Chapter 230: Mr. Chen Has Good Taste

The heavy rain poured down.

The battlefield had already quieted down.

The ground was covered in shell craters, explosion pits, and marks carved out by Sword Qi. Damaged guns and artillery lay in the mud. Several War Chariots were either riddled with holes or dented from being smashed by the three-headed, six-armed Golden Body of Subduing Demons. The top of the only Heavy Shield Tank among them had even melted like a wax figure, its cannon barrel fused shut. Yet, the power of nature is always beyond imagination; the heavy rain had only just begun, but the sand and stone across the ground, washed by the rain, gradually filled in the craters. The ground, which had been scorched red by the Small Blazing Sun Art, had also cooled down. The sand and stone at the very center of the Small Blazing Sun Art had been melted and fused with the metal of the War Chariots, congealing into a peculiar solid.

A group of people sat on the spot to rest, ignoring the heavy rain.

They were either drained of Spirit Power, injured, or exhausted; this battle had been a strenuous one.

Although the "Mercenary" system of Lan Country had led many pieces of human scum to come to this Battlefield to enjoy slaughter, these pieces of scum were not easy to deal with either. They were either elites who had received professional training from the Lan Country military or were Intermediate Cultivators themselves, and when combined with sophisticated equipment, their combat power was very strong.

Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Fortunately, the Spirit Power was chaotic at the time; fortunately, they had chosen an ambush; fortunately, everyone was able to hold their own. The right time, the right place, and the right people—not one could be missing.

In Zhang Suannai's words, these people had some substance, but not much.

"Cough, cough..."

Chen Shu coughed a few times. The continuous output of Spirit Power had left him almost in a state of depletion again.

At this moment, the rain poured down incessantly, and even the sand and soil had reached their carrying capacity, beginning to accumulate water. Chen Shu was practically sitting in the water, his clothes soaked through. Rainwater flowed down his hair and cheeks, but he was too lazy to care.

"The Blazing Sun Art of the Spirit Sect is truly a nightmare on the battlefield," Zhong Miao Zhiman said from the side. "It is worthy of its world-destroying might."

"This was only the Small Blazing Sun Art..."

"One can already catch a glimpse of it."

"I also took an Ascension Pill, otherwise it wouldn't have had such great power."

"No need for modesty."

"Why don't you praise my Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin? If I hadn't charged down at once and caught them off guard, could you all have fought so easily?" Although Zhang Suannai no longer had the strength, she still had to protest. Clearly, she was both cool and strong, yet this person seemed to have no brain.

"You used the ability of the Divine Sword," Zhong Miao Zhiman said. "And the vast majority of people died under the Small Blazing Sun Art."

"I'm very powerful even without using this sword, okay?" Zhang Suannai frowned, striking a pose of wanting to argue. "Without my Sword Light breaking through those people's Protective Divine Light and the vehicle-mounted defensive barriers, could his Small Blazing Sun Art have burned so many people to death?"

"Then, when you two have a moment, find a place to have a fight and see whether the Small Blazing Sun Art is more overbearing or the Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin is sharper," Zhong Miao Zhiman said indifferently.

"Don't pay attention to him," Chen Shu said to Zhang Suannai. "That is exactly his goal."

"I am actually quite interested," Zhang Suannai said.

"Then wouldn't you be falling for his trap?"

"... That's true."

Zhang Suannai thought about it and realized that was the logic, so she grabbed a handful of mud mixed with broken stones from the ground and threw it at Zhong Miao Zhiman: "You person, you're covered in such heavy wounds and still thinking about fanning the flames. I'll bury you later!"

Zhong Miao Zhiman chanted "Amitabha."

Because the Buddhist Sect was more adept at close-quarters combat, the three-headed, six-armed Golden Body of Subduing Demons, while fierce and powerful, did not have a defensive capability comparable to the Undefeated True Body of the Ming Sect. Even under the heaven-defying manipulation of the Pushi Bodhisattva, dodging left and right, it still took quite a few solid hits from Spirit Power shells and physical shells. Pure Spirit Power shells were relatively easier to deal with, but shells engraved with Penetration Runes were too hard to withstand. In any case, the Golden Body of Subduing Demons could not hold up against them; it could only rely on later recovery and medical technology.

Fortunately, Zhang Suannai's Sword Light and Chen Shu's Thunder Method paralyzed that Heavy Shield Tank at the first opportunity, otherwise, if this main cannon had fired, even a Sixth Stage Undefeated True Body would likely have been unable to withstand it.

"Beep, beep!"

The communicator on Zuo You's body suddenly rang. He quickly connected and stated his identity.

"This is the Command Center! Report the situation of the personnel!"

"Report to the Command Center! Guard Team Second Squad, Zuo You; Type 10 Armored War Chariot driver, Zhang Tengyu; gunner, Zhou Cheng; Guard Team members, Li Zhang, Zhang Suannai, and Pei Xuanzhen are in a safe situation; the history expert is safe. However, our side just had an encounter battle with Lan Country mercenaries and sustained some injuries!"

"Are the injuries serious?"

"Pei Xuanzhen's are relatively serious, but they have been brought under control!"

"Communication and positioning have now been initially restored. The Command Center has located your position. Find a safe zone and wait; we are coming to pick you up," a young male voice came from the communicator. "The situation in Leche is changing now. Lan Ya is taking the opportunity to invade Duqin, and Leche is already under their control. We must head to Dan, and take a Frigate to evacuate Duqin!"

"Received!"

"By the way, describe your encounter battle."

"Umm..."

Zuo You was silent for a moment, but still chose to recount it truthfully.

The other side of the communicator was also silent for a few seconds after listening, as if asking for instructions from a leader, and then said: "Do not take it too much to heart. The Lan Ya mercenary management is chaotic and they are slaughtering wantonly in Duqin. To protect civilians, our country's casual personnel staying in Duqin had a conflict with them, which is an embodiment of justice."

The words emphasized the three characters "mercenary."

"Who can still move now?"

"Report! Me!"

"Clean up those combat traces that are easily identifiable as belonging to a Cultivation System, including but not limited to the crystals burned by the Small Blazing Sun Art, the metal pierced by Sword Qi, the corpses burned by the True Fire of the Golden Body of Subduing Demons, etc. Our people will take them away when they arrive."

"Yes!"

At this time, Zhong Miao Zhiman called out:

"Wait!"

"Report! Pei Xuanzhen requests to speak! Report! Li Zhang and Zhang Suannai also request to speak!"

"Tell them, if they want to leave, they can leave; go where they should go, do what they should do. They are responsible for their own safety; it has nothing to do with the military."

"Received!"

The Command Center hung up the communication.

Zuo You turned his head to look at them.

Zhang Suannai was the first to stand up. Her long legs were covered in mud, but they were quickly washed clean by the rain, becoming white and smooth again. Her two Long Swords had disappeared again, she didn't know when. She cupped her hands and said to the group:

"Then let's part ways here today. We've fought together, so we can be considered comrades-in-arms. If we are in Yujing after returning to the country, we can go out for a drink."

"Then this Daoist will also part ways with everyone here. This Daoist is going off to gain experience." Zhong Miao Zhiman climbed up with difficulty, bowed to everyone, and then turned to look at the nameless person sitting to the side. "Nameless Brother, I hope you can think it through, be at peace in your heart, break through the path of illness, and everything will go smoothly."

"Ah, right!"

Zhang Suannai also remembered and hurriedly said to the nameless person: "Get that illness of yours cured soon, I'll treat you to a meal when we get back!"

Because she often didn't reply to him when the nameless person chatted in the group before, and even retorted and mocked him, she felt guilty, so she added after finishing: "As long as there is a signal, everyone should keep in touch in the group more, especially you two. Share more intelligence on Duqin. If you, Nameless, need help, just say it. Don't be shy in front of Grandma. No matter how far away, I'll borrow a car on the spot and come find you."

The nameless person nodded silently.

"Since the farewells are all done, staying here is awkward, so I'll be going first." Zhang Suannai didn't know where she pulled her Long Sword from again; in any case, it wasn't through a Storage Artifact. She held the sword and turned to walk into the curtain of rain, leaving behind only a crisp voice—

"Farewell!"

Seeing this, Gate of Myriad Wonders chose a direction opposite to Zhang Suannai and said to everyone, "I'm leaving too, farewell."

His figure likewise vanished into the curtain of rain.

The Nameless Person also stood up, but looked at Chen Shu, hesitant: "We... can be considered friends now, right?"

"?"

Chen Shu couldn't help but laugh: "Did you eat my Mutton Soup, zongzi, and Mooncake, and now you don't want to acknowledge the debt?"

"Eh? No!"

The Nameless Person was stunned for a moment, then immediately laughed as well, his smile brighter and more relieved than ever before: "Then you count as the first friend of my life."

"So, not for your original relatives, nor for your original life, but just for us few friends, for the life ahead, you must also do your utmost to cure this Genius Disease." Chen Shu always felt his attitude was somewhat passive, as if he had little attachment to life.

"..."

The Nameless Person was still smiling, a look of release, and then he also bid him farewell: "Then I am going to save myself too!"

"Good..."

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for your help."

"Hardly necessary."

"Alright, I'm leaving."

"Goodbye."

The Nameless Person chose the same direction as Gate of Myriad Wonders, walking away slowly, step by step.

The water on the ground grew thicker and thicker, rain and mist filled the air, and every raindrop that fell splashed up a lotus flower. Every step the Nameless Person took also kicked up water splashes. The sky now was even gloomier than before; clearly it should have been morning, yet it was as dark as dusk. His figure passed a corner and then disappeared behind a sand dune.

For some reason, Chen Shu frowned.

He felt like something was wrong somewhere.

Many images of the Nameless Person flashed through his mind, every word and action, every move, but no matter how he thought about it, he only felt this person was too conflicted. As for the reason for the conflict, he had originally thought it through clearly, but now he felt that perhaps it wasn't like that at all.

Having finished this battle, he was already physically and mentally exhausted; thinking about these things made him feel even more tired.

He even felt like collapsing and just sleeping right here in the rain.

"Sigh."

Chen Shu sighed, drew a circle, and took out his Mobile Phone.

"Buzz buzz!"

Perhaps because it was not far from the village, with the help of the Crystal Card, the Mobile Phone had a tiny bit of signal and received many Feixin messages.

Qingqing: Commemorating the first day of your disappearance

Qingqing: Commemorating the second day of your disappearance

Qingqing: The letter was written well

Qingqing: Commemorating the twelfth day of your disappearance

Qingqing: Intuition tells me I can see your message today; when you see this line of text, you can start preparing to type

Qingqing: Did you run into trouble?

Qingqing: Tell me about it

Chen Shu didn't want her to worry, so he typed—

Chen Shu: Why are you so curious? Don't worry about so much, Ms. Ning just needs to take good care of Xiaoxiao at home, I am doing just fine

The message spun and spun, but didn't send.

"Eh?"

Chen Shu chuckled.

At this moment, Zuo You nearby suddenly gave a sharp shout:

"Who is it!?"

Hearing this, Chen Shu looked up.

In the dim world, a figure walked over slowly. She was tall, holding an umbrella, and strolled until she reached Chen Shu before stopping. She lowered her head, looking down at him as he sat in the rainwater, disheveled and weary. Then her gaze shifted to the unsent message on his Mobile Phone. The hand holding the umbrella handle reached out to shield him from the rain, her tone indifferent:

"Mr. Chen, out in the rain, what a refined interest you have."

Chen Shu was stunned for a moment, put down his Mobile Phone, and was too lazy to get up, so he just opened his arms, wrapped them around Ning Qing's lower legs, and pressed his face against her thigh.

Ning Qing also didn't make another sound, her expression remaining calm.