Chapter 00163: Ashes and Ether, Everyone’s a Piece of Cake!
# Ashes and Ether, Everyone’s a Piece of Cake!
Chapter 163
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 163: Ashes and Ether, Everyone’s a Piece of Cake!
The hospital, third floor.
In the eternal twilight, it was impossible to tell whether it was morning or evening.
A scruffy-bearded man squatted in the hallway, stomping out a cigarette butt in irritation.
"Damn it, how long has it been? Why hasn’t he come out yet?"
"What’s the rush?"
A gaunt man shot him a glance.
"Look at Ximin, so calm. You should learn from her."
Beside the two of them, a sallow-faced woman knelt on the ground, praying fervently, muttering scriptures and texts without a hint of emotion.
Who the hell could be as calm as a lunatic?
The bearded man, An Jiexiu, twitched but didn’t dare to speak.
"Anyway, don’t rush," Kong Yebai advised.
"The High Priest’s orders must be handled properly. If we do this sacred task well, we’ll receive purification and blessings in the future."
"You’re right."
An Jiexiu forced a smile.
"It’s just that I’ve seen that old guy dragging corpses pass by several times. What if..."
"Relax, as long as we don’t act in front of them, even if we beat each other’s brains out, those ghostly things won’t care," Kong Yebai reassured with a smile.
"The High Priest has high hopes for you. You’d better perform well this time."
"Of course, of course!"
An Jiexiu nodded with a smile, but inside, he was cursing like mad.
Damn it, what bad luck! If it weren’t for the money, who the hell would want to hang out with you cult freaks? Screw your sacred rituals and blessings.
Can’t I find food anywhere else?
Once this crap is over, I’m heading to the Central Plains.
What can you bastards do to me then?
Just as he was lost in his thoughts, the kneeling woman suddenly opened her eyes.
"He’s out," Wang Ximin said.
At that moment, the sealed door at the end of the hallway slowly creaked open.
"Ah, no need to see me off, we’re practically family," Ji Jue waved his hand with a smile, politely declining the farewell.
"This is far enough. I’ll be fine from here."
Then, under his sleeve, he subtly slipped a bulging blood bag to the old ghost who was already half-spiritual.
Instantly, the old ghost’s eyes lit up with joy, his cloudy eyes clearing as if he were looking at his own grandson.
"Come visit when you have time."
"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely come back often!" Ji Jue pushed his cart forward, waving goodbye.
"I’ve got work to do now."
"Work, always work."
The old ghost, clutching the warm blood bag, watched Ji Jue walk away, sighing with a hint of sadness.
"It’s good to be busy, good to be busy…"
The door closed behind him.
Ji Jue looked at the mountain of bottles and jars piled on his cart and couldn’t help but grin.
What a great place, truly a great place.
Especially after slipping them a gift, it got even better!
It was like shopping at a supermarket, grabbing all sorts of random stuff and throwing it on the cart as if it were free.
If I’d known about this place earlier, I would’ve just applied to work in the warehouse.
Why bother with the obstetrics department?
I’m definitely coming back!
"He’s out."
Kong Yebai’s eyes lit up, and he pressed An Jiexiu’s shoulder.
"Remember the plan. You take the lead, Ximin and I will back you up. Let’s finish this quickly, got it?"
"Don’t worry."
An Jiexiu grinned, his bushy beard spreading.
"I’ve done this plenty of times."
As he bent down, his body hunched and shrank, becoming thin and frail, his steps light and unthreatening.
Then, he pierced the blood bag, and a trickle of crimson flowed from his chest.
By the time he turned the corner, he was staggering, looking as if he were on the brink of death.
"Help… help…"
Large tears rolled down his face as he leaned against the wall, waving weakly at Ji Jue.
Behind him, hidden around the corner, the woman who had been kneeling in prayer closed her eyes, clasped her hands, and began muttering incessantly.
In her near-mad devotion, her spiritual essence grew restless, flowing like water, silent and unseen, toward the distance.
Then, from above, dozens of hiltless blades silently emerged, swimming through the air like a school of hungry fish, rapidly closing in.
"Help! Big brother, help me…"
An Jiexiu’s voice grew louder, his face twitching as he tried to draw Ji Jue’s attention.
"This hospital… I know they’re secretly experimenting on the Chosen. Save me, I’ll tell you—"
Before he could finish, he froze.
The young man pushing the cart didn’t falter, didn’t back away, didn’t even react.
It was as if he couldn’t be bothered to spare a glance.
He just kept pushing the cart forward.
Until he was five steps away.
Then, casually, he pulled out a freshly welded, still-hot homemade pistol from the cart and aimed it at An Jiexiu’s forehead.
"Good acting. Don’t do it again."
The trigger was pulled, and a deafening bang echoed.
A ridiculously large mercury bullet shot out from the threaded steel pipe barrel, flying straight toward An Jiexiu’s stunned eyes.
An Jiexiu barely had time to raise his arms in front of his face.
In that instant, his disguise vanished.
His body swelled, and his arms, face, and torso took on a reddish metallic sheen.
Like red-hot iron, heat radiated from him.
But even his left arm, the one taking the brunt of the bullet, visibly bent under the impact, a deep crack forming where the bullet struck.
Mercury seeped into the wound, burning like fire.
What the hell kind of gun is this?!
This is more like a cannon!
"You son of a bitch—"
Thick metal armor rapidly grew from under his white coat, encasing his entire body.
In moments, he had transformed into a man of iron.
But faster than him was the collapsing ceiling.
The moment the gunshot rang out, dozens of telekinetically controlled hiltless blades rained down like a storm… but the little bastard seemed to have anticipated it.
The instant he fired, he leaped back.
Then, he yanked off his white coat, covering his head and face.
As if a coat could stop armor-piercing blades…
But in the next moment, to An Jiexiu’s utter shock, a thick liquid seeped out from under the coat, hardening it instantly with alchemical fluid and the unique properties of Ashes.
The once-ordinary white coat became harder than steel!
Even blades that could pierce metal only managed to scratch the surface before losing all momentum and falling to the ground.
Before that, they had already lost their power source…
At that moment, a piercing scream came from Wang Ximin, hidden in the corner.
In an instant, a gust of foul wind swept past.
By the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late!
When the woman, kneeling in fervent prayer, opened her eyes, she saw the ‘mad dog’ that had broken free of its chains—the two-headed ghost fetus that had crawled all the way around the building, smashed through the window, and was now lunging at her!
Its grotesque face split open into a gaping maw, spewing a torrent of frost that quickly froze her limbs.
Then, the ravenous ghost fetus latched onto her face, devouring her.
"Ahhhhhhhh…"
In her uncontrollable screams, she struggled desperately, her scattered telekinetic powers trying to pull the monster off her face.
But in her agony, she couldn’t focus.
Her eyes and tongue were gouged out by the creature’s sharp claws, swallowed in an instant, blood gushing.
"Kong… Old Kong… help… help me! Help me!!!"
Thud!
A dull thud, and a hole appeared in her face.
She fell backward, lifeless.
And the teammate she had been calling for in her final moments only now turned around, his reaction delayed by dozens of times, reaching out a hand.
Only now did he feel the coolness spreading across his neck, the sharp pain.
And the drowsiness creeping into his consciousness, the uncontrollable dizziness, the inexplicable excitement, his organs spasming, his heart convulsing.
No… poisoned…
He fell backward, his limbs twitching uncontrollably.
His face turned ashen, purple veins crawling up from his neck to his face.
Foam spilled from his mouth.
In the last moments before he lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was a pair of boots gradually materializing out of thin air.
Tong Hua.
She was breathing heavily, almost unable to stand.
This was the most intense moment of her life…
"One against two?!"
She stared at her handiwork in shock, unable to stop herself from exclaiming, "I’m so damn awesome!"
In her left hand, she held the pistol Ji Jue had hastily assembled for her in the warehouse.
In her right, she clutched a needleless syringe, the attached vial now empty.
Propofol, ketamine, fentanyl, morphine, pethidine, tramadol…
Expired anesthetics Ji Jue had scavenged from the warehouse, purified to an insane degree with Non-Aggression, all mixed together and injected straight into Kong Yebai’s carotid artery.
He didn’t have a medical license, nor had he studied much medicine.
Who knew what kind of effect this cocktail would have? But it worked, and that was all that mattered!
Against an Entropy-type Chosen, it was more than enough.
Poor Kong Yebai, the most terrifying damage dealer among the three, a once-feared assassin before joining the cult, hadn’t even had a chance to activate his matrix before falling victim to this.
If you want to blame someone, blame the Ether Chosen’s tracking abilities, the Tong family’s inherited matrix and skills—they were just too broken!
Her observation skills, far superior to other Ether Chosen of her level, allowed her to easily detect the traces left by the pursuers.
And the matrix·Yesterday Once More was especially adept at reading the records and past events embedded in objects.
Paired with the power of the Mark of History, she had practically dug up everything about the three of them from their footprints…
One was a Wastelander, his matrix was Red Copper, specializing in transformation and brute force.
Another was a Celestial, his matrix was Ten Thousand Shields, a telekinesis expert.
The last was an Entropy, his matrix was Gale, skilled in air pressure manipulation…
One Transcendent, two Awakened.
It was like they had handed Ji Jue their stats and birthdays on a silver platter, asking him how he planned to fight this battle!
How to fight?
Ji Jue almost didn’t know how he could lose such an easy fight!
This is what Ether is like?!
Aside from not being great in direct combat, it’s ridiculously convenient for everything else.
It’s like the ultimate tool for home, travel, and murder!
With Ether’s foresight and tracking, combined with Ashes’ precision and targeting weaknesses, if we couldn’t take down these three, that would’ve been the real mystery.
As for the last one, the Wastelander who had ditched his teammates and bolted at the first sign of trouble…
Ji Jue didn’t even bother chasing.
He just stood there, leaning on his cart.
And started counting down on his fingers.
"—5, 4, 3, 2… 1!"
Before he even finished, the sound of a body hitting the ground echoed.
Screams and wails filled the air, deafening!
(End of Chapter)