Superhumans of the Dome City
Chapter 92 - 92 11 I Want to Learn

92: Chapter 11 I Want to Learn…

92: Chapter 11 I Want to Learn…

7:40 p.m., Cangshou District, Red Feather Station.

Gongsun Ce jumped off the back of the white parrot, casually feeding the biochemical bird a piece of jerky.

The large bird chewed noisily, looking quite happy.

Its expression reminded him of Qiluo at dinner—she acted as if it was her first meal, praising every dish incessantly, even though for convenience they had instant noodles and ready-to-eat meal packets tonight.

Should he attribute this to the aftereffects of memory loss, or was it simply the girl’s nature?

He couldn’t say for sure and decided to set the thought aside for the time being.

He needed to help Qiluo regain her memories, and he had also agreed to assist Mr.

Shiyu with his romantic endeavors.

But tonight, Gongsun Ce had to deal with his own affairs first.

The young man with gray hair left the pigeon station, walking along a road on the edge of the urban area.

Cangshou District, also known as Dragon Head District, was located at the head of a giant dragon, as its name suggested, and was physically connected to the central district through a very wide main road—bluntly put, the dragon’s neck.

Traveling forward along the dragon’s neck (he had forgotten the official name), the first thing one would see wasn’t the city, but two small hills and a tunnel that cut through them.

According to the understanding of superpower users, the twin peaks of Cangshou District could be the protrusions behind the dragon’s head, or perhaps its ears.

Some say they were the dragon’s horns, but in terms of scale, the horns shouldn’t be just this tall.

No matter what part they used to be, now they were just two small hills.

At the foot of the hills lay green grass and bright flowers, and from halfway up, the slopes were claimed by jungle, but further up, close to the peak, one could glimpse traces of blue through the gaps in the leaves.

The students all said that the villas with blue rooftops were the private residences of important figures.

At the moment, he was heading toward one of those villas.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, he realized the hill was taller than he had thought, so the superpower user simply took to the sky, flying towards his destination.

This wasted a lot of power, but he wasn’t too worried—could he possibly encounter an accident at the entrance of the Sky Extreme family’s home?

He flew over the jungle canopy, past the garden and artificial lake in front of the villa, and landed at the solid wooden gate.

His pocket watch showed he was a few minutes early.

The young man waited a while until the minute hand pointed exactly at 8 o’clock, then he knocked on the gate with his hand.

Thump thump thump.

A moment later, someone’s voice came from behind the door, “Come in!”

The wooden door opened automatically, and the gray-haired young man stepped inside.

The first thing he saw past the door was a bamboo carving screen depicting mountains and rivers; only after turning around the screen did he glimpse the appearance of the hall.

There were chairs made of huanghuali wood, cushions embroidered with gold thread, a marble table with a white porcelain fruit bowl on it, and walls adorned with calligraphy, full of vigor and strength.

Looking closer, his eyes caught sight of various rare and curious items, far beyond the experience of an ordinary student.

But more eye-catching than all these furnishings was the man in black, splashing ink in the middle of the hall.

He was adding the final touch to a peculiar array drawn on a paper large enough for an adult to lie down on.

Yan Qi tossed his brush onto the ground and gestured with his chin to the chair, “Sit.”

The gray-haired young man looked around at the items in the room, “Pretty lavish, huh?”

The tall man smacked his lips.

“The house of a government lord is naturally lavish!

Could I, a poor wanderer, afford to live in such a place?”

“You’re a Creator Realm Mage and you don’t have some spare change in your pocket?”

“If the Impermanence Skill could earn money, would it have turned out so useless?” Yan Qi curled his lip, “Can you make money from being good at fighting?”

Hard to say, really.

Maybe if a wealthy person with a vast fortune hired me as a bodyguard, or if I worked for the folks in white coats…

“Oh, you can earn money by risking your life for others.

What about you?”

He shook his head amidst the man’s laughter.

“Like an idiot.

If I had the chance, I might even consider becoming a civil servant.”

“Fool, what’s the difference!

Serving the rich, serving the emperor, aren’t you just tying a noose around your neck in both cases?”

Yan Qi plunked down in a luxurious armchair and, with a wave of his hand towards the opulent villa, asked as if to flaunt his wealth,

“Is this house big?”

To say it wasn’t big would have been false—it was indeed massive.

From the outside, the building was taller than the small mansions he had lived in while in the Country, and it was incomparable to the single room apartment he was currently residing in.

Gongsun Ce replied irritably, “Having only you live in this house is quite the waste.”

“Oh!

Just me.”

The man in black tapped the armrest of his chair with his knuckles.

“You only saw me in this house, correct?”

The question now didn’t seem like it was deliberately intended to provoke his anger.

Yan Qi appeared to be confirming something.

Coincidentally, he had heard a similar question that afternoon.

Gongsun Ce did not hurry to answer.

He hadn’t entered any of the rooms with closed doors, but he walked around the reception hall, taking a careful look at every corner that could hide a person, only speaking when he returned to his starting point, “Within the range of my sight, there are only the two of us here.”

The middle-aged painter raised an eyebrow at him.

“Not often you don’t whine.

Encountered something strange recently?”

Indeed.

When he heard such a question that afternoon, it was Mr.

Shiyu confirming the number of people in the room.

Qiluo, having used her power, had become invisible to ordinary eyes, and only he could see her.

Yan Qi must know something about his unique “vision.” Otherwise, he would never have asked such a question.

Did Qiluo’s memory loss have something to do with the Impermanence Skill?

Or was she herself a high-ranking Impermanence Law Enforcer?

“At noon today…”

He sat down in the chair and carefully recounted the events from that afternoon to Yan Qi.

This time, he did not conceal any details, including the peculiar “316” hours that he hadn’t explained to his friends.

—316 hours and 47 minutes before noon today was the morning of the Colored Glaze Disaster.

To say that Qiluo’s abnormalities had nothing to do with what happened that day would be something no Superpower User would believe.

Yan Qi rarely showed the patience to listen to the entire story.

“What leisure you all have!

If you’re so idle, go ahead and investigate slowly.”

Leaving behind this cryptic comment, he grabbed a handful of dried fruit from the fruit bowl on the table and began to chew loudly.

Gongsun Ce slammed his hand on the table, “Stop playing games!

Why can I see Qiluo?”

The Impermanence Law Enforcer said lazily, “Use your brain, Gongsun.

If you’ve got an extra eye, don’t you see more?”

Gongsun Ce hadn’t had more than two eyes in his life since he was born, except when he was called four-eyed frog by hoodlums.

Unless Yan Qi was referring to…

The Superpower User quickly realized, “The Netherworld Dragon’s eye?”

“Correct, the solitary eye of the Netherworld!

You, boy, have entered the Spirit Prison Realm yourself in the past, surely you haven’t forgotten what that damned place looks like!”

The greying fog, the power that eroded flesh and memory, the Netherworld Dragon sitting atop the clock tower…

The haunting visage of Supibia was etched vividly in his memory.

Gongsun Ce asked with confusion, “Isn’t the phenomenon that It brings fog?”

“Fog is the boundary between illusion and reality.

Remember this appearance, and that will be enough.”

Yan Qi clearly did not want to elaborate on the matter, but the grey-haired young man refused to just let it go.

“So what exactly did that bead do to me?”

“The Netherworld Dragon is the progenitor of all illusions and phantoms in this world; it sees only the truth.

What do you think It can bring to you?” The middle-aged painter tossed another nut into his mouth, “But now that I’ve sealed it, this thing can help you see through some tricky illusions.

Isn’t that handy!

In just a few days, you’ve picked up a girl.”

“I’d rather not have this kind of ability.”

“You don’t want it?

Fine!

We can cut out your heart again, what do you say?” Yan Qi shrugged, “Let’s talk serious now.

What brought you here this time?”

“…”

The Superpower User fell into a rare silence.

“Nearly two weeks have passed since the Colored Glaze Disaster was resolved.

My life has been stable, and aside from what I just told you, I haven’t encountered any trouble.

Everything is just like before.

Going to school, coming home, chatting with friends, helping my brother, occasionally fighting with other Superpower Users who come looking for trouble…

Just like everyone else, talking about youth and the future…

Since the Final Sword was resealed, even the nightmare has stopped appearing.

The past is over, and the sky isn’t as rotten as before.

I think life now is not too bad.”

It was the routine of daily life that one should have grown accustomed to, but when spoken about, it sounded as if he was blowing bubbles with words.

Transparent and delicate bubbles.

They shimmered with colors under the sunlight, drifting away from his palm on the breeze, growing larger as they ascended.

Dreamy, ethereal, intoxicating…

and worrisome.

“But, I…

occasionally, at some point during the day, suddenly feel fear.

Afraid that some sudden disaster will drag me out of this peaceful daily life, pulling in people I know…

That is to say, Yan Qi, what I want to ask is…”

He had continually consoled himself with this thought over the past two weeks.

Yet, when he verbalized it, Gongsun Ce still felt a trace of unease.

It was just to reassure himself, he told himself.

It wasn’t a big deal, any sensible person would give the answer he hoped for.

He clenched his hands tightly and said slowly, “In my lifetime, I’ve already encountered three Dragon Disasters…

I shouldn’t be so unlucky as to experience a fourth one in my lifetime, right?”

Yan Qi rested his head on his hand, looking as though he were watching an ostrich with its head in the sand.

“Do you believe that?”

He didn’t.

If he could truly convince himself, why would he need to specifically seek out an expert for confirmation?

In some corner of his heart, however, there still resided an impractical hope.

The hope that all terrible events would be utterly left behind, hoping that he could return to a life fitting for an ordinary Superpower User.

“Still self-deceiving at this age?

Don’t you have an idea of what you’ve been through before and what you’re holding now?”

The tall man spoke mercilessly, his harsh, knife-like words shattering the young man’s dreamy narrative.

“Escaping from trouble?

Dream on, don’t even think about it!

Even if you fled alone to some secluded mountain forest, trouble would find you, even if you threw away your heart and became useless, people would still seek to use you!

I’ll ask you just one question, Gongsun.

If a Dragon Disaster were to happen in the remote southern United States and hundreds of thousands of lives were at stake, would you go?”

The grey-haired young man roared, “…Can I fucking not go?!”

Yan Qi laughed and spread his hands, “There you have it!

Enjoy this peaceful time while you can, who knows where you’ll end up next time over some trivial matter—very likely of your own volition, hahahaha!”

The middle-aged painter laughed malevolently, while Gongsun Ce sighed and could not muster any anger.

He knew the man was right.

His earlier question was merely a result of wishful thinking; he was destined not to live a life like a normal person.

Eventually, the bubble would burst.

Accepting this, the people on the ground couldn’t afford to stand still—they had to prepare for action.

“I know, that’s why I came to you.

For whatever might happen in the future, I want to prepare.

Put simply, I…”

Yan Qi chuckled.

It wasn’t ridicule or scorn, but the satisfied, arrogant laugh of someone who had confidently predicted the other’s every move.

“You want to learn the Impermanence Skill, right, Gongsun?”