Act16: I Can't Stop

Foreword:

Geniuses die, but their works are immortal.

--Salvador Dalí

It seems so.

Oscar watched DB awkwardly dancing in the concrete yard not far away.

"It's frozen in place."

This music box is one of Salvador Dalí's works. Whether it is a monster or a human, any living being with hearing will be controlled by it and begin to dance wildly until they are exhausted.

"I can't stop." Xue Ming couldn't reach out, and her gaze followed the swaying head and neck, moving left and right, but she couldn't lock onto the bouncing music box.

Oscar: "I can't stop either."

The wolf's tail swayed in the highland wind, and it swayed its hips to the beat of the music.

They would occasionally see mountain monsters—their loose muscles and thin limbs moved with tremendous force, leaving deep footprints on the ground when they stomped their feet. DB's face would then display a vicious expression of shame and anger.

This time, it followed its prey, waiting for an opportunity to strike. It planned to ambush Xue Ming and Oscar when they were exhausted and fell asleep. However, this unethical plan was suddenly interrupted by the medium.

Its facial wounds hadn't fully healed, and it had risked death from excessive blood loss and hypothermia to fight for its life. Now, it was like a wild beast courting its mate, dancing in front of its natural enemy.

"What do we do, Gunsmith?" Oscar sensed the situation was dire. His stamina was dwindling, and if he kept jumping like this, he wouldn't last much longer.

Jiang Xueming: "I'm fine."

"Huh?" Oscar looked surprised. "You have such great stamina?"

Jiang Xueming explained, "I can jump around all day. Although this guy is bleeding, he just ate the leopard python's meat, so he probably won't be able to sleep for a while. If you get tired, I have a solution."

As he said this, Xue Ming swung off his gloves to the rhythm of the music box, deliberately controlled his steps, and came to Wolf Brother's side to slap him across the face.

"One, two, three, go!"

The resounding slap landed on Oscar's face, sending him into a deep sleep.

Only the mountain demon and Xue Ming remained facing off. After a full eighteen minutes, the music box finally came to an end.

The moment she regained her freedom, Xue Ming summoned Fragrant Dream to intimidate the enemy, while DB, covered in cold sweat, jumped back to the central platform to hide.

Xue Ming had no intention of giving chase. He pulled Wolf Brother back into the warm room. Just as he retrieved the music box, he saw the elusive mountain demon peering out from the cliff edge—its expression was like that of a bear greedy for honey, unwilling to part with the nectar yet afraid of being stung, only daring to probe slowly.

Once DB had crawled back to the concrete ground, Xue Ming turned the crank of the music box again. In this environment of scarce food and water, he had no intention of confronting this mythical creature head-on.

So the second ball continued, with the Homo sapiens and the trolls playing music and dancing.

This happened three times, and a full hour passed. Occasionally, a few Golden-rumped swallow would hop around on the power lines, accompanying both sides as they went. The birds would stick out their rear ends, display their tail feathers, and shake their heads, creating a very strange scene.

DB wanted to escape, but it couldn't. At first, it thought fiercely that if it just kept going like this, the hateful Homo sapiens in front of it might collapse from exhaustion.

Later it realized that this guy didn't seem to be exhausted at all, but its own body was getting weaker and weaker.

Just as Xue Ming had thought, given the mountain demon's weight, the energy it needed to move was probably dozens of times that of Homo sapiens. Even if it had just eaten a meal, those tens of tons of flesh wouldn't last long dancing with such agility and speed.

Xue Ming has excellent body coordination. Even though Little Finger and Yukri gave him a "more cumbersome" body, and his height of over 180 centimeters was so unfamiliar to him, he had long since adapted to this weight in the past half month and returned to a state of unity between body and soul.

[Gunsmith, are you planning to work yourself to death?]

"I will take its life when it falls." Jiang Xueming had already declared his intention to kill, "This beast is extremely cunning. It fell from a height of tens of meters without sustaining any serious injuries. Its skin is thick and tough. I doubt I can kill it without Pankrasin."

"It's too difficult to reach its head unless you jump from the rooftop onto its shoulder and punch its skull a few times. It can make many mistakes, but I only have one chance."

"The medium-like devices created by Mr. Salvador Dalí are indeed useful, and extremely powerful; they can even control the descendants of gods."

This domineering control of his body made it almost impossible for the gunsmith to do anything. Apart from slightly changing his stride to move, his two arms and head moved along fixed lines. The last few times, Xue Ming tried to take out the Universal Elixir from his pocket and hold it in his hand for later use, but he couldn't hold the syringe at all. He could only watch helplessly as the Universal Elixir blew the syringe away step by step with the dance movements.

He dared not take the brilliance stone again, and called out loudly.

"SD! Help me put on this ring!"

Surprisingly, when the giant steel cat appeared in front of him, this powerful spirit also began to dance.

Fragrant Dream: "What's going on?!"

The synchronization between the person and the spirit was extremely high; they swung their legs, clenched their arms, and rocked their upper bodies, echoing DB not far away.

"Even spirits can't escape this kind of control?" Xue Ming finally realized, and quickly summoned back his soul power to avoid unnecessary mental exhaustion.

For DB, the physical exertion is much greater than for Gunsmith, not only because of its body modified by Vita Imprint, but also because the high-altitude winds during the closed season are slowly taking away its body heat.

It could feel the stench of the leopard python exhaling from its throat and mouth. Its stomach was beginning to suffer from indigestion due to the persistent low temperature. Its only eye was starting to feel dry and itchy, and its body was not as agile as before; it seemed as if its arms and legs were about to freeze.

If this continues, it will fall asleep and turn into a rocky mountain, just like Gonzalez, except that Gonzalez can wake up in the spring. It won't have that chance; Homo sapiens will never let it go.

Thinking this, DB gradually adjusted its stride, forcibly twisting its body, dancing as it moved towards the rocky platform. With the rhythm of the music, it could move about ten meters every four large sections. Once it found the pattern, it could escape.

Xue Ming was also unable to stop the giant monster. The earliest design language of music boxes was static defense. It was not a medium tool for active attack. If these calamity beasts were smart and slowly escaped from this demonic sound, humans and nature would live in peace.

But an accident happened--

A huge shadow drifted across the dark night sky.

The big yellow chicken collapsed headfirst next to the water tank at the outpost. It seemed that the Golden-rumped swallow on the power line had become a snack in its eyes. Before it could even see the giant monster on the platform, it recklessly rushed into the control range of the music box.

The Golden Eagle Gryphon was flapping its wings in mid-air when it heard the music. Its limbs and wings went out of control, snapping two power lines, and it crashed heavily onto the concrete ground, its head covered in blood.

It cried out in pain, then scrambled to its feet. Its broken wing drooped weakly to one side, but its head wouldn't obey its commands, continuing to sway to the rhythm of the music.

When it saw DB in the concrete, it was so frightened that its fur stood on end. This cunning hunter had no spiritual pressure fluctuations at all. Jiang Xueming and Wolf Brother could not sense any pheromones or spiritual pressure from this mountain demon either—DB knew how to hide itself.

The unexpected visitor caught Xue Ming off guard, and in DB's eyes, this silly big bird became the primary target.

Almost immediately, DB changed course, deciding to trample the bird to death. If he could swallow the Golden Eagle Gryphon, it could at least hold out for a while longer, and maybe even outlive this wretched dwarf.

[It's that one! You saved it!]

Jiang Xueming: "Hmm, it's not very bright."

It treats you like its own children! It's come to save you!

Jiang Xueming: "Not necessarily."

[Anyway, we can't let DB eat it! Things will get worse!]

Jiang Xueming: "What should we do? Berloberg, can you think of a solution?"

[Spin it around! Gunsmith! Put some effort into it!]

Following the rhythm of the music, Xue Ming deliberately put in more effort during the second set of spinning steps, and the hilt of Berloberg's sword in his waist pouch almost squeezed out of the cloth pocket, but was stopped by the hook.

He remained calm and watched as DB got closer and closer to the big yellow chicken. Then he slammed his head against the railing, Berloberg finally tore open the cloth bag and flew out.

The sword hilt fell onto the iron frame on the concrete floor, followed by a burst of bright light.

--It's like a wolf-eye flashlight, emitting a beam of light approaching two thousand lumens.

Just as DB was about to crush the Golden Eagle Gryphon, a sudden burst of bright light blinded it, causing it to involuntarily retreat. The large bird also struggled to move its limbs to the strange music, circling behind the water tank.

DB wanted to give chase, Golden Eagle Gryphon and griffin continued to circle around it. The troll and the eagle began to circle the pillar. The light from Berloberg was so bright that Xue Ming couldn't open his eyes, and DB, who was exposed to the direct light, was even more miserable. It felt that its one eye was left with a patch of colorful light, and it couldn't see the exact location of the eagle at all.

The same goes for the big yellow chicken. Every time the Berloberg lights up, it trembles and can only listen to the mountain troll's footsteps to determine its location. Finally, it finds the entrance to the first-floor porch and immediately sneaks into the relatively enclosed corridor.

Twenty long minutes passed, and when the music stopped, Xue Ming didn't continue twisting the handle—because DB had escaped again. Almost instantly, she leaped out and pounced onto the trunk of the giant tree on the southwest side, then covered her ears and fell freely, afraid of being controlled by the curse again.

The griffin followed the scent of the two people up to the second floor. The mountain demon was so frightened that tears streamed down its face. It roared hoarsely at Xue Ming and occasionally used its front claws to scratch at the direction DB had fled, just like a child who had been beaten up by a bully at school complaining to his parents.

"Okay, okay, that's enough."

Jiang Xueming gently patted the griffin's head to calm the child down.

He finally put on the Steel Heart, but he was still a little uneasy. He took the music box downstairs without having time to treat the griffin's wounds—he felt that given DB's personality, he wouldn't just leave so easily.

Back on the rocky platform, just as he expected, he saw the giant mountain demon crouching about fifty meters away in the limestone layer of the cave passage, its body curled up with its legs drawn up, seemingly waiting for the external injuries to its chin and neck to heal on their own, still looking for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

DB also caught a whiff of Jiang Xueming's scent. It tilted its head back and glanced at him.

Xue Ming shook the golden music box in her hand--

DB was immediately terrified, kicking his legs wildly. He first let out a fierce roar, then, like a nimble ape, he dodged to a lower place, leaped back up the rocky slope to the tree, and bared his teeth at the gunsmith.

Xue Ming walked back about ten steps, which took only about five or six seconds.

He immediately sensed something was wrong and rushed back to the edge of the cliff.

--DB ran back, to the second platform. It was like a cheeky big monkey, just waiting for its prey to lower its guard, and then it pulled back and forth with Xue Ming.

When the two met again, DB suddenly launched a surprise attack with a sharp wave of its hand. At a distance of about twenty meters, its claws could not touch Xue Ming, but the giant hand stirred up a gust of wind that could almost blow Xue Ming away.

Before Xue Ming could turn the crank, it was too late. He quickly retreated, grabbed the big yellow chicken, and told it to run away.

The yellow chicken was also very clever. It used all four claws to dig out cement fragments and rushed towards the room on the first floor. The man and the beast rushed into the conference room and saw DB lying on the outside of the porch, frantically inhaling through his exposed nose, trying to pinpoint Xue Ming's exact location.

The mountain demon did not rashly break through the wall, nor did it dare to get too close to the corridor. It had witnessed the destructive power of Fragrant Dream and always maintained a safe distance of three or four meters.

Xue Ming and the big bird pressed themselves against the corner of the wall. He saw the big yellow chicken stand up on its two hind legs, its heart pounding wildly. It even used its still-uninjured wings to press Xue Ming to the spot, afraid that the human might make some strange noise.

After about ten seconds, the search ended, and DB slowly retreated back into the concrete area, as if it had given up and wanted to leave.

Xue Ming remained motionless, listening intently to the footsteps outside the door. The sound seemed to be fading into the distance. He glanced out the window and saw DB's lower body almost within reach.

"Oh no!"

This giant mountain monster seems to be able to mimic the sound of footsteps walking away!

It can gradually reduce the force of stomping to create a fake footstep sound!

What is it doing? It stood up.

"It wants to eat Wolf Brother!" Xue Ming exclaimed without hesitation. "It's searching for Oscar's location!"

[At this distance, if you used the music box, it could shatter a wall with a single step! Gunsmith!]

Xue Ming dispelled the hypnotic effect of Fragrant Dream almost immediately. He didn't know if Wolf Brother would wake up right away—then, he rushed out the door, ready to confront this troublesome beast head-on.

This was the worst possible outcome. Xue Ming hadn't expected DB to have such a strong fighting spirit. After several tug-of-wars, the mountain demon still hadn't given up on its hunt.

Berloberg was positioned so that he couldn't see DB's eyes directly; DB was facing away from the meat drying rack on the concrete floor.

It stretched out its two paws and carefully pried open the doors to the rooms on the second and third floors, trying to find the lapis lazuli wolf's hiding place. Suddenly, it heard a loud cry of a seagull, and a sharp pain shot through its lower body!

Like a bolt of lightning, Xue Ming darted out of the first-floor corridor. In the instant his right hand clenched into a fist, and as he activated the Pankrasin combat technique, his arm was already torn and bleeding. He slammed solidly into the giant's ankle; his height was far from reaching DB's vitals.

In an instant, sword energy crisscrossed and a fierce wind raged. DB was in pain and half-knelt down, but it did not fall. It clung to the second-floor corridor table and looked down at its wounds. It saw that wounds had burst open from the inside out on its ankles. It was almost a survival instinct that kept it kneeling and unwilling to lower its head.

After Xue Ming landed a successful blow, he dodged repeatedly. The wounded mountain demon went berserk, its blood gushing out like a fountain. However, its cracked feet, like the nimble claws of a silverback gorilla, began to claw and retaliate against the side of the porch the moment he launched his attack. Xue Ming could only throw one punch before being forced to retreat repeatedly by the violent stomping.

He fled by detouring around the water tank, his right arm suffering the backlash from the Pankrasin, with wounds constantly appearing on his upper and lower arms, and even his fingers beginning to suffer from the strain caused by the exploding notes.

His face was ashen, and as he fled, he could hear DB's powerful footsteps relentlessly pursuing him—the mountain demon had gone mad and was dragging its injured right leg to catch up with him. Behind him, the stench of the wind and the heavy, panting breaths of the demon were constant.

Returning to the side of the water storage tank, Xue Ming didn't think much and shouted loudly.

"SD!"

The moment that would decide life or death had arrived.

Fragrant Dream leaped out from the air, DB's eyes were completely red. It didn't want to dance anymore, nor did it want to continue the entanglement. It had completely lost patience—it had to admit, this Homo sapiens had more stamina than it.

Its right foot was injured, but in terms of mobility, it was more powerful.

Two more steps? Or three more?

That short distance of about fifty meters will take us to the end, and then we'll be able to catch up.

Its arms were already bent forward and stretched down. If it could grab this Homo sapiens, it could squeeze out the worm's intestines with a gentle pinch!

This time, it had prepared itself mentally, its muscles bulging and turning red, and its withered leaf raincoat swelling as it prepared to deliver a fatal blow. At this height, even if the strange spirit possessed immense destructive power, it would be unable to harm its vitals.

But

Fragrant Dream did not attack DB--

--It went against the enemy's lead and delivered sixteen powerful punches to the water tank!

The punches, like steel nails, pierced through the steel sheet of the water tank. In an environment of minus twenty degrees Celsius, at an altitude of three or four hundred meters at the outpost, the pressure of the water tank turned the sixteen tiny holes into a showerhead.

The moment the purified water was sprayed out of the can, it was instantly turned into icy mist by the cold mountain wind, drenching DB completely.

It felt its body getting heavier and heavier. There were only twenty meters or so left, but it could no longer walk. The dead leaves on its body were covered with a thick and heavy layer of ice, which had become hard and stiff. Its injured leg also froze.

It felt a sharp pain in its heart, angina caused by a temperature change from extremely hot to extremely cold. The blood vessels in its single eye became increasingly visible, and its steps grew slower and slower. It could only watch helplessly as the obstructive Homo sapiens stood under the metal shelf of the water tank, never able to touch him again!

It could only reach out and see its right arm shrouded in white, icy vapor. This chilling, icy vapor spread across its skin, causing its toes to crack one by one, rapidly losing temperature. Then, its toes turned into pinkish-purple dust, which was blown away by the wind and fell onto the concrete floor, turning into a pile of dust.

It was panting heavily, kneeling on the ground, then slowly, slowly lying down, still not dead.

"Geniuses die."

Jiang Xueming exhaled puffs of scalding white steam, his forehead covered in cold sweat, having narrowly escaped Death God. He then turned the crank on the music box, continuing the dance.

"But the works of genius are immortal."

The water tank overhead sprayed continuously for a full twenty seconds, consuming all ten tons of water.

Even when paralyzed on the ground, DB continued to dance to a powerful melody.

Its physical body crumbled and disintegrated, producing repeated ice explosions during its petrified sleep. The temperature of its organs varied in different locations, and the process of thermal expansion and contraction caused its abdomen to burst open into several vibrant, colorful roses of flesh and blood.

Finally, it tilted its head back, stretched out its tongue as far as it could, and tried to taste its prey.

The Vita Imprint on the tip of the tongue froze into a deep blue, and before a few White Lady could even crawl out of the fungal crown, they perished along with their host.

The big yellow chicken flapped its broken wing, clucking in pain, but it was clear that it was happy.

Jiang Xueming remained in her dance pose, still shaken, constantly observing DB's condition, fearing that this persistent beast was faking his death. While pondering how to finish him off, she also wondered if this detail could be added to the combined edition of <The Great Rift of All Things>.

Another eighteen minutes passed, and Xue Ming was certain of it.

It's completely dead!