Chapter 448: Combat Instinct |
Argan Grasslands.
Inside the tent, strange purple light swirled across the crystal ball, sending fragments of images into Moon Key’s mind.
As the light faded, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Adam’s future... has changed."
The last image she had seen was Adam’s body floating on the ocean surface.
But this time, the prophecy yielded a different result.
She stared at the crystal ball and murmured to herself, "The futures of those connected to ‘Shadow’ seem to become increasingly unpredictable..."
This filled her with deep curiosity, but after the lesson of losing her finger last time, she dared not prophesy about "Shadow" himself again. She could only gather information indirectly by prophesying those around him.
"Moon, are you free?"
Moon Key put away her crystal ball. "Come in."
Jie stepped into the tent and asked directly, "Moon, everyone was too shy to ask, so they sent me... After this rule ends, will you still stay with the tribe?"
Moon Key nodded. "If you’re willing to accept me, I’ll continue staying here."
Jie sighed in relief and smiled. "That’s great, of course we accept you. Everyone was worried you only came here to take shelter during this rule and would leave as soon as it ended. They all hate to see you go."
Ever since Moon Key arrived at the tribe, she had quickly earned the respect of its people.
In a self-sufficient tribal life like this, every member—including Jie himself—had to work. After Moon Key arrived, her accurate prophecies led everyone to suggest she serve as the tribe’s "priestess," exempt from labor.
But Moon Key refused that privilege and worked alongside everyone else every day. This earned the tribe’s respect, and they all wanted her to stay.
"I really enjoy this simple, peaceful life," Moon Key said.
Previously, she had taken commissions constantly, hoping to gather more resources to enhance her abilities as quickly as possible.
Her participation in the assassination mission earlier was also due to the generous payment. After receiving the reward, she completed the enhancement of her personal item and decided to leave.
But even now, people still sought her out for prophecy commissions—just that the channel had shifted from offline to "online." Only a very few who knew her Terminal ID now contacted her directly through communication items, offering high prices for her prophecies.
"Good, I’m glad you like it here. I won’t bother you then."
After Jie left, Moon Key was about to stand up and head out when a majestic voice suddenly rang in her mind.
"Moon Key, I need you to make a prophecy."
Hearing that voice, she paused mid-motion and sat back down.
"Your Majesty," she responded through thought.
King Bruce of Suroma was one of the very few who knew her Terminal ID, allowing him to forcibly contact her at any time using a 【Communication Scroll】.
Bruce: "I need to know where Adam is right now."
Moon Key: "I cannot prophesy this."
Bruce: "Cannot, or will not?"
Moon Key: "..."
Bruce: "This is for Suroma’s national security. Since you are a Suroman, you should understand the need to serve your country. And your compensation will not be lacking."
Moon Key: "The more specific the prophecy, the more difficult it is—especially when it involves powerful Ascendants. For someone as strong as Adam, to prophesy his exact location... I am currently incapable of doing so."
After a long silence, Bruce said nothing more and ended the communication.
Moon Key knew she had already earned his displeasure.
But she hadn’t lied. Prophecies related to top-tier Ascendants like Adam were inherently difficult, especially now that he was entangled with "Shadow"... Her earlier prophecy had only produced fragmented images.
...
Wordless Book Shelter, First-Floor Living Room.
White Star was slowly helping her younger brother Aaron walk.
He had been unconscious for too long, and his muscles had atrophied. Only by gradually increasing his activity could he return to normal.
Over the past few days, with White Star’s patient explanations, Aaron had learned about the many changes and developments that had occurred since he fell unconscious.
After learning that his sister and brother had both joined the organization built by "Shadow," he immediately declared that he wanted to join too.
It wasn’t just because Guan Tong had saved him and woke him up—he was also naturally curious and wanted to uncover the truth behind the Fire Thief. Besides, before falling into his coma, he had always admired "Shadow." Now that he had the chance to join the organization "Shadow" had created, how could he not be excited?
White Star, however, told him not to rush—to focus on recovering his health first before thinking about anything else.
"Sis, you don’t need to hold me anymore. I can walk on my own now."
Aaron let go of White Star’s support and took a few steps on his own. They were slow, but already quite steady.
"Now I need to quickly raise my Mind Power upper limit!" Aaron said as he walked. "I fell into a coma during the Tenth Rule, and now the Seventeenth Rule is almost over. I’ve slept too long—I’m too far behind."
"Seven rules isn’t that big a gap. Don’t rush, just catch up steadily," White Star said. "And you’re still young, so your growth speed will be fast. You’ll catch up with the main group soon."
Aaron nodded. "I have to give it a hundred and twenty percent effort, or I’ll just keep holding everyone back and won’t be able to help you or the Troupe Leader."
"Don’t be silly. Who said you need to help? Just stay safe and healthy."
"Sis..."
Just then, Guan Tong came down from upstairs. Seeing him, Aaron immediately stood up straight. "Troupe Leader!"
"Aaron can walk on his own now? Your recovery is coming along well."
"Hehe, pretty much."
Like Black Star and White Star, Aaron had a round, childish face and curly hair. His smile was very boyish.
"Troupe Leader, I plan to raise my Mind Power as quickly as possible so I can help you all."
"First, focus on recovering your health. We’ll talk about everything else later."
Guan Tong didn’t set high expectations for Aaron—not just for Aaron, but for all his troupe members in terms of strength.
When his Trace Origin Travel Troupe recruited members, he didn’t look at combat ability. He looked at whether their group goals aligned and whether their character was sound. Strength was the least important factor.
If he judged purely by strength, besides himself as the Troupe Leader, only Uenoshi would qualify. Black Star and White Star would both fail.
They excelled as intermediaries, but their combat abilities were low. When Guan Tong first visited their bar, the dozens of Ascendants in the main hall were their hired bodyguards.
"Troupe Leader, actually, Aaron is different from me and my brother," White Star said at this point. "Neither my brother nor I have abilities suited for combat. But Aaron’s ability was born specifically for battle. Back when he wasn’t comatose, we didn’t even need to hire bodyguards."
"Oh?"
Guan Tong became intrigued.
He still didn’t know what Aaron’s ability was—not just Aaron’s, but he had never asked Black Star or White Star about theirs either.
As the saying goes, do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself. He didn’t want to reveal the details of his own abilities to others, so naturally, he wouldn’t pry into theirs. Even as the Troupe Leader, he wouldn’t force his members to disclose all the secrets of their abilities.
White Star looked at her younger brother. "Aaron, you explain it yourself."
Aaron nodded. Though a little shy, he still puffed out his chest with pride. "The ability is called ‘Combat Instinct.’ When activated, I can learn any fighting technique just by watching it once, and I can instinctively react to enemy attacks."
"Sounds good. It really does seem suited for combat," Guan Tong said. "But what if your physical condition doesn’t meet the requirements for certain techniques? Can you still perform them?"
Aaron said excitedly, "That’s the key! The core of my ability is actually body adjustment—it automatically adjusts my body to what the fighting technique needs. The higher my Mind Power, the greater and faster the adjustment!"
"I see."
Guan Tong thought this ability was indeed impressive. Its ceiling and floor were both very high.
The early-stage advantage would be especially obvious. For example, when the Doomsday Rules first began, Aaron’s ability would let him watch a single fighting match and instantly become a combat expert.
In the mid-to-late stages, the automatic body adjustment and instinctive reactions to enemy attacks could cover up weaknesses, making it perfect for battle.
"But I slept so long that my physical abilities have degraded a lot," Aaron said with a gloomy expression. "I wish there was someone with strong physical fitness who could let me learn and adjust from them."
He then looked at Guan Tong hopefully. "Troupe Leader, what about your physical fitness? Could I learn from you?"
"Me? My physical fitness is decent, but it has nothing to do with combat techniques—it’s the result of Mind Power transformation."
"Then that won’t work," Aaron shook his head. "If it’s not a combination of physical fitness and combat techniques, my ability’s imitation effect becomes very poor."
Guan Tong recalled something and said, "I know someone from the Beixing military. His combat techniques and physical fitness are perfectly combined. If you want to learn, I can ask him."
He was referring to none other than Dragon Soul.
Back at the border, he had witnessed Dragon Soul’s fight against Lucifer. Without a doubt, Dragon Soul was a perfect example of combining combat techniques with physical fitness. Relying on this, he had managed to tear off one of Lucifer’s wings—even though Lucifer could fly and possessed extreme speed.
White Star and Aaron’s eyes lit up. White Star said, "Then we’ll trouble you to ask, Troupe Leader. If he agrees, it would greatly help Aaron’s recovery... We’re willing to provide compensation!"
"Compensation probably won’t be necessary. He doesn’t lack Ascension Coins," Guan Tong said. "But he belongs to Beixing’s official side, not a civilian Ascendant. If he agrees to help, he might also require Aaron to join the official faction. Can you accept that?"
Aaron and White Star exchanged glances. White Star hesitated, but Aaron agreed without hesitation. "I can accept that!"
"Aaron, have you thought this through?" White Star urged. "This isn’t a joke. You know that joining the official faction means you’ll have obligations to carry out officially assigned missions, right?"
"Mm, Sis, don’t worry. I heard what you told me about everything that’s happened since I fell unconscious. I think Beixing’s official faction is pretty good—they’ve been working hard to help the masses survive. I’m completely fine with serving an official faction like that and doing their missions."
White Star didn’t press further. She knew that although Aaron was young, he had strong opinions, and both she and Black Star respected his choices.
"Then please trouble you to go ask him, Troupe Leader!" Aaron said expectantly.
"Sure."
Besides Aaron’s matter, Guan Tong also wanted to contact Zhang Minglu to ask about Chen Na and the others. Since they had been dispatched to join the new Joint Force, there had been no word from them. He wondered how they were doing.
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