Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Gifted and the Whales

The medicines developed within Sky Pillar have many uses. They can strengthen the body, even allow a person to unleash some hidden power for a brief moment and awaken their physical potential. But they are all toxic. The first use plants a poisonous root within the body; the more often they are used, the faster one dies. From the first dose onward, an antidote must be taken at regular intervals, or else one will be poisoned to death.

After Chu Wei finished speaking, she stared at Cao Fusheng, her expression seeming deeply aggrieved.

“So that means you came back to Z- Z City this time because your antidote deadline is almost up? Without the antidote, you’d still die out there, and Sky Pillar is using this method to control the action troops and certain other people by proxy.” Cao Fusheng finally understood why Chu Wei and Zhao Cong had been so anxious to return to Z- Z City.

So they were already living on borrowed time.

“That’s one way to understand it.” Chu Wei nodded faintly, a trace of desolation slipping across her face.

Cao Fusheng’s brows drew together slightly. “Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but your secret does not really qualify as a secret. In Sky Pillar, it should be common knowledge.”

“Mr. Cao, let me ask you this: before I told you, did you know?”

“No, I did not.”

“Then how can you say it is not a secret? If I tell you something you did not know, then that is the same as telling you a secret.” Chu Wei’s face flushed crimson, though she still forced herself to remain composed.

Cao Fusheng had no intention of tangling with her over this. His purpose had always been to understand why she had turned back despite knowing she was heading toward death by returning to Z- Z City. As for whatever benefits or secrets were involved, he did not care.

Because his own destination was Sky Pillar as well.

Still, he did owe this Miss Xiao Wei some thanks. After all, she had given him quite a lesson in knowledge: the world outside Sky Pillar, and the world within it.

The same era, different civilizations.

“All right. You can come with us, but on the way, everything on your persons will have to be confiscated, to prevent any trouble en route. As for what happens after we arrive, we can discuss that then.” Cao Fusheng patted Chu Wei’s fragrant shoulder and turned away to fiddle with that unusually shaped gun.

“Oh, and one more thing, Miss Chu. I’ll tell you a secret too: I’m also planning to go to Sky Pillar. My reason is very simple. None of us has accomplished anything great in our lives, so this time we’ve decided, against our usual habits, to play the savior for once. I hope you’ll introduce us when the time comes.” Cao Fusheng curved his lips in a smile, pretending not to see Chu Wei’s annoyed expression.

Chu Wei took a deep breath, steadying herself after being teased by Cao Fusheng. With a complicated look, she said, “The four of you, plus one altered beast?”

“What? Not enough to look at? Aren’t you only two people as well? And you’ve been running all over the outside world for months—where are your reinforcements? Not a single one found, and you’re going to turn away those who come to you on their own?” Shen Dong stepped forward and said disdainfully.

Chu Wei hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no, that’s not what I mean… If you’re willing to help, of course I welcome it with both hands, and I’d be grateful too… but… sigh.”

“What are you sighing for? Just say what you mean.”

“The most important problem is energy. The energy inside Sky Pillar is probably nearly exhausted. Even if a few of us had even the faintest chance of getting in… what then? Without energy, once inside we’d just be waiting to die. If we can’t replenish the energy supply, then after the poison is cleared I may only live a little longer. In the end, I still won’t escape death.” As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, until at last she simply sat silently on the sofa and said no more.

Cao Fusheng kept examining the gun in his hands. He could not even find where the magazine was, and there was no bolt to chamber a round. It was completely unlike the standard firearms he had used before, the kind that fired bullets.

He quietly called High Wing over and asked in a low voice, “Have you ever seen this kind of gun in Snow Phoenix before? In the past year or so, has your equipment been upgraded or replaced?”

High Wing took the gun, studied it for a few moments, then shook his head slightly and replied in a whisper, “Never seen this kind. It should be something those scientists in Sky Pillar, with all their information sharing, came up with in the past year or two. It hasn’t spread outside either. That thing she mentioned, some kind of gravity body—I’ve never even heard of it.”

Cao Fusheng took back the rifle, which glimmered with a faint green light all over, and called out in his mind, “Help me scan the weapon in my hand.”

“Reminder to host: scanning in progress... information as follows...”

Weapon Name: Ultimate Energetic Weapon

Weapon Type: Firearm (New Energy)

Weapon Rank: A

Weapon Status: Disabled (energy depleted)

Description: With global information shared and a fierce will to survive, technology is advancing at a speed beyond human imagination. The Ultimate Energetic Weapon is one of those born from this process. It does not use bullets from the old era to fire; it only needs a supply of a new energy called high-grade crystal.”

High-grade crystal: a new form of energy smelted from various metals. At present, only Sky Pillar has reached this level.

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In the dim living room, horrifying howls drifted in from outside from time to time, accompanied by the rattling of the iron door.

It seemed the disturbance caused earlier by Chu Wei and the others had drawn them here, and these predators had instinctively concluded that there was delicious human flesh inside.

Fortunately, it had not triggered a large-scale tide of corpses. There were only a dozen or so.

That was still not enough to force the door open, and without the blessing of a moonlit night, they did not yet possess the ability to climb.

If they truly wanted to break in, they would have to pile themselves up in a human tower or shake the iron door down by force. But the few corpse-things pressed against the door clearly lacked that level of strength.

Cao Fusheng held a candle in his hand, illuminating the map spread out on the table. The place he was pointing to was the route between the county town where they now were and Z- Z City.

Along with several narrow branch roads.

“Captain Chu, you people are natives of Sky Pillar and have made the trip back and forth several times. You should be able to offer a plan worth learning from. Give us a clear path and spare us from blundering straight into a heap of corpses.” Cao Fusheng looked toward Chu Wei, who was deep in thought.

After pondering for a long time, she finally said uncertainly, “The situation is changing too fast, and it has been quite some time since we last broke out of Z- Z City. I can’t really offer any useful advice based on outdated information.”

“That’s fine. Old information is still better than none at all. Before you came, our plan was to force our way close to the outskirts of Z- Z City and scout the situation. Now that we have you, of course we need to gather some useful intelligence. Based on what you said earlier, if we just barreled in, it would be no different from courting death.” Cao Fusheng fixed Chu Wei with a burning gaze, and she ultimately accepted the proposal.

Chu Wei folded her arms, lightly tapping her brow as she frowned in thought. After a while, she said, “No matter how you look at it, forcing our way into Z- Z City directly from the highway or the main roads is extremely unwise. There are countless corpse-things wandering there, practically blocking the roads completely. We need to sneak into the city by taking the narrow roads through the suburban villages, then look for an opening once we’re inside.”