Chapter 401 - 343: Has the Celestial Mandate Arrived? Quasi-Third Realm! The So-called Mastermind

"That’s enough..." Chu Bamboo stopped the Hive, which was processing so hard its circuits were practically smoking. A shadow passed over his eyes. He pressed his lips together and finally said, "Show me... Show me what’s happening in the redevelopment zone."

The next moment, one image after another appeared on the Hive’s phone screen—

Countless artillery shells rained down on the redevelopment zone. The already dilapidated buildings collapsed with a deafening roar, sending bodies flying... The people wailed in agony...

Chu Bamboo even saw countless familiar faces among them—after all, he knew so, so many people in the redevelopment zone...

He just watched in silence. Watched the widespread suffering, the city awash in blood...

"...Damn it!" Huo Qiming’s face turned ugly. He hadn’t understood what the Hive was saying and only reacted when he saw the images. He instinctively looked at Chu Bamboo, his voice urgent. "We need to go back now..."

"It’s too late!" Chu Bamboo’s voice was devoid of any emotion. He silently clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths.

In his mind, countless memories flashed... Scenes from his entire life growing up in the redevelopment zone!

Faces—some kind, some cunning, some sinister, some gentle—flashed through his mind...

’Yes, Chu Bamboo knew that as long as he died, everything would be reset... there was still a chance to fix everything! But still, he found he couldn’t just calmly accept it...’

Those memories grew clearer, more profound... and more painful.

Chu Bamboo’s eyes snapped open, a cold light flowing within them.

Huo Qiming froze, just about to say something, when he felt a strange aura erupt from Chu Bamboo’s body.

’This is...’

"Wait, the Third Realm? No... not quite! But... you! You’re Quasi-Third Realm? Impossible..." After registering what was happening, Huo Qiming’s expression changed drastically. He almost suspected he was hallucinating.

The so-called Quasi-Third Realm meant that every form of accumulation, aside from the Celestial Mandate itself... had reached its theoretical limit! But, as far as he knew... that was a state one could only possibly reach after staying in the Second Realm for several years, or even decades...

’Uh... hadn’t Chu Bamboo just broken through to the Second Realm not long ago...’

No, it wasn’t a matter of "not long ago." It had only been a few days! He had to be seeing things!

The revelation was so shocking that for a moment he forgot about the catastrophe unfolding in the redevelopment zone. He could only stare blankly at Chu Bamboo. ’You... aren’t you taking this whole cheating thing a little too far?!’

"’So this incident... wasn’t my Celestial Mandate?’ Chu Bamboo’s expression was cold. From Huo Qiming’s perspective, he had only just broken through. But from his own perspective, it had been a very, very long time since his breakthrough...

Leaving all else aside, just by learning to use the Memory Divine Techniques to reproduce the Divine Techniques of living people, his Energy accumulation had already reached the theoretical maximum for his realm... and even surpassed it.

The past half-month or so in reality, when converted to time in the Dream World with twenty resets per event, added up to over a year... And that wasn’t even counting his direct confrontation with the Black Fog Monster God and the many other major events he had experienced...

Chu Bamboo had keenly sensed his emotions triggering his memories and had decisively chosen to go all-in... But apparently, this wasn’t his Celestial Mandate!

"No... You... I..." Snapping out of his shock, Huo Qiming stammered.

But suddenly, Huo Qiming stopped speaking. His expression turned grave as he looked toward a tall building.

There, a tall, slender man was quietly staring at Chu Bamboo.

Chu Bamboo’s brow twitched. After a brief silence, he turned off his phone’s screen, from which the sounds of wails and cannon fire still occasionally emerged. Without a trace of fear, he calmly and unflinchingly met the man’s gaze.

The man frowned. After a few breaths, he looked away, scanned the surroundings, but ultimately decided not to attack directly.

Chu Bamboo suspected it was because there were still quite a few people around—the Heaven-Ascending Ladder, having stood for so long, seemed to have become a famous landmark in the Celestial Capital, with several commercial streets even springing up around it.

Of course, the vendors had all fled during the earlier siege... But, after the situation stabilized—

—and people saw that the Security Corps soldiers and drones were actually maintaining order, while Nuwa used its media channels for propaganda... some of the bolder ones had already come back out... and had even started setting up their stalls again!

"..." Huo Qiming’s body was tense, as if in a silent standoff. He didn’t let out a long breath until the man turned and left.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his expression turning solemn. "I think you should! You should go into hiding right now... No, wait, there’s the chaotic massacre in the redevelopment zone... Damn it!"

For a moment, Huo Qiming was thrown into disarray.

"You can’t run from trouble." Chu Bamboo, however, was quite calm. He waved his hand and said with a touch of emotion, "I never expected... that Ji Lan would know ’Kung Fu’ too."

Ji Lan... the Governor of Jiangnan! A former Cabinet Scholar! He was the current Emperor’s most trusted advisor before his ascension!

Chu Bamboo was no stranger to him. Not only had they crossed paths before in the Celestial Capital—when he had infiltrated the Imperial Palace, the man had returned to the Capital City once... On that occasion, he and the Emperor were so close they practically slept in the same bed! Chu Bamboo even suspected that the two of them might be... This had been a huge shock to Chu Bamboo, who hadn’t been that old in the real world at the time.

All in all, he was a man who seemed gentle and scholarly on the surface, but was actually utterly ruthless... Chu Bamboo even suspected it was his idea to send Li Min to assassinate him—it just fit the man’s style perfectly.

"...He’s a Great Scholar of Confucianism!" Huo Qiming replied, his answer unrelated to the question.

Chu Bamboo looked thoughtful. He suddenly recalled something someone had once pointed out to him...

"’So, besides Confucianism... the others might not be my enemies?’" Chu Bamboo repeated silently, a heavy feeling rising in his heart. ’Confucianism... It’s Confucianism!’

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly sensed something and shot a look toward the sky.

To the north, dozens of drones were speeding toward him...

The Hive detected the anomaly and instantly maneuvered its drones to protect Chu Bamboo. However—the incoming drones didn’t attack him!

They opened fire without hesitation, strafing the ordinary civilians who had come out to watch the spectacle in the distance. Screams and cries of pain erupted as bodies instantly littered the ground.

"...They’re killing people! They’re killing people! They’re killing people..."

"Didn’t they say they wouldn’t harm civilians... Ah, run!"

"Mommy! Mommy..."

At that moment, Chu Bamboo fell silent. He forced himself to stay calm, but the thought that the same thing was happening in the redevelopment zone right now made him lose his composure for an instant. He practically spat through gritted teeth, "Hive, shoot them down... Nuwa No. 17! Why are there drones..."

"...These drones are not from the Celestial Capital Region’s network!"

Chu Bamboo froze, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. ’So... they were urgently mobilized from another region? Don’t tell me they were also brought in from Yang Province?’

’Wait a second!’ Chu Bamboo suddenly realized. ’This and the attack on the redevelopment zone... is it a one-two punch?’

’Smash the home base, break the morale of the Security Corps, and at the same time...’

"Not good!" Huo Qiming finally caught on. Seeing the wailing, fleeing crowds in the distance, his expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he hoisted Chu Bamboo onto his shoulder and started running.

Chu Bamboo’s thoughts stalled as he, too, realized what was happening. ’They’re obviously not killing just for the sake of killing... so this is... a way to disperse the crowd...’

"...It’s too late!" Chu Bamboo’s voice was as calm as ever, as if he wasn’t the one facing a desperate situation. Just as he predicted, even though Huo Qiming was running extremely fast, their pursuer was clearly faster—

"Great Goddess Nuwa, please forgive the offense!"

A serene voice, tinged with respect and apology, rang out.

Vast and boundless Confucian Qi suddenly swept out.

The world as Chu Bamboo saw it turned pure white.

And then...

Time... began to reverse!