Chapter 392: A Cold World, Cold-Blooded People
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 392: A Cold World, Cold-Blooded People
"I’m... okay..." Qiu Ruxin said instinctively, her tone suggesting she didn't want to be a burden.
"Are you sure?"
To me, she looked anything but okay. When I stepped out earlier, I caught a glimpse of some thug-like characters, which meant something must have happened.
Moreover, as she spoke, I noticed something else: I still couldn't understand her spoken words, yet her intended meaning was being transmitted perfectly through the consciousness communication spell.
Technically, Qiu Ruxin didn't even need to open her mouth to talk to me.
I didn't bring that up just yet, though.
"Yeah... we need to... leave here quickly..." Qiu Ruxin struggled to stand. She hadn't forgotten her situation; even if those thugs had been scared off for now, what if they ran into others?
Or what if those cowards gathered more men and came back to check?
This was no place to linger.
"You look pretty badly hurt."
I helped her up. Her clothes were simple, though now covered in a fair amount of dust—likely from the scuffle earlier.
Since she could stand, her injuries probably weren't severe enough to involve broken bones.
Still, I cast a Flesh Healing spell on her. Although the spell was designed for open wounds, it was also highly effective for muscle damage and bruising, and it provided decent pain relief. As for the hundred-point mana cost... I wasn't exactly hurting for mana these days. Now that I had self-generated mana, I didn't have to rely on the slow recovery of a Mana Source.
Furthermore... the moment I had used Light Illumination earlier, it became crystal clear that this was not the Main World. The Great Weakening Spell didn't reach this place. Without its suppression, my simple Light Illumination had nearly functioned like a flashbang.
As for the bad luck curse that usually plagued me in other worlds... it was being held at bay by my collar.
"Ah! You... what is this?" Qiu Ruxin gasped as I began "fiddling" with her without a word. She felt a surge of power flow into her body, soothing the pain from the blow to her back and her other injuries.
"Ma... Magic!"
Witnessing such a feat, Qiu Ruxin nearly screamed.
Of course, her concept of "magic" didn't come from actual mages existing in this world, but rather from fantasy stories born out of a longing for the supernatural.
She never expected to witness it with her own eyes! Though, in her mind, the way I had appeared in the first place already fell under the category of magic.
"Magic? You could call it that," I said with a smile, keeping my tone as gentle as possible to avoid frightening the girl.
"Are you... an Explorer?" Qiu Ruxin asked cautiously after realizing her body felt completely fine.
"An Explorer? What’s that?" I asked, eyeing her with curiosity. "I’ve only just arrived and don't understand much yet. Could you explain it to me?"
"You don't know?" Hearing my question and seeing my genuine expression, Qiu Ruxin instinctively breathed a sigh of relief. "They are... the invaders of our world. I can't believe you don't know. May I ask who you are? Are you an invader too?"
"Well, I truly don't know anything about these Explorers. As for who I am... how should I put this? I suppose I'm here in response to your wish," I explained. Luck was a difficult concept to clarify, so I opted for a different phrasing. Since the guidance of luck had brought me here, it stood to reason that it represented her desire.
"In response to... my wish?! Really?" Qiu Ruxin spoke excitedly. While she didn't believe in free lunches, she couldn't help but indulge in the fantasy for a moment.
However, she didn't let her excitement cloud her judgment. After checking the surroundings and seeing no movement, she began leading me away.
"Perhaps. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. My arrival here was originally an accident, and helping you was just a momentary whim. However... tracing it back to the source, my arrival is indeed connected to you. So, until I figure everything out, I’ll help you as much as I can." I followed her out of that den of trouble, conversing through our consciousness as we walked.
"I see... regardless, thank you. If it weren't for you, those guys would have..." She didn't sound discouraged. She hadn't had any expectations to begin with, so simply surviving the immediate crisis made her happy enough.
"It’s fine. It’s in the past now; no need to dwell on sad things and waste your energy. By the way... I don't know your name yet. I’m Yang Yuehan," I said, comforting her.
Asking for her name was a natural step toward understanding her. As a newcomer, I needed a friendly or at least neutral character to help me gather information about this world. This girl was the perfect candidate.
"Yang Yuehan? My name is Qiu Ruxin."
"Qiu Ruxin? That’s a lovely name," I remarked casually, though I made sure to memorize the pronunciation she used when she instinctively repeated my name.
Right now, I could only communicate with her through consciousness. If I wanted to live comfortably in this world, I would likely need to learn the local language.
The thought of learning a new language gave me a bit of trauma, though. Back in my previous life, I had been terrible at foreign languages.
However, with my improved learning capacity and the Memory Bookshelf spellbook, I felt somewhat confident I could master their tongue in a short time. Still, I would need someone to teach me the basics; self-studying from scratch would be far too difficult.
"Is it? Thank you for the compliment..." It was the first time Qiu Ruxin had heard someone praise her name like that.
"It’s nothing. But at this hour... it’s night, right?" I glanced at the sky. I wasn't sure if a day here lasted as long as in the Main World or if there was a time difference, but it was clearly nighttime. "Why are you out here? Wouldn't it be better to be at home sleeping?"
"Home... I don't have a home anymore." Her mood plummeted instantly.
"Do you mind telling me the details? We can't just wander around aimlessly. It seems there are quite a few thugs like those guys out here."
"My home... was destroyed by those people who call themselves Explorers. Not just my home, but the entire block..." As Qiu Ruxin spoke, the painful memories resurfaced, and tears began to well in her eyes.
"Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you. From the look of things, you really have nowhere to stay, do you?" I quickly cut her off.
"No..."
"Then what were you planning to do?"
"I wanted to... just find somewhere to stay for the night, but then I ran into those gu—ow!" As she was speaking piteously to me, she tripped and fell flat on her face.
"Huh? You’re quite skilled at tripping on flat ground." I glanced at the path beneath her feet. There was a tiny height difference caused by a crack in the ground; it looked like the roads here had been neglected for years.
Despite my comment, I helped her up and cast a Cleaning Spell to strip the dirt from her clothes.
"Th... thank you..."
"It’s fine. Watch your step when walking at night."
"It’s okay, I’m used to it."
"Used to it?" I caught the keyword. Was this girl a total klutz? How do you get "used" to tripping on flat ground?
"Sorry, I meant that these little scrapes don't bother me," Qiu Ruxin corrected herself quickly, realizing her phrasing was odd.
"Oh, alright then. By the way, do you know if there’s anywhere nearby to stay the night?" Judging by the way she was walking, she looked like she was headed toward some abandoned building to scrape by.
I didn't necessarily mind, but... if there was a choice, why not choose something better?
"There should be guesthouses or hotels nearby, but... I don't have any money..."
"No money..." Such a realistic problem. "Then do you know any way to get money quickly?"
I needed to settle down, learn about this world from Qiu Ruxin, and then find a way back. I wondered how the Academy Dean viewed this situation; surely she wouldn't just abandon me?
"To get money quickly... I guess the only way is to steal it..." Qiu Ruxin sighed.
"You’re a genius!" I exclaimed at her dejected sigh. She was right; robbery was indeed the fastest way to get cash.
"Wait! No! I was just talking! You can't actually go and rob people... you’ll... you’ll get in trouble with the Detective Team!" Qiu Ruxin grabbed my sleeve, trying to dissuade me.
"Just 'trouble'?"
"Well..."
"Those thugs were pretty arrogant earlier. Why doesn't the Detective Team go after them?" I asked curiously. The best way to judge how chaotic a society was is to see how rampant the low-level thugs are. "Besides, we can just rob them."
"But... we rob them? Can we even win?" Qiu Ruxin asked worriedly.
"We can. Easily." Since Qiu Ruxin's instinct was to ask if we could win rather than to protest further, I decided the plan was viable.
Regardless... this wasn't my world. I had my Disguise Spell and my strength; who would dare stop me?
I resolved to take out those thugs, solve our housing problem for the night, and then scout the world's situation. I needed to see if there were any people or weapons I couldn't afford to provoke—things like nuclear weapons or firearms.
It wasn't that those weapons could definitely kill me, but they could be a threat. I had plenty of spells to deal with them, but I couldn't stay on guard twenty-four hours a day.
To put her mind at ease, I conjured a Fireball Spell in my hand.
"This! Is this fireball magic?" Her eyes widened in shock.
"Something like that. This is just one of my basic tricks, so I’m very strong. Don't worry. You just need to explain the general state of your world to me. Let’s talk as we walk, shall we?"
"Um... okay." Qiu Ruxin finally nodded in agreement.
Along the way, Qiu Ruxin gave me a rough overview of many things. It wasn't just random chatter; she covered several important common-sense topics.
For instance, the history of this world—though I didn't care much for that and only half-listened. Then there were the national divisions. The country we were in was called Lanas Island, a peninsula nation that wasn't particularly large. There were hundreds of countries in total; Qiu Ruxin didn't know the exact number, but she gave an estimate based on common knowledge. These countries had never been unified, and many had their own languages, though there were a few dominant ones. Qiu Ruxin spoke one of the main ones: the World Common Language.
Hearing how many countries and languages there were gave me a headache. I almost abandoned the idea of learning the language entirely.
Then there was the world's development, which seemed to be on the "tech-side."
The most powerful weapons didn't seem to include the missiles or nukes I was familiar with; the people of this world didn't even have a concept of them.
I didn't quite believe that, so I asked about their energy sources to see if they were just "boiling water" for power.
The answer surprised me even more. It wasn't coal, nuclear power, or even electricity. It was... a power originating from deep underground. From her description, it sounded like Ley Line Energy, but something was off. This energy was transmitted through plants. The technology of this world was essentially a branch of biological engineering: Plant Technology.
Imagine a world where cultivated plant roots spread everywhere, but these roots functioned like power lines.
Their purpose was to transmit "Ley Energy" to every household. I still couldn't be sure if this "Ley Energy" was actually Ley Line Energy, though.
As for weapons, while they didn't have gunpowder-based firearms as I knew them, the concept of a "gun" still existed. They were just powered by a different method, the principles of which she didn't understand.
Concepts are just concepts; a language has a thousand ways to describe them. Consciousness communication was far more efficient than speech; spoken and written words carried so little information that they were barely enough for basic exchange or recording knowledge. When it came to higher levels of existence, things often became "ineffable" or "indescribable."
For now, I had gathered enough information. Explaining these basics took a lot of time, and more importantly... we had arrived at the thugs' "nest."
On the way over, I also learned why she had been cornered by them. The answer was somewhat unexpected and further highlighted the chaos of this world.
But that was none of our business for now. Our first priority was getting money, or we wouldn't even be able to afford a hotel.
Qiu Ruxin led me to an abandoned factory. She said the thugs often hung out here. I was a bit surprised; if they didn't even have a decent house to live in, could I really expect them to have money?
But I was already here. Even if they were poor, they couldn't be poorer than me, who didn't have a single cent of local currency.
After disguising myself, I walked straight in. Sure enough, the thugs who had been scared off by me earlier were there. They had fled back to their base and were currently recounting their encounter to their comrades, still visibly shaken.
Unfortunately for them, the subject of their conversation had just walked through the door.
I didn't waste words. None of these guys were good people. Even if that was just based on the one-sided stories I'd heard from Qiu Ruxin on the way, who in this world could truly claim to be innocent?
Using simple Binding and Silence spells, I rounded them all up in one go.
I did a quick search of their persons. They didn't have much. I'd learned from Qiu Ruxin earlier that this world didn't have electronic payments, so this cash was likely their entire net worth.
At that moment, Qiu Ruxin walked in.
"Hmm? Didn't I tell you to wait outside for a bit?" I asked.
"Sorry... I was worried... Um, is it over?" Qiu Ruxin peeked her head in, looking a bit guilty. I had told her to stay hidden since she didn't have a Disguise Spell and could be easily recognized.
"It’s over. Whatever, you’re already here." I waved her over.
Seeing my response, Qiu Ruxin cautiously approached.
She looked at the men struggling on the ground, recognizing several "familiar faces" from earlier, and a cold glint appeared in her eyes.
At the same time, she couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying methods of the girl named Yang Yuehan. Was this magic?
The thought made her swallow hard—it was a primal longing for power.
"These guys really don't have much on them, just as I thought. Some paper bills and these coins... wait, these aren't metal. What are they?" I picked up a coin that felt more like wood.
"Those are Hard Wood Coins," Qiu Ruxin explained immediately.
"Hard Wood Coins? What a strange thing." I toyed with the coin. It had a nice texture, distinct from common metal coins. It felt smooth in the hand, almost like a piece of polished antique wood. It had clearly been in circulation for a long time, possessing a certain patina.
"By the way, if a few thugs go missing from the world, would that 'Detective Team' care?" I asked curiously.
"They wouldn't," Qiu Ruxin replied. She paused, her gaze instinctively drifting elsewhere as she whispered.
"Then, if it were you, how would you handle these guys?" I toyed with the Hard Wood Coin and looked at her with a smile. I wanted to see what choice she would make; it would determine whether I needed to exercise restraint in this world.
As the saying goes, one speaks to humans in the language of humans and to ghosts in the language of ghosts. Different worlds and different situations required different attitudes. My mindset was different when dealing with the Main World Witch Academy, the Dreamscape matches, or Ninglan New City.
"..." Qiu Ruxin fell silent. She looked at the men, ignoring their terrified expressions and their pathetic, silent pleas for mercy. Finally, she steeled herself and spoke.
"Kill them."