MCL CH75

Chapter 75: “Welcome, my guests…”
 

When he first heard the news of Samuel’s disappearance, Lin Xi had found it very strange. After all, with his understanding of Samuel’s ability attributes, setting aside his X-coded ability which was already bug-like in itself, just his existence as a top-tier space evolver meant that while it was possible for him to encounter unsolvable problems, it would not be difficult for him to retreat if he found the situation was not right.

And now, everything finally seemed to be explained.

Lin Xi glanced at Samuel and asked silently in his mind, “Is this the reason you don’t want to get involved with the thing here?”

After a moment, Calamity could be heard letting out a low “tsk”: [Does it matter if I don’t want to get involved? I did say before to take Yan Xingzhou and get him out of here as soon as you found him, but now there’s that unlucky, miserable blondie next to him. If we could have held onto a sliver of hope before, now we don’t even need to think about it. He has obviously been secretly trapping this blondie, and now he has definitely discovered our existence. There’s no chance of getting out of here unscathed!]

After a moment of silence, Lin Xi asked, “So what exactly is his ability?”

Calamity snorted coldly again, complaining in a flat tone: [If you really want to understand, just think of him as a patchwork monster.]

Lin Xi’s lowered eyes darkened slightly.

If the X-codes that appeared during the course of human awakening were the most top-tier existences among all evolvers, then by analogy in the contaminant world, contaminants of S-rank and above were almost equivalent to these heaven’s chosen ones. Just like Calamity, or the master of this rift, Abyss, top-tier contaminants of S-rank and above all had their own names, as well as their own different special abilities.

And very clearly, the “patching” that Calamity spoke of was the unique power of this S-rank contaminant.

Although his tone was more of a complaint when he mentioned the patchwork monster, what if this seemingly non-threatening ability had no specific limitations?

If truly everything could be patched together, then that meant…

As if to confirm Lin Xi’s speculation, Samuel continued under Yan Xingzhou’s questioning gaze, his expression also somewhat resigned to his own bad luck. “Actually, not long after I came in here, I got separated from the others who came in with me. By the time I realized something was wrong and wanted to retreat, I couldn’t find the way back at all. Yes, literally. Yan, could I have imagined that the word ‘lost’ would one day be used on me? But unfortunately, that’s how it is. I was clearly following the path I took to get here to find my way back to the rift entrance, but all the places I passed through were completely different from when I came.”

He glanced at the two of them. “That’s why I said this world is alive, or rather, not fixed. It’s constantly changing. The path we walked a second ago might completely turn into a strange world we’ve never been through in the next second.”

Everyone present was a smart person; there was no need for Samuel to spell it out.

After all, it wasn’t hard to see from the moment they entered this inner world that its composition was too fragmented, as if countless paintings had been completely shattered and some pieces were randomly picked and pieced back together. One moment you’re in a snowstorm, the next, after crossing a borderline, you might enter a volcanic region of lava and flames, leading to a sense of dissonant impact in every scene.

Lin Xi smiled upon hearing this.

What a patchwork.

But patching is one thing, the constant change that Samuel mentioned, it seemed—

Lin Xi turned his head and glanced back in the direction he and Su Qiuyin had come from.

Although the sky that had changed along the way was still very fragmented, if he remembered correctly, the scenery didn’t seem to have changed much.

He looked questioningly at Yan Xingzhou.

Instantly understanding, Yan Xingzhou’s brow furrowed slightly. His question was still directed at Samuel. “So all this time you were out of contact, you were just lost?”

“What kind of way is that to talk? Of course, I did some proper business. Otherwise, with all the contaminants I met along the way, and each one so disgusting…” Samuel trailed off as he noticed Yan Xingzhou’s brow furrowing even tighter. He paused, his casual tone appropriately reined in. “Oh, no way, my Yan. Judging by the looks of you two, you haven’t encountered any contaminant attacks at all before coming here?”

Yan Xingzhou: “No.”

Lin Xi appropriately added, “Not only did we not encounter any contaminants, but the journey to find you was also unbelievably smooth.”

As his words fell, for a moment, no one said anything else.

At this point, everyone had already sensed the subtlety of the situation.

After a dozen seconds, Samuel let out a low “tsk.” “I was wondering why it was so smooth when I followed Yan’s signal to find you. It seems we were deliberately allowed to rendezvous here smoothly. What’s the idiom for this situation? Luring one into a trap?”

“Congratulations, you finally used one correctly and reasonably.”

Lin Xi was even in the mood to joke at this moment. “I’m just a little curious, in catching a turtle in a jar, who will be the turtle in this jar?”

Laugh, go ahead and laugh, but you’d better be careful later.

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow slightly. “Hmm?”

If I was just guessing before, then now I can basically be sure that that guy Abyss has definitely discovered me… oh, us.

Given my relationship with him, he will definitely come after us.

Lin Xi: “Oh.”

???

Why that reaction?

“Anyway, ever since I got involved with you, it’s always been this unlucky,” Lin Xi replied. “I’m used to it.”

Calamity: …

Don’t think I can’t tell you’re insulting me in a roundabout way again!

Lin Xi sensed the frantic complaints going on in Calamity’s mind. After a smile, he looked up and happened to catch a glimpse of a figure flying towards them.

At almost the same time, he was pulled back several steps by Yan Xingzhou. When he looked up again, the spot where he had just been standing was instantly shaken by a cloud of dust. After a brief confrontation, Su Qiuyin’s entire body was already looking much more battered than when he had first arrived.

Whether it was Su Qiuyin or Joseph, Lin Xi knew them both quite well. Although in terms of ability alone, Joseph undoubtedly had the upper hand, compared to the X-coded evolver who was pampered and protected in the rear, Su Qiuyin, who fought on the front lines daily, was a seasoned veteran. His individual abilities, honed through actual combat, were definitely enough to give him a fighting chance against a top-tier powerhouse like Joseph. Moreover, even if Samuel was a deflated balloon, there was still Yan Xingzhou on the scene. Even if Lin Xi avoided revealing any flaws and didn’t make a move, dealing with a mere Joseph was not a big problem. But the current discovery indicated that they might need to solve a bigger problem.

Another roar sounded, and countless dense clouds of sand and dust scattered from the sky. Lin Xi patted off the yellow sand that had drizzled all over him. Before the two could get entangled again, he raised his voice. “Alright, you two, stop fighting for now.”

Compared to Su Qiuyin, Joseph didn’t look much better.

He had just boasted about taking on a crowd by himself, only to be pushed to this extent by an ordinary dual-evolver who didn’t even have an X-ability. His expression was clearly even more displeased. Hearing the words, his gaze turned threateningly towards Lin Xi. “What are you? Is it your place to speak here?”

[Hahahahahaha, you’re being underestimated, Great Executive Officer Lin.]

“Ahem.” Lin Xi cleared his throat softly. “Then you continue. Anyway, our Director Su definitely won’t fight you anymore. You can fight whoever you want.”

Under this attitude, Joseph’s gaze turned cold. He really didn’t continue to press Su Qiuyin. The air around Lin Xi silently distorted and was instantly compressed.

The next second, a sharp shattering sound scattered around.

The barrier that had appeared out of thin air was barely crushed into pieces by the immense gravity, turning into powder as it fell to the ground. Lin Xi, standing there, remained unharmed.

He hadn’t even moved a single step, and his face still wore that warm, smiling expression. “I knew Boss Yan wouldn’t bear to see me get hurt.”

“…”

Yan Xingzhou clearly hadn’t expected Lin Xi to still be in the mood to put on a diligent act at a time like this. He glanced over before looking at Joseph. “If you make a move on him again, your next opponent will be me.”

Joseph’s gaze shifted between the two, a flash of understanding in his eyes. “I heard before that you found a lover in the Hua nation. Could it be—”

Lin Xi answered decisively, “Past tense, already broken up, in a cold war.”

Joseph’s words came to a halt. The look he gave Yan Xingzhou could not contain the overflowing shock. From his expression, it seemed he might burst out laughing at any moment.

Yan Xingzhou: “…………”

Su Qiuyin, who was relatively clear about the conflict between the two, was clearly not very interested in this push-and-pull. He just took it as Lin Xi playing hard to get. After taking a moment to calm his breathing from the intense battle, he asked, “What did you guys discover?”

“As sharp as ever, Director Su,” Lin Xi replied. “But to say it’s a discovery, it should only be considered a deduction. If the deduction is correct, you should know what’s going on very soon.”

Su Qiuyin’s brow furrowed slightly.

Just as he was about to ask something, his attention was drawn to a faint tremor rising from under his feet.

Joseph had also clearly sensed the abnormality. “What’s going on?!”

Lin Xi chuckled lightly. “See, isn’t it here now.”

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or higher would probably be no different.

As the tremors grew more and more intense, all the sand and soil on the ground they were standing on began to jump about wildly.

In that instant, besides this vast expanse of sandy land, the world of ice and snow that Yan Xingzhou had originally designated as a gathering point became unfathomable in the silence.

As if covered by a huge curtain, all the surrounding connected worlds were instantly enveloped in immense darkness. From time to time, scenes flashed by: ethereal blue, phantom purple, scorched yellow, blood red… Countless images intertwined into a constantly changing montage of countless scenes from a hellish purgatory. Finally, with a thunderous roar, the surroundings gradually quieted down again.

All the scenes had completely changed in a short period of time.

It was as if all the places they had experienced before were just illusions, and only the place where they were now was their true destination.

Lin Xi slightly raised his head.

In the direction he was looking, there were no more spectacular and magnificent icebergs. All that fell into his eyes was a towering, majestic ancient castle.

The twenty-meter-high giant iron gate slowly opened before them, and a voice, distant and low, came from the deepest part—

“Welcome, my guests.”

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