Chapter 57: Chapter 55: Heartbeat

Now Lin Qianxuan understood how Gongsun Ying had taken over the Rebel Army.

In the game screen, Gongsun Yue stepped forward and bent down to pick up the folding fan of Young Master Purple Bamboo.

[Gongsun Yue (looking sentimental): This Divine Machine was crafted by Master Liushang back then.]

Gongsun Yue was once a student at the Celestial Craft Institute.

The Celestial Craft Institute is the Holy Land for Divine Machine research in the Great Qian Country.

It can be said that over ninety percent of the famous Divine Machines in the world come from the Celestial Craft Institute.

[Gongsun Ying (sighing): Young Master Purple Bamboo was hailed by the Purple Bamboo Sect as a prodigy unseen in a millennium. Unfortunately, he couldn’t escape this calamity in the end. We must quickly seal the Eye of Miasma to end all this.]

After a moment of reflection, everyone had to continue their journey.

They passed by the main hall of the Purple Bamboo Sect and arrived at a building behind Purple Bamboo Mountain.

It seemed like a giant passage leading underground.

Inside, there were several miasma spirits, which the Rebel Army members easily dealt with.

Though fighting a boss like Young Master Purple Bamboo posed a challenge, the Rebel Army, being elite monsters, had no problem dealing with ordinary miasma spirits.

The group wound their way further down to a vast underground space.

Here, there was something that looked like a train parked.

He had read about it in books, and it was called a Divine Speed Chariot, another type of Divine Machine, but classified as a transport tool. According to Lin Qianxuan’s calculations, its top speed could reach six to seven hundred kilometers per hour.

During Emperor Shenwu’s time, almost every major force had constructed Divine Speed Chariots underground, which greatly facilitated people’s travel.

Emperor Shenwu even planned to extend it throughout the entire country to serve the public. Unfortunately, he passed away before it happened.

Later, Emperor Feng found it too costly and didn’t engage in public welfare construction at all.

Moreover, he was obsessed with seeking immortality, wanting to live for over two thousand years like Emperor Shenwu, so he spent all the money on himself, engaging in various special Divine Machine research and martial arts research. During his reign, he practically didn’t pursue any public welfare construction.

At this moment, Gongsun Ying faced the group, instructing the Rebel Army members to keep watch and guard, while Gongsun Yue inspected the Divine Speed Chariot’s condition. They needed to rest here for a day before setting out again.

One reason was to confirm the Divine Speed Chariot’s condition, the other was that Gongsun Ying’s Divine Machine needed repairs.

[Gongsun Yue (approaching Gongsun Ying): Sister, the Divine Speed Chariot is in perfect condition; I’m just worried that that there might be miasma spirits obstructing this passage.]

[Gongsun Ying (shaking her head): At the speed of the Divine Speed Chariot, ordinary miasma spirits can’t possibly stop it.]

[Gongsun Yue (nodding, handing over a gourd): Sister, give me your Divine Machine, and I’ll help you repair it. Also, you’ve expended a lot of Divine Energy earlier, and your meridians are slightly injured. Drink the Spiritual Liquid from the Rebirth.]

[Gongsun Ying (glancing at you with some hesitation): Alright, but let’s keep the Spiritual Liquid from the Rebirth for treating everyone. I can heal my injuries through cultivation, and at the latest, I will recover by tomorrow.]

The screen changes as Gongsun Ying has already removed the worn Divine Strategy Limbs and handed them to Gongsun Yue for maintenance.

The in-game character sits next to her, and Gongsun Ying’s expression appears slightly uncomfortable.

In her current state, she indeed appeared a bit ungraceful, even frightening or disgusting to some—a natural human reaction.

However, Lin Qianxuan mostly felt pity.

To survive in such a world, Gongsun Ying had sacrificed too much.

[Gongsun Ying (avoiding eye contact, using her Primordial Spirit to cover her body with a cloak): Does Young Master Lin find it unsightly?]

[Lin Qianxuan (shaking his head): In my hometown, we have a culture; someone like you, Miss Ying, would be called cyberpunk. People would even say you’re….dashing.]

Lin Qianxuan initially wanted to say “cool,” but found it hard to correspond to the Great Qian language, so he opted for “dashing” instead.

[Gongsun Ying (confused): Cyberpunk?]

[Lin Qianxuan: It means replacing one’s limbs with mechanical creations. They often say things like flesh is weak, but machines ascend. They even want to install their consciousness…um, Primordial Spirit… into machines, and if their body breaks down, they just change bodies to achieve immortality.]

[Gongsun Ying (surprised): Young Master Lin, it turns out your people are even more extreme than those old professors at the Celestial Craft Institute. Their theories still require a brain to store the Primordial Spirit!!]

It’s evident that if you are extreme enough, others’ extremism can become conservative.

[Lin Qianxuan (laughing): So, Miss Ying, you don’t have to worry too much. I think it’s quite good. To me, you appear both strong and charming.]

[Gongsun Ying (slightly shy, her cheeks turning red): Young Master Lin, don’t tease me!]

[Gongsun Ying knows you don’t view her differently, and her heart eases slightly.]

[Gongsun Ying’s current connection level: 75%.]

Lin Qianxuan seemed to have an insight.

The reason for Gongsun Ying’s previous hesitation must have been her concern about the game character’s opinion.

At a certain level of mutual affection, she naturally started considering things, showing a bit of a delicate side.

(Leaned against Gongsun Ying.)

[Lin Qianxuan (looking at Gongsun Ying): Miss Ying, you seem a bit unstable like this. Why not lean on me?]

[Gongsun Ying (blushing, avoiding eye contact): Alright.]

Silently, Gongsun Ying leaned against the game character.

In front of the screen, Lin Qianxuan understood that reaching this point in the strategy was essentially complete.

Generally, based on his experience with other romance games, this is already the level where one can officially start dating.

The rest is just a matter of time.

This step is about being candid, fully expressing one’s love. Generally, for slower progress, it might take one or two years, while for faster progress, it could be settled in a few months.

Of course, there’s a faster way.

Experiencing life and death together is the quickest method; it won’t even take a day, maybe just a few hours.

The suspension bridge effect works best.

Of course, Lin Qianxuan doesn’t hope for such a plot to occur.

After all, who knows if this might be something he has to experience firsthand? He doesn’t want any life-and-death crises. He just wants a peaceful strategy.

Gazing at Gongsun Ying on the screen, revealing her slightly delicate side, Lin Qianxuan felt somewhat moved.

Unlike her previous heroic demeanor, she now revealed another side.

Perhaps she also wished for someone to rely on.

Lin Qianxuan’s expression was somewhat unnatural.

After all, in a certain sense, these are events that will happen in the real future.

It’s not quite the same as merely playing a love game.

If it were simply playing a love game, he might even dare to invite Chen Long’Er to play together.

But in this case, he could only admit he felt a bit guilty.

“I’m just playing a game, just playing a game. I have principles. The strategy is only for saving the world, and I might not even go…”

Even though he used many excuses, he couldn’t hide the fact that he did feel a little moved at that moment.

Alright, it was just lust.

He could lie with his mouth, but he couldn’t deceive himself inside.

Shame and a sense of morality made Lin Qianxuan feel like directly shutting down the game.

But these are things that might happen to him in the future, and he wanted to understand them thoroughly, so he could better control the future.

Even though he might not walk this line of destiny, he at least needed to know how to walk it through, right?

What if?

Besides, he was also very curious about what would happen in the future, and some of this world’s extraordinary knowledge.

Lin Qianxuan rubbed his face to calm himself down.

He dived back into the game.

During a break, Lin Qianxuan collected his thoughts and had the game character recount some of the remembered events to him.

(Thinking inwardly, from early September to the time before you crossed, what major events happened on Earth? Try to be detailed.)

[Inwardly, you thought about the events that occurred before crossing. Your extraordinary memory allowed you to recall every detail of the news you had watched…]

A great deal of text appeared.

It even included some detailed official speeches and his own grumblings.

One section was so detailed that he even counted the number of bones in a fish he caught one day.

Was he really that idle?

Quickly, he understood the general situation of this past month.

First was the matter of the state establishing relevant schools.

Admissions had already started.

Students were recruited from a group of high school students, and some were relatives of martyrs.

In any case, it ensured a firm and correct pedigree.

In Longjiang City, this municipality directly under the central government, there was such a school.

It was called Azure Dragon Academy.

There were also three other academies, named Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Xuanwu.

They seemed to be distributed according to the four mythical creatures.

Besides this matter, there were some cases of Transcendent crimes and various incidents within the Otherworld Bureau.

Also worth mentioning, after saving a drowning person attempting suicide, Gua Gua was seen, and a Frog God Temple appeared on the shore.

Finally, an important matter closely related to him.

Longjiang City, Liu County.

On September 15th, a beast from another world would appear.

It had the appearance of a fox, wings on its back, and a voice like a swan goose. Its wingspread covered a massive size of forty to fifty meters. Wherever it flew, all moisture, except for living beings, would be expelled.

Its appearance caused a super drought throughout Liu County, resulting in numerous casualties, with the number exceeding a thousand.

After it was discovered by the Longjiang City Otherworld Bureau, they sent personnel to stop and kill it. After paying a certain price, they forcibly restrained it with an array on its path and used a Spiritual Energy Cannon to kill it.

Afterwards, to restore the ecology of Liu County, Zhang Heng contacted him, asking him to adjust the water veins.

This task seemed relatively easy for him.

Because the beast didn’t cause water to disappear directly, but rather the moisture within a certain range was naturally expelled, equivalent to a domain barrier that repelled water.

Water was merely displaced to the depths of the earth or condensed into clouds in the sky. He only needed to manipulate it back.

The death and injuries of over a thousand people could not be ignored by Lin Qianxuan.

As for distant matters, that’s one thing, but since this was close by, it indeed required his attention.

How should he intervene?

By notifying the Otherworld Bureau in advance?

What excuse should he use?

If he claimed foresight, that wouldn’t work.

Simply say it was a hunch, a premonition, and be vague.

If you don’t believe me, surely you must trust the Dragon Bloodline and the national destiny blessing on me?

Lin Qianxuan was already planning how he would communicate with the Otherworld Bureau.

Admitting to foreseeing the future was out of the question. A sudden hunch, some perception, that was acceptable.

He could also inform himself in advance, simulating this future in the game to see how things might unfold.

If feasible, perhaps he could personally engage and test the strength of that otherworldly beast.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep