Forge a path to success.

Chapter 90: A Chance to Survive in a Desperate Situation
At first, there were faint flashes of electricity, leaping, straight, constantly bending like luminous tree branches. The tree of light grew larger and stretched, dazzling like stars, its light almost swallowing everything, but after reaching a certain critical point, it suddenly receded. The ever-converging radiance was like a hole that devoured everything, forming a star-ring-like field of vision centered on the ruins.

Then the void disappeared, and colors gradually returned to the world.

Vande convulsed for a while before finally getting up from the ground. The excruciating pain continued to assail him, and his ghostly form was barely more than a tattered plastic bag. He suddenly worried that he might go blind. For an Eye Demon, blindness was practically the same as death, almost equivalent to a vegetable. Thinking this, he wiped away the blood and quickly opened his eyes.

What comes into view is pure white steel, with a slender structure and curves, resembling an alien dragon.

"I'm going to die!!"

Vande jumped up in a panic, nearly going blind from fright. He looked closer and noticed that beneath the keel were numerous charred components; the Immortal Machine's single eye was destroyed, its armor shattered, and it lay in the scorched earth, a mechanical "corpse." The assassin stood not far away, breathing slowly. The rock blade in his hand was shattered, leaving only the bare hilt.

"This is really tough." It heard Chu Hengkong's voice. "This thing is pretty good even among point 2 particles."

"A master?" Vande said in a daze, "This is beyond the description of a master. It is the strongest. The strongest in the world. It can cut down enemies of the same level like leeks. I have never seen a true machine defeated by an enemy of the same level. This is the first time ever. I didn't expect it to die so beautifully."

"I thought it would self-destruct."

"They probably sent the important materials back. The Empire's stingy. I need to write this down." Vande trembled. "My God. God bless us. It's dead. We won! We defeated the strongest!!"

It jumped and leaped, excitedly barking in place. The townspeople arrived at the scene. Qi Su gazed at the wreckage of the true machine, momentarily thinking she was dreaming. She wept, her tears falling and shattering into a misty haze. Chu Hengkong remained still, a low, sinister laugh escaping his lips.

"How many relics can this material make?"

"Who knows? Nobody's ever tried refining a true weapon before. It has to be the highest level, absolutely the highest level!" Vande was still basking in ecstasy. "Dude, do you know what this means? You're a true legend!!"

"That's great," Chu Hengkong said softly. "You've made a name for yourself."

A torrent of blood gushed from the man's back, like crimson wings. He no longer had the strength to stand; he slid down and collapsed into the blood-red dust.

Vande's eyes still held a lingering smile; it hadn't yet recovered from its euphoria. "...Dude?" It ran to the assassin's side, beginning to panic. Qi Su rushed over and hastily pulled off his coat. The man's back was unrecognizable; where the spine should have been, a bloody, mangled wound stretched out, blood gushing out like an explosion, and white bone fragments embedded in the broken flesh.

"Normally, the energy is concentrated in the spine to complete a cycle, so why did it dissipate at the end in your case..."

"My spine was contaminated by external pathogens a few days ago."

A casual conversation flashed by, and previously overlooked information became vividly clear. Chu Hengkong couldn't train his entire skeletal system, which was why he clumsily tried to train each bone individually. He solved the imbalance problem, but the most crucial part—his spine—remained untrained, still his Achilles' heel. Such fragile bones simply couldn't withstand intense combat, especially since he had used a thousand qi...

He couldn't even withstand the Qi technique that forged his bones, let alone the violent Qi of a thousand autumns!
"No. No, no!" Vande tried to cover his wound, but blood gushed from between the tentacles, taking away his life that could not be restored. "Qisu, heal! Use your divine magic!!"

"I'm already doing it!"

"Heal," "Cure," "Recover"—one after another, the secret runes, like glowing water droplets, seeped into Chu Hengkong's wounds, but the effect was negligible. Qi Su's power had long been exhausted; she was not a priestess specializing in healing, and now that even her staff was almost broken, there was no way to save him.

Vande suddenly jumped up and pushed Qi Su's hand: "Summoning array! Get the people from Huilong City here, quick!!"

The True Machine is dead. The external contamination has vanished. Realizing this, Qi Su hurriedly left behind a healing array and ran towards the beach. Vande was still trying, attempting to plug the wound with its mucus, but to no avail. That life force, powerful enough to defeat the True Machine, was weakening, becoming even more fragile than an ordinary human.

It was too late. Vande frantically looked around, trying to find anything that could help. He saw a grey priest's robe, and Bernhardt stood not far away, holding a Requiem, his expression neither sad nor happy.

"Bernfar, save him! Please!!"

The priest shook his head and put his hands behind his back.

“On the first day I arrived here, you asked me why I came here. At that time, I told you the truth: this place is a wasteland where the souls of the dead linger, and my responsibility is to let the dead rest in peace. This is the duty that God has given us.”

“Every life living in this world should accept its own destiny,” the monk said calmly. “Your arrival and his have dispelled the fog and made the frozen time begin to flow. From that moment on, the arrival of the True Machine was inevitable. You still have a choice between life and death, but when he decided to fight against the True Machine, his fate was sealed.”

"I do not act for the living, but only for the dead." He walked up to Chu Hengkong, looking down at the dying man. "Brave warrior, do you have any last wishes that I should fulfill?"

"Pah!" The monk's advice was interrupted by a spitting rebuke. The man in the pool of blood raised his eyes, looking up but with disdain.

"I don't need a funeral...!"

“Then farewell, if this is your last wish.” Bernfar turned away abruptly. “May you rest in peace.”

He walked away step by step, his tall figure turning into gray mist and dissipating as if he had never existed. Far away in Yingshi Town, the small church also turned into mist and dissipated, leaving its location a desolate wasteland. Vande felt that his last hope had also vanished, and for a moment he was at a loss, not knowing what to do, when he heard a faint sound beside him.

"Thanks, it wasn't your fault anyway..." the assassin chuckled. "Next time you travel, remember to choose a safe place..."

This guy is seriously out of his mind. What do you mean it's none of his business? Chu Hengkong originally had nothing to do with any of this. It was he who summoned the assassin from his hometown, it was he who forced the assassin to face these dangers. If it weren't for that summoning, the assassin would never have had anything to do with the real machine in his life.

This wasteland already has enough dead souls; it cannot bring in another one.

It couldn't quite explain why it was acting—guilt, a sense of responsibility, or both—or perhaps it simply didn't want to see its friends die, didn't want to see such a meaningless end as dying after victory.

The assassin's skin was ice-cold; he didn't even have the strength to breathe. Vande strained his memory, trying to find a breakthrough from his existing knowledge. His gaze lingered on the assassin's left arm. His limb was fused with his own tentacles. He saw the closest thing to him.

It had an idea.

"Don't be afraid, Chu Hengkong." Fan De mustered his courage. "I'm here... to save you!"

·
The desolate wind blew up the sand and gravel, and the illusory images in the sea sank and rose again. Qi Su stumbled across the beach and came to the array he had drawn that morning.

This small magic circle miraculously survived the previous battle. The circle and its materials remained intact, surrounded by a ring of large, flowing beads. The assassin had left all the resources he brought here, perhaps to expedite his escape, or perhaps because he had anticipated his inability to come in person.

Qi Su inserted her short staff into the magic circle, representing the centipede shell of dust, the giant armor of shadow, and the remains of her own corpse, representing light. The three remains lit up in turn, the flowing beads shattered, and a surge of current formed a vortex. The divine power of the swirling dragon was poured into it, opening a passage to the outside.

A sense of tension coiled around her like a snake. The Immortal Machine was dead, but the invasion of the Empire of Truth might not have completely disappeared. Despite the guidance of the Dragon God's power, she couldn't say for sure where that passage led.

Beyond the vortex might lie a desolate wasteland, another desperate situation, or even the stronghold of the Truth Empire. Qi Su had no way to confirm this; she had exhausted all her strength just to activate the formation.

So she cried out, her voice echoing towards the other side of the vortex, where no one was known to exist.

"This is Yingshi Town in the Netherworld God Kingdom. There is a man here named Chu Hengkong! He saved us all, and now he is about to die!"

Silence reigned on the other side of the tide, and Qi Su wept uncontrollably. "If you are also children of the Dragon God, if you know this name, please come and save him!"

Then, a sound emerged from the flowing water, responding with worry, anxiety, and pride. A golden figure rushed out first, followed by a man who replied helplessly.

"Of course, we know him."

"He is our pride."

·
Chu Hengkong felt himself sinking into the sea, with strings of bubbles rising to the surface as he sank. The bubbles were colorful, like soap bubbles in the sunlight, drifting towards the luminous sea surface, their light sometimes as round and smooth as the sun, sometimes as proud and arrogant as a dragon.

He recalled a casual conversation he had with Ji Huaisu, when they sat on a floating island gazing at the ocean, watching the illusions conjure up various phantoms. Ji Huaisu said that many people drawn by the illusions would walk into the sea, and people thought they would die a painful death, but the experience was actually fantastical and blissful.

You will see many bubbles, each one concealing an illusion, a dazzling and colorful spectacle, like being in the world's most beautiful amusement park. If you delve into it, you will melt away in your fantasies, becoming new bubbles that merge into the ocean. But if you close your eyes and refuse to see those beautiful things, you will drift away from the bubbles and sink into the abyss, succumbing to the extreme cold.

He said that if you fall into the sea, you're doomed. Ji Huaisu said it wasn't like that. You have to keep looking and thinking, accepting but rejecting every fantasy, to float above the bubbles. He suddenly realized and said, "I understand! The ocean hates picky people. If you have a bad temper, the ocean will spit you out!"

The conversation ended with Ji Huaisu's spinning kick. At the time, he thought the Sea of ​​Illusions probably felt the same way he did—who would want to serve someone with such a bad temper? But now he felt that his partner's golden words were absolutely true; when you really fall into such a predicament, any piece of advice is priceless.

“Persist…” “…Remember!” “…Bone! Your…experience…!”

The light on the sea flickered incessantly, and the indistinct words turned into gray stones, sinking with him. The chill grew increasingly biting; he thought that if there was an abyss in this world, it must be behind him. It was a vast expanse of icy blackness, silent, indifferent, and gloomy, like the very bottom of the world.

He didn't want to die so miserably, so he opened his eyes wide, trying his best to see those colorful bubbles. The bubbles burst as he stared, turning into clear images: his abdomen was smashed open by a bear in the deep mountains, he was bitten by a crocodile in the sewers, he was shot by a sniper on a high-rise rooftop, he was slashed by Du Muyan in the club, burned by Kanin, pelted with rocks, and struck by the force field of real machinery...

What the hell? All I can think of are those unfortunate memories of getting beaten up! Aren't bubbles supposed to represent beautiful fantasies? How miserable must someone's life have been if even their dying memories are filled with this crap?!

Chu Hengkong grew angrier the more he looked. Everywhere he looked, there were vivid images of him being beaten, injured, and on the verge of death, as if the ocean had edited together all the darkest moments of its life and was broadcasting them in a grand finale. This anger made him muster his strength and reach out to disrupt the memories before him. As he reached out, he touched something as hard as cast iron. It was a pure white steel cable, hanging from the surface of the sea, cold and painful to the touch.

He gripped the steel cable, coiled it with his tentacles, and gritted his teeth as he climbed upwards inch by inch. Then, the many illusions transformed into the aftermath of his injury: muscles strengthened after healing, tendons and bones resilient after recovery, computational circuits iterating faster; superior skills, better agility, and optimized, upgraded movement patterns…

Something strange seemed to have infiltrated the area, but it didn't matter. He completely ignored these inexplicable fantasies about manufacturing workshops and production lines, and resolutely climbed the steel cable upwards. As he broke through the sea, he gasped for breath, ready to greet the blazing sunlight!
"...?"

But there was no sunlight on the sea; all that could be seen was a dazzling Milky Way. Beneath the Milky Way stood a fishing rod, its white steel cable serving as its fishing line.

Chu Hengkong blinked, realizing that he was the fish that had been caught.

The angler sat on the sea, his face obscured, only a hairy hand gripping a fishing rod was visible.

The angler blinked, seemingly confused as well. His voice was gentle and honest.

You've swum too far, little one. This isn't your home.

He released his grip, sending Chu Hengkong back into the sea. As he entered the water, the world spun 180 degrees; the surface became the seabed, and the seabed became the sky. He left the surface as he entered the ocean, and this time he saw real sunlight!

"!"

Chu Hengkong sat bolt upright, gasping for breath like a drowning fish returning to the ocean. He couldn't hear anything except his own heartbeat. He didn't know how long it was before his consciousness returned. He mechanically turned his eyes and saw the candlelight, the jade carving, the crisscrossing magic arrays on the ground, and familiar faces. Where was he…?

The headquarters building is on the 33rd floor, the Dragon Shrine.

"Ah Kong! Ah Kong!"

He saw the golden strands of hair, and Ji Huaisu patted his face urgently. Chu Hengkong nodded haphazardly, grabbed her hand, and stared at her blankly for a while.

“That’s great,” he said. “You don’t have much hair on your hands.”

His partner's cheeks turned a lovely pink as she gritted her teeth and grabbed Chu Hengkong's head, shaking it violently. "You bastard!!" "Ouch. It hurts. It hurts." "Are you an idiot?!" "It hurts so much. It hurts so much."

"Overall, she seems to have a normal personality."

"No, I think he's gotten dumber."

Ji Qiufeng and Youyou were whispering to each other. Chu Heng raised his hands in surrender. Miraculously, he didn't feel much pain this time, probably because the technology in Huilong City had improved. He shook his head and saw Fan De wriggling his tentacles back and forth, looking rather awkward.

“Um… buddy…” Vander stammered, “I have good news and bad news, which do you want to hear?”

"I'm still alive." Chu Hengkong grinned foolishly. "For me right now, there's only good news."

"Oh, that's great!" Vande breathed a sigh of relief. "The good news is that you've successfully ascended. You're now a point mass 2, a rigid bone."

"I am grass."

Chu Hengkong then realized the true nature of the magic array on the ground; he was lying within the sealing formation. No wonder he woke up in a temple instead of a hospital room. He moved his body with delight: "Could this be bad news?"

“Ah, well, I think so too. It’s actually just not the best news.” Vande nodded vigorously. “I mean, buddy, you know you were pretty badly injured before, your whole spine burst. So to keep you alive until the rescue arrived, I used whatever I had on hand to do some temporary treatment for you…”

"Impressive, Vande, I didn't expect you to have this skill." Chu Hengkong touched his back, feeling a hard, new vertebra. "What did you use?"

Van Der didn't speak, but simply handed him a mirror and smiled sincerely. Chu Hengkong immediately sensed something was wrong. He looked at his back in the mirror and discovered a pure white, steel exoskeleton carved into it.

Chu Hengkong's face darkened visibly. He took a deep, deep breath, as if he were preparing to unleash a thousand-year-old aura.

"Van...de...?"

Van der revealed an innocent, harmless, and slightly shy smile.

Ji Huaisu grabbed Fan De with one hand, and the helpless demon kept screaming that it was going to be crushed. Her expression was as if she were reciting a death sentence.

“Congratulations, Akong.” She sighed deeply. “Your spine is now an immortal machine.”

(End of this chapter)