Chapter 1757: Crow

"Ah-ha-ha!"Zhao Yang threw his head back and let out a long roar. Trembling all over with excitement, tears streaming down his face, he cried, "I have finally come back to life!"

At this moment, Zhao Yang was weaving through a narrow alley. His face, flushed with extreme excitement, was bright red.

He recalled that familiar feeling just now. Originally, he thought rebirth was impossible in this lifetime, but Hilda told him everything was fake. Only through their own efforts could they obtain rebirth. That was why he could return from Earth to Azeroth.

"Haha, haha! I'm back! I have finally returned!"he shouted aloud, then ran into a coffee shop and gulped down several glasses of iced fruit juice.

He took out his phone and dialed a string of numbers.

Soon, the call connected.

"Hello?"On the other end was a girl's clear, melodious voice. Hearing this voice, Zhao Yang's heart surged with emotion, overwhelmed with excitement.

"I am Zhao Yang!"He suppressed the excitement in his heart and spoke as calmly as possible.

"Y-you, hello! May I ask, what do you need?"

"I'm back!"he said.

The other end fell silent for a long time. "Oh."

He asked again, "How have you been lately? I remember when I left, you were still a student; you should have graduated by now, right?"

The other end seemed somewhat flustered. "Ah, um…"She hesitated for a long time. "I, I am a nurse now."

"Where are you now?"

"I… I am at the hospital… I, I am on night duty."

Zhao Yang hung up the phone, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "Hehe, does this count as a long-distance relationship?"

He sighed. "Forget it. Anyway, there aren't many friends in this world. Since she is unwilling to contact me now, I will take the initiative once!"

He changed his clothes and hurried toward the hospital.

The hospital was located in the suburbs of the northwest corner of Los Angeles, surrounded by high-rise buildings. Zhao Yang crossed the green belt and walked into the hospital.

The architectural style here was completely different from that on Earth, carrying a hint of desolation. There were no patients in the hospital; it was cold and quiet.

Zhao Yang walked straight toward the third floor of the inpatient department. This was the residential area on the third floor of the inpatient department, a place exclusively for patients to live in the hospital.

Arriving at room 302, Zhao Yang knocked on the door, but there was no movement inside.

He pushed open the door, and a pungent smell hit him.

The room was in utter disarray, scattered with garbage bags, plastic bottles, miscellaneous boxes, old tires, and tattered newspapers… Simple bedding was thrown in the corner, covered in dust. Various advertisements were pasted on the walls, some about certain beauty products or fitness equipment. On another table sat beverage bottles and medicine boxes; the liquid inside had long since spoiled, pitch black.

"What kind of ghost house is this?"Zhao Yang muttered, turned around, and prepared to retreat. But just then, he suddenly noticed something, stopped in his tracks, and examined it closely.

It was an iron pipe, about one meter long, covered with many rusted patterns. Zhao Yang tentatively touched the iron pipe and found it very rough.

"Could this be?"Zhao Yang's eyes widened, and his heart began to Facing Pengpeng.

He quickly took out his phone and searched for relevant information. Then, he was shocked.

This was a very ancient document, describing the divine artifact once used by the God King Zeus in the ancient era: Odin's Scepter. It was said that this scepter possessed extraordinary power, but it had been stolen and hidden in this ward.

After Odin's death, this scepter became a scrap item, discarded beside the hospital bed. Later, Odin's descendants, in order to preserve it, built an altar in this ward.

Zhao Yang knew that Odin had once said that whoever held the scepter could control Odin's power.

"No wonder, when I was on Shengshan in Asgard, I always felt something was wrong with that scepter. It turns out that scepter did not belong to Odin, but was taken by Odin from the God King Zeus. For Odin, this scepter was equivalent to his lifeline. The reason he was undefeated on the battlefield relied on the power granted by this scepter."Zhao Yang felt deeply moved in his heart. "Now I have finally found this scepter; it can be considered fulfilling a wish."

Zhao Yang picked up his phone, dialed a number, placed the phone to his ear, and waited for the other party to answer.

"Hello, may I ask if this is Asgard?"Zhao Yang asked.

The other party seemed somewhat surprised. "Hello, yes, who might you be?"

"I am Zhao Yang, a descendant of Odin."Zhao Yang said calmly.

The other party paused for a moment. "Hello, Lord Zhao Yang. May I ask what you need?"

"I need your help."Zhao Yang took a deep breath. "I have found Odin's Scepter."

The other party clearly found it hard to believe. "You… you really found it? Wasn't Odin's Scepter lost centuries ago?"

"I found it."Zhao Yang said again. "I hope you can help me protect it."

The other party fell silent for a moment. "Lord Zhao Yang, we are very grateful for your contribution. However, we hope you understand that although Asgard is powerful, we are not omnipotent. We cannot guarantee that Odin's Scepter will remain safe forever."

"I understand."Zhao Yang sighed lightly. "But at least I hope you can do your best."

"We will."The other party said. "Lord Zhao Yang, thank you again for your contribution to Asgard. If you need any help, please contact us anytime."

Zhao Yang hung up the phone and set it down. He took a deep breath, and a strange feeling surged in his heart. He did not know if what he did was correct, but he knew this scepter was too important to Asgard.

He turned to leave, but just at that moment, a crisp ringtone sounded.

Zhao Yang picked up his phone and saw it was a call from an unknown number. He pressed the answer key and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, may I ask if this is Mr. Zhao Yang?"On the other end of the phone was a girl's sweet voice.

"It is me."Zhao Yang asked in confusion. "May I ask who you are?"

"It's Linda!"The other party laughed over the phone. "Did you forget? We met before at Hilda's coffee shop."

"Ah!"Zhao Yang paused for a moment, then remembered the girl he had met before at Hilda's coffee shop. "Sorry, I didn't remember for a moment. Do you need something?"

"Um…"Linda seemed somewhat hesitant. "I heard you went to see Hilda today? Is he okay?"

Zhao Yang asked curiously, "Why do you care about this?"

Linda fell silent for a moment. "I… I want to know about his situation."

Zhao Yang thought for a moment and said, "I went to see Hilda today; his situation does not seem very good. However, he still gave me some very useful advice."

"Is that so?"Linda seemed somewhat disappointed. "He has indeed been quite busy lately, probably because school is about to start."

"School is about to start?"Zhao Yang was somewhat puzzled. "I remember he said before that next semester he would go abroad as an exchange student."

"Ah, this…"Linda seemed somewhat nervous. "I am not very clear. However, Hilda's matter has been resolved. Thank you for your concern for him."

"You're welcome."Zhao Yang smiled. "If there is nothing else, I will hang up." "Okay, goodbye."Zhao Yang hung up the phone, feeling somewhat puzzled in his heart. He felt Linda seemed to be hiding something, yet he did not want to ask directly. He shook his head and decided to put this matter aside for now, to understand it more deeply when the opportunity arose.

Zhao Yang walked out of the hospital; the sky outside had gradually darkened. He looked up and saw a beam of light flickering above the distant mountains. His heart stirred, and he could not help but walk in that direction.

Moving forward along the mountain path, Zhao Yang passed through a dense forest and arrived in a desolate valley. There were no roads here; all around were withered shrubs and exposed rocks.

Zhao Yang walked alone through the valley, feeling somewhat alert. This place was too desolate; apart from the occasional roar of beasts from afar, there was no other sound.

He suddenly sensed a strange aura, as if something were watching him from the shadows. He turned sharply, but saw only the barren valley and the distant forest.

"Strange," Zhao Yang thought to himself, then continued walking forward.

Not far on, he suddenly heard a low humming sound. The noise came from afar and drew nearer, seeming to approach this way.

Zhao Yang's heart tightened; he quickly hid behind a huge rock. Peering cautiously through a crack in the rock, he saw a massive black shadow flying in from the distance.

It was a giant crow, soaring in the air and emitting a series of humming sounds from its beak. Zhao Yang's heart stirred; he recognized this crow as the very one he had seen before.

The crow circled several times above Zhao Yang, then flew toward the depths of the valley. Seeing this, Zhao Yang could not help but follow.

The crow seemed to know Zhao Yang was tracking it, never flying too far ahead. Zhao Yang followed the crow through a valley and finally arrived at a spacious valley.

In the center of this valley stood a massive stone platform, upon which was planted a huge sword. Zhao Yang was startled; he had not expected such a thing to appear here.

The crow circled above the stone platform, emitting a series of humming sounds. Zhao Yang walked to the front of the platform and found ancient characters carved on the sword hilt.

Zhao Yang examined those characters closely and discovered they were actually Odin's runes. His heart stirred; he reached out, grasped the hilt, and tried to draw the sword.

Unexpectedly, the sword did not budge an inch. Zhao Yang exerted more strength, attempting to pull the sword out. But no matter how hard he pulled, the sword seemed rooted, utterly immovable.