Legend of the Heroes of Another World's Divine Tower

Chapter 21 The Strange Uncle - Zhou Yanyu

"Nice to meet you! Hello! My name is Zhou Yanyu! What's your name?"

Having just experienced a near-death experience and a bizarre resurrection, Lin Chi was still immersed in the immense panic of his mother's abduction and the confusion about his own state. He was weak and powerless, but suddenly a strange, high-pitched, and even somewhat inappropriately excited voice rang in his ears.

He felt a chill run down his spine and abruptly turned his head to look around—aside from the mess on the ground, the cold corpses, and the ice-blue halberd stuck to the side, there was no one around.

"Look up!" the voice rang out again, with a smile.

Lin Chi looked up abruptly and saw a semi-transparent, faintly glowing "person" floating above his head!

The man looked like an older man, wearing a strange pair of black glasses, and was looking him over with great interest.

"Who?!" Lin Chi's extremely fragile nerves were completely agitated. Without thinking, he threw a punch at the floating soul, even though his fist only passed through the afterimage.

"Hey! Is this how you treat your savior?" Zhou Yanyu nimbly swayed in the air, mimicking Lin Chi's movements with an exaggerated "attacked" expression, but his tone wasn't fearful at all; instead, it was somewhat mocking.

"Who are you? Where are Martell and my mother?!" Lin Chi roared with all his might, completely losing control of his emotions. His eyes quickly turned bloodshot and red, and tears mixed with the blood and dust on his face rolled down uncontrollably.

Like a trapped cub, desperate and ferocious.

"Say it!!" He waved his arms wildly, attacking the air indiscriminately, venting his inner fear, anger, and helplessness.

Zhou Yanyu stopped dodging and simply floated there quietly, calmly watching the boy who was on the verge of collapse.

When Lin Chi's roar subsided slightly, leaving only heavy breathing, he spoke again, his voice more composed.

"I know you're feeling terrible and confused right now. But confusion won't solve anything. Calm down and listen to me, okay?" He slowly floated closer, his soul-like eyes seemingly able to see into the depths of Lin Chi's soul.

Lin Chi didn't answer, but just stared at him intently, his clenched fists trembling slightly from the force, his nails almost digging into his palms.

"Very good, it seems it hasn't completely collapsed yet." Zhou Yanyu nodded, a hint of approval in his tone. "I don't want to go through all the trouble to save a good-for-nothing who only knows how to give up on himself."

"First," he extended a semi-transparent finger, "your mother, Aurora, was taken away by Martell and should have returned to the Elven Kingdom. But don't despair too much. In my judgment, she should be out of immediate danger, so you still have time and a chance to become stronger and then go and rescue her."

"Secondly," he pointed to himself, then to Lin Chi, "I, Zhou Yanyu, am your savior and... uh, your roommate? Anyway, without me, you'd be a real corpse by now, and there's no way you'd be standing here yelling at me. Don't believe me? Take a good look around yourself."

He gestured for Lin Chi to notice Eli's corpse on the ground, the halberd left by Martell, and Lin Chi's own clearly "resurrected" physical condition.

"Third, and most importantly," Zhou Yanyu's soul emitted a faint glow, appearing more solemn.

"You have now, by some strange twist of fate, acquired... well, a power that allows you to protect what you desire in your heart. The specifics are difficult for you to grasp in a short time. But if you concentrate and try to 'think' about my memories, you'll understand everything. We are now one entity; you can access my memories at any time."

After saying that, Zhou Yanyu stopped talking and floated in mid-air, looking down at the boy whose brain was obviously overloaded and whose expression was chaotic, with a calm yet expectant look on his face.

"What...what is this?!" Lin Chi felt a splitting headache, as the information exploded in his mind like a bomb.

His mother was arrested, a strange soul, his savior, oneness, accessing memories... These words swirled together, making his vision go black. His weak body could no longer support him, and he swayed and collapsed to the ground.

"Tsk, little brother, you need to work on your mental and physical fitness." Zhou Yanyu shrugged helplessly, then a thought struck him.

The next second, Lin Chi felt a light, detaching sensation, and his perspective suddenly rose! He was shocked to see that "his" body was still sitting on the ground, while "he" had already floated into the air, transforming into a semi-transparent soul state similar to Zhou Yanyu's!

"What's going on?!" Lin Chi exclaimed in surprise.

Zhou Yanyu, who was controlling Lin Chi's body, stood up and stretched his arms, legs, and neck.

"I'm too lazy to explain the specific principles to you from the beginning. The most direct way is for you to look at my memories yourself. Although it may be a little hard to imagine for people from another world, I believe you have the ability to make such leaps in understanding."

Now that things had come to this, Lin Chi looked at the body below that had been "occupied" and knew he had no better choice for the time being. At least, the strange old man's soul didn't seem to have any ill intentions so far, and had even saved him.

He took a deep breath, tried to concentrate, and attempted to "connect" or "perceive" as Zhou Yanyu had instructed.

Fragmented, unfamiliar yet exceptionally clear images and feelings flooded his consciousness like a tide—Mount Everest, the golden vortex, observation, the system's cold prompts, fierce confrontation, the final "symbiotic" contract being reached...

He saw Zhou Yanyu's hesitation, anger, persistence, and the final choice he made to "revive" him.

Soon, Lin Chi exited the memory review and looked down at Zhou Yanyu, who was getting used to his new body, with a complicated expression.

Zhou Yanyu was bending down to pick up the old black cloak and mask left by Eli on the ground and sniffed them.

"Hmm, not bad, no foul smell." He nodded in satisfaction, deftly draping the cloak over himself, pulling up the hood, and putting on his mask. "Looks like this scent is only detectable among elves. Disguise complete!"

He was about to leave when he stopped, turned around, picked up the Soul-Suppressing Lamp from the ground, and carefully hung it on his waist. "I almost forgot about this treasure! It's a life-saving charm for this floor; I can't lose it."

After doing all this, he looked up and grinned at Lin Chi, who was floating in the air. Although most of his face was covered by a mask, the smile in his eyes was unmistakable: "How about it? Finished watching our dark elementary school student?"

Lin Chi's mood was still heavy, but it was clearer than the initial pure chaos and despair.

He quickly analyzed the situation: his mother's arrest was a fact; Zhou Yanyu's memories, if not fabricated, showed that he had indeed saved him and formed a kind of symbiotic relationship with him; and he had not shown any hostility for the time being...

Are you currently wondering, 'Should I believe him?'

Zhou Yanyu seemed to see through his thoughts, chuckled, and patted his chest.

"Don't worry, it's genuine, ten times the price back! You can't beat me anyway... uh, you can't beat me. Since you're so hesitant, why don't you just watch from above and see how your brother Yu plays this bad hand into a spectacular comeback!"

His eyes gleamed with a light Lin Chi had never seen before—a mixture of confidence, excitement, eagerness, and even a mischievous cunning that seemed out of place in the dark and oppressive surroundings.

"Alright!" Lin Chi's attitude stirred a slight competitive spirit within him, or rather, he wanted to see what this stranger from another world who had suddenly barged into his life could do. He replied irritably, "I'll just watch! Let's see what you're up to!"

"Target clear!" Zhou Yanyu, controlling Lin Chi's body, pointed confidently toward the camp, as if it were not a den of dragons and tigers, but some interesting challenge.

"First step—return to camp! Then use hallucinogenic grenades to defeat the boss and level up!"

After saying that, he took a step forward, with an almost reckless enthusiasm and lightness, and jogged towards the dark camp full of danger and the unknown.