Chapter 00069: What Are You Staring Blankly For
# What Are You Staring Blankly For?
Chapter 69
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 69: What Are You Staring Blankly For?
In an instant, a mighty bell tolled, reverberating throughout the entire city.
After greedily devouring all the scattered spiritual essence within this shattered realm, visible ripples of qi spread from the bell tower in all directions.
The ground trembled and the heavens shook!
Ji Jue stood there, stunned, as he struggled to hold onto the little cow horse, fighting to maintain his balance.
Around him, the shattered ruins seemed to be swiftly returning to their former state, as if time itself was flowing backward.
Dust danced in the air as fallen stones flew back to their original places.
The split roofs rejoined, and the intricate designs looked even grander than before.
Everything was changing at a dizzying pace.
Generally speaking, an exceptional workshop, apart from its control in various aspects, possesses a set of intricate and comprehensive foundational commands that come together to form an instruction set.
Over the years, through corrections and additions made by generations of craftsmen, the commands become increasingly complex and adaptable, eventually able to handle very intricate circumstances and chaos.
Sometimes, it can feel as though it were a living thing, and even enhance itself to the point of gaining a soul.
Among the legendary workshops that exist, each boasts unparalleled achievements in their respective fields.
Some workshops are even creations formed from multiple celestial crafts!
Now, within this workshop that encompasses the entire shattered realm and has weathered four centuries of storms and trials, the established commands had been activated.
Given the high level of destruction, it would self-repair! The workshop extracted the dispersed spiritual essence, converting all it could into reserve energy, and resetting the internal environment to its preset values and appearance.
— Reforge!
However, on such a grand scale, it seemed... quite exaggerated!
Through the strange glass before him, Ji Jue could see that the time of the entire city seemed to flow backward.
Countless invisible hands manipulated everything, controlling it all and reconstructing the world.
Collapsed skyscrapers rose anew, scattered remnants rejoined, withered and dead plants regained their vitality, and even the dark clouds above vanished completely.
The disordered stars returned to their places, merging into the night sky while brilliant sunlight bathed the land.
At the end of the sky, the once-broken solemn tower appeared to be restored as well, radiating light.
The streets once again buzzed with people, bustling and vibrant.
It was as if a divine finger had pointed, restoring everything to its previous state.
However, it seemed there were some discrepancies compared to the original design.
Over the past four hundred years, there had been countless reconstructions and repairs, with errors stacking upon errors, causing deviations that led to an eerily normal yet bizarre scene before him.
Buildings that should have been straight twisted unnaturally, where the lower parts looked like they still belonged to a structure but the upper sections transformed into mountains with a waterfall flowing down from it.
A graceful maiden strolled down the street, stunningly beautiful, yet her face bore four eyes, while an unexpected third leg flailed awkwardly behind her, and in her hand, she held something that squirmed as though it were a dog.
Though the streets appeared orderly, on closer inspection, there were too many incomprehensible settings and arrangements.
It reminded one of how AI-generated images have gained popularity in recent years— a seemingly peaceful world at first glance, yet lurking with many unnerving details.
“Who are you?!”
From beneath the once-collapsed bricks, broken limbs reassembled and stood up as a well-dressed man, scrutinizing someone who shouldn’t be here in such a grand mansion: “Get out, or I’ll call the police—”
On his face, two mouths jumbled together spouted incoherent utterances, suddenly freezing in place as if they were stuck.
Confusing phrases spilled out, and finally, he fell into a daze, utterly unresponsive.
“What’s going on, Gui Ge?” Ji Jue raised the ghostly ball.
“Hey, it’s just a malfunction. After hundreds of years without oversight, you don’t expect there to be no bugs, do you?” the ghostly ball mocked.
“The times have changed. In modern alchemy, workshop repairs must draw on corrective values and references from blueprints…”
“Who knows where the problem lies?”
It continued, “Hurry up, kid! The opportunity is here!”
Even a blind person could feel the sudden change.
At this moment, the unusual happenings at the bell tower had drawn the attention of countless outsiders.
Anyone with legs was rushing in this direction, even swifter than Ji Jue and his companions.
A few figures sprang up and quickly arrived around the bell tower.
Seeing that no one had yet arrived, one person leaped forward, charging directly at the bell tower… only to crash headlong into an invisible wall, rapidly engulfed by the flames erupting from it, turning to charcoal.
The painful screams and cries mingled with falling dust, chilling the bones of countless onlookers.
“Did you see that? That's the price of being reckless,” the ghostly ball scoffed. “Even when putting jewelry at home, one knows to buy a safe. Do you truly think the workshop's security measures don’t exist? You should learn your lesson. Don’t touch what you shouldn’t, got it?”
The first person daring to try and risk it met an immediate end before everyone’s eyes, causing a momentary shock, yet it didn't deter the resourceful chosen ones.
Ji Jue and An Ran leaned by the window, munching on snacks while watching the scene at the bell tower.
Some people directly dragged a few stiff passersby from the street and tossed them toward the barrier.
A flash of fire appeared and quickly dispersed.
After realizing that all objects trying to approach from above triggered the protection, those with quick minds gathered their courage and decided to approach from the ground.
Step by step, cautiously.
All onlookers held their breath instinctively.
Until that moment when he touched the door, everyone couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.
However, that individual was instantly severed in two.
Behind the immense door of the bell tower, a thin blade, as delicate as paper, silently fell, slicing through the smile right in half.
Blood burst forth.
“Wow, that’s quite brutal!” Ji Jue gasped. “This mustard-flavored shrimp stick tastes great; An, you should try some?”
“The cucumber-flavored chips are awful,” An Ran cautiously asked, “Can I throw them away?”
“How could such a thing exist?” Ji Jue's face turned pale as he suddenly remembered how Ye Chun had sneakily stuffed snacks into his bag before leaving, and he became instantly furious.
This lazy dog had the nerve to poison his junior?
Once outside the shattered realm, he would hand in the paper he had just finished rewriting.
This time, there wouldn’t even be a second author spot for him! He would wait to see him weep over his assignment, which only had the first three hundred words completed...
Boom!!!
When bullets and explosives shattered the bell tower's door, a massive silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness, locking the door behind him.
The figure shrouded in a dark robe stretched out four arms, drawing various knives and swords, their blades rusty and jagged.
It looked as though it had long gone without maintenance, with its ugly, ghastly mask peeling and fading away.
Dim gears and machinery were faintly visible within.
Yet its actions were unbelievably swift, rushing like a shadow across the square, and in an instant, all invaders lay dead, not a single one left capable of resistance.
“Boss, this one's a tough nut to crack,” the returning knight Soran gasped.
“Are you sure we should attack directly?”
“It’s the only option we have now,” Lou Feng replied through gritted teeth. “I know this is a tall order, but we have no other choice.”
“The contracts already include related clauses; I have no objections,” Soran said, pausing for a moment before adding, “However, given the difficult nature of our opponent, I hope you can increase the rewards for this mission.”
“I’ll pay double,” Lou Feng answered resolutely.
Then, the two shook hands, sealing the agreement.
Outside the square, the gathered returning knights exchanged glances before quickly shedding their burdens and supplies, swiftly donning thick armor.
Ghostly gods from Middle Kingdom mythos were engraved upon the heavy armor, gradually enveloping every inch of skin.
Fingers of crimson energy seeped through the gaps in the armor, swirling and gathering, producing an increasingly dense fog of red mist.
Struggle, brawl, duel, slaughter, war.
This was the domain of the masses.
Following the crowd meant transforming oneself into a force of destruction.
The knights loyal to the Red King received the blessing of this crowd, and the war spread like a plague, impossible to contain.
In the infinite struggles, blood and life converged, marking the honor of victorious ones.
Dozens of returning knights were enough to summon the bounty of the **Swarm**.
The horn sounded.
Six-legged great steeds appeared from the void and obediently approached the knights, allowing them to mount.
What appeared in the knights' hands were exaggerated spears over nine meters long.
The flag of the Blood Kingdom flew high, where once the chosen ones had conquered the White Kingdom and its king, they now demonstrated the might of the swarm.
“Let this victory be a tribute to the Red King!!!”
Soran’s roar boomed like thunder, as the knight on the great steed charged forward, followed by a mere handful but seemingly an endless tide of iron steeds.
Bravely, they challenged the guards left behind by the sages.
In the thunderous sound of iron hooves crashing together, pure power collided, shadows trembled, and blood surged.
The bloody warfare started as the returning knights aggressively launched their assault!
“Isn’t this a bit overkill?”
Behind the window, Ji Jue’s jaw dropped as he scolded the state of the world and the hearts of men, yelling at his companions not to be so unfair!
Especially when he saw the guards stepping out of the bell tower getting pressed down…
Oh no, could this kid Lou Feng really take them down?
Should he… act decisively… and drop the cold gun?
But the returning knights were experienced, and even facing strong enemies, several knights remained vigilant around them, alert for hidden attacks, keeping Lou Feng thoroughly protected.
It seemed like they were more devoted to their leader than to their own safety, desperately trying to juggle it all.
Steady and firm, they dared not act recklessly.
So professional, too professional...
For a moment, even Ji Jue felt a bit uneasy with his shallow experience and couldn’t help but sigh, “At this point, it seems we can only wait for them to wear each other down.”
“What?”
The ghost ball asked, confused, “Why not just go in directly?”
“Huh?” Ji Jue was bewildered.
“Just go in!” the ghost ball insisted. “Why be foolish enough to clash head-on with the protection? Just enter through the back door, there’s no detecting you with me around. Isn’t it silly to wait for Mercury to regain its form and invite you in for tea without an invitation?”
As it spoke, a faint glow enveloped Ji Jue, An Ran, and the little cow horse, projecting a guiding map that included the hidden entrance behind the tower and an intricate identification circuit that would fool the system— a false key disguised as normal access.
The key is right here, and the entrance is marked.
It just needed Ji Jue’s leg to be pushed to send him right in.
“So why the heck are you still standing here?” the ghost ball urged. “Let’s go!”
(End of Chapter)