“Boss Meng!” Captain Qin turned and called: “Heavenly No. 1 Private Room, please seat my friend here quickly.”
“If his ranking established before arriving at City Twenty costs ten thousand hours to enter the Heavenly No.1.”
“What? Ten thousand hours just for a meal?” The crowd focused on them.
“Risking life for a meal.”
Boss Meng stepped forward: “Everyone, please don’t be surprised. The reason why our Delicacy Workshop sets up four types of rooms—Heaven, Earth, Dark, Yellow—is because we offer precious foods with… magical abilities from another world. Once you taste them, you’ll find this meal definitely worth the price.”
Xiao Yushan and his group were completely sidelined until another headwaiter came to ask if they needed a private room; only then did he nod with a dark face.
What else could we do? Have everyone walk dozens of miles just to eat some steamed buns and then walk all the way back?
……
Faced with the enthusiastic invitation before him, Morrie hesitated inwardly for a moment.
Unable to refuse Young Master Wang’s earnest urging and Captain Qin’s enthusiastic pulling, he was half-pushed, half-willingly coaxed a few steps forward.
Suddenly, the man stopped in his tracks. “Hold on a second.”
“What’s wrong?”
Morrie turned to look at two ragged, grimy men by the street, who were grinning at him but had eyes as dead as ashes.
He walked over, pulled two bills glowing with a gentle shimmer from his pocket, and placed them in their hands.
“If you can make it into Hub Town, you must each have your own unique talents. You two, a new future awaits you.”
The two men, who looked like beggars in disgrace, shuddered as if struck by lightning and stared down at the folded paper in their hands.
*[Lifespan Bank: 2000N.]*
*[I can use an additional 2000N.]*
“You, this ability…” they looked up, “Could you be the creator of the ‘Born Treasure’?”
Not hearing their words clearly from the crowd, Morrie flattened Boboli’s slightly crumpled clothes, dragged the boy along, and followed Young Master Wang and the others toward the restaurant entrance.
……
As Morrie passed the sullen-faced Xiao Yushan, he turned to face the two former teammates who had stood up for him earlier.
“Thank you. But you’d better find a new team leader—this guy is both suspicious and foolishly unaware of his own failings. And, if you ever come to buy my wares, I’ll give you a thirty percent discount.”
“Who would buy your stuff.”
“Don’t try to sow discord.”
Morrie broke into a smile, “They will. When that happens, just find Yang Zicang or this friend of mine, and tell them I said you’ll all get a 20% discount.”
With that, he followed the enthusiastically hospitable Young Master Wang upstairs.
“What? Yang Zicang?”
Some people behind were stunned for a moment before suddenly realizing, “He’s from Yang Zicang’s team!”
Morrie smiled faintly. As he walked, the model on his chest gradually materialized.
[I wish to cast an active investment of 1R for Yang Zicang.]
[Mental Link failed.]
……
In the shed area, bonfires blazed brightly under the gloomy sky, with the aroma of wine wafting everywhere.
“Um, well, let me say a few words.”
On the bustling dirt ground, a man holding a bowl of wine staggered and addressed the dozen tables and the hundreds of people gathered around:
“Good people! Now, we’re all immortal, god-like beings. Coming together today, first, let’s thank our shed master, Zhang Xianpang…”
The crowd burst into laughter; the little shed master from nearby was drunk and a bit confused.
In the adjacent small room, Yang Zicang listened for a while, shook his head, then came back to sit at the wine table.
The atmosphere here was faintly serene, but the room inside remained lively, so nobody noticed the peaceful moment that had been interrupted.
Someone refilled his own glass again.
“No fights, no friendship, Brother Zicang.”
After three rounds of drinks, Yang Zicang felt slightly dizzy, silently activated his Crystal Perception to gradually sober up.
Li Shangxiang recounted how he managed to slip away that night when Yang Zicang dealt with the rogue truck cargo team, sparking a round of laughter from the table.
“You little rascal, you already had it in mind to cut and run.”
“I was just waiting for a hero like Brother Yang to show up. Ah, before I joined the cargo team, I had no idea they were black marketeers. Had I known, I’d have gone with Brother Shadow—regretting it was too late by then. Good thing Brother Yang stormed in, otherwise I wouldn’t have dared to bolt.”
Laughing heartily, he pointed at Yang Zicang.
“Hey, this buddy of mine—we used to go to the same school.”
“It’s fate,” chimed in the others around.
Yang Zicang nodded, “Indeed, quite a deep fate.”
“I’m just someone who does small-time stuff. Come on, Brother, bottoms up.”
A man at the table, with half-long hair veiling part of his face, kept chatting with Wuying as if they had just met. After sharing a few toasts, he laughed and said:
“Brother Zicang, I heard you have a type of coin that allows direct investments. Could I have a look at it?”
“Of course.” Yang Zicang casually tossed him a coin storing a millennium’s time sequence.
Chu Jun laughed, “You two buddies really are peas in a pod today, haha.”
“And just what’s that supposed means?” asked Yang Zicang, slightly slurring from the drink.
“Well, his ability is just about the same as yours, ’cept the can only can saved on a piece paper, making your own version.” Then Wuying added.
“Oh?” Yang Zicang looked at Li Shangxiang, who shrugged helplessly.
“Shangxiang, aren’t you going to take out an Ability Sphere and show it to your fellow townsman?”
“Isn’t that like showing off my skills in front of an expert?”
Yang Zicang took a bit of interest. “It wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”
Seeing that everyone at the table was staring at him with curiosity, Li Shangxiang scratched his head in embarrassment. “Hehe, my ability is so ridiculous that it’s basically useless. Normally, I’m too embarrassed to even mention it.”
With that, he awkwardly pulled out a small cyan sphere and handed it to Yang Zicang.
[I can perform time sequence migration, target: Li Shangxiang.]
“Time sequence migration? What kind of Ability Sphere is this? The description is so vague.”
Chu Jun laughed. “Hehe, Brother Zicang, if there’s one thing in the world that could trump your coins, this is definitely it. It can directly migrate the time sequence obtained in the next short period of time to Li Shangxiang for storage.”
“So powerful!”
Only an expert would know just how great this ability is. If Lu Bu had obtained it, he would definitely run rampant again.
As he spoke, Chu Jun seemed drunk and rambling:
“I’ll let you in on a secret: this migrated time sequence also can’t exceed ten thousand, you know. Other than the time sequence he earns himself, he can accept a maximum of ten thousand through migration. Anything more, and it’ll vanish too.”
Li Shangxiang put on a feigned pout. “You’ve basically given away all my secrets.”
The table erupted in laughter.
“I see.” The spark in Yang Zicang’s eyes faded, replaced again by a blur of drunkenness.
“But if on the Fate Track, could he store over ten thousand hours of lifespan?”
Yang Zicang immediately thought of Li Shangxiang’s greater use, tossing the Ability Sphere in his hand.
“Exactly, but going to a place like that would be a suicide mission for me, haha.” Li Shangxiang laughed awkwardly.
Shadowless looked at Yang Zicang with a smile.
Chu Jun also stared with a grin at the ball repeatedly tossed in Yang Zicang’s hand, silently counting the numbers.
[Three.]
He opened his mouth, “Brother Zicang, how about we exchange some lifespan? I’ll invest a bit in you to make it easier to stay in touch. It’s rare to meet such a big shot like you.”
“Sure.”
A model lit up on Chu Jun’s chest.
[Two…]
“Brother Zicang, how about trying to invest a bit in Li Shangxiang? Use this Ability Sphere, test what’s lacking between his mediocre ability and your monetary power, and give him some valuable advice.”
Yang Zicang hesitated for a moment.
[One.]
[Hypnosis initiated.]
“To have Brother Yang guide your own classmate, Shang Xian, this is like burning incense in luck. How many detours will be saved in this damn place?”
“Well, that’s overpraising me.”
Yang Zicang tossed the Ability Sphere, which fell quickly after reaching its peak.
The three of them, with faint smiles on the surface but tense inside, watched the cyan sphere drop into that open palm.
That second seemed to drag endlessly, but all knew that if it succeeded, after that second, the model of the young man before them would be theirs.
“Temporal transfer, time shift?”
Smack! The cyan ball landed in the center of Yang Zicang’s palm.
[I’ve activated psychological suggestion, consuming 10N of principal.]
Yang Zicang, who just seemed to recall something Xingmiao had said, felt a surge of impulse within him, then he crushed the small cyan skin ball.
Chu Jun, barely daring to breathe, clenched his fists in wild joy, wanting to jump up!
[Temporal transfer has been activated.]
[Transfer target has been noted: Li Shangxiang.]
Li Shangxiang smiled warmly at him, but the smile grew increasingly mysterious and contemptuous of the person he was watching.
[I am about to strip all temporal application within my body.]
“Huh?”
Yang Zicang snapped back to reality—why had he crushed it?
Suddenly, he felt a creepy tingle on his scalp.
Boom!!!
Suddenly, an explosion erupted inside the room! A phantom train shot through like a missile tearing through spacetime, and countless attacks shattered the entire house in an instant.
“Kill! Leave no one alive!”
A commanding voice roared out from the midst of the explosion!
Wuying was left dumbfounded; he immediately went invisible, but suddenly felt a chill on his legs and realized his body had been shortened by a section.
[You have stripped all temporal effects within your body.]
Chu Jun had just turned his head when he saw several sword tips carrying red light stabbing toward his body.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Dazzling sword shadows and fire enveloped the entire house.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Weapons covered in red phantom shadows were thrown into the entire room like they cost nothing, filling almost every inch of space, with sword lights and blade shadows swiftly flashing, inside and outside the room, densely packed.
Under the saturation attack, all life here turned to ashes in an instant.
Except for Yang Zicang, who was sitting dazedly on a small stool.
[The migration target has disappeared.]
[Time sequence transfer failed.]
[I have become myself again.]
He looked down at his chest, his sluggish mind finally realizing what he had just encountered!
As Yang Zicang stood up, he stumbled, and was immediately steadied by a pair of firm, powerful hands.
Looking up, he saw that on the eerie, spectral train in front of him, the figure who had long been asleep was firmly holding his arm, their steady gaze locked on his face.
This hand kept him from falling.
“God! Oh my God!”
Boppoli exclaimed on the side, “It was just that fraction of a moment.”
Morrie’s gaze was firm and determined; the momentum of the order he had just given was like that of a monarch.
Yang Zicang looked at them, and at the strangers packed behind him.
The man with a fair complexion, looking like a dandy, pressed tightly against Morrie.
Young Master Wang also shuddered in fear as he looked on: “Damn his great-grandfather! So Shi Qian’s ability is, is to migrate someone else’s template away!”
Everyone on the train shuddered in unison.
Yang Zicang looked toward Li Shangxiang, who lay dead on one side, and ahead at Chu Jun, who had been chopped into mincemeat. The others on the table were even worse off.
Only a trail of blood on the ground still slowly extended outward, as if an invisible person was crawling across the floor.
Yang Zicang’s expression turned cold.
He looked up and met the gaze of the man before him.
“You changed the future?”
“I changed the future.”
“You changed… my future?”
“Mm-hmm, I changed your future.”
Silence…
“Then… what about you?”
“I’m the team leader.”
Yang Zicang’s face trembled with shock.
“You are the mountain of our team.” Morrie said calmly. “In the future, Julia’s long-term safety is entrusted to you. This is my optimal solution.”
Yang Zicang gently patted the wrist still clutching him, then raised his hand. Amid the envious gazes of everyone on the train, a figure wielding a silver spear gradually extended from the black hole his palm had chosen.
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