Operator #①⑨ · [Is It Real? · It's Real?]

Foreword:

It was right there, completely still.

[--Fox Man]

Sixty-Three followed the quasi-king forward, bringing Xue Ming with him, until they arrived at the foot of the Flesh and Blood Tower.

At that moment-

--Victor, with his keen Inspiration, had a strong sense of déjà vu!

"The phenomenon of spacetime disturbance has reappeared! FE204863! Have you found the right path?"

Sixty-Three remained silent. The wishing well required the Taowu to walk forty-eight steps before the bone-setting ceremony could begin.

Sixty-Three has lost count of how many times he has walked those forty-eight steps.

The BOSS weakly cried out, "Concentrate! Send Mingde's remains into its body. Don't worry about anything else. Whatever Sixty-Three does, you must cooperate fully."

At that very moment--

--Sixty-Three's eyes changed frequently, from surprise to suspicion, and then he began to feel relieved.

Without the help of chocolate milk, no one knows what the ruler of this spacetime is planning.

How many times did he actually try to Regret Pill?

How many times did he try?

Faced with endless possibilities, which ending did he ultimately choose?

The spacetime disturbance continued, and Sixty-Three's complexion worsened. His soul's time outside his body should have reached its limit. Then, his complexion became rosy, as if he had rested during the [Still Wind Point] break. Then he began to try again and again.

In this terrifying and eerie spiritual pressure environment, no one knows what will happen; they can only hope for the favor of the goddess of fate.

What the Sixty-Three Institute does is very simple--

He pushed Xue Ming to the front of the line, while shoving White Stone's train conductor Hartman, telling the conductor to stay by the BOSS's side and use the power of the Radiant Stone to help Lingweng and protect the BOSS's frail body.

"Don't open your eyes. Pay attention to the stride of your right leg. You're a standard right-handed person. When you walk forward, aim at your teacher and stand to his side and slightly behind. Don't ask why; I don't have time to explain."

Immediately afterwards, Sixty-Three stepped forward, pulled aside the quasi-king of Huangshi District, and took away Mingde's original remains. The sharp, prismatic bone cut a wound in his palm, and blood immediately gushed out.

"Let's go, let's go back."

Before Ouyang Yan could figure out what was going on, the BOSS immediately told him to obey.

Sixty-Three then roared, "Victor! Hell Highway!"

Teacher Victor: "I'm listening."

Sixty-Three found the pen on Xue Ming's body and threw it at Taowu's flesh, creating a bloody hole.

"Let your soul power set the bone, right here."

Victor: "All of them? The four steel maces and the Iron Knight's Staff? All of them?"

"All of them." Sixty-Three pushed Xue Ming forward again, until he was only an arm's length away from the Taowu's flesh and blood. "Hit it! Xue Ming! Don't shout out your Soul Might, just use your left fist."

Teacher Victor's soul power began to act, and when Mingde's remains pierced into Taowu's body, a sudden change occurred!

A clump of foul pus and blood erupted from the bullseye marked by the pen, within which newly sprouted flesh gripped the [Hell Highway] tightly!

Victor was shocked. "Sixty-Three?"

"You are the Red Stone People that the Madness Butterfly loves most. If you don't use Soul Power to set your bones, you will surely die." Sixty-Three didn't have time to explain too many details, "Trust me! Trust me! Trust me!"

Teacher Victor had no time to attend to anything else, as he was focused on dealing with these thick fleshy buds that pierced into the spirit of [Hell Highway], spreading their barbs as they tried to drag the tender spirit into the Taowu's body.

"Xue Ming! Give me a punch!" Sixty-Three immediately grabbed Xue Ming's arm and delivered a powerful punch to the Taowu's sturdy, thick skin.

Xue Ming felt his arm sink deep into the fleshy ball, then bounce back quickly. With the special effect of the [Fragrant Dream] soul power, the Taowu's weeping seemed to weaken considerably at that moment, and he immediately followed up with a second punch.

"Remember this rhythm, each punch harder than the last, and hit the same spot." Sixty-Three took the short sword from Xue Ming's spirit robe. "This spot happens to be the gap between two insect nests, take it slow."

Then the demon king fell silent, because conveying instructions through language was far too inefficient—perhaps he had failed countless times in previous reincarnations, and finally decided to do it himself.

He drove away the weak-willed Ouyang Yan and directly participated in the bone-setting ceremony. Only when the Unworthy Work and the Iron Knight were completely covered by granulation tissue and the newly formed bone completely enveloped them did Sixty-Three continue his actions.

He left Xue Ming's side, grabbed the dagger, and charged towards Professor Lupin of the Magic Academy. His powerful limbs unleashed astonishing energy, and almost instantly—as if dancing with the old professor—he hurled six Magic Wand into Taowu's body.

For the Taowu, assembling the scattered skeletal parts is a piece of cake; the main focus is on the last two bones.

Wen Bucai waited for a long time, and finally saw Sixty-Three approaching him.

He had thought that their cooperation would be more amicable, but the knife that came rushing towards him was meant to kill him!

Instinct drove Wen Bucai to raise his [Act on Behalf of Heaven] sword to block the blow. Sixty-Three's short sword snapped in two instantly. He then swiftly grabbed the gleaming golden ruler and slammed it into the Taowu.

--When it entered the Taowu's body, a huge "flesh lotus" almost exploded on the skin of this strange monster, as if to celebrate the return of the severed limb. Thick blood plasma and nerve ganglia suddenly surged up and attacked, trying to swallow Sixty-Three Wen Bucai into its body!

"Ada da da da da da!!!--" The Drunkard roared! Before Wen Bucai could even react, Hunwei had already used his bullet-like fists to blast the oncoming monster's joints into even finer powder.

Sixty-Three, however, was prepared. [Regret Pill] was hiding under Wen Bucai's armpit, like a guardian in the shadows. Suddenly, it stepped forward and launched a joint attack with [Drunken Madman]. In just a fraction of a second, it subdued the Taowu and completely inserted the bone into its body.

Wen Bucai, would also like to say thank you, "Brother! You are so talented."

Sixty-Three had already slipped away, having no time to exchange pleasantries with Mr. Wen Bucai.

He moved incredibly fast through the blood and gore, swiftly leaving two-finger-deep, one-foot-long gashes across the Taowu's flesh with the half-blade still attached, like artificially opened pressure relief valves, from which the blood plasma and tissue fluid accumulated in the White Lady's insect nest gushed out.

More and more filth covered his body until his face was covered in pinkish fleshy pulp and his eyes were filled with bright red, scalding blood.

Upon seeing this, Mr. Victor immediately shouted, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Sixty-Three did not reply; he did not say another word.

At this moment, an intensely cold loneliness enveloped him.

Just like before, the [Regret Pill] brought him not only victory, not only [inevitability], but also everything that was left unsaid.

Going back in time and offering too many explanations to these people is pointless. Xue Ming is the same way; he does a lot but says very little.

To explain to Ouyang Yan why he took his remains, sixteen seconds would be deducted from the time allotted. This sixteen-second chain reaction would affect the final medicine retrieval process, causing irreversible damage to Ming De's spiritual essence.

To explain to Wen Bucai why he directly used a knife to guide the movement of his the Unworthy Work, the time would be reduced by twenty-two seconds. This primitive man had difficulty understanding the structure of the Taowu's muscle group, and everything had to be done directly.

It's important to explain to Professor Lupin why the six Magic Wand were struck on Taowu's right arm, because Sixty-Three spent over three hundred attempts to finally find the most suitable implantation area for these components.

The same applies at this very moment.

He didn't want to explain why he needed to perform a pressure relief operation on the Taowu's spinal cord worm nest.

If it doesn't do that, at the moment the last bone pierces the beast's body, it will release terrifying spiritual pressure and, like a hedgehog, use the powerful regenerative abilities provided by White Lady to swallow everyone whole.

Now that White Lady has lost the nourishment from the liquid blood and flesh essence, they have become weak and must be quickly removed from Taowu's body, otherwise the raw materials for these Universal Elixir will soon die during the extraction process.

With only one last bone remaining, everything felt unfamiliar.

What will happen?

Sixty-Three didn't know that this was the first time he had successfully reached this point.

If anything seems amiss, he'll reverse time and try again.

Based on past experience, the Taowu has thirteen thoracic vertebrae, with the nerve centers between the twelfth and thirteenth vertebrae being the most vulnerable. Delivering the last bone at this point would be the safest option. Its body would inevitably try everything to reposition its limbs, causing drastic changes to its entire blood and flesh. In the instant the muscles intertwined and the acupoints shifted, the hypnotic agent left by Xue Ming's [Fragrant Dream] would flow to every brain cell through this stress response.

There was a "plop--" sound.

Sixty-Three placed the original remains in his hands into the intended joint.

Immediately afterwards, the entire body of this hairless worm began to undergo drastic changes!

The fleshy tumor in White Lady's insect-infested cavity moved rapidly within its internal organs. Sixty-Three's eyes were piercing as he gripped Mingde's remains tightly, unwilling to let them return to Taowu's control so easily!

Xue Ming remained like a bell ringer, following Sixty-Three's instructions, throwing each punch with increasing force.

Until the wounds on Taowu and spine suddenly widened, as if twisted and deformed by the entanglement and tearing of internal stress, it finally spat out huge White Lady, each more than seventy centimeters long. They rolled out and swam in the crimson mud, trying to return to Taowu's body.

The monstrous Taowu finally stopped wailing and let out a heavy breath. Its skull then fell down, crashing onto the solid stone platform in front of the road, exploding into a spray of blood.

When this towering structure of hundreds of tons of flesh collapsed, it nearly burst the tumors on its body. Patches of White Lady broke through the fragile skin, and thousands of cocoons rolled out of the flesh. Many Madness Butterfly were preparing to emerge from their cocoons, but as soon as they spread their wings, they died instantly upon being exposed to the ultraviolet light.

The terrifying spiritual pressure was slowly dissipating, but Xue Ming continued to perform the punching motion like a robot, as if afraid that the beast wasn't sleeping soundly enough.

Compared to the Taowu's snoring, the BOSS's voice grew louder and louder.

Its body is asleep, but its spirit is naturally getting better and better.

The moment the energy flow radiating from the Taowu's physical body dissipated, the engineering team and defense personnel stationed outside the station once again joined forces to officially begin the final step of the [Harvest Season]: collecting the Universal Elixir.

The BOSS regained its strength, jumped down from Ling Weng's arms, and sprinted towards the emergency evacuation passage. It then rang the large bell in the center of the platform, announcing to all humanity that it was time to feast on flesh and blood.

At Sixty-Three, he couldn't remember what he was supposed to do.

--The Vita Imprint was deeply embedded in his skin, the half-knife in his hand suddenly fell to the ground, and his heart felt empty.

The flesh and blood of the Taowu were broken down once again and poured into these trains in batches.

The massive crane-like engineering machinery delivered rivets to the alloy steel sheets, dividing the monstrous natural disaster into fifty parts, transforming them into ordinary trains, and sending them into various lines of the railway system.

Jiang Xueming fainted from the repeated punches. Unable to withstand the terrifying spiritual pressure, he collapsed and was taken away by medical personnel.

Sixty-Three, covered in filth, sat back in the salon next to the terrace, crossed his legs, and frowned.

Teacher Victor came to his side and looked at the frail, gray-bearded old man.

"FE204863, you succeeded."

"Um."

"Why not do it the way you said? Weren't you going to run away?"

"Where can I run to, Victor? Where should I run to?"

"You once said that as long as you won, you would find a way to survive the encirclement and pursuit at the station."

"Yes, Teacher Victor," Sixty-Three looked up, staring intently into Victor's bright green eyes. "Where could I run to? I don't know—when that little guy threw his punch, I was almost mesmerized by him, unable to look away."

Victor: "What makes you say that?"

Sixty-Three: "Just like what he did, he fought back against life, against fate, again and again, growing stronger and more powerful."

Victor: "You call me teacher, does that mean we were old acquaintances in FE204863?"

Sixty-Three: "Can't your [Hell Highway] see my memories? You've seen all of this clearly all along, haven't you?"

Victor shook his head. "No, your memory capacity is simply too large, too much. It's like a hard drive filled with countless junk files. I don't dare to read it more than a few times. I've only skimmed through some major events. I can't explore memories that exist thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago. If I were to follow the clues, my brain would probably stop working immediately, and I'd become a brain-dead vegetable."

Ms. Duran was the same; she simply couldn't understand the Sixty-Three.

Sixty-Three: "I've been your student, more than once. Including Wood Plark —I was also his student—he knows a great deal about time travel, and I won't let this opportunity pass me by."

Victor took out the Universal Elixir, lifted the partition from the filthy flesh and blood on the terrace, took out a cup, and poured in the white liquid.

"It is my honor to be your teacher."

Mr. David handed Sixty-Three a glass, hoping the medicine would cure the bright red sores on Sixty-Three's body.

"No, no, no, wait a moment." Sixty-Three didn't refuse, but simply brought over a wine glass. "Wait a moment."

Victor: "Why do we have to wait a while?"

Sixty-Three said, "I want to experience it more, to feel what Bailu feels like. Is this what it's like? Is this what it feels like when Bailu is sick?"

Victor laughed heartily, "Are you gathering material too?"

Sixty-Three then said, "My story is finished, Teacher Victor."

At that very moment, Victor sensed a strong urge to self-destruct from Sixty-Three.

"Wait, Sixty-Three, do you want to end your life?"

Sixty-Three: "Hmm."

Victor: "I can rewrite your memories, reshape your personality, and give you a fresh start. I... I believe life shouldn't be like this."

Sixty-Three: "--A journey from hot-blooded to cold-blooded."

A very long time passed, and they remained silent.

Until the spots on Sixty-Three face began to creep up to the corners of his eyes, and his cheeks began to deform, under the erosion of the massive amount of Vita Imprint virus, even Victor's physical body began to be infected with this deadly chronic disease.

Now it's time for the long-awaited riddle-solving segment!

--Sixty-Three perhaps doesn't even know what he's saying.

It was like the delirium of a seriously ill person.

He just wanted to experience more of his sister's mental state when she was critically ill.

"Is this real? Is this real, teacher? Am I dreaming? Or did I succeed? What happens after I succeed? Where should I go? What mission do I have? Why did the BOSS build this railway? What will it do after the railway is finished?"

Victor: "Xue Ming."

Sixty-Three suddenly raised his head, tears welling up in his eyes, but they disappeared in a fleeting moment. It was as if a "Regret Pill" wouldn't allow him to cry, wouldn't allow him to be weak; the sudden surge of pheromones and nerve activity in his body were all extinguished by the Regret Pill.

"I really want to go back to the dream, I can't bear to leave this dream, Teacher Victor."

Sixty-Three murmured.

"You write books and weave stories for many people, and they become immersed in these stories, or even become characters in them. When they leave these stories, will they regret it? Will they be reluctant to let go? Will they be like me, writing you letters, threatening you with death, just like a spoiled child, begging you to keep writing—I'm wondering, is there any possibility?"

He raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"There's a wicked god secretly weaving my story, and I'm completely unaware of it, utterly powerless against it."

"Every story eventually comes to an end, but I think the point isn't the end," said Teacher Victor. "I can't give you the answer to the second half of that sentence, but I can give you the answer to the first half—"

"--Bu Liuxing once asked me, 'Why does the BOSS want to build railways?'"

"Why did it choose to build a railway when it had so many other ways to achieve its goal?"

"I think the railway is just a symbol, a vehicle for travel. It is the cheapest and most important industrial artery in human history. From the starting point to the destination, the railway is so orderly, and trains are never allowed to derail."

"Where the destination is doesn't matter. You've already missed far too many people along the way. FE204863—just like life, no one is born to go straight to the final destination of death."

Even if the BOSS explores every corner of the underground world thoroughly, there's still no railroad to build.

"Perhaps it will find a way to go to the sky, to a farther place."

"It's a clueless stick, a monster that won't give up even after hitting a brick wall."

"As for the second half of the sentence—" Teacher Victor pondered carefully, "—I can't give you a precise answer. I believe that every author has a deep love for their story; otherwise, the story wouldn't have been born."

Sixty-Three: "Is that so?"

"That's right," Professor Victor continued. "If we look at it from the author's perspective, if they didn't like a certain character or loathed a certain story, it would never have been born; it would have been forgotten long ago. Unlike the views of various religious classics, I absolutely do not agree with the idea that [God doesn't care]. On the contrary, I believe that if the world is truly [creationist], then God must have created us with love, even if it was only a tiny bit."

Sixty-Three remained silent, simply waiting quietly.

"It's fascinating that people construct deities in their own image," Professor Victor continued. "Like tracing the origins of genes, civilizations unconsciously explore their roots, repeatedly seeking the truth of life."

"At least based on my meager knowledge and understanding— Sixty-Three."

"The Vita Imprint is really a very interesting thing."

"It is both a virus and a living organism."

"The evolutionary history of life is inseparable from viruses. It is because of viruses that we have the double helix structure of DNA to fight them—that we have gender, love, and so many different life forms."

"It is precisely because of the Vita Imprint that insect eggs, nymphs, pupae, cocoons, emergence, and morpho butterflies can be born by imitating the Vita Imprint."

"I'm intensely curious about all of this, just like you, wondering if there's someone outside the story writing my life."

"In the end, I think that whoever it is, it must love me deeply."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have such a wonderful life."

Sixty-Three thought for a moment --

He finally retrieved the broken half of the sword. He carefully examined its fracture lines, and while cutting through the flesh of the Taowu, he almost reshaped the steel blade.

Finally dispelling all useless fantasies, Sixty-Three called for Regret Pill. Its spirit body was covered in rust, with only the keyhole still letting in a faint light.

Teacher Victor was quite surprised by this scene.

Because the shape of this knife looks exactly like a key.

Immediately afterwards, Sixty-Three plunged the blade deep into the keyhole.

--The black spirit, as if exposed to rust remover, instantly became as clean and new as if it had seen Regret Pill.

With all his might, he turned the key that fate had given him. The armor of his steel body suddenly cracked open, shifting and deforming in an instant, transforming into a giant clock face.

To Victor's astonishment, Sixty-Three vanished as if he had never existed.

The BOSS sensed a strong psionic fluctuation, quickly darted onto Victor's knees, searched for a while, and finally relaxed.

"He ran away?"

Victor: "Yes, he ran away."

The boss frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. "Where did he run off to? Write me a warrant for his arrest! If this guy is hiding in my railway system, he's a fucking menace!"

Victor shook his head, only smiling.

"I wonder where he went, Boss. Maybe he went back to his world, back to his paradise."

"You think he can get away?" The BOSS looked menacing and extremely displeased. "What happened to the Ultimate Insult?!"

"Go to work, Boss." Victor looked at the ravaged rooftop terrace, patted the Black Cat's bottom, and shooed the Boss off his knees. "There are many people waiting for you; you have more important things to do."

In the artificial starry sky within the underground cavity, the moon shines once more.

--That was Ming De's other eye.

It silently watches over each passenger, just as it does its own flesh and blood.

Follow the departing train to every corner of the underground world.

May good fortune be brought to the brave people on the train, and may the divine power of the Red Mountain Stone within their flesh and blood spread outwards.

Until the train pulled into the station, its round wheels resembled the eyes of a beast.

It was right there, completely still.

Original Author: Fox Man

[Abyss Special Train]

[Sweet Fragrant Dream]

[Raise your head, raise your head]

[Move forward]

[To be continued]