Chapter 281: Live Online Games
Lonemoon panted. This game felt so much like real life. In that moment, he really thought he was about to die. He looked at his hands in confusion. Was that… his in-game skills?
"Father Niu?" Suddenly, he heard Shen Ying's voice by his ear.
He looked around but could not find anyone around him. A moment later, he noticed an icon of a yellow envelope in the bottom right corner of his vision. He instinctively tapped it
There was a swiping sound and a screen bounced out of the envelope. Shen Ying was on the screen.
"Where the hell were you?!" Lonemoon exploded in rage. "What kind of rotten place is this? And what the hell was that beast earlier?"
"You're in a newbie testing area. Before you passed the test, I could not contact you." Newbie area? He looked around once again and glanced at the beast that had now become ashes. Aside from its hideous looks, the beast was weak enough to be considered a low-level beast. This holographic game was too real.
"Did I pass? How do I get out?"
"You have a movement icon on your lower left corner."
Lonemoon looked down and indeed saw that there was a little green man on his bottom left. He tapped it immediately. There was a white flash of light and in a blink of an eye, he found himself in the midst of green hills and water. In front of him were several tables and chairs with different types of fruits laid out. Shen Ying was seated on one of the chairs, munching noisily on a fruit.
"Why didn't you tell me that I would be tested?" Lonemoon tried his hardest to hold back his anger.
"You didn't wait for me to say anything." Shen Ying tilted her head. He entered the game way too quickly. "But that was a test for newbies. Nobody would fail."
Lonemoon rolled his eyes and picked up a fruit, biting down on it. It was sweet and juicy. His tastebuds were overwhelmed. Shocked, he glanced at the fruit in his hand. "This fruit is so realistic." This game was living up to its status as a game of the Star network. The holographs seemed very realistic.
"Realistic?" Shen Ying paused.
"Yeah!" Lonemoon answered while chewing. "And that beast - even its smell and sound seemed real."
"Father Niu…" Shen Ying suddenly got to her feet and snatched the fruit from his hand. "You don't think all of this is fake, do you?"
Lonemoon looked at her curiously. "Isn't this a holographic online game?"
"It is an online game, but… it's not holographic." "Not holographic? You mean it's real…" He paused mid- sentence and sucked in a sharp breath. "Holy shit!"
——————
"We're not on Earth?"
"Yes."
"Where is this place?"
"District C, Planet A8726."
"Your lightbrain is…"
"A transportation equipment."
"Everything here is real?" "Yes."
"F*ck, didn't you say this was a game?"
"It's the game planet!"
He pondered about the scene he saw earlier on. "If this was a game, and I died here, can I re-"
"The Star Alliance will send the notice of death."
"…" Flips table! What kind of game is this! Game my foot! Could it still be called a game if he was to fight real monsters, and if he could not be revived after dying?
What's more…
"Does your older sister know that we've transported to this planet?" Shen Ying shivered. A moment later, she answered, "Let's not be too concerned with these details!"
"…" Details my ass! Do you know you could die here?
She waved the wristband. "We have a transportation equipment. We can get back in seconds!"
"…" He gave a suspicious expression.
Wait a moment!
Lonemoon suddenly recalled something.
"Didn't you say that no one would fail the newbie test? Why did I meet such a huge beast?" No average person would be able to fight that beast, right?
"This could be related to your standard. The newbie test is personalised according to each person's standard and therefore different for everyone." Shen Ying opened a screen which displayed all of Lonemoon's data. The last result showed that Lonemoon's standard was SSS.
"What kind of standard is 3S?" Lonemoon stared at the screen, confused. When Shen Jing checked on him earlier, he saw the same standard displayed on the screen. "Is everyone on Earth of this standard?"
"No!" Shen Ying shook her head. She picked out another set of data. "This is the data of an average person on Earth."
Lonemoon looked to the last page and saw that it was written:
F…
"…" What did that line of numbers mean? Was this a joke? The numbers for everyone else on Earth was so low, yet why was his so high? "You didn't cheat for me, did you?"
Shen Ying shook her head. "This is your data." "Why is it like that?" Lonemoon paused. "My present skills wouldn't allow me to fight that beast. What's more, if not for the game's automatic fire-elemental skills, I would have died!"
"There are no automatic responses in the game."
"Nonsense - I made use of it earlier. If they're not automatic skills, could it be my own…" Lonemoon's eyes widened in shock. "You're not saying that I brought my cultivation level into this world as well, are you?"
Shen Ying looked at him like he was retarded. "Did you not try to use sorcery ever since you returned?"
"How could that be? On the first day I returned, I felt no spirit Qi nor immortal Qi in this world at all."
"There isn't any."
"Yeah, then why…" Wait a moment!
He fell silent. Whether there was immortal Qi in the surroundings did not have any effect on his cultivation level. Cultivators used their own sorcery to activate the aura and skills within their own bodies. In other words, his cultivation level was not affected at all. The only catch was he could not increase his cultivation level.
He felt a sudden excitement well up in his chest. He conjured a sword technique and a bunch of swords appeared in the air, just like rain.
Lonemoon: "…"
It was almost like he found a treasure.
"Shen Ying…"
"Yes?" "Can I go back to the newbie testing area and kill that little beast all over again?" Damn it, if he knew he still had his cultivation, he would not have been so afraid of that beast!
"…" F*cking retards!
Lonemoon wanted to ask more about the game planet when Shen Ying suddenly transferred a whole bunch of information to him. They were all about strategies for people who were new to the game. After looking through the information, Lonemoon began to understand.
Just as Shen Ying said, this was a game planet. Yet, it was the kind that existed in real-life. There was no such thing as revival, no red and blue pills, and no beasts falling from the sky. But there were ranking points and statistics for the beasts.
There are several different races on the planet, as well as different planet beasts. The entire planet was split into six districts F to A, as well as a highly dangerous district S. Inside, the beasts were all split according to different standards. The District F beasts were the weakest, while the District S beasts were the strongest. They were now at District S. The beast that Lonemoon met with at the newbie training area was a characteristic S-grade Ice Rock Beast on the game planet. As long as a beast dies, it would automatically belong to the player who killed it. The player could choose to sell the beast to the game company or deal with it himself.
The skills that players could employ to kill the beasts all depended on the race of each player. In other words, Lonemoon who was of battle grade SSS was a top player from the beginning.
"Father Niu, let's go and slaughter beasts!" Shen Ying suggested.
"Slaughter?" Lonemoon, who was digesting how the game worked, tapped his wristband. The next moment, four or five lists appeared on his screen, each of them containing different players' rankings. "You're talking about this?"
"Yes!" Shen Ying nodded furiously. "Killing beasts helps you to accumulate points and you can later exchange them for star currency." Then they could buy more food. "…" Somehow, he felt like he was cheating.
Chapter 282: The Urge to Escape
Lonemoon frowned, thinking about the various lists and the introduction beneath them.
"I took a quick look earlier. S-grade beasts would earn you anywhere from 100 to 10,000 points." He pointed at the 100 points under his own name. "This is District S. The first person on this list has 2,300,000 points. In other words, we have to kill at least 230 S-grade beasts in order to become first place on that list."
"We can do that." Shen Ying gave him a thumbs up. "Father Niu is Grade SSS!"
Lonemoon lowered his gaze and looked at her suspiciously. "Why aren't you going on your own? If I can retain my own cultivation, you - the cheat - should be able too as well!"
"It's because I have Father Niu!"
You're just freaking lazy, aren't you? "Are you sure that the highest level beasts on this planet are all S-grade?"
"Absolutely!" Shen Ying beat her own chest.
For some reason, he felt that she was being ridiculous. Lonemoon looked all around him and stood up hesitantly. "Let's go!" Forget it, they were already here anyway. He was just going to take it as experiencing the customs of outer space. When he looked around earlier, the S-grade beasts on this planet were the equivalent of tenth-stage demonic beasts in the immortal world. Given his cultivation level, he could take on more than ten of such beasts without breaking a sweat. What's more, he had Shen Ying, the cheat.
As he spoke, he dragged Shen Ying onto his flying sword and took off toward the dangerous district marked out on his map. He started to feel some excitement in his chest. Afterall, he was one of the strongest people on this planet. He wanted to test out his skills as someone at the top of the food chain.
The moment they left the safe district, a red exclamation mark appeared in front of them. A reminder sounded by their ears. [Warning: An S-grade beast has been detected ahead.]
This really was some advanced technology. It even had a radar for beasts! Lonemoon landed, drew his immortal sword and waited for the beast to appear. In less than three seconds, the figure of a beast appeared in front of them… two beasts… 20 beasts… a few hundred…
Lonemoon: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
(╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻
Why were there so many! Sh*t!
"Why didn't you tell me that the S-grade beasts travelled in herds!" "Eh, I thought you knew."
"Knew my foot!" Lonemoon felt like breaking the cheater's neck. "You wouldn't rest if you didn't lie to me at least once, would you!" Given the size of the herd, it was almost a stampede! It was no wonder that they had not met any other player along the way. Everybody probably did not dare to come over for fear of getting killed.
Lonemoon watched as the beasts got nearer and nearer. He gritted his teeth and immediately stood upright. Without any hesitation, he shouted, "Go!"
He mounted his flying sword and ascended into the air.
"Wait!" Shen Ying pointed to the sky. "There are more in the sky!"
The next moment, he heard a lot of noise and turned to see a dense crowd of bodies. Lonemoon: "…" F*ck, he really wanted to escape!
The beasts were getting closer. Lonemoon had no choice but to grit his teeth and go ahead. The sky suddenly filled with many swords. Lonemoon was not sure if these so-called beasts were really just animals from outer space. Although there were so many of them, each of them was not comparable to the demonic beasts in the immortal realm. They did not seem to have any intelligence whatsoever. Dealing with herds of beasts like that was much easier for Lonemoon. For a few minutes, he listened to the ring of his points increasing by his ear.
His points increased rapidly from 100, until he made it to the top of the list in under and hour. Still, his points continued to increase.
However…
No matter how relaxing it was, he could not stop the monsters from charging at him in the thousands.
"Go for it, Father Niu!" "Go your ass!" Lonemoon glared at her. "Wait, don't tell me you've been remaining behind me all this time."
"Er…"
"Drop it! Help me! If you don't act now, I'm going to collapse!"
"I can't help you…"
"Why?" Lonemoon paused. He stabbed a beast that was charging toward him and rushed, "I can't hold on for much longer. Hurry up!"
"Oh." Shen Ying sighed. She took over his sword and waved it around. Immediately, a white flash appeared in the sky. There was a series of noises as the dense herd of S-grade beasts fell over, dead.
They all got destroyed in an instant! The roars that sounded from all directions suddenly stopped.
Lonemoon heaved a sigh of relief. The array around him darkened.
Shen Ying kept the sword and pointed to the air above them. "Because of this!"
What?
Lonemoon paused. Before he could reach, a loud ding sounded from the air. A voice then filled the entire planet. It was monotonous and mechanical.
[Ding! A huge anomaly has been detected. Users confirmed: Shen Ying, Father Niu. A mass killing weapon has been carried into this game planet. This is a serious offence that damages the balance of the planet. The two user will be dealt with! They are banned from District S for two months!]
The next moment, Lonemoon saw the points on the bottom right-hand side of his screen deplete from millions to thousands to hundreds and finally, 100.
Lonemoon: "…" Son of a b*tch!
Forget about his score being wiped out - why was his ID Father Niu?
To hell with this "Father Niu" business!
(╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻
For the umpteenth time, he wanted to dump Shen Ying and run off!
——————
"Where are we going?" Lonemoon, who had been transported to District A by force, glanced at Shen Ying, who was walking in front of him.
"To the market," Shen Ying replied as she chewed on a fruit.
"What for?" Lonemoon hesitated.
Shen Ying halted as she turned around seriously. "Father Niu, I've done my analysis. We failed because we could only fight as hard as we could earlier and we had no assistance."
Was the failure earlier on not because she got caught cheating? She even dragged him into the mess!
"So-"
"So we should form a nanny!"
"…" What the hell! Lonemoon pursed his lips and pondered the suggestion. According to the set routes in the game, a nanny would indeed be helpful to them. Given Shen Ying's million and one ways of cheating, she would be utterly useless to the team. All she would be able to do would be to stand aside and watch.
Although he was strong in battle, energy remained a problem. He was not as perverted as Chef - he would not give his life in battle. If there was a nanny causing some damage to the herd of beasts earlier, Shen Ying would not have gotten involved and caused trouble.
"Is there really such a race as nannies in the Star Network?" Lonemoon eyed her suspiciously. The information sheet from earlier had said it all - there were no special skills in the game. Everybody who entered depended on their own skills to kill beasts. The only kinds of special skills people had were the ones belonging to their own ethnicity. For example, black people could stay camouflaged in the night.
"Relax, it's alright!"
"…" Why did he feel even more unsettled upon hearing that?
Chapter 283: Fight Complete
30 minutes later.
Lonemoon smirked. "This… is the nanny you were looking for?"
"That's right!"
Right my foot. Isn't this a tree?
He scanned the tree-person in front of him from head to toe. The person was as broad as a tree trunk. There were green leaves atop its head. Sticking out of its body were branches that were swaying with the wind. From time to time, it would also use two branches by its sides to adjust its leaves like it was adjusting its hair.
Sh*t, it's a female tree!
"Shen Ying, what is this? A relative of Radish's?" Lonemoon asked in a low voice after pulling Shen Ying aside.
"A Tree Alien," Shen Ying answered.
"Does it know wood-elemental healing techniques?"
"No."
Water-elemental?"
"No."
"Then it's not as good as Radish!" Lonemoon glared at her.
"Relax. The Tree Alien is a rare breed in the Star Network. Its breed has special powers and S-grade battle skills. It's very difficult to find them." "Didn't you say it's a nanny?"
"That's right!" Shen Ying nodded. She turned to look at the tree-person behind her encouragingly, as if signalling something to her.
The female tree-person smiled, taking two steps forward. She closed her eyes and clenched her hands by her sides. She tensed up her entire body to bow at them. It looked like it took all of her energy.
Lonemoon jumped, eyes widening. Could it be that this tree- person really had great powers?
That tree-person's expression looked more and more pained. She bowed lower and lower. The green leaves on her head suddenly turned into green specks of light. Suddenly, she stood upright.
There were several swooshes. Amongst the leaves on her head, fruits suddenly began to appear! -_-|||
The tree-person smiled widely, reaching out to hand Shen Ying a fruit.
"Eat?" Shen Ying handed a red fruit over.
Lonemoon: "…"
He felt like flipping the table! This is the so-called freaking nanny? You freaking just want a moving fruit-stall, don't you?
(╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻
——————
An hour later. "Are you sure that there are 100,000 points to be gained from this District A?" Lonemoon pointed to the hole in front of him and asked.
"Yes, yes, yes. This is the first-ranking beast of District A." Shen Ying pointed upward and activated a screen. Indeed, the beast was displayed as an A+ grade beast.
"There's only one and no others?"
"No."
"There are no stampedes as well?"
"Of course not."
"Alright, I'll believe you once more." Lonemoon conjured a wind seal which turned into a wind blade. He shot it toward the hole. A moment later, there was movement in the hole. With a loud roar, the ground began to shake. Strong Qi flowed out of the hole and a black figure appeared.
Lonemoon's heart jumped and he retreated a couple of steps. It looked like a big fella. Immediately, he set up defence arrays all around him and tightened his grip around his sword, staring intently at the hole. The black figure came closer and closer, and he faintly heard strange sounds.
A few moments later, a huge snot worm appeared in the hole!
(⊙_⊙)
Lonemoon pursed his lips, not daring to believe his eyes. The beast on the ground looked like a blob of jelly. It was translucent as well. This was the number one beast in District A?
Ah woo… The beast cried out, sounding utterly harmless.
Lonemoon frowned. Alright, Shen Ying did not lie to him this time. This really was a tiny beast of District A. He waved his sword and attacked the beast. With a splat, the jelly spit into five or six pieces.
"Let's go?" Lonemoon turned and waved at Shen Ying, attempting to keep his sword.
Behind him, he heard ah woo… ah woo…. There was a string of cries.
Turning around, Lonemoon saw four or five more snot worms charging toward him.
What's going on?
Lonemoon paused subconsciously summoning bouts of sword Qi and attacking the snot worms with them. The snot worms split but each of those little parts turned into a new mini monster. There were suddenly close to twenty snot worms in front of him.
This was…
"Shen Ying, didn't you say there was only one of it?"
"Well… there was only one!"
"One my foot! You didn't say it could duplicate!"
"I just found out!"
"Screw you!"
The snot worms filled the floor and were all charging toward them. Some were even hopping toward them. They were rebounded by Lonemoon's array and each one split into two more. Two more snot worms were added to the group. Within ten minutes, they were surrounded by a dense crowd of beasts. These were not difficult to attack, but they were increasing in number.Shen Ying, the only body cultivator, could not help either. What was Lonemoon to do?
His heart sank. Suddenly, he remembered that they had one other person with them. He turned to the nanny behind him. "Well, tree-"
Before he could finish, he heard the sound of someone digging the sand. The tree-person behind them had dug a pit without them realising and jumped into it in a flash. Within seconds, the entire tree was buried beneath the earth.
Lonemoon: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
Son of a b*tch!
凸(艹皿艹) Didn't she say they were a rare breed? Weren't they supposed to be difficult to find?
Maybe the tree-person knew that it was betraying its friends. The soil began to shuffle and a red fruit popped out of nowhere.
The two of them: "…"
This was… meant to be an apology for ditching?
This wasn't the game planet. It should freaking be called the planet of retards!
***
Lonemoon and Shen Ying finally completed their mission, although it took them a total of two hours. Just as they were about to be buried by the snot worms, Lonemoon figured out that the tiny beasts were afraid of lightning. He immediately conjured a lightning seal, which caused the entire land to be filled with a burning smell. Not one of the snot beasts remained.
Beside him, the system's screen rang. It showed: Mission complete!
Their points jumped to 50,100. The other 50,000 points went to Shen Ying, who accidentally stepped on a snot worm while standing aside and watching Lonemoon in action the entire time. The tree-person who was buried in the ground did not score a single point because of its complete lack of assistance.
"Where should we go next?" Lonemoon turned to Shen Ying beside him. After pondering for a moment, he pulled out his own list. He thought it would be much safer for him to figure it out himself.
"We're done, let's go home."
Lonemoon looked over at her weirdly. "We're not going to kill anymore beasts?" Shen Ying sighed. "I'm too tired!" She could not go on any longer. Otherwise, her older sister would figure out where they went.
"…" Tired my foot. Was he not the one who was fighting all the monsters?
Lonemoon pursed his lips and looked away. He pondered for a moment and did not object. He clicked the button on the side of his screen.
The next moment, there were flashes of light all around him.
They were already back in the apartment. He glanced at the wristband that Shen Ying called a Lightbrain. Suddenly, he felt a real urge to go to outer space and explore for himself.
Subconsciously, he activated his immortal Qi. A flame appeared in his palm. Shen Ying was right - he still had his cultivation, even outside the game planet.
Chapter 284: Plane Invasion
Lonemoon and Shen Ying remained in the apartment for five or six days. Yet, Shen Jing still did not turn up.
Lonemoon decidedly rejected Shen Ying's invitation to the game once more. Without her partner in crime, Shen Ying had no choice but to return to her primitive games. Father Niu, on the other hand, had become obsessed with the Star Network's technology. He busied himself with researching the different functions of the wristband.
"I'm so hungry!" Shen Ying slumped on the couch lazily. She looked completely different from her gaming self. "Father Niu, are you sure you don't want to try out that restaurant I was telling you about?"
"Get lost!" Lonemoon rolled his eyes. He lowered his gaze, then picked up his handphone. He ordered take away reluctantly. Take it as I'm paying my accommodation fees!
He turned around to glare at the foodie and frowned. They had no idea when Shen Jing would return. He began to feel slightly uncomfortable. All this time, he thought that Shen Ying's mouth just could not rest. He thought that she was born a foodie, and that she was a natural cheat. That was why he never thought about whether there was anything wrong with her body. Shen Ying was also not the type to think too much. Had Shen Jing not realised something amiss, they might never have found out that there was something wrong with Shen Ying. They might even have persuaded her to eat less.
That's not right - maybe Chef did realise something. Perhaps that was why he always holed himself up in the kitchen to cook at meal times. He was always extra considerate toward her, yet he never seemed to worry that she would be bloated.
Lonemoon felt an unspeakable guilt deep in his heart. Suddenly, he felt that he did not do a proper job as her father. Should he have read more books on parenting?
(ˇˍˇ)
Before the takeout arrived, Lonemoon retrieved a couple of cakes that they ordered from the fridge. He wanted to make sure that Shen Ying's stomach was not empty before the food arrived.
Suddenly, he heard beeps in the house which sounded like warning rings. The same sounds were coming from the wristband that he was wearing as well.
"Warning in the plane!" Shen Ying, who had been laid out like a dead fish on the sofa earlier, suddenly jumped to her feet. She rushed to the table and pressed something. A screen bounced up at once and there was a familiar blue planet displayed on it.
Is that… Earth?
"Little Ying!" The next moment, a male voice spoke. Another screen lit up in the air. A man in a blue uniform appeared on it.
"Uncle… Kaitian?" Shen Ying paused.
The man in the screen pursed his lips. "I've said it many times
- call me Big Brother! Am I that old?" The man shook his head. "You saw that warning earlier, right?" "Yes." Shen Ying nodded.
"I know that you're on leave, but that plane is close to you. I am in District T and I can't leave for now. I'll have to trouble you to take a look."
"No!" She immediately rejected.
"Don't be like this, Little Ying! We have to help one another as colleagues."
"I'm not getting overtime pay."
"Little Ying…" Kaitian's face scrunched up but there were no tears. Suddenly, he thought of something. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Rights to the internal policies of Star Network's new online game."
"Deal!" "…"
"Send me the coordinates." Shen Ying immediately tapped on something on her screen. A moment later, she received a group of numbers.
"These numbers are strange," Kaitian reminded her. "There was no coordinates close by to this planet before. You'll have to be careful."
"Alright."
"Thanks for the effort," the man said and nodded. Then, he disappeared.
Lonemoon walked over curiously. "Who was that?"
"My older sister's other assistant," Shen Ying replied. She thought for awhile then added, "My colleague!" "How many assistants does your sister have?" Why did Lonemoon feel like the management of the plane was made up of a huge team?
"Just two." Shen Ying replied while assessing the numbers. "Under ordinary circumstances, she doesn't have any assistants. But Kaitian's circumstances… are special."
"Special?"
"He's not from this plane, but for some reason, his plane cannot be opened. My older sister had no choice but to allow him to stay."
Lonemoon nodded and turned to glance at her. "What about you?"
"Me?" Shen Ying paused. Indignantly, she said, "Of course I… got here through the back door!"
"…" Did she have to be so upfront about it? "Alright." Shen Ying switched off the screen in front of her and turned to face Lonemoon. "Father Niu, let's go on an adventure."
Lonemoon rolled his eyes and exposed her. "You freaking don't know the way, do you?"
"…"
————
Ordinarily, plane warnings would only go off if the stability of the entire plane was threatened. For example, they would go off when there was a space storm, turbulence in space or plane invasions.
Only the plane manager would be able to sense such warnings. However, the Manager Shen of this plane was obviously a professional. She created a warning system that would go off with just the smallest anomaly. Worriedly, Lonemoon flew on his sword in the direction of the warning. This was not the immortal realm. It was the modern world. Although Shen Ying always subconsciously despised this world's technology, he was in danger of being blasted if he accidentally flew within any country's radar and was determined to be an invader. Fortunately, Shen Ying did not let him down this time. The wristband that she handed to him helped them to avoid being detected by any radar.
Even the airplanes that they met along the way did not spot them, because the wristband had an auto-concealing function. It was much more useful than any talisman they ever had. Lonemoon could not help but feel proud of the technology that he was using.
"Is it here?" Lonemoon looked down at the seemingly unending sea and came to a halt.
Shen Ying looked at the coordinates and nodded. "It's here."
"Why is there nothing here?" "It's not time yet." Shen Ying gestured for him to fly lower. They stopped on a small island. Shen Ying tapped on her own wristband, causing a screen to appear, displaying lines of numbers. By the time she activated a countdown in mid-air, there were five minutes left on the counter.
Shen Ying used her finger to work on the screen which looked nothing more than a shadow. The numbers kept running up on the screen.
"That's strange…" She suddenly frowned.
"What's up?"
"This data does not look like there is an explosion in space or in time."
"What do you mean?"
"This is a plane invasion. Something is coming our way." Shen Ying's expression darkened as she pointed to the sky. Indeed, the sky in front of them twisted. There was nothing in front of them, yet it looked like something was about to break through. What's more, the thing looked extremely big.
"It's coming out."
Shen Ying quickly retreated a couple of steps. Lonemoon had never seen her this serious before. She was making him feel nervous. "What would it be?"
"I don't know either. It's from another plane. It could destroy this entire plane."
"Then what should we do?"
"Go back or… destroy it!"
Lonemoon's heart fell. Immediately, he summoned his immortal sword. For a couple of minutes, he set up series of arrays around them. It did not sound like anything good.
The sky in front of them was twisting more violently now. Beside them, the countdown was reaching zero. They were down to less than ten seconds.
Five… four… three… two… one!
Chapter 285: Reunion in the Plane
With a loud crash, something broke through the space in front of them to form an enormous hole. A strong hot aura charged toward them. The next moment, there was a flash of light and a presence that threatened to annihilate everything around it. The sea below them began to stir.
Lonemoon raised his sword array and all the swords in the air flew toward the intruder. Before they got to the hole, a big golden sword emerged out of it. An overwhelming sword Qi caused Lonemoon's swords to rebound back and fall to the ground like drops of rain.
That was pretty impressive. His expression darkened as he started to summon his sword intent.
"Wait!" Shen Ying, who was beside him, tugged at his arm.
"What's going on?"
He looked up and saw that a person had walked out of the hole torn in the sky. The man looked extremely haggard. His hair was in a mess and he was covered in blood and wounds. One hand was holding onto his side and both his eyes were bloodshot. He looked over at the duo and his eyes began to well up. A familiar face wore a crazed expression.
"Chef!" Lonemoon's eyes widened in disbelief.
The man who was covered in blood immediately appeared in front of them. He reached out and pulled Shen Ying into his arms. A low voice sounded by her ear, thick with indignance.
"Master…"
As soon as the word came out of his mouth, he fell to the ground, as if he had spent his last bit of energy speaking. Just before he hit the floor, Shen Ying instinctively helped him to his feet.
"He passed out!" Lonemoon grabbed Chef's wrist and checked his meridians. He paled and cursed under his breath. "Holy shit, he's injured to this extent and yet still alive." Lonemoon turned and saw that the hole was already beginning to seal up. How exactly did Yi Qing get here?
"Let's go back first!" Shen Ying said in a low voice. She turned and tapped on something. Suddenly, another entrance opened beside them. Inside, they could almost see Shen Ying's familiar room layout.
Lonemoon helped Yi Qing - who was limp as a doll - into the entrance. In seconds, the few of them found themselves back in Shen Ying's room.
"Wait, don't put him here. Come with me." Lonemoon was just about to let Yi Qing rest on the couch when Shen Ying pointed to a room by the side and walked in.
It was the same empty white room from before. This time, however, there was a long rectangular stage in the middle of it.
"Put Chef there." Shen Ying pointed to the stage. Lonemoon helped Yi Qing over. A red light flashed from the stage. At the same time, lines of numbers appeared on top of Chef.
Shen Ying did not speak. She began to tap away at the numbers, causing different colours to flash. Each time a colour flashed, Yi Qing looked slightly better. The wounds that were so deep they could see through to his bones began to heal in front of their very eyes.
Lonemoon looked anxiously at the weak Chef. There was utter silence in the room, all that could be heard was the sound of Shen Ying tapping away on her screen. Looking at Chef's injuries, Lonemoon could already tell that it was extremely difficult to heal him. What's more, there was no immortal Qi or even spirit Qi in this world. He could do nothing to help. Yet, Shen Ying did not rest. Her expression remained stern, as if she was conducting a surgery on Yi Qing. She focused hard on the screen and worked for an entire day and night before she finally rested.
"His condition has stabilised." Shen Ying's expression relaxed and she finally turned to look at Lonemoon. Out of habit, her tense shoulders slumped. "All we have to do now is wait for him to come to." Lonemoon nodded and glanced at Chef, who was sleeping. He did look much better - no longer white as a sheet. Lonemoon heaved a sigh of relief and walked toward the door. "Let's go out and wait." Ai, all they could do was make him worry.
Shen Ying started to follow him out, but something tugged at the corner of her top. She looked down and saw that Yi Qing had tightened his grip on her clothes. He was unconscious, yet his grip was strong. His bloody fingers had caused the corner of her top to turn red.
"What's wrong?" Lonemoon asked, seeing that she was not moving.
Shen Ying wanted to pry Yi Qing's hand away, but retracted her hand. "I have to stay here to keep an eye on his data. You can go out first." She turned and tapped on the screen once again. A seat appeared next to her. Shen Ying sat down and resumed scrolling through pages and pages of data.
Lonemoon did not think much of this. He knew he would be of no help even if he remained in the room, so he walked out into the living room. Chef slept for a total of five days and six nights. Shen Ying was beginning to suspect that something had gone wrong with the recovery process. Just as she was pondering what went wrong, something stirred on the treatment stage. Then, she felt a warmth on her left cheek. A trembling hand was there.
"Mas… ter?" Chef opened his eyes to look at her. His eyes were watery and he looked like he was about to break into tears any moment.
Shen Ying's heart fell as she said, "You're awake." She cleared her throat and tried to shake off the strange emotions that she was feeling. Turning around, she sent a message into the living room. "Father Niu, Chef's awake."
A moment later, the door to the room opened. Lonemoon ran in as quickly as the wind. "Chef, you're awake? Are you alright!" He scanned Yi Qing from head to toe and heaved a long sigh of relief. "Why do you always end up like this? What happened this time? I'm telling you, this world isn't like yours. If you try to cheat here, we can't help you."
Yi Qing kept his gaze on Shen Ying and acted like he could not even hear a word that Lonemoon said. He tugged on Shen Ying's arm nervously. "Master…. I couldn't find you. I looked all over the Three Realms… I couldn't find you." He lowered his voice, and spoke carefully, as if afraid to break something if he spoke too loudly. "Do you not want me anymore?"
Lonemoon glanced at the person in front of him. This was the first time he was seeing Chef so weak. His heart began to hurt and he tried to soften his tone. "Heh… Well, we were in the wrong. But we were sent over here too suddenly. We did not even have time to inform you. It was all that Godfiend's fault!" Lonemoon felt a sudden urge to beat the Godfiend up.
"Let's talk outside." Shen Ying stood up. Yi Qing's gaze followed Shen Ying as his eyes began to well up once more. He looked almost afraid to lose her again. She paused, held onto his hand and brought Yi Qing along with her.
Yi Qing was especially obedient. He followed Shen Ying. He followed extremely closely, making sure to stay close to her so that she would not get lost again.
"How exactly did you get injured to this extent?" Lonemoon scanned him from head to toe. Seeing that there was dried blood all around, he frowned, turned around and retrieved a new set of clothes. "Change your clothes. Your dharmic clothing will be of no use now. What's more, you can't go out like this."
Chapter 286: Change of Clothes
Yi Qing moved to take the set of clothes, then glanced at Shen Ying. He did not take a single step away.
"What are you looking at her for?" Lonemoon pursed his lips. "Can she help you change?"
He remained still, but looked increasingly anxious.
Shen Ying looked at him and said, "I won't leave."
Yi Qing's facial expression relaxed. He tugged at the clothes in front of him and looked confused. "What is this?" Why were his clothes in pieces?
Lonemoon nearly forgot that Chef was not from this world.
The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched before he took the clothes back. He shot a look at Shen Ying, then pulled Yi Qing into the toilet. "Come in." He closed the door with a loud bang to prevent a certain someone from peeking. They began to discuss matters in the toilet.
"Strip. Even your pants!"
"Why?"
"Just listen to me when I tell you to. Stop talking so much nonsense. Why aren't you moving? Take off your pants!"
"Oh."
"Bend down. Raise your leg up… higher. How can I move if you don't raise your leg!"
"Are you done?"
"Alright, come closer. If you cannot balance, you can hang on to me." "Well… your thing is so tight."
"You're not afraid of pain. Why are you afraid of a little tightness! Bear with it!"
Shen Ying, who was outside the door: "…"
She felt like she was listening to something dirty.
The two men remained in the toilet for close to 20 minutes before they emerged. Yi Qing looked completely different. He was wearing a white T-shirt, just like Lonemoon. Father Niu had the look of a rich man from every angle. Yet, Yi Qing looked like a teenage boy fresh out of the playground. His skin was extremely radiant - he looked just like the boy next door.
Yi Qing tugged at his clothes uncomfortably until his gaze finally landed on Shen Ying. He stopped fidgeting, as if somebody just locked him down. Hesitantly, he asked, "Master?" "Yes?"
"It's getting late. Are you hungry? Do you want me to whip up a couple of dishes?"
Lonemoon: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
Did he have to go back to his role so quickly!
Surprisingly, Shen Ying did not agree. She chewed on her apple and scanned his long hair. Then, she patted the sofa. "Come here."
Yi Qing walked over briskly.
"Squat down." "Master?"
She picked up a black eraser from the tea table next to her and pointed to his back. "Your hair."
Yi Qing paused, then understood. He sat down next to her obediently, hugged his knees and rolled himself up into a ball. He felt her fingers comb through his smooth hair, soothing his heart with each stroke. All the helplessness and pain of not being able to find Shen Ying despite searching high and low for thousands of years slowly seeped u of his body. In an instant, his heart began to fill up once again. He could hardly stop himself from smiling.
Lonemoon, who was watching Shen Ying comb through Yi Qing's hair, pursed his lips. For some reason, he felt a salty tang in the air.
"Chef, how did you even get to this world?" Lonemoon changed the topic.
Yi Qing's expression fell and he answered in a low voice, "I… I couldn't find you, so I returned to the immortal realm and found the Godfiend. He helped me step through the realm gates."
"How did he help you?" Lonemoon looked at him suspiciously. That bastard was so cunning - he had not spoken a word of truth from beginning to the end. If he had not cheated them, they would not have been sent back.
"Indeed, he did not agree." Yi Qing frowned. "So I fought with him."
Lonemoon's eyes widened. "He injured you like that?" Impressive! He could take on an ancient god all by himself.
"No!" Yi Qing shook his head. "This happened when I was stepping through the gates. I got injured by the messy flow of the auras."
"What flow of auras?" Lonemoon turned to face Shen Ying. "We didn't feel any aura flowing when we came back!" "We didn't," Shen Ying said as she continued to stroke Yi Qing's hair. "We're from here. Of course we would not be rejected by the plane." Chef intruded by force. Even if the gates were opened, he it was no surprise that he was attacked by the messy flow of auras.
So that was the case. Lonemoon nodded and looked at Yi Qing. For some reason, he looked different from before. Yet, Lonemoon could not put his finger to it.
"You're a Supreme Divinity now!" Lonemoon scanned him from head to toe and finally realised that his cultivation level had increased by so much. He looked even stronger than Hongyu did before. No, to be exact, he resembled the Godfiend. If Yi Qing had not been injured, Lonemoon might not have been able to fend off the intense suppressive force that he was radiating. What's more, he no longer looked like a child. "You beat the Godfiend?"
"Not really…" Yi Qing lowered his gaze. Nearing the end of the battle, even he could not tell who was winning and who was losing.
"Then why did he open the gates for you?" "Maybe because I went over to find him many many times?"
"Many many times?" The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched. "How many times did you fight him?"
"A few… hundred times?" He could not remember.
"…" He must have gone to look for the Godfiend every single day.
Wait a moment!
Did the Godfiend open the gates because he was annoyed at the number of times Yi Qing was visiting him?
"Later, I met Shortie. She helped me. The Godfiend finally agreed to open the gates to the alternate world."
"Meng Po?" A strange expression flashed across Lonemoon's face. "Why… did she help you?"
"I don't know either. But she was the one who helped me get back to the immortal realm and lead the Godfiend over." Otherwise, Yi Qing would never have been able to find the Godfiend.
Lonemoon clenched his fists by his sides. He could not figure out why Meng Po would help Yi Qing. She was just like the Godfiend - one of the ancient gods. She should have been on the Godfiend's side. What's more, she knew that the Godfiend was going to send him and Shen Ying back, and agreed to do so as well. Why did she help Yi Qing then? Was she Shortie or Meng Po?
"Chef!" Shen Ying suddenly spoke. "How long were we gone for?"
Yi Qing paused and shivered. After a moment of silence, he whispered, "3000 years."
"What!" Lonemoon jumped. He knew that time and space worked differently there, but he did not think that so much time would have passed. All this time, Yi Qing did not give up looking for them.
Suddenly, he felt a chill in his heart. Although Chef really did not look like much on the surface, he did not give up hope even after so much time. He even chased them all the way to this plane. Lonemoon could not imagine how he lived all those years.
"Thankfully, I succeeded." Yi Qing looked relaxed. He leaned back toward Shen Ying, satisfied. It was good that he found Master. As long as he could be with her, all the years of fighting was… worth it
Shen Ying's hand paused. It was a few seconds before she resumed stroking his hair.
Chapter 287: In the Wok
Lonemoon glanced at Chef and sighed. "Don't worry, we will fix that bastard Godfiend one day!"
"It's good that Master is here." Yi Qing did not sound like someone who was interested in revenge at all. "I don't mind being anywhere!"
Hey, can you hang on to your principles? Lonemoon again felt a salty tang in the air.
"Shen Ying's older sister will send us back again soon." Lonemoon turned to Shen Ying. "Right?"
"Huh?" That might not be so.
"What 'huh'?" Lonemoon rolled his eyes. "Don't you want to go back and fix that Godfiend?"
"That's so troublesome…" "Troublesome your ass! Can you not be so lazy at such a juncture?" Your disciple was the one who got injured. "Also! What are you doing? You've been combing his hair for half a day now. Chef is a man - is it right for him to be wearing two ponytails?"
"It looks good!"
"Good my foot!" He looked hideous.
"I think it looks good too."
"You boot-licker - shut up!"
——————
Lonemoon was afraid that Yi Qing had really trained himself into an immortal chef - no, a divine chef. Although only a month had passed for Shen Ying and himself, 3000 years had passed for Chef. Yet, his skills had not deteriorated a single bit. All it took was a simple briefing for Yi Qing to be completely comfortable with the kitchen appliances and tools that had been gathering dust in Shen Ying's house. He picked these things up even quicker than he picked up sword techniques.
The group ate for a good two hours before they finished all the food on the plates. Lonemoon was just about to introduce the basics of the new world to Chef when a familiar voice filled the house.
It was a message from Shen Jing.
"That's my older sister. HIde." Shen Ying immediately threw her chopsticks aside and turned around.
"Why?" Lonemoon paused. He did not understand why she was telling them to hide.
"Stop talking nonsense. Quick!" She grabbed the two of them with each of her hands and pushed them under the table.
Lonemoon: "…" Wait, why did he have to get down!
"Little Ying." Shen Jing's voice immediately rang in the house.
"Older Sister…" Shen Ying sat up straight as a pencil.
"There's something wrong with your body. I've been searching, but I can't find an answer. In any case, it should not do you much harm now."
"Alright, alright, alright."
"But I've already contacted the manager of the plane we went to together earlier. I want her to take a look at you for me." Shen Jing lowered her voice. "Wait for me to handle the matters on hand before I bring you over."
"Alright, Older Sister." Shen Ying nodded. "Get ready. Don't wander about."
"No problem, Older Sister."
"Alright." Shen Ying was just about to cut the signal when she seemed to recall something. "Oh yes, I felt you activate a space transfer earlier not far away from your home, leading directly into your house. What was so urgent?"
"Er…" Shen Ying hesitated. "Nothing much, I was just lost and wanted to go home."
"Oh really?" Shen Ying narrowed her eyes. "Why is it that I never noticed you doing the same thing in the past even when you were lost several planets away?"
"I… am hungry." She immediately diverted the topic to herself.
"Oh…" Shen Jing nodded. "Then explain to me, who is the man under the table to the left?" She could see that too! It was obvious that she had other cameras around the house.
Shen Jing did not sound as angry as she did before though. She just raised her eyebrows. "I've never seen you bring men to your house. Now, you're bringing two in such a short duration. Are you… unsatisfied with what you already have?"
Lonemoon, the one who was "had": "…"
Yi Qing, the one who supposedly satisfied her: "…"
Shen Ying frowned. "Older Sister, he's not my boyfriend!" Father Niu is not!
"Oh." Shen Jing looked as though she could see right through Shen Ying. "Since he isn't, you teleported him here because…?"
Shen Ying looked down. She had no choice but to be honest. ""He was from the plane we were at before." Shen Jing's expression darkened. She scanned Chef, who was still underneath the table, her expression hardening. "In other words… he's an invader!"
"Older Sister, listen to me…"
"Shut up!" Shen Jing's voice was cool now. Her gaze cut Shen Ying like knives. Even Lonemoon shuddered. "Was one trip out of the plane all it took to give you so much guts? Stay right where you are. I'm coming over immediately."
Before any of them could reply, the screen switched off.
Lonemoon felt inexplicably nervous. Shen Jing's expression was different from when she found out that he was under the table. She looked… enraged.
"Shen Ying, what is your older sister talking about?" He could not help but ask.
Shen Ying's expression darkened. "All foreign invaders in any plane are considered unstable. The plane must purge them."
"Purge… Your older sister isn't thinking of killing Chef, is she?" Lonemoon's heart dropped. For some reason, he knew that if Shen Jing really wanted to do so, Shen Ying would not be able to stop her. "What should we do?"
"Master…" Yi Qing lowered his gaze. "I came here of my own accord. If there's any punishment, I'm willing to take it. I won't fight!"
"You're crazy!" Lonemoon shouted.
Shen Jing was the manager of this plane. He would probably not be able to withstand what she had in store for him.
"Forget it!" Shen Ying shouted through gritted teeth, as if thinking of something. "If my older sister really takes action, I… have another solution. Or… I will stop her." He's her Che… disciple after all. She had to do something, even if it costed her life! "Really?" She should have said so earlier if she had a trump card. But looking at the fearful way she always looked at Shen Jing, Lonemoon did not know if he could really trust her.
"Yes." She had lived under her older sister's rule for years.
Lonemoon did not pursue the matter further. He watched as the air in front of him twisted and Shen Jing appeared within the house.
——————
"So… he's your disciple in the other plane?" Shen Ying leaned back on the sofa and scanned the group of three in front of her from head to toe.
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded.
"Older Sister Shen Jing, Chef chased us all the way here. He did not know that he needed your permission before transmigrating," Lonemoon explained. "Ignorant people should not be punished… please let it go."
"Let it go?" Shen Jing laughed mirthlessly, her demeanour turning cool once more. "Do you think invading a plane is a simple matter? Do you know what kind of damage it could cause the plane? Do you know how much cleaning up I would have to do?"
"But he… did not mean to!"
"You think that can solve everything!" Shen Jing jumped to her feet. She threatened to cut the three of them into pieces with her glare. "If I don't make an example out of him, everybody will start thinking they can invade my plane for no good reason. This world will end! Little Ying, they don't understand, but surely you do?"
"… I do."
"This one is the same!" Shen Jing suddenly turned to glare at Lonemoon. "Me?" Lonemoon's heart fell. He began to break out in a cold sweat.
Chapter 288: Killer Move
"Do you think I don't know about all that messy data you've brought back from the deviant plane?"
Lonemoon jumped. Data? His cultivation!
"You did not transmigrate of your own accord, but if this carries on, you will create unpredictable outcomes in this world." Shen Jing scanned Shen Ying from head to toe. "I'm only letting you be temporarily."
"…"
"Don't you all forget - apart from being Shen Ying's older sister, I am also the manager of this plane." She began to walk forward. Each step she took was akin to a stomp on their hearts, so that they felt a chill right through to their bones. They lowered their heads instinctively, as if knowing that the person in front of them was the most powerful force in the world. "Whether you're an invader or someone with messy data, as long as you're causing my plane to be unstable, I will not allow you to exist!" The moment she finished speaking, Lonemoon felt an extremely strong suppressive force on his body. He retreated. If not for the fact that Shen Ying was holding on to him, he might have already fallen to his knees. At that moment, he realised what a manager meant. Shen Jing had not even done anything to him, yet he felt an extraordinary force pressing down on him. Slowly, he felt his cultivation level seeping out of him.
"Older Sister!" Shen Ying shouted. Lonemoon's body finally relaxed. Free of the pressure, he turned to check on Chef and saw that he had undergone the same treatment.
"Don't call out to me!" Shen Jing turned to glare at Shen Ying. "Have you forgotten everything I've taught you since you were young?"
"… I haven't." Shen Ying lowered her head even further.
"You haven't? Look at what you've done! I allowed you to help me manage the plane in my absence, and this is how you do so?" Shen Ying was enraged. Her demeanour was extremely cold. "I thought that you would restore this person's data while I was gone, yet you only brought another invader into this plane." "…"
Her tone got harder and harder as she continued to glare at Shen Ying like she was an utter letdown. "You've really become more daring after wandering around for just a few days! You won't even listen to me anymore!"
"… No."
"No?" Shen Jing laughed mirthlessly and activated a screen. "Alright! We can't drag this out any further. Whether you kill this invader or drag him out, I want you to settle it. And this person with the messy data - restore him to his original state. Wipe their memories while you're at it!"
Shen Jing was for real this time. Lonemoon's heart tightened as he tugged at Shen Ying's sleeve. Didn't she have a plan? Why was she not carrying it out?
Shen Ying pursed her lips and shot him an inexplicable look. A moment later, she raised her head. "Older Sister… is this really necessary?"
"What? You want me to do it myself?" Shen Jing's expression hardened.
"Alright…" Shen Ying suddenly sucked in a deep breath, as if making up her mind about something. She turned around and looked warningly at Lonemoon and Yi Qing. Her expression seemed to say, "Don't laugh!"
"Huh?" Lonemoon did not understand what she meant.
She stepped forward, her expression returning to normal. She blinked twice, causing her eyes to well up. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she pouted and looked pitiful. The slothball they always knew Shen Ying to be turned into a cutie in a second. Even her voice became an octave higher. She sounded a bit… whiny.
"Older Sister~ Don't be this fierce. Let me off just once… Promise Little Ying that you will let them off, alright?" She pouted and blinked hard like she was looking into the sun. "I promise to listen to you in the future, I'll be good~"
Lonemoon thought he saw something shoot out from her body.
Good… good… good plan! She's especially adorable! She saved them with her adorableness!
o(*////▽////*)q
Lonemoon could hear his own heartbeat in his ears as his breathing got more shallow.
Suddenly, there was a silence following Shen Ying's implementation of her plan
The next second… "Alright, I promise you!" Shen Jing's hard expression softened immediately.
"Then the two of them…"
"Whatever you want? You can do whatever you want, as long as Little Ying is happy!"
"Thank you, Older Sister. You're so good to Little Ying!"
"Yes, yes, yes. You're so adorable - everything you say is right!"
"Little Ying loves Older Sister the most!"
"Me too! You haven't wheedled in front of me since you were three. I'm so touched. My adorable Little Ying is back."
What… What the hell? Lonemoon sucked in a deep breath and placed his hand on top of his pounding heart. Finally, he regained his composure. Indeed, Shen Ying's was a killer move. She used her own adorableness to save them. It was too scary! Shen Ying's back was turned toward them at first and Lonemoon thought that they were about to die. Faintly, he heard a special reminder in his ear.
[Ding! Shen Ying activated a killer move: Acting cute!]
[Ding! Shen Jing suffered a blow to her heart!]
Thank goodness they reacted quickly. Otherwise, they would probably be dragged into the mess. This was such a cheater move. It was an utterly shameless attack.
"Chef, we… Wait, Chef, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"
"Why is your face so red? Are you alright?"
"Holy shit! Why is your nose bleeding!" ——————
An hour later.
"Heh, since Little Ying pleaded on your behalf, I will not pursue the matter with the two of you." Shen Jing was finally back to normal. She cleared her throat and turned into her usual cold self. "Even though I'm not taking any action, the two of your existence would still cause instability in his plane. The manager of your realm is not replying me either. I have no choice but to send you back. If you stay here, I can't be certain that nothing would go wrong in this world."
"Can't we apply for an access pass first like Kaitian did prior?" Shen Ying asked.
"Do you think the access pass is a type of vegetable - that you can plant as many as you want?" Shen Jing rolled her eyes.
Shen Ying pouted. "Older Sister¬! Shen Jing paused, her heart softening. "Heh… well, it's not impossible to grant them an access pass. But they must possess the skills to pass the test."
"Test?" Lonemoon paused.
"You must take a test even to learn foreign languages now. Naturally, you'll have to take a test to get the access pass!" Shen Jing scanned the two of them and continued, "Both of your numbers are really high, but I can't be sure that you'd both pass the test."
So… they had to apply for a temporary resident permit?
"What kind of test?"
"We'll use the task I intended to hand to Shen Ying as the test." She activated a screen and immediately two black and red planets appeared in front of them. "Both of these are known as the Planets of Death. They were the planets that were infected by the deviant planets involved in the spatial storm earlier. There is no civilisation there, but all the plants have been infected. Each of you can choose one planet. Use any method you can to disinfect it. Then, I'll pass you!"
Chapter 289: Getting a Temporary Resident Permit
"Alright." Yi Qing nodded and stood up. As long as he would not have to leave his master's side, he was willing to do anything.
Lonemoon and Shen Ying exchanged glances and stood up as well.
"Oh, that's right!" Shen Jing suddenly added. "Little Ying, you're not allowed to go!"
"Why?"
"Your situation now is special. If you help them, there will be no need for them to go through the test."
Shen Ying frowned. She whined, "Older Sister~" Shen Jing pursed her lips and her attitude changed. "Alright, alright, alright. You may go, but promise that you would not help them, alright?"
"Yes, Older Sister! No problem, Older SIster!"
Lonemoon: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Shen Jing's weak spot for Shen Ying's cuteness had not dissipated.
——————
They were at an absolute wasteland. There was nothing but dried up soil on the ground, and the animals could do nothing but swallow their own saliva. They kept trying to tear at each other's skin and looked like that was all they had been doing the entire time. All around them, they could see fresh and rotting meat. The air had an intolerable stench. Lonemoon immediately understood why this was called the Planet of Death. Not only was there no one around, it was a wasteland for corpses. Nothing looked lively there.
The moment Chef and Lonemoon landed, they began to clean up the crazed plants and animals. Given their cultivation level, it was easy to deal with beasts without any intelligence. The only thing was that there were way too many beasts there. The more they killed, the more there were.
"Shen Ying, how big is this Planet of Death?" Lonemoon looked at the new herd of beasts charging toward them.
Shen Ying kicked a stone. Something flashed across her eyes as she answered, "A hundred times as big as Earth."
"What!" Lonemoon's eyes widened. How long would they take to clean this place up? Shen Jing was clearly cheating them! "If all the living beings on here have been infected, how can we clean all them up in a day?"
More and more beasts were gathering around them, and they looked stronger by the minute. In the beginning, they could find a spot to stick their feet on the ground. As time went by, they took more and more breaks in mid-air. Even so, there were a significant number of beasts that could fly in mid-air as well.
"What should we do?"
"Fly toward there," Shen Ying instructed as she pointed toward her right. "There should be some clues for us there."
Lonemoon paused and stabbed the great bird beside him. Without any hesitation, he sped toward the right for a full hour. By then, there was a huge group of crows following behind him, and they did not look like they were about to be tired out anytime soon.
"What are we looking for?" Lonemoon could not help but ask.
"Some information," Shen Ying replied. Suddenly, she pointed ahead. "RIght there!" Lonemoon looked up and found that a triangular structure was floating in the air. It was made up of several smaller squares. The outside of the structure was covered in silver. Yet, when the sun shone upon it, it disappeared.
"What is this?"
"An abandoned supervision station," Shen Ying responded. She gestured for Chef to fly over. She did something to it, causing a door to open on the triangular structure. Inside was just enough space for three people to sit.
"What are we doing here?" Lonemoon asked, confused.
"We're looking for more information about this planet." Suddenly, she tapped on the corner of the wall to her right. A hologram of the planet bounced up between them. Beside it was a bunch of strange numbers.
"How did you know you'd find data here?" Lonemoon and Yi Qing jumped. "Every planet in District T of the Star Alliance has such a supervision station," Shen Ying answered casually. "There's one on Earth as well, but it's been covered." This was also why she could connect to the Star Network.
"…" Lonemoon did not fully understand her, but all of it looked very impressive.
Shen Ying rolled out a map and messed around with the data next to the hologram. After awhile, she spoke. "This really is the Mineral Planet."
"What Mineral Planet?"
"More than 80% of this planet was made out of a mineral called W9851," Shen Ying explained. "This type of mineral is common in the Star Network and it can be found on other planets as well. That's why this supervision station has been abandoned. But the W9851 minerals are highly flammable. They explode violently and the flames would spread like wildfire."
"You mean to say…" Lonemoon's eyes twinkled. He immediately understood what Shen Ying was saying. "As long as we cause these minerals to explode, we can destroy the entire planet?"
"Yes." Shen Ying nodded. "But there is one problem."
"What's the problem?"
"This surface of this planet has been infected by all the animals and plants. The minerals are hidden deep inside the mess. My older sister would not let me help you all. Unless you find a way to destroy the surface of the planet and cause the minerals inside of it to explode, you would not be able to destroy the entire planet!"
"How thick is the surface of the planet?"
"A couple thousand metres."
"That thick?" That was absolutely frightening. "I will go!" Yi Qing suddenly shouted.
"You can't destroy the surface either." Before Lonemoon could finish speaking, Chef walked out of the room. "Wait outside-"
Lonemoon did not get to finish his sentence. A huge amount of sword Qi burst forth from Chef's body. With a wave of his sword, he struck all the birds behind them dead. Immediately, they saw flames cover the entire sky as the birds got burnt alive. It looked almost as if the clouds were on fire. Still, Lonemoon could feel Yi Qing's sword Qi. His body began to tremble from the impact.
This was shocking. Who knew that Chef's cultivation level would be so frighteningly different from before? And this fire…
"True Phoenix Fire!" Aren't you a dragon?
Before Lonemoon could figure things out, and after destroying all the birds, Yi Qing flew toward the ground. In seconds, strong sword Qi filled the air around them. They became covered by a dense golden light which was forming the shape of a great sword. The sword was thrown straight into the ground.
There was a loud crash as they felt the entire planet shake violently. Huge cracks appeared on the ground all around them. The ground began to open up wider and wider, until the ground became a series of deep, bottomless pits.
He… destroyed it!
(⊙ o ⊙)
Lonemoon's eyes widened. Indeed, he was a cheat.
He turned to look at Shen Ying's screen. It showed that they had only destroyed 2000 metres of the surface. This would not do! They still had a bit more to go.
"Chef…" Lonemoon started to call Yi Qing back. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a phoenix crying. Yi Qing, who had been holding on to the sword just seconds ago, suddenly turned into a gigantic fire phoenix. He flew straight toward the bottom of the pits, lighting them up. The flames caused the pits to go even deeper.
The planet was shaking even more violently now. The number on Shen Ying's screen continuously increased.
2700… 2800… 2900… 3000!
"We're done!" Lonemoon's heart leapt. He immediately conjured a seal and notified Chef. "Alright, Chef."
The number on the screen stopped once again. A moment later, the ball of light that earlier disappeared into one of the bottomless pits flew back toward the supervision station. Chef returned to his regular form and walked out from amongst the flames.
Chapter 290: A Friend's Call for Help
"It's been so long since we last met - you've become a phoenix!" He was indeed the lovechild of a dragon and a phoenix. He could change between all three forms. Lonemoon patted Yi Qing on the shoulder.
Yi Qing swayed and then collapsed. Shen Ying caught him and held him up. "Chef!"
Lonemoon jumped back in shock. It was only then that he noticed that Yi Qing's face was drained of colour. Beads of perspiration were dripping down his face. "Holy shit, are you alright?" He quickly helped to support Yi Qing's other side.
"I'm alright." Yi Qing shook his head and smiled wryly, as if trying his hardest to assure Shen Ying. "Don't worry, Master. I'm just extremely worn out."
Shen Ying frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." He nodded. Shen Ying looked at Father Niu, who nodded as well. Lonemoon sighed, "His meridians are indeed fine." He really did use too much God Power. "We have to quickly destroy this planet. What should we do next?"
"We should buy a bomb and throw it down there." Shen Ying turned back to the screen and tapped on it. Suddenly, it flickered. All around, they saw bombs being put in place. "There just happened to be many on sale in the Star Network's black market." She scanned her surroundings and selected the cheapest one among them. Immediately, an alert sounded in the room.
[Ding! You don't have enough funds to make the purchase!]
Lonemoon: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
"Er…" Shen Ying hesitated. "I forgot to fill up my game currency." Fill what f*cking game currency? Didn't you always hack into networks?
"How should we change accounts?" Lonemoon pursed his lips and sighed.
"Huh?" Shen Ying stared blankly back at him.
Lonemoon was already stepping forward and tapping on the wristband that he still had on. The next moment, there was another alert. A screen appeared in front of him. The words "Shen Ying" changed to "Father Niu".
Raising his hand, he picked the most expensive type of bond.
There were a series of beeps and a familiar alert sounded.
[Ding! Purchase successful! Please visit us again next time!] A moment later, a luxury explosive device which was all blue in colour appeared in front of the group.
Shen Ying: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
(⊙_⊙)
Shen Ying raised her head to look at the screen and was almost blinded by the number of zeros she saw on Father Niu's account.
"Father Niu, did you hack the Star Network's bank?"
"Hack what bank?" Lonemoon rolled his eyes at her like a true CEO. "Wasn't this the money we earned from playing that game earlier on?" "Er… didn't we get wiped out?"
"They wiped out my points," Lonemoon explained casually. "But the corpses that we killed were still under my name. I took the chance these couple of days to tidy things up."
"Then… you sold those beasts?" Wasn't that rubbish? How were they so valuable?
"I checked the industry chain in the Star Network as well while I was at it. I sent the corpses to a recycling company and split them into their respective parts before selling them. I've only just received half of the amount I sold them for. I'm still waiting for the other half to come in!"
As he spoke, he scanned the number in his account. Indeed, the huge number was still increasing. They listened to the sound of the number rising.
Shen Ying: "…" Yi Qing: "…"
"Why are you staring at me?"
"No… Nothing. It's just that we feel the sudden urge to call you Daddy!"
"Get lost!"
——————
With Father Niu's huge financial support, the three of them managed to finish their task in just one day. Shen Jing kept to her word and retrieved two pieces of paper, on which she wrote the words "Plane Permit". She handed those pieces of paper to her.
Lonemoon looked at the A4 paper in front of him and did not react for a long time. This was too freaking careless, wasn't it? Didn't she say that she would not hand out the permits so easily? The permits were just pieces of paper! Lonemoon shot a look at Shen Ying beside him and resisted the urge to vomit blood.
Yi Qing, on the other hand, was beyond shocked. He did not realise that anything was wrong. From the moment he landed on Earth, he had been feeling like something was dragging him back. Suddenly, that feeling was gone.
"That's right - you said earlier that there's a problem with Shen Ying's body. What's the problem?" Lonemoon asked.
"Little Ying…" Shen Jing turned to the woman next to her, her expression softening. Her gaze was overflowing with love and affection as her eyes welled up. "Every time I think of my cute Little Ying being dragged into a foreign plane to suffer, my heart hurts! But don't worry now, I will surely settle scores with those bastards!"
Shen Ying: "…" There is nothing worth living for. Yi Qing: "…" Did Master's older sister activate some kind of special characteristics?
Lonemoon: "…" This woman is obsessed with her younger sister, isn't she? She must be!
What's more, this cheat Shen Ying did not even suffer!
"I can't find out what's wrong with her body, but i've already found a similar plane as the one you all described!" As if recalling something, Shen Jing pulled out a screen and began tapping away on it. "I've already contacted the manager over there. She will send a permit over here soon. After that, I'll go over and check things out for you. I'll find out exactly what's wrong with your body."
"A similar plane." Lonemoon hesitated. "Is there another immortal cultivator plane?"
"Yes." Shen Jing nodded. "There's no way of estimating the plane's coordinates. Apart from our plane and the plane that you all went to, there are several other planets that are very similar to both." "Can you really find out the problem with Shen Ying?"
"I can't say for sure." Shen Jing sighed and frowned. "But I have to try."
Once she finished speaking, an alert sounded throughout the house.
"They've sent over the permit!" Shen Jing stood up as yet another screen popped up in front of her. On the screen was just one word written in red: Permit. Shen Jing raised her head and swiped the screen. The word split open and a gate opened right in front of her. A long white path began to form right before their eyes.
"Let's go." Shen Jing nodded toward the group of them. She took one step forward, then disappeared.
The few of them exchanged meaningful looks. This was the first time that all of them, apart from Shen Jing, were going to meet another manager. It was understandable that they were a little nervous. What's more, they had no idea how the other manager was going to look.
Lonemoon sucked in a deep breath and took a step forward as well. There was a flash of white, and immediately, they found themselves in a whole other environment.
They heard the familiar sound of.. cooking!
Then, there was a young woman's voice.
"You're here? Give me a moment. Let me clean up and I'll be right over!"
Shen Ying: "…"
Lonemoon: "…"
Yi Qing: "…" What the hell?