by <unknown>
The celebrational atmosphere for the double triumphs reached the highest point when Alloy Virus, Iron Fist, Stainless Mouse, and the ragged carrier that Li Yao boarded on arrived at the spaceport of the Blue Sky Market. The whole port exploded because of Li Yao's arrival.
Naturally, Li Yao's style, which was almost identical to Boss Bai's, raised minor confusion.
But very soon, their confusion was broken by too many kids who ran past Li Yao with bouquets and balloons in their hands and jumped at Boss Bai.
"Grandpa Bai, thank you for saving us and our parents!"
"Grandpa Bai, you are a hero. You and Brother Li Yao are both the most, most, most awesome superheroes!"
"Grandpa Bai! Grandpa Bai! Grandpa Bai!"
Vehemently, the kids clambered on Boss Bai, who had been dumbfounded, if not crept out, with a twisted face. Some of the lovely fellas were even pouting their lips, hoping to stamp their saliva on Boss Bai's face.
"What a touching scene—"
Li Yao smiled at the scene and took a long breath in relief. "Another gamble has been won!"
While the kids ran at Boss Bai, Li Yao naturally had his own adoring public—Han Te and Liu Li, the two young people who had gradually grown up.
"Grandpa Yao!"
"Grandpa Yao!"
Han Te and Liu Li jumped at Li Yao, one from the left and the other from the right, but Han Te was faster and hugged Li Yao tightly.
"You're finally back, Grandpa Yao!"
Thrilled, Han Te was almost in tears. "I was told that you went through a lot of astonishing things when you were with the Immortal Cultivators in the capital. Liu Li and I were very worried about you, fearing that something might happen to you.
"But now that I think of it, haha, it was absolutely impossible. How could anything have happened to someone as awesome as Grandpa Yao?
"However, how exactly did you perform the attack, Grandpa Yao? It was too dazzling and unbelievable, wasn't it? Can you tell me how to do it? Aya, it suddenly occurs to me that practicing saber is not a bad idea at all. Practicing saber or practicing cannon-shooting, how should I choose? Speaking of which, a talented genius like me must be capable of mastering them both, am I not?"
Li Yao listened to Han Te with a smile. It was great to know that the young people who luckily escaped from the Land of Sins had reached Boss Bai's place safe and sound.
However, what was wrong with Liu Li? Why was she staying back and looked rather pensive?
"Liu Li—"
Li Yao waved at the girl and said in curiosity, "Is there anything wrong? Are you not happy to see me?"
"Of course I am very happy to see Grandpa Yao. It's just that I do not want to see the bummer Han Te!"
Pouting her lips, Liu Li accused him in front of Li Yao, her eyes red. "Grandpa Yao, Han Te has been mean to me!"
"Huh?"
Blinking quickly, Li Yao looked at Liu Li and then at Han Te, before he became grave. "Han Te, you and Liu Li are having an adventure outside of your hometown together. You should support each other. How can you be mean to her?"
"Grandpa Yao, I am not!"
Han Te raised his hands and complained, "I was never mean to Liu Li. I hadn't seen her for a long time until today. Hardly had we started talking when she burst into fury and stormed off. How could I have the time to be mean to her?"
"Is that so?"
Her arms akimbo, Liu Li glared at Han Te. "You didn't have time with me, but you had all the time with those big sisters of yours, didn't you?"
"You are being completely unreasonable!"
Han Te turned to Li Yao. "Grandpa Yao, please tell us who is right and who is wrong…"
Scratching his head, Li Yao knew what was going, but there was little he could do. "Han Te, if you have any super scheme, world-ending crisis, or if you need to save the universe, you can come to consult me. But regarding this… about the relationship of young men and young women, hehehehe, there is barely anything that Grandpa Yao is capable of. While Grandpa Yao is a married man, it was my wife who pursued me years back, so I am actually short of experience in that regard…"
…
On the other side of the port, the Fist King was also searching in the crowd with dozens of spiritual puppets.
Although Xiaoming and Wenwen looked no different from the kids that Li Yao saved, their unique brainwaves allowed the Fist King to distinguish them from the crowd easily.
A cold iron puppet, confining the excitement of finding its own kind, appeared before the two kids and released a friendly wave to them.
"Greetings, I am the Fist King. We already met each other in the space battlefield just now."
"Hello, Master Fist King. I am Xiaoming, I am Wenwen, we are Li Yao's children and the children of mankind."
After a brief communication, the kids crawled on the broad shoulder of the iron puppet, one on the left and the other on the right, before they walked to the depths of the port.
Those unique beings seemed to have a lot of information and data that they needed to share with each other.
…
Not far away, Long Yangjun roamed in the port casually and observed the warships that were as magnificent as mountains with her hands in her back.
Most of the warships still had the insignias of Li Wuji's fleet, the Flying Rainbow Fleet, or the twenty-eight pirate gangs painted on their heads, but they were like animals that had been obediently domesticated and followed the orders of the federal space pirates and the Cultivators of the Imperium.
After so many starships were gathered in the Blue Sky Market for a month of maintenance and upgrade, with the commandership of Boss Bai, the excellent warriors like Li Yao and Long Yangjun, and the chain of command as well as the cyberwarfare abilities that had been comprehensively strengthened by Xiaoming and Wenwen, Long Yangjun had no doubt that such a luxury coalition would be qualified to challenge any elite troop of the Imperium.
Although it was not enough to resist the reformists or the four families singlehandedly, it would certainly be enough to be an important leverage in the game of the two parties.
Not a long time ago, when they marched at the army of the Immortal Cultivators in the furious flames of the Great Iron Factory deep below the capital, she didn't foresee that such drastic changes would happen so soon.
"Li Yao…"
Long Yangjun combed her long hair and said with a smile, "One truly does not need to worry that their life may not be spectacular enough when they are with such an interesting guy like you!
"Is Blackstar the Great the ultimate enemy of the game? What wonders are coming next?"
…
The festivity in the port endured more than three hours, before the Cultivators, the federal space pirates, and the people who were just saved gradually dispersed and were relocated to appropriate places.
The panoramic image of the space battle just now, particularly the glamorous scene where Li Yao beheaded the flagship of the Flying Rainbow Fleet in one attack, was also displayed and replayed before the captives, destroying their last resistance.
The captives who were secretly planning to rise, after learning that the Big Bai Pirate Gang had swallowed the entire Flying Rainbow Fleet when they were exhausted and incomplete, were greatly appalled by Boss Bai's arts of commanding and Li Yao's astonishing combat ability.
Strength was the highest moral in the world of the Immortal Cultivators. Since Li Yao and Boss Bai were the strongest experts they had ever seen, there was not a second choice except to follow and pledge loyalty to them.
It took more than half a day to anchor the fleet, regroup the soldiers, settle the civilians, and lock up the captives. Finally, Boss Bai, the Fist King, Long Yangjun, Li Yao, and the rest of them were able to take a rest and sat down to talk about everything that had happened.
Chapter 2480: Have You Ever Heard of “Witchcraft”? |
"The bottom line is, let's forget for now how Fellow Cultivator Long and I came to the Imperium, why I joined the refor
mists and worked for Queen Li Linghai, or the details like why I am wearing a battle robe that is in exactly the same style as Boss Bai's—"
Deep inside the Blue Sky Market, in the secret office that belonged to Zuo Tianying in the beginning, Li Yao spoke to Boss Bai and the Fist King passionately, "The most important thing is—listen up, the most important thing is that Blackstar the Great is back to life! He is now residing inside Queen Li Linghai's body! Right now, they have occupied the entire capital, and the great scheme they're up to inside the capital may eventually turn the center of the cosmos upside down!"
Boss Bai listened expressionlessly. His eyebrows did not shake at all even when he heard the news that Blackstar the Great had been revived. In the end, he simply said casually, "Okay."
"Okay?"
His eyes popping out, Li Yao looked at Boss Bai in disbelief. "Hey, hey, hey, Boss Bai, what's your reaction? I'm serious and not kidding. Wuying Qi, Blackstar the Great and the ancestor of the Immortal Cultivators, has been revived and may resume his peak combat ability anytime! Why are you not surprised at all?"
"There's nothing to be surprised at."
Boss Bai looked at Li Yao and said, "Since 'Vulture Li Yao' was involved, it was only natural that infinite schemes and trouble were caused. It appears to me that 'revival of Blackstar the Great' is already the slightest damage that you can possibly cause, isn't it? To be honest, I'm already grateful since you haven't triggered the super events such as 'revival of the Mad Armageddon'."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Li Yao felt wronged. "It's not like I brought Wuying Qi back to life…"
"I'm more interested in the two kids here than in the revival of Blackstar the Great."
Interrupting Li Yao's self-defense, Boss Bai turned to Xiaoming and Wenwen curiously and grinned at the kids as a greeting.
Boss Bai jumped to the center of the cosmos immediately after the battle to resist the Black Wind Fleet in the federation without any delay. So, although he had heard Long Yangjun's name before, he did not know that Long Yangjun activated the Nuwa warship in the Ancient Sages Sector, looted an escape capsule, and broke all the defenses before she escaped.
He was unaware of Long Yangjun's real identity yet, although he could tell that Long Yangjun was certainly not a regular Divinity Transformation Stage expert. However, the people qualified to team up with such a monster as Li Yao could only be other monsters. It was not something to be surprised at.
On the other hand, Boss Bai, as a fleet commander, keenly perceived Xiaoming and Wenwen's corruption and sabotage on the Flying Rainbow Fleet's battle network a while ago. Plus with their looks that were greatly similar to Li Yao and Ding Lingdang, he couldn't help but grow curious about them.
"Well, their origins are rather sophisticated and can't be explained in a few words. I can tell you, but you'd better be prepared."
Now that Li Yao had brought Xiaoming and Wenwen to the public, he did not intend to conceal their identities. Strengthening the fleet required the cooperation of Boss Bai too. So, he summoned his courage and said, "They are my children, but it is also not wrong to say that they are the descendants of mankind and the children of the Grand-Unified Spiritual Nexus. They are brand-new lives that originated from artificial intelligence but surpassed artificial intelligence…"
"Okay."
Boss Bai interrupted Li Yao again. "Got it now. They are lives that are similar to the Fist King."
"Huh?"
This time, it was Li Yao who was dumbfounded. He had imagined Boss Bai's ten thousand possible reactions to the matter, including fury, confusion, rejection, hate… But he never expected Boss Bai to be so calm. Besides, Boss Bai had learned about the Fist King's essence? Those two guys seemed to be too close to each other!
"Another 'okay'?"
Li Yao found it hard to believe. "Boss Bai, can't you stop being so cool? That's too calm a reaction, so calm that it makes me wonder if you understood what I said at all!"
"Of course I did, but there is no need to be surprised at anything that happens around you however strange it is. I'm already prepared for everything."
Boss Bai extended three fingers and said, "Even if they are… super artificial intelligence, so what? Firstly, you know where I was born and raised. In my long and complicated life, I've seen the evilest, ugliest, sleaziest, and most terrible people of my own kind. I may even be one of such people myself. Human beings can reach the extremity of evil on their own. Even if there are other lives and civilizations in the universe, I don't think they can be more evil and horrible than mankind.
"Secondly, before you came, I had just communicated with the Fist King in depth and learned about his essence. Lives are never isolated but always grow exponentially.
"Although Professor Mo Xuan said that no real life of artificial intelligence could be born in the next few hundred years according to regular development, I always found him too conservative and childish. 'Life' is never something that is born after regular development; life is the inevitable collision of countless coincidences and will grow out of the most unbelievable and unimaginable gaps despite all the difficulties.
"Since the Fist King already exists, it means that such gaps are out there. What's to be surprised at now that new super artificial intelligence has shown up?
"Thirdly, and most importantly, I know what's on your mind. You are concerned that the new super artificial intelligence and the civilization of mankind will repeat the tragedy in the primeval age hundreds of thousands of years ago and be hostile to each other like the Pangu civilization and mankind were.
"I do not deny such a possibility. However, when a vaster world and a darker threat are gradually revealing themselves from the outside, the minor conflicts within our three thousand Sectors, be they the ones between Pangu and mankind or those between mankind and the super artificial intelligence, are nothing worth mentioning at all. I already showed you enough respect by saying 'okay'."
"Boss Bai, what are you talking about?"
Li Yao was completely confused. "What do you mean by 'a vaster world'? What does 'a darker threat' refer to?"
"The Flood."
Boss Bai said, "I have named the mysterious force that is likely to exist beyond the three thousand Sectors and capable of destroying all civilizations as 'Flood', which will rage and sweep across the entire three-dimensional universe, leading to the greatest catastrophe and the end of everything.
"Where should I begin? Let's talk about 'wizardly civilization'. Li Yao, do you know 'witchcraft'?"
"Witchcraft?"
Li Yao repeated the word in a daze. He suddenly shuddered hard, his pupils constricted to the minimum.
Deep inside his eyes, countless bubbles the size of needle tips were popping up!
Those bubbles crawled into the depths of his brain and blew the gate on his soul brutally like the most powerful bombs!
Information—more information from Earth, which was mottled, intangible, and broken, spurted out of the gate of his soul, making him recall the incidents from Earth in a trance.
Witchcraft!
He had heard the word before, from Earth. Where was it exactly? Where?
He remembered clearly that Earth was a technological world, and that there shouldn't have been any witchcraft, but he had no doubt that he had heard the word before. Where was it?
Got it!
Back on Earth, he had once seen a movie—"Harry Lotter and the Sorcerer's Sword", in which witchcraft was mentioned!
What was "Harry Lotter" exactly? Memories, memories, memories. Reorganized, condensed, analyzed, and combined. Tracing back to the origins and reaching the core. Found it!
"Harry Lotter" was a series of fictions created by J. K. Mowling, a UK female writer. It was about a boy named Harry Lotter who accidentally learned the existence of a school that taught witchcraft and who was involved in the bizarre, spectacular adventures in the magic world. It was made of quite a few independent but related books, such as "Harry Lot
ter and the Ball of Fire", "Harry Lotter and the Phantom Island", "Harry Lotter and the Dragon Curse", etc. The fictions themselves and the movies and games they were adapted to were all a hit. It was one of the most popular fictional series on Earth!
Witchcraft was fake and nonexistent, but through the ability of "fantasizing", the earthlings were able to create a vivid world of witchcraft with their imagination!
A UK female writer… UK, what was UK exactly? Come on, where were the memories?
Ah, got it! UK—the abbreviation of the United Kingdom of Enkland and Boton!
The United Kingdom of Enkland and Boton was an island country at the north of "Europena", an ancient but developed continent on Earth in Li Yao's previous life. Although it was remote and small, it had once created an unstoppable fleet and become a country that dominated the entire Earth, known as the empire where the sun never set.
The fictional concepts such as "witchcraft" were promulgated to the entire Earth because of the dominating culture of the empire where the sun never set, becoming common sense for everyone.
Many people did not even consider it as a fictional concept but believed that witchcraft, or even the world that J. K. Mowling described, existed in reality!
Witchcraft, UK, Europena, Earth!
Countless memory pieces danced crazily deep inside Li Yao's brain, making him cramp and roll his eyes crazily. Hissing sounds were echoing from his throat too.
Everybody was rather shocked by his sudden reaction.
When Boss Bai asked if he had ever heard of "witchcraft", it was merely a casual question. He did not expect Li Yao to really know the answer.
But out of his expectation, Li Yao's reaction was so intense that it almost seemed that the word "witchcraft" triggered a certain seal deep inside his brain, allowing a certain weird but powerful force to flood out.
Boss Bai said in a hurry, "Are you alright, Li Yao?"
"I-I'm fine."
Li Yao's voice sounded from a place far, far away. He gagged for a while before he said in a trance, "I-I think I heard the term 'witchcraft' before."
