Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1422 - 24: Dead End
On the inner side of the moon, in the Taiqing Palace, Emperor Chong Xiao slowly opened his eyes on the imperial throne.
A ghastly white light emerged in his eyes, rapidly expanding to envelop Emperor Chong Xiao’s entire body. His black hair transformed from the tips into the same white color, and his dark robe turned into a white robe with black embroidery. The iron-hard lines on his face softened visibly, morphing into an artistic and exquisite visage.
It was as if a painter, dissatisfied with past works, wiped away the old painting and added new features with a brush. In the blink of an eye, all traces of Emperor Chong Xiao disappeared, replaced by a completely different person sitting on the throne. Clad in white with white hair, this person’s cold androgynous face was so flawless it seemed artificial, but devoid of any warmth, invoking fear in those who beheld it.
He raised his slender hand, with streams of black and white light forming a projection of Divine Capital City in his palm. The vast capital instantaneously zoomed in, focusing on a figure in green amidst a snowy night, then shifted to a gray-haired young man nearby. The projection of Divine Capital City fell silent, with no one moving, every snowflake and speck of dust suspended in mid-air. Time had halted at the man’s arrival, awaiting the decision of the master of space and time.
The white-haired man’s voice was uninflected, flat as a machine.
"Currently observing Super-Class disorder factor ’Yan Qi,’ ’Qin Ming’s’ re-entry anomaly, determining collaborator Chi-044 ’Chi Chongxiao’s’ proposal A-131 execution failure. Fan Ding Realm’s space-time integration hub initiates the backup protocol, issuing the following commands:
1. Deploy Fan Ding Realm’s Grade B and above combat affiliates.
2. Enforce takeover of the secret law system, adjust to reality correction mode.
3. Reduce the unique historical physical space boundary to Divine Capital’s walls.
4. Adjust the unique history to Real World time ratio from three to one to one to one hundred."
Black streaks noiselessly covered the city in the man’s palm, while the moon turned pitch-black like ink. Commands issued within a heartbeat, the static world began to evolve rapidly, altering the flow of time, reducing space size. The hidden system surfaced naturally. Every element in virtual history responded to his voice; he was the arbiter of space-time, the guardian of order, and his words were the supreme decree of a God.
The white-haired man clenched his hand, turning the city projection in his palm into scattered light fragments. Instantly, darkness engulfed the world below, leaving only the glowing silhouette of Divine Capital. The ruler’s command echoed in the empty palace, like distant thunder.
"Full protocol execution complete, time freeze lifted, space blockade finalized. Proposal A-131 backup plan: Erase Super-Class disorder factor ’Gongsun Ce,’ commence immediately."
·
In Divine Capital, within the Imperial Academy Supervisor’s inner door, Gongsun Ce dashed towards his study. Everything he saw warned him of the abnormal situation; by now, the original plan had lost its meaning. The historical pointers meant for correction reversed at the last moment, indicating one thing:
Everyone had been deceived by the façade of false history; his mission was utterly meaningless!
"To think I was wondering how you all arrived here..." Gongsun Ce clenched his fist tightly, "What an idiot! Even you two could interfere, how could the Order King not notice!"
From the very start, the premise of his action went astray; his infiltration hadn’t escaped the Order King’s detection. This virtual history was Fan Ding Realm’s evolution; from the moment he entered Divine Capital, his every move was under the Eternal King’s gaze. The king chose to observe, looking down on mortals like a God, placing its pieces quietly. Now it decided to act, weaving the scattered pieces into a seamless net, and it planned to descend onto the stage, sweeping away all obstacles!
The rabbit pointer in Gongsun Ce’s arms suddenly began to jump wildly. In the dark, unlit night sky, a point of brilliance appeared, as pure and white as snow yet as dazzling as the sun. The light expanded rapidly into a perfect ring, resembling a passage between two realms. The ring’s other end led to a pure white world, where countless Master Jings stood. Each was fully armed, each was cold and ruthless. Iron-black soldiers wielded guns and sharp blades, arrayed in formation, dense and endless like a metal-forged sea. Thousands of giant metallic waves rose in the sea, formed by enormous metal giants like towering mountains. The formal combatants among Master Jings either wore iron armor coats or donned Taoist robes and kasayas, wielding swords, long knives, ceremonial instruments. Above them, giant dragons whirled, the rising and falling dragon wings akin to dark clouds.
The Empire’s people in the city were dumbfounded, the beings from the other side of Grotto Heaven appeared so familiar, as if they were celestial Gods and Buddhas from myth and legend. Now the Gods, Buddhas, and Immortals truly descended to the Mortal World, their bodies made of metal instead of flesh, ready to unleash merciless destruction upon the world.
"Weren’t you curious about what Grotto Heaven and Fortune Land looked like before? Now you’ve seen it. Grotto Heaven and Fortune Land are actually passages connecting to the Fan Ding Realm, responsible for eliminating disorder factors and deploying them to another time. This time, the master of Fan Ding Realm doesn’t plan to let you traverse back to the future; it intends to utterly erase you."
It was Mr. Lan, holding military binoculars to gaze at the night sky like a vigilant sentinel. He lowered the binoculars and smiled at Gongsun Ce, "There’s no need to hold back; the true bodies of those affiliates are far away."
"I haven’t softened my heart to the point of showing mercy to robots," Gongsun Ce said, "Stand back."
Mr. Lan chuckled softly, backing away while black flames ignited in Gongsun Ce’s palm. The Tribulation Flame flowed like water, transforming into a massive black blade, with resplendent golden Holy Fire infused at the sword’s center. With one hand, he lifted the giant sword, which emanated a scorching, clear ringing sound.
"Absolute Hate Seal Double Star Destruction."
The giant blade’s ringing turned into a roar, the silent weapon awakened at this moment, slashing out a brilliant golden stream! Such a sword light had never existed before, fierce like an Evil Star yet bright and radiant, as if an unparalleled swordsman was wielding a blazing sun. Master Jings turned celestial Gods and Buddhas struck out with hundreds of thousands of lights, hundreds of thousands of exotic lights were overshadowed by a single slash. The strike of Absolute Hate Seal soared to the sky, instantly shattering the ring of Grotto Heaven and Fortune Land, annihilating the army of celestial Gods and Buddhas!
"Excellent, just as I expected from a man I admire!" Mr. Lan whistled and clapped, "Though you missed a few minnows, no harm done. After resolving the first wave of attack, you’ve gained a bit of time. Now quickly contact the girl you love; the Order King has reversed the flow of time on both sides. If you’re a step too slow, you’ll regret it for life!"
The sky split open with a tiny crack, not nearly enough for Gongsun Ce to leave. The ’strength’ of this world has indeed changed; the fragile defense that was once so easily broken now appeared to be the Order King’s trap. Gongsun Ce returned to his study in a flash. The small wooden house was on the brink of collapse from the aftershocks of the previous battle, its interior scattered with disarray. He rummaged through the mess and found Qiluo’s communication TV, his voice uncharacteristically anxious: "Qiluo! How are things on your end!!"
"Gongsun... Ce! You finally...!" Qiluo’s voice was intermittent, but filled with a sense of relief, "All... alive... Unable to activate... Divine Capital... Attack...!"
The Divine Capital City had been attacked, the return skill couldn’t be activated, but everyone was alive. The time ratio on both sides had been reversed, meaning his return would likely be "some time" later on their side. This information was enough for Gongsun Ce to make the most accurate judgment.
Marks of a world set ablaze appeared, as three Heavenly Demon arms wielding three different weapons emerged independently. Gongsun Ce brandished his sword again, the sword light of the Absolute Hate Seal aimed at the sky, slightly widening the previous tiny crack. This fleeting flaw wasn’t sufficient for Gongsun Ce to forcefully return himself; he formed a sword gesture with his fingers pointed at the sky, the three Heavenly Demon arms simultaneously flew up, penetrating virtual history before the crack vanished, headed towards the real space-time.
"Qiluo, I’m entrusting my power to you, find a way to hold on until I get back!" he called out softly.
"Leave it to... us...!" Qiluo’s voice grew weaker, "30 seconds... Liu Zhongwu..."
The girl’s voice disappeared, and the contact on the other side switched to another person. The TV screen went blank, but Gongsun Ce could detect Liu Zhongwu’s anxiety and his all-or-nothing expectation from the urgent voice.
"Yan Qi... still missing... Desolate Form!" Liu Zhongwu’s hoarse voice cried out, "Give and take... fair and square..."
"Help him! Gongsun... give him a hand!!"
The voice from reality ceased, and Gongsun Ce completely lost contact. He took a deep breath, put away the small TV, and stepped out of the wooden house. Mr. Lan was waiting for him under the tree shade.
"Still need my strategic advice?" he chuckled, "Make good use of your time to find Yan Qi, that’s it."
Gongsun Ce burned away his gray clothes, changing into the Incendiary Shadow Spirit Armor, and lowered his hat: "I’d appreciate it more if you could directly help."
"Unfortunately, the Order King is a petty guy; just talking to you like this is already the limit." Mr. Lan whistled, "Besides, you didn’t take my advice to heart. You should really consider Mr. Lan’s little tips."
"You say so much nonsense every day, how would I know..."
Gongsun Ce hurriedly left the study, his expression suddenly changing, becoming extremely serious.
Where once the spacious and empty inner gate of the Imperial Academy was now crowded with people, the outer gate students who shouldn’t be inside were now wandering under the pitch-black sky, moving stiffly like zombies. The moment he arrived, all the students turned their heads uniformly, hundreds of vacant eyes staring at Gongsun Ce.
"On December 31st, Yong Guang Calendar 1997, there is no student named ’Gongsun Ce’ in the Imperial Academy inner gate." said a short individual.
Another person followed up: "On December 31st, Yong Guang Calendar 1997, there is no Yushi named ’Gongsun Ce’ in the Universe Patrol Department of Yiji Hall."
All the students were smiling, like the kindest and friends on propaganda posters. Gongsun Ce immediately leaped into the air and dashed out of the Imperial Academy, noticing that all the city lights were on, and the citizens who should have been resting had all taken to the streets. They gazed at Gongsun Ce in unison, with the same indifferent, cold smiles.
"...There is no customer named ’Gongsun Ce’ in the tavern."
"...There is no wanderer named ’Gongsun Ce’ at the lantern festival."
"...There is no audience named ’Gongsun Ce’ beneath the stage."
The cold voices sounded simultaneously, and all of Divine Capital City unanimously declared the final proclamation.
"On December 31st, Yong Guang Calendar 1997, there is no Superpower User named ’Gongsun Ce’ in Divine Capital City."
At this moment, Gongsun Ce’s rapid movements came to a halt, his body turned thin and ghostly, as if an invisible power had negated his existence, turning him into a "non-existent" person!
