by <unknown>
In the black market in the east district of Double Dragons City, the bandits of the Red Fire Gang and those of the Black Water Gang were engaged in fire first and gradually drew in the other gangs who supported them. The many gangs already had the deepest grudge against each other due to the conflicts of interests, and small-scale gang fights happened all the time. Today, they had let out all their feelings under the boost of fear and fury. It was impossible for them to calm down until they had killed all the enemies.
In the north district of Double Dragons City, the Black Water Gang's warehouse of crystals and ammunition was heavily guarded and prepared for attacks.
From the black smoke, however, dozens of burning shuttles rushed out and crashed into their defense lines at the same time. The blasts raised by the series of explosions were truly like a surging tsunami, blowing almost a hundred bandits of the Black Water Gang into the sky.
It was not until then that the bandits of the Red Fire Gang in heavy armor crawled out of the flames, roaring and lunging at their nemeses.
In the west district of Double Dragons City, a factory of exhilarants that belonged to the Black Water Gang was burning fiercely, too. All the members of the Black Water Gang were tied up and kneeling on the ground before they were shot in the back of the head one by one by the tough bandits of the Red Fire Gang. Their blood and their brains splashed onto the lips of the bandits of the Red Fire Gang, making their smiles even creepier under the illumination of the furious flames.
But their smiles did not last long when stormy gunshots echoed in the sky. Several heavy armed shuttles with the marks of the Black Water Gang bombarded all the members of the Red Fire Gang with the firepower of more than thirty cannons!
In the chaotic battle, not everybody had gone frantic.
Some of the captains in the gangs, hoping to preserve their own strength, tried to keep their subordinates outside of the battle and commanded them to escape to the places of fewer gunshots.
But they did not know that a dim but dangerous red light was patrolling in the black smoke, releasing powerful telepathic thoughts that were not hindered by the black smoke at all as the subtle changes on the battlefield were perceived.
Whenever it noticed that someone was about to escape the chaos, the red light would fly dozens of times faster and dart through the forehead of the captains!
After their captains were shot by the uncanny 'bullets', the remaining tough bandits would only run about like headless flies, only to be caught in the fire net again.
The red light was like the most brilliant director, controlling the seemingly chaotic battlefield accurately.
Wherever the conflicts were about to die down, it would dash over and pour more fuel on the fire. When the capability contrast in one place was too imbalanced, it would kill a few experts on the winning side stealthily, making sure that both parties would shed their last drop of blood in ignorance.
…
An hour passed.
Inside the luxury, pyramid-shaped hotel, bodies that were riddled with holes littered the ground. Almost everybody was wearing an expression of bewilderment. The stench of blood was so intense that it seemed to be raining blood.
Fire Eye and Wu Du, the bosses of the Red Fire Gang and the Black Water Gang, were both heavily wounded. They had almost run out of all their blood, and they were simply leaning against the wall under the support of their vigorous vitality.
The communication between them and the captains of their gangs had been seriously jammed. Nothing but the sound of battle could be heard in the communicators. They were completely blocked in the enormous grave.
Right then, mechanical sounds and the sounds of tracks rolling over dead bodies echoed from outside.
In the middle of the black fog and smoke, a tall, cold spiritual puppet showed up before them.
Fire Eye and Wu Du looked at the smiling star on the shell of the puppet, unable to figure out which force it belonged to at all.
However, from the cold killing intent of the newcomer, they somehow sensed that the unattractive spiritual puppet was perhaps the source of all chaos.
The two of them found it absurd. Was it possible for a spiritual puppet to direct a chaotic battle that involved the whole of Double Dragons City?
Wu Du covered his abdomen, which had been left with an enormous hole, and tried to ask, "Who are you—"
After he spoke only three words, the guns on the chest of the spiritual puppet had already begun to glitter. The burning bullets stuffed all his questions back to his throat and the back of his head.
Before that, Fire Eye's furious eyes had frozen. From his forehead to the tip of his nose and to his jaw, a long, narrow red line gradually appeared.
…
The carnage in Double Dragons City lasted from dusk to dawn the next day.
After a night, almost all the gangs were uprooted and annihilated.
The bandits who luckily survived became shocked birds. Looking at the city that was rife with bodies and fire, they were too frightened to do anything.
Before they calmed down to clean up the mess, a fully-armed, overwhelming army showed up in Double Dragons Valley outside of the city. They were the villagers from the Village of Peace!
The previous day, Li Yao had asked Han Te and Liu Li to forward the entire plan to Gu Zhengyang, but Gu Zhengyang would certainly not believe it so easily.
However, the Village of Peace had already been pushed to desperation. Even Ma Ku and Fei Zhong, two notorious bandits, had been killed by him, and the advanced waterborne facilities from the Black Water Gang had also been destroyed. It was obvious that the tough bandits from Double Dragons City would not let go of them just like that. However humbly they presented themselves, they would not be able to avoid their fate as cannon fodder.
Therefore, they might as well fight to the end!
At midnight, Gu Zhengyang led an elite squad of scouts and climbed to the Green Dragon Mountain to observe the situation in Double Dragons City.
When he saw that Double Dragons City was indeed mired in smoke and explosions, and gunshots were echoing nonstop, he was both surprised and suspicious, but he felt a slim chance of hope.
When dawn came, the fog and smoke in Double Dragons City gradually dispersed, revealing the gory ending of the city. Gu Zhengyang immediately reached the conclusion that Double Dragons City had entirely lost all order.
Chapter 1989: Go Now Without Worries! |
In the Land of Sins, there was no obvious distinction between civilians, warriors, and bandits. The warriors of the Village of Peace were trained by Gu Zhengyang, an expert from the sky, and 'Blood Eagle' Zhao Lie, a former tough bandit. They were well-organized and boasted a high combat ability.
After they arrived at the valley willing to sacrifice themselves, they were fearless of any enemy. The bandits who had just fought for a whole night and had lost all their leaders were no match for them at all.
Those who dared resist were immediately killed by the warriors of the Village of Peace, who outnumbered the bandits ten to one.
The slaves on the human market were freed and enlisted on the Village of Peace's side.
By noon, the Village of Peace had basically got the situation in Double Dragons City under control. The flames that had burnt for a whole night gradually died down.
Although the asset warehouse of the Red Fire Gang had exploded and burnt to the ground, the other gangs had more than ten enormous warehouses of resources after all, in which high-energy food, water-cleaning cartridges, anti-radiation suits, and a myriad of magical equipment were stored. They even had dozens of low-level crystal suits.
With so many assets, even if the population of the Village of Peace doubled, they would be able to sustain themselves for the next year and half.
However, although the situation was settled for now, the future was still unpredictable.
The Red Fire Gang and the Black Water Gang were gone, but Double Dragons City was a critical location. Although i
t was in the middle of a power vacuum, new gangs would enter the place before long and restore it to what it had once been.
Unless, of course, the Village of Peace was capable of defending Double Dragons City and became a new dominator, which had perhaps been the greatest dream of 'Blood Eagle' Zhao Lie in the past.
The Village of Peace was not necessarily incapable of that, but if they became the new dominator of Double Dragons City, they would inevitably turn into ferocious, ravenous animals like the Red Fire Gang or the Black Water Gang.
As for exactly what path they should walk in the future, Gu Zhengyang had not figured out the answer. Perhaps no one in the Village of Peace knew.
They could only try to save more people and live longer by following their heart.
At noon, Han Te and Liu Li went to Gu Zhengyang, who had been busy all morning. Holding each other's hands, they summoned their courage and proposed their request to Gu Zhengyang.
"You're leaving?" Gu Zhengyang's eyes glittered as if he were a hawk as he stared at Li Yao behind. "You are going to find Manjusaka, the City in the Sky, with this… Fiend Star?"
"Yes!" The two little fellows gritted their teeth and replied, "We have to go to Manjusaka and ask the high and mighty angels a lot of questions. We will figure out the truth of our world!"
Somewhat out of their expectations, Gu Zhengyang did not immediately turn them down. His eyes were deep and blurry, and there was no telling what was on his mind. Touching Liu Li's head, he sighed. "Both the City in the Sky and this Fiend Star contain too many secrets. Perhaps they far exceed the limits of what we can pursue, and we will have to pay with our lives if we want to know the answer. Are you still going to search for the answer even so?"
Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other and said firmly, "Yes. Master, we know that it is very dangerous to look for the City in the Sky. But is there any place in the Land of Sins that is not dangerous? Although we lived in the Village of Peace peacefully, didn't we suffer disasters every once in a while?
"Furthermore, the Village of Peace has resolved the crisis at hand, but it will only be temporary! Double Dragons City is a fat piece of meat. Soon, other wolves and tigers will find it and try to occupy it. After those animals arrive at the city, the first thing they do will be to beat the Village of Peace because we are the greatest threat in the area!
"If we do not want to be swallowed by others, we have to strengthen ourselves with whatever means possible just like the gangs. We must grow tusks and claws and become animals that are madder and more brutal than them. But is such a life what you want?"
Gu Zhengyang was silent. After a bitter smile, he said, "That is the path that Zhao Lie wanted to walk on. Perhaps it is indeed the right path, but I—I simply can't make that choice."
"No. Zhao Lie… and the entire world are wrong. You are the right one, Master!" Han Te clenched his fists. "Liu Li and I both want to change the cruel and absurd world. But to change it, we must know clearly what it is. That is why we have to go to Manjusaka, the City in the Sky! Master, do you not want to grow Gold Barley over the entire Land of Sins one day and settle all the conflicts and disasters on our land? Just let us go. We will certainly find an answer about this world!"
"Dad, we have already grown up. You can't protect us forever." Liu Li bit her lips. "If 'Fiend Star' comes with us, there will not be any problem!"
Gu Zhengyang looked at Li Yao again. Then he recalled the horror last night made of gunshots, explosions, and surging flames.
It was hard to imagine that Double Dragons City had been destroyed by a spiritual puppet.
What kind of monster was it exactly?
Gu Zhengyang's instincts made him confused and vigilant of Li Yao.
However, on second thought, his daughter, his disciple, himself, and even the entire Village of Peace were just some minor forces in a remote area of the Desolate Worlds. Nobody would have any reason to covet them, right?
Had it not been for the spiritual puppet, the Village of Peace would have been razed to the ground, and his daughter and disciple would have suffered the most miserable torture under the bandit Fei Zhong.
Gu Zhengyang sighed and said, "What are you going to do exactly?"
Han Te and Liu Li looked at each other and both cheered. Han Te said confidently, "Fiend Star found an invitation card from Double Dragons City. We plan to go to 'Fist King' Lei Zonglie with the invitation card!"
"Fist King?" Gu Zhengyang was slightly dazed. Then he frowned and said, "The Fist King is preparing to attack Liberty City. The Bloody Plateau Area is turbulent right now. You are going to involve yourselves in it?"
"If we don't join the Fist King's army, how can the two of us, who are nameless nobodies, sneak into the Elysian World and find a way to ascend to the City in the Sky?" Han Te rubbed his nose and smiled. "The confrontation between 'Fist King' Lei Zonglie and the leader of Liberty City gives a great opportunity to us small fries to take advantage of the mess. We will certainly be able to get a lot of messages and even accumulate abundant 'contribution points'."
"We are going to the Fist King for the sake of the Village of Peace, too," Liu Li said solemnly. "Right now, most of the gangs on the Bloody Plateau Area have focused their attention on the competition between 'Fist King' Lei Zonglie and the leader of Liberty City. They have no time to bother with the small places like Double Dragons City or the Village of Peace. I estimate that we will still have time to consolidate the defense of Double Dragons City.
"However, after the battle in Liberty City is over, somebody will definitely come here to steal Double Dragons City.
"Therefore, after we join the Fist King's army, we will observe in secret and find out who covets Double Dragons City and the Village of Peace so that you will be able to make preparations in advance, Dad.
"Moreover, if we are lucky enough, we will win the support of 'Fist King' Lei Zonglie. Nobody will dare touch the Village of Peace if so, and you will be able to build Double Dragons City into a brand-new city!"
Gu Zhengyang smiled and did not comment on their proposal. He simply said, "Judging from your words, you seem to be confident in 'Fist King' Lei Zonglie's victory. But I can tell you that it is not necessarily the case. Xiahou Wuxin, the leader of Liberty City, has been a dominating expert since decades ago. I don't believe that he will wait to be killed by the Fist King."
"It doesn't matter." The two little fellows looked at each other and smiled. "We will not stand on the Fist King's side loyally. If Xiahou Wuxin turns out to be tougher, we will certainly not hesitate to switch sides!"
"Just let us go, Dad!" Liu Li shook her father's hands. "Otherwise, what can we do even if we stay here? When the battle between the Fist King and the leader of Liberty City is over, a lot of gangs will come, and we will still be doomed!"
Gu Zhengyang was deep in thought. "About that…"
…
That day at dusk, Han Te and Liu Li were all set to go.
Even Li Yao had fully upgraded himself with the assets in Double Dragons City. He still appeared clumsy and unattractive, but the gear, engine system, and aggressive magical equipment inside the iron shell had been entirely renewed and could more or less keep up with the pace of his soul.
Gu Zhengyang had gone to bid the two of them farewell with a lead gray jar in his hands.
"Master, what's this?" Han Te asked curiously.
Gu Zhengyang smiled and opened the jar. Weird fragrance spread out with gold brilliance that looked like wine.
"The seeds of the Gold Barley!" Liu Li exclaimed.
"Exactly." Gu Zhengyang sealed the seeds carefully and gave them to his daughter. "Help spread them across the entire Land of Sins. Maybe they will take root and sprout somewhere."
"Master…" Han Te called him earnestly and waved his fists hard. "You must hold on. We will certainly be able to protect the Village of Peace if we work together!"
"Of course I will. I will not be crushed so easily." Gu Zhengyang grinned. "I will certainly protect the Vi
llage of Peace until you return!"
"It's a deal!" Han Te waved his hands hard. "Master, we're off!"
"Dad, take care of yourself." Liu Li held back her tears. "We are leaving!"
"Wait. There's still something I want to say to you."
After much hesitation, Gu Zhengyang took a deep breath and said, "About the chip that I sent you, the one that contains 'Little Cultivators', I've given it a lot of thought. It was not until I was almost killed by Ma Ku and Fei Zhong the other night that I finally figured everything out.
"Maybe it doesn't matter whether or not the Martial Meritocrats Sector had Cultivators in the past. Even if all the stories in 'Little Cultivators' were fabricated and there were never such idiotic and shortsighted things as 'Cultivators' in the past, it doesn't matter.
"What matters is 'now' and the 'future'.
"Perhaps, at present and in the future, Cultivators will exist forever.
"I sincerely hope so. Therefore, go now, kids. Believe in yourselves and change the world to create a new one of your own!"
Chapter 1990: Arriving at Bloody Plateau |
In the Land of Sins, in the Bloody Plateau Area…
This place was different from the 'Thousand Lakes Area' where the Village of Peace was situated.
The Thousand Lakes Area had once been bombarded by countless powerful earth penetrators, which left enormous craters in the cities and the wilderness. After hundreds of years, the craters had turned into lakes. That was how the place got its name.
The Bloody Plateau did not suffer the scourge of so many earth penetrators, but it was also affected by a catastrophe that destroyed everything. There was some sort of fungus that swallowed all the creatures and could trigger the extreme mutations in the genes of creatures.
As far as the eyes could see, the entire Bloody Plateau was covered in a thick carpet of fungi. Hazy red mist was floating in midair, too, mixed with a greasy stench. One could not help but feel that they were placed in the ocean of blood.
That was how the Bloody Plateau Area got its name.