darkness before regaining his senses in just one second.
After a violent bout of vomiting and dizziness, he heard the sound of iron casting.
The two spines seemed to be washed by cerebrospinal fluid, and began to regain their vitality.
The graphite restraint device collapsed and exploded in an instant. A huge current surged from the blue flames, almost dragging the entire power unit room sideways. The two ganglia seemed to have been washed by Universal Elixir —with a "bang," they merged into one under the pull of lightning.
Jason tensed up. His arms and legs, which had been out of control, regained sensation under the impact of the soul-stirring sound. The sweat that welled up on his skin was like wine—evaporating spiky flames.
My hand
He stared incredulously at his arm, the bluish-green flames flickering, and slightly clenched his fist—
--Only muffled notes could be heard from several kilometers away, as if an earthquake had occurred in the distance.
[Part ② Tea Ceremony Performance]
"Don't assume your luck will always be on your side, Jiang Xueming!"
Leonardo's spirit wriggled at the fingertips of materialism, gradually transforming from a mass of blood and grime back into a bat shape.
Little Li's ghost wouldn't leave him alone. He slid down the mecha's giant arm from his fingertips all the way down, and before his wings could even grow back, he couldn't wait to crush the hateful enemy in front of him.
"I don't know where this thing came from! It can't help you forever! I hate it so much! God! Why do you always protect this bastard!"
--Then a "BIAJI" sound was heard.
Materialism followed Jason Megan's hand, making a fist gesture as well.
It was like squeezing a mosquito; the massive steel knuckles burst forth with scalding sparks.
When the armored figure clenched its fist, the pads of its fingers generated intense wind pressure, and Leonardo had no time to react before being pulled into his palm by the powerful vortex.
He had no chance of resurrection. The immense energy generated by the collision of his fingers and palm transformed into a scorching flame, its temperature approaching a thousand degrees, capable of shattering any vengeful spirit from the realm of the dead.
Jiang Xueming took off running.
He sprinted towards the security post at the south gate of the arsenal, determined to bring Xiao Qi's soul back!
After all, this thing looks too sinister; who knows what this arm might do?
When he rushed into the front courtyard of the South Wing, through the dilapidated artificial landscape trees in the central courtyard, and arrived at the warehouse, he finally saw Xiao Qi's spirit lying dying in a corner of the warehouse, in front of the gate of the arsenal's broadcasting station.
There seemed to have been a fierce battle inside the room, a fight between spirits.
The steel beams and crane boom on all three levels suffered a moderate impact.
--On the other side, near the broken window by the mudflats of the sea, 9527's inner demon, carrying a heavy rapier, walked step by step toward his prey.
Mary Stuart is back from hell.
She gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and changed her face to resemble Bai Ziqing.
The shrapnel bombardment he suffered before his death, and the burning bullet marks resembling dragon's breath, all disappeared.
She tilted her head, as if sensing a familiar spiritual pressure, and then turned to look at Jiang Xueming.
"I'll give you one more chance— Jiang Xueming, who do you think is more like your bride? Is it the hideous her? Or the beautiful me?"
Where she pointed her sword, Xiao Qi's spirit body had been pierced with more than a dozen shocking holes. The spirit body did not bleed, but flesh and blood could be seen writhing inside the terrifying holes, which were about the thickness of a finger.
At that moment-
--Mary Stuart felt a burning rage. She could hardly believe that this fury came from her beloved, from the master of the Steel Heart.
"You're angry?! You actually got so angry over this bitch?!"
"Employer!" Bai Ziqing shouted, "Don't come any closer! You're no match for her! She was a tormenting devil when she was alive, and she's even more troublesome now that she's dead!"
Before he could finish speaking, Xue Ming smashed the shelf into pieces of metal with his fists.
Mary laughed loudly upon seeing this, "Looks like you're really angry! To resort to such childish venting! What's the point of smashing those shelves? You could blast me to smithereens and still not kill me—I'm the most powerful devil in your hearts!"
Bai Ziqing struggled to get up and continue fighting, but her spirit body's arms were riddled with holes, making even the most basic fist-clenching movement difficult.
"Employer, don't panic! Don't go near her! I know you're anxious! But just hold on a little longer! Just a few more minutes! Maybe the Lord of Cinder's soul power attack will fail!"
"--Yes! Just a few more minutes." Mary tapped her bone rapier with her knuckles, the sound crisp and melodious, accompanied by her mocking tone. "You can return to the warm human world again, but you little wretch, I left my essence, my soul essence, in your spirit."
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Whoa whoa whoa!" 9527 stared wide-eyed and let out a surprised cry. She saw that in the wound of the spirit, in the energy shell of what was still a normal human, there were countless dark red bloodstains writhing in the flesh. They were like the curse of the Blessed Holy Blood, wanting to use her body to return to the human world.
"I made so many holes in your spirit! But I didn't want to kill you directly, nor did I pierce your skull and shatter your soul! You don't think this is out of pity, do you? You don't naively believe it's just my competitive and violent desires at work, do you?" Mary squinted, revealing her Bai Qingqing face, and grinned. "Perhaps if I send all my soul essence into your spirit, you might become another me!? Become me! Live on!"
The sudden sniper shot nearly shattered the blood bat's head.
"--And you! My sweetheart."
Mary's shattered head turned almost 180 degrees, transforming into an even thinner bat, its two round eyes staring intently at Xue Ming.
"You smashed the shelves to find the gun—did you think I didn't know? These tricks and deceptions won't fool me."
9527 lowered its head and kissed its wounds, trying to suck out the turbid essence from its spirit body, but the writhing blood was like bloodsucking leeches, climbing up its lips and teeth to its cheeks, immediately starting to create new pits—
"--Wow! Wow wow wow wow! Oh no, oh no!" Half of 9527's face was being eaten away by worms. She tried to pull the blood worms out of her cheeks, but the slippery worm bodies wouldn't listen to her fingers at all, and she couldn't grab them no matter what she did.
The gunfire hadn't stopped when Xue Ming emptied the ammunition in the two storage compartments on his left and just replaced the eighth magazine.
At this moment, Kalashnikov could not protect him.
The bullets bounced between the corrugated iron walls of the room. The scorching hot bullets did little to cause any damage, only forcing Mary back a few steps, preventing her from continuing to harm Xiao Qi's spirit.
"Your lover is about to become another me— Jiang Xueming, why aren't you saying anything? Have you always been so taciturn? This is the first time I've ever struck up a conversation with you." Mary's body coalesced and disintegrated, dodging bullets while moving closer to the flames of gunfire.
Xue Ming fought and retreated, but fired a shot at Xiao Qi.
Mary was overjoyed, her eyes softened, but she showed no sign of holding back with the heavy rapier in her hand.
"Oh! You've made your choice? You shot that bitch! Are you trying to curry favor with me?"
Xue Ming remained silent. As the last bullet left the chamber, the entire warehouse was filled with smoke.
In that instant, a burst of brilliant silver light exploded in his eyes—
--Mary's attacks were like rain, pouring down on his steely frame.
But the next second, Stuart's mistress's smile vanished.
This man seemed to have been waiting all along, waiting for her to come and die. Emptying the old gun's ammunition was like numbing the prey's nerves, creating the illusion of weakness and mental exhaustion. All of this was to cover up the fact that the crippled spirit without legs could not move at high speed.
The rapier formed from leg bones couldn't even last a single round against those steel fists! It was shattered into pieces!
The chaotic flurry of punches resembled a pile driver at high speed! The sonic booms as they struck the air seemed to have been built all for this moment—
--For that instant when the two are within arm's reach, unleashing all their energy!
Mary's head was almost smashed into a pulp. She never imagined that a vampire's transcendent body and soul would be as fragile as paper in front of this little guy's spirit.
The last time we met, he was only in his pupa form.
--This powerful punch, thrown by the demigod soul, was more devastating than any gun in his hand!
Mary was beaten until her bones were broken and her flesh was torn to shreds. The little bats that had split off from her body also couldn't escape the extremely precise and vicious punches, turning into thick blood that splashed onto Xiao Qi's face.
"Jiang Jiangxue Jiang Xueming." Mary still had half a mouth left to speak, her head draped over Xiao Qi's shoulder, her chin resting on the door of the arsenal radio station. "Foolish."
Her flesh and blood are still under the spiritual protection of Niflheim and are about to be restored.
"How foolish! You could beat me to a thousand pieces, or even ten thousand, and I could still come back to life. Besides, I'm already dead—and you actually want to kill a dead thing?"
Xiao Qi watched in horror as Mary's corpse gradually reassembled into her spirit body.
Mary's barely audible, incoherent words gradually became clearer. "I really don't understand why you'd send me to your bride. What are you trying to do? Isn't this perfect?"
Her skull took shape on Xiao Qi's neck, its mouth splitting open in a sinister grin.
"Is this a perfect way to replenish my vital energy? Are you really giving me such a generous gift? Is this our token of love?! Xue Ming! You're so thoughtful."
"Bang--"
Gunshots rang out.
The headlight shaft, which was already teetering on the brink of collapse, was broken off, and the sterilization and mold-removing lamps inside the room were powered on and started operating under the bombardment of the warhead.
Their beams, their angles corrected by the bullets, were steered by the chaotic trajectories of bouncing and reflecting off each bullet, pointing straight at Xiao Qi.
Thirty-two beams of intense light almost instantly burned away Mary Stuart's spirit body, along with the soul essence from Xiao Qi's injuries.
Xue Ming tossed the gun aside and wiped the oily-looking cold sweat from his forehead.
"This is the arsenal's armory."
He ran to Xiao Qi, who was stunned, and began to gather his lover's spirit, intending to pick her up and return her to her physical body.
"Before the AK102, Soviets used wood for gunstocks and handguards. Arms factories must have had UV lamps to disinfect and prevent mold on wood. I don't know if it works on vampire spirits, I can only try it."
"Fight to the very last moment! I learned that from 'How the Steel Was Tempered,' Qingqing! You did a great job! I love you!"
Before he could say another word...
"Waaaaah! Waaaaah! I'm so scared! I'm so afraid!"
Xiao Qi grabbed her employer's iron chin and started gnawing on it.
"I almost didn't recognize you, my goodness! What happened to you? Can my spirit form turn into a dump truck? We're not a good match, I can't possibly have a Cybertronian-style marriage with you!"
Xue Ming suddenly felt very powerless--
Before the two could exchange more than a few words, they were fed a few more candies.
A figure emerged from the far distance outside the window, from the direction of the beach.
The powerful yet familiar spiritual pressure nearly made Xue Ming and Xiao Qi's hair stand on end.
Everyone knows that person.
--That butterfly- Nun's habit.
That was Xue Ming's inner demon.
It's Bailu Plus—his female nickname.
Jiang Xueming grabbed Xiao Qi and ran. Having just seen off Mary, that fanatical female fan, he didn't want to think about where another fully armed top-tier bitch had come from.
"Run!"