Forge a path to success.

Chapter 156 The True Assassin's Standard Weapon: The Blade of Mercy

The atmosphere inside the research institute was sharply polarized. The strange man who called himself Commander Chongming and his subordinates maintained an imposing masculine demeanor, seemingly needing a few shouts of "Good boy!" from passing children or animals before they would be satisfied. Meanwhile, the three newcomers who had just arrived in the wilderness had stiff expressions and indifferent attitudes, as if they were 40-year-old adults who had mistakenly wandered into a tokusatsu performance.

Ji Huaisu quietly turned around and made an ice ladder: "Fande is right, it's better if we don't run around with strangers..."

"Now you know I was right, huh?" Vande said. "But have you noticed how incredibly awkward the atmosphere is right now? Everyone's waiting for your response."

The men who called themselves the "Institute of Historical Truth" maintained their remarkably firm silence, just like Commander Chongming standing at the front! They seemed desperate to get someone to talk to them and defuse the situation, but were stuck in an awkward position where no one paid them any attention!
As a mature member of society, Chu Hengkong understood the torment of being misunderstood. He maintained a polite smile and nodded slightly: "Thank you for your hospitality, we'll be taking our leave now..."

Commander Chongming's expression stiffened: "Hey you three! You'd rather wander in the dark, fireless wilderness teeming with strange beasts than come to our research institute!"

"Compared to spending the night in your esteemed place, enduring a cold night is not a bad option," Chu Hengkong said sincerely.

"Damn it! How dare they look down on our research institute!" "How dare they disrespect Commander Chongming!" "How dare they despise our boss!"

The men behind Chongming stepped forward in unison and exclaimed, "These new recruits are really high-caliber!"

"What kind of image does Commander Chongming have in your hearts?" Fan De asked.

"I went through all the trouble of recruiting new people, and this is how you repay me?!" Chongming roared in anger.

Ji Huaisu was a little embarrassed: "To be honest, it's not that we're being disrespectful, it's just that Mr. Chongming's... image has changed quite a bit before..."

The Chongming I first encountered in the cave looked terrifyingly gloomy; it wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly drew his sword and started a killing spree. But after arriving at the research institute, Chongming transformed into a hot-blooded older brother from a super robot anime. The drastic change and abrupt turn of events would seem strange even to Guli Bo.

Chongming pushed up his sunglasses and said seriously, "This is because I lost my cloak when I went out earlier."

"Does this have anything to do with the cloak?"

"I'm not good at talking to people when I'm not wearing a cloak."

The subordinates all nodded in agreement, but Van Der was the first to break down: "It turns out they were just shy!"

“There are people whose personalities change with their appearance, and I’ve seen quite a few before.” Chu Hengkong smiled. “I was just joking. The three of us are new here, and we should thank Mr. Chongming for his help.”

Chongming pointed to himself with his thumb: "That's more like it, but you have to call me Commander Chongming."

"Okay, Mr. Chongming."

"You weren't even listening to me, you brat!"

Joking aside, Chu Hengkong had no real intention of leaving. Regardless of whether these carefree fellows were friend or foe, engaging in activities in the outside world under the cover of darkness was absolutely unwise. He needed to understand the situation first before making any further plans.

Blue lamps cast a dim glow on either side of the metal passageway. Chongming swaggered ahead, leading them deeper into the passage. Several strangely-looking fellows approached, one of them, a man with a frog's head, whispering to them, "Where did you three brave warriors come from? What time is it?"

“We come from the city of Huilong. It is now the year 3000 of the Candlelight Calendar,” Ji Huaisu said.

The frog stroked its chin: "Croak... It's been three years since Hunzi came here..."

"How come another homing dragon has appeared?" A woman with a mohawk and a hooded cloak whispered to her companion. "I've never heard of it since I came here a hundred years ago."

"They're probably the next generation who grew up after the war...the kind who were probably still eggs during the war..."

Vande wasn't interested in these trivial matters; instead, it looked with great interest at the surrounding lamps: "What kind of fire is this? Why is it cold?"

"This is ghost fire, the 'light' emitted by the projection of the deceased's ghostly body. It can only provide light, not warmth, so be careful not to touch it."

Vande was about to reach out his tentacles to touch it when he heard this, so he immediately withdrew them: "What are you doing, lighting will-o'-the-wisps in the house?"

“Heh, little eyes, you don’t know this, but this is the safest lighting in the area,” the mohawk-haired man sneered. “In the desolate wilderness, light and warmth are a ‘privilege’… a ‘privilege’ reserved only for the brave! You need to show courage to light the lamp.”

“Neither of us two are cowards,” Van Der said, pointing to his left and right.

"Whether someone is brave or not is not for us to decide," the hooded woman said ominously. "You'll understand sooner or later... In this place, having even a single, cold light is an immense blessing!"

"Hey you guys, why are you spouting riddles instead of explaining the situation properly!" Chongming shouted.

"Sir, you have absolutely no sense of atmosphere!" "That's when you can scare newbies the most, when they know nothing!" "If you don't tell ghost stories now, it'll be too late!"

The odd-minded subordinates scattered in all directions, looking like spoiled brats who had failed in their pranks. Chongming knocked on the wall, opening an iron door leading to the reception room. The small room was filled with manuscripts and various old trinkets, seemingly also serving as a recreation room.

He sat down on the large sofa with an air of authority, gripping his katana with both hands and leaning it forward.

Do you know where you are?

The three shook their heads in unison; their knowledge of this place was limited to the name "Wilderness of Despair." Seeing this, Chongming chuckled.

"You guys are really unlucky! Let me tell you, it's not that complicated..."

Long ago, there was a great war that engulfed the entire Realm of Submersion; we call it the War of Heavenly Prison.

"The two sides in the battle were the 'allies' led by the True Gods and the Lord of Fate, and all the heretics existing in the Realm of Sinking and Moving. In that crazy era, every Dust Island was a battlefield for the two sides, and all the Supreme Beings threw themselves into the war. In hundreds of years of conquest, nearly half of the gods of the 7th mass point alone died in battle, and the number of those who died in battle at the middle and low mass point levels was countless."

In the final moments of the war, the top forces of both sides converged, embarking on an unprecedented and unparalleled battle. The fighting among these powerful individuals was so terrifying... that it shattered the very fabric of time!

"What does 'shattering time' mean?" Ji Huaisu asked blankly. "Does it mean that even the Great Dao has been erased?"

"No, it's a more practical phenomenon," Chongming chuckled. "Records of the Heavenly Prison War... the memories of people outside the battlefield... even the traces left by the war... even the battlefield itself where the fierce battle took place... everything related to the great war has become 'non-existent'! Except for a few ancient beings who survived the great war, no one is aware that such a chaotic battle ever occurred. Therefore, later generations speculate that the powerful figures of that time shattered that period of time, resulting in this strange situation." "The war that once swept the entire world has simply vanished. For most people, this might still be a good thing... However, not long after time was shattered, something even stranger happened."

Some of the 'evil gods' who had died in the great war had inexplicably been resurrected.

Chongming drew several circles on the ground with his scabbard: "After these evil gods were resurrected, they took over a part of the battlefields trapped in the shattered time. Because those lands were ruled by the evil gods, they were able to access the present world, which is the 'border of the Heavenly Prison' where you are right now."

"Among them, the 'Wilderness of Despair' is ruled by an evil god who was also infamous in those days. Its name is Vansalal, known as the Lord of Slaughtering Demons and the King of Nightmares, and is one of the 'Four Gods of Collapse' of the Spiral Tower!"

Chu Hengkong's heart skipped a beat. He had heard this name before. The poet Sriel had mentioned this sinister and terrifying legend when he sang in the tavern.

He pressed his chest and remained silent.

Van Der seemed to recall something as well: "The Nightmare King... I remember him as a mentally ill person whose 'duty' was to spread fear..."

“The word ‘obligation’ makes it sound like going to work,” Ji Huaisu said.

“In a way, that description isn’t entirely wrong. Because Vansalar is indeed an eccentric fellow, and in his territory, people must constantly fight against fear. To live even slightly better, one must show courage!” Chongming chuckled. “And if you are deemed brave, you must undergo its test. Those who have personally experienced that test are either dead or have gone mad.”

"This is the first thing I want to tell you: in this land, if you can live cautiously, don't cause any big trouble. When you came, you saw the cold fire, and that was meaningful. If you dare to light a real fire, even underground, the claws of the evil god will seize you and put you to the test."

"What if I defeat my henchmen?" Ji Huaisu asked.

"Vansara will applaud you, and then it will come to you personally to give you an even greater test."

“There’s absolutely no way out!” Van der said.

“Yes, so if you want to survive, you must kill Vansalal.” Chongming shrugged. “Feel honored, newcomers. From now on, you will embark on the great battlefield to fight the gods.”

Fan De let out a weak, miserable cry and buried his face in Chu Hengkong's pocket. Chongming leaned back on the sofa and shook his head: "That's the end of the background explanation. Do you feel like you've wandered into the wrong place?"

“Ah, well, how should I put it?” Ji Huaisu said blankly, “The scale of the event is so large that it loses its sense of reality. I was originally prepared to admire this great achievement, but now it feels like looking at a prehistoric mural.”

"Haha, you have a good attitude. You'll probably live a little longer." Chongming stood up from the sofa and looked the three newcomers over in turn. "I have something to say first. I don't care where you came from before. This is the Despair Wilderness. If you want to live, you have to listen to me. You must do whatever I tell you to do. No questioning or bargaining is allowed."

He raised his voice menacingly: "If one day I want you to die... you must not hesitate to run into the knife! Understand?"

Ji Huaisu smiled awkwardly, thinking to herself, "What era did this person travel from? It's been 3000 years and he's still doing this... Isn't this just a typical way to scare new recruits at the beginning of military training? She's used this trick countless times when training new recruits: cultivating obedience, creating a sense of crisis, and elevating the leader's status."

But this is the border of Heavenly Prison, not a recruit training camp. We're all Ascended Ones, and you're still playing these games? Even your loyal subordinates are starting to sigh in embarrassment. You know how undignified you are!

Ji Huaisu gave Fan De a look, and the latter, always shameless, immediately prepared to laugh it off and smooth things over: "Oh, Commander Chongming, you're too kind. We're new here and have been entirely taken care of by you, of course—"

"I don't understand," Chu Hengkong said.

Fan De and Ji Huaisu both covered their faces, thinking to themselves that this was exactly what they were worried about! Even teenagers might get a little angry at this kind of talk... let alone an assassin who was a million times more stubborn than a child and was born not to fall for it!
Chongming rolled up his sleeves and slammed his katana down heavily: "Newbie, do you have a problem with your senior?"

Chu Hengkong stood up, walked around the sofa to the opposite side of Chongming: "I can't really say what my opinion is. We are all very grateful that you are willing to help. It's just that we feel that everyone's life is in their own hands. It doesn't make sense to ask someone to entrust their life to you on the first day we met."

"Huh?" Chongming pushed up his sunglasses hard with his middle finger. "So you're saying you're looking for trouble, huh? You're deliberately trying to pick a fight, aren't you!"

Ji Huaisu slapped his forehead, thinking to himself, "Damn, this officer's performance is even worse than that of a petty thug! Your subordinates are already looking like they want to disappear into the ground!"

Chu Hengkong smiled and said, "Yes."

"Dude, can't you act like an adult for once?! You two are already competing to see who can be the most humiliating!" Vande shouted hoarsely, increasingly uneasy as he watched. That impatient smile, those expectant eyes, those restless wrists…

What the hell? Has this assassin's fighting addiction kicked in?! Just how strong must his fighting spirit be to provoke a thug at this moment?!
Chongming, neck stiff, stepped forward and blocked Chu Hengkong's path: "Believe it or not, I'll cut off your tentacles, you bastard!"

"Try it if you dare, bandaged man." Chu Hengkong narrowed his eyes.

"Good, brat! You're on the kill list from now on. In three seconds, your nickname will be One-Armed Man!" Chongming shouted, spitting as he gave the middle finger. "3! 2!"

-

The hilt of the sword, drawn an inch from its sheath, struck the scabbard with a soft scraping sound.

“1,” Chongming said.

The tentacle fell off.

Colorless blood flowed out.

The incision was unbelievably clean, hardly deserving the name of a scar. It was as if something unrelated had simply been separated, allowing the body and limbs that didn't belong to it to return to their proper places. Then, thoughts slowly flowed, like melting ice, pain, bewilderment, and fighting spirit—there was no room for emotion to remain. In the empty vision, only the lightning-fast slash remained—

Chu Hengkong reached for his left arm and gripped his tentacle tightly.

The skin felt moist as usual. No blood. No wounds. Completely unharmed. It was as if nothing had happened, literally. He whirled around, meeting the bandaged man's mischievous grin.

"You've been tricked, haven't you? Hahahaha!" Chongming laughed heartily, and his men joined in. "I was just joking. There's no law or order here. In fact, we can't influence you at all."

"Because we are 'people in the fog'."

(End of this chapter)