Absolute Choice 10

by Pear Lands In The Autumn Spring

  "Holy shit!!"

  Was his bestial nature finally showing after he failed to rage?

  Everyone hurriedly got up and rushed to save Sunless, but they saw Shi Xiaobai, who was sprawled above Sunless, suddenly collapse. His head fell straight onto Sunless's chest. It looked like he was smothering himself with her breasts, but everyone noticed that Shi Xiaobai's hair had turned from silver to black.

  "Fainted."

  Sunless immediately spoke, so as to assuage the crowd that was rushing over to prevent Shi Xiaobai from engaging in a lascivious act from panicking.

  Sunless held Shi Xiaobai's head and let her chest be his pillow before she sat up.

  "He's sleeping..."

  Sunless gently caressed Shi Xiaobai's black hair. Her voice was warm and gentle, and her expression was even tenderer.

  "Ah! Sunless, you..." Liu Yu, who was the first to approach, exclaimed suddenly.

  Everyone gathered over and saw two deep claw marks on Sunless's shoulders. Blood spewed out and one could even vaguely see bone...

  It turned out that 'Shi Xiaobai' was not engaging in a bestial act. Instead, he had wanted to attack Sunless. If not for him falling unconscious at the critical moment, dispelling his silver-haired state, Sunless's two arms would have been ripped off and thrown into the air like the three Level Lords...

  However, despite experiencing such grave danger, Sunless was still able to maintain a gentle expression despite enduring the excruciating pain. One could even see a rare smile on her face.

  She caressed the hair of Shi Xiaobai, who was resting on her chest, as if she was caressing a treasure more important than her life.

  "Shh...Don't wake him up."

  She looked up to gesture for the panicking crowd to calm down.

  At that moment, the two girls from the Mu family began to tear up. The boys around them were feeling deeply shocked. They felt that if Shi Xiaobai were to one day let down that girl, he was definitely not to be forgiven.

  Mu Lengxi quietly cast healing magic on Sunless's shoulders, while Speechless used Mirror Replication to heal her as well. Her injuries took nearly ten minutes before they healed.

  Speechless sighed and said, "Let's go. Shi Xiaobai needs a quiet room to rest in. Sunless might also need to have her wounds tended to. Let's go back."

  Speechless' suggestion was met with agreement. Sunless hesitated for a moment before agreeing. There was no other reason because there was indeed a need for Shi Xiaobai to have a quiet room to rest although she did not mind sitting there and be Shi Xiaobai's pillow.

  "Come on. Liu Yu, let's hold up one arm, and support him from each side. Little Xi and Yuesheng, help Sunless bandage her wounds."

  Speechless got Liu Yu, who was standing beside him, to help 'move' Shi Xiaobai. Since carrying him alone needed a princess carry, it created a feeling of dissonance. As for Sunless, her shoulders were injured, so she could not bear the heavy burden of moving Shi Xiaobai. Furthermore, there was a need for her to tend to her wounds.

  Speechless' order's were always rather reasonable, so the group quickly followed his instructions.

  The returning team lineup was determined instantaneously. Feng Yuanlin would walk right at the back, while Speechless and Liu Yu would each cling onto one of Shi Xiaobai's arms. They would walk in the second row, while Mu Lengxi and Mu Yuesheng would help Sunless bandage her wounds. Pulp Farmer would walk at the back to watch their backs.

  Speechless did not relax even when it came to the returning lineup. He proceeded in the safest way possible.

  It was because there was still a group of spectators above the basin that had not departed. Although they voluntarily opened up a path that could easily accommodate dozens of carts, no one knew what incidents might happen.

  There was no harm in taking precaution.

  Everyone proceeded as planned.

  Feng Yuanlin walked carefreely despite Speechless reminding him several times to be on alert.

  Mu Lengxi and Mu Yuesheng each stood on one side of Sunless as they helped her bandage her wounds. However, since it was in broad daylight and with so many eyes watching, Sunless only wrapped two bandages around her clothes. There was a need for her to take off her clothes and be bandaged again when she returned.

  Pulp Farmer demonstrated an excellent quality completely unlike Feng Yuanlin's. He was constantly wary of the back and even released the thousand paper cranes as a preemptive warning system. He nipped danger in the bud.

  Speechless began to raise topics for a conversation in an attempt to make the team's heavy mood turn lively.

  "You don't say, This Emperor remembers that only one trial-taker can obtain the recognition in the seventh level's world. When the sole person to clear the level is made known, the remaining trial-takers would be forcefully expelled. This Emperor is very sorry because all of you would be forcefully expelled as a result of This Emperor," said Speechless.

  "Why?" Liu Yu followed up in a friendly tone.

  "Because based on the performance of the battle, This Emperor's performance was probably the best, right? With exciting commands and a perfect plan, This Emperor had led everyone from a situation of despair to an outcome where we turned the tides of battle. If the assessment program were to choose someone to acknowledge, it will definitely choose This Emperor, right?" Speechless said as though it was a matter taken for granted.

  "Uh...but the reason why we could turn the tide of battle was because of This Penniless Priest's Telepathic Relay, wasn't it?" A brittle alliance could shatter at any time. Liu Yu felt that his hard work was not to be dismissed even if it lacked merit. It wasn't easy for him to be a mouthpiece which could not easily interrupt.

  "Without This Emperor's strategic orders, Telepathic Relay would have been useless," said Speechless with a smack of his lips.

  "But This Penniless Priest recalls that the resolution of Shadow Shackles was all dependent on Sunless. Finding the core formation was all dependent on Pulp Farmer. Destroying the core formation was all dependent on Mu Yuesheng. The reason why we could restrain Earthbound Yaksha was all because of Mu Lengxi and Feng Yuanlin, who protected her. Benefactor Speechless, other than you restraining Shadow Wraith for a short moment, it appears like you did not do anything special?" Liu Yu looked baffled. He had the feeling that Sunless was more suited to be the MVP.

  "This..."

  Speechless began to stammer, but he quickly straightened his thoughts. With a light cough, he said, "For a company to run smoothly, it obviously cannot be void of technical talent, but what greatly influences the company is obviously the chief executive that aligns the various departments and eventually makes the decisions. What This Emperor did was no different from a chief executive."

  Liu Yu was surprised. Although it was twisted logic, what Speechless said sounded very reasonable?

  At that moment, Feng Yuanlin, who was walking right in front, turned his head suddenly and tried to get in on the conversation, "I believe..."

  However, Speechless immediately exhorted Feng Yuanlin to be wary of the front by saying, "Don't turn your head. Watch your front!"

  Feng Yuanlin helplessly turned his head and said, "I can still speak without my head turned, right?"

  "Sure, what do you want to say?" asked Speechless.

  "I think the person that should obtain the assessment program's recognition is Boss Shi Xiaobai!" Feng Yuanlin said loudly. With his boss being unconscious, as a lackey, he naturally needed to step forward to fight for his boss's reputation!

  "Tch, Shi Xiaobai? Tell me, what did Shi Xiaobai do in this battle?" Speechless said with a scoff.

  "Boss Shi Xiaobai had killed three Level Lords!" shouted Feng Yuanlin.

  "Is that so? Think about it carefully. Can that monster that killed the Level Lords be called Shi Xiaobai?" asked Speechless.

  "Uh...Probably..." Feng Yuanlin obviously would not admit that the silver-haired devil was his boss, Shi Xiaobai. With that line of thought, the achievement of killing the Level Lords
was indeed unlikely to be considered Shi Xiaobai's.

  However, Feng Yuanlin was disgruntled, so he said, "But...But...Boss Shi Xiaobai managed to hook up with..."

  "Hook up?" Speechless asked in puzzlement.

  "Hook up...hook up with who?" Feng Yuanlin scratched his head and said, "I remember that Boss Shi Xiaobai had hooked up with some very powerful and dignified figure! But who is it? Why can't I remember it at all?"

  "Hey, beware getting slain by slandering Shi Xiaobai, by that Sun... Anyways, you understand. Although This Emperor also thinks that the bastard is a casanova, This Emperor has no impression of him hooking up with anyone. It's normal if you can't recall it because there was no such person," said Speechless.

  "Oh, is that so? It might be me remembering wrong." Feng Yuanlin thought for a moment and immediately felt like he was mistaken. It was as though it was a wrong impression that lacked any basis.

  "That's why, Shi Xiaobai did not do a thing in this battle. Instead, he was the one being rescued. It's impossible for the assessment program to choose him, right? It will not doubt be This Emperor," said Speechless with a laugh.

  "No, that's not right!"

  Feng Yuanlin still found the matter somewhat odd. After he pondered for a very long period of time, he finally had a stroke of brilliance and shouted, "That's right, Boss Shi Xiaobai had tied with the Hero King! Bro, you were nearly killed. So it is beyond a reasonable doubt that you were defeated!"

  "It was just carelessness on This Emperor's part... Furthermore, that Hero King was a fake. It was an imitation created by the assessment program. Didn't it say the truth before it disappeared? Shi Xiaobai's tie with the Hero King was not true, so it can't be considered something important," said Speechless.

  "Fake...Oh, it's fake. Odd, why do I remember that someone said it's true...Did I remember wrongly again?" Feng Yuanlin scratched his head in a distressed state.

  "Did you have some strange dream last night, causing your memories to mess up? Or is it...that This Emperor's memory has problems? Hey, Liu Yu, Pulp Farmer, Yuesheng, what about your memories? Are they the same as This Emperor's?" asked Speechless.

  "They’re the same." Liu Yu and the rest gave the same answers one after the other.

  "Ha...ha, it looks like I remembered wrong!" Feng Yuanlin gave a stiff laugh.

  This conversation suddenly turned somewhat awkward when it reached that point.

  After a few minutes, no one made another sound. Only when Speechless found a new topic of conversation did it become somewhat lively again.

  At that moment, they were proceeding through the Silent Desolate Lands. On the way, they also encountered many citizens that were similarly on the way back.

  Although they did not let down their guard...Urh, to be precise, they referred to Pulp Farmer, who consciously remained wary of the back, as well as Feng Yuanlin, who was forced to be constantly be wary of the front.

  Most of the time, it was Speechless who took the initiative to kick start a conversation. The others would respond to him and it made the return journey not overly boring.

  However, just as they were past the halfway mark of their journey!

  Something out of the ordinary happened!

  A problem happened to the three people walking in the second row simultaneously. First, it was Liu Yu on the left who fell to the left as though he was knocked away. Speechless, who was on the right, flew backwards as if he was struck by an immense force. And Shi Xiaobai, who was carried by the arms, planted his face straight to the ground in an odd manner...

  "Shi Xiaobai!"

  "Boss Shi Xiaobai!"

  "Brother Speechless!"

  "Speechless Li!"

  Everyone exclaimed. Sunless was the first to rush to Shi Xiaobai, who had collapsed to the ground face down. Feng Yuanlin turned his head and walked over to help Liu Yu up.

  Mu Yuesheng had instantly turned around to rush up to Speechless, who was behind her. Pulp Farmer, who was behind, also naturally walked towards Speechless, who was closest to him.

  Mu Lengxi's eyes wavered from left to right for a moment. She had noticed Sunless, who had rushed to Shi Xiaobai's side. As the light in her eyes dimmed, she bit her lower lip before running towards Speechless.

  At that moment, Sunless had roughly probed Shi Xiaobai's body. When she realized that he was still unconscious and uninjured, she immediately heaved a sigh of relief. She turned her head and asked Liu Yu, "What happened?"

  She did not see the culprit, nor did she sense any energy fluctuations. But why did the trio suddenly collapse to the ground?

  Was it some invisible force?

  The answer clearly wasn't that.

  Liu Yu hesitated slightly before saying with a sigh, "This Penniless Priest did not manage to see all of it, but the general sequence of events was Benefactor Shi Xiaobai suddenly waking up. He knocked This Penniless Priest down with his elbow and then smacked Benefactor Speechless in the chest. It caused Benefactor Speechless to fly back... This Penniless Priest failed to see what happened after that... But maybe Benefactor Shi Xiaobai had fallen unconscious again, causing him to collapse forwards since no one was supporting him."

  It sounded like the truth. If the invisible force did not exist, then the only way to explain how Liu Yu fell to the left, how Speechless flew backwards, and how Shi Xiaobai plummeted forward was Liu Yu's explanation.

  Furthermore, Liu Yu had no reason to lie.

  However...

  "Why would Shi Xiaobai do such a thing?" asked Sunless.

  Even if Shi Xiaobai had suddenly woken up, there was no reason for him to do such a thing, right?

  "Yea, This Penniless Priest happened to notice Benefactor Shi Xiaobai's hair. At that instant, it was silver in color... This Penniless Priest cannot be sure, and keeps thinking that it's a mistake. After all, that instant was just too short."

  As Liu Yu said that, his expression writhed.

  For Shi Xiaobai's hair to suddenly turn from black to silver, before attacking a companion, it was probably an after effect of the enraged silver-haired mode, right?

  All of this could be explained, and no one else was injured after all.

  But...

  For some reason, Sunless began to gradually frown.

  At that moment, the sound of a sobbing cry was heard nearby.

  "Brother, wake up! Don't scare me! Sob..."

  It was Mu Yuesheng's voice!

  The strong Mu Yuesheng was actually crying!?

  "What happened?" Liu Yu exclaimed in query. He had rushed towards Speechless with Feng Yuanlin. Sunless carried Shi Xiaobai's body with both her arms as she slowly approached. Her shoulders were trembling gently. Clearly, it was still demanding on her to do such a thing with the injuries she had incurred.

  Anyways, let's cast our gaze towards the spot that was more urgent.

  At that moment, Speechless's eyes were closed tightly. His expression was extremely pale and he laid on the ground motionless.

  Mu Lengxi was bending over his chest while crying incessantly. Mu Lengxi had a hand over her mouth to stop her from producing any sounds of crying, while her other hand was constantly wiping away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Pulp Farmer had a look of disbelief.

  Liu Yu and Feng Yuanlin rushed over, with the former asking loudly, "What happened?"

  The two girls were already silent from the sobbing. Pulp Farmer could only utter, "Speechless...Speechless is dead...There's no breath...no pulse...Even his heart isn't beating... Speechless...Speechless has died just like that..."

  Liu Yu's eyes widened as the color from his face drained. However, he immediately forced himself to calm down. He said loudly to the two sobbing girls, "Don't give up!"

  Yes, even though all signs of life had vanished, it did not necessarily mean death!

  Giving up was not an option at such a juncture!

  Liu Yu thundered, "Mu Yuesheng, use your electric impulse to stimulate the heart. Mu Lengxi, use healing magic. No, that's not right. Use
magic that restores physical strength! Don't cry! Don't give up! Speechless might not necessarily die just like that!"

  Leadership was extremely important during times like this. Just as Speechless said, if not for his calm direction in that dire situation in the previous battle, which was analogous to gathering a plate of loose sand into a coagulated whole, it was impossible to reverse the situation.

  In fact, what Liu Yu had instructed were actions that Mu Lengxi and Mu Yuesheng had been attempting again and again before they were left choked in tears. However, the two were left in complete anguish when the magic and defibrillation failed to show any positive effects.