Act 6 · [SHINE IN THE DARK · NIGHT GIVES WAY TO DAY]

Foreword:

Wealth and honor gained unjustly are to me like fleeting clouds.

[ --Confucius]

[Part 1 - Men Live by Being Forgetful]

The fighting at Mu Yuan has come to an end.

Xue Ming dragged his heavy body, stepping into the soft, warm mud of flesh and blood, and followed Wen Bucai they carried the unconscious Jason.

He felt so tired that he almost fell asleep standing up.

Half an hour of intense combat had drained Xue Ming's mental energy.

Each breath-holding shot was like taming a wild beast; one had to tame the Eye of the Blood Wolf in their hand. A few missed shots would mean all their previous efforts were in vain.

When Wen Bucai shouted the slogan "The area is completely silent, and Inspiration is normal."

Xue Ming Matsushita, an indescribable fatigue washing over him from every part of his body.

His brain was frantically urging him to go to sleep and relax in his sweet dreams.

From the long and short runs from the outpost to Bork Pass, from Bork Pass to the iron plank road of Mu Yuan, and then from the iron plank road to the warm bed with a gun, he hardly took a breath.

The intense concentration required throughout the journey, coupled with the high-pressure environment, left Xue Ming swaying precariously, almost fainting.

Meteor also looked listless— Xue Ming noticed that this tall man was no longer as spirited and energetic as he had been when they first set off.

A Xing's hands hung limply by his trouser seams. His clothes were gone, leaving him shirtless, and his trousers were about to tear. His arms were covered in bruises. Thanks to the Universal Elixir, the injuries to his metacarpal bones had healed, but the nerve fatigue would be difficult to recover from in a short time.

The young man, leaning on his cane, walked forward with uneven steps. The moment he stepped out of the stone gate, he was blinded by the bright, glaring light of the passageway.

No-Brain and Unhappy leads to a visible decline in mental energy, and the faster this decline occurs, the more pronounced the underlying, unsettling Inspiration Pressure becomes.

Wen Bucai stopped joking and teasing, and pulled a bag of Guangling San buns from his baggage. "Here's another bag, sixteen buns. This is my last stock. These things have a very short shelf life. Eating them while they're fresh will help me regain some energy."

Jiang Xueming didn't say much and didn't stand on ceremony at all, taking a steamed bun and stuffing it into her mouth.

The spicy and stimulating broth spreads across the lips, teeth, and throat, while the finely minced meat, infused with the savory aroma of the soup, quickly disappears into the stomach.

--It was like a sexy and alluring bomb, instantly igniting Xue Ming's spiritual essence.

He ate six pills before he felt some relief from the dull pain in his head. Hesitantly, he put two more in his mouth, and his stomach warmed up as well.

His hands and feet stopped trembling, his thoughts gradually became clearer, and the light source of the Steel Heart gradually stabilized, like a breathing light that dimmed and brightened.

"My strength has returned, though not much, but enough," Jiang Xueming said calmly. "I can continue fighting."

Bu Liuxing ate the remaining eight xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and roared to the sky, "Fully revived!"

Jason was startled awake by the sudden shout, snapping out of his dazed state.

"How are you feeling?" Wen Bucai patted Jason on the shoulder.

Jason quickly checked the wound on his abdomen, which had already healed completely thanks to the Universal Elixir, and even the scar was no longer visible.

He vaguely remembered the last words he heard before his consciousness faded.

"The human body is truly a marvelous thing."

The witty remark sounded terrifying to him.

However, to be fair, breaking the body in half at the waist is not a fatal injury—the ancient punishment of waist-cutting could allow a person to live for a very long time, dying in extreme pain and prolonged torment.

If there were Universal Elixir, it wouldn't be difficult for the intestines to return to their proper place. In most open abdominal surgeries, the doctor would carefully push the intestines back into the abdomen little by little during the suturing process. With just a little tidying up to prevent them from getting tangled or knotted, they would automatically revert to their original position—this is what Wen Bucai refers to as the "wonderful human body."

"I can continue fighting." Jason held out his hand. "Give me back the Lapis Lazuli."

"I've handed you over to your waiter; let her assess your mental state. I don't want to get involved in your affairs. You're both adults; you need to be responsible for your own safety." Wen Bucai pointed to his side.

The waiter's face was covered in blood, and he hadn't had time to wipe it off.

To kill Little Sullivan's half-dragon form, she emptied four UMP magazines, turning her entire body bright red.

"Employer."

Jason put on the Lapis Lazuli and immediately, through his keen sense of smell and the Inspiration Pressure, found the truth—he could almost see the waiter raising his gun and shooting the enemy.

"You saved my life?"

The waiter smiled awkwardly, his blood-red face revealing two rows of white teeth. "Not really. I just got lucky. When that freak ran out the door, I sensed he was extremely weak, practically Gate of Death —a bullet could kill him. I made that judgment and immediately shot him."

Jason nodded, almost in tears, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

The waiter was momentarily confused. "No, employer, it's mainly thanks to VIP Mr. Wen. If Mr. Wen hadn't shattered this freak's soul power—I might have been doomed here!"

Jason suddenly hugged the waiter tightly, covering the back of the waiter's head.

Thank you. Thank you.

Wen Bucai shrugged indifferently, his expression like that of an agitated young man watching a melodramatic soap opera, and turned back towards the Animal Pen.

Jiang Xueming and Bu Liuxing immediately followed.

Meteor's Inspiration was rather weak; he was completely baffled and had no idea what was going on.

"What's going on, Ming Ge?"

Jiang Xueming thought for a moment and immediately said, "That little girl was on the verge of death just now, she almost died."

Meteor was surprised. "Really? She seemed fine to me."

Jiang Xueming shook his head. "Whether we arrive a step too early or a step too late, entering this warm bed at any wrong time will cause the waitress behind us to run head-on into that freak with soul power."

"Thank goodness! Thank goodness that strange shadow was coming towards me!" Meteor breathed a sigh of relief, "So, she escaped with her life?"

"It might be related to the properties of Lapis Lazuli." Jiang Xueming thought of the mysterious pyroxene. "Lapis Lazuli also has the property of bringing good fortune. Jason Megan possesses so much Lapis Lazuli; he must be a very lucky person. The goddess of fortune is secretly favoring him."

Meteor heard Jason wailing behind him again.

No matter how the waiter tried to persuade him, he couldn't stop.

"Thank you. Thank you for surviving. Thank you—I don't know how to thank you enough. Thank you for coming with me here; I really haven't been a good employer."

"Sir! Stop crying! If you keep crying, I'll have a contest with you! We'll see who cries the loudest!"

"Spare me, I can't help it, I can't help it. I had hoped that on this journey, perhaps to the end of my life, I would paint for you, measure the size of that enormous dragon, and see the truth. At least then, I wouldn't be [a useless person] anymore."

"Sir, how could you think like that?! Is life something you can just throw away so easily?"

"Several times, I fainted from the terrifying Inspiration Pressure. Those two Easterners revealed my true feelings to me, and I realized that I was simply not cut out to be a hunter—yet you had to play along with me in this farce for so long! So far! From Hung Hom to Reykjavik, a full six months, more than three thousand kilometers!"

"Sir, I felt very happy when I was with you. The BOSS didn't blame me either. I think it understood our feelings a long time ago. I was able to kill this monster because you repeatedly taught me to observe the prey carefully and recognize their Gate of Death. Rather than saying I saved you, it's more accurate to say you saved me."

"So I couldn't stop crying, and when I saw you safe and sound, tears streamed down my face. In that instant of night turning to day in this hellish place, I simply couldn't control my emotions—I just wanted to hold you. Wendy Mills, my..."

The muzzle of a UMP was pressed against Jason Megan's chin, forcing the disheveled man to raise his head.

--The waiter's eyes were icy cold, though tears still clung to them, his teeth clenched, his killing intent unwavering. "My good sir, are you serious? You think you can call me by the wrong name at a time like this? Even if you just called me any name in Merman, I might actually respond."

In the distance along the Animal Pen passageway, Wen Bucai laughed heartily.

"Hahahaha--Hahahaha!"

That kind of laughter was extremely grating and utterly immoral.

[Part ② - You can save it for the next life]

Fifteen minutes later.

Jason, his face bruised and swollen, pointed seriously at the Boke Grand Hotel.

"Based on my extensive experience in finding a way out and escaping, we should head to the Boke Grand Hotel and find a passageway similar to an elevator—there are no other roads in the Great Mu Yuan."

Meteor: "Hahahaha!"

Jason didn't pay any attention and continued, "The Boke Grand Hotel is a place to entertain guests. We received our clearance documents from the big fat woman manager. According to the standard procedures of this Zero Platform Abyssal Railway organization, we are to come to Mu Yuan for a ternary quality test—and then Blood Ceremony."

Meteor: "Hahahaha!"

Jason remained unperturbed and continued, "I'm very quick-witted, Mr. Wen Bucai. What do you think of my reasoning?"

Wen Bucai: "Hahahahahahaha!"

Jason: "Can you stop laughing?"

Jiang Xueming covered her mouth. "I wasn't laughing."

Jason climbed onto the twisted iron bridge, then suddenly turned around and roared, "You definitely were! You've been secretly smiling the whole time! You haven't stopped! That half-smile was really creepy, you know?!"

Jiang Xueming: "Hahahahahahaha!"

"I told you to laugh freely!" Jason scratched his head as he led the way. "Why did I get carried away and follow you guys to this godforsaken place? What's wrong with me?"

Look at Jason's face. He can't see his left eye anymore; the swollen eyelid has been squeezed into a lump of flesh. Several of his teeth have also been knocked out, and he can barely speak.

--It was all done by the waiters.

The waiter followed behind his employer without saying a word, constantly urging him to hurry up and move forward.

As Jason walked, he asked, "Can you cure my face with Universal Elixir?"

The waiter immediately said, "No! You need to learn to forget! Next time you'll have to hug me and call out Wendy's name? What am I supposed to do? Really use the gun in my hand to give you a little brain workout?"

Jason added, "One of my eyes is swollen, and I can't see half of it. If I encounter an enemy, I won't be able to judge distances accurately, you know? In a boxing match, if one eye is injured, you can't catch your opponent's punch."

Meteor kept nudging Ming Ge with his elbow. "Hahahaha! He still wants to fight, Ming Ge?"

Jiang Xueming made no comment.

He was simply pondering Wen Bucai really was.

Throughout this long journey and continuous combat, Wen Bucai even eat a few bites of Guangling San xiaolongbao to replenish his energy, nor did he drink a drop of water.

Is this the same person who single-handedly overturned a giant dragon sixteen years ago?

If we say that Soul Might and Wine Madness represent Wen Bucai's offensive capabilities...

This astonishing willpower, mental fortitude, and the continuous food reserves for battle are the reasons why dragon-slaying heroes dare to challenge dragons.

But now, a few of us have eaten most of his food reserves.

Ammunition is running low.

--Ah A Xing had run out of ammunition and had also taken more than a hundred 9mm bullets from Mr. Wen.

The combat master has forty-one bullets left; these are the last two magazines.

Eye of the Blood Wolf has 166 rounds of 7.62mm rifle ammunition left, which is questionable whether it will be enough for a single skirmish. In urban warfare or indoor combat with ample cover, it will likely be used up immediately.

Although the bullets are gone, the only good thing is that the load on my body is lighter.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xueming noticed the bulging weapon pouch on Wen Bucai's body and asked, "JOE—how much ammunition do you have left?"

"We're out of projectiles." Wen Bucai delivered the worst news first, then proceeded to list the remaining ammunition. "We only have 61.50 caliber rounds left. My Soul Might is itching to use them, so I can't conserve much ammunition. As for Victor's bullets, they're all used up."

"Huh? You can't do that!" Upon hearing this, Meteor immediately tried to return the 9mm ammunition to Wen Bucai: "You should use it!"

Wen Bucai shook his head. "Keep it for self-defense. The barrel of my short sword submachine gun can only fire 45 ACP."

Next, the VIP showed off Jiang Xueming's staff, revealing the nunchucks, "Jiang Xueming, this staff has other uses as well, watch closely."

Wen Bucai all his might, his hands gripping the Eight Gates and Eight Extremes talismans— the Green Lion's mane immediately twisted into a sturdy long rope, and from a distance of about thirty meters, like a fierce whip, the iron rod shattered the plaque of the Boke Grand Hotel. The terrifying kinetic energy pierced through the obsidian behind the plaque, embedding itself in the rock and creating spiderweb-shaped cracks.

Jiang Xueming's eyes lit up with A Xing.

He immediately took out another pair of sticks and tried to do the same, but no matter how he swung Wen Bucai, he could not achieve the same unified force of hand, mind, and intention as Wen Bucai.

Time and time again, again and again.

He tirelessly wielded his long whip, splitting mountains and breaking rocks, his steel rod bouncing and flying among the stones.

Wen Bucai: "Alright baby, stop playing around. This isn't something you can understand in a short time. Holy crap?"

Only a few dozen attempts--

Xue Ming grasped the resilient yet supple nature of the lion's mane.

With a whooshing sound, he swung his arm, and the long whip struck the rocks of the cliff like a sharp arrow, sinking more than two inches deep, but it wasn't firm enough, deep enough, or powerful enough.

Wen Bucai finally looked directly at Jiang Xueming's arm—from that right arm, fine spiritual threads were emerging.

Those are traces of [transformation].

This is a sign that the nymphs are spinning silk to pupate.

--Only seven days?

Just seven short days? Is this kid about to undergo another transformation?

If that Black Cat knew, it would be so happy it would drink several bowls of goat milk, share the good news in the VIP WeChat group multiple times, call me a thousand times, and send me a big red envelope.

[Oh no, I can't pretend to be dead and stay submerged for ten thousand years.]

Wen Bucai felt relieved after thinking about this, raised his hand and took a picture of Xue Ming's spirit thread, then sent it back to the VIP group without blushing or skipping a beat.

[Wen Bucai: Please view the image information on your mobile phone.]

[BOSS:?]

[Phoenix:?]

[Bloodhound:?]

[Victor: Old friend! I've paid off my debts and even made a good amount of money! Tell me, how much will it cost to get you back to the station? Name your price!]

[Bloodhound:?????????]

[Wen Bucai: Wealth and honor gained unjustly are to me like fleeting clouds]

[Ghost: BOSS, you reply to every message in this group instantly. Do you live in the WeChat group?]

[BOSS: Take a look at this ID]

[Ghost:?]

Turn off your phone screen, and while you're at it, Wen Bucai Disturb. I'll continue thinking...

--In this special spiritual pressure environment, it's normal for a nymph's experience bar to rise rapidly when near a VIP.

I just don't know if this kid will make it out alive.

He gave me a very reassuring feeling. It had been a very, very, very long time since I had heard such a reliable observation report, or conducted such high-quality coordinated shooting with others.

--Jiang Xueming, Bu Liuxing.

I hope you live up to your names.

Heavy thuds echoed through the mountain ravine. The iron rod carved deep pits into the rocks, one after another—it went deeper and deeper until it was completely embedded in the obsidian mountain. Jiang Xueming was finding it difficult to pull it out.

After putting away the stick, Xue Ming suddenly awoke as she watched the spiritual threads on her arm gradually return to her body.

Am I undergoing another transformation?

Wen Bucai whistled, his eyes crinkling with laughter, and then used the nunchucks in his hands as drumsticks, striking them together.

The iron rod seemed to come alive, sparks flying from the joints of the Green Lion's mane. Then, the rod suddenly tightened, and the rope twisted and turned—the four short rods were joined together to form a steel mace. This magical transformation made Bu Liuxing's mouth water.

A Xing immediately exclaimed, "It can transform! Ming Ge! Let me play with it!"

"Your cane can transform too, go play with yours." Jiang Xueming imitated him, turning the two pairs of nunchucks in his hands into a steel mace. It became heavy, and its center of gravity changed, making it difficult to swing.

Wen Bucai, using the steel mace as a walking stick, stepped into the lobby of the Boke Grand Hotel and followed Jason.

With a pitiful look on his face, Meteor draped a large cloak over the homeless man's corpse and followed Wen Bucai into the dark front hall.

Wen Bucai was at the forefront. He raised his iron mace, and immediately a blue flame illuminated the road.

Jiang Xueming did the same, though the iron mace in his hand initially refused to obey. He simply called out softly, "Do me a favor, friend."

The stick immediately burst into flames, as if Xue Ming needed to express his feelings in words before he could hear his master's call.

Behind the kitchen corridor, there is an elevator with a small notch shaped like a hand.

Jason immediately recognized the palm print size of the elevator key.

This lock is very crude and primitive.

There are no electronic devices involved; the system relies solely on physical features to identify people. If the hand size is incorrect, the machine will not open.

In the bright blue flames, Jason immediately recognized the owner of the hand as the manager of the Boke Grand Hotel.

Jason quickly ran out, then ran back, having forgotten something.

"A knife! Give me the knife!"

Jiang Xueming threw out his hunting knife, which fell to the ground with a clatter.

Jason didn't take it; instead, he arrogantly bowed like a waiter and pretended to accept Mr. Wen Bucai's hunting knife.

Jiang Xueming covered her face. "What's wrong with him?"

Wen Bucai: "You've remembered this grudge?"

Jiang Xueming took out his journal, wrote a line, and then picked up the hunting knife again. "Yes, I've written it down."

In less than a minute, Jason Megan came running back carrying a large, fat hand—the innkeeper's corpse that she had retrieved from the cliffside path at Bork Pass.

In the high temperature environment, the palm became somewhat swollen, and the rate of decay was alarming.

He tried to clench his fist several times, and the elevator door's mechanism started to groan, but the corpse's hand simply couldn't open the stubborn door.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Jiang Xueming: "What should we do?"

Bu Liuxing: "Could it be that you held the wrong hand?"

Jason fell silent.

Jiang Xueming also fell silent.

Even Wen Bucai stared at the shooting star, looking at A Xing's innocent eyes with an incredulous gaze.

A Xing scratched his head, looking rather embarrassed. "Hehe. I just wanted to liven things up. How could something like mistaking one's left hand for the other possibly happen?"

Jason's little brain immediately came up with a solution.

He washed his hands clean, threw them back into the kitchen to dehydrate, and then sent them to the cold storage to cool them down.

Another ten minutes or so passed before the locksmith finally unlocked the elevator door.

Wen Bucai clapped enthusiastically, his eyes filled with disbelief, and pressed the elevator intercom button. "You're really talented!"

Jason, flattered by the compliment, thought to himself, "Heh, it's just a trivial skill."

--Then came the long wait.

They didn't know where the elevator led.

There is no floor display; only an hourglass overhead, driven by a mechanical spring, rotates and inverts to begin timing.

About two minutes have passed.

The sound of a copper bell came from the main elevator car.

The iron gate then opened--

The five people squeezed into the spacious elevator.

Wen Bucai scanned the floors; asking him, a dragon-slaying hero, to guess the correct answer in one go was an impossible task.

Then everyone turned their attention to Jason.

Jason, now emboldened, said, "Give me just a tiny bit of the Universal Elixir, just a tiny bit. Seriously, I can't go to see the enemy looking like this, right? If they see me all bruised and battered, they'll know I'm the easiest target."

Waiter: "Is there a problem?"

Jason: "That's the key point, I really am the easiest to bully!"

Without saying a word, Jiang Xueming immediately handed over the Universal Elixir.

Jason snapped, "Why is it you again!?"

Meteor pursed her lips. "I've run out of medicine, I'll use half on you."

Wen Bucai picked up the shopkeeper's large teapot, which still contained a considerable amount of butter tea, all products of White Lady's freeze-dried powder. "I haven't been to the station in a long time. I exchanged two bottles at the Mimir Hot Spring Market. I don't have much medicine left, but I think it should be enough. I just brought back a pot of tea. Would you like to try some?"

Finally, everyone looked at Jiang Xueming.

Meteor asked, "Ming Ge? How do you have so many Universal Elixir on you?"

Jiang Xueming took out a medical roll from his backpack, which was full of <Alien> ring-shaped syringes, a total of twenty syringes, each containing twenty-five milliliters. Adding the Universal Elixir injections he carried with him in his work pants, as well as the ones he had already used, the total was seven hundred milliliters. He had withdrawn all his savings and all his Blood Butterfly Shopping Coupons and converted them into portable medicines that he could use at any time.

"Is that strange? Does it mean that if you don't use the medicine in this life, you can save it for the next?"