Two days later, all the slightly capable fighters and those with acceleration abilities in the Twenty-Fifth City gathered on the isolated island. The shore buzzed with the noise of the crowd.
That night, someone entered the island, luring all the monsters to the opposite side. Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Yunze swiftly ordered an advance deep into the island, mapping out the nearby areas and the dense areas of bound spirit footprints.
After two days of meticulous observation and several rounds of negotiations, a relatively stable plan was finally devised.
“I don’t know who that person is, but if it’s just one person, it shouldn’t have much impact on our plan.”
Cheng Yunze said, “We’ll enter the city today.”
With the order given, the teams began moving along fixed routes to lure away the peripheral bound spirits. Each time a few were successfully drawn off, others advanced deeper into the island, gradually luring away the remaining monsters.
Waves of spreading mental pressure gradually swept across the island.
“Group 2 has started their operation. Let’s follow them.”
“Only by improving our overall strength can we get more benefits from Hub Town. Keep up the effort, everyone!”
……
Deep within the island, Hong Haocheng looked at the three people whose eavesdropping broadcast he had just cut off in front of him.
“They’ve started coming in,” Li Yongqin said. “President Hong, what’s your plan?”
Hong Haocheng’s gaze fell on Zhang Miao’s body, missing one arm. Although the fever caused by the infection had been brought under control, his face was pale and bloodless.
“Let’s go back, back to your city,” the boy said.
“No, Haocheng, you can’t miss this opportunity.”
Zhang Miao weakly raised his single arm and placed it on his shoulder. “Go show yourself. Enter with them, and you’ll definitely be valued. You’ll become an indispensable right-hand man for the Four-Phase Team’s exploration of City 11.”
Hong Haocheng took a deep breath.
“I am a Red Model.”
Cui Rong looked over: “President, Captain Cheng of the Four-Phase Team is actually quite tolerant of talented individuals among the Red Models. But, I don’t know, maybe it’s my selfishness…”
He looked at the two of them with a wry smile and said, “I’d rather no one knew about Haocheng’s reconnaissance skills. The Hongtu Society just has a few of us. If in the future we could each grab a virtual zero weapon and enter a Class A interleaving zone, that would be great!”
Li Yongqin cast a sideways glance at Cui Rong and curled his lip.
Still, that was what he wished for too.
Hong Haocheng pondered for a long time. After several minutes of silence, he lifted his eyes. “Actually, I’m a doctor.”
“Huh?” The three of them opened their mouths slightly, wondering what new outburst this was going to be.
“What does that have to do with whether or not we go in?”
Hong Haocheng stood up. “I’m going to make Zhang Miao a medicine. If he recovers, we’ll enter the city together.”
The three on the ground widened their eyes.
“President, you’re not joking, are you?”
“Who’s joking with you? With my majestic and awe-inspiring presence, am I the kind of person who jokes around?!”
“No, that’s not it.” Cui Rong, clutching the last unremarkable long sword he’d picked up, said with a tearful tone. “It’s not like we wanted to go in anyway.”
“Less talk. Give me your sword.”
“No way, it’s mine.”
“Look at you, shivering like a coward. I’ll trade you my meteor hammer for it.”
“Fine, fine, fine!”
Cui Rong took the meteor hammer with delight, while Hong Haocheng picked up the long sword he had brought back.
[I have obtained the Bloodline Timeline Weapon of 60N, the Even-Odd Lake Sword.]
[I have discerned the special effect of the Bloodline weapon, the “Even-Odd Lake Sword”: Odd strokes sever objects, even strokes sever the wind, and odd-even strokes sever spirits.]
[The Even-Odd Lake Sword declares that it is currently even.]
Hong Haocheng looked at the three people in front of him. Counting himself, there were indeed four. But he could understand both odd and even numbers individually—what did this term “odd-even strokes” mean?
Li Yongqin angrily scolded Cui Rong: “Are you out of your mind? Trading such a shabby sword for Haocheng’s Void Zero weapon?”
He turned his head and said, “Haocheng, don’t listen to him, you can use any of our weapons freely. That meteor hammer is yours anyway.”
Startled, Cui Rong snapped back to reality like someone waking from a dream and tossed the now-claimed meteor hammer aside. “Hey, my sword is at least a 60-year Timeline Weapon, you know.”
“It’s not even worthy of that?”
“Alright, alright, I don’t want your Void Zero weapon anymore. That thing is yours now.”
“President, although the Meteor Hammer belongs to me, you have the right to use it at any time for 24 hours.”
[Even-Odd Lake Sword Declares: Even Number—Wind-Cleaving Strike]
The long sword in Hong Haocheng’s hand lit up with a silver-white hollow flame. With a slight wave, its light cut through the air in ripples like lake water, and the voices of the others dropped significantly.
“Well, whatever. I’m leaving now to make medicine for Zhang Miaomiao.”
Hong Haocheng grabbed a lunchbox and a bag he’d brought from the boat, hopped onto the windowsill, and turned his head to say, “I’m also going to catch some fish to make fish soup. Might be back a bit late. You all stay here—don’t go anywhere.”
From beyond, waves of mental pressure spread, like chilling, eerie auras brushing against their souls incessantly.
Hong Haocheng had only run a short distance with his sword when a voice echoed in his mind.
[Even-Odd Lake Sword Declares: Current State—Odd Number.]
After going farther, Hong Haocheng stopped and hid behind a broken wall. A three-meter-tall figure slowly walked past the other end of the building.
[Even-Odd Lake Sword Declares: Current State—Even Number. Temporal Attack has been adjusted.]
Once the monster had passed, Hong Haocheng sprinted toward the distance. In his mind, odd and even declarations kept sounding out. Annoyed, he roared inwardly.
[Quiet, I get it.]
[I imagined myself covering the nonexistent mouth of the “Even-Odd Lake Sword,” and—surprisingly—it worked!]
“Damn, if it’s not odd, it’s even. How the hell do I deal with odd and even?”
The only thing about the sword that appealed to the boy was its final effect. He guessed it was related to the Psychic Body, but he didn’t know how to trigger it.
Hong Haocheng moved to another safe hiding spot. Inside an abandoned basement, he drew the sword and gestured with it at his own hand.
“Huff…”
Taking several deep breaths.
“If that meddlesome wife can do it…”
He raised the sword, turning the blade sideways; it glinted with a sharp flash of cold light as he swung it down fiercely.
“Then so can I! Ugh!”
*Cling!*
His arm was severed, blood spurting and spraying everywhere.
Collapsing to the ground, Hong Haocheng tried to prop himself up with the sword, but the next instant, the long sword vanished inexplicably. He fell back onto the ground with a *crack*, losing consciousness.
On his chest, a model faintly glimmered.
[Auditor No.38 is watching over my unconscious self.]
[Auditor No.43 casts a scrutinizing gaze upon me.]
{Oh, this stubborn fool.}
{But that being said, this world doesn’t exactly lack people too clever for their own good.}
In his dazed state, Hong Haocheng heard himself muttering in his heart.
[Auditor No.43 informed me that I just had to use my own blood is enough.]
A few hours later, the boy woke up, looking somewhat weary.
The first thing he did was check his left hand; it had already healed. The Even-Odd Lake Sword lay on the floor, and beside it were scattered the other other half of his severed arm, the coagulated blood staining the ground.
Disappointingly, this arm seemed to have been left for a long time and had already rotted. Only the neatly severed broken bones remained relatively intact, but they crumbled at the slightest touch.
“Can’t use it anymore?”
He frowned at the blood in the lunch box, then looked toward the sword lying nearby.
Listening to the outside world, under the setting sun, the entire island seemed to be engulfed in war, with chaotic shouts everywhere. Some seemed to have already sacrificed their lives for this operation.
Hong Haocheng picked up the sword in disappointment, then recalled the voice he had heard while unconscious.
“Blood?”
Two hours later, after dodging several waves of noisy crowds, Hong Haocheng returned to his three companions.
“Brother Hong is back.”
They looked at the boy’s hands; apart from the lunch box he carried, there was no fish or medicine.
“It’s too chaotic, can’t get out.” Hong Haocheng walked to the sleeping Zhang Miao and shook him awake. “Here, drink this herbal medicine.”
“Herbal medicine?”
Before Zhang Miao could react, he was pressed by the mouth, and the juice of some crushed unknown herb was poured into his mouth.
Gulp, gulp.
A strange smell mixed with a fishy odor filled his nose. Zhang Miao felt like vomiting but held it in.
As these herbal juices entered his mouth, Zhang Miao felt his body rapidly heat up, his heart pumping quickly as if stimulated by hormones, his stomach churning like a meat grinder to rapidly digest everything inside.
“I…”
He curled up, sweat dripping down.
Li Yongqin and the other person looked at Zhang Miao, whose skin was pulsating, and exclaimed in surprise, “Brother Hong, what did you feed him?”
“Medicine.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Haocheng’s eyes gleamed with a triumphant look.
They watched as at Zhang Miao’s severed arm, the skin squirmed like tiny tentacles, slowly extending outward.
Li Yongqin and the other person stared wide-eyed.
“No, it can’t be!”
Zhang Miao’s whole-body heat gradually faded. He felt ravenous, but a stronger sense of excitement and shock filled his heart, because in less than half an hour, his missing arm had actually regrown!
He looked up and saw Hong Haocheng sitting leisurely on the ground against the wall, his hand resting on the knee of his bent leg, smiling.
He remembered how, in the Demonic Nightmare airplane, this person had similarly regrown his own missing body parts, and even his entire charred skin, in just a few hours.
“Haocheng, you…” Zhang Miao wanted to ask something, but in the end, he could only say two words.
“Thank you.”
“What’s there to thank? We are the Hongtu Society!” the Mop-headed Boy stood up. “Xiao Cui said it, didn’t he? We, the ‘Hongtu of Azure Swans,’ have to ‘journey together.’ So our first guild rule is to ‘go through thick and thin together.’”
“Ah! That’s right, that’s right!” Cui Rong nodded happily. “Wait, no!”
“Get up. We’re all ready to go into City 11 together now.”
“No way—” Cui Rong grabbed onto Hong Haocheng’s leg.
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