MCL CH27

Chapter 27: Oops, My Hand Was Too Fast.

The transparent elevator that appeared out of thin air was like a passage to the heavens. As Lin Xi looked up, he saw the beam of light from above fall onto the elevator’s ceiling, refracting a play of light and shadow from the crystalline glass.

As if something had silently pulled at the corners of his mouth, a hint of a smile couldn’t help but appear in his eyes. “It’s beautiful. President Yan, has anyone ever told you that this ability of yours is actually somewhat romantic?”

“Thank you. You’re the first,” Yan Xingzhou said as he started to walk.

At that moment, the silently opened elevator doors seemed to be welcoming his arrival.

After stepping into the elevator, Yan Xingzhou turned around, only to see Lin Xi still standing there.

The expression on his face suggested he was in a good mood, and he seemed to be admiring something intently.

This made Yan Xingzhou involuntarily observe the elevator he had just created as well.

The number of ability users worldwide who had awakened an X-ability could be counted on one hand, and among them, only four possessed dual codes.

One was in Country A, one in Country H, and the remaining two were both in Hua Country… at least, that had been the situation before that person’s death.

Every country held a strong protective stance toward their X-ability users. Unless absolutely necessary, very little related intelligence was ever leaked. Among the various nations’ ability management departments, the data on these X-ability users served as diplomatic bargaining chips, and only personnel with the highest level of clearance could access them.

As a top-tier dual-ability X-code holder, Yan Xingzhou had naturally studied his peers.

Looking at the situations of the other dual-code X-ability users, it wasn’t hard to see that while their awakened X-attribute abilities were unique, they were, to some extent, complementary to their other ability. Take Yan Xingzhou himself, for example. [X-Ability: Manifestation] was enough for him to create a whole new world that belonged entirely to him when combined with his dream-system ability. It was both a derivative of illusion and the most real of mirages. Another example was the two abilities of the former United Administration Executive, Lin Xi. What truly established his absolute dominance was not just his top-tier fire ability, but also the brand new attribute he gained after his X-ability awakened.

At this moment, the elevator before them was created entirely based on Yan Xingzhou’s will.

Before creating it, he hadn’t expected to subconsciously use a material like glass. It was somewhat too fragile, but its visual effect in refracting light was unexpectedly good.

After a quick glance, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Lin Xi. “It’s time to go.”

“Mmm, coming,” Lin Xi smiled and stepped into the elevator with him, once again unabashedly grabbing the corner of Yan Xingzhou’s clothes. “President Yan, you don’t mind, do you? I don’t know what we’ll encounter in a bit. This gives me a little sense of security.”

“…”

Yan Xingzhou was silent for a moment. “As you wish.”

Lin Xi was generous with his praise. “President Yan is as handsome as he is kind-hearted.”

Yan Xingzhou raised an eyebrow noncommittally. “Heh.”

The elevator began to ascend.

Light projected from the top, stretching the silhouettes of the two figures standing side-by-side.

Soon, as they continued to rise, the light at the top grew closer and closer.

It finally engulfed their entire field of vision, completely enveloping the two of them.

In that moment, even the sound of the wind seemed to stop.

This brief silence, though only a few seconds long, felt as long as a century.

Finally, the light dissipated.

After the intense stimulation of the light, their vision, accompanied by layers of afterimages, slowly came back into focus.

It was still the same initial desert, but it seemed slightly different.

Amidst the constantly overlapping afterimages, they saw rows upon rows of densely packed “doors.” With the elevator they were in as the center, they were encircled, one door after another.

Yan Xingzhou took a step to exit the elevator but was stopped by a backward pull, only then remembering that someone was still holding onto the corner of his clothes. “…”

He turned to look. “How long do you plan to hold on?”

Lin Xi was observing the surroundings. Hearing the question, he replied without thinking, “I’m fine with whatever. I wouldn’t mind holding on for a lifetime.”

“…”

Yan Xingzhou said, “If I were you, I would first ask if the subject of your harassment minds.”

Lin Xi finally looked over, lifting the already wrinkled corner of his clothes slightly. “You call this harassment?”

“If I recall correctly, the last person to touch the corner of my clothes like this was three years ago, and that person’s hands were chopped off on the spot. From that day on, he has been living on disability benefits.” 

As Yan Xingzhou spoke, he kept his eyes lowered on Lin Xi, his faint expression devoid of any extra emotion. “Our country’s compensation policies have always been quite good. If you’d like to experience them, I’d be more than happy to support you.”

Lin Xi briskly released his fingertips, freeing the corner of Yan Xingzhou’s clothes. He didn’t forget to appropriately smooth out some of the wrinkles. “Thanks, but you don’t have to be so thoughtful.”

“You’re welcome. Actually…” Before Yan Xingzhou could finish his sentence, his expression suddenly sharpened. “Watch out!”

The moment his words fell, he had already grabbed Lin Xi’s hand and yanked him out of the elevator.

With a loud BOOM, the elevator they had just been in, which was a manifestation of will, instantly collapsed into endless fragments.

As it fell and dissipated, the deep “well” opening on the ground vanished as if it had never existed, leaving no trace behind.

Lin Xi glanced at the hand Yan Xingzhou was gripping tightly around his wrist, then looked up at the back in front of him. A silent smile crossed his face before he unhurriedly looked up.

The surrounding “doors” had, at some point, all swung open in unison. Countless black shadows poured out from the worlds behind the doors, which led to who-knows-where. They rose like ethereal smoke and gradually gathered above their heads.

This mass of stuff seemed to have no solid form, yet it maintained a very stable silhouette.

Without a doubt, this was the mother body of the A-class contaminant in this inner world.

Seeing this somewhat bizarre scene, Lin Xi, contrary to expectations, let out a small sigh of relief.

It finally decided to show itself. If it weren’t for Yan Xingzhou accompanying him on this tour of the inner world, his patience would have probably run out the moment he entered the first “door.”

Without any hesitation, Lin Xi reached into his pouch, pulled out a gun, and after expertly loading it, fired several consecutive shots at the black mass.

The continuous gunshots were quickly swallowed by the surrounding wind.

The bullets traced a beautiful trajectory, then passed straight through the center of the Contaminant and disappeared into the distant desert.

Not at all surprised, Lin Xi shook his head and concluded, “The special-issue handgun is useless. President Yan, I’m afraid I can’t provide any combat support.”

This was delivered with the tone and expression of someone who had “done his best and could only leave the rest to fate,” so much so that a sneer couldn’t help but surface in his mind: [Just keep pretending to be weak. You’ve completely thrown away your face.]

Lin Xi was completely unbothered.

After all, whether “face” was worth having depended on whose presence you were in. In front of Yan Xingzhou, it was fine to not have it.

It was rare for Yan Xingzhou to see someone “let it rot” with such a clear conscience. His gaze rested on the special-issue gun in Lin Xi’s hand. “Ju Ze gave it to you?”

“Mmm, Assistant Ju took me to the armory to pick out some equipment for self-defense.” Lin Xi weighed the special-issue gun in his hand a couple of times before putting it back. “The anti-contaminant weapons produced by the Wanyuan Corporation are of very good quality. This one felt comfortable in my hand at the time, so I brought it along. For that, I have to thank you, President Yan.”

Yan Xingzhou: “Thank me?”

Lin Xi gave him a strange look. “According to Assistant Ju, didn’t you tell me to pick whatever I wanted?”

Yan Xingzhou: “…”

After a moment of eye contact, he withdrew his gaze. “We’ll talk about it when we get out.”

He looked up at the black, illusory mass in the center, then beckoned upward with his palm facing up.

In the originally scarlet world, an intense white light suddenly flashed. The next moment, countless rays of light condensed in mid-air into a magnificent, massive blade, suspended directly above the Contaminant.

Lin Xi stood behind Yan Xingzhou, watching with narrowed eyes.

Just as he said, he had no intention of interfering.

A mere A-class contaminant posed no threat whatsoever to this man.

Yan Xingzhou flipped his upward-facing palm down.

With a casual downward press, the massive blade of light condensed in mid-air, like an executioner’s greatsword hanging above, swung down heavily toward the front of the Contaminant.

The moment the two made contact, the very air around them seemed to be torn apart.

The two opposing forces clashed, emitting a piercing, grating sound that grew increasingly intense.

The black miasma pouring out from the “doors” began to surge, as if countless souls were being simultaneously sliced by this sharp blade. At first, there were only intermittent whimpers, which gradually grew into roars and wails that could tear the rift apart.

These were all the desperate souls that had been sealed here by this Contaminant.

A hint of surprise also flashed in Lin Xi’s eyes. “This thing has actually harmed that many people?”

[They might not all be human; they could be its own kind. And how can you call it harming? The weak being prey for the strong is the law of survival in this world.]

[Hee hee hee, but it really did run into a steel plate this time. Wouldn’t it have been better to quietly try to advance to S-class on its own? It could have gathered energy over time. But no, it just had to covet something that didn’t belong to it.]

[Look at this miserable state. Tsk, to covet my power, is it even worthy?]

Lin Xi sneered silently in his mind: “A fox borrowing the tiger’s might.”

[How can you say that~? At most, this is called~ latching~ onto~ a~ big~ thigh~]

Lin Xi: “Heh, I’ll deal with you when we get out.”

As he said this, Lin Xi turned his head and glanced at the circle of “doors” from which the black miasma of will was still pouring out.

Since he was idle anyway, he had originally just wanted to casually calculate how many life forms this damn Contaminant had harmed to climb to an A-class strength. But a glance from the corner of his eye caught a black shadow rushing out from a door on the side, heading straight for them.

“Get back.”

Yan Xingzhou’s reaction was also extremely fast. He instantly pulled Lin Xi behind him, and then, all his movements froze as the scene came into view.

The black shadow had no chance to even get close. The moment it met a ball of fire head-on, it was like an extremely fragile piece of paper, instantly burned to ashes that scattered with the wind.

Lin Xi: “.”

Oops, my hand was too fast.

When that had all happened, he actually knew that seeking Yan Xingzhou’s protection was what he should have done. However, his subconscious instincts made his body’s reaction completely outpace his brain.

Before Yan Xingzhou could even shield him, he had already taken action against the surprise attack.

The habit developed from years of fighting side-by-side with Yan Xingzhou made it impossible for him to allow Yan Xingzhou to fall into any unnecessary danger when his back was entrusted to him.

This should have been a perfect symbol of their earth-shattering camaraderie, but now…

There were thousands upon thousands of fire-ability users in the world, but the ability to effortlessly incinerate an A-class contaminant could be counted on one hand.

Lin Xi silently closed his eyes, for once not daring to look at Yan Xingzhou’s expression.