Chapter 151: Officer Xiao

The clouds drifted slowly, the wind rustled through the treetops, and the green leaves roared in a cacophony.
“Mr. Zicang, what are you doing?”
Teacher Chen curiously watched Yang Zicang, who was tinkering with a small furnace behind the wooden cabin.
“Counterfeiting money, iron ‘copper coins.’”
“What a rare word.” Little Liu walked over and crouched down to watch Yang Zicang’s movements. “I find you seem to know a little bit of everything—digging, cutting trees, setting up tents, and now making money.”
“What can I say? If you’d lived with cavemen in the World of Emblem-stamps for thousands of years, you’d know too.”
“Thousands of years…” Little Liu shuddered. He looked at his teacher. “Old Chen, why don’t you help the shed master? Don’t you know how to do this?”
“Get out, get out,” Teacher Chen waved his hand as if shooing a stray dog. “This little punk has no respect for his elders.”
This wasn’t the first time Teacher Chen had seen Yang Zicang make these things. He somewhat understood that Yang Zicang could use them to store timings, so he helped with carving the molds.
The two of them set to work together, and in less than two days, a compact manual “stamping” machine was added to the camp. Watching these skillful maneuvers, Yang Zicang mused that it was normal for human civilization to sometimes make no progress for millennia, as it often clung to ingrained thinking—like himself, for example.
“This looks much better.” Teacher Chen gazed contentedly at the cooled iron coins before him.
After the molten iron had fully solidified and cooled, Yang Zicang poured out a few iron coins from the compressed mold. Though not extremely durable without quenching, they were more than sufficient for storing temporal sequences.
He crushed the energy orb.
[Lifespan Bank activated.]
A shimmering glow quickly emerged on the iron coins, and in an instant, they held over nine thousand years of extra lifespan.
{Zicang, there’s something I need to tell you.}
A channel of Mental Link from Zhu Yin came through.
Yang Zicang straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Has Ms. Maiya sent word?”
{She’s almost back, but this isn’t about her—it’s about the “Chief Editor.” His subordinates have recently appeared in the Lost-Frequency Lands, seemingly carrying out some actions. I just learned that, aside from the Lost-Frequency Inn, two other locations for secret intelligence trading have also been wiped out. At the last spot, someone saw an entity calling itself the Editor’s Pen.}
“The Chief Editor!”
Yang Zicang suddenly recalled that voice from before—how could he have completely forgotten about the Chief Editor?
“Are his subordinates conducting a purge?”
Amid the bewildered looks from those nearby, Yang Zicang let out an exclamation.
Suddenly, Yang Zicang felt a gaze locked onto him, and the few people beside him turned their heads to look toward the edge of the woods. There, on a small scenic patch of land, stood a strikingly handsome young man whose beauty was almost enchanting, appearing as if from nowhere.
The boy’s lips were pale, his eyes flickering with a golden radiance. Dressed in a gray suit with his hair parted, he seemed to step out of a mystical, ethereal world brimming with spiritual energy.
“Hello, Yang Zicang,” he said, speaking the human language.
Though he bore a human appearance, Yang Zicang was certain he wasn’t human—no one could be so exquisitely crafted.
Beside the young man walked another figure, also in a suit, his face bearing a scalding burn-like mark. He spoke in a low, deep voice:
“Members of the big client cargo team, this before you is the honored executive of Valley Wind Illusion Realm from Lost Illusion Company, with the esteemed title Lord Xiao.”
Lord Xiao wore a faint smile as he looked at Lyu Zhi and the others, who seemed somewhat at a loss:
“You can take me as a genuine reporter. I want to record your past experience fighting against the Correction Officer.”
Yang Zicang felt a tremor in his heart, striving to maintain a composed tone:
“Of course.”
The young man glanced at the surrounding terrain: “Do you have any future plans for this landscape?”
“We plan to build a new shed area here. In the future, it can sustain the daily needs of dozens of people year-round.”
{Ah, naughty Yang.}
Yang Zicang looked up. The small light sphere appeared with a sharp, shrill voice.
{I suggest the celebrity seeks help desperately.}
[As the Great Quadrilateral, I perceive that the elite journalist team is focusing on the existence of “Pen and Finger.”]
Small silhouettes appeared one after another above their heads.
{We can’t record it, big shot—can’t see it.}
“What’s going on?” these journalists suddenly appeared, “What can’t the big shot see?”
Mr. Xiao withdrew his gaze from Yang Zicang’s few tents and wooden cabins. Facing these journalists, he appeared quite calm.
“Relax; by that, they mean that due to my presence, Hub Town can’t see this place.”
He looked at Yang Zicang: “In my past professional experience, there was a role that you longed for but couldn’t obtain—namely, the progression prop for creating model lines.”
This man snapped his fingers, and the energy at his fingertips dissipated, from which a thing emerged—a dark, crystalline object resembling a missing model, with a golden dashed line inside.
Luo Bin, who came out of the tent, gasped, “That’s it! The prop that can provide a chance to upgrade model lines.”
Zuo Feixian and the others were already awed by these sudden arrivals, as the annihilating energy on them strongly resembled the moon-shadow creature from last time. Yet even that creature’s energy fluctuations paled in comparison to the person before them.
Yang Zicang narrowed his gaze—what was the newcomer’s true purpose?
Mr. Xiao put the item away.
“I heard you tried to join the Lost Illusion Company, just to become a staff member responsible for burying it, in order to obtain the intersecting space code for its burial and thus acquire this prop in the city—am I right?”
“I’ve given up on that plan,” Yang Zicang said cautiously.
He shot a meaningful glance at Teacher Chen, signaling him to flee. Well aware of what this meant, Teacher Chen was already pulling Little Liu back while contacting the others via Mental Link, urging them to get out of there quickly.
Suddenly, Mr. Xiao turned his gaze toward Lyu Zhi, who was clutching the statue and planning to retreat.
“Stop. Put down what you’re holding.”
Everyone felt the atmosphere turn icy in an instant, as if a storm was brewing.
A flicker of realization crossed Yang Zicang’s face. “Your target is it?”
Hearing this, Lyu Zhi held the relic of Qin Meng even tighter—it was the only proof that his friend had ever existed in this world.
“You still won’t obey? I told you to put it down, or I will begin evaluating your contribution points. Declaring: anyone with insufficient contributions will have the authority to be cleansed.”
“Wha—what?” Lyu Zhi felt as if he was locked onto by a malevolent dragon, breaking out in a cold sweat from head to toe.
“What’s the use of this statue that warranted you making a special trip here?” Yang Zicang asked urgently.
At these words, Lyu Zhi gritted his teeth, turned around, and bolted.
“Hmph!”
Mr. Xiao’s expression darkened, and his companion immediately barked in fury, a resounding voice echoing in everyone’s minds:
{Evaluation begins. Dajia Construction Crew, historical reputation value: 415 points.}
{Target: Lyu Zhi. Contribution: less than one-tenth.}
{Assessment: F-class member of Dajia.}
{You are now qualified for cleansing.}
Lyu Zhi felt his own model’s telepathic voice echo in his chest.
[I am already qualified to be cleansed.]
“What?”
Sir Xiao raised his arm, pointing straight ahead as energy rippled and flashed at his fingertips.
“Lyu Zhi!” The circular ring on Yang Zicang’s chest appeared quickly.
Bang! Lyu Zhi’s legs turned into a bloody mist under the torrent of chaotic energy that shot toward him. “Ah!”
Yang Zicang was stunned for a moment, then a surge of rage rushed to his brain. He kicked off the ground fiercely, his figure flickering as he moved.
Slap! The young man, who had not yet fallen to the ground, and the sculpture suddenly turned mid-air and landed in Yang Zicang’s arms. He looked up, staring intently at the boy with the thinnest traces of color on his lips.
Sir Xiao clapped his hands and praised, “Not bad, quite quick reflexes. I’m curious—how fast would your model have to be to make it impossible for you to alter their trajectories in time? According to the reporter’s records…”
He stepped forward and turned his head with a smile. “When that controlled innocent’s head was blown apart by your friend, you should have been fast enough to save him, right?”
{Yang Zicang, don’t act rashly.}
Luo Bin’s voice rang out anxiously.
“Brother Jiazi… I…” Lyu Zhi coughed blood from his mouth as he lay in the young man’s arms. Yang Zicang quickly pulled out the healing ability sphere he had brought for use on him.
“It’s okay. I’ll get you the best doctor.”
“My legs… they’re gone. Even the best doctor can’t make me stand again… In this world… I can’t protect my friends, and I can’t even protect myself…”
Yang Zicang set the person down, picked up the statue from his arms, and asked Mr. Xiao with anger: “Why do you want it?”
“The thing inside—you are not qualified to possess it.”
“Is the Bloodline inside it?”
Yang Zicang stared at him: “Now, how about calculating my contribution and see for yourself?!”
Mr. Xiao stepped forward, his oppressive aura growing heavier, but the young man didn’t take a single step back; it was only Lyu Zhi on the ground who suffered.
“Yours doesn’t need calculation. But let me tell you—hand over these Rings of Bloodline to me now, and you will gain my friendship. Or you could choose to become my enemy and face my wrath.”
“Do you think I don’t know? Since when could the Phantom Realm Company arbitrarily interfere with the development of the Disrupted Frequency Zones? Your power has grown so vast!”
Yang Zicang raised a coin shimmering with radiant light.
The woman behind the boy said, “Mr. Xiao, that seems to contain quite some time-sequences.”
Magic patterns slowly rotated in Mr. Xiao’s gaze, and the number 9999N on the coin surfaced within his eyes.
He stared at Yang Zicang for a long time.
“You know quite a bit. Although these are all outdated accounts, you’re a notable figure whose individual reputation alone already exceeds 200 points. If you died like this, it would tarnish my reputation.”
Mr. Xiao raised his index finger.
Energy rippled at the fingertip—boom!
[Dispatching.]
[Suppressed by rank, the dispatch effect is minimal.]
Whoosh! A wave of energy streaked through the air, shooting toward the people in the distance.
“No!” This time, an attempt to alter the trajectory failed. Yang Zicang stared in shock at the wave of death-like energy.
[Domain Manifestation, Echelon One!]
The quadrilateral veiled the surroundings in an instant.
The bodies of the running people suddenly changed; with a thud, the beam brushed past the scattering crowd and struck the ground, exploding.
“Ha, so this time, the trajectory of the target was changed—quite the sharp reaction.”
Although it didn’t hit Teacher Chen and the others, the energy radiating from this single beam was enough to shred their clothes into scraps. Two wooden huts along the way were also instantly blown to pieces, leaving a mess of wood chips and debris.