114: Chapter 34 End-of-Life Care 114: Chapter 34 End-of-Life Care The next events were fairly straightforward.

Witnessing, hacking, forcing the skull to burst open, then extracting all the chips and storage devices.

The terror brought on by the previous “misjudgments” and “pursuit” had already shaken Deborah’s spirit, preventing her from fully utilizing her inner strength.

And the high-voltage electricity had caused temporary dysfunction in certain areas of her brain.

For Xiang Shan, this was akin to removing the gills from a well-prepared fish.

It might occasionally be a bit prickly, but overall, it was quite simple.

Once the storage devices were removed, most of the houndhawk’s martial techniques would be rendered useless.

And when the chips were extracted, most functions of the prosthetic body would no longer concern Deborah.

It was quite rare to come across someone like Xiang Shan who could still retain a degree of martial arts ability without storage devices.

Now, Deborah would not be able to send signals to the satellites.

The slight bioelectricity her biological brain could offer was insufficient to sustain an electromagnetic wave capable of piercing the ionosphere.

After that, Xiang Shan spent some more time eliminating the Green Forest remnants inside the Great Stockade.

Those scattered members of Green Forest couldn’t pursue him right away—a regrettable matter indeed.

However, most of the Green Forest were under the influence of Xiang Shan’s Gu.

Soon, their prosthetic bodies would operate at too high a power level, pointlessly wasting a vast amount of energy.

Hopefully, they had grabbed spare electronic processors before fleeing the Great Stockade, or at least carried fully-charged batteries.

Otherwise, they would most likely automatically shut down in the wilderness due to a lack of power.

Xiang Shan met up with Huang Ouguang and Cui Hai, bringing along the heads of Deborah and Carolina.

Huang Ouguang had already found the potion storage of the Great Stockade.

To Xiang Shan’s pleasant surprise, the refrigerator for storing potions was quite small and, moreover, portable.

“Can you do me a favor?” Xiang Shan looked at Huang Ouguang.

Huang Ouguang hastily withdrew his gaze from Deborah’s severed head and said, “Senior saved my brother’s and my life; please, feel free to ask for anything.”

“Help me carry this fridge as well,” Xiang Shan pointed at it.

“I might get injured in the future as well; stockpiling some potions is necessary.”

The fridge was just over a meter tall, less than a meter in length and width, compact and exquisite.

The refrigerator of Organization Z was simply too big, whereas the fridge the Excavator Group used to store potions was firmly built into the wall, hard to dismantle.

Xiang Shan nodded.

“In that case, we can collect some supplies and leave.”

As Xiang Shan was about to turn away, Huang Ouguang knelt down with a thud and said, “Senior…there’s still something else I need to implore of you—”

“No,” Xiang Shan refused outright without thinking.

“Not until you understand the difference between ‘personal grudge’ and ‘righteous indignation.’ Don’t even think about killing anyone.”

Huang Ouguang pleaded urgently, “Senior!”

“Didn’t you hear what your senior brother said before he passed out?” Xiang Shan asked.

“‘Divine Martial Non-Killing’—didn’t the Martial Ancestor say that?

What kind of hero are you if you don’t even believe in that?”

With that, he stopped paying attention to Huang Ouguang and went straight to inspect the weapons arsenal.

Huang Ouguang knelt steadfastly until Xiang Shan walked far away before he stood up, unplugged the fridge, and hoisted it onto his back.

In a place where the heroine couldn’t see, Xiang Shan tapped on his skull: “‘Divine Martial Non-Killing’…

did I really say that?

Hmm…

Probably.

It does sound somewhat familiar.

But…

when?

In what context?”

Later, Xiang Shan took some time to grab a few weapons—mainly Iron Dust and high explosives.

Apart from that, he specially collected some organic food.

Of course, when leaving, Xiang Shan didn’t forget to drag Deborah’s prosthetic body along.

The prosthetic bodies used by the imperial hounds were better than his own; it was just unfortunate that those two Martial Artists he had overturned in Iron Dust had their prosthetic bodies severely damaged, suitable only for salvaging parts.

But there were still many useful modules in this prosthetic body.

However, before going above ground, Xiang Shan had to first remove the power source inside the prosthetic body to ensure it wasn’t hiding any strange signal transmitters.

Only after that did he, along with Huang Ouguang and Cui Hai, make their way to the Mule.

Upon seeing Yuki and the little girl, Huang Ouguang asked in astonishment, “Senior actually has two disciples with such low enhancement levels?”

“No, only this one is my disciple,” Xiang Shan pointed at Yuki.

He then pointed at the little girl, “I found her; just raising her temporarily and seeing if I can entrust her to a normal family sometime.

That’s all.”

Huang Ouguang spoke reverently, “So Senior is already in a position to take disciples…

May I ask which Sect do you hail from?”

“Sect?” This question made Xiang Shan pause for a moment.

Truth be told, this was something he had never considered before.

How should he put it?

In his view, the so-called “Sects” were nothing but imagined communities that hindered exchange.

Even in traditional martial arts novels, there are those who believe that “sectarian views” could obstruct the development of martial studies.

What’s more for cyber martial arts, which are fundamentally “scientific and technological”?

At least in his memory, he had never established a Sect.

However…

I had no idea how many years I had been asleep.

It was foreseeable that the state of the world had developed beyond my expectations.

“Hmm…

no sect, no school, I guess?”

Xiang Shan said uncertainly.

One should never speak too definitively.

What if…

he had founded the number one sect in the world?

After all, my memory was far too fragmented.

“May I ask for your esteemed name, senior?”

“Don’t ask,” Xiang Shan waved his hand.

Yuki was about to speak up, but Xiang Shan casually knocked him on the head, silencing him.

The boy seemed to understand and closed his mouth.

Huang Ouguang, however, was not surprised.

In an era where “the network” existed, a “name” was like the stem of a potato above ground – a single name could reveal a wealth of information.

Not every hero was willing to disclose their name upon first meeting.

Rather, the more powerful the hero, the more cautious they were in concealing their real name.

Heroes whose inner strength had reached the Heaven-Man Realm became “those who must not speak their names.”

Xiang Shan instructed Huang Ouguang to put down the refrigerator.

Huang Ouguang intended to also load his senior onto the truck, but Xiang Shan said, “No, not this one.

I might need your help later; we’ll go to another vehicle.”

Of course, that was a polite way of putting it.

The underlying message was, “I don’t trust you enough to stay with me, so stay in another vehicle for now.”

Though Huang Ouguang seemed unproblematic, this was, after all, their first meeting.

After settling the two young heroes in the “Mule,” Xiang Shan issued commands to both cars to continue heading north, while he himself went in the opposite direction, approaching Han.

Han had been hit in the back of the head by a bullet, which twisted and deformed his skull, killing him on the spot, while his prosthetic body flailed, emptying the magazine before ceasing to move.

To prevent this man from sending out intelligence in his critically wounded state, Xiang Shan aimed for the vital spot, ensuring a lethal strike.

This was the only imperial hound outside of Iron Dust’s range at the time.

Xiang Shan’s target was the supplies Han and Carolina had left behind.

Xiang Shan first picked up the large ammunition box Carolina had been carrying on her back.

He carefully removed the contents one by one, ensuring that it was just an empty box, then used the steel mace to tap and electrify the inner walls several times to destroy any potential threats.

He then organized the supplies.

First were the consumables like parts and ammunition.

Additionally, Xiang Shan was somewhat surprised to find that Deborah actually carried five prosthetic hands of different functions with her.

This was a small, but significant, discovery.

Some of the components inside could be very useful when dismantled.

Of course, he shouldn’t expect to simply attach these things to himself and use them.

Who knows how many traps there were for illegal users.

Xiang Shan would not feel safe until he had disassembled it into parts.

After categorizing and storing these items, Xiang Shan turned to the last item that resembled a briefcase.

He opened it and saw a face with an expression of terror and ferocity.

To Xiang Shan’s eyes, the face could even be considered “delicate.”

Too bad it was seen in such a circumstance.

Xiang Shan carefully examined the exposed brain.

His prosthetic eye adjusted to a higher precision for closer scrutiny.

Then Xiang Shan took out electrodes and applied a slight stimulation.

In the end, the knowledge gained from the Demon Sect told him that the woman was indeed beyond saving.

Xiang Shan sighed and used ultrasonics to destroy the brain-made device from the cellular level.

He took out a speaker he had removed from Green Forest and connected it to several heads he carried with him, then said, “Even with just this gadget, you’re worth dying a hundred times over.”

By now, Deborah had calmed down.

She was not psychologically fragile; it was just that she had always had a smooth-sailing life.

When working undercover in Redstone Gate, most of the time she operated online, and the greatest danger was nothing more than “a hero’s inner strength striking her through the internet,” while she remained safe.

Later on, she had gained the trust of Redstone Gate’s members, was confident in her every move, and didn’t have much to worry about.

She said, “Hero, I admit defeat.

State your demands.”

“Huh?

Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” Xiang Shan sighed, “Consider it a final act of kindness, child.

Speak your last wish.

If it’s not contrary to the Path of Chivalry and not too troublesome, I’ll help if I can.”

Carolina immediately started cursing, “You barbarian!

Do you even know who the lady is?

I’m telling you, if you kill her, you will certainly have…”

“No need to curse, Carlo.

He won’t kill us,” Deborah said composedly.

“He didn’t kill me just now, he must be planning to keep me for some deal…

It’s all a game!

He just wants us to think he has the intent to kill, to raise his bargaining power…

I still have resources, just state directly what you want, no need for all this beating around the bush!”

Xiang Shan really wanted to give a look that one reserves for idiots.

Really.