Chapter 412: NO. 175: The Xiangzheng Family Has Already Run Out of Breath! (Not)

NO. 175: The Xiangzheng Family Has Already Run Out of Breath! (Not)

There are ruins with multiple spots of lingering flames burning, belonging to the Xiangzheng family that has suffered a great disaster.

Their survival in the great disaster relied entirely on the sudden aid of a colossal beast, which dragged the horrifying monster into another world.

Most of the survivors who found life in desperation only realized things afterward.

Some wailed silently, some ran and shouted; at this moment the Xiangzheng family showed a semblance of family, counting the dead and seeking the living—it was time to begin rescue work.

With the network and communications restored, they could also contact the urban area.

The vanguard unit that would first reach the makeshift teleportation gate would also arrive as soon as possible, followed closely by the insurance company's loss assessors.

Among them——

"The soul detection response shows only sixteen strands, grandmother."

The feigned smile had long vanished; the expressionless Ludaofu Xiangzheng actually didn't know what expression to make to face the current disaster aftermath.

As a capable person, she should have immediately joined the disaster relief.

But as the future family head, while the current family head was there doing nothing, she needed to stay in command and tally, just as she was now approaching Speed Xiangzheng's remarks.

Of course, neither of these options was actually what she most wanted, because everything was not yet over.

She didn't even know the current situation of Trainer Lin Dun.

Although the other side's emergency rescue was moving, upon seeing them Ludaofu Xiangzheng did not feel much reassured.

The reason was simply that the Demon King Fusion Beast's stature was indeed tall and fearsome, and upon appearing it directly blocked Moon Rush Xiangzheng's attack, taking on the posture of a destruction incarnate.

But compared to the stitching monster over a kilometer tall, the difference in bulk is far from negligible.

Even the pincer that blocked it looked, in fact, like an incomplete organ protruding from the other side's mutated body.

They were not the pair of true main limbs on the other side's massive torso.

Although the beam that was blocked afterward was indeed sprayed directly from the other side's mouth, its arrival was still barely manageable.

Aomo's strain in facing off against the opponent was evident even to her, a layperson in this vast battlefield.

So even though the current situation seemed to have come to a pause, she couldn't help worrying about the youth's condition.

Her gaze also turned to the two digital beasts that had not yet returned.

She had thought it was his digital beast companion or something similar, but now it seems……

Could there really be a combination where the beast tamer goes to fight while the digital beast handles evacuating and rescuing civilians?

Although she was still hesitating over that in her mind, Ludaofu Xiangzheng also multitasked, walking up to the old family head and speaking the result that ought to have been shocking.

The main family had lost eighty percent of its members, not counting servants, hired hands, and certain trainers who were kept on but did nothing.

A matter of this magnitude would have made any other clan head faint from shock.

Even merely as the future family head, Ludaofu Xiangzheng felt the pressure just as strongly.

But the current family head, Speed Xiangzheng, showed not a trace of panic or anger on his face; indeed, he even seemed somewhat regretful.

Combined with his words, it was clearly regret over Moon Rush Xiangzheng's failure.

This inevitably makes one suspect that the old lady has gone mad, or that she had long wanted to wipe out the family.

Of course, Ludaofu Xiangzheng would not harbor such suspicions.

Even at the moment she saw that expression on the other side, she gained a new understanding of their previous standoff.

Looking again at the old man's gaze, she could not help but reveal genuine coldness.

The old man, however, cared nothing for this, merely continuing to gaze at the distant, still-open channel, where clear binary-data effects shimmered and the outlines within were a hazy blur.

"That child's initial high-energy impact could probably wipe out about half of the souls."

She spoke, obviously referring to the soul-detection number Ludaofu had just reported.

"That Moon Rush kid, he was just a hair's breadth from success……"

The Terra Federation has survival insurance, resurrection insurance, and similarly named businesses, though the names vary, but their content all concerns rebirth.

【A novel app that has run stably for years, comparable to the old-version chase-worm app that everyone uses, huanyuanapp.】

The vast majority are traditional, orthodox resurrection.

That is, as long as the soul remains, one can resurrect by rebuilding the body.

But if the soul cannot be retrieved at all…… then one can only ask the Shuoshi Official to attempt a rescue.

Or else it's not quite an orthodox resurrection.

——like clones created from personality‑digitization technology, which are a last‑ditch option that the public still finds hard to accept.

Rather than calling it resurrection, it's more like a substitute for the original existence.

But because artificial souls are cheap to produce, and unlike natural souls they don't require a painstakingly matched bodily reconstruction, this insurance is also inexpensive.

Some unscrupulous companies include this insurance in their employees' 'welfare' policies, and signing up for it is itself a mandatory requirement.

Members of the Xiangzheng family would not take out this insurance for cheapness; the vast majority would rather let the Shuoshi Official try his luck than accept being replaced by a clone.

Such a possibility is too low.

Partial temporal reversals in a given area often fail to be perfect due to spacetime misalignment, so the Shuoshi Official's work is often seen as a lucky add‑on.

Ludaofu Xiangzheng directly treated them as truly dead and reported as such to Speed Xiangzheng.

But her response was not merely from the angle of heavy casualties.

The topic still centered on Moon Rush Xiangzheng.

This grandmother seemed to finally burst with maternal love these days; as she lamented Moon Rush Xiangzheng's failure, her regretful expression was nothing like a son who would destroy his own life's work and then kill himself.

On the contrary, it looked as if Moon Rush Xiangzheng had performed some glorious deed that brought honor to the clan.

She cared more about her uncle's outburst than about the family's devastation……

Even if it was that twisted, ugly appearance, she appreciated it as well.

Clearly, since she has been able to remember, she has never uttered even a single word of praise to her uncle……

Ludaofu Xiangzheng coldly gazed at this old man, never having understood him so deeply as today.

The multiplied disgust was also an emotion she could hardly suppress at this moment.

Having been hidden for over twenty years, it was now so easily exposed before the eyes of the Speed Symbol.

Yet the old man's face still bore regret, with a hint of disappointment added.

"Study well, Lu Duo."

"What?"

Ludaofu Xiangzheng's face showed obvious astonishment.

"Whether it's your uncle or that young man who just came to save you, their bearing just now has something worth learning from..."

The old man said, and a cane suddenly appeared in his hand hanging in midair.

The handle, shaped like a divine steed's head, was gripped by her, and she slammed its end heavily onto the stone floor beneath her feet.

Clearly that aged, yet the dull collision sound still spread through these ruins, moreover causing Bar Beast X and Witch Beast to turn their heads one after another.

"Could you take this old woman and my granddaughter to have a look over there? Witch Beast, Bar Beast X."

"..."

The Noble King, whose name is rarely spoken by ordinary folk, furrowed his brow slightly and did not reply.

Meanwhile, the noisy Witch, already flying close on her broomstick, said: "Do you two want to enter the Digital World?"

She raised her hand, pointing at the illusory shadow of the distant entrance.

"Even an Ultimate might not be able to afford the cost of spectating, you know~"

Such a dangerous battlefield is hard to come by, even for war correspondents.

"And aren't those few Digital Beasts yours?" The Witch Beast turned her head to look at the Priest Beast, Evil Gate Left Guard Beast, Spear Dragon Beast, Sand Ancient Tooth Beast, and Boss Lion Beast in the distance, who were moving stones and reinforcing defenses, and clicked her tongue at the luxurious lineup of this family's hired and associated Digital Beasts.

There are plenty of Perfect, Adult, and Ultimate levels.

But it's precisely those two that the Witch Beast does not want to turn back and be held accountable by Aomo.

"That's exactly why I'm asking you two."

"?" The Witch Beast was stunned by this reply.

But then Bar Beast X suddenly spoke: "Haven't you had enough of looking at him?"

"Not me, it's my granddaughter."

The Speed Symbol turned his head, gazing at Ludaofu Xiangzheng, whose eyes were filled with uncertainty.

Ludaofu Xiangzheng remained silent, offering no answer, allowing those three pairs of eyes to fall upon him.

Her dilemma was obvious; this side needed her, but she also worried about the other side.

Moreover, she did not feel that her grandmother harbored any good intentions.

And the Speed Symbol, however, spoke once more, saying to Bar Beast X:

"Watch this time; it's very important for her."

Gazing intently at the mare called the Emperor before him, the Noble King let out a response that made the Witch Beast cry out in surprise:

"... Alright, let's go."