“Hum—”
The Phoenix Redeemer tore through the night, landing silently in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city.
With the power core extinguished, Ji Mingzhu jumped out of the cockpit.
After breaking free from the encirclement, Ji Mingzhu quickly shook off the mecha units following him. With his piloting skills and Axiu’s interference with satellite signals, a massive S-class mecha, supposed to be highly conspicuous at dozens of meters high, vanished from the city without a trace.
Ji Mingzhu accurately positioned the mecha where Yao Guang indicated. After waiting for a while, a small shuttle flew in from a distance, and a white-haired young man jumped out.
Seeing Ji Mingzhu safe and sound, Yao Guang breathed a sigh of relief.
Tonight was indeed perilous. Although Ji Mingzhu was prepared for the revelation of his undercover identity by the Calamity Control Bureau, Huo Zai’s betrayal undoubtedly accelerated the exposure process by many times. It didn’t give them enough time to prepare. If Yao Guang and Axiu had been a bit slower, Ji Mingzhu might not have returned safely.
“Is this location safe?” Ji Mingzhu scanned the abandoned factory left and right. It was indeed secluded, and he hadn’t seen any buildings or people on his way here.
Yao Guang nodded, “Rest assured, it’s definitely safe. They won’t find this place for at least half a month.”
Having a top-notch hacker could provide unexpected help, that’s for sure.
Yao Guang’s ability to accumulate wealth was quite reliable. In addition to the technology patent fees he could provide as a security expert in the public domain, Yao Guang secretly installed a few fly viruses in several private banks. He used bank vulnerabilities to transfer balances after the decimal point in various ways to a secret account.
This method of accumulating wealth using private bank vulnerabilities was extremely discreet. Yao Guang had been doing it for several years without being detected. Despite Yao Guang’s young age, the wealth accumulated in his secret accounts over the years had reached an astonishing level.
Yao Guang had bought this abandoned factory from the son of a conglomerate through a forged identity. After acquiring it, Yao Guang also erased the existence of this abandoned factory from the public domain network, making it challenging to trace.
“Rumble, rumble—”
With a series of low rumbles, the location of the Phoenix Redeemer suddenly sank. After the mecha disappeared, the camouflage plates on the ground closed again, concealing any trace from the outside.
Ji Mingzhu looked puzzled, “Is this a mecha factory?”
“Yeah.” Yao Guang nodded, “Officially, it’s a medical equipment factory, but, in reality, it’s a private mecha factory owned by a conglomerate. Although many devices have been scrapped, the lift equipment in the underground mecha storage is still functional.”
Seeing Ji Mingzhu’s evident fatigue, Yao Guang asked with concern, “How about… you take a rest first? We can discuss things tomorrow.”
Ji Mingzhu was indeed very tired. So much had happened tonight, and he had engaged in a direct confrontation with three Titan pilots, single-handedly facing three Titans. His nerves had been stretched to the limit. Now, in a safe place, he suddenly relaxed, and drowsiness overcame him.
But Ji Mingzhu shook his head, “Not sleeping yet. Help me contact the doctor from the black market we met earlier.”
“Sure.”
Yao Guang nodded, paused, and then asked, “What about our future plans?”
Although it seemed like they were safe for now, in reality, this was just the beginning of the crisis. The Netherworld had torn apart the facade, the Calamity Control Bureau had labeled Ji Mingzhu a defector, and he had also antagonized Huo Zai. In a way, Ji Mingzhu had managed to offend the Netherworld, the Calamity Control Bureau, and Feibo, making enemies of both humans and the Sky City. The thought of it was intimidating.
After contemplating for a moment, Ji Mingzhu sighed softly, “Staying in Shangjing City is not an option. We need to change our location.”
“Where to?”
“Yangyuan City,” Ji Mingzhu said.
Choosing Yangyuan City had several reasons. Although the twelve human satellite cities all had the Calamity Control Bureau as a direct organization, the relationships between satellite cities were more like different countries. The governments of satellite cities did not have extensive communication, and the Calamity Control Bureau authorities between different satellite cities were not interconnected.
In other words, as long as Ji Mingzhu could safely reach Yangyuan City, the wanted order from Shangjing City would not affect him. Unless a wanted order was directly issued by the Sky City, the Calamity Control Bureaus in various satellite cities would not consider Ji Mingzhu a criminal.
However, Ji Mingzhu was just a Titan pilot. In the human realm, he held significance, but for the Sky City, he was inconsequential. Given the nature of the Immortals, unless it directly threatened Sky City, they tended to adopt a laissez-faire attitude, letting humans resolve their own affairs.
On the other hand, Ji Mingzhu chose to go to Yangyuan City to uncover more truths.
Since this world was not a so-called time travel but a genuine future, he could no longer remain an observer. He was eager to know what had happened, why he had been frozen until now, the artificial intelligences of the Immortals, and the origins of the Aberrations. There was even a hidden expectation in his heart—could there be others like him, “people from the past,” still living in this world? Such as his former club teammates, and… his brother.
The laboratory in Yangyuan City was undoubtedly the starting point for all this. Perhaps there, he could find some breakthroughs.
Soon, the doctor who had performed the surgery to remove Axiu for Ji Mingzhu arrived from the black market.
“I’m back.”
When Axiu’s familiar voice echoed in his mind again, Ji Mingzhu’s heart inexplicably settled.
He whispered, “Welcome back, Axiu.”
Yao Guang tapped the keyboard on the side against the holographic screen, “If we’re leaving Shangjing City, I need to contact someone from the dark web. There are people there who specialize in these kinds of tasks…”
“Yeah, but before that…” Ji Mingzhu said, “I need to collect some interest from the Netherworld.”
The death of Tian Quan couldn’t just be left as it was.
…
At night, Kai Yang walked out of the office building.
“Xiao Wang, let’s get together next time.”
A colleague hooked Kai Yang’s shoulder, “With such a big incident tonight, I guess those bars won’t be open. I was planning to have a couple of drinks after work.”
“Next time for sure.” Kai Yang picked up his briefcase and smiled at his colleagues, maintaining a calm demeanor.
During the rush hour after work, the streets and intersections that should have been bustling were now much quieter. The streets showed signs of destruction, with debris and broken glass from shattered shop windows visible everywhere. Some were buildings damaged during Ji Mingzhu and others’ battles, and some were the result of social elements looting shops amidst the chaos. The security in this area was not good to begin with, and tonight’s battle, although most people were unaware of the details, provided them with plenty of gossip material.
“At that time, the red mecha was so close to me… Bang, it flew away! My goodness, it was so fast. I was blown several meters away, and then the people from the Calamity Control Bureau chased after…”
“I bet you wet your pants.”
“Nonsense, I’ve lived for so many years, seen all sorts of scenes. Is this little thing worth mentioning? Let me tell you…”
Young people with colorful hair discussing the recent mecha battle passed by, talking animatedly about the recent mecha battle in the city.
Kai Yang walked past them without changing his expression, passing through to the intersection where he stopped, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
“Ding, ding, ding—”
The barrier at the intersection dropped, and the traffic roared past. Like other office workers, Kai Yang silently waited for the green light.
Suddenly, Kai Yang looked across the street, and his gaze froze for a moment.
Across the intersection, beyond another barricade, a teenager with a duckbill cap was standing there.
His figure looked very familiar, and Kai Yang stared at him intently. One second later, the boy with the duckbill cap lifted his head slightly.
Although the collar covered the lower half of his face, Kai Yang wouldn’t mistake those eyes.
Tian Shu.
The opposite Ji Mingzhu seemed to have seen him too… No, it seemed like he had come for him. In the instant their eyes met, Kai Yang saw Tian Shu smile at him.
How could he…
Before this, he didn’t know who “Tian Shu” really was. It wasn’t until after Ji Mingzhu betrayed them that Kai Yang learned about his appearance and identity from Bai Weng.
After making eye contact with Ji Mingzhu, Kai Yang felt this scene was somewhat familiar. Then he suddenly remembered that on the day when the Zong Bingyi Academy started, he seemed to have seen a boy very similar to Tian Shu on the public transit vehicle…
No wonder. At that time, Tian Shu knew him, knew where he got off, and thus found the company where he worked… and this time, appearing like this, he was here to kill him.
Kai Yang quickly understood, his gaze turning gloomy, and his hand reached into his briefcase.
A dark muzzle extended from the briefcase, and with the cover of the crowd and the night, the others around didn’t notice.
“He’s pulling out a gun,” Axiu’s voice sounded in his mind.
Ji Mingzhu pressed down his hat, “I know.”
Ding, ding—
The green light came on, and the barricade rose. People on both sides of the road began to converge and intersect on the crosswalk.
“Axiu,” Ji Mingzhu said, “Activate the ‘Asura Mode.'”
“Received.”
Ji Mingzhu and Kai Yang simultaneously took steps, walking toward each other amid the flow of people.
“Peng.”
The gun, equipped with a silencer, made almost no sound on the bustling street. Kai Yang walked expressionlessly, aiming the gun at Ji Mingzhu and pulled the trigger.
Ji Mingzhu remained equally stoic, leaning to the left in a sidestep.
“Bang!”
The bullet struck the railing on the side of the street, producing a crisp sound.
The continuous honking and people’s conversations seemed to detach from the world in that moment.
Ji Mingzhu passed by a white-collar worker in a suit, subtly moved his fingers, and had already taken the ballpoint pen from the man’s chest without him noticing.
“Click.”
The ballpoint pen tip ejected.
Kai Yang continued to walk forward, pulling the trigger once again.
“Peng.”
Ji Mingzhu sidestepped once more, evading the bullet.
Suddenly, the white-collar worker behind Ji Mingzhu felt a pain in his back. Reaching back, he found his hand covered in blood.
Wide-eyed, the white-collar worker slumped forward.
With someone falling unexpectedly, the nearest woman screamed, drawing attention from the surrounding crowd.
However, Ji Mingzhu and Kai Yang didn’t look back. Their gazes remained unwavering, and the distance between them grew shorter.
The two finally intersected in the middle of the crosswalk.
Kai Yang suddenly pulled out a gun from his briefcase!
Ji Mingzhu’s gaze didn’t shift. Like lightning, he extended his hand, pressed down on the gun muzzle, and simultaneously thrust his ballpoint pen upward, piercing Kai Yang’s throat.
The sharp pen tip penetrated his throat.
Ji Mingzhu clenched his left fist, tapping the back end of the ballpoint pen. The entire pen disappeared into Kai Yang’s neck.
From face-to-face contact to Ji Mingzhu walking past his body and leaving, only about a second passed.
In the eyes of others, the teenager with the duckbill cap and the middle-aged man briefly met in the middle of the crosswalk and then brushed past each other.
Kai Yang’s body froze in place, like a sculpture, unmoving.
Only when Ji Mingzhu had already reached the other side and departed without looking back did Kai Yang slowly make a “hehe” sound, blood gushing from his mouth, and he collapsed in the center of the crosswalk.
TN:
Ah how will Mingzhu handle having all 3 factions out to get him! I like this avenging angel Mingzhu. Like f*ck morality. When someone’s got to go then they’ve got to be gone gone!
“Hum—”
The Phoenix Redeemer tore through the night, landing silently in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city.
With the power core extinguished, Ji Mingzhu jumped out of the cockpit.
After breaking free from the encirclement, Ji Mingzhu quickly shook off the mecha units following him. With his piloting skills and Axiu’s interference with satellite signals, a massive S-class mecha, supposed to be highly conspicuous at dozens of meters high, vanished from the city without a trace.
Ji Mingzhu accurately positioned the mecha where Yao Guang indicated. After waiting for a while, a small shuttle flew in from a distance, and a white-haired young man jumped out.
Seeing Ji Mingzhu safe and sound, Yao Guang breathed a sigh of relief.
Tonight was indeed perilous. Although Ji Mingzhu was prepared for the revelation of his undercover identity by the Calamity Control Bureau, Huo Zai’s betrayal undoubtedly accelerated the exposure process by many times. It didn’t give them enough time to prepare. If Yao Guang and Axiu had been a bit slower, Ji Mingzhu might not have returned safely.
“Is this location safe?” Ji Mingzhu scanned the abandoned factory left and right. It was indeed secluded, and he hadn’t seen any buildings or people on his way here.
Yao Guang nodded, “Rest assured, it’s definitely safe. They won’t find this place for at least half a month.”
Having a top-notch hacker could provide unexpected help, that’s for sure.
Yao Guang’s ability to accumulate wealth was quite reliable. In addition to the technology patent fees he could provide as a security expert in the public domain, Yao Guang secretly installed a few fly viruses in several private banks. He used bank vulnerabilities to transfer balances after the decimal point in various ways to a secret account.
This method of accumulating wealth using private bank vulnerabilities was extremely discreet. Yao Guang had been doing it for several years without being detected. Despite Yao Guang’s young age, the wealth accumulated in his secret accounts over the years had reached an astonishing level.
Yao Guang had bought this abandoned factory from the son of a conglomerate through a forged identity. After acquiring it, Yao Guang also erased the existence of this abandoned factory from the public domain network, making it challenging to trace.
“Rumble, rumble—”
With a series of low rumbles, the location of the Phoenix Redeemer suddenly sank. After the mecha disappeared, the camouflage plates on the ground closed again, concealing any trace from the outside.
Ji Mingzhu looked puzzled, “Is this a mecha factory?”
“Yeah.” Yao Guang nodded, “Officially, it’s a medical equipment factory, but, in reality, it’s a private mecha factory owned by a conglomerate. Although many devices have been scrapped, the lift equipment in the underground mecha storage is still functional.”
Seeing Ji Mingzhu’s evident fatigue, Yao Guang asked with concern, “How about… you take a rest first? We can discuss things tomorrow.”
Ji Mingzhu was indeed very tired. So much had happened tonight, and he had engaged in a direct confrontation with three Titan pilots, single-handedly facing three Titans. His nerves had been stretched to the limit. Now, in a safe place, he suddenly relaxed, and drowsiness overcame him.
But Ji Mingzhu shook his head, “Not sleeping yet. Help me contact the doctor from the black market we met earlier.”
“Sure.”
Yao Guang nodded, paused, and then asked, “What about our future plans?”
Although it seemed like they were safe for now, in reality, this was just the beginning of the crisis. The Netherworld had torn apart the facade, the Calamity Control Bureau had labeled Ji Mingzhu a defector, and he had also antagonized Huo Zai. In a way, Ji Mingzhu had managed to offend the Netherworld, the Calamity Control Bureau, and Feibo, making enemies of both humans and the Sky City. The thought of it was intimidating.
After contemplating for a moment, Ji Mingzhu sighed softly, “Staying in Shangjing City is not an option. We need to change our location.”
“Where to?”
“Yangyuan City,” Ji Mingzhu said.
Choosing Yangyuan City had several reasons. Although the twelve human satellite cities all had the Calamity Control Bureau as a direct organization, the relationships between satellite cities were more like different countries. The governments of satellite cities did not have extensive communication, and the Calamity Control Bureau authorities between different satellite cities were not interconnected.
In other words, as long as Ji Mingzhu could safely reach Yangyuan City, the wanted order from Shangjing City would not affect him. Unless a wanted order was directly issued by the Sky City, the Calamity Control Bureaus in various satellite cities would not consider Ji Mingzhu a criminal.
However, Ji Mingzhu was just a Titan pilot. In the human realm, he held significance, but for the Sky City, he was inconsequential. Given the nature of the Immortals, unless it directly threatened Sky City, they tended to adopt a laissez-faire attitude, letting humans resolve their own affairs.
On the other hand, Ji Mingzhu chose to go to Yangyuan City to uncover more truths.
Since this world was not a so-called time travel but a genuine future, he could no longer remain an observer. He was eager to know what had happened, why he had been frozen until now, the artificial intelligences of the Immortals, and the origins of the Aberrations. There was even a hidden expectation in his heart—could there be others like him, “people from the past,” still living in this world? Such as his former club teammates, and… his brother.
The laboratory in Yangyuan City was undoubtedly the starting point for all this. Perhaps there, he could find some breakthroughs.
Soon, the doctor who had performed the surgery to remove Axiu for Ji Mingzhu arrived from the black market.
“I’m back.”
When Axiu’s familiar voice echoed in his mind again, Ji Mingzhu’s heart inexplicably settled.
He whispered, “Welcome back, Axiu.”
Yao Guang tapped the keyboard on the side against the holographic screen, “If we’re leaving Shangjing City, I need to contact someone from the dark web. There are people there who specialize in these kinds of tasks…”
“Yeah, but before that…” Ji Mingzhu said, “I need to collect some interest from the Netherworld.”
The death of Tian Quan couldn’t just be left as it was.
…
At night, Kai Yang walked out of the office building.
“Xiao Wang, let’s get together next time.”
A colleague hooked Kai Yang’s shoulder, “With such a big incident tonight, I guess those bars won’t be open. I was planning to have a couple of drinks after work.”
“Next time for sure.” Kai Yang picked up his briefcase and smiled at his colleagues, maintaining a calm demeanor.
During the rush hour after work, the streets and intersections that should have been bustling were now much quieter. The streets showed signs of destruction, with debris and broken glass from shattered shop windows visible everywhere. Some were buildings damaged during Ji Mingzhu and others’ battles, and some were the result of social elements looting shops amidst the chaos. The security in this area was not good to begin with, and tonight’s battle, although most people were unaware of the details, provided them with plenty of gossip material.
“At that time, the red mecha was so close to me… Bang, it flew away! My goodness, it was so fast. I was blown several meters away, and then the people from the Calamity Control Bureau chased after…”
“I bet you wet your pants.”
“Nonsense, I’ve lived for so many years, seen all sorts of scenes. Is this little thing worth mentioning? Let me tell you…”
Young people with colorful hair discussing the recent mecha battle passed by, talking animatedly about the recent mecha battle in the city.
Kai Yang walked past them without changing his expression, passing through to the intersection where he stopped, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
“Ding, ding, ding—”
The barrier at the intersection dropped, and the traffic roared past. Like other office workers, Kai Yang silently waited for the green light.
Suddenly, Kai Yang looked across the street, and his gaze froze for a moment.
Across the intersection, beyond another barricade, a teenager with a duckbill cap was standing there.
His figure looked very familiar, and Kai Yang stared at him intently. One second later, the boy with the duckbill cap lifted his head slightly.
Although the collar covered the lower half of his face, Kai Yang wouldn’t mistake those eyes.
Tian Shu.
The opposite Ji Mingzhu seemed to have seen him too… No, it seemed like he had come for him. In the instant their eyes met, Kai Yang saw Tian Shu smile at him.
How could he…
Before this, he didn’t know who “Tian Shu” really was. It wasn’t until after Ji Mingzhu betrayed them that Kai Yang learned about his appearance and identity from Bai Weng.
After making eye contact with Ji Mingzhu, Kai Yang felt this scene was somewhat familiar. Then he suddenly remembered that on the day when the Zong Bingyi Academy started, he seemed to have seen a boy very similar to Tian Shu on the public transit vehicle…
No wonder. At that time, Tian Shu knew him, knew where he got off, and thus found the company where he worked… and this time, appearing like this, he was here to kill him.
Kai Yang quickly understood, his gaze turning gloomy, and his hand reached into his briefcase.
A dark muzzle extended from the briefcase, and with the cover of the crowd and the night, the others around didn’t notice.
“He’s pulling out a gun,” Axiu’s voice sounded in his mind.
Ji Mingzhu pressed down his hat, “I know.”
Ding, ding—
The green light came on, and the barricade rose. People on both sides of the road began to converge and intersect on the crosswalk.
“Axiu,” Ji Mingzhu said, “Activate the ‘Asura Mode.'”
“Received.”
Ji Mingzhu and Kai Yang simultaneously took steps, walking toward each other amid the flow of people.
“Peng.”
The gun, equipped with a silencer, made almost no sound on the bustling street. Kai Yang walked expressionlessly, aiming the gun at Ji Mingzhu and pulled the trigger.
Ji Mingzhu remained equally stoic, leaning to the left in a sidestep.
“Bang!”
The bullet struck the railing on the side of the street, producing a crisp sound.
The continuous honking and people’s conversations seemed to detach from the world in that moment.
Ji Mingzhu passed by a white-collar worker in a suit, subtly moved his fingers, and had already taken the ballpoint pen from the man’s chest without him noticing.
“Click.”
The ballpoint pen tip ejected.
Kai Yang continued to walk forward, pulling the trigger once again.
“Peng.”
Ji Mingzhu sidestepped once more, evading the bullet.
Suddenly, the white-collar worker behind Ji Mingzhu felt a pain in his back. Reaching back, he found his hand covered in blood.
Wide-eyed, the white-collar worker slumped forward.
With someone falling unexpectedly, the nearest woman screamed, drawing attention from the surrounding crowd.
However, Ji Mingzhu and Kai Yang didn’t look back. Their gazes remained unwavering, and the distance between them grew shorter.
The two finally intersected in the middle of the crosswalk.
Kai Yang suddenly pulled out a gun from his briefcase!
Ji Mingzhu’s gaze didn’t shift. Like lightning, he extended his hand, pressed down on the gun muzzle, and simultaneously thrust his ballpoint pen upward, piercing Kai Yang’s throat.
The sharp pen tip penetrated his throat.
Ji Mingzhu clenched his left fist, tapping the back end of the ballpoint pen. The entire pen disappeared into Kai Yang’s neck.
From face-to-face contact to Ji Mingzhu walking past his body and leaving, only about a second passed.
In the eyes of others, the teenager with the duckbill cap and the middle-aged man briefly met in the middle of the crosswalk and then brushed past each other.
Kai Yang’s body froze in place, like a sculpture, unmoving.
Only when Ji Mingzhu had already reached the other side and departed without looking back did Kai Yang slowly make a “hehe” sound, blood gushing from his mouth, and he collapsed in the center of the crosswalk.
TN:
Ah how will Mingzhu handle having all 3 factions out to get him! I like this avenging angel Mingzhu. Like f*ck morality. When someone’s got to go then they’ve got to be gone gone!
