Lord of Prayer

Chapter 262: Chapter 187: Li Xiye is Itching for a Fight

“The doctors say Howard’s injuries are gradually healing, but for some reason, he just won’t wake up. It’s very likely he was affected by some kind of energy, but there’s no trace of any Extraordinary substance on his body… The medical department is at their wits’ end, holding meetings every day to analyze the cause,” the Secretary replied.

Gong Su held the report and studied it for a long while before saying, “Charles and Howard were conducting experiments in an old house in the suburbs. After the incident, their experimental equipment was stolen, correct?”

“Yes. The Blood Race stole the machines.”

“The machines weren’t found at this stronghold, which means the Blood Race has other bases. Intensify the search. We have to root out every last one of them. They have the machines and the experimental data, so they will definitely try to repair them and conduct the experiment again.

“The Blood Race has always wanted to overcome their weakness to silverware and sunlight. Even if eternal life is impossible, they will recklessly make dangerous attempts, just like moths to a flame.”

Gong Su’s expression was grim. “The last time the Eternal Life Machine was activated, the energy it released affected the entire city, with repercussions reaching through time, space, and even into the Spirit Realm. We still don’t know the full extent of the danger. We can’t let the Blood Race do it again.”

“Understood. I’ll make the arrangements.”

·

·

「Li Xiye’s Villa.」

Zhou Chen took a shower and lay down on the sofa, watching the local news on TV while numbly eating a delivery pizza.

After Professor Charles died, he had hurriedly left the stronghold through a secret passage. No sooner had he found a place to shed his disguise and blend into the crowd to escape, than the Star Association sealed off the area around Love Hospital. It was a close call, but he had managed to slip past the Special Operations Team without incident.

All things considered, the operation could be called a success.

He’d swindled the Crimson Sect out of a powerful Cursed Object and even plundered the Blood Race’s warehouse, leaving both factions devastated and suffering losses so heavy they were nearly wiped out.

But Zhou Chen couldn’t bring himself to feel happy. He was still lost in a daze, unable to pull himself out of his disbelief.

’Professor Charles is just… dead… Just like that… dead… dead…’

And in the most ridiculous way possible, too—a battlefield fell out of the sky, and he died to some unknown AoE.

As the lynchpin of the Eternal Life Project, Professor Charles was absolutely crucial. Zhou Chen’s hope of returning to the future rested on him. But now, Charles’s death by a random AoE had essentially destroyed his chance of going back.

Zhou Chen looked at the tracking cursor in his mind—the cursor representing Charles was gone.

He had just tried making wishes like “Find Professor Charles” and “Let me see Professor Charles’s condition.” As expected, they all failed. Charles had been turned into a pile of minced meat, likely beyond any hope of being pieced back together.

“Sigh… I’ve got it rough…”

Zhou Chen sighed, took a vicious bite of his pizza, and accepted the cruel reality.

Still, in his opinion, there were some suspicious points surrounding Charles’s death.

’For example, where did the Forbidden Ancient Book go?’

Charles and Howard had obtained their forbidden knowledge from an ancient book, which gave them the idea to develop the Eternal Life Machine. The Crimson Sect had also sworn up and down that Charles had the Forbidden Ancient Book they were looking for.

At the time, Charles had been covered in a layer of light, so Zhou Chen was certain it was him. But after Charles died, he didn’t “drop” the Forbidden Ancient Book.

’Could it be that the Forbidden Ancient Book wasn’t on him, but on Howard?’

’Or maybe, for some reason, the Forbidden Ancient Book awakened, gained a life of its own, and escaped from Charles’s grasp?’

’Considering what an ancient and malevolent thing it is, the latter seems more likely.’

He lay on the sofa, pondering his next move.

’I still have to keep investigating the Eternal Life Project. The Blood Race took a heavy hit this time, but they still have another stronghold. If they were fast, they probably already sent the research data to their main base.’

’Their main base has the Eternal Life Machine stolen from the old house. With that research data, the Blood Race has everything they need to take over the project. They might even activate the Eternal Life Machine again soon.’

’I traveled through time because the Eternal Life Machine was activated. If it’s activated again, will I travel back?’

Zhou Chen mulled over the question. In the best-case scenario, that was indeed a possibility. If so, he wouldn’t have to do anything but wait for the Eternal Life Machine to be activated a second time.

But the worst-case scenario…

’The energy released by the Eternal Life Machine is powerful enough to tear through time and space. Last time, it caused me to time travel. Next time, it might cause someone else to travel, or even lead to more bizarre, unpredictable, and dangerous events.’

’I might not only fail to return to the future, but I could also be trapped here forever.’

’The letter I received was written by the future Li Xiye. Based on its contents, she and I are very close, and we’ve been separated for a long time. This points to three possibilities.’

’First, I travel back to the future before long. The future her wrote the letter to guide me to Hong City and close the time loop.’

’Second, I can’t go back and end up staying here. She intentionally wrote the letter that way to pique my curiosity and drive me to Hong City to close the time loop.’

’The third is the worst-case: I die. That’s why she misses me. But to close the time loop and ensure the timeline remains stable, she had to write the letter to guide me to Hong City, triggering my time travel and… my future death…’

’Tsk, this feels really bad…’

Zhou Chen was so focused on his internal analysis, his brow furrowed, that he didn’t even notice the young woman who had just sat down beside him on the sofa.

Li Xiye watched him cautiously. Seeing his preoccupied expression, she decided not to disturb him. Inwardly, however, she was thrilled. ’I can’t believe Zhou Chen came back right after he finished his business… I thought I’d never see him again…’

After a while, Zhou Chen slowly came back to his senses and was startled to find Li Xiye next to him. He looked her over and noticed her palms were a little red, as if from frostbite.

“What happened to you?” he asked, pointing at Li Xiye’s hands. It was July; getting frostbite in the middle of summer was highly unusual.

Li Xiye brushed back her short hair, grabbed a slice of pizza, and mumbled, “There was a party for new Ascenders tonight. I went, and ran into this total bitch. Her family has some influence, so she has a serious case of princess syndrome. She was acting all high and mighty, gave her Extraordinary Ability the ridiculous name ’Ice Queen,’ and even made everyone call her ’Sister’…”

“You think my explosive temper could stand for that?”

“…So, you got into a fight with her?”

Zhou Chen was speechless. Li Xiye had just fought dozens of Blood Race members last night. Her wounds had barely healed, and now she was already having a solo duel with another new Ascender. One could only say that her awakened Extraordinary Ability was a match made in heaven for her personality.

’So Li Xiye’s hands were just itching for a fight?’

“So I fought her. She can control frost, which is a pretty powerful ability. It’s how she gave me frostbite. But she’s spoiled rotten, a total princess. After I smashed her ice, one punch sent her crying.”

Li Xiye waved her hand dismissively, chuckling. “She called her mommy and daddy in tears, saying she’d get people to take revenge on me. I just told them I’m from the Li Family, and they turned right around and chewed her out. You should have seen her wailing her heart out.”

“By the way, something big happened tonight. Did you know?” Li Xiye changed the subject, studying Zhou Chen’s face as if trying to spot something amiss.

Zhou Chen’s expression didn’t change. He pointed at the TV. “Isn’t it playing on the news right now?”

“So scary. I heard a Tier Four Blood Race member showed up, along with a Cult that worships the Abyss, and a super giant bug.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zhou Chen nodded in agreement. “Terrifying.”

“Did you find any clues for that thing you’re investigating?” Li Xiye asked.

“I found some, but… it’s a little complicated.” Zhou Chen scratched his head and sighed. “Anyway, I might need to stay at your place for a while… Is that okay?”

“Of course, it’s no problem.”

Li Xiye smiled, took a bite of pizza, and said readily, “You saved Sister Lan, so you can stay as long as you want.”