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墨書 Inktalez
A massacre suddenly left over a dozen widows in Shengfeng Village; an explosion robbed those widows of even the chance to see their deceased husbands one last time. The youngest victim was only twenty-six years old.
"Woo woo woo, what sin did my man commit!"
"Woo ah ah!"
...
"Old Zhang! Wait for me—"
Ahead lay the mountains and forests; the hovercraft could not land easily, so the Celestial Warriors had to disembark at the village entrance and walk. Along the way, the wails of the women echoed, causing the stream to flow backward, the clouds to disperse, and the mist to grow heavy with sorrow.
"Brothers... does anyone have an umbrella?" Lu Sha held her hands over her head, but seeing no one respond, she could only pout in grievance. She had prepared everything, yet forgot to check the weather forecast.
"Catch."
"Hey hey hey." Just as Lu Sha was gloomily staring at the nearby wheat field, an umbrella was tossed in front of her. She hurriedly reached out to catch it, but it spun in her hands like a loach. After finally getting a grip on it, Lu Sha looked up to say thank you, but upon seeing Qin Weishan retracting his hand and turning away, the words got stuck in her throat. She glanced down at the umbrella, feeling a mix of emotions.
"Madam Wei, think twice, think twice!"
"Madam Wei!"
"Don't do this!"
Everyone's attention was drawn to a group of people ahead. Following their gaze upward, they saw a middle-aged woman named Madam Wei standing at the edge of a rooftop with her arms outstretched.
There were no rescue measures in the village; the villagers had only brought some large blankets stacked together below, which posed a significant risk.
"Is there anyone willing to help?" An Xiaotian asked everyone. "No one? I'll go then?"
"If you go up without pajamas, it might not be okay?" Jiao An joked with a laugh. "I'll do it."
"Ah!"
Madam Wei jumped!
Lu Sha eagerly opened her umbrella.
Jiao An took two steps back from the crowd and used the momentum to perform a somersault over. She had never seen this terrain before but skillfully found her landing spot, stepping on the corner of a nearby wall and pushing off just in time to meet Madam Wei as she fell.
However, Jiao An could cause a fatal accident! She wasn't some superhuman; she was just the strongest sniper. Her plan was to use her body as a cushion for Madam Wei! An Xiaotian thought Sister Jiao An had some special skill; he never expected it would come to this. Now he regretted it deeply.
"Oh no!" Lu Sha tossed aside her umbrella and was about to shoot out her Chain Spear to propel herself forward...
But it seemed someone was faster than her.
Jiao An felt something supporting her waist; just as she seemed about to land, she and Madam Wei were lifted up instead.
Qin Weishan firmly planted himself in a horse stance and carefully bent his arms. However, Madam Wei rolled down and fell onto the ground, crying loudly.
Qin Weishan held Jiao An in his arms, and Jiao An felt something was off. When Qin Weishan lowered his hands, they both realized that Qin Weishan had his left arm around Jiao An's shoulder and his right arm around her legs—he was carrying her like a princess.
"You... put me down!" Jiao An found herself unable to move in this position, flailing like a fish on a cutting board between Qin Weishan's hands.
Qin Weishan felt embarrassed for a moment but then had a sudden idea: "Who cares about you?" He loosened his grip, and Jiao An landed hard on the ground with a loud thud, the sound of her head hitting the ground was painful just to hear.
"Hiss—" Jiao An stood up, unsure of where to hold; one moment she held her head, the next her bottom. Just as she was about to retaliate, Madam Wei's cries were too heart-wrenching, especially with so many villagers watching.
Jiao An pointed at the grinning Qin Weishan and said fiercely, "Is it because you haven't had my side kick for a long time that you're getting bored, huh?!"
She pushed Qin Weishan away and bent down to help Madam Wei, but Madam Wei pushed her hands away and cried out, "Why did you save me... ah—"
The Celestial Warriors walked over from behind the crowd and leaned against a nearby wall. Jiao An did not respond to Madam Wei; she simply sighed lightly.
"My husband is dead, and I can't even see him one last time... Wuwuwu... How am I supposed to live without him..." Madam Wei pounded her chest and cried hoarsely.
Xu Yicheng silently watched and suddenly noticed that Liu Xuan beside him seemed to have reddened eyes. Liu Xuan looked up, letting the rainwater fall into his eyes, unsure if it was tears or rain sliding down his cheeks.
In fact, from the village entrance all the way here, Liu Xuan felt the heaviest burden. For others, this was just another task.
But this was Liu Xuan's hometown. Watching his beloved fellow villagers suffer such immense pain reminded him of the scene when his mother was dragged away by the Moon Internal Human in the village—his fellow villagers' deaths, his mother's death; as a hero, he felt utterly powerless.
Liu Xuan was not moved by Madam Wei's cries but was once again drowned in self-reproach. He felt sorrowful and could not control himself: failing his college entrance exam led to his father drinking heavily until he was crushed into a pulp by a car; his mother died trying to save Ma Yihan at the hands of Xiu Sha; now again, he arrived too late and let his fellow villagers lose so many loved ones.
In the past, Liu Xuan had always pleaded with fate, but fate kept finding ways to toy with him.
But now? No matter how strong he became, would he forever remain a plaything of fate?
Liu Xuan pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, shoved his hands into his pockets, and turned to walk outside.
"Where are you going?" Xu Yicheng asked.
"I'll be back soon." Liu Xuan only gave Xu Yicheng a glimpse of his back.
"My daughter got married and never came back. My son is stationed at the border; something happened... My husband is dead, and I still have my son's child at home. I don't know how to make money; how am I supposed to live..."
Jiao An comforted Madam Wei for quite some time until she calmed down enough to cover her face and sob. Jiao An helped Madam Wei up while Qin Weishan also came over to support the poor woman as they slowly walked toward the crowd.
"Madam Wei!"
Everyone turned around as Liu Xuan ran over, clutching something in his arms.
"Xuan'er... I haven't seen you in years; you've grown up." Madam Wei looked at Liu Xuan as he reached her side, trembling as she extended her hand to touch Liu Xuan's head. "You're quite the handsome young man now."
A jolt of warmth spread through Liu Xuan's body. It had been so long since he felt this way… how he wished to be caressed by his mother once more.
" Aunt, this is six thousand yuan that Uncle Li raised for me back then; I've kept it untouched in my house. I just went to get it for you; please take it." Liu Xuan pulled out a large stack of tightly bound banknotes. Lu Sha instinctively held up an umbrella nearby to prevent the money from getting wet.
Madam Wei reached out to take it but then stopped. She chose to place her hand on top of the stack of banknotes and casually pulled out a few bills with a smile. "This is enough; thank you, child."
"Ah, no..." Liu Xuan hesitated, and Madam Wei said, "It's not just my family that has suffered; there are many more villagers who need you."
Liu Xuan nodded, tears flowing desperately, hidden within the raindrops.
"Your Uncle Li..." Madam Wei seemed to notice he was crying and choked back her words.
"What about him? He didn't go there, did he?" Liu Xuan asked anxiously. He hadn't paid attention to how his neighbors were when he returned to his old house.
Madam Wei tucked away some money and silently turned away.
" Aunt!" Liu Xuan nearly shouted.
"He's fine."
Madam Wei walked into the house and leaned against the door, crying in pain.
Liu Xuan handed the money to the village head who was leading the rescue team, then walked away alone.
An Xiaotian watched Liu Xuan's retreating figure, understanding his current state of mind and not wanting to disturb him.
"Should we..." Qin Weishan asked.
"Let him walk alone for a bit," An Xiaotian stopped Qin Weishan. "Some wounds never heal."
The young man walked slowly in the rain, the newly paved asphalt road in the village making a dripping sound underfoot. Water splashed at the hem of his pants, and suddenly, Liu Xuan stepped into a pit.
"We're here."
There was a pit near Uncle Li's house; even on asphalt, it was still noticeable. Liu Xuan looked up and saw incense burning in Uncle Li's home. His two children were playing with building blocks under the eaves, expressionless.
Their golden retriever had grown old, lying beside the children and gazing sadly at the sky.
Liu Xuan pressed his lips together and gently called out, "Nanzi."
The golden retriever wagged its tail and stood up.
Liu Xuan finally smiled; he didn't expect this fellow to still recognize him. He took off his hat and ran over, hugging Nanzi's head tightly.
"You remember me, little one—oh no, old one... Can you still fetch a frisbee? Go get a chicken for me, how about that? Haha... Stop licking! Hahaha..."
Nanzi was overly enthusiastic and nearly knocked down Liu Xuan, who had crouched down. After joking around with Nanzi, he pressed his forehead against Nanzi's nose. As he laughed, he began to sob:
"If only your owner were still here."
"If only Mom were still here..."
Nanzi whimpered softly, gently licking away Liu Xuan's fallen tears, but more tears kept flowing.
"Do you know, Nanzi? Xuan'er has no home anymore... I can't even protect someone else's home... Am I really that useless?" Liu Xuan's voice was completely distorted, the broken sounds echoing painfully in the rain.
The five of them stood silently in the rain, waiting. The rain was heavy, and Qin Weishan leaned closer to Lu Sha, who was holding the umbrella. Lu Sha frowned, but since the umbrella belonged to Qin Weishan, she intended to shield him a bit. However, Qin Weishan pushed Xu Yicheng next to him instead.
As they prepared to head up the mountain, they walked slowly along the mountain path. Qin Weishan looked at their leader, An Xiaotian, feeling that he seemed somewhat unfamiliar and said, "Xiaotian, did you forget to wear your armor?"
"Oh!" An Xiaotian suddenly remembered, "No wonder it felt strange."
An Xiaotian pressed the energy core and opened his arms wide. The five behind simply stood still, watching him.
"You... aren't going to jump too, are you?" Jiao An pointed at the rapeseed field below.
"I'm waiting; give it thirty seconds," An Xiaotian replied.
Thirty seconds...
One minute...
Lu Sha had already started laughing.
An Xiaotian's arms were getting sore. He turned around angrily and shouted towards the hovercraft at the village entrance, "You hurry up..."
Suddenly, his head armor flew right in front of him, hitting his face with the precision of a cannonball. The impact was strong; An Xiaotian felt a sharp pain in his cheek as if he had slapped himself hard.
"Ouch..."
The armor for his body followed closely behind, expanding and quickly merging with An Xiaotian. He felt dizzy and confused as he merged successfully and then stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Body acceptance successful; neural connection established. Sorry, Mr. An Xiaotian, I accelerated the response speed because I couldn't find an exit in the hovercraft. I checked your body and found no damage," Xiao Ling said.
The holographic interface opened as An Xiaotian got up, noticing that everyone except Liu Xuan was laughing uncontrollably.
"Hmph, fine," An Xiaotian said with his hands on his hips. "You didn't crash a hole in the hovercraft, did you?"
"No," Xiao Ling replied honestly. "It was boiled."
"Great job, Xiao Ling; you're the smartest AI I've ever seen," An Xiaotian encouraged everyone to move forward.
"Thank you for the compliment. But I'm not as brilliant as Madame Yang."
"Damn it, you really are something else."
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