Chapter 155

"Turn it off. It's boring." Kleine shook his head.

What's the point of cheating in a game? Can you even feel the slightest joy of growing stronger? Can it make your heart become strong?

Cheating must feel amazing.

"You're not really a Doraemon come to life, are you?" Xiao Yan couldn't help blurting out: "Can I see your pockets?"

"Get lost," Su Lin replied bluntly: "You can't leak anything about these past two days after taking the bribe!"

"Not at all!"

"Alright, Su Ox-Horse." Xiao Yan nodded, tucked away the Sand of Time, and walked off.

"Alright, Su Old Eight." Ye Fan followed suit and left.

"Tony Su, give me a haircut when you've got time." Yi Leina waved her small hand and departed.

Su Lin turned his gaze toward Zhongli; the sorrow in his eyes made Zhongli hesitate before saying: "Thank you for the sand, Su Lin. I'll go study it first at Wangshu Pavilion."

Watching the others leave, Su Lin turned to Kleine and glanced at the golden sand beneath his feet: "What do you want to exchange?"

Kleine gathered his thoughts and spoke: "I'm about to plot to stop George III's godhood ritual, but I must prepare in advance to avoid being caught unprepared by Zarathustra and Amon."

Su Lin gave a slight nod. Even knowing the future, Kleine should still avoid contact with Zarathustra and Amon as much as possible. For Kleine now, even after having digested most of the ancient scholars' potions and gained the authority of the Sky and Wind Dragon King, he still stood far below Zarathustra and Amon.

"I want you to act."

Kleine wanting Su Lin to act wasn't surprising—but what Kleine said next was unexpected.

"I need to focus on dealing with Zarathustra and Amon, so I ask you to minimize civilian casualties the moment the Fasak Kingdom launches war against the Rune Kingdom."

"You can carry this out secretly. I only hope you can save as many people as possible."

"As payment, these sands plus a sealed item or potion."

Kleine said nothing more, merely watching Su Lin silently, waiting for his reply.

"."

Su Lin stared deeply at Kleine, then after a moment of silence said: "Didn't you consider asking me to directly intervene against Zarathustra or Amon? Even Adam?"

"I cannot stop the tide of the age." Kleine traced a clockwise circle four times over his chest; his face writhed, his body shifted, and after a brief moment, returned to his slender, bookish appearance. "I can only do my utmost to keep the current from raging too wildly."

"Suffering is like dark clouds—seen from afar, utterly black; but standing beneath it, merely gray."

"This is my fate, not theirs."

"Besides, I can't afford the price to have you fight Amon and Zarathustra."

"My main goal now isn't to fight them—I still have a good chance of avoiding them."

Su Lin felt an inexplicable envy—a ridiculous feeling, yet he truly envied these "protagonists" for calmly uttering such words and making unexpected choices.

Ridiculous, yet reasonable.

From a rational standpoint, this course of action is clearly irrational and unprofitable—because they're just strangers.

Always remember you're human.

"Alright, but I need to prepare." Su Lin thought for a while, then agreed: "Payment will be one Class-1 sealed item."

Su Lin had no intention of making grand, reckless moves in that world—he would simply follow Kleine's request. Careful navigation ensures a thousand-year voyage, especially in a world whose underlying logic is chaos and madness—he must be even more cautious.

Otherwise, he might depart in good health and return with an Outer God's egg stuck to his body—that wouldn't be fun.

Seeing Su Lin agree, Kleine exhaled slightly, then stepped through the spatial passage and left the chamber.

————————————

【Thank the gods! These four words have been the most commonly spoken by people over the past two days. We can see that since the two gods fought on the third day of the New Year, all illnesses and disabilities across the world have miraculously healed.】

"Have you taken care of your friends?" the next morning, Su Xiangrong watched TV news at home as Su Lin opened the door and returned. "Yes, they're all checked into hotels. They leave tomorrow."

In truth, aside from Yi Leina wandering the city and Zhongli cultivating on Water Mirror Peak, the other three had already returned.

Kleine now left several Spirit Bugs atop the Gray Mist to guard the Source Fortress and handle daily prayers; his physical body couldn't stay away too long, or the bugs would gradually lose control.

Ye Fan and Xiao Yan bought some Earth New Year goods and returned to their own world to cultivate—they were among the first to leave. Of course, under Morax's witness, all of them signed a contract with their true spirits, vowing never to mention these two days to anyone else.

After Ye Fan and Xiao Yan purchased some New Year goods from Earth, they returned to their own world to cultivate, counting as among the earliest to leave. Of course, under Morax's notarization, the few signed a contract with their true spirits, guaranteeing they would never mention what had happened over these two days in front of others.

"Aren't they staying another couple days?" Liu Yumei asked.

"They had other matters and left early." Su Lin picked up a fruit and bit into it. On TV, footage of his own appearance was playing, along with how various nations were responding to the event. "After something this big happens, everyone's naturally more focused on the myths."

"But what does it have to do with ordinary people like us?" Su Xiangrong poured hot water from the kettle into his cup. "We still eat, drink, and sleep as usual."

"Listen up, boy. Don't go running off to temples or monasteries deep in the mountains. If you don't find any gods, I'll have to call rescue teams to save you."

"The rescue teams have been swamped lately," Liu Yumei shook her head. "And the tourist spots? Packed—no way to stop them."

"Don't worry," Su Lin replied calmly. "I still need to earn money."

"Don't exhaust your god-given body. Neighbor Zhang the Third just recovered from alcohol-induced liver disease—he drank again last night and bled from his stomach."

Su Lin's miracle was compensation for the masses, a correction to their disrupted lives. What comes next is no longer his concern—like those who sneaked past the blockade lines seeking immortals and got trapped in the mountains.

The miracle Su Lin staged was compensation for those ordinary masses, compensation for upending their lives; many things from here on out were no longer his concern—such as those people who had sneaked past the blockade lines seeking immortality and the Way, and ended up trapped in the deep mountains.

Some cherish this chance; others naturally see it as a second chance to waste.

Some people cherished this opportunity, while others naturally felt they had gained a second round of capital to squander.

"If you don't truly love me~~" "Ah! Patchouli go!" "Lan Lan Lu~~!!" "Stinky tofu, sour cucumber, delicious in my mouth." "Only because you're so beautiful~ only because you're so beautiful~" "Happy Sheep, Lazy Sheep~" "I want O-Pao, I want O-Pao ooo." "Hengyuanxiang, sheep sheep sheep!" "Jiang Nan Leather Factory, Jiang Nan Leather Factory went bankrupt! Bastard." "Shamart, Shamart~"

"If you don't truly love me~~" "Ah! Patchouli go!" "Loli Loli~!!" "Stinky tofu, sour cucumber, late to the mouth, deliciously happy." "Only because you're too beautiful~ only because you're too beautiful~" "Pleasant Goat, Lazy Goat~" "I want o-bubble, I want o-bubble, ooo." "Hengyuanxiang, sheep sheep sheep!" "Jiang Nan Leather Factory, Jiang Nan Leather Factory has gone bankrupt! Bastards." "Shamate, Shamate~"

"Give me a quick death!" The future Su Lin, gaunt and disheveled, bloodshot eyes blazing, stared at the man before him. After days without sleep, he was now at his breaking point.

Below his neck, he couldn't move at all. The only thing still functional, untouched, was his handsome face (from Su Lin's perspective).

"I think I've been quite merciful." Su Lin sat on a stool, legs crossed, wearing a white lab coat, holding a sheet with a new playlist. "Our bond is closer than brothers—why would I kill you?"

"In your 90 days back in time, you spent 80 days pulling pranks. To thank you for having ten days of normal brain function, I've limited your hype-song time to ten days and ten nights instead of ninety."

"Did you like the famous rapper's music I borrowed from a friend the day before yesterday?" Su Lin asked sincerely: "That guy's the most renowned rapper in some other world."

"Did you still like the music from the famous rap singer I borrowed from a friend the day before yesterday?" Su Lin sincerely greeted his future self: "That's the most renowned rap singer in another world."

"You're fucking talking nonsense! A chaotic creature's babbling, you son of a bitch, playing it in my brain for four hours!"

Snap

Su Lin flicked the other's forehead, and Future Su Lin felt the entire world instantly fall silent—as if stillness were eternity.

Uh.

Why are there tears glistening in the corners of my eyes?

"What grudge? What vendetta?" The silence didn't last long; the echo returned to his mind—even without music, the chaotic noise still auto-generated echoes in his brain.

"An enmity too deep to share the same sky, a resentment unsolvable across eternity," Su Lin said solemnly.

If nothing unexpected happens, this black history can never be erased; all we can do now is prevent its secondary spread.

"Your sentence still has days left before full release, but I've decided to grant you parole."

Su Lin pulled out the shattered Divine Fragment and tossed it before Future Su Lin. "If you can fix this Fragment, I'll let you out of prison early."

"Choose for yourself."

Future Su Lin tilted his head back, closed his eyes, rested for over ten minutes, then, after regaining a little strength, said: "Where'd you get it?"

"Drew it from the system."

Future Su Lin stored it in his system backpack, checked its effect, then took it out again.

"Can't be fixed. If the system notes 'unrepairable,' then it's absolutely unrepairable."

"Sigh." Su Lin glanced regretfully at the Fragment, raised his arm, and said, "Then keep enjoying your beer."

"Wait!" Future Su Lin quickly shouted to stop him: "I can't fix it, but I can stop it from shattering further!"

"Oh?"

Su Lin lowered his raised arm.

"No wonder I'm unmatched," Su Lin said, pulling a bottle of red wine Yi Leina had sent from the historical projection, pouring it into a wine glass, and offering it to his motionless self. "Here's to your peerless wisdom."

"You're not seriously planning to toast with my eyes, are you?" Future Su Lin warned. "If you pour wine into my eyes, I'll ascend to the ultimate level right here."

"Hahaha, of course not." Su Lin pulled out another wine glass, clinked it against the first, and fed him the wine.

Glug glug

"How many draws did it cost you to get this Fragment?" Future Su Lin asked. "And your projection ability—how much?"

"About three thousand each."

"You're kidding me?" Was it the hallucinatory echo in his mind making him mishear?

"Nope, exactly three thousand." Su Lin thought for a moment. "My first draw cost 3,000 for this historical projection. My second draw cost 10,000 for this Water Mirror Peak. My third draw was this Fragment. My fourth was a one-time Immortal Sword card—cost me 1,000. Kinda a loss."

"First draw… 3,000?"

My god, what is this? A nouveau riche boasting he spent 3,000 yuan on his first trip to the city! Oh damn, his luck with draws is insane—outrageously lucky. I mean, he's got decent luck, yeah, decent luck, lucky enough to trigger combo skills that bypass this Fragment's side effects.

"Are you crying?" Su Lin blinked—he saw the other man, eyes closed, two clear tears rolling down, then taking a deep breath, a smile on his lips, as if recalling something.

Could this guy have gone mad from listening to music? No way—could someone of his rank be broken by the Voice of the True Creator?

After a long silence

"Infusion," Future Su Lin said. "This is a Divine Fragment composed entirely of Order attributes. It can be modified to a certain extent through infusion—or serve as an adhesive."

"Be more specific."

If he were to enter the Weird World, this Fragment would be indispensable. It's not that Su Lin lacks other cards—he currently has enough reserves to withstand the Seven Gods and Outer Gods for a short time. But if he could use this Fragment long-term, he'd save a fortune.

"The process of a thing transforming from Chaos to Order, absorbing energy—we call it 'Yin.' The process of a thing transforming from Order to Chaos, releasing energy—we call it 'Yang.'"

"Balance of Yin and Yang."

Under the explanation, Su Lin understood: the method used Chaos energy's erosive properties as filler for the Fragment's cracks. Though still shattered, the Fragment's wear would now be absorbed first by the Chaos energy during use.

It was like using Chaos energy as ultra-strong glue to bond the broken parts, and because of the Chaos filler, its durability increased.

"But this method is extremely dangerous."

"First, the level of Chaos energy must not be lower than your Fragment's—even higher. Otherwise, it'll just cause direct collision between Order and Chaos."

"Second, the Chaos energy must be pure. Hard to find. Only pure Chaos energy won't introduce impurities into your Fragment."

"Third… you must maintain stability. No loss of control."

Here, Future Su Lin remembered the state this guy had been in before—divine favor bestowed—and asked: "What's your current situation? Heaven's favorite son?"

"Oh, you can call me Su Half-Day." Su Lin was pondering how to meet the above conditions.

"How did you even manage that? He never paid attention to me before," Future Su Lin said bitterly. "You're like this now—and still obsessed with that damn Fragment?"

He'd previously thought this guy couldn't possibly survive on any timeline until the end of time. Now it seemed he'd at least lived a few centuries. But logically, why didn't he know anything about this world's future? There must be hidden secrets here.

"My VIP status expires in ten months," Su Lin rubbed his chin, suddenly remembering someone.

Chaos energy, high quality, pure

Su Lin pulled a wheelchair out from the historical projection and placed Su Niuma on it.

"Let me take you to meet a friend."

End of chapter