MCL CH134

Chapter 134: “Time to go back to your position…”
 

The surrounding field of vision was affected by the excessively dense contamination radiation, but even so, the person Samuel proactively went to greet was too eye-catching.

Vibrant red short hair, plus those unforgettable different-colored vertical pupils, it was the man who had taken Yan Xingzhou away before.

Everyone’s deepest impression of this figure undoubtedly came from the last fleeting glimpse. He wasn’t a familiar existence, but the ability this person had just used was, for these X-rank ability users present, as familiar as it could be.

“You’re finally here, Lin…” Samuel had already reached Lin Xi in an instant. Noticing the gazes from behind, he paused before continuing, “Lin Ni.”

“Alright, stop with the ‘Ni’. It’s not necessary anymore.” Lin Xi’s gaze quickly sized up the person in front of him. “Not bad, still alive and well.”

“The world’s top healing-type ability user is present here. As long as I don’t exhaust myself, I’ll have no problem surviving until the end,” Samuel replied. Mulling over Lin Xi’s previous sentence, his peripheral vision glanced at the empty space behind him, and his brow furrowed sharply. “What did you mean just now, that it’s no longer necessary to use that name? Yan Xingzhou didn’t come with you either. Did something happen?”

“Don’t be a jinx. He’s perfectly fine. But, I really don’t need to use another name anymore.” Lin Xi patted Samuel’s shoulder and walked past him, clapping his hands lightly. “Thank you all for your hard work. But next, I need everyone to cooperate with me to complete one thing. Here, I’ve brought Primo’s first-level command key. If you have any questions, feel free to confirm it through your terminals.”

Park Joon-ki did not take the key from Lin Xi’s hand, but stared at him fixedly. “Who… are you?”

Lin Xi looked at him with a half-smile. “Who do you think I should be?”

Park Joon-ki’s mouth moved slowly. Finally, he said the name that had been lingering on the tip of his tongue: “Lin… Xi?”

The others had been watching the two’s every move. As these two words came out of Park Joon-ki’s mouth, the already tense atmosphere seemed to fall into silence.

Everyone present was an X-rank ability user. They were all too familiar with the effect of those flames just now. This was the ability belonging to that man: “Devour.”

But, hadn’t Lin Xi already died?

What responded was a very casual light laugh from Lin Xi. “It’s me. Not bad, Park Joon-ki. Your eyesight is as good as ever. Unlike a certain heartless guy who took I don’t know how many meetings to finally recognize me.”

“…” Samuel, hearing this out of the blue, was speechless for a moment. “How can that be the same? Your appearance has completely changed. If you had shown me a ball of fire the first time we met, I guarantee I would have recognized you immediately!”

Lin Xi did not reply noncommittally. He spun the key hanging on his finger a couple of times. Seeing that Park Joon-ki had no intention of taking it, he simply put it away. “It seems you don’t need to confirm Primo’s orders either.”

Park Joon-ki did not answer, silently looking at the tide of contaminants not far away.

In the direction where the flames had fallen just now, all the contaminants that were touched had turned to ash. The remains on the ground shimmered with a crystalline luster, giving the bloody scene a trace of aesthetic beauty.

However, what was even more subtle was that the monsters that had been rushing forward one after another a moment ago, at this moment, seemed to have been paused by a button, stopping there fearfully. Countless gazes were still fixed in their direction, but it was clear that they were not looking at these X-rank ability users who had fought bloody battles, but at this—the man who had just appeared.

They feared him.

This person said he was Lin Xi, but Lin Xi had died three years ago. Even if he had been revived as he said, was the current Lin Xi still the same Chief Executor of the United Administration from back then?

Park Joon-ki could feel that this person’s words and actions indeed carried a familiar air, but at the same time, what he felt more clearly was a strong sense of danger.

Although he looked barely human, the contamination radiation he emitted was even denser than the high-level contaminants they had been fighting against these past few days. It was so dense that just being in close proximity for a while made him feel a kind of excitement being stirred up inside him, ready to burst out at any moment.

“Oh, my apologies. I almost forgot my identity is different now. It seems it would be better for you all to stay a little further away from me.”

As the words rang in his ear, Park Joon-ki suddenly came to his senses. He was shocked to realize that for a moment just now, he had unconsciously been on the verge of losing control.

He looked at Lin Xi with an even deeper gaze, but in the end, he did not refuse the request. “How do you need us to cooperate?”

[Wow, you have good connections. They trust you so easily!]

Actually, Lin Xi also felt a little surprised. After all, although they were all X-rank ability users, in the meetings of the International Ability General Administration, the representatives of various countries had shown each other no shortage of attitude. Moreover, his consistent style was to be decisive, and he had never given others a chance to refute his decisions. In a situation as extremely tense as this, he had thought he would have to spend some effort to gain their trust.

Glancing at Park Joon-ki, Lin Xi was not polite. “You guys know the core location of these contaminant tides, right? Give me a rough coordinate. I need to go and see. These things probably won’t stay quiet for long. I’m afraid I’ll still need you all to keep a close watch. It would be a bit troublesome if they ran out before I finish handling things.”

“The matter of interception, you don’t need to say it. We will do it as well.” Park Joon-ki was clearly still doubtful of Lin Xi’s identity, but after a moment of silence, he finally asked, “I can provide you with the core coordinates, but are you going alone?”

Samuel’s brow had also furrowed. “There should be several A-rank or even S-rank contaminants over there. It’s too dangerous.”

Lin Xi smiled leisurely. “What, you want to go with me? In your current condition, you’d probably lose control completely under the contamination radiation before you even reach the core?”

“…” Samuel’s words were completely blocked. A moment later, he lowered his eyes. “Has it really reached the point of a last-ditch battle?”

His words added a bit more tragic heroism to the eyes of the others.

Although they were isolated from the outside world, through the occasional information that came through, these X-rank ability users were naturally aware of the difficulty of the higher-ups’ decisions.

This difficulty was filled with a sense of helpless despair. It made one think of Shen Nanyang. Even this Professor Shen, who was capable of finding all possible futures, had not stood up this time to tell humanity which way to go.

“It’s here, right?” Lin Xi received the location signal from Park Joon-ki on his portable terminal and waved with a smile. “Then I’ll be off. Old Park, you guys don’t look so down. Just keep it up. The situation isn’t as bad as you think. I’m here now, aren’t I? I’ll come back to catch up with you all after I’ve dealt with the matter over there.”

Park Joon-ki: “Have a safe trip.”

Someone beside him watched silently and finally couldn’t help but speak, “He’s just going over like that? Does he really not need help?”

Samuel shook his head helplessly. “Don’t you worry. For someone like Lin Xi, if he needed help, he would have asked long ago. Why would he be polite with us? Since he’s already said so, it’s enough for us to just guard this place with peace of mind.”

A brief silence fell. Finally, someone muttered in a low voice, “Speaking of which, did we trust him a bit too easily?”

“Not at all.” Samuel chuckled lightly. “After all, no matter what he becomes, he is still Lin Xi.”

As they spoke, patches of splendid firelight shot up from the ground. The surroundings turned into a hell amidst the wails of the contaminants.

Countless shadows struggled in despair in the sea of blood-red, before finally being devoured completely. Since some unknown time, the tides of contaminants in the distance had subconsciously avoided them, parting to make way for the figure in their eyes to walk unhindered towards the deeper parts of the contamination zone.

Seeing such a scene, even Samuel and Park Joon-ki felt a deep sense of shock.

Lin Xi was clearly no longer in the form of a normal human. So what kind of existence was he now?

Looking at the cowering and fearful appearance of those contaminants, it was as if the one appearing before them at this moment was an existence worthy of their reverence. An instinctive fear, an instinctive desire to submit, as if they were—welcoming their king.

As soon as this thought appeared, an indescribable sense of absurdity arose. Samuel shook his head fiercely, trying to get rid of it.

“What’s wrong?” Park Joon-ki beside him noticed his movement.

“Nothing.” Samuel had already recovered his usual smile in an instant. He called out, “Alright, it’s rare for those crazy things to quiet down for a while. Let’s hurry up and rest, adjust our state, and continue to face the tough battle ahead! Miss A’mu, where are you? Come quickly, I urgently need you, the god of healing, to save me!”

Just then, a gust of wind blew past, and the figures of the group gradually disappeared into the dense contamination radiation.

Lin Xi turned his head slightly, his peripheral vision sweeping over the blurry silhouettes. When he spoke again, his words were directed at a certain contaminant. “Next, do you know what to do?”

[Hee hee hee, sometimes I really like you, you madman. But my dear Executor, are you sure you want to do this?]

“Of course.” Lin Xi stepped on the flames beneath his feet. On half of his face, dense thorns bloomed completely. “Time to go back to your position, Calamity.”

This time, the voice that responded was not in his mind, but right by his ear.

He slowly opened his different-colored pupils, looking down at this physical body he had not felt in a long time. The corner of his mouth split into a distinct arc. “You’re really not afraid of me completely possessing your body, are you… Lin Xi.”

“Yes, not afraid at all.”

Although the words came from the same mouth, it wasn’t like talking to oneself, but rather a pleasant face-to-face exchange. “As long as you have the ability.”

A different color flickered in the different-colored vertical pupils. “Lin Xi” said no more.

He just strode forward, walking towards the deeper parts of the contamination zone.

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