novelraw Chapter 975: Waiting
Chapter 975: Waiting
"You intend to hand over the authority of the Qing Family to an outsider?" someone questioned.
Old Master remained silent for a moment: "Now, West Continent has done as they wished, killing Xiao San, and perhaps obtaining the Forbidden Artifact Ant Queen. If they truly have a way to find Qing Chen through Xiao San, then we must prepare for the worst. The worst-case scenario is that Qing Chen is also found and killed by West Continent, or that Qing Chen fails to become a god and ultimately becomes a part of the world's will, losing their own thoughts.
So, negotiate with her. Second, if we still cannot determine Qing Chen's life or death during this cycle of traversal, everyone needs to determine his location upon returning, find him, and ascertain his condition."
Everyone's faces were grave; Qing Chen's life or death had become the most crucial factor.
At this time, Li Shutong looked at Old Master: "If Qing Chen truly dies? I remember this is what you once said... the only hope."
Old Master was silent for a moment before saying, "Then we will fight until the last moment, and find our own way to drag West Continent into hell with us."
Four hours later.
Airship landed in the Gingko Garden. Ling stepped off the airship, examining the manor with great interest. She came to the small wooden house on the hillside.
Old Master sat inside, calmly saying, "Come in."
The small door opened, and as Ling entered, she glanced at the rafters, where Qing Ji's son, Qing Wu, was sitting cross-legged, cultivating. In front of Old Master was a chessboard, with black and white dragons sprawling across it. The black pieces were already showing signs of exhaustion. Ling saw that there were very few pieces left in the chess box.
In this game of chess, one wrong move by the black pieces would mean losing the entire game.
Ling only glanced at it before immediately saying, "Your Qing Family seems to always like to fight to the death, this chess game seems no different from a thousand years ago. But this time, what if you don't wait for Qing Chen?
Old Master: "Whether Qing Chen, the woman who can destroy the world, can return, I am uncertain, but now we can only hope to hold on long enough, long enough until he truly returns, and everything is still salvageable."
Ling: "That will require a great cost."
Old Master: "You should understand that humanity never lacks the courage to pay the price."
Ling understood.
Ling said: "I'm curious, why are you willing to hand over command to me?
Old Master said: "In the endgame of Go, it's artificial intelligence that excels at calculation that's the most powerful."
Ling asked: "Aren't you afraid I'll destroy all of humanity?"
Old Master replied slowly, "Humanity's first era was destroyed by nuclear bombs, but the second era was saved by nuclear bombs. The only constant in this world is change. I believe Ren Xiaosu didn't destroy you for a reason, and you, in this long millennium, have already understood that besides destruction, there are perhaps things worth looking forward to."
Ling laughed: "If you want me to take over command, then you must let me see everything you see on this chessboard. Do you have the courage?"
A black piece was dropped by Old Master, and a white piece in the chess box automatically disappeared, appearing on the chessboard. The world between them seemed frozen.
Three hours later, Ling slowly got up and walked out: "An interesting game of chess. You may not be a qualified leader, but you are a qualified father... Let me finish the game."
The atmosphere in the Qing Corporation military command center was heavy. Xiao San was dead, and Qing Chen's whereabouts were unknown. Everyone's spirits were low. In the middle of the spacious common room was a huge Holographic Sand Table, displaying the entire southwest terrain.
Next to the Holographic Sand Table were holographic projections of Qing Kun and Qing Yu, as well as Li Changqing, who had become the head of the Li Clan.
The command center was quiet. Hundreds of officers looked at Ling, the woman who was about to command them.
Ling looked at the Holographic Sand Table and said: "From now on, I am taking over command of the Qing Family and the Li Clan. I don't have time to introduce myself to you. Execute my orders. The first thing is that the Guardians' Union troops will arrive at Sword Gate Pass in five days. Qing Kun, Shendai Yunluo, you will head to Sword Gate Pass today. After the Guardians' Union passes through, Sword Gate Pass must help them block the air fleet and buy time for their retreat."
Takahashi Ryosuke frowned and asked: "Why are we always sent to such dangerous places? Are you trying to eliminate dissent?"
Ling didn't pay him any attention, but looked at Shendai Yunluo: "Go, or not go?"
Ling's manner of speaking was too harsh, giving a very strong impression.
Those who followed Shendai Yunluo were filled with indignation, as if they had been treated unfairly: previously, they had been the ones to buy time for the Guardians' Union, going to the most dangerous places, and now it was still them.
However, Shendai Yunluo simply smiled and agreed: "I'll go."
Ling nodded: "Then let's go. There's no need to attend the subsequent operational meetings, you only need to do this one thing."
Shendai Yunluo turned and left with his people. Someone at the airport had already prepared an airship for them, heading directly to Sword Gate Pass.
On the airship, Shendai Yunluo smiled: "Let's go, take the Guardians' Union home."
Takahashi Ryosuke finally couldn't help but ask: "Why is it always you?"
Shendai Yunluo was silent for a moment: "Because she knows very well that only I can."
Inside the command center.
Ling looked at everyone: "Now for the second matter, Li Changqing, I need you to return to the Central Plains. Advance to the coordinates I send you, your route must be precise, and you must not deviate without authorization."
Ling sent out the coordinates, the route drawing a C on the Holographic Sand Table, returning to the Central Plains!
"Do you want me to cut off their land army's supply lines?" Li Changqing asked.
Ling laughed: "That's right."
The Li Clan air force was completely annihilated in City 18, leaving only one Qingshan Fortress.
No one expected that the Qingshan Fortress, which had just arrived in the southwest for a joint operation, would be sent back to the most dangerous place in the Central Plains.
Ling looked at Li Changqing: "Only if the southwest is defended will the civilians who have migrated from City 18 have a chance to live. Although you will die, they may survive."
"The enemy satellites will detect us in advance," Li Changqing said.
Ling replied: "This route perfectly avoids their satellites."
East and West Continent have been shooting down each other's satellites, neither side allowing satellites in the equatorial orbit, so neither can achieve round-the-clock monitoring.
And Ling knew exactly where West Continent's satellite orbits were.
However, this meant that Li Changqing would be going deep alone. Even if the Air Fortress had nuclear power to extend its range, it would be enemy territory. As soon as they made a move, the enemy would surely surround them. Li Changqing was silent for a moment: "I'll go."
Ling smiled: "This supreme command is really useful. Li Yino, Nangeng Chen, Li Tongyun, Liu Dezhu, Zhang Tianzhen, the five of you will go with the Qingshan Fortress."
The five looked at each other, wondering what madness had struck Ling, suddenly sending them to the Qingshan Fortress. But it didn't matter; if she told them to go, they would go.
The five left, boarding an airship to reach the Qingshan Fortress. We will reach the edge of Forbidden Zone 001, I will send you the coordinates."
"..."
Qing Yu replied: "Received."
Ling issued over a hundred orders in a row, as if she didn't need to think. The Qing Family's war machine was fully mobilized. The operations staff suddenly realized that these orders covered all units, without a single omission.
But no one knew what she was trying to do.
The command center fell silent. Li Kerou, who had been listening for a while, suddenly asked: "Do you know where my Boss is?"
Ling looked at her and smiled: "I don't know. Now is not the time to think about Qing Chen, the most important thing is whether the 330,000 Guardians' Union can escape this disaster."
Autumn arrived.
A thin mist drifted through the Hengduan Mountains in the southwest. In the morning, the Guardians' Union members marching had dewdrops on their eyebrows. Everyone advanced silently. The temperature at high altitudes was gradually decreasing, and at night it would even approach freezing. Everyone was wearing thin clothes. Only the core Time Traveler force had eaten well on Whale Island, others could only endure the cold.
No food.
Hunger and cold.
When the Time Travelers returned, they would eat and drink to their heart's content every day, wanting to eat six meals a day, just to gain some weight, so they could starve in the Inner World.
Little Seven instructed the Time Travelers to distribute the food and medicine brought from the Outer World, but they could only use plastic wrap to wrap compressed biscuits, a small amount...a drop in the bucket for the entire 330,000-strong army.
They seemed to be forgotten in some corner of the world, neglected.
The long line walked along the ridge. They were like travelers in the desert, a camel caravan on the dunes. However, food was scarce, but weapons were complete. These Guardians' Union members did not throw away their weapons along the way.
The team was about to enter the southwest region.
Luo Wanya stood on a ridge and saw a temple in the distance: "How come there's a temple here? The tiles are clean, without weeds, indicating that someone lives here."
A member of the Inner World Guardians' Union explained: "This should be Dabei Temple. When the Mechanical God Sect was rampant, it squeezed out Buddhism and suppressed Taoism, causing a large number of monks to flee to the wilderness. Some became Wildlanders, and some with strong faith chose to continue to be monks. They did not have temples in the wilderness, so they migrated with the Wildlanders, working for the Wildlanders along the way, but they did not take money or ask for things. Even if they worked hard, they only needed three meals a day."
The Guardians' Union member continued: "They also know medicine. Once there was a plague in the wilderness, they treated and saved people. After saving many people, the Wildlanders built a temple for them in the mountains. Next to the temple are fields cultivated by the monks themselves. If Wildlanders could not survive, they could go to the temple to stay for 30 days. Every 30 days, a group of people would go into the wilderness, and treat anyone who was sick."
Luo Wanya watched silently. There were too many fake monks in this world, covering up the kindness of the true ascetic monks.
Little Seven muttered: "Could there be some hidden expert in this temple? What if there's a Demi-God..."
Luo Wanya shook his head: "If there were a legacy here, the Wildlanders wouldn't have flocked to the Fire Pit. They are just ordinary monks. Let's go, let's persuade them. The people from West Continent chasing us are behind us. If they pass by here, it might get them involved. Let's take them with us, and we'll build a temple for them after the war is over."
Little Seven and Luo Wanya crossed the mountain and went to visit Dabei Temple. The monk in front of the temple was fertilizing the vegetable garden, his clothes patched with dozens of patches.
Luo Wanya stepped forward and clasped his hands together: "How many monks are there in the temple?"
An elderly monk put down his dung scoop: "137."
Luo Wanya said: "Everyone, the war is about to affect here, come with us."
The monks looked at each other. They didn't seem to be worried about the war, but when they saw that the Guardians' Union members were thin and pale from hunger, a young monk limped into the temple: "Master, master, disaster victims have come!"
"Why is there such a young monk in the temple?" Little Seven was curious.
Someone explained: "Disabled babies born in the wilderness were abandoned by heartless parents, while kind-hearted parents would travel thousands of miles to Dabei Temple and entrust their children to the monks of Dabei Temple."
Little Seven was stunned. No wonder many of the monks in this temple looked strange, and some even used sign language.
These monks were indeed ordinary people, not cultivators, and many of them were disabled.
In this chaotic world of power struggles, there were still people living peacefully in this corner of the world.
The monks welcomed them into the temple, carrying baskets of vegetables, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, as if they had prepared in advance.
Luo Wanya instructed: "Give them to the old, the weak, the women, and the children. The adult men can dig up tree roots to eat, and anyone who dares to rob will be expelled."
Little Seven took people to deliver food, and the limping young monk hopped along beside them.
Luo Wanya looked at the abbot in front of him: "Soon, the enemy will come here, they may want to ask about our whereabouts from you, if you don't say anything, you may also face torture. The abbot was also a deaf-mute. A monk beside him translated Luo Wanya's words to him in sign language. The abbot thought for a moment and responded in sign language:"
"Then we will tell them your whereabouts."
Luo Wanya: "..."
Wasn't this their boss disguised as the abbot on the road?!
But he thought for a moment, with 330,000 troops passing by, the traces couldn't be hidden. It didn't matter if they told West Continent. Luo Wanya led the team away. This Dabei Temple was just a small episode on their journey, but it made the Guardians' Union members feel much more at ease.
Eight hours after Luo Wanya led the team away, a fake army's airship landed at the temple gate.
A fake army officer jumped off the airship and shouted, "Did the Guardians' Union just pass by here?!"
The abbot didn't speak.
The fake army officer shouted, "Are you deaf? I'm asking you something!"
A monk beside him whispered, "The abbot is indeed deaf."
Officer: "..."
The abbot used sign language, the officer couldn't understand, so he looked at the monk beside him.
The monk translated: "The rise and fall of a nation is the responsibility of every man. You should not help the tyrant."
It turned out that these monks knew what was happening in the Federation. The ascetic monks who traveled had brought the news back to the temple and prepared food for the Guardians' Union in advance.
The officer sneered, "A group of monks dare to condemn me?"
At this time, the abbot gave the officer the middle finger.
Young Monk: "Grass..."
"This doesn't need translation!" The officer laughed angrily, "What kind of wild monks are these? Kill them all!"
At this time, the abbot did not tell the fake army the whereabouts of the Guardians' Union as he had told Luo Wanya, but beckoned to the monks, took the kitchen's rolling pin and the hoe from the field and attacked the fake army. The fake army raised their weapons.
In an instant, a cloud of blood burst from the officer's chest, and he fell backward.
Only then did the sound of sniper rifles from afar reach the temple.
One gunshot after another, there were snipers ambushing in the mountains.
A single round of shooting killed all the fake soldiers outside the airship. The airship quickly took off, but outside the temple's vegetable patch, a group of Guardians' Union members rushed out, shouting and striking the airship with lightning from a distance.
It should be noted that 99% of the 330,000 Guardians' Union members are cultivators, and any group of guerrillas would be at least B-class, including an elite force specializing in the Myriad Gods Thunder Technique! The fake army wanted to hunt down this kind of force, but without the airship's protection, it was hard to say who would hunt whom.
The solitary airship fell crookedly into the mountains. Luo Wanya emerged from the nearby woods and looked at the abbot: "Monks don't fight. You said you would tell them our whereabouts, how come you changed your mind? And you were trying to kill people with the hoe just now, isn't that against your vows?"
The abbot signed.
The young monk translated beside him: "We're going to leave the monastery today."
Luo Wanya: "..."
What a group of resourceful monks!
Luo Wanya beckoned to his men behind him: "Take the monks away, don't leave them here to die."
However, at this moment, Luo Wanya's satellite phone rang. The news of Xiao San's death came from afar. Luo Wanya stood in front of the temple with the satellite phone, speechless for a long time.
The mountain wind howled, exceptionally cold.
Birds sang in the forest, like a mournful cry.
After his daze, he turned to Little Seven and said, "Xiao San is gone. Keep going, we still have a lot to do."
At this time, Qing Chen had been missing for 24 hours, and still no one knew where he was.
Black Widow's safe house was quiet.
Qing Chen held the black True Sight Eye tightly, his whole body seemed to have died, without a sound.
There was only faint light in the room. Yi sat on a box of supplies, curiously watching Black Widow open a can and eat it with a spoon: "When was this safe house prepared? Why is there such a special safe house?
Black Widow answered: "I wanted to kill Storm Duke a long time ago, and I started preparing then, but later I found that I couldn't kill him even though I had prepared the means of escape. ..."
Yi asked again: "Are you worried about dying this time? Now West Continent must be searching the city for us, once found, we will all die."
Black Widow shook her head: "Not afraid, actually I'm very afraid of death, otherwise I wouldn't have kept delaying to attack Storm Duke, and I wouldn't have dared to seek revenge on the Wendi Marquis who violated my mother. But this time, I don't know why, I'm not really afraid."
When will they hide? They both had no idea, at least they had to wait for Qing Chen to wake up.
Yi muttered to himself: "I wonder what Qing Chen is going through, making him still not wake up."