Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 507: The arrow is on the string

Chapter 507: The arrow is on the string

Even someone as kind-hearted as Changan showed no trace of sympathy as they witnessed the demise of the Great Success Rank Impermanence, offering only a cold, fleeting glance.

As the other perished, the seed of the heart hidden within their body seemed eager to escape. Despite the cutting off of its connection to the source, the seed of the heart acted as though it instinctively knew where it belonged. Naturally, I couldn’t let it flee so easily; I reached out and tightly grasped it in my palm.

Since it didn’t vanish alongside its host, that indicates the seed of the heart exists as a "material" in the "present." It seems the seed of the heart genuinely possesses the traits of the Liangyi Inheritor’s Power Seeds. Even though its host had already perished, the host’s body was transplanted out of history by Xu Gou’s Power of Cutting, moving the seed to that "phantom of the past."

Just as Liu Shuying once described the Xuanwu Seed—because Water Navy Xuanwu will revive in the future, the Xuanwu Seed didn’t return to the hands of Shan Liangyi upon Xuanwu’s death. Instead, it traversed time and space, relocating to the resurrected body of Water Navy Xuanwu.

"Well then, you’ll have to handle these victims yourself. I’ll do my part to send help, but since you proposed saving them, you need to take the lead and bear the responsibility," I said to Changan.

Changan looked resolutely at the victims and replied, "I understand."

Next, using the Firefly device, I initiated contact with Lu Chan far away at Luoshan Headquarters to explain the situation here.

Settling over a hundred victims who lacked the will to live and providing them daily care and psychological counseling would certainly require plenty of personnel—whether Lu Chan could mobilize enough people in time was uncertain.

Thankfully, after discussing matters, I found it might be easier than expected.

Luoshan, after all, is a legitimate organization tasked with governing the abnormal world. Although it now harbors ambitions to control society, its original culture still prevails, allowing it to shelter many soul-loss patients and provide them with care. Compared to the ever-growing number of soul-loss patients throughout society, accommodating about a hundred victims incapable of self-care appeared relatively straightforward.

Lu Chan’s team originally faced manpower shortages, but fortunately, Weichi has now joined our efforts. Known as a master of arrays, Weichi has extensive connections—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him "influential beyond measure." Despite his lack of leadership demeanor, some disciples of the former Qilin believers reportedly follow him.

Just last night, Weichi had already taken my Firefly device and contacted Lu Chan. These two seem to have known each other, and Weichi displayed no apparent disdain toward Lu Chan despite his infamous reputation.

Incidentally, I had informed Mazao and Zhu Shi that Weichi is the Void Envoy "No. 5," but I hadn’t yet shared this with Lu Chan. Since we’ve decided to place as much trust in Lu Chan as possible, I should communicate this to him soon.

"But if Great Success Impermanence can revive these victims so effortlessly, why didn’t Xu Gou do it? He sympathizes with the victims too, right?" Changan asked in puzzlement.

"Perhaps because Xu Gou doesn’t possess the Power of Word Spirit," I responded.

The Power of Word Spirit is a natural privilege of Great Success Impermanence, derived from the same origins as Fatian Xiangdi. Since Xu Gou lacks Fatian Xiangdi, he naturally doesn’t have the Power of Word Spirit. Even if he can summon the deceased from history, he cannot use his "commanding authority" to define them as "living beings of the present."

Thus, even though Xu Gou can transplant his beloved from history to the present, he cannot use his own power to bring her back to life.

Of course, the issue is far more intricate. If it were merely that simple, Xu Gou could have asked Xuanming for a favor during their collaboration. The problem lies in the fact that the female scientist, Xu Gou’s beloved, isn’t "a mere ordinary person" but rather someone deeply intimate with Xu Gou, a Great Success Impermanence, and the one who personally caused Xu Gou’s resurgence.

The Power of Cutting history is likely a force capable of influencing the past. It seems Xu Gou cannot merely revive her or transplant her history to the present.

Normally, my own Power of Word Spirit cannot resurrect lives slain by other Great Success Impermanences either. However, since Xu Gou had already used his Power of Cutting to transplant them here, he likely bore the burden of influencing history himself in some way. All I had to do was issue the "proof of existence" for the deceased, allowing me to complete their revival effortlessly.

While the specific impact of cutting history on the timeline remains beyond my calculation, it seems, akin to Ying Lingyun’s past act of transplanting the former and current headquarters of the Human Bureau without damaging the spatial continuity of the real world, Xu Gou’s Power of Cutting won’t significantly compromise the temporal continuity of history either.

If Xu Gou’s ability could save those victims he had "released" in the past, then his power must at least be capable of altering history in ways inconsequential to a Great Success Impermanence. However, it’s clear this approach couldn’t truly act without restrictions—the closer the history is to someone’s heart, the harder it becomes to manipulate.

What a dark irony: Great Success Impermanence’s Power of Word Spirit could revive hundreds of dead souls and potentially thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, given enough time. Yet it is incapable of reviving even one person who holds deep personal importance.

Whether my revival of those victims will leave them with any lingering mystical effects remains unknown for now, left to be observed in the future. Fortunately, though they endured endless horror within the historical cuts, they were, at the very least, alive throughout. Unlike the demon hunters in the secret headquarters of the past Human Bureau who became oversaturated with death and whose souls slowly decayed autonomously, these victims still face a long road to recovery.

"Well then, I have pressing matters to attend to. Let me send you and them back first. We’ll meet again." I said.

"Alright, see you later." Changan nodded.

I waved my hand, and flames surged into a storm, engulfing Changan and the victims. The "storm" vanished in an instant, transporting all of them to Luoshan Headquarters.

Then, I retrieved the gray stone given to me earlier by Liu Shuying and crushed it.

The shattered gray stone transformed into a cloud of dust that coalesced before me, reforming into Liu Shuying’s dust-clone.

He glanced at the spot where the Great Success Rank Impermanence disappeared and then asked, "Did the interrogation yield results?"

I revealed the findings to him, including the location of Taoyuan Village’s headquarters.

Overjoyed by this outcome, Liu Shuying expressed his surprise and said, "To track down the target so quickly... I thought we’d have to take many more convoluted steps. Who knew we’d reach the goal directly? It seems fortune favors us."

Perhaps what favors us isn’t fortune but Mazao’s "Unfortunate People" power.

Without hesitation, Liu Shuying declared, "Good, there’s no time to waste. Let’s raid Taoyuan Village Headquarters immediately."

As he spoke, something seemed to cross his mind, "—The rapid progress of events is throwing off my rhythm a bit; I nearly forgot to inform you of something critical.

"By the side of Taoyuan Village Master, there are likely additional allies.

"Not just ordinary Great Success Rank individuals but other Great Success Impermanences... This isn’t referring to Xu Gou. Honestly, I hadn’t anticipated the appearance of someone like Xu Gou, a Void Envoy. I’m pointing to others... those more mysterious, unknown, originating from untraceable backgrounds.

"I haven’t personally encountered them but can deduce their existence through faint traces."

I replied frankly, "The entity you’re referring to should be ’Huang Quan,’ a self-proclaimed Great Success Impermanence from an organization called ’Evangelical Institute.’"

"Huang Quan? Evangelical Institute?" Liu Shuying was visibly startled, "It seems you’re far more informed than I am..."

As a Prophet, he appeared quite uncomfortable with the fact that someone else had more insider knowledge than him.

"It’s merely coincidence," I replied. "With this information in mind, should we aim for a swift and decisive assault to secure victory, avoiding reinforcement from the Taoyuan Village Master’s allies?"

"Exactly." Liu Shuying steadied his thoughts. "The Taoyuan Village Master is a cautious and vigilant individual. That mysterious Impermanence named Huang Quan is clearly not allied closely with Taoyuan Village. Xu Gou, meanwhile, remains a recent addition to Taoyuan Village’s Impermanences, and the Master is unlikely to keep either too close.

"His prudence, normally his greatest weapon, will now become our greatest opportunity."

"Before we formally engage, I have one question I’d like to clarify with you," I said. "You’ve consistently assumed that the Taoyuan Village Master is Shan Liangyi, who prematurely seized the role of Green Dragon Inheritor. If during the battle we confirm that the Taoyuan Village Master is truly just the Green Dragon Inheritor, how would you respond?"

"You mean to suggest that, in such a case, the Taoyuan Village Master wouldn’t actually be the enemy we must defeat to take down Shan Liangyi, but could instead become the most powerful weapon against Shan Liangyi and our greatest ally?" Liu Shuying understood my implication. "Indeed, we should clarify this matter.

"From my perspective, even if the Taoyuan Village Master isn’t Shan Liangyi, I’d still be compelled to eliminate him. His plan to create a ’Paradise,’ the ultimate individual existence, is as dangerous in my eyes as Shan Liangyi. I’m sure this opinion is shared by other Impermanences like Gua Tianshi and Fa Zheng.

"And from your perspective, the Taoyuan Village Master is also someone with whom cooperation isn’t feasible. You two have had interactions before—not once did he propose ’collaboration,’ correct?"

No.

If the Taoyuan Village Master is Shan Liangyi, he would view me as the most nourishing prey and aim to hunt me, the Vermilion Bird Inheritor who has already become an Impermanence. Conversely, if he is merely the Green Dragon Inheritor, what would he see me as?

He would undoubtedly perceive me as an obstacle that must be removed.

The idea of collaboration with the Taoyuan Village Master crossed my mind solely because wood overcomes earth—Green Dragon Inheritor could counteract Shan Liangyi. However, from the perspective of the Green Dragon Inheritor, fire generates earth. If the Vermilion Bird Inheritor is consumed, Shan Liangyi’s power would grow significantly, and removing the Vermilion Bird Inheritor early is most advantageous.

In the clash between Green Dragon and Yellow Dragon, Vermilion Bird is a mild enhancement for the former but critical support for the latter.

The Taoyuan Village Master likely became aware of my role as the Vermilion Bird Inheritor during the battle at the Human Bureau Headquarters, when Ying Lingyun tried to counter me using some source of White Tiger Killing Power but was easily suppressed by my flames.

The Master’s embodiment had once said to me, "Although I don’t plan to harvest the Vermilion Bird Seed right now, since you’ve served yourself up, I’ll take it with no hesitation." These words sounded like Shan Liangyi’s perspective, but they could also belong to a Liangyi Inheritor possessing the technique to seize Power Seeds.

Although Water Navy Xuanwu previously exhibited unfamiliarity with the Taoyuan Village Master, Ying Lingyun serves as a middleman between them. The possibility exists that the Master acquired the technique to seize Power Seeds by transmission from Ying Lingyun, or perhaps the Master himself developed a similar technique.

A multitude of possibilities and speculations flashed through my mind, while Liu Shuying, guided by the coordinates I provided, turned his focus outward. Closing his eyes, he seemed to sense the location corresponding to the coordinates.

Then, seemingly locking onto the destination, he opened his eyes and declared, "Found it—it’s precisely there!"