[Volume 2] Chapter 11: Battle Preparations

Finn told the others what he had discovered. Bearmont was stunned. He mulled it over carefully.

“A mature soul... From the time Xun’er was four until she was six, he used a clumsy... technique every day to warm her bones and meridians...” 

“Holy fucking shit!” Bearmont slapped his thigh and gave Finn a thumbs-up. “Damn, that’s a sharp eye!”

“The Hikaru Genji grooming plan?!” Jyan-Tyenhaw immediately caught on.

“Ew! Disgusting!” Moonbell’s delicate brows twisted into a knot, her little face filled with revulsion.

As a girl so cute she practically served as a litmus test for lolicons, she had dealt with more than her fair share of creepy attention.

There was even a bounty posted on the Myriad Realms Network: one hundred million Star Cosmos Empire credits for a sample of Moonbell’s genetic material.

A single strand of hair or a tiny flake of skin would be enough to claim the reward.

There was no shortage of mad scientists on the Myriad Realms Network. If Moonbell’s genetic material ever got out, countless Moonbell clones would inevitably appear.

Lolicons everywhere would lose their minds.

Moonbell absolutely hated the idea, so she had always been extremely careful to prevent her hair or any other naturally shed biological material from falling into someone else’s hands.

Speaking of the Myriad Realms Network, it was a network with a consciousness of its own.

It could propagate through many different mediums and connect the Endless Worlds. No one knew who had created it, nor did anyone know who maintained it.

One theory claimed that the Myriad Realms Network maintained and expanded itself precisely because it was self-aware.

There had even been reports of nameless robots spotted in the dark, desolate reaches of space, constructing relay stations and expanding the Network’s reach.

No one knew who had built those robots. They worked silently and tirelessly, controlled only by some consciousness deep within the Myriad Realms Network.

The Myriad Realms Network was a place of absolute freedom.

No surveillance. No banned keywords. No deleted posts. No 404s. No “content unsuitable for discussion.”

But just as sunlight inevitably cast shadows, absolute freedom had also brought absolute chaos and darkness.

Before Finn had transmigrated, there had been something called the dark web.

The Myriad Realms Network was basically the dark web operating in broad daylight.

Organs, human trafficking, weapons, genetic samples, clones, slaves, core technologies…

Every vile commodity imaginable was openly sold at clearly marked prices.

If you had enough money, you could buy anything on the Myriad Realms Network.

…

“There’s no question about it. Xiao Yan is a lolicon,” Finn declared. “I suggest we arrest him immediately for molesting a young girl.”

Finn opened the Myriad Realms Network, searched up the Criminal Law—the book containing all the best money-making schemes—and read aloud:

“The Criminal Law states that anyone convicted of molesting a child shall be punished more severely within the range of ‘imprisonment of up to five years or criminal detention.’ Anyone who gathers others to commit the offense, or does so openly in a public place, shall be punished more severely within the range of ‘imprisonment of five years or more.’”

Chen-Awelon wriggled excitedly where he hung from the ceiling. “There’s no doubt about it! This is a huge stain on the great, glorious, and correct Xiao Yan! I’m certain this will be enough to knock the original plot completely off course and break the Child of Fortune’s protection over him!”

Floating in midair, Moonbell gave Finn a more impressed look. “Didn’t expect you to be this quick-witted. You’re a lot smarter than those guys over there.”

After another round of discussion, the group finalized their battle plan.

First, they would arrest Xiao Yan and see what happened with the Child of Fortune’s protection.

If that still wasn’t enough, they would wipe out the entire Xiao Clan, give Xiao Yan gender reassignment surgery, and finally have Jyan-Tyenhaw make his move…

So for Xiao Yan’s own sake, he had better pray the arrest went smoothly.

Otherwise, things were going to get very ugly for him.

“All right! Everyone, get ready. We leave tomorrow!” Chen-Awelon shouted with heroic fervor. “There’s no time to waste when there’s showing off to be done!”

“We can all get ready pretty quickly, but…” Sainquartz asked, “what about you, Chen-Awelon?”

“What about me?” Chen-Awelon asked in confusion.

He wriggled twice like a worm.

Then he remembered.

He was still hanging from the ceiling.

“Director Fuu! Director Fuu! Come untie me!” Chen-Awelon yelled.

“Director Fuu left ages ago,” Finn said.

“What?!” Chen-Awelon twisted and struggled with all his might, but the golden rope binding him held fast. He couldn’t break free at all.

He shouted at the others, “Can someone contact Director Fuu for me? I, Awelon, will reward you handsomely!”

Avasarala shook her head, rose from her seat, and took out a Bagua mirror framed in gold and jade. She held it in front of Chen-Awelon’s face.

White light flashed across the mirror.

Fuu-Honlon’s youthful face and crane-white hair appeared within it. He was floating through a vast sea of clouds, hurricane winds howling around him as though he were traveling somewhere in a hurry.

Fuu-Honlon glanced out through the mirror. “Sis Avasarala, what do you need?”

“Director Fuu! You forgot to take me down!” Chen-Awelon roared.

“Ah… sorry about that, Brother Chen. Got too much on my mind and completely forgot. Don’t worry. I’ll come back soon and untie you.”

“That’s good!” Chen-Awelon breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ve got urgent business to take care of myself. By the way… how soon is ‘soon’?”

“Going by the flow of time in your world? Not long at all. About ten years.”

“Ten years?!” Chen-Awelon nearly coughed up a mouthful of brain hemorrhage on the spot.

He bellowed, “Director Fuu! I only have nine thousand years of lifespan in total! You’re going to waste ten whole years of it just like that? That’s outrageous! Can’t you come back sooner?!”

Within the Bagua mirror, Fuu-Honlon continued flying through the endless sea of clouds. He stroked his snow-white beard, looking troubled.

“I can’t. I finally found a trace of my cousin Fuu-Jingshen. To avoid the Heavenly Court’s pursuit, the bastard actually reincarnated.

“I can’t leave now. I have to catch him. Just put up with it for a little while longer. It’s only ten years. I’m an old man and I’m not in a hurry, so what are you, a young fellow, getting so worked up about?”

Blood rushed to Chen-Awelon’s head. “Director Fuu! You expect me to hang here for ten years?! This is an insult! Let me tell you something—fortunes can reverse in three hundred years! Never look down on a poor young man! Everything you’ve done to me today, I’ll repay twice over someday!”

Fuu-Honlon: “…”

He looked torn.

He had not expected Chen-Awelon to react so strongly, but after finally picking up his cousin’s trail, there was no way he could leave now.

“How about this,” Fuu-Honlon said. “When I return in ten years to untie you, I’ll give you a Taiyi Soul-Nourishing Longevity Pill. That immortal pill can add three thousand years to your lifespan. Consider it compensation.”

Chen-Awelon’s face darkened.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Fuu-Honlon sighed inwardly.

He knew Chen-Awelon had always been proud and ambitious, a man with an unbending backbone.

Chen-Awelon possessed an enormous sense of pride and an indomitable spirit that refused to bow to anyone.

Fuu-Honlon understood. Chen-Awelon would never accept this compensation. From this day forward, a grudge would be born between them.

Fuu-Honlon admired Chen-Awelon’s backbone, but some things simply could not be reconciled. He could not abandon his urgent pursuit just to return and remove the golden rope binding Chen-Awelon.

After a moment of thought, Fuu-Honlon said, “Young Friend Chen, I truly didn’t mean to make things difficult for you—”

Still hanging from the ceiling, Chen-Awelon suddenly broke into a grin. The gloom vanished from his face as he beamed brightly.

“Director Fuu, how about you come back in twenty years instead? Then you can give me two Taiyi Soul-Nourishing Longevity Pills, and I’ll forgive you.”

“Fuck off!”