Infinite Gods Reign Supreme

Chapter 60 - Sometimes it's hard to hold back.

It turned out to be the case.

Si Ming touched the non-existent beard on his chin, and suddenly understood.

"It's a composite enhancement... You still retain some of the properties of being a monster? Can I understand it as something like the Blacklight virus, or the G-virus?"

"Hmm." Yu Zhiwei tilted her head, no longer pretending. Her slender, fair fingers suddenly darted out towards the fruit plate in front of her, like five lazy snakes. Each finger grabbed a piece of fresh fruit and stuffed them all into the spiral mouth that suddenly appeared in her palm, resembling a meat grinder.

The five fresh fruit slices were instantly shredded into a sticky mess. This action caused the two new members of the Celestial Team to twitch at the corners of their eyes.

"You can actually do that..." Valentina looked at her in surprise, then immediately realized something. "Wait, so does that mean you're actually quite skilled in close-quarters combat? Then what about earlier—"

Yu Zhiwei waved her hand.

"It just looks scary." Her hands returned to their slender, fair appearance. "Although it's very easy to reconstruct the monstrous flesh and blood, the energy consumed is just as much. The stamina I just lost can't be replenished even if I ate three times more fruit. As for close combat... do you remember the Heart Sutra that the Bodhisattva gave me in the last world?"

She paused.

"Before I got that book, if I had dared to change my body so casually as I did just now, it would have been hard to say which of us, the Great Black Buddha Mother, would have been more like an evil monster once things stabilized."

“So that’s the reason… I understand.” Valentina’s brow furrowed, then relaxed. She wasn’t one to doubt others, so she chose to believe.

But it doesn't matter if she doesn't believe it, since she has already obtained the book that unlocks melee abilities.

Si Ming nodded slightly.

"It seems your experiences in World Two were quite eventful... Miss Yu." He remembered that Yu Zhiwei had once said that the second world she experienced was the surface of a black hole. Clearly, just as the Thing had caused some irreversible and permanent effects on her body, that spaceship called the Tear of the Horizon might have also left a deep imprint on her soul.

"That's so distant." Yu Zhiwei pouted slightly. "Why can't you just call me Zhiwei? Why do you have to be Miss Yu... Okay, I have experienced quite a lot in World Two. But it's always just me talking, it gets a bit boring. Don't other people want to share their experiences?"

What she said makes sense.

The two new members are indeed quite eager to integrate into the new team.

"You just... mentioned 'Bodhisattva'?" Luo Yinglong was the first to find a way to start the conversation. "Was the last world an Eastern world related to folk mythology?"

“It’s ‘The Curse’.” Si Ming nodded. “A folk horror film that won’t be released until 22 years later. We used the power of Guanyin Bodhisattva to destroy an evil creature that was plaguing the world.”

"A futuristic horror movie?" Almaria became interested. "I think I've encountered a similar situation before. Jurassic World, a movie from 15... Back then, the captain of the North Sea team looked completely incredulous. As a result, the others and I had to spend two days repeatedly studying the details. Fortunately, the final fight with that dinosaur wasn't too difficult."

"The captain of the North Sea team back then?" Jacob turned to look at her. "Was he a middle-aged man with enhanced druid features, and a cross-shaped battle mark on his forehead?"

"You know Antonikov?"

“My team, Sandbar, once fought against the North Sea team. I’ve seen them... We exchanged blows, and neither side could gain the upper hand. Later, the Sandbar team’s captain decided to retreat, and then we left to complete our respective main quests... Wait, you…” He suddenly seemed to remember something, and some key moments in his memory came to him.

"Are you that punk girl with smoky eye makeup who was holding a guitar before the fight started?"

"Are you the bearded Middle Eastern man with the white turban?"

The two spoke at the same time, their faces showing more shock than surprise. The former non-mainstream punk girl had now transformed into a refreshingly beautiful woman, while the classic Middle Eastern desert turban man displayed the attire and appearance of a New Testament protagonist.

A walking recorder of black history has appeared!
"Back then, I was trying to conform to the customs of the Shazhou team. Without a headscarf and a big beard, I felt out of place!"

"I did it to protest against that crazy captain, who insisted that I exchange for a Vortex Bloodline to be a medical blood pack in the rear!"

They exchanged a glance, and then smiled at each other. Their intertwined pasts had created a surprisingly pleasant shared memory. Even more ingenious was that this shared connection wasn't filled with hatred or blood feuds.

It seems both of them have unfriendly former captains and teammates. And now that they've both joined Team Celestial, it naturally means that their less-than-noble past is now a thing of the past.

"Looks like you've finally gained the freedom to dress as you please, former Sandbar Captain."

“To be precise, it’s Jacob.” Jacob nodded, smiling. “So, do you still play guitar? Former captain of the North Sea team?”

“The captain of the North Sea team doesn’t play the guitar.” Almaria waved her hand. But the next moment, a red electric guitar appeared in her hand as her storage item was activated.

"But Almaria, the new member of the Celestials, is very good at playing the guitar."

She didn't use a pick; she simply plucked the electric guitar strings with her fingers. A high-pitched and energetic rock melody immediately erupted from her fingertips. The performance was sharp and full of vitality. Even though none of the audience were professional connoisseurs, they could still hear the vibrant energy of youth in the music.

Yu Zhiwei gently lifted her chin, a slight smile playing at the corners of her lips for a fleeting moment. She seemed to have discerned something deeper than most, but in the end, she said nothing.

And when Almaria played the final notes, he was the first to clap his hands gently.

She was the first, and Si Ming was the second. And after that, thunderous applause erupted.

"Thank you, thank you." Almaria gracefully took her leave.

She wiped her eyes and sighed. "It's been so long since anyone appreciated my music... phew." She shook her head. "Antonikov was actually a good captain... by our Slavic traditional standards. He was just a little too paternalistic, treating the other members like children and subordinates. Even someone like me, who's rather...rebellious, he just let me do as I pleased, thinking that someone like me might one day become a skeleton in the cycle of reincarnation."

“That’s what I thought too… but I was wrong. The world before I became the captain was ‘Dead Silence,’ that terrifying living doll… We made a mistake when we sealed it away, and instead of killing it, we made it even more violent. In the end, everyone died… I actually died too, but the magical girl gadgets I had bought earlier saved my life. They… changed the form of my soul, allowing me to fake my death and fool the doll.”

She spoke somewhat vaguely. But Si Ming could guess what it was… a Soul Gem, a special type of enhancement from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It's a strange power that transforms the soul into a gem, then extracts the power of wishes to transform into magical girl weapons. And once that enhancement is completed, the only fatal weakness of the exchanger is that gem, and the strange ornament that transforms into it during transformation.

There wasn't enough trust, and there was no need to expose it. He simply pretended that the unnaturalness hadn't been noticed, and the others reacted in much the same way.

So she continued.

"...I found an opportunity to ambush the living puppet that had fallen from its berserk state. In the end, I returned to the Main God Space alone. And in the next world, after becoming a captain...I came here."

“Total wipeouts are indeed not uncommon,” Song Tian, ​​who was usually taciturn, suddenly spoke up. “Monsters that don’t seem strong to begin with can suddenly become extremely powerful for some unknown reason. If the team is not able to adjust and respond in time, they often suffer heavy losses.”

His previous world was invaded by darkness, and his team was indeed wiped out there. Now it seems that what destroyed his Oceania team was not simply cave-dwelling monsters.

“Who says otherwise?” Luo Yinglong sighed in agreement. “The South China Sea team is about the same… Damn it, I told them not to touch that foreign Buddha statue. They just couldn’t resist touching it, and now look what happened, they got humiliated by the R’lyeh fishman tour group… Damn, a bunch of idiots who can’t understand human language!”

He muttered and complained for a while, which effectively livened up the team atmosphere. Everyone then started complaining about the eccentric newcomers in their own teams. And before they knew it, the topic naturally turned to Si Ming.

"Captain, come to think of it, you've never really talked about your experiences in the East China Sea team. I just remember you mentioning to a woman that there were a lot of disobedient new recruits there?"

Valentina initiated the conversation, having already introduced herself to the newcomer during their earlier exchange. She deliberately used the phrase "a certain woman" to savor Yu Zhiwei's furious outburst.

"Hey! Have some manners, okay?" Yu Zhiwei fell for it as expected.

She simply curled the corners of her mouth slightly.

The other members were delighted by Yu Zhiwei's humiliation, and Jacob even chimed in slightly.

"Yeah, and Captain, you haven't mentioned the worlds you've experienced before, have you? It seems like among us, you're the only one who's only experienced two worlds before joining the Celestials?"

"Two worlds!?" Almaria's eyes widened slightly. "I've been through five..."

"I have three worlds." "I have four..."

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd, and then everyone turned to look at him. Faced with this scene, Si Ming simply smiled gently.

"Actually, there's nothing special about it. The worlds I experienced were Alien vs. Predator 2 and I Am Legend..."

He didn't hide anything, but he didn't reveal everything either. He focused his story on the amazing newcomers on the East China Sea team. He didn't add any dramatic elements. And soon…

"...And so, Shizuka Ishikawa revealed her identity as a guide to me. In the end, I decided to come to the Heavenly God Team."

“So that’s how it is…” Yu Zhiwei pursed her lips slightly. “The only normal person is actually the guide… That’s really a bit of a blow. I bet if that Ms. Ishikawa were normal, even if her talent and abilities were terrible, you wouldn’t have left the East Sea team, right?”

"Maybe." Si Ming took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.

“I don’t think so,” Luo Yinglong suddenly interjected. “I already had a hard time dealing with those Indonesian monkeys in the South China Sea team. Professor Si is a pure Chinese, right? It’s going to be difficult for him to tolerate those Japanese.”

“No, it’s actually possible,” Valentina countered. “I’ve recently been studying the relationships between East Asian countries. While the Chinese dislike the Japanese, the Japanese are also quite wary of the Chinese. The Captain chooses to act alone because of his immense power, but the Japanese are also wary of him because of his strength. This was particularly evident during World II.”

She is indeed very good at communicating with people and immediately grasped the key point.

"The reason those people rebelled after witnessing some of your strength, Captain, is because they realized they were part of the East China Sea Team, a force known for its skilled fighters from the Japan-Korea region. In this situation, the only senior member was Chinese. Therefore, what had happened before was obvious to them, filling them with fear, which led them to plan a preemptive strike—"

"In reality, they just wanted to band together, negotiate, and gain some benefits. They just didn't expect that your patience with them, Captain, would be as great as their trust in you."

She looked up at Si Ming and said earnestly.

"You should have realized this by now, right? Ishikawa Shizuka is the final link. After she disappears, even if you stay, the next world will just be a repetition of the events of the previous one. The smarter the newcomers are, the more they will realize this. But if the newcomers aren't smart enough, then they will only be a burden to you. The only way to break this deadlock is for you to interact with them as a Japanese person at the beginning of World Three..."

"Am I right, Captain?"

She finished her sentence.

Siming smiled gently and finished his tea. He was already fully aware of how simple-minded Valentina was, and he wouldn't blame her.

He would simply put the teacup down, and then...

"Let's call today's meeting for now," he said, his expression unchanged.

See you tomorrow, everyone.

(End of this chapter)