Chapter 428: Z: What Happened? I Feel Like I'm Being Bullied by My Dad

Chapter 428: Chapter 363: Z: What Happened? I Feel Like I’m Being Bullied by My Dad

“Wait, that’s not right!” Lin Xin Bamboo said, the realization dawning on her, her tone unreadable. “Uncle Chu… you knew about the Dragon of Consciousness and Heart? And you thought its name in your head, which is why you attracted… was it that person who told you?”

“…No! But.” Chu Bamboo gave Lin Xin Bamboo a speechless look. ‘Why would you think Z told me? You’re the one who blurted out its previous titles… And that thing looks like a dragon. It’d be stranger if I *didn’t* call it that in my head, right?’

“?!” Once she processed that, Lin Xin Bamboo’s eye started twitching. ‘So this is my fault?!’

However, Lin Xin Bamboo didn’t suggest wiping his memory—she didn’t have that kind of authority. Besides, based on what she’d seen before… ‘That bastard probably placed some kind of protection on her dad, right? I shouldn’t have to worry too much about Chu Bamboo’s safety!’

Sighing, Chu Bamboo considered his next reset and ultimately reached out to seal this particular memory. But he couldn’t help but wonder—’This dragon fighting Z… could it be the same one that appeared in my dream before?’

‘I wonder, in the feudal dynasty timeline, what’s this dragon’s status? Is it dead or… Should I try to court death in a future life to find out?’

Chu Bamboo was eager to try for a moment, but he quickly suppressed the chaotic thoughts and asked cautiously, “Can Z beat that dragon? Is it that strong? But… logically speaking, doesn’t Z have three Divine Positions?”

“…You know that much?” Lin Xin Bamboo was stunned. Although she was in a huge hurry, she forced herself to explain, “The old lizard by itself isn’t a problem… but if you add a long serpent to the mix, then it becomes a problem!”

“???” Chu Bamboo was about to ask more when he saw a terrifying golden light flare up in the distance. He could vaguely make out… a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon? And then… from that single glance, his own golden Divine Light was triggered again!

Chu Bamboo: “…”

‘This world is too dangerous! It’s a crime just to look at things. Good thing Z gave me a buff. Otherwise…’

Chu Bamboo watched as the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon charged into the distant battle.

“…There’s no time!” Lin Xin Bamboo took a deep breath. Without another word, she grabbed Chu Bamboo, took a single step, and instantly appeared at the entrance to the Hive Base. “Wait here, then use…”

“I know how to get in!” Chu Bamboo cut Lin Xin Bamboo off. “Just tell me, why would an Eastern Divine Dragon team up with a Western Giant Dragon? Shouldn’t an Eastern Divine Dragon fight a Western Giant Dragon? And are both of them gods?”

“???” Lin Xin Bamboo was stunned for a moment. She took a few breaths to sort through her thoughts before she vaguely understood what Chu Bamboo was getting at. She looked at him as if he were an Alien. “…Has it ever occurred to you that even though their appearances and bloodlines are quite different, they’re both ‘dragons’! When facing ‘humans,’ or ‘machines’ for that matter, it’s only natural for two creatures that can be broadly classified under the ‘dragon’ family to team up?”

Chu Bamboo: “???”

Chu Bamboo stared, dumbfounded, as Lin Xin Bamboo left.

“…”

‘Seems to make sense!’

Chu Bamboo sorted through his thoughts. If you equated the Eastern Divine Dragon to East Asians and the Giant Dragon to Westerners, then even if they usually couldn’t stand each other and bickered all the time, they would still team up to fight an Alien!

He had assumed the Eastern Divine Dragon was one of them just based on its appearance… This was a mistake born from the ingrained thinking of the Real World!

“So!” Chu Bamboo gave a bitter laugh. “This world… is it really this dangerous…?”

He had originally thought that Z, possessing three Divine Positions, should logically be the most powerful being in existence, even if she couldn’t just sweep away everything else!

But it seemed that even she needed Lin Xin Bamboo’s help to fight two-on-one…

‘So, is Z basically “a certain white-bearded old man who calls himself the strongest man”? Ahem, claims to be the world’s strongest, but… when it comes to the tough fights, his track record never seems to live up to the title… although it’s also possible that the enemies were just too strong.’

Chu Bamboo silently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead but didn’t turn to enter the base—Lin Xin Bamboo seemed to have forgotten to dig a hole for him straight into the base!

Chu Bamboo didn’t have any Earth Control Divine Techniques at the moment. He thought for a bit, then used a tree trunk to hastily dig a pit, which he covered with leaves and other debris for camouflage. Then he crawled inside!

He sat cross-legged inside, hoping to see Z and Lin Xin Bamboo appear before him after their battle to answer some of his questions. As for the safety of this pit, if he died, he died! It didn’t matter. He was doomed to die this time around anyway!

Chu Bamboo recalled the contents of his diary and began to learn the Third Divine Power. Time ticked by, and soon, night fell…

“…Something’s not right!” Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes, peering through the leaves to see a strange, dinosaur-like creature dash past in the distance. He could tell from his internal clock that it should be past seven or eight in the evening…

Why weren’t Z and Lin Xin Bamboo back yet?

Chu Bamboo didn’t think Lin Xin Bamboo and Z were in trouble. After all, if they could be defeated that easily, humanity would probably have gone extinct long ago… So, the fight still wasn’t over?

“Are they legendary tanks or something?” Chu Bamboo didn’t know what kind of expression to make. Finally, his body trembled slightly, and a look of joy spread across his face. “…Successfully restored one Divine Technique!”

He had successfully learned the Third Divine Power. The first Divine Technique Chu Bamboo restored was naturally Destiny… However, perhaps because the Reproduction was done when he was in the Second Realm, his Destiny Divine Techniques only had two abilities: Exchange and Qi Fortune.

Erm… The Third Divine Power of the Destiny Divine Techniques was missing!

‘…I’m speechless. Should I find the Big Orange Cat later to do another Reproduction?’ Chu Bamboo fell into thought. Then, he shook his head and began restoring the second one…

The second Divine Technique was, naturally, Crimson Sky Fire!

Then, he didn’t restore a third one, because the Energy in his body was depleted!

“So!” Chu Bamboo decided not to wait any longer. He burst out of his hiding spot and, facing the startled dinosaur in the distance, immediately went for a slide tackle—

And then, reset.

Chu Bamboo slowly opened his eyes. He looked around; he was still in the mechanical base.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Chu Bamboo was silent for a moment before sensing the abundant Energy within his body, and… Huh?

Chu Bamboo’s brow furrowed. He sensed something was wrong. The golden light from Z’s blessing was still in his mind, but… it felt like it had lost something essential!

He focused his thoughts, but this time, only a faint golden light appeared on the surface of his body, and that was it. As for summoning the Merit Golden Wheel behind him when he went all out like last time… it was completely impossible!

Z, who had been lurking in the background, saw this and thought: “!!!”

‘…Is this an effect of the reset?’ Chu Bamboo’s brow furrowed slightly as a hundred thoughts raced through his mind, and he quickly formed a hypothesis. ‘Logically, the reset should maintain my own powers but wash away any pollution… So, according to the reset’s mechanics, Z’s blessing is classified as a type of pollution?!’

‘Chu Bamboo’s eye started twitching. In other words, the reason he was fine after looking at the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon and the projection of that Giant Dragon in the world of consciousness… was actually because Z used her own ‘pollution’ to forcibly overwrite their pollution?’

‘Outrageous!’

Although he felt there was so much to complain about, Chu Bamboo didn’t dwell on it. He closed his eyes and continued the restoration process, managing to restore the Liquid Divine Techniques as well…

At that moment—

Destiny! Flowing Body! Crimson Sky Fire!

Three noun-based Divine Techniques!

Chu Bamboo slowly opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile he couldn’t suppress.

‘This is the strongest Memory Divine Techniques, the strongest Chu Bamboo! The strongest me!’

He got up excitedly, but this time, Chu Bamboo had no intention of letting Z give him another buff. Since the reset factor prevented him from bringing along the complete version of the Merit Golden Wheel, there was no point in getting another buff now.

Besides, Chu Bamboo now suspected that perhaps the Merit Golden Wheel buff was extremely taxing on Z.

‘The reason things went wrong last time… could it be that the lizard related to consciousness discovered Z’s weakness? Is that why it attacked so mercilessly? And on top of that, sent its underlings from the Ten Thousand Races to invade the Z Base?’

Considering all this, Chu Bamboo got up and walked straight to the door. “Z, open the door for me!”

“?” After a brief silence, Z obediently opened the large mechanical door.

“Thanks! You’re a good kid…” Watching Chu Bamboo leave so smoothly, Z… fell into deep thought!

‘Can someone please tell her what just happened?!’

She blankly recalled the recent events, recalling how her dad had only asked her to open the door once from start to finish, without asking any other questions—’Erm, why do I suddenly feel like I’m getting the cold shoulder…?’