The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 622 The final piece of the ironclad puzzle, what is attacking?
"It seems like everything's alright now."

"It seems... everything is alright now?"

At the foot of the mountain, in the command center behind the camera, both groups of people breathed a sigh of relief. On the ridge, the rolling avalanche finally stopped, with only a thin mist of snow drifting in the wind like a veil;
After the giant ice and snow monster collapsed, it did not reform and transform into a huge body again.

On the contrary, Shen Le, wearing his antique-grade iron armor that was indescribably ill-fitting in the current environment, used his long-handled sword to support himself as he climbed step by step up the ridge...

"Was that monster really killed?"

The drone circled again, but still found no sign of the monster reappearing, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The command center held a brief meeting, began to lift the alert, directed the drones to fly low, and at the same time tried to call Shen Le.

Unfortunately, whether it was because the signal was too poor on the snow mountain and there were no base stations, or because a monster had just appeared near Shen Le, causing electromagnetic disturbances, the satellite phone could not be made.

Everyone watched as Shen Le stood on the ridge, leaning on his longsword, looking left and right, and then observing the unidentified object in his hands.

After observing for a while, he turned over the semi-circular unidentified object and scanned the surrounding area. He paused, sheathed his longsword, and began to remove his armor…

"What is he doing?"

"I don't know...maybe, perhaps we should put this armor away?"

“That makes sense… If I had a suit of armor from the Tang Dynasty, which I personally salvaged from the desert and painstakingly repaired, I wouldn’t want to wear it on the snowy mountain…”

"Then why would they be willing to wear it?"

"Is it possible that it wasn't that Shen Le was willing to wear it, but that it personally rushed out and forcibly put it on Shen Le... Wait, what is it doing?"

Shen Le untied his gold belt, removed his breastplate, and laid it flat on his knees. He untied the leather straps, picked up the newly acquired half of a bronze mirror, and carefully aligned it with the broken edge of the breastplate.

Without him needing to use the power of the metal element to repair it, the two halves of the bronze mirror simultaneously emitted a joyful sound and clicked together.

The surface rippled slightly and rose and fell rapidly, but soon it merged into one, and no trace of the split could be seen anymore...

"Ouch..."

Another beastly roar echoed. The bronze mirror trembled violently, so much so that Shen Le almost lost his grip on the edge.

Taking advantage of the mirror's shaking, he quickly flipped it over and saw that behind the bronze mirror, a relief carving in the shape of a feline animal, which didn't quite match the original engraving, was slowly flattening and disappearing...

"Sachin Dorje!"

Shen Le held up the mirror and shouted. The first sound caused the relief to rise, as if the large cat had looked up at him.
With the second sound, the relief sank downwards and disappeared completely. At the same time, the front of the bronze mirror that was touching Shen Le's thigh suddenly became scorching hot!

Shen Le quickly flipped the mirror over. A large cat—no, a snow leopard, a snow leopard a hundred times more lifelike and a thousand times more detailed than the previous relief carving—leaped out of the bronze mirror and soared into the sky!
"My name isn't Sachin Dorje." A fierce wind howled, snow and mist swirled, vaguely forming the shape of a snow leopard. This beautiful snow mountain spirit, only two or three sizes larger than an average snow leopard, looked down at Shen Le:

"That's not my name... I remember it, but I am not it... My friend, I will remember you, goodbye..."

It flicked its tail, slowly disappeared into the wind and snow, vanishing from sight. Shen Le watched it leave, then gazed at the stillness before him, the wind and snow ceasing, the sky clear as if washed, the ice walls like a mirror. He remained there for a long time before finally smiling slightly.
Excellent, truly excellent. A new snow leopard spirit awakens in a new world, nourished by the spiritual essence of the snow-capped mountains…

No longer burdened by the darkness and hatred of the past, no longer burdened by the battles and pain of the past, becoming a completely new spirit...

Although thousands of years have passed and those who remembered you, worshipped you, and made offerings to you have all passed away, there will be many more people who love snow mountains and snow leopards who will keep you in their hearts.
He took a deep breath, and without getting up, began to stuff the longsword and breastplate into the pen holder one by one, in order to lighten his burden.

However, when he picked it up and put it in his mouth, the Mo Dao (陌刀) was surprisingly heavy, and it slammed onto the ice with a loud thud, almost embedding itself in the ice.
He lifted the breastplate again, and it twisted violently in his hand, desperately trying to slip it onto his body...

"What are you doing?" Shen Le asked helplessly.
"Do you expect me to wear this on a snowy mountain? Not to mention that you are all cultural relics and cannot withstand such wear and tear, even wearing iron armor on a snowy mountain is just too cumbersome!"

Are you trying to kill me?

The armor plates clanged, the belt opened and closed repeatedly, struggling to wrap around him. Shen Le couldn't resist them, so he simply opened his arms and let them adorn him as they pleased.

In the distance, the drone cautiously flew closer, maintaining a distance where it was clearly visible but wouldn't cause any vibrations in the snow-covered mountains. In the command center, dozens of eyes were fixed on Shen Le.
"What is he trying to do now?"

"Could it be that it sensed some danger again? Otherwise, why would it insist on wearing armor on the snow-capped mountain?"

"Wait a minute, it doesn't seem like he wanted to wear it himself. It's more like those armors forced him to wear it?"

"Those artifact spirits wouldn't want to possess him, would they?"

"It shouldn't be that bad," a technician in charge of behavioral research replied softly, flipping through the documents.
"These armors were repaired by Shen Le himself. Based on past experience, the spirits he repairs tend to be more obedient to him. Although they can be a bit mischievous at times, they don't have any malicious intent and won't possess you for no reason."

The upper body wouldn't be affected, but after Shen Le put on the armor, it clanged and hummed once more. The breastplate on his chest, now fully restored, suddenly shot out a beam of light, crossing the snow-capped mountains and shining southward:
The beam of light was straight and sharp, grazing right past the drone and startling the operator and observers in the command center.

Shen Le was also quite surprised and quickly reached out to cover the breastplate, trying to stop it from doing anything funny.

However, the protective mirror refused to cooperate, or rather, the entire suit of armor refused to cooperate. The light illuminated Shen Le's hands thoroughly, revealing his bones, blood vessels, and muscles in perfect clarity, without the slightest hint of dimming, as he stood straight ahead:

Shen Le had no choice but to turn around quickly. The beam of light followed him, tracing a huge arc, changing direction from south to north;

The drone scrambled to gain altitude and dodge, watching helplessly as the beam of light suddenly vanished, only to reappear from another direction, illuminating Shen Le's body and shining straight south...

"Tsk tsk... With such a high dose of radiation, Shen Le would have died on the spot, right?"

"Don't tell such terrifying stories! He's an important expert of ours, after all. Let's hope for something good about him, okay?"

"Why does this beam of light insist on pointing south? My heart is like a lodestone, it will not rest until it points south?"

"Quickly determine the direction! Then pull up the map and see what... in that direction..."

The beam of light disappeared once more. Shen Le decisively bent down, forced the light from the bronze mirror to turn towards the ground. He even lunged forward, pressing the entire bronze mirror to the ground with his body and rolling on the spot:
"Quiet! Be quiet! You can tell me what you want!"

Looking for companions...looking for companions...companions, companions, companions...

The bronze mirror trembled incessantly. The entire suit of armor clanged and hummed, and the long-handled sword, which Shen Leping had placed to the side and pressed against the ground, was particularly agitated. The blade bounced several times, almost standing upright, streaks of light flashing across its edge.
[A companion! A powerful companion! The last companion!]

The last companion, the last piece of the puzzle. That much should be fulfilled—and receiving this news also brought Shen Le a sigh of relief.

This suit of armor has not yet shown any obvious self-awareness, has not introduced itself to him, nor has it formed the appearance of a powerful artifact spirit. So, it is waiting for its last companion?

Who is it?
He straightened up, aligning the breastplate with the south, and slowly rotated it. The beam of light eagerly shot out, first as a straight line, then trembling up and down, as if indicating a direction.

Until Shen Le turned to the right position, it suddenly launched a full-force attack, unleashing its brightest flash yet, shooting straight to the horizon. Finally, it grew farther and farther away, more and more dispersed, merging into the sunlight, almost disappearing—

Shen Le held his breath, staring intently at the direction of the beam of light. One second, two seconds, three seconds, five seconds…

Until he could no longer hold his breath and had to gasp for air, there was still no movement from the other side. Instead, the bronze mirror began to tremble, emanating a suction force that was rapid and almost greedy.
Give...give...a little more...

A little more power?
More heat flow?
Was that beam of light not strong enough to reach your companions?

No problem, here you go!

Shen Le placed his hands on the edge of the bronze mirror. He took a deep breath, and the golden bead in his dantian spun rapidly, sending a surge of heat into the bronze mirror.

After three rounds of internal force rotation, the bronze mirror did not light up; instead, it became even dimmer.

Finally, Shen Le's entire armor shuddered, as if channeling all its power to support its companions, causing it to unleash another beam of light:
"Wow, impressive! Have you decided on a direction this time?"

"Where is the landing point? Has the landing point been found?"

"Is there any unusual energy reaction in that direction?"

The command center was bustling with activity once again. Several technicians' fingers flew across the keyboards, almost leaving afterimages, while two others frantically answered and made phone calls, wishing they could grow eight hands to communicate with eight people simultaneously.

While we were busy, a voice suddenly rose in pitch:
"We found the target!"

"Near the capital of the plateau... 20 kilometers from the city... exact latitude and longitude..."

He rattled off a string of numbers. Immediately, someone made a targeted inquiry into the region, while another called the local special affairs department, requesting a report on recent anomalies and feedback on any current unusual circumstances.

Before the call was even finished, a golden light rose from the screen, bringing tears to everyone's eyes.

Once the person who reacted fastest closed their eyes, opened them again, and recovered from the onslaught of light pollution, they looked at the screen and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:
"what?!"

Something extremely bright and moving at an incredible speed plowed through the clouds and surged forward.

Wherever it went, the white clouds rolled and tumbled, all dyed a golden color, but were not burned into wisps.

That thing rose from where they judged the beam of light would land, shooting straight ahead, as if summoned or guided by the beam of light. Its speed increased, and its surface grew brighter—

"What exactly is this?!"

"Can you measure the size? What about the shape? The speed?"

"Can radar detect it?"

"Radar! Radar!!!"

"No, it's too small. The radar shows something flying at a very high speed, but it's too small to determine its exact size and shape..."

"About? About?!"

"Preliminary estimate suggests it was a long object, about one meter long and 0.1 meters in diameter... flying at approximately 300 kilometers per hour... at an altitude of..."

The technicians in the command center answered questions rapidly, their foreheads beaded with sweat as they typed. What on earth is this thing, this size, this speed?

Cruise missile? Loitering munition? Rocket? None of these seem quite right. Or perhaps it's a new type of weapon developed by a foreign company, being used here for the first time?

But how did it take off from China...? If it really was a foreign product, transported in and launched, this matter will be thoroughly investigated, and a string of people will surely lose their lives!
"It went straight for Shen Le!"

"Quickly remind Shen Le to dodge! Can you get in touch? -- What, still can't get through? Keep trying!"

"Wait, this thing... it seems to have been summoned by Shen Le..."

The technician staring at the screen had his eyes wide open, his voice filled with disbelief. On Shen Le's chest, the intense beam of light from the protective mirror had begun to contract, growing shorter and shorter.

However, no matter where it contracted, it remained firmly fixed on the new object, as if guiding it forward, or as if it were a beam of light emitted by some kind of alien high technology.

The drone changed its angle, trying not to block the direction of the beam, moved closer, aligned with the focus, and magnified Shen Le's figure on the screen.

Then they saw Shen Le stretch out his hands towards the beam of light, as if trying to catch something—

The object, hurtling at high speed, pierced through the clouds and tore through the snow mist, heading straight for the mountaintop. Just as it was about to pierce Shen Le through, it suddenly braked sharply and came to a quiet stop in front of him.

Shen Le stretched out both hands and caught it perfectly. He gripped it with his left hand and pulled it with his right, and instantly, a cold light shone through his eyes!

"Is it a sword?"

"It's actually a flying sword!"

Exclamations of surprise, envy, and sighs of relief mingled together in the command center. Interspersed among these were shouts from the leadership:
"Stop spacing out, call the relevant authorities immediately... It's not an unidentified flying object, it's not a missile or rocket fired from abroad, all alert..."

Shen Le held the sword in his hands, a slight smile appearing on his face. Halfway through his smile, his entire expression suddenly froze:

No!
I remember which sect it was, they were looking for a precious sword on the snowy mountain. They've been searching for it for over a year. Could it have fallen into my hands?
(End of this chapter)