The butler, dragging a blood-stained arm, came over dejectedly.

Lianna slid down from Yang Zicang’s arms and quickly ran toward the person lying silently on the ground. After a few steps, her speed increased, and her figure became unsteady.

“Dad, Dad, you… “

Bai Yuxian, standing beside Ebiser, released his grip on the pulse and stood up. He Yishu, who was on guard at the periphery, turned and nodded to Yang Zicang in greeting.

“How are you here? Was it you back in New Sail Town, too? “

Seeing Bai Yuxian again, Yang Zicang’s gaze once again held that initial caution.

Bai Yuxian turned his head and said, “I’ll explain later. Do you have any way to help? This man is on his last legs. “

Lianna, her face drenched in tears, looked over in panic and pleaded, “Hero brother, can you save my father? You can save him, right? “

Yang Zicang looked at Ebiser on the ground.

He could feel that Ebiser was in his dying moments. If not for Bai Yuxian forcibly stimulating certain bodily functions, he wouldn’t have made it until now. As things stood, he might die in the next minute—or even the next second.

｛I begin to activate the ‘Ground-Haze Bedchamber.’｝

Beneath the varied gazes of the others, the flickering broken lines on Yang Zicang’s chest rapidly converged toward his hand, swiftly tracing the outline of a coffin in the light.

Lianna’s face turned pale, while Bai Yuxian watched the object’s manifestation with slight surprise.

The light traces revealed the form of a translucent, pale-golden, ancient stone coffin, within which two figures could be faintly seen sleeping peacefully. Around them, small green fruits and various items of clothing and trinkets were piled almost haphazardly.

Thud!It suddenly morphed into a solid stone coffin, crashing onto the ground and splashing up a ring of soil.

“Sir, he… Hero sir, you really have a way to save him? ” The butler Samir rushed over urgently.

“There are healing Ability Spheres for you Fogfolk inside that, aren’t there! ” Bai Yuxian also said, with a hint of disbelief.

As the intelligence chief of the Blood Beasts, he himself had never even heard of such things.

Yet despite opening the stone coffin, Yang Zicang didn’t feel any relief.

“His injuries are too severe. These healing Ability Spheres probably won’t help much with repairing the damage. After all… compared to us, they’re still missing something. “

Yang Zicang looked over the piles before him, quickly picking out a few from among the healing ones.

｛I accessed “Pain Blocking “.｝

｛I retrieved “Accelerated Bruise Deactivation. “｝

｛I found “Metabolic Stimulation. “｝

｛I touched “Toxin Decomposition. “｝

None of these are suitable!

Yang Zicang’s hand quickly reached down deeper beneath the piles, rummaging through the items. He remembered putting together those final moments at the Heroic Demon Palace; Luo Bin had called on everyone to collect a few strong healing spheres for this very purpose.

｛I tapped “Emergency Regeneration. “｝

A flicker of brightness sparked in Yang Zicang’s eyes.

｛“Emergency Regeneration “: Accelerates the healing of injuries considered medically treatable.｝

“Help me search better ones in there, now. “

He immediately turned around and pressed the Ability Sphere against Ebiser, who was barely breathing. Lianna hurriedly moved aside from her kneeling position, her gaze fixed entirely on the arm pressing the orb against her father’s severe wounds.

｛I used “Emergency Regeneration, ” consuming 5N.｝

A faint breeze rippled from Yang Zicang’s hand. Those nearby who were swept by this gust felt a tingling, numbing sensation spreading across their bodies.

Thorne, who was reaching out with one hand beside the stone coffin to help select healing Ability Spheres, suddenly felt a cool sensation at the wound on his nearly broken left arm—as if fine, fleshy buds were stirring, eager to grow and regenerate.

“Such a powerful ability… ” Thorne could not help but exclaim, picking through the Ability Spheres even faster.

“Found this one! ” Bai Yuxian tossed an Ability Sphere into Yang Zicang’s hand.

｛I received “Adaptive Restoration. “｝

Without a second thought, he pressed the Ability Sphere against Ebiser. With abang, it was crushed in his palm.

｛“Adaptive Restoration” has been used, consuming 10N.｝

An indescribable energy suddenly surged from under his palm, rapidly spreading into Ebiser’s body.

The man lying on the ground, who barely felt like he was breathing on his own, suddenly, under this energy, sharply inhaled through his nostrils. He coughed up a clot of stagnant blood.

Lianna joyfully saw that her father’s dull eyes had regained a faint glimmer of vitality at that moment, but just as it appeared, it began to show signs of fading away again.

“Father! “

“Lian…na… Protect the… knowledge… I… can’t go on. “

“No! Father! ” Lianna wept, embracing the man.

Yang Zicang caught two more Ability Spheres thrown his way.

｛I’ve used “Physical Recovery, ” consuming 1N.｝

｛I’ve also used “Wound Repair, ” consuming 1N.｝

Ebiser, whose life force was rapidly fading, regained a bit of spirit and looked once more at Yang Zicang.

“Thank you… Sir… Take care of Lianna… I beg you… “

“No! ” Lianna shouted angrily, “You can’t die! I won’t do any of the things you mentioned! Waaah… Not unless you come back to life! “

Ebiser’s eyelids grew heavy again.

Yang Zicang turned his head to look at the two who were frowning as they sorted through the Ability Spheres.

Lianna turned her head and said, “Hero brother, my father… Can such holy objects truly be unable to save him? “

Holy objects… Yang Zicang’s heart tightened. Yes, to them, these are indeed miraculous “holy objects. “

Yet such holy objects could do nothing for this man before him.

His injuries had reached the very core; only that overwhelming divine power from when he was mortally wounded in the Demon Hero Hall—when he subconsciously made a heartfelt wish, yearning to survive deep within—could possibly save someone in his state.

Otherwise, the current Ability Spheres were simply too slow to heal his wounds; Ebiser’s life would end first.

That gun was the answer back then… But the gun…

“Don’t… worry about… me, obedient… daughter, listen to… me, venture to… the next Era… Land, pass down… the knowledge… “

“I won’t, I won’t do it! “

“You must… choose someone who can go along with you… build a family… pass down knowledge to your children and grandchildren… “

The butler, his eyes red-rimmed, dropped the Ability Sphere in his hand and turned around, “The Secret Box, the Secret Box is already… “

Bai Yuxian grabbed Thorne’s arm and slowly shook his head, signaling him not to speak.

But how could Ebiser not grasp the implication of that sentence? He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, raised his turbid eyes to look at the butler, then at the breached room door. A grief more chilling than death itself flickered in his eyes.

“Excuse me… ” Yang Zicang hesitated several times before finally asking, “What is the ‘knowledge’ you speak of? “

Ebiser was silent for two breaths, then opened his eyes.

“Forgive me… benefactor, I cannot say. “

His blood-stained hair fell limply to the side of his face, and all the spirit he had just regained dissipated in an instant. Lianna let out a cry, clutching her father tightly. She turned her head for help, only to see Bai Yuxian bring two more “Green Fruits, ” but the “hero ” beside her merely shook his head.

Yang Zicang wrestled inwardly for two seconds, but in the end, he did not take out the “Impression Revival. “

After a moment of silence fell over the courtyard where they stood, the maiden’s frantic screams and cries shattered the night sky. Seeing the girl’s agony, Yang Zicang hesitated, then turned to look at Bai Yuxian.

Thorne said, “Mr. Yang, thank you for all your help these past days… but the enemy came too suddenly. “

Bai Yuxian, rolling up his sleeves with both hands, also set down his things and walked over.

“All mortals must die. You’ve done your best. “

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi is watching my current life experience.｝

As he spoke, Bai Yuxian crouched down beside the heartbroken, sobbing maiden. “Your father always knew this day would come. He was a good man. Carry on his blessings and live your own life well. “

The young maiden Liana gritted her teeth, unable to swallow this blow gracefully by any means.

The scripts she had studied since childhood, which did not exist anywhere else in this world—those deliberately twisted words formed without rhyme or reason—the secrets that had accompanied her from birth… the knowledge she could share with no one and never verify.

Knowledge not of this world…

With her father’s passing, even that one last ear to confide in was gone.

Forever and ever…

Thinking of all this, her teardrops kept rolling out, one after another, landing on Ebersell’s somewhat soiled outer coat, spreading into circles of wetness.

In the distance rose the clamor of several trucks and a host of soldiers.

Seeing that the backup had finally arrived, He Yishu gripped the battle axe he had luckily captured that afternoon, turned around limping, and walked over.

“The box… the secret chest, it… “

“We can’t get it back,” Bai Yuxian shook his head. “It wasn’t our Blood Beasts riding those birds, but a sub-beast army cultivated by various nations after cracking our military technology. So, it may be very difficult to trace which region’s people were behind this.“

Lina whipped her head around, eyes sharp and resolute, and her voice, choked with sobs, came out word by word: “I won’t let them get away with it so easily!“

Feeling the gazes of the few around her, she stood up suddenly, her body utterly straight.

“I’m going to make them pay. I’m going to proclaim this to the world! I want—” A beam of headlights struck her long hair, casting a golden outline around her silhouette swathed in darkness…

“I want! To make public everything in the Secret Box about the wave-particle…“

“Don’t say it!“

“…duality double-slit observation experiment! To reveal it all to everyone!“

The butler rushed over in panic, as if to tackle the young woman plunging into utter despair and resolutely forsaking everything.

Yang Zicang’s eyes instantly went wide. The maiden crashed to the ground with a solid thud as the butler tackled her, but at the very last moment, Yang Zicang had subtly altered the trajectory of Butler Thorn’s stance, allowing the girl to wriggle free from the bear hug of his frame and, using both hands and feet, crawl and kick her way past him.

Troops appeared outside the broken courtyard wall. Harald, the man seen in Xin Fan Town, rose from the open passenger seat of a jeep and looked over in their direction. The city garrison soldiers on the surrounding trucks quickly jumped down.

Lina spread her arms wide and stood defiantly in front of the convoy.

“I want to tell you, the true nature of light!“

“Huh?“

“What? “

The soldiers jumping off the trucks exchanged startled glances, one of them muttering, “Has this little girl lost her mind? “

He Yishu glanced at Yang Zicang and found the youth frozen in place, rooted to the spot.

“There was once a man named Newton. He believed that light is made up of tiny particles! “

Amidst the clamor, the girl’s young but forceful voice pierced through the footsteps of the charging men. In the distance, Harald uncapped his military cap with one hand, scratched his head, and rubbed an itch.

“But another group of scientists argued that light is a wave! Thus began the war between the wave theory and the particle theory of light! ” she shouted. “Huygens’ wave theory was backed by the ‘Yangzi double-slit experiment,’ which conclusively proved that light has wavelike properties! “

“Miss, you can’t say that! ” Soé glared as he lunged forward, but the girl sidestepped and dashed away.

Harald’s hand froze over his head, captivated as if drawn in by this baffling topic.

“Yet nearly ninety years later, another experiment proved that light has particle-like properties! “

“What! ” Harald and many in the army who had originally been watching for amusement suddenly felt as though they had heard the punchline of some absurd joke.

“Hahaha! “

“Is this girl messing with that one-armed guy for fun? “

The soldiers walking into the courtyard were momentarily stunned, then dismissed it all as an offbeat joke. Hardly anyone took her words seriously; no one wanted to know what light was—light was just light. But a few among them who had a modicum of learning, along with that Harald who’d been drawn in by the topic, showed faintly pensive expressions.

Thorne rushed over and grabbed her arm. “Stop it, miss!“

The maiden furiously yanked at her hair, then bit down on his arm with a “Wah!” Thorne yelped in pain and let go, and she sprinted off to the side.

“The nature of light couldn’t be confirmed by people of that era. Not until someone else proposed a hypothesis,” she shouted, running amid the crowd’s jeers, her eyes holding back tears. “Light is produced by both waves and particles together!“

“Hahahahahaha!“

“Well, a mage is also born of both his father and his mother. Hahaha.“

“That makes way more sense. Now that’s the real deal—a proper story.“

Amid the roar of laughter, only Harald got down from the carriage with a stern expression.

“Quiet! What are you talking about, girl?“

He Yishu stood his axe upright, hesitating as he glanced at Yang Zicang. By now, this man had composed himself and turned his head to look at the maiden.

In his heart, Yang Zicang wanted to stop her. But watching her fury, what came to mind was his own hatred for Hong Haocheng.

No matter what she wanted to do… Yang Zicang, who could have saved her but hadn’t, now thought, almost convincing himself: Let this be my final backing for thelast whims of this girl.

He shook his head. He Yishu then abandoned the idea of trying to stop the maiden.

Her voice trembling with sobs, she spoke the obscure content she had recited since childhood in the family’s ancestral language. She didn’t know who the people in the story were, nor the meaning of some of the terms, but she knew that now, these things were weapons. Weapons that could disappoint the villains, or even kill them!

As she ran, her heart raged with fantasies: she imagined those who had stolen the box would one day find that the secret box in their hands had turned into a demon devouring them—their final expressions of fury and despair would surely be a splendid sight!

“The photoelectric effect experiment ultimately overthrew the classical wave theory! “

“Miss Liana! ” the adjutant, who had recorded her testimony in New Fan Town, also jumped off the car and shouted.

“Miss, what on earth are you saying! ” Harald ran over, shouting in panic as he went, “Are you… are you recounting the scientific knowledge your family has guarded for generations! Don’t let us hear this! “

Two beams of light shone against the black ground. Liana, showing not a hint of fear, stood facing the glare, fiercely roaring:

“Yes! This is my family’s honor! But my home is already gone! “

Yang Zicang murmured softly as he reached out his hand.

For the first time, he felt a little… maybe… could he make another choice?

“My home is gone… ” Liana’s eyes were brimming with tears as she choked back her sobs, every word carrying tears she had swallowed. “For the decades to come… “

“Enough! “

“People always think wave-particle duality is a collective statistical behavior, that a large group of photons together exhibit wave properties, but a single one behaves as a particle! But you see! “

“Shut up! ” Harald yanked out his pistol from his belt, “I told you to shut up! “

Spotting Harald drawing his gun, Laina snapped instantly. She shouted recklessly, ignoring everything: “The later generation proved that a single particle passes through two slits simultaneously! “

Amid the soldiers’ confused gaze,bang!The bullet from the pistol streaked across the night sky, piercing into the golden halo.

In a flash, a dark shadow abruptly appeared in front of the fearless Laina. Its hand snatched the incoming bullet.

Only then did Harald suddenly snap back to reality, realizing he had indeed fired. He glanced at his pistol and came running over in panic, saying:

“I was too nervous, I’m sorry, but…! “

He had no idea how to explain his impulse to the few Fogfolk. Under their protection, Harald was so anxious he wanted to slam his fists against the ground.

The sound of Laina’s breathing reached his ears.

Yang Zicang turned his head and gazed at this face that was both familiar and utterly alien. At this moment, she wore an indescribable struggle, as if all the suffering of her life had collapsed into this instant.

“This is the knowledge your family protects, isn’t it? “

“No. “

Laina looked at the ‘hero’ before her, tears welling in her eyes.

“What’s preserved in our family’s Secret Box is… Wheeler’s delayed-choice experiment content. “

Having softly spoken these words, Lian Na suddenly felt the entire world grow deep and vast. The people around instinctively looked up, and Yang Zicang gazed at a full moon shrouded in a dim, restored light.

Harald’s knees gave way, and he reached out to steady himself against a soldier’s shoulder, muttering “Damn it” under his breath as he stared into the sky.

Suddenly, they all turned their heads in unison, looking into the distance. From the area where the garrison troops and several trucks had been positioned, a faint rumble erupted, followed by a gale carrying a booming roar that spread outward.

Through his strained “Silent Night,” Yang Zicang vaguely perceived something in the darkness of that direction suddenly awakening, as if stirring to life, shaking the very earth and shattering countless houses in its wake…

“The nightmare has awakened.“

He Yishu, gripping his long-handled axe, murmured lowly.

-｛★ May·Valkyrie into Incandescent night system – carrying a pioneer crest of magnitude 🜅 new nodes.｝

{AHHH—!!! }

— “Ah… help…“

— “Someone… run…“

Faint cries pierced the thickening darkness.

Bai Yuxian watched that direction with cold, detached eyes. The surrounding soldiers, stirred by the disturbance, clutched their weapons in confusion and craned their necks wildly toward the void-like dark vision. The butler stared blankly at the grim expression lingering over the stunned crowd of survivors lining what remains of a scattered public consciousness yet caught mid-flight.

As a tall building collapsed in undigested gravitation rapture like celestial drag, they heaved a sharp breath, now utterly convinced that some appalling catastrophe had been unleashed there, as massive destruction ate its way through reality.

“Sir, we… ” The people around looked at Harald, as if seeking his decision.

Harald’s face was ashen. He swayed slightly, then raised his head and said hoarsely to Yang Zicang, “Mr. Hero, and the rest of you, could you please…? “

Pfft!

The man’s words stopped abruptly. The people around clattered back in alarm, forming a circle.

Lena gasped sharply, covering her mouth as she stared at Harald’s figure ahead.

On the forehead of the wide-eyed man, a small black gunshot wound the size of a fingernail oozed blood. Harald fell backward, crashing to the ground.

“You, y-you attacked us! ” the adjutant stammered, stunned, staring at the celebrity from the newspaper before him, his mind filled with disbelief.

“He attacked me first. ” Yang Zicang clapped his hands and said calmly.