Player Reload
Chapter 484 - 447: Turmoil

Chapter 484: Chapter 447: Turmoil

Li Cheng summoned the Flame Jetting Tank, affixing a Floating Engine to its surface, then called Zhangsun Yao and Gray Rain to bring the people on the stretcher, like Binary Tree, into the vehicle.

He then let the tank emit flames at low power towards the back, functioning as a levitating vehicle moving forward.

The cabin was not very spacious, the Vast Sea Soul-locking Bell rang incessantly, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Zhangsun Yao sat in the corner, silently gazing at her palm, her expression dazed and bewildered, occasionally tinged with pain.

After hesitating for a moment, she folded a piece of white paper into a bag shape, then took a bowl of Talisman Water from the Backpack, drinking it directly.

This Taoist Talisman in the water is called [Qingwei Heavenly Heart Righteous Method], a high-grade product from the slum, capable of greatly dispelling distractions and clearing the mind.

"Ugh—"

Zhangsun Yao vomited violently into the paper bag, expelling a copious amount of black and white leeches—manifestations of her inner distractions.

After vomiting, her complexion improved considerably. She rinsed her mouth with mineral water, then tossed the trash into the Backpack, forcing a bitter smile at Li Cheng and Gray Rain.

Gray Rain couldn’t help but click his tongue, "My gosh, what did you see in the Illusion Realm for the aftereffects to be this severe?"

"Um..."

This question felt a bit intrusive, but Li Cheng and Gray Rain had just saved her, and given the current situation in the Secret Realm, where half of the players’ essence had been taken, it was uncertain whether they could make it out alive.

Zhangsun Yao shook her head, speaking softly, "It’s nothing, just witnessing the complete annihilation of my clan."

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow; he had previously researched Zhangsun Yao’s background and knew roughly that two and a half years ago, over three hundred members of Zhangsun Yao’s clan died in one night. Only Zhangsun Yao survived, becoming a player.

From the old folks left behind in the mountain village to the young people working far away from the clan in big cities, none were spared. The impact spanned half the country.

Given that the Special Affairs Bureau’s operations had already expanded by that time, such a grim and unusual extermination event naturally caused quite a stir within the player community.

Some say it was perpetrated by an anomalous entity from the Slaughter Field, engaging in murder based on a bloodline Curse;

Others claim their family had previously antagonized a Transcendent they shouldn’t have, and after thirty years of ebbs and flows, the powerful adversary had come for revenge;

Even more assert that the Behelet has appeared (a prop from the manga "Swordwind Chronicles," shaped like a red Magic Stone with a human face, enabling the wielder to sacrifice their kin in a blood ritual to exchange humanity for great Strength).

The truth of the incident was ultimately concealed by the Special Affairs Bureau, and Li Cheng wasn’t idle enough to go asking Yuan Zhixia, Side of Truth, or directly question Zhangsun Yao, "Hey sister, I’ve heard you’re also an orphan."

"Two and a half years ago, every member of my clan, including my parents, was cursed; their entire flesh evaporated, leaving only the skins."

Zhangsun Yao murmured, "The root of the incident traces back to the Republic era a hundred years ago."

Gray Rain was taken aback, "A hundred years ago? Wasn’t the killing field not yet descended at that time?"

"That’s supposed to be the case, but anything is possible with the killing field entity."

Zhangsun Yao said bitterly, "In certain areas, time flows backward, and some Legendary Hidden Rooms can even manipulate destiny and reverse causality.

After the demise of my clan, the local county records unexpectedly contained a passage claiming one of my ancestors served as a county chief, became obsessed with the Mysterious Sect’s Strange Techniques, built several temples, and suddenly died in office.

Some centenarians from the area developed corresponding memories as well."

Gray Rain blinked in confusion, "What does that mean, world line alteration?"

"It’s more like a deliberately hidden world line finally emerging."

Zhangsun Yao said, "After the incident, the Special Affairs Bureau’s archives inexplicably gained an ancient secret archive, pointing to a deeply unsettling fact.

The Special Affairs Bureau wasn’t established temporarily after the killing field’s descent, but rather its predecessor could be traced back to a classified project during the Cold War, and further still, to my ancestor.

He, along with several other ’extraordinary individuals’ of the time, were likely not players but certainly Transcendents."

Having explained, Zhangsun Yao initially thought Li Cheng and Gray Rain would be utterly shocked, but contrary to her expectations, they remained surprisingly calm.

The two had witnessed time reversal effects firsthand, even sending Side of Truth back four and a half years to when Slaughter Field Game first launched, so they weren’t surprised by the so-called world line changes.

"So you’re saying, although your ancestor was a Transcendent, they didn’t inherit the Extraordinary Power to their descendants. A hundred years later, due to some reason, all your clansmen perished, leading to you becoming a player."

Li Cheng rubbed his chin, "All Extraordinary Elements originate from the killing field, in other words, some future event—possibly in the form of a Script Task—will inevitably happen, reversing time to grant your ancestor Extraordinary Power."

"That’s right." Zhangsun Yao nodded.

This solved one of Li Cheng’s puzzles; it made sense why she could establish a player guild in Yin City, act as a broker, and poach members from the Special Affairs Bureau.

And the Special Affairs Bureau’s attitude toward her was somewhat a "respect but keep at a distance."

"Wait a minute,"

Gray Rain’s mind clicked, questioning, "If it’s said that you must return to the past in the future to grant your ancestor Extraordinary Power, doesn’t that mean you’re essentially immortal until that task is completed? You can do whatever you want?"

"You can’t calculate it like that."

Zhangsun Yao shook her head helplessly, "No one knows what the future holds, and the one who resets the world line doesn’t necessarily have to be me; it could be someone else. I don’t possess any irreplaceable aspect of fate myself, so I could still die."

Precisely because she knew of the time reversal and world line changes, Zhangsun Yao fought desperately to seize every opportunity to strengthen herself.

Only in this way does she hold a slim chance, at some future point, to rescue her loved ones.

Finally easing the heavy psychological burden, Zhangsun Yao exhaled deeply and leaned back in the tank cabin.

"We’re here."

While speaking, the levitating tank had already arrived at the bottom of the Inverted Pyramid.

On the empty ground, paper boxes were quietly arrayed, identical to the Illusion Realm scene.

The only difference was that beside the paper boxes stood... the director of the Red Star Orphanage.

Or rather, an anomalous entity adopting the director’s image.

He smiled faintly, his right hand gently resting on the edge of the paper box.

Li Cheng seemed to have anticipated what was going to happen, he opened the tank hatch, jumped down from the vehicle, and after glancing around, he spoke to the director, "How should I address you? Are you the anomalous entity T, or Cai Anjie?"

The director tilted his head slightly, chuckling, "Cai Anjie, sounds like a girl’s name."

Li Cheng smirked, "Is there still a need for acting at this point?"

The director retorted, "Without some dramatization, how can it match the ordeal of this journey?"

"Well...indeed."

Li Cheng was convinced, he glanced at the bewildered Zhangsun Yao and Gray Rain, and said, "All the anomalous entities we encountered on the way, Horse-headed Man S, Meat Mountain L, Gray Green Giant A, Black-clothed Woman H, Suits Baby E, and this director T, are all Cai Anjie,

or rather, a part of Cai Anjie."