The script’s groundwork was nearly complete. Gong Du very patiently wove his web.
Shi Deng’s script differed from the previous world. His character setup was also relatively more complex.
The forum had this analysis about Shi Deng:
[He both abhors and loves this world, hovering on the edge between reality and illusion. Sometimes coldly observing, sometimes compassionately extending his hand.
Craving redemption yet refusing redemption. Wanting suicide yet striving toward light. Both mad and sober. Able to massacre on a large scale without blinking, yet always keeping a pure, clean place in his heart.]
Shi Deng was perhaps the most multi-faceted character he’d ever sketched.
Although in the manga world, Yuan Ting and the other two were undoubtedly the protagonists, in the manga presented to the big world’s readers, in this story revolving around time paradox, he was the most important [protagonist].
And the reason protagonists are protagonists is, of course, because they possess qualities no one else has.
Moderate pain made Gong Du feel pleasure, but he himself had no masochistic tendencies. So he told Small Light Orb to shield his pain sensation at the next script node.
He circled the time point before “contamination outbreak” and marked it as a key point.
This time, he could harvest a small wave of luck value first.
Whether from the big world readers’ emotions or from Yuan Ting and the other two’s emotions in the manga.
***
Two years and three months later.
From the Yuan Marrow incident, only 156 days remained.
Black fog began rising from the ground. This contamination would not only pollute exotic beasts but also ordinary humans.
Humans stained by the black fog would have the desires buried deep in human nature triggered. Severe cases would even die after ten days—
Everyone realized this was a crisis threatening human survival.
Almost all ability users in Tiangu mobilized. Even the free ability users who usually stayed aloof organized treatment teams spontaneously.
Cities on the suburban edges had the worst contamination.
At this point, more and more of Tiangu’s upper echelons believed that Mr. Shi’s earlier prophecy about the Yuan Marrow’s energy being nearly exhausted was true.
Because in the Northern Yu Region, Yuan Marrow was the only thing that could suppress contamination.
Tiangu.
“This is definitely Yuan Guang’s doing! Who among Tiangu’s leadership doesn’t know that the contamination source ‘Yuan’ is at Yuan Guang?!!”
“These years, Yuan Guang not only changed leaders but also made no moves. Turns out they were brewing trouble here. Garbage!”
“I think it’s not necessarily so. They haven’t caused trouble. These years, the number of our Tiangu ability users has suffered much fewer losses than before.”
“The Yuan Marrow’s energy has only increased a bit since when we first measured it. Sigh… If not for Mr. Shi, there probably wouldn’t even be that bit.”
“At this rate, contamination is destined to erupt. Don’t know if this year the Yuan Marrow can last until it’s sent to the sea.”
Yuan Marrow—every five years, it would leave the continent once to suppress contamination on the seas surrounding the Northern Yu Region.
Once seawater was saturated with contamination and exotic beasts from the sea rampaged, when contamination-mixed seawater flooded the continent, humans would suffer.
“Old Chi, don’t you have a student who can use prophecy? How is it now? Has he upgraded to Grand Prophecy? Can he prophesy specifics? Old Chi? Old Chi?”
The man sitting in the front row of the conference room suddenly came to his senses, phone face-down on the table, brows deeply furrowed. “You mean Zhi Ze? The elite team is currently on rescue duty around Yan City. He’s still at intermediate prophecy.”
Grand Prophecy—supposedly three hundred years ago, only one person ever reached it. No one knew specifically how to upgrade.
The three elite team members were all currently special-grade ability users, executing high-danger level missions. Yuan Ting and the other two’s status was long since incomparable to before.
Feng City was the most severely contaminated large city. Or rather, contamination was discovered from here. Extremely vile cannibalism incidents had already occurred in the city, which was now completely sealed off.
Tiangu’s leadership rubbed their temples with headaches.
Old Chi suddenly asked, “None of you have seen what Yuan Guang’s leader looks like?”
The leader said, “Indeed haven’t. Supposedly, those who’ve seen him are dead. What’s wrong? Have you seen him?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Old Chi picked up the phone face-down on the table again. In his photo album was a secretly taken photo supposedly of Yuan Guang’s leader. He’d spent some price to obtain it.
Though the photo was rather blurry, the person in it was easily recognizable.
A youth in Yuan Guang leader’s garments with gray-white hair leaned in a dim corner of the assembly hall. Amid swirling incense smoke and the hall full of sutras, he turned his face slightly, eyes indifferent.
It was Shi Deng.
The youth who’d helped them so much these past two years.
He didn’t want to believe this at all, but the photo showed no trace of being doctored.
At this critical juncture, he had to investigate clearly. But before that, this matter should be suppressed to avoid causing panic.
Chi Yu said, “Leader, I’m applying to be transferred to Feng City to execute missions.”
***
[New plot! Never before!]
[Ahhh Shi baby being Yuan Guang’s leader is exposed again?! Nothing good happens every time it’s exposed QAQ]
[Old Chi, give it your all! You must believe in Shi baby!]
[Why does Shi-ge have fewer and fewer scenes, damn. This isn’t the same as we reasoned before. Shi Deng is definitely secretly planning something this time. I don’t believe Shi-ge doesn’t know.]
[Feng City, Fengdu, ghost city. My god, such an ominous name…]
***
Feng City.
It was divided into three parts.
The city center was sealed. Ability squads patrolled daily searching for contaminated people. Outside the city, two zones were established—one was the contamination treatment zone, the other was the temporary observation zone after contamination was cured.
“Where’s Sister Le? Another critically ill patient’s been brought in!”
A squad of ability users ran over hurriedly. On the stretcher lay an emaciated young man, cheeks sunken, already tinged with death.
Shi Deng glanced once and frowned. “Sister Le is in the treatment domain.”
He stopped the person on the stretcher, calmly saying, “This person’s contamination is already irreversible. Sending him into the treatment domain will only waste resources.”
Cen Le’s group-range healing domain had recently been squeezed to the extreme. Once depleted, she’d hurriedly replenish energy from beast cores, then continue being squeezed.
Healing abilities were precious. Not just Sister Le—other healing-type ability users had also become spinning tops.
Those lightly contaminated could recover after half a day in the domain. But those contaminated people nearing death couldn’t survive even if put inside, and would waste Sister Le’s ability.
The contaminated person on the stretcher immediately showed a hideous expression, wishing he could bite off a chunk of flesh from Shi Deng. He said weakly, “You… you dare not save me. Aren’t you ability users? Ability users have abandoned us hahaha… what hypocritical garbage…”
Eyes tinged with an eerie red. The person on the stretcher raised his withered finger, pointing at Shi Deng. “What kind of damn ability user are you? Bah!”
The ability user squad captain glanced at the badge on Shi Deng’s chest, frowning. “Thank you for this external support member’s help, but no matter what, this is still a human life. Go! Quickly send him in!”
The people behind hurriedly went around Shi Deng.
In the distance, Cen Le’s face was pale. She sat in the center, maintaining a domain covering about three hundred meters in radius. Other doctors in her healing domain were also busy with their feet not touching the ground.
Ability users with strong offensive powers—part of them searched for contaminated people hiding in the city, the other part hunted equally violent exotic beasts at the outskirts.
Even so, complaints from contaminated people within the domain boiled over.
If ‘Yuan’ were here, it would surely see the contamination qi that could strengthen its power being absorbed into Shi Deng’s body at a not-slow speed, then locked at his heart with time chains.
Greatly slowing Feng City’s contamination.
Shi Deng had once imprisoned ‘Yuan’ in his body. His body had long been nearly completely contaminated. One eye had also permanently turned blood-red.
In his previous resets, most of the time he was at Yuan Guang. This was his first time clearly confronting these contaminated people face-to-face.
Time chains could lock contamination qi that hadn’t entered human bodies.
Though absorbing contamination qi was part of his plan, if he absorbed contamination qi that had already entered bodies and devoured human desires, suppressing it would be more difficult.
Moreover, the latter required a medium…
As Shi Deng frowned in thought, Cen Le at the domain’s center couldn’t hold on anymore. She suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. The healing domain abruptly dispersed.
A nearby physician exclaimed in shock, “Sister Le!”
Cen Le nearly fainted halfway. Hair strands stuck to her face. Shi Deng instantly appeared beside her, supporting her. “Sister Le.”
The moment he made contact, Shi Deng’s heart sank.
Sister Le’s ability was terrifyingly depleted. If she continued operating tirelessly like this, not just her meridians—her entire body would be ruined.
Harsh, unpleasant words came from contaminated people’s mouths in the domain:
“What the hell! If you have no strength, hurry and switch to the next one…”
“Is she sick…”
“I’m starting to feel terrible again. Am I going to die? I don’t want to die. Why drag us out of the city? Dragging us out means you want us dead!”
“We want to go back! We want back in the city!”
“Can you be a bit quieter? Stop talking. Ability users also need rest.”
“This woman is truly useless. Only lasted these few days…”
Contaminated people had their malice infinitely magnified.
But when it came to group healing, Cen Le was the only healing-type ability user available.
The supervisor managing here ran over, extending his palm. Several special-grade beast cores lay inside. He looked at Cen Le in difficulty. “Please, one more time…”
The instant he looked up, he met Shi Deng’s icy, dark gaze.
The supervisor instantly shivered.
Shi Deng helped Cen Le over to the other two physicians. “Send Sister Le to rest.”
Because Yuan Ting and Zhi Ze were hunting exotic beasts around Feng City, he couldn’t trust a single person here. Only those two physicians and Sister Le counted as friends who probably wouldn’t cause trouble.
The supervisor panicked. “You, you, you—what about these people then?”
Of course, squeezing one person made him uncomfortable too. But there was no choice. Once they stopped, those nearing death would die.
At times like this, ability users of other types had no solutions whatsoever.
The person whose stretcher Shi Deng had blocked earlier pointed at him venomously. “It’s him! He just wouldn’t let me into the healing domain, said I might as well die. Now he’s taking away the person treating us! He’s the one not letting us all have peace!”
“White-haired monster!”
“Get lost!”
…
Contaminated people gathered here had their various negative emotions easily stirred up.
Threads of malice climbed toward the youth standing in the center, sticking to him.
As long as he didn’t have an episode, Shi Deng’s emotions remained relatively stable. He said softly, “I can save them.”
***
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152