Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 200 Bai Yuekui Universe

Yang Chen's figure disappeared from the top-floor room.

Bai Yuekui walked to the window and quietly looked down at the city that was slowly bleeding, his gaze deep.

The round, white moon floated to her side, and the emoticon on the screen changed to a worried emoticon.

(ω`)
“Little sister of the collection… uh, Yue Kui,” he changed his form of address and asked in a low voice, “Is it really okay for Yang Chen to go out alone? There’s that Devouring Beast outside, there are crazy people, and criminals and defense forces fighting each other…”

“No problem.” Bai Yuekui answered without hesitation, her gaze still fixed on the window. “Nothing that can hurt him exists yet.”

Her tone was so certain that Bai Yuetian couldn't help but believe her.

He quieted down, his round body hovering beside her, silently watching the night with her.

The streets of Hisakawa City are completely different from those during the day.

Panic spread like a plague, breeding chaos.

Robberies, arson, and violent clashes took place in every corner of the city.

What's even more chilling than human atrocities are the figures that roam in the shadows.

Their skin developed abnormal green blisters, their eyes were vacant, and they behaved strangely—these were the initial symptoms of manna spore infection.

Further away, inhuman roars could be faintly heard, announcing the official debut of the Devouring Beast.

Yang Chen's figure blurred as he cleared out the most threatening Devouring Beasts and rescued those who were in dire straits but still had a chance to live.

"Roar--!"

Several early-stage Devouring Beasts pounced out from the collapsed shopping mall on the side, their compound eyes locking onto the lone "prey".

Yang Chen didn't even stop walking; he merely glanced at the scene.

A burst of intense light shot from his eyes, piercing through the Devouring Beasts.

He continued forward, remaining invisible. At an intersection, he saw a young member of the Joint Police Department, using an abandoned vehicle as cover, fighting the Devouring Beast alone.

Hidden in the shadows, Yang Chen unleashed several fireballs, turning the Devouring Beast to ashes.

The team members, panting heavily, looked around in surprise and uncertainty, but found nothing.

Yang Chen left quietly, as if he had never appeared.

……

Inside the Nirvana Institute.

All production lines were running at full speed, and researchers in protective suits were busy moving around.

Based on the complete technical data provided by ASH, the first batch of effective drugs against manna spore infection is being synthesized and packaged with astonishing efficiency.

ASH's virtual projection floats on the main control panel, overseeing everything.

Her computing power simultaneously covered the surveillance network of Jiuchuan City, filtering information and assessing the situation.

"The first batch of three thousand vials of medicine has been packaged," ASH reported on the progress.

Bai Yuekui's instructions were relayed through ASH: "Contact medical facilities and shelters that are still functioning normally, and prioritize supplies for frontline medical personnel and troops maintaining order. Inform them how to use them."

"Yes, Yue Kui, it's been arranged."

In the top-floor room, the young man Yue Kui was awakened from his sleep.

She sat up abruptly, her heart pounding, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

"Having a nightmare?" A calm voice came from the side.

The young Yue Kui turned his head and saw his silver-haired self sitting on a chair not far away, holding a paper book in his hand.

Those are the books she used to keep here.

"Hmm..." The young man Yue Kui rubbed his temples.

She looked out the window; the sky was still pitch black. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Less than five hours." Bai Yuekui closed the book and looked at her. "How are you feeling?"

"...Much better." Young Yue Kui had to admit that, despite being plagued by nightmares, his physical fatigue had indeed been greatly relieved.

"My brother...and you...where is Yang Chen?" The young man Yue Kui looked around and couldn't help but ask.

"Brother is outside." Bai Yuekui pointed towards the living room, where one could faintly hear the soft sounds of the round-faced Bai Yuetian fiddling with something.

"Orange has gone out."

"Cheng... went out?" The young Yue Kui immediately realized that he was referring to Yang Chen.

Bai Yuekui hummed in agreement, his gaze returning to the pages of the book in his hands.

Looking at her other self, who remained calm as if nothing could happen, she couldn't help but ask, "You... don't seem worried at all?"

"There's nothing to worry about." Bai Yuekui's gaze remained fixed on the pages of the book.

"Go take a hot shower first. I checked here, and there are some clean clothes to change into."

Young Yue Kui paused for a moment, then looked down at his clothes, which were covered in dust and sweat.

Only after being reminded of this by her other self did she realize that she felt sticky and uncomfortable all over.

"I..." She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something else, such as the specific situation outside.

But seeing Bai Yuekui's profile, so engrossed in her book as if all the outside world's troubles were irrelevant to her, those questions were swallowed back.

"Okay," she replied softly, getting out of bed and heading towards the bathroom attached to the bedroom.

The warm water washed over his body, taking away his fatigue. The young man, Yue Kui, closed his eyes and let the water droplets patter on his face.

A faint sound of another version of myself turning pages could be heard outside the bathroom door.

This unreal tranquility made her feel as if the previous harrowing experience was just a nightmare.

After rinsing off, the young man Yue Kui walked out of the bathroom, drying his wet hair, and found a set of clean casual clothes already laid out on the bed.

After changing her clothes, she felt much refreshed and her spirits lifted.

Back in the living room, she saw Bai Yuekui standing by the window, while the round ball Bai Yuetian floated quietly beside her shoulder.

"Feeling better?" Bai Yuekui didn't turn around.

"Hmm, much better." The young man Yue Kui walked to her side and followed her gaze.

The city lights were sparser than before, and some areas were completely plunged into darkness.

"Has he... not returned yet?" Young Yue Kui couldn't help but ask again.

This time, Bai Yuetian answered her, the sphere spinning halfway around: "Not yet! But I just accessed a nearby traffic camera through ASH and saw a blurry figure clearing monsters over there. It must be Yang Chen, he's really efficient!"

Bai Yuekui then turned his head slightly and glanced at the young Yuekui: "Don't worry. He'll come back when he's done cleaning up."

After Bai Yuekui finished speaking, he asked, "Are you hungry? I'll go down and see if there's anything to eat."

"Huh?" The young Yue Kui didn't react for a moment.

"I'm going too!" Round-bodied White Moon Sky immediately shouted, "It's too dangerous for you to go alone!"

“Yes, let’s go together.” The young man Yue Kui nodded quickly.

She was reluctant to let her other self take risks alone, even though the other seemed very strong.

Bai Yuekui shook his head: "No need, you all stay here."

She paused, then added, "I'm just going to find something to eat, I won't go far."

After saying that, she gave the two no chance to object and turned to walk towards the door.

“But…” The young Yue Kui wanted to say something, but Bai Yuetian gently stopped him with his mechanical arm.

"Never mind, Yue Kui." Bai Yuetian sighed. "Sister Diancang... well, we can't go against her decisions."

"And she seems very strong. I asked her a lot of questions while you were asleep."

The young Yue Kui looked at the closed door and pursed his lips.

"ASH," she couldn't help but ask, looking into the air, "Can...can I see her?"

"Okay." ASH's voice rang out in the room, and then the image was projected onto the screen.

Meanwhile, inside a convenience store a few streets away.

Bai Yuekui avoided the scattered goods and broken glass on the ground and walked towards the still intact food shelves.

Just then, three men with guns and menacing expressions emerged from behind the shelves, clearly treating this area as their "territory."

"Hey! Stop right there!" The burly man at the head of the group pointed his gun at Bai Yuekui, a malicious grin spreading across his face. "We've got this place to ourselves. If you want any food, you'll have to come with us first..."

The words "have fun" were cut short before they could even be uttered.

Bai Yuekui didn't even lift his eyelids.

The next instant, the three thugs' faces contorted in pain.

The guns in their hands were twisted into pretzels and fell to the ground.

Then, their own bodies were torn apart.

There were no screams, because everything happened too fast.

In the blink of an eye, the three men who had been so arrogant just moments before were reduced to several shapeless, bloody, mangled lumps scattered across the ravaged ground.

Bai Yuekui walked to the shelf and began selecting well-sealed food and bottled water.

Inside the top-floor room, the young Yue Kui and Bai Yuetian, who witnessed this scene through the ASH projection, fell silent.

Young Yue Kui's face turned slightly pale, and his stomach churned.

She knew that her other self was in the apocalypse, but such annihilation still exceeded her expectations.

The expression on the round white moon screen finally froze into a shocked face.

“I…I’m speechless…” he murmured, “My little sister is really something else.”

A few minutes later, the door was gently pushed open, and Bai Yuekui walked in carrying a backpack full of food and water.

“Found some.” She placed her backpack on the table and looked at the young man Yue Kui, whose face was still somewhat unnatural, and Bai Yuetian, whose expression was blank.

"what happened?"

The young Yue Kui opened his mouth, but ultimately shook his head: "...It's nothing."

Bai Yuekui didn't seem to care, and simply said, "Eat."

She picked up a bag of compressed biscuits, sat down, and ate them slowly.

Young Yue Kui and Bai Yuetian exchanged a glance and silently walked to the table.

Bai Yuetian used the robotic arm to open the backpack and found several packets of food and two bottles of water.

"Here, Yue Kui, have something to eat first." He pushed the food in front of the young Yue Kui.

(。-`ω-): "Don't overthink it... In this situation, being kind to bad people is being cruel to yourself."

The young man, Yue Kui, took the food but did not open it immediately.

She lowered her head, her fingers gripping the edge of the packaging bag.

"I...I know."

"It's just... a little strange."

"You'll get used to it." Bai Yuekui's calm voice came from the side. She didn't turn around.

A few hours later, the door to the room was opened, and Yang Chen's figure quietly appeared.

"Hey, everyone's here? You even managed to get some food?" He greeted them with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the young Yue Kui at the table before finally settling on Bai Yue Kui.

"Mm," Bai Yuekui responded and turned around.

"Would you like something to eat? There's more."

"I'm not eating anymore," Yang Chen waved his hand.

“We can go back soon.” He turned his gaze to the young Yue Kui and Bai Yuetian. “You two come along too.”

Upon hearing this, the young Yue Kui and Bai Yue Tian nodded.

Just then, Yang Chen reached into his pocket and pulled out a sparrow with disheveled feathers and a vacant look in its eyes.

This action left both the young Yue Kui and Bai Yue Tian somewhat bewildered.

Yang Chen placed the sparrow on the ground. The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded.

The sparrow's body transformed, and a man's body, unconscious, appeared on the spot—it was Bai Yuetian.

"This?!" the young Yue Kui exclaimed in surprise.

The round, white moon suddenly moved closer.

"!!!∑(Дノ)ノ".

"This is Gray? No, that can't be!"

"This is my body?!"

“Hmm.” Yang Chen nodded. “I extracted Gray’s life essence. Now there’s only an empty shell and a… Gray’s brain left inside.”

Bai Yuetian floated around the "himself" on the ground, his expression on the screen extremely complicated.

Yang Chen continued, "We'll perform the brain transplant surgery on you when we get back. We'll take out this extra brain and replace yours with yours."

Looking at the familiar body on the ground, the young Yue Kui felt a complex mix of emotions.

Bai Yuekui watched quietly from beginning to end, showing little surprise at Yang Chen taking out Bai Yuetian's body.

She simply added, "Since we can go back, it's safest to do it there."

"Understood. Understood, I'm not in a hurry," Bai Yuetian quickly replied.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Yang Chen!"

Yang Chen smiled nonchalantly: "Alright, get ready, we should get going."

As he spoke, Bai Yuekui walked up to him and took his arm.

Young Yue Kui hesitated for a moment, then grabbed Yang Chen's other arm.

Bai Yuetian quickly used the mechanical claw to firmly grip Yang Chen's shoulder.

"ASH, we'll go first. Follow up according to the pre-arranged plan," Bai Yuekui finally ordered.

"Understood. Best wishes, Yue Kui."

Bai Yuetian asked nervously, "This... how do we get there? Are you going to set up some kind of formation or something? Are you sure you want to..."

Before he could finish speaking, the surrounding scenery suddenly blurred.

In just a split second, before there was even time to cry out, all the unusual sensations vanished.

The soft texture of soil and weeds underfoot filled the air, while the fresh scent of vegetation and a faint, almost imperceptible, smell of desolate dust lingered in the air.

The rustling of the wind through the forest and the distant, faint roar of machinery filled my ears.

The young Yue Kui and the round-shaped Bai Yue Tian looked around blankly.

They are no longer located in any modern room.

Before them stretched a range of mountains, and not far ahead, a sizable settlement was built against the mountainside, with houses, fortifications, and people moving about.

"This...this is how I transmigrated?" the young Yue Kui murmured to himself.

The emoticon on the round white moon screen changed to "(⊙﹏⊙)".

He floated into the air, rotated 360 degrees to look at the surrounding environment, and finally locked his gaze on the settlement in front of him.

He looked at Bai Yuekui, his mechanical arm pointing towards the settlement: "This...this is the Dragon Bone Village you were talking about?"

Bai Yuekui nodded slightly: "Yes, welcome to our world."

Looking at the scene before her, so different from that of Jiuchuan, the young Yuekui realized with a clear understanding that she had truly crossed the boundaries of the world and arrived in another post-apocalyptic world.

Yang Chen bent down, transformed Bai Yuetian's body back into its bird form, and put it back in his pocket.

Then, he said to the sphere of white moonlight that was still floating in the air, "Let's go, I'll perform a brain transplant on you first."

"what?"

"You...you do this for me? Are you sure you can do it? This isn't like fixing an appliance, man!"

He had personally witnessed Yang Chen fight, set off fires, and had laser beams in his eyes, but this brain-intensive surgery sounded completely out of character for him.

Upon hearing this, Yang Chen glanced at him irritably: "Who do you think you are? My skills are about the same as Yue Kui's."

"Besides, if there's a special situation, I can heal you back to health."

Bai Yuetian wanted to say something, but was gently pulled by the young Yue Kui.

Young Yue Kui looked at Yang Chen. Although he had doubts, he thought of the incredible things the other party had shown and the tacit attitude of his other self.

She whispered, "Brother... trust him."

Bai Yuekui added casually, "He's fine."

Even the "Collector's Edition Sister" said so, so Bai Yuetian had no choice but to swallow the rest of her doubts.

"Alright, alright... then my life is in your hands, brother-in-law!"

Yang Chen was amused by his address: "Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be as lively as ever... Brother-in-law."

With that, he took the lead and walked into Dragon Bone Village.

Bai Yuekui naturally followed, and the young Yuekui and the round Bai Yuetian exchanged a glance and quickly followed as well.

Along the way, many villagers looked at their strange group with curiosity.

Boss Yang and Boss Bai were accompanied by a black-haired girl who looked exactly like the boss, and a flying spherical robot.

Ok?
spherical robot?
Has Bai Yuetian stuffed his brain back into the ball?

Just then, a figure ran out from the side; it was Maiduo.

Five years have passed, and the little girl has grown quite a bit taller and looks like a young woman.

She had been running towards Bai Yuekui with a smile, but when her gaze fell upon the young Yuekui standing beside him, who looked exactly like her, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, her face showing obvious astonishment.

She blinked, looking at the silver-haired Bai Yuekui, then at the black-haired young Yuekui, her face filled with confusion.

She blurted out instinctively, "Sister Xiao Kui? You, you've only been gone a few days... how did you grow so tall? How did you do that?"

Upon hearing her words, the young man Yue Kui was stunned and looked at the silver-haired man beside him with some helplessness.

She didn't recognize the girl who had suddenly appeared.

Bai Yuekui explained, "Maido, she is not Xiao Kui."

"Huh?" Maiduo was even more confused, tilting her head to carefully examine the young Yue Kui.

"Not Sister Xiao Kui?"

Seeing this, the spherical white moon immediately floated in front of Maido: "Little girl, you don't know this, do you? This is Yue Kui from a parallel world! Impressive, isn't he!"

"Parallel worlds?" Mai Duo's eyes widened slowly. Boss Bai had another one.

This isn't some kind of parallel world; it's more like the Bai Yuekui Universe.

Her gaze toward the young Yue Kui was immediately filled with curiosity.

Young Yue Kui felt a little embarrassed by Mai Duo's gaze, and nodded slightly as a greeting.

Yang Chen smiled and said to Mai Duo, "Mai Duo, we have urgent business to attend to. You can go ahead and take care of it."

After saying that, he continued to lead the group deeper into the village.

After walking a few steps, another figure swayed and blocked the road, hands in pockets, looking lazy. It was Bai Yuetian from this world.

When Yang Chen and his group arrived at the village, their ASH mobile devices had already synchronized the information, naturally notifying Bai Yuetian, who was there.

He looked at the young Yue Kui who was following Yang Chen and Bai Yue Kui, his eyes lit up, and he stepped forward to examine her carefully, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Not bad, not bad at all! Look at those eyebrows and eyes, that aura... Hey, I have another little sister!"

Young Yue Kui felt somewhat embarrassed by the sudden appearance of this man who looked exactly like his brother.

When the sphere of white moonlight saw the white moonlight of this world, its entire body froze.

He rushed forward, almost touching the other person's face.

"You...you are me?! Me in this world?"

Bai Yuetian of this world was stunned by the sphere's excited reaction for a moment, then realized what was happening, raised his hand and tapped the sphere's metal shell, making a soft "thump thump" sound.

"Nonsense, otherwise what's standing here, a ghost?"

"Also, you said the wrong thing."

Round Moon Sky: "How did I say something wrong?"

Bai Yuetian: "You are me, not me and you."

Round Moon Sky: "?"

"I am the original, you are the useless version," Yuanqiu Yuetian said, realizing what was happening.

"?"

"How am I the useless version?"

Seeing that his two "brothers" seemed about to start arguing, the young Yue Kui looked at Bai Yue Kui with a hint of helplessness.

Bai Yuekui simply said softly, "Let those two idiots argue it out themselves for a while."

The two women under the white moonlight began to argue, but fortunately, the argument didn't last long.

Looking at the sphere, Bai Yuetian of this world patted the top of it.

"Alright, stop looking so pathetic. I'm definitely older than you. Calling me 'big brother' won't hurt you, since you're here."

"Didn't that kid Orange say he was going to operate on you? Once he puts your brain back in, the two of us can hang out together."

The round, white moonlit screen flickered, eventually displaying a smiling face with tears in its eyes, "()".

"Ok!"

"But you're still the useless version."

The round ball under the white moon didn't forget to add a final line.

Bai Yuetian in this world rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue with this "spherical" version of herself anymore.

Seeing this, Yang Chen knew that these two "white moonlight" lovers couldn't be cleared up in a short time, so he said, "Alright, you two can acknowledge your relationship later."

"Brother-in-law, let me take you to take care of the important business first."

After saying that, he gestured for the ball to follow, and then walked towards the village's medical area.

The round, white moon quickly floated up and followed, not forgetting to turn around and make a funny face at the white moon in this world with the screen.

Bai Yuetian watched them leave, shrugged, and then followed them unsteadily, clearly wanting to see what the commotion was about.

Bai Yuekui then said to the slightly bewildered young man Yuekui beside him, "Let's go back to where we're staying. It will take time to gather manpower and equipment. Once everything is ready, we can set off."

As she spoke, she led the young man Yue Kui toward the house on the other side of the village, the house that belonged to her and Yang Chen.

Young Yue Kui followed behind Bai Yue Kui, looking at Dragon Bone Village, his unease gradually replaced by anticipation.

Young Yue Kui followed Bai Yue Kui into the house, curiously looking around the interior.

This house has clearly been expanded and seems to be larger than a typical village dwelling.

Bai Yuekui pointed to a relatively cozy bedroom decorated with some cute little objects and books, and said, "That's where we lived when we were little."

Because Xiaoyuekui wanted to come to Dragonbone Village every now and then, the residence was expanded once.

The young Yue Kui paused for a moment, then subconsciously exclaimed "Huh?", not quite understanding the meaning of the sentence.

She looked at Bai Yuekui and asked hesitantly, "Then...how old is she?"

"Eleven," Bai Yuekui answered calmly, "almost twelve years old."

The young Yue Kui opened his mouth slightly, momentarily dazed.

Seeing her somewhat lost in thought, Bai Yuekui remained silent for a moment, then walked to the table, poured two glasses of water, and handed one of them to the young Yuekui.

“That Jiuchuan City… my parents are very good.” She paused, then looked into the eyes of the young man Yuekui and said directly.

What... do you think?

(End of this chapter)