"I’ve pre-ordered Black Myth: Wukong, and it’s pre-loaded and ready to go."
Zhao Ling stood by the window, gazing at the pedestrians on the street below.
Her four arms wrapped around herself, her head hung low, she stood like that for a long ti.
In recent years, her flesh had been alive, but without regular exercise, it no longer possessed the athletic beauty it had in Yin Country; instead, it had grown a bit more voluptuous. Her bare feet stood on the floor, the crimson toes with their knotted joints, translucent skin revealing a dense, maze-like network of black veins and nerves.
Wei Tianyang lay on his side in bed, watching Zhao Ling’s silhouette.
"Speak up," he said.
Zhao Ling turned around as if to speak but then hesitated. Wei Tianyang looked at her profile against the backdrop of the white window, the dark silhouette like a piece of artwork.
"Zhao Ling, you weren’t this silent before," he said.
Zhao Ling sighed; a sweet fragrance emanated from her body, like the scent of flowers but also like the cloying odor of so decaying fungus.
"Your kingdom is waiting for their king to return," Wei Tianyang said.
"My ideals have been shattered," Zhao Ling said.
"You are still alive, and Yin Country is still out there," Wei Tianyang said.
"No, it’s gone," Zhao Ling shook her head.
Wei Tianyang walked up behind her.
Zhao Ling’s hands were protecting her chest, while her other two arms wrapped around Wei Tianyang from the back.
Wei Tianyang slipped his hands under her arms, and Zhao Ling closed her eyes, leaning against him.
"How does it feel to have regained the sensation in your limbs, Zhao Ling?" Wei Tianyang said.
"It’s gone, Wei, I’ve lost everything... I’m a wreck... my superpower... Yin Country... I’ve lost it all..." Zhao Ling murmured.
"At least you are still alive," Wei Tianyang said.
"No... stop... Wei..." Zhao Ling spoke as she stepped out of Wei Tianyang’s embrace and walked to the window.
Wei Tianyang observed the once Empress, who now seed frail and self-pitying.
"I no longer have the power to rule... Why didn’t you just kill back then? Living like this, it’s aningless..." Zhao Ling sighed.
"Existence itself is the greatest aning, Zhao Ling," Wei Tianyang said.
"You don’t understand, if you were to lose all your power now, would you like that?" Zhao Ling asked.
Wei Tianyang looked at her but did not respond.
"I thought I would die that night, but you insisted on saving ... In the past few years, like a cicada in a chrysalis, this broken body has reminded over and over again of my failure, of what I’ve lost... My lost limbs have been in constant pain. Every day I wonder, why am I still alive, why do I have to stay in this world and endure this suffering? Wei Tianyang... If you had stayed in Yin Country, things might have turned out differently... but you chose to leave without a word, so why bother coming back to save that night..." Zhao Ling lanted.
Wei Tianyang said, "Before I left, I helped you to eliminate all your political rivals. I thought that with your capabilities, controlling Venerable Qin would be more than feasible. What disturbed your mind? What interfered with your judgent? What made you lose control of Yin Country’s internal affairs during such favorable conditions?"
Zhao Ling turned around, her usually concealed frailty apparent in her expression. She looked at Wei Tianyang and said, "It’s you... your departure unsettled ."
Wei Tianyang said, "You wished for to stay, rely to exploit my power."
"I too thought that’s what I wanted," said Zhao Ling.
"You’ve lived for a hundred years, you’ve seen plenty of n, so... don’t say you’ve fallen in love. We’re just a one-night stand, playing with each other’s bodies, nothing more." Wei Tianyang said with a smile.
Zhao Ling slapped him.
"After you left, my feelings were real, and it was real when you ca back to save that night. We both know that our relationship has been far from simple for a long ti." Zhao Ling said.
...
On the other side of the earth.
The Sethiyan Federation.
North Carolosna.
A purple teor streaked across the sky, heading towards the northern mountains and fell into a valley, yet it didn’t cause a violent explosion.
Although the entire event only lasted a re 12 seconds, it had been detected by space agencies around the world.
In this era, teor falls were no longer rare, not frequent perhaps, but common enough that as soon as the location was confird, governnts would communicate with each other to discuss.
This ti, it was the Sethiyan Federation’s turn to be lucky. The North Carolosna governnt quickly organized a Superpower Special Forces team along with military police, and brought along researchers from the Black dicine Administration to the crash site for investigation.
On the interstate highway, twelve military Humvees led the way, followed by a container truck, and then six SUVs from the Black dicine Administration.
Before this teor fell, the Federation Space Bureau had already detected it and estimated its size.
Compared to past detections of Heavenly Falling Objects, this teor was truly enormous, the size of a soccer field. If it were a re teor, the impact would have caused trendous economic loss, with the explosive energy enough to destroy an entire city.
But clearly, the modern human space agencies had the capacity to differentiate between re teors and Heavenly Falling Objects by their appearance and energy flow.
Upon hitting Earth, they would not create physical explosions; first, they plunge into another dinsion, and then slowly reveal themselves.
This purple Heavenly Falling Object was nad Violet by the Federation Space Bureau. The hundreds of military police rushing to the location were mainly to secure the scene—after all, waiting for it to erge could take about a week. The Superpower Special Forces were there to handle any tricky situations.
Following the precedent set by Lilith, the Black dicine Administration was more cautious, and Spencer, who had already taken control of the Federation cabinet, had been inford of this incident. Out of concern for Wei Tianyang, he had already notified the director of the Black dicine Administration to ensure that no team mbers would ntion Wei Tianyang’s na.
Of course, the director wasn’t going to be at the site. He remained at the headquarters thousands of miles away, following the live feed of the situation.
The team responsible for on-site investigation and subsequent transport operations was a 6-person managent group, comprised of 3 white people, 2 black people, and 1 Asian; among them were 2 gay individuals, 2 with gender dysphoria, as well as one suffering from extre obesity.
When the convoy reached the crash site, the military police started setting up barricades, while the Superpower Special Forces led the survey team, searching for the precise impact point with scanners and proceeding on foot for inspection.
Everything was so ordinary and simple until deep into the night, behind the continuous red mountains, an enormous shadow erged gradually.
The shadow was dark and seed to blend into the night itself, but its pair of red eyes hung above their heads like two bloody moons.
It had been lying down, but then, gradually it stood upright, towering over the highest peak; the mountaintop barely reached its knees.
In the murky night, it seed to stroll among waves made of clay.
Everyone stopped their work, and the Superpower Special Forces began instructing the survey team to retreat.
At that mont, the giant slowly bent over, the hot breath from its mouth instantly setting ablaze those on the ground. Its limbs were slender, its body a series of sturdy skeletal segnts, though rather short, making its legs appear like skinny chopsticks. Without a face on its smooth head, it placed one seven-fingered hand on the ground, instantly flattening a stretch of the highway.
It looked down at the vehicles trying to escape below, pinched one between two fingers, lifted it thousands of ters into the air, and brought it up to its face.
The people in the car were petrified, white as ghosts. Then, human-like features began to appear on its face.
Releasing its grip, it watched the tiny SUV smash to the ground and burst into flas.
Afterward, a smile appeared on the twisted, human-like visage.
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