Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1275 - 130: Before Straying Into the Wrong Path, Drifting Apart

"Emergency announcement, a biochemical accident has occurred on the Locust Flower Road of the Fixed Wing District. Please evacuate in an orderly fashion. Repeating, Fixed Wing District..."

The piercing sound of sirens sliced through the air, the emotionless synthesized voice spreading in the atmosphere, carrying a familiar unease and agitation in the humid scent of the rainy night. Mo Yuankai suddenly awoke, realizing he was standing on the streets of the capital city, pouring rain washing over the pavement, with young people either exhilarated or suppressed running on the streets, like a prelude to a carnival night.

He remembered Situ Yi’s ominous declaration and the grayish-white fog, the experience from four years ago tensing his nerves. Another illusion? A psychological attack akin to the Spirit Prison Realm? Mo Yuankai instinctively clenched his fists, the control stick providing a familiar metallic sensation in return. He was still in the mech cockpit, the hero’s stance smooth and swift, but Orianna behind him had disappeared.

"Splitting up to break through?" Mo Yuankai frowned.

The mech began to stride, sprinting through the rain-soaked city. The motion of the giant caused the rain to splash back, like miniature waterfalls. Only the buildings and environment were affected, while the "citizens" moved like ghosts through the rain curtains. Mo Yuankai felt more certain of his suspicion, it was likely another of Situ Yi’s illusion techniques, but at such times, he knew he couldn’t rashly attack.

The Spiritual Image Skill was the most mysterious and inexplicable of methods, who could tell if there wasn’t a powerless Dawn Knight standing behind the wall he shattered? Who knew if a large-scale attack would affect other ensnared companions? Right now, it was urgent to regroup with the other three, wait for Ah Ce and Alandia to finish their analysis, and then take action. He made up his mind and acted immediately, raising the mech’s internal alert to the highest level to prevent a sneak attack from Hidden Law Master, cautiously spreading the hero’s stance to explore the surroundings.

Mo Yuankai’s perception encountered an unusual sensation, as if a firefight was about to break out in the distance. He maneuvered the mech to leap up, heading towards a high-rise in the Thorn District.

Raindrops shattered on the cold metal, armored vehicles, tanks, and armed helicopters sealing off the building entirely, and furtive figures lurked around, whispering something. Mo Yuankai felt an inexplicable familiarity, as if an operation was about to be carried out here, all the windows in the building were dark, except for one window with a light still on. A long-haired man sat alone in that room, his head bowed, concealing his expression. The mechanical clock on the wall ticked, and the characters marking the date glowed with an eerie light.

August 23, 2006.

Late August four years ago, a rainy night... the troops surrounding the building... Mo Yuankai remembered, this was the night of the capital city’s chaos, a rainy night when Ah Ce rose again. The silent man bowing his head was his past self!

The armed helicopter silently stopped, dragged down by telekinesis, the light of explosions lit up around the building in succession, as past Ah Ce had already charged into the battlefield. The past "Mo Yuankai"’s phone rang, and the real Mo Yuankai suddenly tensed up, not knowing what was about to happen, but instinctively felt he must stop this bizarre "replay". The golden light of the hero’s stance shot into the window, transforming into ropes to bind his former self. But his interference failed, "Mo Yuankai" was unaffected like those ghostly passersby, he answered the phone, listening to a junior excitedly narrating, his facial muscles tensing for a moment, as if preparing to leap up and shout for battle again.

The man almost stood up, but before his expression returned to resolve, it relaxed again, becoming as soft and weak as his voice.

"Forget it, Ah Ce," he said softly, "I really don’t have the spirit to participate again... take care of yourself, I’ll cheer you on."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if Gongsun Ce forced himself to say something more. He dropped the phone, collapsing onto the sofa in dejection, devoid of any vitality. And then the last light in the building went out, with only the sound of the rain falling in the darkness.

The real Mo Yuankai wanted to roar at that cowardly "self", but suddenly he also couldn’t muster the strength, as if thrown into an icy, bone-chilling deep sea. Weakness and despondency flooded his heart, regret seeping into his blood like a toxin, gray-white puppet strings appeared without warning, penetrating the cockpit’s defenses and stabbing into his body.

Mo Yuankai struggled desperately, his hero’s stance should have been able to directly isolate forced erosion, yet at this moment his power was rapidly declining like his fighting spirit. He slammed his head against the control panel to stay conscious through the pain, the mistakenly triggered monitoring module shifting the scene, and he noticed lines of pitch-black text emerging in the night sky:

[I refused Ah Ce’s invitation, I can no longer fight. As it turns out, Mo Yuankai who can’t use his abilities is useless. I’m no longer the hero of the capital, just a helpless ordinary person.]

"You...!"

His trembling hands gripping the control stick, the body itself was speaking of fear. Memories that had never existed poured out from the depths of his mind, Mo Yuankai growled softly in pain. He saw Gongsun Ce and his companions rescuing the city time and again, while he withdrew into himself, growing weak and obese in a small room. He had accomplished nothing, and thus the subsequent mech plan never materialized, nor did he participate in this battle...

His thoughts were sinking under control, and he was gradually becoming numb. This was not a simple illusion, his past was being rewritten dramatically, with Situ Yi’s play directing his life towards an unintended "deviation"!