Xyrin Empire-Chapter 701

Originally, it was a bamboo mat and a low table brought by Ling Meng for everyone to chat, feast, criticize, and boast on in the afternoon, but now it was occupied by a strange young girl.

She seemed like a creature that could easily be categorized as a lolita from her appearance alone, wearing a white sleeveless blouse on top and a deep blue-purple triple-pleated skirt on the bottom—an outfit bursting with vitality. Her long, pale yellow hair fell to her waist and was casually tied with a white hairband at the ends. It should have been a mature hairstyle, but because of the red, oversized bow on her head, she looked even more playfully charming. The girl’s face was incredibly youthful, and in the evening light, her large eyes reflected a reddish-brown glow. Aside from her face, what caught the most attention were the purple gourd in her hands that was twice the size of her head, the iron chains wrapped around her body, and a pair of big horns on her head.

Sitting opposite the girl was a character I had met today—a little taoist girl with wings, Shime Maru Wen. The two had taken over the low table previously belonging to Ling Meng (actually, considering how Ling Meng acquired this item, the table probably belonged to me). Now, they were busy passing cups and pouring drinks. As we approached, a strong fragrance of alcohol assaulted our nostrils.

"Hey, Ling Meng, and Zi, you’re back?"

The girl with the odd horns raised her large gourd from afar to greet us, and from within the gourd came the sound of clear water flowing.

"Watermelon (Cui Xiang’s... cough cough, another name, please search on Baidu by yourselves)?" Ling Meng called out, somewhat surprised. As a result, we all fell silent for three seconds.

"Stay away from Bubbles in the future, especially don’t follow her to study the secondary creations of the East," I patted the shoulder of Ling Meng, who had a look of utter despair, "Last time a Gundam pilot came to Shadow City to submit a mission, and after Bubbles caught him and lectured him all afternoon, he was brainwashed. When he returned, he announced in front of a group of Gundam pilots that humanoid walking battle robots were trash—and almost got himself killed."

Ling Meng gave me a look and continued with despair: "...What if I start sleep talking and claim to be Red and White?"

Me: "..."

The girl referred to as Watermelon looked puzzled for a moment, then scratched her cheek drunkenly: "Ling Meng, what watermelon? Do you want to eat a watermelon?"

Ling Meng was on the brink of tears: "Cui Xiang, just pretend you didn’t hear that."

"Oh," the long-horned girl named Cui Xiang shrugged inexplicably, seeming quite concerned about being referred to as Watermelon. But soon, she gave up on that mentally taxing issue and shook her large gourd, heartily inviting us to join, "Come on, come on, let’s drink together! You always need to drink before work to have strength, right?"

"No need for a formal introduction, that’s Ibuki Cui Xiang," Yukari Yakumo whispered to me, "An old acquaintance. Don’t be fooled by her looks; she’s one of the four Devas of the Ghost Clan, very strong, and quite straightforward. She hadn’t been involved in this incident at all, feeling it was none of her business, plus she doesn’t like being told what to do. It took some effort to persuade her to come. Cui Xiang is very generous with people, and I think you could be friends with her."

"Is that so? You’ve worked hard this time," I turned to glance at Yukari Yakumo, "Are you on good terms with this ghost clan girl? It’s the first time you’ve taken the initiative to introduce someone from Fantasy Land to me."

"We’ve known each other for a long time, found that we had similar interests, and you’re my friend, so I wanted you two to get to know each other."

Similar interests... well, I won’t discuss Yukari Yakumo’s shared interest with voyeurs any further.

"Hah, you’re that human, aren’t you? The one who brought back Zi and Ling Meng," a voice suddenly blurted out beside me, interrupting my conversation with Yukari Yakumo. After greeting Ling Meng, Ibuki Suika couldn’t help but come over to us when she saw we were lagging behind. Although she was just a girl resembling a loli, she boldly sized me up with her gaze, this stranger from the outside world. Ibuki Suika stared for a while before finally scratching her head, "Ah—outsiders, otherworldly people. Seems like Zi went to some incredible place, she told me a bunch of stuff but too bad I didn’t understand a thing. But anyway, you’re a decent guy, taking in Zi and Ling Meng when they were in trouble, right?"

I immediately looked at Mother Zi with touched eyes: Such a practical description, this is the conscientiousness of a beneficiary, compared to that ’plucking feathers from the passing goose’ with all talk no trousers, Zi, you’re truly a role model for the new age!

"Here, take this!" Suika suddenly slapped my shoulder with astonishing strength, then shoved a large gourd into my hands, "Since you’re a decent guy, feel free to drink up! I’m not planning to figure out where you’re from anyway—if you can drink, you’re a friend!"

Is this how people judge friendship criteria?

This big-horned loli’s generous behavior left me in a laughter and tears situation, but knowing that refusing a drink from a Ghost Clan member is quite rude, I didn’t turn it away. I took the wine gourd from her: Regular girls might worry about the embarrassment of sharing a drinking vessel with a man, but this carefree loli had none of those concerns.

I lifted the heavy wine gourd, gulped down the liquor of heaven knows how high proof—then I thought I was screwed.

For heaven’s sake! Is this stuff pure alcohol or what, you soulless thing!!

Just one gulp, and I felt a looming sense of releasing my mortal coil, my own tolerance for alcohol was mediocre at best. I should have known that the "Imperial Wine" from one of the Ghost Clan’s Four Heavenly Kings was not something I could handle. Just one sip, and I felt like I had alcohol poisoning, standing there with smoke seemingly coming from my face; from afar, someone might even mistake me for a steam humidifier!

Though my enhanced body wouldn’t fall over from such a shock, the intense taste of the liquor still made me draw back in shock, looking dumbfounded. After a while, to my surprise, Ibuki Suika displayed a satisfied look, "Wow, you’re pretty honest! Normal Ghost Clan wouldn’t dare to pour it down like that! I just wanted you to have a taste, you’re really not bad!" fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

For heaven’s sake, you should’ve mentioned that earlier! If you’d told me sooner, would I have still poured it down like that?

It took me quite a while to finally recover from the hell of being brain-doused with industrial alcohol, staring with a face full of resentment at the cheerful Suika drinking and Yukari Yakumo who obviously knew something but kept silent, then I reached into my Personal Space and pulled out a bottle, "Ibuki Suika, what goes around comes around. Why not try a drink from our world?"

"Just call me Suika! You’re a pretty honest guy, not sly like some humans, so we’re friends," the Ghost Clan girl clapped my shoulder heartily, reaching out for the bottle I offered, "What’s this? Alcohol? It smells pretty strong."

Curiously sniffing the bottle, Suika tilted her head back and downed the contents, then smacked her lips as if desiring more, "Tastes like alcohol, but it’s a shame it doesn’t have the aroma of liquor, and there’s something solid inside. Though, it really is potent—I’d say it’s perfect to drink before a fight. What is this?"

My face went wooden: "Ninety-nine and a half percent semi-solid ethanol."

"Got any more?"

I felt utterly defeated by this overly familiar individual: A loli that could down a kilogram of pure ethanol in one gulp without a change in face was destined to rule the world!

Sandora patted my shoulder comfortingly, with a "don’t take it to heart" encouraging look on her face. I could only shrug, thankful that Big Sister hadn’t accompanied us today. Otherwise, just the atmosphere reeking of alcohol here would have meant a carnage in Fantasy Land: The seven-character mantra of "lifting a cup and falling flat with a kiss" was not a joke.

But no matter what, my accidental blunder seemed to have won a fair amount of favor from Cui Xiang. She was a straightforward person and liked others who were same. With the introduction from her old friend Yukari Yakumo, after obtaining a second bottle of pure alcohol and a whole lot of Dwarven ale from Azeroth from me, the little girl declared she now considered me, Chen Someone, a friend.

"Though the poor tolerance for alcohol is regrettable, your unexpected frankness, well, and bringing so much alcohol as gifts can barely make up for it," Cui Xiang said with a tinge of haziness, her face aglow with redness, "When Zi initially told me about some Emperor, I thought it was some annoying Human, but it turns out to be quite interesting... Eh? What’s happening over there?"

Cui Xiang, who was busily dealing with a bottle of Ironforge’s Burning Throat fiery liquor, suddenly had her attention caught by something. The little girl pointed in astonishment toward the western sky, her eyes sharp with alertness as she quickly shed her slightly tipsy demeanor.

Following the direction of her finger, what came into my view was a bright spot of light bursting into intense radiance. This light was gathering at the bottom of Atlantis, as if several bursts of energy flashes were suddenly converging. Crackling blue and white lightning flared out of this spot, striking nearby metallic vines, causing a chain-reaction glow akin to Nebula Lightning, transmitting violent flashes several kilometers away. At the center of this lightning display, the original spot had swelled into a blinding white Light Ball in just one or two seconds, giving no time to react before it exploded with a dull, incessant boom. Fragments like shattered Crystals rained down from the detonation point, falling at the foot of Demon Mountain like a magnificent shower of light. However, their consequences were far from beautiful: A raging forest fire ignited even before these highly energetic fragments reached the ground, illuminating a significant area in seconds.

Faraway, the fiery red glow and the commotion of some Demons simultaneously spilled into the gatherings halfway up the mountain. The Demons relaxing and drinking stood up to look in the direction of the fire. Soon after, some of the Demons skilled at Flying took to the sky, seeking allies to help put out the fire, but I had already reacted, stretching out my hand to point in the direction of the spreading blaze, spreading a calming energy suppression instantly: "Silence."

The forest fire that had spread across several kilometers vanished in an instant, leaving only faint smoke in the darkness as proof that something had happened there.

Not only Cui Xiang and Youyouzi, who I had just met, but even Ling Meng who had never seen me take action, couldn’t comprehend the power that had just stopped the spreading fire. They looked over with surprised eyes, but I was already too busy to respond to these chattering individuals: An urgent report had come through the information network, the latest intelligence from an inside agent in Atlantis.

The second main energy Pipeline at the bottom of the Floating Island had ruptured, one-third of the Ghost Energy Pipeline of Atlantis was blocked, and uncontrolled Ghost Energy was overflowing from the island.

Fortunately, the ruptured energy pipeline was on a side far away from Demon Mountain, sparing the local Demons from harm. The regrettable part was, their rest time was over.

I relayed this information directly to Yukari Yakumo and Ling Meng, and they knew this was no time for jokes. They immediately began giving orders, "Quick, assemble! Atlantis has an energy leak! Outer Heaven Island will take off in thirty minutes!"

Yet, there wasn’t even a need for their notification. The earlier explosion had already informed the tense Demons that the action was about to start. The powerful Demons who had only partially rested were already replacing their counterparts in a tensely orderly fashion, as smoothly as possible transferring powers. Cui Xiang muttered something and, after downing the near-hundred percent ethanol in one go, ran off to help.

Sandora ordered the Mother Ship to project the scene remotely. The previously pitch-black depths of Atlantis were suddenly covered in a soft light membrane, displaying distinct red and green areas. The Demons busy with take-off preparations paused, but they quickly received Ling Meng’s ferocious explanation: "Concentrate in the green area! The energy pipelines in the red area have collapsed. Any Demon thinking of transcending calamity can go down there and wait to be struck by lightning!"

Although no one knew what transcending calamity meant, after seeing how a few Light Particles falling could cause a forest fire, not a single Demon was foolish enough to wait in the red area to cross over.

Even though the operation began earlier than planned due to the accident, it was only a few hours ahead of the scheduled time. Aside from a few Demons who hadn’t rested enough, everything proceeded without confusion under the bustling commands of Yukari Yakumo and Ling Meng. The Fantasty Land Demons, who were not accustomed to Commonwealth warfare, calmed down from their initial panic—I suspect Ling Meng’s indiscriminate throwing of Spirit Talismans and Shime Maru Wen holding her camera ready to catch any embarrassing moments effectively increased the level of cooperation among these indiscipline-prone groups.

Demons are beings from beyond humanity, and they have a certain adaptability to the vacuum and radiation of outer space. Nevertheless, to prevent accidents, we still prepared proper safety measures for them: as Atlantis slowly rose under the effect of the anti-gravity field, a layer of what looked like half-translucent bubbles also enveloped the huge hemispherical space beneath the Floating Island. This seemingly fragile but actually very reliable barrier was not a product of Xyrin Technology but instead came from the Pan-Galactic Civilization Community, who called it a Projected Support Shield. It was a remote shield generation system developed over the centuries of struggle against the Shepherds to preserve important forces as much as possible. Taville had modified this simple yet ingeniously creative shield to use Ghost Energy as the shield structure, which increased its value by dozens of times.

It turned out that even civilizations several times behind the Empire had creative achievements worth learning from. Not belittling any form of wisdom and extracting every bit of knowledge to benefit the Empire had always been the driving force behind the rapid evolution of the Xyrin Apostles, but at the end of the Old Empire, the Apostles had forgotten this vital lesson. Arrogance led them to believe that their technology could dominate everything, ignoring all other civilizations and even the warnings of the Divine Race, leading to disaster in the end.

Fortunately, they had now reclaimed this power of progress—that’s an aside, though.

"Good, very good, the launch procedure has started, and it looks very steady so far. Sandora, how’s their mental state?"

Sandora and I personally accompanied the large group of demons as they ascended. Sandora was ready to soothe their overexcited spirits from their first space voyage, while I had to be prepared for the possibility of a demon causing a mishap, leading to an Energy Shock from the Abyss of Atlantis—although whether I’d be able to instantly take care of such an accident was indeed a question.

"Still stable," Sandora floated in mid-air, the ends of her flying blond hair spreading out into golden rays, forming that CPU-like state again, "Right now, Ling Meng is the most excited, the phrase ’demolition compensation’ has been echoing in my head for ten minutes."

Me: "..."

Thanks to the anti-gravity field, Atlantis Floating Island could ascend vertically without considering any cosmic speed, which brought us much convenience. After confirming the demons’ robust health, the ascent process accelerated. Eventually, the acceleration acting on the island and the demons reached tens of Gs. The distant horizon now showed a clear curvature, and the location of Fantasy Land below, that green heaven and earth, had vanished: Yukari Yakumo had altered some properties of the Boli Barrier ahead of time, so five minutes after we ascended, we left that world that was isolated from the rest. This meant that Atlantis was now operating "outside the world."

However, with the Invisibility System on, the humans in the outside world definitely couldn’t detect a thing as large as a mega-city rumbling over their heads, although the sudden appearance of a cloudless hole above the atmosphere was already baffling enough for them.

"Wow, so this is the outside world now..."

Next to us, a little girl who I wasn’t too familiar with was curious, maintaining her energy output to the outside world while peering down at the brightly lit city and the gradually brightening horizon far away. It had perhaps been a very long time since this demon, who might not have ever left since the founding of Fantasy Land, felt exceptionally curious about the outside world, "It’s been a long time, who knew the outside world had turned out this way?"

"There’s still more for you to be amazed by soon."

I said with a smile, and she immediately gasped in surprise, "Wow! You’re talking to me!"

Me: "?"

"Shime Maru Wen said you’re a very dangerous human! Ling Meng got pregnant for talking to you!"

I regret that I didn’t shoot Shime Maru Wen out of the sky with a Patriot right then and there—it truly is the regret of my lifetime. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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