“Pr-President, it really is a Verdant Zero weapon… Oh my God, oh my God, this is truly our Verdant Zero weapon?”
The three of them, both cautious and overjoyed, touched it with their fingers. This seemingly ordinary little object was a treasure countless people in the city dreamed of possessing.
Hong Haocheng glanced at his now-recovered numb fingers and asked, “What exactly is this?”
“It’s a Timeline Weapon, but one enhanced by the ‘Soul-Bound Core,’ capable of penetrating timeline defenses. This can only be crafted within City No. 11.”
So this was the reason these people came to the island.
“That’s terrifying. So even if someone uses ten thousand timesteps to defend, I could smash them to death with one strike?”
Li Yongqin nodded. “However, there is still a way to defend against it.”
He extended his hands, brought them together, then suddenly pulled them apart. A flash of light, like a spark, emerged from his palms. Model threads surged onto his hand, forming a small force field that covered his entire palm.
Li Yongqin carefully picked it up, and sure enough, the iron ball landed securely on his force-field-covered hand.
“What’s the principle behind this?” Hong Haocheng asked, growing annoyed.
He had thought he’d picked up a treasure, never expecting it to be so easily defended against.
“Indeed, indeed, the rumor that was circulating is correct.”
Li Yongqin looked at the item with delight, then raised his head to meet Hong Haocheng’s gaze. “Force fields *can* defend against it, but not ordinary ones.”
“Then what kind can?”
“The rank! Deploying a Hundred-rank force field not only allows you to shrink it down to the size of a glove but also defends against Virtual Zero Sequence attacks. However, it only works if the force field’s rank is higher than the sequence’s.”
“With this, facing the lord of an A-grade contingency zone won’t feel so hopeless. Having one of these is like being able to swagger through the city unchallenged. Hong, you’ve hit the jackpot.”
Cui Rong remarked enviously, “This is exactly why those teams are willing to risk danger to enter the island.”
He lamented inwardly, *This bald guy has been circling the island for so long, and damned if he didn’t actually stumble onto the golden turd. He’s sure got a lucky life.*
Despite being just a small iron ball dangling from a branch, there would be a long line of people begging to buy it.
The three of them glanced happily at the precious Virtual Zero Sequence weapon.
On the other side, Hong Haocheng was rubbing his chin and sizing up the man before him.
“So, you rascal, turns out you’ve gotten quite fat—you’ve already elevated the rank of your force field to a Hundred-rank?”
Li Yongqin’s expression stiffened.
He looked at Hong Haocheng with a wry smile: “Some people in our city have weapons like this. If we don’t find a way to boost our force field, we might get sniped by someone eventually. I risked my very life to raise its rank.”
As expected of a team daring enough to come to the island, even if they nearly got wiped out as soon as they entered.
“So Bound Spirit Cores are this useful. No wonder everyone’s scrambling to get one.”
Hong Haocheng took the iron ball and said, “Just from what I’ve seen today, they’ve already killed two Bound Spirit Cores. Does that mean two more weapons like this are about to be made?”
The three shook their heads.
“This island is just a fragment of the No. 11 City. To make that kind of weapon, you have to enter the real No. 11 City, and the entrance is deep within the island. Even the Four-Phase Team has to rely on luck to get in and out safely.”
Hong Haocheng realized inwardly that the value of his weapon had just gone up significantly. It was practically a divine weapon that could intimidate all directions.
If anyone dared to defy him, he’d just smash them right on the forehead with a single hammer blow.
“So your fights must be exciting, huh? Do you have to wrap yourselves in the force field all the time?”
“How could that be, bro,” Zhang Miao said. “Thankfully, it only negates the extra lifespan we gain, so we can still rely on our original longevity. Like, this hammer offsets fifty years at once—I can probably take one hit and still be fine.”
Playing with his new treasure while munching on dry rations, Hong Haocheng nodded, completely unaware that his own natural lifespan wasn’t long at all.
……
Xu Aiyuan ran out of the bedroom and didn’t slow her pace until she was near the hall, her expression shifting back to its usual calm demeanor.
She gently bit her delicate red lips and walked out from behind with a swaying, graceful gait, every step exuding a captivating radiance. The hall was already buzzing with noise, and at this moment, countless gazes filled with various emotions turned toward the figure in the wine-red cheongsam emerging from behind the wall.
The Rose Queen looked over; though the crowd was large, that figure among the throng instantly caught her eye.
As if sensing the gaze, Yang Zicang turned his head, smiled, and raised the wine glass in his hand in a distant toast.
Inside the room.
After the dishes and drinks were served, Xu Aiyuan took her seat and looked toward the young man, whose temperament had become more refined and profound. Even his skin and complexion had improved, faintly showing a translucent, fair luster. This made the woman wonder what kind of wonderful place he had been to.
“It hasn’t been long, but I feel like you’ve gotten stronger again. Which Illusion company did you go to?”
Yang Zicang replied, “Starlight Illusion.”
Xu Aiyuan smiled. “So you did go there. Isn’t it much better than here?”
“Miss Aiyuan, if I said another word, you’d see me disappear in an instant,” he gave a light laugh. “This break I came out for is because of one matter.”
“What is it?”
“City 11, have you ever heard of it?”
Boppoli nodded, while Xu Aiyuan wore a contemplative, recollective expression. Only Luo Bin looked baffled: “What the heck?”
The curly-haired boy lisped, “Yiyi City, viped out de Alliansya. Dere, everyfing, gut, lotsa stuff.”
The Rose Queen rose to personally pour wine for everyone at the table, a hint of surprise flickering across her gracefully curved face as she looked at Boppoli.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Me? Well…”
“He bundled up and sold the Chinese language ability he learned last time,” Luo Bin explained. “That made Morrie’s confinement period even more boring.”
Yang Zicang let out a chuckle: “Boppoli used to rely on those things to make a living. That Chinese he learned last time was actually a custom-designed ability for someone else. Two thousand five hundred years of timeline—not exactly cheap.”
The Rose Queen looked at the boy in surprise: “Is that still considered expensive for you?”
“Well, before meeting Zicang, the contract… was signed,” Boppoli slowly forced out the words accurately this time. “Interest, Chinese, I have tricks, soon nice haze come back.”
Xu Aiyuan smiled: “Then can I customize an English one? I always failed my English classes in school.”
The boy shook his head: “NO, already mastered, that won’t work.”
“Skills that are already mastered can’t be relearned from scratch, so we can’t help practice for you,” Yang Zicang explained on behalf of the stumbling boy.
Xu Aiyuan walked over to Yang Zicang and filled his wine glass with red wine.
Luo Bin said: “Truly worthy of the Rose Queen. After you left, Zicang, Miss Aiyuan auctioned off the leveling contract you left behind, and contacted Mr. Morrie to have him produce more coins imbued with temporal energy to participate in the auction. Many people, hoping for a chance to escape, treated your ‘Born Treasure’ as genuine treasure.”
“That’s right, typically one and a half times the premium,” Boboli said.
The woman sat back down in her chair.
“Mr. Luo Bin, you flatter me. I was forced into it. Many people came to me, so I decided to bring it out into the open and let everyone set their own prices. That way, those with ill intentions wouldn’t dare to cause trouble privately.”
Luo Bin nodded. “Right, with business here, many experts have taken the initiative to maintain order, especially since Miss Xu Aiyuan’s rewards are nothing to scoff at.”
Yang Zicang turned to Xu Aiyuan. “I’ve heard all about this from Morrie. Thank you for your hard work, Miss Aiyuan. But I’m afraid that if this continues, it might draw unwanted envy.”
“Let’s just take it one step at a time,” Xu Aiyuan said somewhat helplessly.
Rumors were already spreading outside that Yang Zicang had spent the night in the Rose Queen’s boudoir. Although the queen herself hadn’t entered the room, many simply didn’t believe it. This time back, with his mental power slightly enhanced, Yang Zicang could rationally analyze that his stay that night had effectively become a card the woman used to intimidate the scoundrels.
“The main reason I came back this time is to resolve this matter,” Yang Zicang said.
“Are you talking about City No.11?”
“What’s in there?” Luo Bin asked him curiously.
“Do you know what’s inside the top 25 cities?”
“I’ve heard there’s good stuff there, but it’s basically never been disclosed. Are you saying there’s that kind of good stuff in City No.11 too?”
Xu Aiyuan let out a light laugh. “It’s not that there’s good stuff inside City No.11. Rather, the fragments of City No.11 themselves are extremely valuable.”
“That’s it. That city collapsed due to special reasons, and Silver Pivot Town moved parts of its city fragments into the other top 25 cities to form islands. Only by reaching the center of an island can one truly enter the original 11th City.”
“I see. But relying solely on that wouldn’t deter others from prying. You have more to say, don’t you?” Luo Bin remarked. “What exactly is in the 11th City?”
“It has to do with the people inside. The inhabitants of the 11th City are the strongest among all thirty-five cities. They…”
“Hold on.” Luo Bin raised his hand. “Aren’t there forty-five cities?”
As they spoke, Xu Aiyuan glanced at the young man’s composed face, a peculiar feeling stirring in her heart, but it was soon replaced by the images of many other girls. She looked away.
Yang Zicang leaned back gently in his chair and said:
“Few in the world know this secret. Those from the 11th City who first uncovered it have all turned into monsters. The truth is, the top ten cities don’t actually exist; they are all called… Void Zero.”
“Cities that don’t truly exist, Void Zero?”
Yang Zicang’s heart raced as he waited a few tense seconds.
Seeing nothing unusual, he let out a soft sigh of relief.
The people at the table fell into thought, pondering Yang Zicang’s words. The door pushed open as Li Sumei entered carrying a steaming bowl of vermicelli soup. “Soup’s here! Hey, why haven’t you started eating? Who are you waiting for?”
“Haha, look at us—we came to eat but haven’t even picked up our chopsticks.”
“Miss Aiyuan, please.”
“Master Zicang, you first.”
As they feasted on the sumptuous dishes, they listened to Yang Zicang recount the story of the strong from City 11 who attempted to bring “City 10” into being, only to fail and be destroyed.
“What a catastrophe.” Luo Bin shook his head.
“The toughest talker in the participating market—the sparrow—failed.” Boboli said with his cheeks puffed out.
“The tens of thousands inside, even the monsters and large animals, have turned into energy-fueled monsters.”
“What happened next?”
“It’s like in the Lost Frequency Land, where people’s models after death become ‘Lapse Models.’ There, people who become ‘Bound Spirits’ give birth to an item called a ‘Bound Spirit Core.’”
This was most of the information Yang Zicang had gathered about City 11 before entering it.
“Using it to strengthen the Chrono Weapon makes it impossible for the weapon to be defended against.” said Yang Zicang.
Pfft!
Luo Bin shot several rice noodles out of his nostrils.
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