Nobita's Time Heist

After saying that, she immediately got into the car, and grabbed Asur's arm, pulling her into the car as well.

"Beep beep—!!"

After honking twice, the jeep circled around, then the hood opened, revealing a deformed internal structure. A large hand emerged, grabbed Huang Amao by the collar, and pulled him into the vehicle. Having just escaped drowning and still reeling from a shattered worldview, his mind was completely blank. If they hadn't pulled him out, he probably would have remained sitting on the ground, motionless.

After everyone was on board, the tires emitted a deep, powerful screech, splashing up specks of dirt. The seemingly heavy vehicle performed a nimble drift, its taillights drawing two bright streaks in the darkness, heading straight for the ancestral hall at the end of the mountain road.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"...That's a magical artifact you crafted? That's rare. I thought such things only existed in myths and legends."

Liu Ran watched the taillights gradually disappear into the darkness. For someone living 2000 years ago, he had already used his imagination to the fullest extent to find a suitable explanation for this strange object. He sneered, his gaze towards Da Xiong growing colder. "Young man, looking at you with such a sanctimonious appearance, I never expected you would do something like this."

"what?"

"Just now, you only asked that puppet to take those two little girls with it, right?" Liu Ran pointed in the direction the US dollars were being transported and said in a deep voice, "But it disobeyed your orders and took that brat with it as well. What does that mean? Inside that big iron shell head, there's a complete soul! You extracted the soul of a mortal from his body, refined it, and then attached it to it."

This method, which screams "evil" at first glance, made Nobita frown.

"I did not do what you said."

"Yes, of course you don't, and neither do I. In the end, it's not a matter of right or wrong."

He placed his right hand inside the left sleeve of his Taoist robe, groping for something. His smile grew increasingly distorted, his entire face becoming inhuman, creating a ghostly sense of dislocation. "Leaving that iron shell here would increase your chances of winning. It's a pity you're into treasures, aren't you? Your cultivation is too shallow; I can't sense any magic power from you."

"Before I kill you, I want you to know that I have no old grudges against you, it's just..."

"boom--!"

Just before he pulled something out of his sleeve, Da Xiong swiftly drew his [Instant Sticky Gun] and unleashed a standard American Iaijutsu. His timing was always top-notch; he could time his attack perfectly just before the other person could make a move. The slime sealed Liu Ran's left side. He froze, realizing his arm was completely encased in the slime, unable to move.

"Why...why did you do this?" After restraining the other person, Da Xiong pressed him with an unusually harsh and cold tone, "Everyone in the village trusted you implicitly. They respected you, loved you, and considered you the rightful patriarch of this place, that you would lead them to a better life! How could you betray their trust like this?!"

"Heh...haha..."

Realizing that the slime wasn't deadly, Liu Ran let out a cold laugh, as if she had found the ultimate fun, and her gaze toward Da Xiong became increasingly contemptuous.

"I thought you were something special, but it turns out you're just a greenhorn."

Liu Ran said in a resolute tone, "In this world, even those who are related by blood are ultimately just 'others.' No one is trustworthy except myself. Their choice to trust me is like trusting tigers, leopards, and wolves on the roadside. In the end, they will only fall into the jaws of beasts, which is nothing more than their own fault."

"Do you think they are human beings? In the eyes of those in power, they are nothing more than beasts in human form. Every drop of blood in their bodies and every drop of sweat they shed is the property of the current emperor."

"boom----!!"

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Bathed in the light of lightning, the old man's disheveled hair seemed to stand upright, and his voice gradually became rough and distorted, like a ferocious old dragon.

"This ruthless, chaotic world is inherently cannibalistic; it's just a matter of whether I eat it... or whether I'm eaten by high-ranking officials and feudal lords far away. Mercy or cruelty, none of that will change, never will!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Da Xiong was completely enraged by this contemptuous attitude, and his voice involuntarily lowered, "After all these excuses, aren't you just afraid of dying?"

……

"Ha... kid, nothing could be more pathetic than this..."

Liu Ran let out a bitter laugh, and a shimmering light emanated from his pupils, like a dazzling brilliance.

"I have completely forgotten my original purpose."

Chapter 179: An Alarm Clock That Can Wake People Up from a Distance

"What do you mean?" Da Xiong asked suspiciously. "Do you have Alzheimer's... do you have dementia?"

"You've already seen what I'm raising underground, haven't you?" Liu Ran didn't know what Da Xiong meant by "Alzheimer's." In this era, most people's average lifespan was far from the onset of Alzheimer's disease; they would die prematurely. "Ghost Ginseng, Ghost Ginseng, with the word 'ghost' in its name, of course it will turn people into something neither human nor ghost."

"The leaves turn green and then red, and season after season flows over me. One morning, I suddenly felt confused: Why did I go to such lengths to build this feng shui formation and live in this remote village? Why do I keep drawing life force from these people who greet me every morning?"

"To be specific, I can't remember anymore. I only know that it must have been a very important thing, something I had to do no matter how unwilling I was. It surpassed many things, surpassed everything, and could not be defined by simple words like good or evil."

"For this, even if it means burning out like a candle and falling into the endless underworld after death..."

"It doesn't matter!"

……

"prick……"

The sound of a flint.

"?!"

Da Xiong realized the situation was dire and, in a split second, raised his hand to fire another shot. However, flames had already burst from his fingertips, instantly expanding into a massive fireball. With a deafening roar, countless tiny flames exploded from within, burning the adhesive into a gaseous state. The raging fire crackled and popped, a foul, acrid smell assaulting Da Xiong's sense of smell. What astonished him even more was that something was slowly moving within the flames.

He instinctively took a step back, perhaps subconsciously, not wanting to see a charred corpse. He reached into his pocket, preparing to pull out some fire-extinguishing tools.

but……

When the dark black Taoist robe emerged from the fire, even the hem intact, Da Xiong's pupils contracted slightly. He made a strange hand gesture, and the raging fire seemed to deliberately avoid him, even the sparks seemed to dodge his white beard. Just like Moses parting the sea in mythology, with each step he took, the flames beneath his feet extinguished prematurely. Liu Ran effortlessly reached into the long sleeve of the Taoist robe and took out a string of old-fashioned bells. The bells themselves weren't very large, about the size of a lychee, and the straps were made of cowhide; in that era, they were considered quite precious "works of art."

"Fa Bao!"

He shouted loudly and swung his wrist.

"Ring ring ring————"

The familiar sound of bells rang in his ears. The moment the notes entered his ears, Da Xiong suddenly felt his legs go weak, as if he were stepping on cotton.

Looking around, the scenery suddenly changed. The dark mountains and forests melted away like paint on a background painting, and the colors were reconstructed, gradually becoming familiar.

"What's going on..." Nobita looked completely bewildered. "Isn't this the hallway from my elementary school days?"

All memories begin in the most familiar place.

Upon closer inspection, his body seemed to have inexplicably shrunk, as if he had swallowed an A drug, and his clothes had changed to a classic beige shirt and dark athletic shorts.

In short, it's like going back to fourth grade. The teacher's voice could be heard reading aloud from the classroom; it must be a Chinese language class. He peeked through the window; all the students were there, sitting neatly in rows. Apart from the teacher's uniquely rhythmic voice, the entire corridor seemed empty and quiet.

Springtime was in full bloom, and a breeze wafted in from the corridor, carrying the fresh scent of earth from the hillside. The chirping of birds, mingling with the sunlight streaming through the windowpanes, created a serene and beautiful scene. In a daze, he experienced a strange feeling of being out of place, yet within this strangeness, he felt a long-lost sense of relaxation. At school, the day passed very slowly; the teacher's drawn-out lectures seemed to last forever.

He could relive his beautiful memories anytime he traveled through time, but he could never go back to that time himself. Even if he watched it hundreds of times, Nobita, now a high school student, would always be an "observer." No one can simultaneously possess a childhood and experience it, not even Nobita.

He gazed at all the familiar faces in the classroom for a long time, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes. He then solemnly peered out the window, looking for a long time, as if he wanted to say goodbye to them one by one.

"I see, so it works by triggering pleasant memories in people's subconscious to make them unwilling to wake up. This trick is quite effective..."

Da Xiong sighed, took out a chick-shaped alarm clock from his pocket, and said, "After everything is back to normal, take a day to go out and see the teacher."

(A long-distance wake-up alarm clock: literally, it can wake people up from a great distance, and it looks like a chick. It may seem useless, but it is a great tool for breaking illusions. It appears in the movie "Nobita's Space Drifting Adventure" and the daily life episode "The Machine of a Hundred Sufferings".)

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Oh—!! Oh—!! Oh—!!

The loud rooster crow instantly echoed throughout the entire village. Asudun, who had just arrived at the ancestral hall and hadn't even gotten out of the car yet, was startled and looked around the village. "What time is it? Do the roosters here get up so early?!"

“No, that’s…” Shizuka’s expression was somewhat serious. “It’s Doraemon’s gadget, used to wake people up. Nobita must have realized that he’s been caught in an illusion.”

"We must act now!"

"boom--!"

The transformed American dollar delivered a flying shoulder charge, smashing open the tightly closed wooden door of the ancestral hall. The two door panels flew off and clattered into the wall. The fearless steel warrior, having entered this horror movie set, completely disregarded the rules. With a sweep of his optical glasses, he immediately detected the hidden underground door structure, reached out, grabbed the edge of the gap in the door, and pried it open.

“It should be down there. By the way, are you okay with your size?” Asur gestured to indicate the size of the entrance, then looked at the dollar. “If we can’t get in, we’ll lose one of our fighting members. Who knows what kind of monsters are down there?”

"How about we blast this hole open?"

"..." Asur's blunt suggestion startled Shizuka. She turned around, seemingly wanting to consult the villager behind her. But clearly, he was still somewhat confused and offered no opinion on whether or not this "sacred place" in the villagers' hearts should be destroyed.

"Besides cars, what else can you turn the US dollar into?"

"...wuliloka?"

Without vocal organs, he could only express himself through gliding mechanical sounds. Meijin tilted his head, looking confused, and finally shook his head first, then nodded.

"For example, this?"

She took a small, square metal box out of her pocket.

(The Random Box: Doraemon's secret gadget, which can be used as a substitute for any square object, such as a lighter, tape recorder, washing machine, mobile phone, power bank, magazine, etc. It is very convenient and the best choice for home and travel.)

“wu…”

Meijin nodded reluctantly, bent down, and stared intently at the box with an optical lens. It took him several tens of seconds to roughly understand its structure. With a quick turn, amidst a series of cool clicks, its massive size folded up rapidly, transforming into a red and black portable tape recorder.

Author's message

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Today is Lunar New Year's Eve! Happy Year of the Dragon, my fellow book lovers!!!

Chapter 180: The Battle of Wits in Tongxin Village

A narrow crevice stretched before her, the cliffs on either side seemingly collapsing against each other. Amidst the shadows, she could vaguely make out many outstretched hands, motionless. In the limited light, the hands appeared remarkably lifelike, as if trying to grasp something from afar. Seeing these hands, images of the bodies wrapped in white cloth and lying beneath the old locust tree involuntarily surfaced in her mind. Especially the image of the drowning old man's hand, the one she had scratched, flashed repeatedly, making Shizuka feel nauseous.

“According to him, he must be inside.” Asur looked at the narrow crevice and sighed, “It’s formed by two rock walls pressed together, and it’s the same width from top to bottom. There’s no way to fly over from above; this is the only way to go.”

"Zizzizi..."

A unique noise, typical of old-fashioned electrical appliances, suddenly rang out. Without warning, the tape recorder Shizuka was holding popped open with a "click," and several cassette tapes flew out.

In fact, even in the era of smartphones, cassette tapes were already quite common. They would transform in mid-air, landing as small dogs and birds supported by metal supports, darting into the cracks in the rock face. At the same time, the tape recorder in one's hand would also transform, from a semiconductor electronic tape recorder of the last world into a square tablet computer.

The "No single" message flashed briefly, then the screen switched to a dual perspective, showing the mechanical dog and the mechanical bird, one in the air and one underground, perfectly separated.

"You have this function too?"

Asur stared wide-eyed. "Seriously, this is a move only that Decepticon called Soundwave would use! He's completely turned into a villain!"

The sound of metal scraping echoed in the cave, the camera shaking violently. Soon, the entire cavern was laid out before him. He made no attempt to hide anything, exposing the corpses directly. The bodies were displayed there, their necks and above cleanly severed, the abnormally swollen ginseng roots twitching at the cut ends. Even through the lens, it was a bit shocking.

"..."

"Ugh...ugh..."

Huang Amao finally regained some strength and, by sheer bad luck, glanced at the screen. The impact of these adult-themed videos on an ancient person was simply too strong. The boy immediately bent over and vomited uncontrollably, bringing up the remaining river water in his stomach. Jingxiang's complexion wasn't good either; despite having mentally prepared herself beforehand, she simply couldn't accept what she couldn't accept.

"I see it! The innermost corpse looks a bit different!" Only Asur's attention was completely focused on the screen, like a veteran forensic pathologist with ten years of experience, able to remain unfazed by all sorts of bizarre corpses, concentrating solely on the corpse's current state. "What's growing on its head isn't ginseng, but..."

"mushroom?"

Shizuka also noticed the unusual headless corpse. To be precise, what was growing in the cavity of its neck was some kind of fungus, but given the current situation, Shizuka didn't have time to correct her—on the camera, a withered human hand emerged from the ground, its five withered fingers clenching tightly in the air, making a cracking sound. The fungus growing on its head wriggled, drawing some red and white liquid from the withered corpse, which was then carried upwards along its translucent roots.

"Hiss..."

It was a dangerous and eerie sound, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

At the same time, the entire cavern began to churn, and the remains that had been buried deep in the soil began to grab onto the ground, pulling themselves out of the earth and rocks. Although they no longer had vocal organs, they raised their necks and roared, and the ghost ginseng that served as their "heads" stretched out its roots like mandrakes, emitting eerie hissing sounds. This scene was naturally captured by the camera and transmitted to the three people without any change.

"What the hell? These guys are clearly dead. I've never heard of someone coming back to life after being beheaded." Asur looked incredulous. "How can they still be moving?!"

"Asur-chan... do you know something called 'Cordyceps sinensis'? It's used as a precious medicinal material, but essentially it's a fungus that parasitizes insects, consuming all their components. Look at those corpses, aren't they very similar?"

Shizuka, suppressing her physical discomfort, zoomed in on the images—especially the ginseng parasites on people, waving their tentacles—and murmured, “I once saw a scholar’s ​​opinion online that perhaps, in the near future, the real culprits to destroy the world will be fungi. They have a powerful ability to scavenge and spread rapidly, and with a slight mutation, humans simply cannot control them effectively.”

"However, the way these corpses move is less like plants and more like some kind of animal..."

In a flash, a withered hand burst through the ground and grabbed her ankle.

In that instant, death and life clashed, and an icy sensation, unlike anything from this world, traveled through the girl's skin and into her mind. A hoarse roar came from underground, the digging sounds gradually ceased, and a half-broken metal helmet appeared beneath the surface. Most of its head was incomplete; its eyeballs had long since decayed into mud, leaving only two empty eye sockets, like two bottomless black holes.

"ah----!!"

The girl's scream came as expected, like the sound of a starting gun, and dozens of corpses instantly emerged from the loose sand. There were no signals between them, and this unified command reminded Shizuka of the Mother Insect's endless army of insects.

However, no matter what, the Zerg army is still "living," and at most it can be considered a kind of biological weapon.

And this thing before my eyes...

It's practically a concrete representation of "death".

The once spacious cavern suddenly became extremely crowded. The creatures were no longer alive; most were rotten to the bone, their armor rusted and worn, yet they still refused to lay down their weapons. In a sense, this only amplified their intimidation… Swords are inherently dull; if they were to strike, it would be like being killed with a dull blade, the pain of which is palpable.

"boom----!!"

The tablet in the girl's hand suddenly leaped up, transformed on its own, and assembled a short gun. With a single shot, it blasted the skeleton soldier wielding a rusty sword into pieces.

……