Across the river of ti, standing in the past, the Great Impermanence of the End of the World unexpectedly recognized Mazao on the other side.
It wasn’t just ; Mazao’s expression changed too, surprised and confused.
That the other party could recognize Mazao wasn’t all that significant. It’s quite possible that Mazao had his own notoriety in the Doomsday Era. Our "fishing" strategy over the past month was also based on the premise that the other side knew of soone like Mazao.
However, the fact that the other party clearly didn’t see Mazao’s face directly and could deduce that the person standing on the opposite end was Mazao based only on the experience of being spied upon through the veil of history indicated that his understanding of Mazao was not just hearsay but from actual encounters, having an intimate understanding of the Power of Return.
Combining this with his likely affiliation with the Evangelical Institute and Mazao’s past mbership there, could it be that this Great Impermanence was Mazao’s superior in the Evangelical Institute in the past?
"I’ve heard so recent intel about you. I heard that Ming Zhuo was targeting you and that you were taken by soone nad Zhuang Cheng, a qualified Impermanence."
The Great Impermanence of the End of the World, known as Huang Quan, gazed in our direction. Even though he knew he couldn’t lock onto our position, his vacant eyes gave the feeling of being exposed.
"How did you manage to cross ti and space to co here? Even for us, doing so requires an imnse cost. You’re understaffed, and I heard you have a little girl about ten years old with you. You shouldn’t be capable of this..." Huang Quan mused, "Also, you shouldn’t have been able to dodge my attack just now... unless there’s an Impermanence involved with you?
"In your tiline, has the qualified Impermanence nad Zhuang Cheng officially beco an Impermanence? But in at most ten years, this world will co to an end... and he beca an Impermanence within ten years? Incredible."
I’m sorry, it didn’t even take ten years, about the ti you were speaking, I had just beco an Impermanence... I said this in my heart.
Hearing Huang Quan’s words, Ying Lingyun, standing beside , frowned and looked in our direction, muttering: "Zhuang Cheng..."
"Huang Quan..."
Mazao did not respond directly but also frowned, muttering this na, seemingly searching through her mind for corresponding information.
"Do you have an impression of this na?" I asked.
"...I have an impression," Mazao nodded, "It should be soone I knew during my ti at the Evangelical Institute, but I can hardly rember any specific information about him... I only know that he’s very strong, very mysterious, very ancient, making both respect and resent him... that’s all.
"Also, I have no impression of this person’s appearance."
I looked again at Huang Quan’s appearance and then asked: "Is there a problem with that?"
"Though Frenzy makes forget the people I’ve known, once we et again, even if I can’t recall what happened in the past, I can at least feel that their face and na are familiar, knowing ’this is soone I knew in the past’," Mazao said, "Ordinary doomsday survivors find it difficult, but we Blessed Monks can do so.
"Especially since my soul is much stronger than that of ordinary Blessed Monks, while I can’t entirely resist the Frenzy, it shouldn’t wash away even the minimal impressions and feelings.
"So... it’s weird. If I have an impression of his na, I should have an impression of his appearance too..."
"Could it be that he deliberately altered his appearance?" I suggested, "Since he’s operating undercover in the modern world, eting people with different appearances isn’t hard to imagine."
Mazao reluctantly nodded: "...Maybe."
Seeing that we were slow to respond, Huang Quan was unmoved and only said: "Not responding... or just don’t know how to reply? So, you had the guts to peek into history related to ; it seems you’ve forgotten past lessons. I suppose now you can’t even rember who I am.
"Then I have nothing more to say to you as you are now... Nonetheless, for old tis’ sake, I’ll leave you with a word of advice.
"Mazao, do not attempt to obstruct us. What the Evangelical Institute plans to do in this ti-space is crucial, both for us and for this world.
"If you’re still like before, wanting to save this world, then by all ans, don’t stand against us.
"Or... if you’re still just saying you want to save the world while actually accelerating the process of Doomsday... then have at it.
"Then I will personally shatter your soul, destroying you beyond repair."
After saying this, Huang Quan waved his hand, and the "holographic projection" forming him and Ying Lingyun instantly shattered into countless glimrs of light, swiftly disappearing into the air.
I did not imdiately relax my vigilance but first used my perception to carefully scan the surrounding area.
Investigating the Huang Quan from history, not only might the Huang Quan within history perceive it, but so might the one existing in this current tiline.
Given that I’m present here as an Impermanence, it’s possible to obscure the other party’s perception in this regard. Even though we didn’t initially realize Huang Quan was an Impermanence and reacted a bit slowly, the Power of Great Impermanence can to so extent ignore temporal sequences, so long as I will think of hiding during this event, the whole process can be hidden away.
However, considering Huang Quan knew we would investigate the Human Bureau’s headquarters site in the past, it’s likely he won’t be completely fooled. The reason he didn’t stop our investigation, or ambush us, is probably because he’s unsure of how prepared we are.
From Huang Quan’s perspective, it’s entirely possible that Mazao and I could join forces with other Lushan Great Impermanence to ambush him here. Acting rashly might lead him to face several Impermanence attacking at once, not worth the risk.
Mazao silently dispersed the Fake Water Moon projection, seeming to ponder Huang Quan’s final words.
Indeed, Huang Quan’s backing is the Evangelical Institute, and moreover...
"Was the in the past... at the Evangelical Institute trying to save the world too?" Mazao said confusedly, "But... why did he say I was claiming to want to save the world while actually accelerating Doomsday’s progress?
"...What did the in the past really do?"
Judging by Huang Quan’s attitude, Mazao’s departure from the Evangelical Institute in the past likely wasn’t amicable. Extrely speaking, although Huang Quan didn’t explicitly say it, Mazao might have betrayed the Evangelical Institute.
"There’s no need to overly concern yourself with his words. Labeling one’s faction as righteously noble and saring dissenters is common," I said, "What the Evangelical Institute’s objectives are, who you were in the past, these are things we need to investigate moving forward."
"But if the Evangelical Institute truly wants to save the world, and the past really was soone trying to exacerbate Doomsday’s disaster..." Mazao seed very conflicted.
Many thoughts crossed my mind, which I couldn’t express directly to Mazao, but I ultimately decided to first offer so reassurance.
"Don’t be afraid, I’m a bad person too," I said, "We can just make a pair."
Mazao smiled after a mont of surprise. Although she still seed uneasy, she was clearly more relaxed.
There weren’t any more areas that needed investigation here. Before leaving, I scanned Mazao’s body again with my eyes, to see if she had any hidden injuries from Huang Quan’s earlier attack.
Just in case, I asked once more: "How do you feel? Is there any discomfort?"
She carefully felt herself and answered: "No."
Even though I knew Mazao would definitely be fine, my heart reflexively tensed. At the sa ti, I also consciously controlled my emotions to avoid Mazao noticing my divided attention while facing the enemy. In my heart, I indeed regard Mazao as soone to protect, but I know she hopes to stand independently in front of .
I often harbor such a self-contradictory romantic fantasy—to shelter Mazao from the storms and endure external harm, yet at the sa ti, develop with her a battlefield partnership where we trust each other with our backs.
"That’s good."
I simply said this one sentence and then turned to leave with Mazao. Mazao followed closely beside , seeming a bit cheerful.
-
After concluding the investigation, we had a general direction for our next steps.
Although it’s unclear where the Great Impermanence of the End of the World Huang Quan is located or how much the Evangelical Institute has implented in the modern world, given that they are backing Taoyuan Village from behind the scenes and even see the "Paradise" plan as beneficial to them, our next move should be to investigate Taoyuan Village.
As a major force spanning both the modern and Doomsday eras, the Evangelical Institute surely holds knowledge about the truth of Doomsday. Even if they do not know its full scope, they, like Mazao, are bound to want to explore the truth of Doomsday’s arrival. Whether their real goal is to accelerate Doomsday’s occurrence or save the world, this is an unavoidable stage.
The clues they hold in this regard must be more extensive than ours and could serve as a shortcut for Mazao and to investigate the truth about Doomsday.
Additionally, to investigate information related to Shan Liangyi, I must approach the Taoyuan Village Master—approach this unknown whether he’s Shan Liangyi himself or the Green Dragon Inheritor, mysterious Great Impermanence.
Previously unrelated clues have now converged into an invisible whirlpool, drawing step by step deeper into it.
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