Chapter 65: Lu Zhishen Station, Battle Against Lu Zhishen – 1

[The train is about to arrive at the station.]
Beyond the train’s windows, a blurry phantasm of a B-class alternate space appeared, filled with slaughter and roar.
The rats inside had become frenzied, bursting out of their nests and chasing people everywhere. Although most had begun to flee the area, there were still teams that didn’t care about the three hundred years of timeline deduction and chose to fight the rat-men.
Yang Zicang tore off the train conductor’s silver uniform, and it dissipated into ethereal energy.
“Right here is fine.”
The train, which had been shuttling through the void, abruptly materialized into the real world. Forcing a stop without pulling into the station was a heavy blow to the timeline consumption for such a train, but it didn’t dare voice any complaints.
“The Xiongying Group is here to help—run!”
The crowd scattered in panic. It was said that if you were hit by this train at night, you would become its puppet.
Lo and behold, the legendary Xiongying Group’s train, capable of galloping through all parts of the city, emerged from the void, stirring the air. The middle carriage solidified into material form, hovering a meter above the ground, while the head and tail blurred out of sight.
“It really is Ma Chao—evacuate now!”
The other teams had already taken the lead, Skedaddling at full speed.
The train door slid open with a clatter, and a sturdy figure appeared in the doorway, carrying a blood-stained longsword.
In the darkness, the crowd couldn’t see clearly, but someone still recognized him.
“Good heavens, it’s Yang Zicang!”
“Were those investment models just now pleading to make him stop… Could he be on this train?”
make him stop? Holy cow, what’s going on!”
The people around instantly exploded into chaos.
“What’s that thing beside him, with something vaguely human-shaped clamped in its mouth?”
“Do humans really have souls? Could it be that the one being carried in its mouth isn’t Ma Chao?”
“Impossible!”
Many people stopped in their tracks; this scene was too unbelievable.
Yang Zicang had actually stepped off Ma Chao’s train, carrying something resembling Ma Chao’s spiritual form.
{I’ll go to the nearest subway station. If you need me, just call me.}
Judging from the situation with Zhang Fei and this Ma Chao, mutant monsters accelerated by humans all seem to worship the strong.
But Yang Zicang was still a bit worried it might run away, so he threatened:
“Don’t even think about escaping, otherwise, if I run into you again, I won’t be the one taking action.”
The White Shadow Thought-Dragon’s eyes were greedy as it turned to glance at the train.
{I’ll wait for you here.}
“Yang Zicang, did you kill Ma Chao?”
Someone shouted from beside a pile of steel wreckage over a dozen meters away.
Yang Zicang ignored everyone. He walked forward, toward a crack leading to the ratman’s nest.
“Be careful, Lu Zhishen is inside.”
“Hey, are you going in there to kill the Defender? I advise you not to go throw your life away…”
Suddenly, the sky lit up. A crimson blast of energy surged from inside the nest, piercing through the earth and shooting into the sky. Faintly, another pearly white moon appeared in the heavens.
A terrifying pressure enveloped the world, and a dull roar echoed in the depths of everyone’s hearts.
How dared anyone stay any longer? They scrambled frantically in all directions.
……
Inside A-level fissure.
Zhou Heng and the others began to stabilize a different space, attempting to replace the previous scene to prevent the possibility of hidden platforms inside the reality lock studio that they might use to enter.
Zhou Heng, who was stabilizing the first scene, suddenly received a Mental Link.
“How many of our people are left?” he asked eagerly.
{There are very few left, but there’s some news. Ma Chao shouldn’t be entering your reality lock studio for now.}
“Did he go to chase after you?”
{No, he’s already done for and might die.}
“What?!”
“What happened?”
The members of the Alliance Headquarters found the news almost incredible—just minutes ago, Ma Chao was standing right before them, alive and well.
“What exactly happened?” Zhou Heng asked nervously.
{It was Yang Zicang. That kid is heading toward the lair of the Defender now. He’s suspected of having taken control of Ma Chao’s Companion AvengingNightmare Train! He’s also managed to seize control of Ma Chao’s Psychic Form!}
“Hiss—”
Everyone was stunned.
The very person who was threatening them moments ago, now reduced to a cripple by a rookie?
“How could this happen…”
The big man beside Zhou Heng muttered under his breath. Ma Chao was someone even he couldn’t handle.
{We suspect that Yang Zicang may have acquired the ability to ‘realistically manifest’ psychic objects.}
“He has FreakPower!” Zhou Heng’s chest heaved as he spoke.
The big man turned to the silent Tong Wenqi: “If that gun were in Ma Chao’s hands, could you snatch it away?”
Tong Wenqi kept his gaze low and did not respond.
He now understood why that C-class cross zone, which had the Moon Shadow monster, had been opened so quickly.
This dealt a blow to Tong Wenqi’s confidence.
Among the group, a sharp-chinned man in glasses said:
“It’s been tens of hours, but my prediction has yet to yield a result.”
He quickly took out the dice and threw them in a small square box.
[I predict that Yang Zicang deliberately gave up the Century Weapon, not because he was threatened.]
[My prediction is correct.]
A flash of shock crossed his eyes—the answer appeared instantly!
“He did it on purpose!”
Almost at the same time, Tong Wenqi let out an angry sneer:
“Hmph, I hate that kid. He can even kill Ma Chao, so how could he fail to hold onto a gun? He definitely meant to lose it.”
“But why would he throw away the gun?”
“Who knows?”
With that, the group turned to look at Zhou Heng. “Maybe we should return the gun to him and claim we specially retrieved it for him?”
Zhou Heng pinched the rim of his glasses with two fingers and nodded. “The Century Weapon was valuable before, but now it’s clear that Yang Zicang is worth more. That’s how we’ll do it.”
……
The moment Yang Zicang stepped into the lair, a palpable gaze came from the depths.
“The Defender, huh?” A trace of hesitation flickered in his mind.
His target was Lu Zhishen, but if the latter had already joined forces with the Defender, he would have no choice but to flee.
No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than Yang Zicang suddenly gained a clear awareness.
[Councillor No. 41 is watching me.]
[You’ve made the right choice; don’t back down. Go retrieve the “Containment Item,” and I’ll grant you a chance at recompense.]
Yang Zicang looked up at the ceiling of the nest.
“May I ask, respected Councillor, who exactly are you people?”
[Do you wish to exchange this chance of recompense for the answer to that question?]
“No, thanks.”
Yang Zicang stopped asking. While this answer might be crucial, it offered no substantive help to his current situation.
He strode swiftly inside.
……
A tall, clean-shaven man stood struggling at the small door on the edge of the hall, a book gripped in his hands.
The Defender radiated a formidable aura so intense that without the book’s help, Lu Zhishen felt he might have lost his mind by now.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
A young man with a receding hairline ran in quickly. Huang Xu’s chest accessory shimmered as he spoke nervously, “Brother Shen, I’ve got bad news…”
“This is a critical moment. Didn’t I tell you not to bother me with anything?”
Part of the large man’s mental energy was bound to the book. Through this artifact, he projected a semi-transparent female silhouette stepping into the hall, engaging in a deep mental conversation with the menacing Defender.
The information traded between them surged like a vast, turbulent ocean. Lu Zhishen was already teetering on the edge of mental exhaustion; any disturbance now stirred up intense resentment and fury within him.
Suddenly, the Defender, who had been somewhat immersed in those ancient messages, jerked its head around. Its gaze burst forth with breathtaking killing intent, the airwaves coalescing into whiplike shadows and claw marks that flickered like tidal waves.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In an instant, countless deep marks appeared on the stone pillars and walls of the hall.
Lu Zhishen turned his head and said irritably, “It seems someone that the Defender cares about has come in. Go see who it is, and preferably, get rid of them.”
“It’s probably Yang Zicang.”
The big man’s gaze instantly turned icy cold as he looked at him.
“Oh, ah, I’ll go check it out.”
The bald young man, sweating profusely, ran out.
“Damn it, why now of all times? I was just about to wrap things up.”
Lu Zhishen poured more focus into calming the slightly uncontrollable Defender, which was eager to go out and act in person.
If that happened, he would have little chance to “deeply engage” with it again. The Defender would never allow anyone—not even its catalyst—to get close a second time.
Through Silent Night’s perception, Yang Zicang quickly found the familiar path.
{Mr. Zicang, it seems there’s a remarkable monster on your side. I didn’t expect a city ranked so low could give birth to something like that. Are you going to hunt it or seal it?}
Molly was somewhat excited. He had always thought Yang Zicang was strong, but he never expected him to be so powerful. This guy truly dared to go provoke such an existence all by himself.
[Not too bad.]
Yang Zicang forced himself to say.
If he rejected the councilor again this time, he would probably really be done for.
He had already greeted Moli, asking if he could temporarily provide support when time sequence was needed later. To his surprise, Moli readily agreed.
Two copies of the boosting contract had been secretly sold by Moli and Boppoli through concealed channels.
The buyers were very excited. Anyone who has survived in this world for a few months would know that these contracts with skills embedded are not easy to come by.