Chapter 73 The Spiral World (11)

Chapter 73: The Spiral World (Part 11)

After leaving Green Vine Town, without the shelter of the plants, the temperature instantly soared to fifty degrees Celsius. Plants withered, and sandstorms filled the sky, as if they'd crossed into another world overnight.

Inside the off-road vehicle, five adult men and one child were packed together. Even with the air conditioning on full blast, they were sweating profusely. Jiang Songnian, sitting in the passenger seat, was almost blinded by the scorching sunlight filtering through the faded window film.

Ye Qihan had the back row all to himself, reclining with his eyes closed. Lin Yanqing and Xia Li were squeezed into the same middle row, with Yin Sui lying between them, snoring loudly in his sleep.

Xia Li stared intently at his face. Yin Sui shivered in his sleep and suddenly opened his eyes.

Their eyes met. Xia Li narrowed his. "Bro, can this kid really see what I'm thinking?"

Lin Yanqing was lost in thought and snapped out of it upon hearing this. He smiled and said, "He can see your memories, know what you've done and said, but probably doesn't know what you're thinking."

"Oh? Is that so..." Xia Li's eyes grew more dangerous. "How interesting... He probably can't talk, right?"

Yin Sui, only a few days old, felt his hair stand on end, staring wide-eyed in horror.

"So, if we find Professor Lin, we'll know where Snow Country is. But he's a baby. How do we make him talk then?" He Yunchuan said.

"Master said he'll grow up when he wants to grow up," Lin Yanqing replied.

Ye Qihan raised a hand and threw a small tomato at the back of Lin Yanqing's head.

Lin Yanqing rubbed his head and looked back, only to see his tomato plant bare, its fruits gone—probably all eaten by Ye Qihan.

Lin Yanqing smiled, his eyes crinkling. "If you eat my tomatoes, you have to be my master."

"Exploiting a favor for gain. Minus one merit point for today," Ye Qihan said with his eyes closed.

Jiang Songnian suddenly unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over from the passenger seat, his muscular body squeezing back. The cramped space filled with the smell of sweat.

"Can't take it anymore, it's too hot. Switch seats." Jiang Songnian hauled Xia Li up. "You go to the front."

"Ew, you stink. Don't come near me." Xia Li pinched his nose and pushed him hard. "Get away, don't touch my brother! Damn it, you stepped on the kid! Get off!"

"Lili, don't swear," Lin Yanqing said.

"'Damn it' isn't swearing; 'fuck' is," Xia Li said.

The two struggled to switch seats. Jiang Songnian was drenched in sweat, even his hair dripping. He looked back to see the back row seat now covered in dense green leaves, effectively dividing the cabin into two separate spaces.

Jiang Songnian took off his shirt, revealing his toned physique. Sweat trickled down the grooves of his muscles. He took the towel Lin Yanqing handed him, wiped off the sweat, then pulled Lin Yanqing into his arms, nuzzling his cool cheek with a sigh of relief. "So comfortable."

Lin Yanqing could only let him hold on, his mind still turning over Ye Qihan's words from earlier.

He had traded his lifespan for extraordinary abilities. In other words, he was going to die soon.

Lin Yanqing raised his hand and touched Jiang Songnian's cheek.

He Yunchuan watched them from the rearview mirror, genuinely impressed. In this hellish weather, they could still cuddle.

More and more lunatics wandered the streets. He Yunchuan dared not roll down the windows or stop, flooring the accelerator as they sped down the dust-filled road.

*

Chen Ya had always been a light sleeper, maintaining vigilance even in her dreams. She hadn't dreamed in a long time, but in this dream, she saw that child again—so fond of smiling, with beautiful eyes always curved like crescent moons. Yet sometimes, those eyes were terrifying, pitch-black eyes staring straight at her as if peering into all her secrets.

The room was pitch dark. With autumn temperatures dozens of degrees below zero, the nights were long and the days short.

Chen Ya woke from the dream. She had been lying on her side, and tears had soaked her pillow. She glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already nine o'clock.

She abruptly sat up, threw on her coat, and walked out.

Thanks to the supply of Rare Energy, the indoor temperature remained comfortable even in the extreme cold.

The corners of the villa were filled with peculiar mint plants, which affected the sense of smell of Psychics. Noise at a special frequency interfered with their hearing. In this villa, the abilities of Psychics were greatly weakened, rendering them little more than strong enforcers.

So much so that when Chen Ya reached the end of the corridor, Chen Tai didn't notice her immediately.

"Isn't Sinian up yet?" Chen Ya frowned slightly.

Chen Tai nodded. He was a "gift" from Old Master Chen to Chen Ya—a family retainer. Unlike the Jiang family, who had been merchants for generations, the Chen family had dabbled in shady dealings in the early years, practicing feng shui, worshipping Guan Gong, and fraternizing with both the underworld and legitimate society. Under Old Master Chen, the family business gradually went legitimate. The Jiang family had money; the Chen family had influence. They complemented each other, building the family empire of today.

The Chen family's tradition of keeping retainers had lasted a century. They adopted homeless people, carefully trained and nurtured them, engraving loyalty and gratitude into their genes. Once they were fully trained, they were placed in every key position, creating an unbreakable network of interests.

Old Master Chen had three children: Chen Ya, Chen Xing, and Chen Wang. Chen Ya was the only daughter and the eldest.

When Chen Ya was twenty, she received her first family retainer—Chen Tai, then only five years old.

It was undoubtedly a mockery and a warning. Chen Tai was a half-finished product, freshly taken from an orphanage without any training, merely given a name before being sent to Chen Ya's side.

Thirty years later, Chen Tai had become the only person Chen Ya could trust, precisely because he hadn't undergone the Chen family's indoctrination.

Chen Ya had a splitting headache, her face pale and bloodless. Leaning against the wall, she said with difficulty, "Someone drugged me with sleeping pills. It was Jiang Feng. It must have been him. Send someone to investigate. Something must have happened last night."

Chen Tai frowned and immediately went to the empty room next door to make a call.

Chen Ya pushed open Jiang Sinian's door and entered the room without permission.

The boy was sound asleep, sprawled on the bed, his face flushed red from sleep, a slight sweat on his forehead.

Chen Ya walked over, pulled the covers back over him, and gazed at Jiang Sinian's face. She couldn't help but think of Lin Yanqing again. She tried to find even a trace of Lin Yanqing in Jiang Sinian's features, but she knew deep down it was a delusion. The Lin Yanqing who had endured life's hardships would never again have that naive, simple, and unworldly appearance.

Chen Tai soon returned, standing at the door and clearing his throat softly.

Chen Ya lowered her eyes, concealing all traces of sorrow and weakness. She stood up briskly and followed Chen Tai to the next room.

"Last night, Lao Mai led a team and took off with supplies loaded on ten planes, claiming they were for supporting Nan Yao City," Chen Tai reported.

Chen Ya gritted her teeth. "Support is just an excuse. Finding Jiang Songnian is the real goal. That old fox Jiang Feng is so gravely ill, yet he still pines for his wayward son!"

Chen Tai said, "As long as he lives another day, we won't get the complete Energy Stone, and we can't continue trading with Aimeile."

Hiding an entire mine is difficult, but hiding a single stone is easy. Precisely because of the Energy Stone's unique size, Chen Ya had never been able to locate it.

The Rare Energy produced by a complete Energy Stone could power Blue Sea Base for a hundred years. The stone could be cut, and Jiang Feng still controlled most of it.

With the apocalypse arriving early, the construction of Blue Sea Base was urgent. Aimeile had seized the initiative using the Serum derived from madmen. But one day, the situation would reverse, and they would need more valuable bargaining chips.

Chen Ya pondered deeply. After a long while, she said softly but resolutely, "Send people to Su Xi City. Kill Jiang Songnian. Don't let him come back."

"If you know he's in Su Xi City, you should also know..." Chen Tai paused. "He's with Lin Yanqing."

Chen Ya's breathing grew heavy. Time passed slowly, yet the sky showed no sign of brightening.

"I've tried to kill him three times. Three times, he didn't die." Chen Ya donned a mask of cold indifference, reforging her heart of stone, and curled her lips into a cruel smile. "If he gets in the way, kill him too."

*

The car lurched, made a clunking sound twice, and abruptly stalled.

Lin Yanqing had just fallen asleep. Thrown forward by inertia, his forehead slammed into the front seat with a thud before he was flung back into his own.

The car fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into an uproar.

“We’ve stalled in the middle of nowhere!”

He Yunchuan spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “Lin Yanqing, fix the car.”

Jiang Songnian had his arm around Lin Yanqing’s waist, rubbing his forehead. Before Lin Yanqing could speak, Jiang Songnian cut in, “Wow—what kind of driver are you? Your skills are terrible, and you dare order my Linlin around? Useless!”

Lin Yanqing was speechless. “How would I know how to fix a car? I never learned.”

“Enough nonsense,” Ye Qihan tossed a hazmat suit from the back seat. “Whoever knows how to fix a car—get out.”

They had taken several hazmat suits from Lu Biao and brought a few sets for the road, leaving the rest in Green Vine Town. Wearing these suits prevented the Madmen from smelling them, but the suits were hot and stifling. In over 40-degree Celsius heat, wearing one for half an hour would lead to heatstroke and fainting.

He Yunchuan crossed his arms and pretended to sleep. Jiang Songnian resignedly put on the hazmat suit.

“Lazy bum,” Lin Yanqing muttered under his breath, then swiftly jumped out of the car, slamming the door and cutting off He Yunchuan’s retort.

While Jiang Songnian checked for faults, Lin Yanqing kept watch. Many Madmen wandered nearby, swaying aimlessly, their blood-red eyes occasionally glancing toward Lin Yanqing.

“The engine’s burned out. Fixing it might be a bit troublesome,” Jiang Songnian said, looking at the shops on both sides of the street. “Let’s find a working car and keep going.”

“Alright, let’s take a look first,” Lin Yanqing replied casually, subtly elbowing Jiang Songnian in the side.

Jiang Songnian hooked an arm around his shoulders and followed his gaze into the distance.

Dozens of Madmen lingered there. Their clothes weren’t tattered enough; their faces were pale but unsoiled. The bright red stains were freshly smeared, yet their eyes remained blood-red. They moved among the crowd in bizarre postures, silently closing in on the off-road vehicle.

“How far are we from Nan Yao City?” Jiang Songnian asked.

“If we walk onto the highway, it’s another ten kilometers to the toll station,” Lin Yanqing glanced at a sign.

Jiang Songnian walked back to the off-road vehicle, rapped on the window, and said urgently, “Brothers, put on the hazmat suits and get out now. There’s trouble ahead.”

“It’s so hot! We’ll definitely get heatstroke! I don’t want to!” Xia Li’s face scrunched up like a shriveled pear.

“No time—hurry!” The moment Jiang Songnian placed his hand on his gun, everyone in the car changed expressions, quickly passing around the hazmat suits and wrapping themselves up tightly.

Ye Qihan raised his hand, a leafy net sprouting from his palm to wrap around the infant.

In the blink of an eye, the distant Madmen sensed the disturbance and attacked the off-road vehicle with teleportation-like speed. Before anyone could get out, the car was sent flying into the air, crashing down in a parabolic arc.

Ye Qihan instantly leaped from the cabin, simultaneously throwing out a vine net to cushion the car’s crash landing.

Half a second later, the car hit the ground. He Yunchuan and Xia Li were tossed around inside, seeing stars from the impact.

Apparently stunned by Ye Qihan’s vine whip, the Madmen halted their attack. They all turned to look at the tallest man among them, as if awaiting instructions.

Lin Yanqing pulled open the car door and hauled Xia Li out, instructing, “Don’t go too far from me.”

“Brother, who are they?” Xia Li hid behind Lin Yanqing as He Yunchuan quickly approached.

“Madmen… no, Madmen injected with Serum,” Lin Yanqing guessed.

“So they’re like Xiaoxi,” Xia Li said.

But clearly, this group of Madmen was organized and highly aggressive.

Ye Qihan wasn’t wearing a hazmat suit. He placed Yin Sui on the scorching ground. The blazing sun made it hard to keep their eyes open; the heat distorted the light, the scorching air like a wave of heat.

Ye Qihan stood there, his icy gaze fixed on the Madmen’s leader. He waited patiently—waiting for the Madmen to make a mistake, waiting for a reason to unleash slaughter.

Finally, the Madmen moved.

The leader raised his arm, thrusting his head back fiercely, shouting amidst the dust and ruins, “Kill them! Kill—”

As the words fell, a vine whip wrapped around the leader’s neck, its sharp thorns cutting through the Madman’s hardened bones like knives.

Head severed, body dismembered—the bloodied vine whip didn’t stop its attack. This wasn’t a fight between equals.

It was an endless slaughter.

Blood filled the air, the scent of blood mingling with the dust. The infant’s cry pierced the grim atmosphere, its loud wails shaking the heavens. Ye Qihan was immersed in the slaughter.

Lin Yanqing suddenly snapped back to reality. His figure flashed, dodging the indiscriminate attacks of the vines, appearing before Ye Qihan and grabbing his shoulders.

“Stop fighting!”

Ye Qihan turned gracefully, shrugging his shoulders and throwing Lin Yanqing out of the combat circle.

Lin Yanqing vanished for an instant, reappearing before him in the blink of an eye. Annoyed, Ye Qihan’s slender fingers closed around Lin Yanqing’s throat. As he tightened his grip, Lin Yanqing twisted away, wrapping his arm around Ye Qihan’s, and with a forceful throw, flipped Ye Qihan onto the ground.

“Wake up! Stop fighting!” Lin Yanqing shouted sharply.

Ye Qihan snapped out of his daze. Blood splattered across his face. Regaining his senses amidst the bloodbath, he wiped the blood from his face as if wiping away tears of blood.

Dozens of corpses lay on the ground; the rest fled in panic. Ye Qihan didn’t pursue them. He quietly stood up, silently gathered the bodies into a pile, and set them ablaze. From then on, dust returned to dust, earth to earth, souls returning to the cycle of reincarnation.

Ye Qihan performed three bows and nine kowtows, bowing reverently and humbly. He traveled through the river of history, borrowing a lifespan from the world at the cost of his soul.

There were no working cars nearby. All the tires were punctured, and the gas tanks were empty. They had to walk to Nan Yao City.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no Madmen around. All the Madmen had become “ordinary people.” Perhaps not entirely ordinary—they were still strong, robust, possessing strength unattainable by ordinary people.

The difference between Madmen injected with Serum and Psychics was gradually diminishing.

And the emptiness around also meant the military had been here before.

Everyone removed their helmets, strolling along the crowded highway. Ye Qihan walked at the very back, his gaze fixed on the back of Lin Yanqing’s head.

He heard Yin Sui’s ethereal voice.

“You have killed too many living beings. The清算 Rule will leave you with no place to be buried,” Yin Sui advised him. “Don’t set your sights on Lin Yanqing.”

Lin Yanqing walked alongside Xia Li, handing him a handkerchief. Seeing Xia Li panting from the heat, Lin Yanqing’s lips curved up, affectionately pinching his cheek.

“As long as he makes a mistake, I have a reason to kill him,” Ye Qihan said hoarsely. “I will do more good deeds to atone for my sins.”

“Then you should help him even more. He is undergoing a trial; he’s only in his twenties,” Yin Sui asked. “Do you remember what you were doing in your twenties?”

Ye Qihan’s eyes moistened, but a smile tugged at his lips. “That was over nine thousand years ago. Who remembers such old memories?”

Ye Qihan’s fingertips trembled. He gritted his teeth, the vine net tightening. Yin Sui gradually struggled to breathe but still laughed—the laughter filled with mockery and disdain.

Ye Qihan’s killing intent rose again. Ahead, Lin Yanqing stopped walking, his clear voice carried by the wind.

“Master! Hurry up—it’s getting dark.”

Ye Qihan broke out in a cold sweat. He tossed the vine net forward, throwing the child into He Yunchuan’s arms, then quickened his pace to catch up with Lin Yanqing. “Coming—what’s the rush?”

“Oh, I called you Master, and you agreed!” Lin Yanqing said with a grin.

Ye Qihan shot him a sharp glare, then quickened his steps, walking at the front of the group. “Keep up.”