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墨書 Inktalez
The Prophet thought for a while and said, "Cui Ming, I really need it. If you are willing to let it go, I would be very grateful to you. Even if you set high conditions, I will still appreciate it after I fulfill them."
Cui Ming pondered for a moment. "Prophet, I do not wish to be your enemy. How about this: if you are telling the truth and you trust me, we can take this fellow for research. If it proves to be non-contagious, then we will return it to you."
The Prophet frowned. "I have a feeling you are deceiving me."
Of course, as an elder from Silent City who has been immersed in cultivation since childhood, no matter how clever the tricks are, they cannot compare to the cunning of a villain. Cui Ming had already made up his mind; since the Prophet wanted to study it, it was best for the Force Alliance to do so first. If there were no issues with the research, he would hand it over. If the Force Alliance refused later, he could just ask them for it. What? Ask me? I have my boss.
"What do you suggest we do?"
"I'll take a look at its injuries first." The Prophet walked toward the Giant Bug.
"Wait." Zhao Wei took out the Force Lock chain and approached. The Giant Bug struggled to retaliate but was knocked unconscious by a punch from Zhao Wei.
"Hurry up; this Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Array is exhausting my messenger's strength. She is about to faint. By the way, if she faints, don't worry about her and please don't make things difficult for her."
After Zhao Wei secured the chains and stepped back, the Prophet approached the Giant Bug and examined its wounds, nodding in approval. Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted behind Cui Ming, accompanied by a flash of lightning that was particularly dazzling in the night sky. Even Cui Ming instinctively turned around to take a look before quickly turning back with a card in hand. No problem; it seemed that the Prophet's Messenger was also startled by that light.
Five kilometers away, after a while of observation, Cui Ming was about to speak when the messenger collapsed on the ground. All her Force dissipated; clearly, sustaining this spell had exhausted her too much. Cui Ming remained vigilant: "Zhao Wei, take her away. Don't quietly set up another magic circle and get rid of the bug."
Zhao Wei nodded and moved forward, lifting the bug with his left hand while glancing at the messenger before looking into the distance. "We need to go check it out."
The other two nodded. Although Eva was heavily injured, she could barely hold on. Upon reaching five kilometers away, they discovered a small magic circle. Six alchemical materials were placed at six points around it. They couldn't understand what kind of magic circle it was.
"Feigning east while striking west, we fell for it," Cui Ming said, not in a hurry, exhaling deeply. "I underestimated others, thinking I was the smartest person in the world, and got tricked."
Zhao Wei still didn't understand. "Where did we get tricked?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the bug you mentioned should be a messenger. That bug, heavily injured, can only obey the prophet's orders and head to a location it knows to trigger the Teleportation Array," Cui Ming explained. "I always thought the prophet was straightforward, but it turns out this guy is even more insidious than I am." Previously, during their dealings, the prophet had always appeared honest and not very scheming. Today, however, he showed his ruthless side. Such people are rare in reality but do exist; they belong to the category of great villains. Dawn City once had such a person—a small gang leader who was loyal and brave, deeply loved by his subordinates. Later, when Dawn City disbanded the gang, he laundered years of illegal earnings through deals with the police and established a corporate group. In the end, he used the evidence he held to send several leaders to the guillotine while relying on his beloved subordinates to become the Boss of the group company. Next came the cleansing of those subordinates, forcing them to leave his life. Five years later, he was the only one from that gang who truly cleaned his slate and became a revered entrepreneur and philanthropist. The downfall of those leaders had one reason: they did not trust each other but all believed in this man's morals, thus many important matters were entrusted to him.
Being a good person most of the time is fine; if you're going to be bad, it's best to do it just once in your life and make it count. This is Cui Ming's standard for great villains. Those who consistently do bad deeds can at most be considered mere rogues.
...
Sure enough, ten minutes later, the bug transformed into an envoy. Magic isn't just for causing harm; sometimes it has various clever uses. Although he had guessed the truth, Cui Ming felt it necessary to brush up on his knowledge of magic. The three did not confront the envoy; after exchanging a few words when he regained consciousness and noticing his weakness, they left some food and water behind before departing.
Once they were far away, Zhao Wei punched Cui Ming on the head. "Incredible! You're quite skilled now."
Cui Ming humbly replied, "It was pure luck." It wasn't just luck; there was also a certain level of assurance in pulling something out of nothing. "This bug isn't strong; it was merely caught off guard by Eva and has never fought against a Void Creature before. Eva got her Force disrupted by its surprise attack. How are you doing, Eva?"
Eva's face looked pale as she said, "I need a safe and quiet place to heal." The experience felt more real for her; Void Energy was like homemade yellow wine—one could estimate its alcohol content but not its aftereffects. Eva initially thought she could take her time healing but felt weak during her conversation with the envoy and needed to enter a deep slumber quickly to recover.
Zhao Wei suggested, "How about under the Dune?"
Cui Ming had brought tents and sleeping bags; wanting to make himself comfortable wasn't a sin—especially after spending so long in the desert. Sleeping under a roof felt blissful. They had four backpacks: two were supply packs provided by Forest, one contained Zhao Wei's tools, and another held their tent and food. Since Cui Ming came with Zhao Wei, he only brought some cured beef and solid alcohol.
Upon reaching beneath the Dune, Eva struggled to stand as her body's Force fluctuated between dispersing and gathering. Cui Ming set up the tent while Eva entered inside to heal herself. Zhao Wei checked the time; it was one-thirty in the early morning. He lay down on the sandy ground while watching Cui Ming set up a barbecue grill. The grill was a foldable wire mesh type that was compact but expanded into two layers when pulled out; solid alcohol was laid out and ignited on the bottom layer while meat cooked on top. As Cui Ming turned over the meat, he remarked, "In nearly three years of living like this, I've learned one thing: when you can avoid owing yourself anything, don't owe yourself anything because sometimes you must owe yourself."
"That's quite profound." Zhao Wei sat down, lit a cigarette, and said, "We only talked about it halfway in the car today."
"Oh, about the Thieves Guild?" Cui Ming replied. "This guy called the Doctor is very mysterious. It’s said that many crimes in the Three Continents are related to him. And from what I understand, while the Thieves Guild's main business is theft, there’s also a hint of reconnaissance about it."
Zhao Wei asked, "Am I particularly manly?"
"Uh... why do you ask that?" It was a question that could be answered incorrectly no matter how one approached it; deflecting was the best strategy.
"Under the moonlight, with just a man and a woman, I've been lying here for so long while you’re focused on grilling meat without even glancing at me?"
Cui Ming was taken aback by this: "Are you saying I should make a move?"
"Make a move on your sister! I'm just evaluating whether I have any feminine qualities in your eyes."
Cui Ming said, "I thought you had forgotten your own gender."
Zhao Wei lay back, gazing at the starry sky with a melancholic expression. "Every strong woman has a girl’s heart inside her."
Cui Ming focused on grilling the meat, thinking that while soft girls might be melancholic about themselves, strong women often felt sorrow for others.
"Cui, tell me, I’m not bad-looking, right? My figure is decent too?"
"Yeah." What’s up with that?
"I have height, looks, knowledge, and muscles. I have eight-pack abs; how many of you men can say that? With all this, why don't I have a boyfriend? Not a single person has pursued me my whole life."
Cui Ming thought for a moment, walked over, and pulled Zhao Wei to her feet. Blushing, she whispered, "Wei, I've liked you for a long time."
"Get lost."
Cui Ming shrugged and returned to grilling meat. The answer was right in front of her; it was up to Zhao Wei whether she wanted to accept it.
Zhao Wei sighed and lay back down. "I'm twenty-seven this year..."
Cui Ming was surprised. "Twenty-seven..."
"Shut up." After a moment of silence, Zhao Wei sighed again. "Evelyn receives an average of three bouquets of flowers every day. Every weekend, someone invites her out to dinner—there's a colleague from the police station, a rich young master, successful men, lawyers, and doctors. What’s wrong with me? I've been in Dawn City for at least three or four years now, and I haven't even received a single flower."
Cui Ming pondered for a long time before saying, "Unless they're from a prominent family, cultivators generally marry later. According to research by the professor, the average marriage age for male cultivators is thirty-five and thirty-three for females. You still have time."
"Did you not hear what I said? I don't want to get married; I want a boyfriend." Zhao Wei suddenly sat up and stared intently at Cui Ming. "Hey, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No. Why?"
"Be my boyfriend; let me experience it."
"Declined."
"Kill you," Zhao Wei declared with authority. "I'm giving you a chance, yet you're still rambling..."
At that moment, Eva stepped in, saying calmly, "Zhao Wei, you can wait in line behind me. Don't set your sights on my Cui Ming. I'm keeping myself pure for him to come and marry me." Eva looked much better now; her spirits were high as she sat down and began eating beef.
Zhao Wei scoffed, "What? Am I that bad?"
Eva replied, "Cui Ming, go act out a kissing scene with her."
"No."
"Go on, give it a try, and then you can tell her the answer."
Cui Ming glanced at the smirking Eva and walked over to Zhao Wei. Zhao Wei pouted, "Come here." She was all in.
How could this pig's mouth even get close? Fortunately, she did look quite good. He moved closer, then turned to leave. Cui Ming asked, "Did you eat an ashtray? Your mouth stinks!"
Zhao Wei retorted, "Many women smoke."
Eva chimed in, "The key is how much you smoke compared to others. You are indeed beautiful; your figure is better than mine. Men prefer your athletic and healthy physique. My beauty leans more towards a feminine allure, while yours is more natural. Evelyn belongs to the delicate type. Why haven't you pursued anyone? The first problem is that no one dares to approach you; they hesitate at the sight of you. When you open your mouth, it's always filled with curses—'damn it,' 'screw your sister.' Those words can be charming if used occasionally by women for flair, but when they come from you, it's just raw and off-putting. Secondly, you talk too much... Cui."
You called me Cui too? Cui Ming said, "Yeah, you only talk about what interests you. Throughout our journey, whenever I bring up something, you either show disinterest or tell me to shut up. Whether male or female, in any relationship there must be a certain time spent as a listener. Having your words heard by the other person can increase feelings of happiness and existence. Also, there's that fiery look in your eyes; you need to look people in the eye instead of casting suspicious or angry glares. However..." (To be continued.)
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