Chapter 406: Their Target |
In truth, Yu Sheng had wanted to spin up a batch of mass?produced Irenes for quite a while; this notion had been circling in his head for at least half a month.
There was no particular reason at first; he simply thought it would be fun, just like most of his ideas, which arrive without explanation.
Of course, now there was a perfectly proper reason: to develop Irene’s combat potential and make it easier to handle enemies as troublesome as that previous Hierophant.
As the one most directly involved, the little doll clearly supported the plan. After all, when it comes to harebrained schemes, Irene and Yu Sheng are always in sync: the former delights in stirring up the world, and the latter is responsible for making a proper mess of it.
So the two put their heads together and, on the spot, hit it off, fell into cahoots, became partners in mischief, and proved themselves a perfect match in questionable taste.
Rubbing his chin as he began to work through the details, Yu Sheng grew solemn: “There’s just one problem. It isn’t hard to fabricate a stack of mass?production bodies for you, but will you be able to control them when the time comes? You’re already dividing your attention four ways. I remember that at the beginning you were stumbling even with two bodies.”
Taking that seriously, Irene thought for a moment, then continued crackling with electricity as she replied: “I think I can manage. Remember how I told you my bodies can run in ‘low?bandwidth’ mode? You give some basic directives and ‘she’ can move on her own. From the perspective of doll alchemy, once a doll has been infused, it is already a complete living being with basic spiritual nature. Leave it long enough and it might even develop self?awareness on its own.
“Of course, since I will definitely link myself to those bodies, we can set aside that final possibility. In the end, if it’s only about getting those shells moving, serving as fodder in a fight, I should be able to control them.”
She paused, considered for quite a while, then added: “Even so, the exact number of shells I can control remains unknown. We will have to wait until the mass?produced bodies are built and run practical tests.”
[He was used to the little doll being carefree; who would have thought she could focus on serious matters? It really is a case of expertise belonging to the specialist, and a person knowing their own situation best. This little thing can’t even last?hit a minion properly, and when she goes out to buy gear she fiddles around on the high ground for three whole minutes, yet look at her professional mastery when it comes to doll control, practically born with a split?mind saintly body.]
Sensitive to the shift in his gaze, Irene snapped her head up: “Why do I feel like you’re bad?mouthing me in your head?”
Waving a hand, Yu Sheng deflected casually: “Illusion. I was marveling at how impressive you are.”
“That’s right,” Irene immediately preened, her suspicion evaporating in under two seconds: “I’ve realized I absolutely have a talent for controlling avatars. At first it was awkward handling two bodies, but now managing four at once is like playing. In short, it just takes practice. Once you finish the mass?production run, I want a proper trial. I really want to know my upper limit for controlling avatars.”
Smiling, Yu Sheng said: “All right, I’ll prepare carefully later,” then he turned toward the coffee table: “But for now we need to study this Yun Qing Zi and figure out what exactly is going on with the suddenly emergent ‘Consecrated Hermitage’.”
Hearing this, the handsome old immortal across the coffee table and the big nephew immediately pricked up their ears, and even Luna, who had been staring into space by the window, took two steps in their direction.
Shaking his head as he dropped onto the couch, Yu Sheng muttered: “I just can’t figure out how that bunch of superstitious cultists ended up together with someone like Yun Qing Zi. In terms of style and sphere of influence, those two sides shouldn’t even brush sleeves.”
“Indeed, the Consecrated Hermitage seldom operates in the Featherwing Star Region, and that Hierophant’s sudden appearance surprised me as well,” Immortal Yuan Hao nodded, then shifted the angle: “But then again, although they hadn’t shown up before, recently Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain did capture some of those heterodox outlanders in the Frontier.”
Yu Sheng furrowed his brow, looking thoughtful.
He remembered, of course; Xuan Che had told him. One of the original reasons he came to visit the Featherwing Star Region was curiosity about the cultists’ suspicious activities. It was just that, upon arriving, one unexpected incident after another had delayed that inquiry.
“You mean those Hermitage nests you discovered out in the Frontier?” Yu Sheng asked, hesitating, then grew curious: “Also, I thought you were hands?off. How do you know the details?”
With a flicker of embarrassment, Immortal Yuan Hao replied: “These years I truly have, for ‘reasons,’ not personally managed Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain’s affairs, but my information channels remain open, and since returning I have learned much from my junior brothers.”
“Oh,” Yu Sheng said, rubbing his chin. He did not press the topic that embarrassed the handsome elder, and quickly returned to the point: “But as far as I know, those Hermitage nests you found were not in this area.”
Before Immortal Yuan Hao could answer, a familiar voice drifted in through the window: “Then it only shows that the nests we found were wandering ‘edge outposts.’ The true place where those heretics put down roots in the Featherwing Star Region has always been the Sentinel Silence.”
At the sound, Yu Sheng looked up to see a ribbon of rosy light cutting through the rain outside. With those words still hanging, the light slid through the crack of the window and flew inside.
But the steel cable Irene was using as a ground wire for discharging electricity still lay across the windowsill, which was why the window was open a crack.
It all happened too quickly. Yu Sheng had no time to warn him; he had barely raised his hand when the rosy light brushed the steel cable on the sill.
In the next instant, with a crisp snap, everyone saw a sinuous arc nearly seven or eight meters long, glimmering with bluish?violet spiritual light, lance across the air. One end connected to Irene’s arm, the other to the incoming rosy light. The steel cable serving as conductor vaporized at once, and Xuan Che popped out of the glow like a ball lightning. With a startled “Hey,” he shot clear across the hall and slammed, hard, into the opposite wall.
To his credit, a cultivator’s physique is resilient. Pinned to the wall, Xuan Che sprang to his feet in a single second, shoved a handful of unknown pills into his mouth in the blink of an eye, then whirled as if facing a mortal enemy: “Who, who cast that divine thunder!”
As he spoke, residual sparks still crackled across him. His hair stood on end, and his eyes looked in two different directions. It took several seconds before his gaze finally converged, and then he spotted the little doll in the middle of the living room staring at him in a stupor, and the currents coiling around her.
The room was very quiet.
Even Yu Sheng, accustomed as he was to dealing with strange folk, did not quite know how to pick up this thread for a moment.
Irene broke the silence first, lowering her head to glance at her palm, then looking at Yu Sheng in surprise: “Hey! Half my charge discharged!”
In the very next second she sprang to her feet and fixed Xuan Che with a stare: “You, stand still!”
Cold sweat burst out of Xuan Che on the spot, his face turning chalk white, whether from fright or because of the recent shock was unclear: “Miss Irene, calm yourself!”
“Calm my ass,” Irene complained loudly: “This body gives me great feel for gaming, but now I don’t even dare touch a phone. Just grit your teeth and treat it like crossing a tribulation, a crackle and it will be over.”
Looking aghast, Xuan Che turned to Yu Sheng: “Sir Yu, save me!”
“Irene, sit back down. Do not make trouble at a time like this,” Yu Sheng finally intervened, and once the little doll sat back in the center of the room grumbling under her breath, he set his gaze on Xuan Che: “You… this interruption knocked my train of thought off track. Where were we… right, the Consecrated Hermitage. Have you met the City Lord of Mo City? Did you learn any intel related to those cultists?”
Relieved, Xuan Che came over, giving Irene a wide berth as he smoothed his hair and straightened his clothes: “Alas, I learned nothing. Whether the Hermitage’s heretics or those Black?robed Cultivators, the City Lord here knows nothing of them. Although it is premature to pass judgment, in my view both the City Lord of Mo City and the Star?Guardian Elder of this Sentinel Silence have grown lax over these years.”
Saying so, he sat down beside Yu Sheng and organized his thoughts: “But on my way back, I did think through a few things.”
Raising an eyebrow, Yu Sheng prompted: “Oh?”
“About why the ‘Hermitage’ would be entangled with Yun Qing Zi,” Xuan Che said evenly: “I overheard you before I ‘came in.’ It is indeed as you said. Originally the Hermitage and someone like Yun Qing Zi had nothing to do with each other. But what if they share a ‘common target’? Then it would be a different matter.”
“Common target,” Yu Sheng repeated, his expression growing serious.
What Yun Qing Zi ultimately wanted remained unclear, but the Consecrated Hermitage’s “target,” or at least their greatest recent target, he knew well.
Yu Sheng said: “Dark Angels!”
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