CHAPTER 449: CHAPTER 446 [SELLING EFFORT?]

Chapter 446: Just a Manual Laborer?

The seventeenth time?

Chen Nuo sat quietly on the ground, a complex smile slowly emerging on his lips.

It was somewhat wry.

So... previous lifetimes weren’t previous lifetimes; this lifetime isn’t this lifetime either.

The seventeenth time?

Ha!

I indeed am a friggin’ genius, it turns out, concocting such a vast and intricate set of experiences.

Chen Nuo actually fumbled in his pockets, searching from his jacket pocket down to his pants pockets, before finally pulling out half a pack of cigarettes.

Probably because of prior experiences, the cigarette box was crushed. He carefully straightened out the wrinkled cigarette he pulled from it, inserting the filter end into his mouth.

POP.

Flames sparked from his fingertips, lighting it up.

Blue smoke was inhaled into his lungs and then slowly exhaled.

The Seed inside the Blood Mirror sighed, "Feeling pretty devastated, huh? Actually, the previous sixteen times, in the end, I would always see you looking like this..."

"Shut up for a minute, will you? Let me have some peace," Chen Nuo surprisingly cut off the Seed with a calm tone, tapping his temple with his cigarette-holding fingers, "After hearing so much, my mind’s a mess right now, you get it?"

The Seed went silent.

Chen Nuo just sat there, quietly finishing his cigarette, then stubbed out the butt on the ground before finally getting up composedly.

"One last question... How exactly do you exist? According to you, I absorbed you in my last life. So how can you still exist?"

"Just a sliver of memory. I already gave you my life, but for such a thing, one must leave behind a consciousness to watch—it’s more interesting that way. This was part of our deal before the absorption. I let myself be absorbed by you in the pursuit of an evolutionary leap on the plane of life. And I left behind a sliver of consciousness, so I could witness my own success."

The Seed said with a smile, "So, you needn’t be hostile towards me. The formidable enemy you truly face is the other me out there."

After a pause, the Seed sighed, "In fact, I’m a victim too. I thought the meaning of my life had reached the optimal outcome through being absorbed by you, ascending to a higher level of evolution. But then you stumbled into folly, causing the issue to remain unresolved until now."

"So you must be eager for me to quickly finish off this foolish ordeal from your perspective, and to absorb you early in this life to return to the fourth dimension, right?"

The Seed pondered for a moment, "That’s not wrong to say. But I’m also not in a rush—because the outcome is predetermined. You’re caught in this paradox, so no matter what, you’ll end up absorbing me in the end. That means, I’m destined to win."

Chen Nuo also nodded, "Yes, thinking it over, I believe you’re destined to win too."

"Since that’s the case, I can wait. Anyway, you’ve already spent a few years in this world this time. I presume your plan to stay out of the Seed War has already gone bankrupt—you’ll find that no matter how much you hide, trouble will come looking for you. Isn’t that so? Because you’re intrinsically linked with the me in this world; you are my Chosen One. Even if you try to avoid it, this world’s me will still come looking for you. But whatever, I’m already quite aware of human emotions. Until you’re utterly hopeless, you won’t be willing to give up. It’s fine; I’m just waiting a few more years. So... you must have come here because the Seed War out there has started again, right? What kind of foolish act will you perform this time after Lu Xixi’s death? Ready to begin the eighteenth time?"

Chen Nuo didn’t answer.

His eyebrows knitted together momentarily, then suddenly relaxed.

Then, Chen Nuo suddenly laughed.

Deliberately, he pulled out another cigarette and lit it, this time his movements seemingly more relaxed.

"So... every time, you wait here for me to fail, then watch me come here, see my miserable state after failure, and mock me—only to then watch me muster the courage to try once again?"

As he spoke, Chen Nuo made a gesture with his hand, pointing around the underground hall. "To stand guard here forever, that’s rather miserable too."

"Had no choice. When you absorbed me here, the consciousness I left behind could only remain here. I gave you all my life. With just a sliver of consciousness left, where else could I go?" The Seed seemed rather indifferent. "After learning all you wanted to know, just go out and end this cycle. If you wish to continue, I don’t mind waiting a few more years because... from 2000 to 2007, it’s just a matter of seven years. I’ve already waited over a hundred years at a pace of every seven years; no big deal."

"Fine, when there’s a result this time, I’ll come and tell you," Chen Nuo nodded.

"There’s no need. If you finally choose to give up and absorb the me outside, then the me here will completely disappear. If you decide to have another go, then I’ll see you in seven years."

Chen Nuo’s hand was already on the Blood Mirror, and then, his fingers applied a gentle pressure.

"Haha, are you venting your frustration by thinking of smashing this mirror? Doesn’t matter; it’s not the first time anyway," the Seed remained unfazed.

"No," Chen Nuo suddenly grinned, "I’ve just discovered a very interesting discrepancy."

"What discrepancy?"

"You say... 2007, right? So, you believe that it’s 2007 outside right now? What I mean is, on this trip through time, seeing you, you ’still’ think it’s 2007 outside?"

The Seed’s expression suddenly changed. "Isn’t it...?"

"You see, that’s the difference this time, Seed. Right now, it’s 2002 outside. I don’t know why you would assume every time I travel through time and fail, it would be 2007 when I come to see you. But what’s amusing is, this time... it’s become 2002. I didn’t know what that difference meant, nor did I temporarily understand how it had come about. However... it seemed some things had really changed, hadn’t they?"

The Seed’s face finally changed this time, and he hastily said, "You mean outside is... wait a..."

CRACK!

The Blood Mirror was crushed by Chen Nuo’s own hands, and then the Seed’s voice also disappeared.

"BOSS?"

Xicheng Xun suddenly came to her senses, then realized she had been kneeling on the ground, not knowing when she had fallen asleep. She abruptly rolled over and jumped up, breathing rapidly as she looked at Chen Nuo in front of her.

Chen Nuo was standing there, seemingly lost in thought about something, with two cigarette butts on the ground.

Had I fallen asleep? For how long?! The time it took to smoke two cigarettes? Xicheng Xun’s heart chilled.

"It’s okay, you were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you." Chen Nuo turned around and waved his hand.

"Did anything... happen?"

Chen Nuo looked down and thought for a moment, then raised his face to smile. "Nothing, nothing happened. There’s nothing of value to be found here."

"There’s light ahead."

After putting down the telescope, Boss Guo turned back to Zhang Linsheng and others to give instructions. "Are you sure the signal is correct? Is it our own people?"

Zhang Linsheng nodded. "If both the location and the signal are correct, then it must be our people."

Nearly forty hours had passed.

After the electricity was cut off, the entire city was shrouded in darkness, and any bit of light seemed particularly conspicuous.

A group emerged from a street corner, with Zhu Dazhi pulling his girlfriend, Xiao Yu, walking at the end.

Soon, at the base of a building on a crossroad, Li Yingwan and Niveer appeared by the roadside.

"It looks like you’ve found your companions," Li Yingwan said to Zhang Linsheng.

Zhang Linsheng looked at the two girls; there was no one else beside them. "You didn’t find anyone?"

"No. It seems that girl didn’t enter this world again."

Zhang Linsheng swallowed.

Um... that should be considered good news, right? Whenever Sun Keke and Li Yingwan got together outside, nothing good ever happened...

After the group converged, Boss Guo, his wife, and Zhu Dazhi all curiously looked at Firefly and Little Hummingbird.

Actually, for Boss Guo, his wife, and Zhu Dazhi, both girls were not strangers—they had seen them at different times and occasions outside; they just weren’t acquainted.

To Boss Guo and Zhu Dazhi, the tags for these two girls were simple: foolish women in love with Chen Nuo.

Water and food were not lacking, but everyone still paused at a shop by the roadside for a moment to rest.

"The time for this place is almost up," Niveer glanced at her watch and nodded to Li Yingwan. "The rendezvous with the BOSS is set according to the schedule. We should leave for the next agreed location in half an hour."

Li Yingwan nodded. "Okay, then let’s all take a half-hour break before we leave."

"So how exactly did you arrange to meet up with Chen Nuo?" Boss Guo couldn’t help but ask.

"We set up a schedule. Every three hours, we change locations for the meet-up. The time and place are predetermined. If someone’s not there when the time comes, we move on to the next location." Niveer spoke openly about the arrangement.

Boss Guo sighed. "I have a question... There’s a very powerful enemy chasing after Chen Nuo, right? Then surely, the enemy must have some way to track Chen Nuo. How can he evade their tracking and meet up with us?"

After a pause, Boss Guo added, "I’m not scared; I just want to be clear on things. I think, to prevent danger, we could actually act separately. Otherwise, if we’re all caught at once, it won’t be good. After all, not everyone on the team is suited for combat. We can have those who can’t fight gather at a safe place first. I can go meet Chen Nuo with you."

Li Yingwan and Niveer exchanged glances, then Niveer stared at Boss Guo intently and nodded. "Ability User, not weak."

"Not bad," Boss Guo sensed the unfamiliarity in their words, but he answered steadily, "According to the standards, I’d be at the peak level of a Destroyer."

Niveer whistled. "Not bad at all, you’re practically at the highest position just beneath the pinnacle of humanity."

After a pause, Niveer went on, "But we should stick to the plan. Chen Nuo has a way to avoid being searched for by the opponent. It’s safer for us to stick together."

"I still think..." Miss Si, who was speaking from the side, was always like this. Born into the main family and coming from an affluent background, she was uncomfortable seeing these two young girls dismiss her man’s suggestion—what did these little girls know?

But before she could finish her sentence, Boss Guo pulled on her sleeve and smiled. "Let’s just do as they say."

The couple walked aside. Miss Si was still dissatisfied. "Why are you stopping me? I’ve seen that South Korean girl before; she came to our shop to eat noodles, trailing behind Chen Nuo like a little tail and being polite to us. But now, with Chen Nuo gone, she’s turned on a different face, looking down on people? And you’re going along with that kind of attitude?"

Boss Guo shook his head, about to say something, when suddenly, his expression drastically changed!

Outside the shop, facing the transparent glass window, a person had suddenly appeared, silent and unnoticed.

Of Chinese descent, around forty years old, of average build, but obviously strong. He was wearing a plain jacket, his expression cold.

Standing there beyond the glass, he was quietly scrutinizing the people inside the hall.

Boss Guo was the strongest among the group; a peak Destroyer wasn’t just for show.

But what made Boss Guo’s flesh crawl was that not even he noticed when this person had approached!

As Boss Guo suddenly turned his head, everyone inside also looked outside instinctively, and then...

Li Yingwan was the first to react, drawing the gun from her waist, but Niveer quickly grabbed her wrist!

"Don’t move!"

"..."

Niveer sighed. "There’s no beating him... not even the BOSS could."

Boss Guo quickly moved to step forward, positioning himself in front of everyone inside. As the most powerful presence in the room, Boss Guo stood up when it counted.

Without hesitation, Miss Si moved forward as her husband had stepped up—even with some injuries, she was still the strongest person in the room other than Boss Guo.

Following that, Zhang Linsheng silently clenched the dagger in his hand. Meanwhile, Zhu Dazhi quickly pushed Xiao Yu into a corner and moved beside Zhang Linsheng and Brother Lei.

"Brother-in-law? This person?"

"The enemy!"

"Got it!" Zhu Dazhi immediately rubbed his hands together, excitedly picked up a wrench from who-knows-where, and weighed it in his hand. "Then shall I just smash his head in?"

Brother Lei gave a wry smile as he glanced at his brother-in-law, remaining silent.

The Fourth Seed quietly observed the people inside the room, then suddenly nodded and spoke.

"Chen Nuo hasn’t returned yet?"

Although separated by glass, the words, light as a feather, fell into everyone’s ears.

Just as Boss Guo was about to speak, Niveer cut in. "He’s not back yet. If you’re looking for Chen Nuo, you can come back later."

The young girl’s voice sounded very calm, as if she was not facing a powerful enemy but entertaining a guest at home.

However, Li Yingwan, standing beside her, could see that Niveer’s fingers hidden behind her were subtly gesturing.

(Don’t move.)

The Fourth Seed chuckled, ignoring everyone, glanced at Niveer for a bit, then nodded. "A fine young girl, with talent and brains, and a good disposition... It’s a pity, I already have a better Chosen One. Otherwise, you would be a potential backup. By the way, how old are you?"

"You just casually ask a girl’s age?" Niveer asked with a seemingly unconcerned smile.

"Hmm, indeed there’s no need to ask... My Chosen One will live many more years. By the time I need a replacement, you would be too old to be of any use," The Fourth Seed actually nodded. "So, if Chen Nuo is not here, then..."

"You can come back later."

"No need." The Fourth Seed smiled again.

He extended a finger and gave a slight flick. The shop’s street-facing glass wall silently, suddenly shattered to the ground!

"I might as well wait with you for him. Since you are all here, I’m sure he won’t fail to return."

The Fourth Seed stepped leisurely into the room.

As he passed by Boss Guo, he casually glanced at him. "An Ability User, Destroyer?"

Boss Guo immediately tensed all over.

"Don’t do anything foolish." The Fourth Seed even patted Boss Guo on the shoulder. "At your level, I could slap you to death without much effort. There’s no need for a futile sacrifice."

Boss Guo’s face turned instantly pale!

Because The Fourth Seed’s hand that patted his shoulder pressed it down before Boss Guo could react—he hadn’t even caught how the hand had been raised.

It was as if... that hand was always meant to be on his shoulder!

Seeing The Fourth Seed walk in, Zhu Dazhi already tightened his grip on the wrench, looking eager to try.

Suddenly, he was held back by Zhang Linsheng’s arm!

"Don’t mess around!" Zhang Linsheng took a deep breath. "We can’t beat him! Wait for Chen Nuo to come back!"

"Can’t beat him?" Zhu Dazhi raised an eyebrow, his blockhead nature making him skeptical.

However, The Fourth Seed had already cast a glance over, then couldn’t help but chuckle, motioning to Zhu Dazhi. "If you don’t believe it, you can try."

"Let’s try then!"

Sledgehammer he was; he didn’t have many twists and turns in his thoughts and straightforwardly charged forward two steps.

But not foolishly; those two steps he took were in the standard style of Song Family Fist, his form fluid like a swimming dragon!

If Old Jiang were present and saw Zhu Dazhi’s movements, he too would nod, acknowledging, "Truly an abnormal apprentice!"

Zhu Dazhi zipped to The Fourth Seed’s side in two steps and even managed to grab a favorable position with a backhanded side move—proving Sledgehammer was not recklessly impulsive.

The wrench came smashing down overhead!

And then... silently, the wrench struck The Fourth Seed’s head.

Truly without a sound.

Zhu Dazhi froze, then the next moment, suddenly felt the wrench in his hand become scorching hot!

Startled, he let go instinctively, dropping the wrench on the ground, now glowing red-hot like a branding iron!

In the span of a few breaths, it had melted into a puddle of molten iron!

"Damn!" Zhu Dazhi exclaimed. "What the hell kind of martial art is this?!"

The Fourth Seed no longer paid him any attention, instead walking into the room and settling down in an easy chair. There was some food laid out on a table in front of him.

The Fourth Seed casually picked up a bag of custard buns, took a bite, and then threw it away.

"Sorry for dragging you into this world, making you eat such distasteful food."

The Fourth Seed pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "There should be a decent restaurant nearby. Let’s go get something better to eat. Although you might not be skilled in cooking, at least the ingredients will be better." He then moved his gaze around the people inside the room and asked, "Who knows how to cook?"

In the room, Xiao Yu, standing in a corner, timidly said, "I... can cook noodles."

"Ah..."

Boss Guo let out a sigh. "If it’s noodles, I’ll cook."

The restaurant was not particularly good.

They simply found a ramen shop by the roadside, where the utensils and dough were already prepared.

Boss Guo made a racket in the kitchen, while the few tables in the store were filled with people.

The Fourth Seed did not care whether someone might escape and did not sit near the entrance but took a seat at the furthest spot inside.

When the first bowl of ramen was served, he did not worry about it being poisoned...

Against an adversary of this level, if Boss Guo thought that something like rat poison could take the opponent down, that’d be foolish.

After a mouthful of noodles, The Fourth Seed smiled slightly. "Not bad... I haven’t tasted noodles like these in many years."

Boss Guo, with a stern face, wiped his hands on his apron. "Then take your time eating. I need to prepare food for everyone else."

"Give me another bowl," The Fourth Seed smiled, glanced at Boss Guo, and then focused on consuming his meal.

The atmosphere in the shop had frozen to an extreme; with that guy around, no one dared to open their mouth to say anything.

Niveer’s eyes flashed with a hint of urgency as she constantly glanced outside.

The Fourth Seed looked at Niveer. "You could actually send a signal directly from here. I believe Chen Nuo is no fool. He will definitely come over when he sees the signal."

"We will not betray Chen Nuo and help you lure him over," Li Yingwan said coldly.

The Fourth Seed smiled. "Then do you think, with Chen Nuo’s personality, knowing that you are in my hands, he won’t actively come to rescue you?"

"..."

"He definitely will," The Fourth Seed nodded, his tone certain. "Tonight, I have glimpsed into his mind through his dreams... In his heart, everyone here is very important to him."

No one in the room spoke anymore.

"Actually, seeing you all, I was a bit surprised myself," The Fourth Seed casually ate his noodles, scanning his gaze over everyone present.

"It’s quite unexpected. Around Chen Nuo are a group of guys with quite good talents."

Speaking of which, The Fourth Seed even picked up his chopsticks, pointing at each person one by one.

Pointing at Li Yingwan and Niveer: "The two of you have the best talent. Given twenty years, you both should be able to smoothly reach the level of a Destroyer. As for rising above that, it depends on fate."

Pointing at Zhang Linsheng: "Your talent isn’t bad either, but obviously, your foundation is average. Someone has modified your physical body, enhancing your talent in absorbing and nourishing power. However, this enhancement has been imposed on you. In this lifetime, the highest you could achieve is that of a Destroyer."

Pointing at Brother Lei with a smile: "You have the ability of a Healer. The development of your brain, however, should have been helped by someone of my level. Just with your self-healing ability, you can grow to be one of the best. By the way, if you need money in the future, you can sell your blood. The blood of high-level Healers can fetch a high price on the black market."

Then he looked at the couple who were busy in the back kitchen, Boss Guo and his wife: "These two actually have the worst talent. The man is slightly better; the woman is just like a stone. However, they have also been forcibly enhanced. This method of enhancement I find very interesting, just not very transparent. I think Chen Nuo definitely knows the answer."

The chopsticks pointed at Xiao Yu, then quickly withdrew. "Ordinary person... ah, being led to a place like this, there must have been some kind of accident."

Finally, he turned his attention to Zhu Dazhi.

The Fourth Seed actually stared at Zhu Dazhi for a full five seconds before slowly putting down his chopsticks and sighing deeply.

"What a pity, such a pity... truly a pity!"

"Huh?" Zhu Dazhi was taken aback, then discontentedly said, "Hey! Is my talent that bad? Even if it’s bad, you don’t have to..."

The Fourth Seed took a deep breath, staring earnestly at Zhu Dazhi.

"What I regret is that I didn’t meet someone with your talent decades ago! If I had met you decades ago... I would have even been willing to choose you as my Chosen One!"

With those words, everyone in the room was a bit dumbfounded.

"What... are you talking about? I don’t understand! What Chosen One... What is that?" Zhu Dazhi frowned.

The Fourth Seed laughed.

"What I mean is... out of everyone here, you have the strongest talent! Or rather, if we tie all the people in this room together, their talents still wouldn’t match yours alone! With your kind of talent, if you met a guide like me, you could grow from an ordinary person to a Controller in less than five years! In thirty years, you could become Invincible among humankind! This kind of talent, I have only seen in one other human—and that is my current Chosen One, but actually, she is still slightly weaker than you! It’s a pity my Chosen One is already nearing maturity. If I were to give her up now, I would absolutely not bear to let her go, and it would also cause me great harm. So... it’s a pity! Even if I’d met you just twenty years earlier, I would be willing to discard my Chosen One, bear the loss, and replace her with you!"

Zhu Dazhi was dumbstruck!

Everyone in the room was dumbstruck!

Everyone unconsciously stared at Zhu Dazhi!

This blockhead... he’s that incredible?!

Although Zhu Dazhi knew this person was the enemy, he also internally acknowledged the other’s strength, and after hearing all this, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted, subconsciously saying, "I... am that amazing?"

The Fourth Seed smiled faintly, slowly picked up a chopstick full of noodles, and after chewing a few times...

"Of course not. I was just teasing you, and you actually took it seriously?"

"????"

"Among all the people here, you have the worst talent. If it weren’t for someone opening your mind, your life would at most be that of a manual laborer."

[Speaking very seriously: Writing a book in its later stages, with a thousand threads to resolve, and various settings and plotlines, I have to maintain logical consistency, so I really can’t write as quickly as I did in the beginning.

It is easy to draw on a blank sheet, but on a picture that is already three-quarters done, every stroke added by the artist must be careful, because once the pen is down, there’s no turning back, and any omission can ruin it.

So about the update speed, all I can say is, I’m doing my utmost.

I’m really not slacking.

The past few Chapters were not thrown in on a whim; they correspond with past content, and I won’t accept accusations that I hastily scribbled to deceive readers. From the very first Chapter, to Lu Xixi’s appearance leading to the previous life’s death, to the Seed War, even to the seventeen cracks in Chen Nuo’s Consciousness Space... (and the seventeen crossings), there are hints. And there’s Sun Keke’s role.

Actually, I have only revealed a quarter of the settings, and there’s a big pitfall I’ve kept unexposed.

But I’ve thought about it for a long time, and it can be closed off.

I really have no choice.

If I write too fast, I’ll ruin it.

If I write too slowly, I’ll be criticized.

If I can’t write, I’ll be scolded.

If I do write, they say I’m just making it up without care.

Having written web novels for eighteen years, I am actually quite steady-hearted now, but I still want to speak in good faith to you, the readers: inspiration is not something that comes on a timed output basis. It’s not as if you can write two thousand words per hour and definitely churn out eight thousand words after four hours every day.

Inspiration isn’t something you have every hour of every day.

In the beginning, inspiration is plentiful, but later on, as ideas become more complex, they naturally become harder to conceive.

I just don’t want to write myself into a corner!

Moreover, this plot, at least to date, I believe, is corresponding and consistent; it hasn’t collapsed.

This book will not be abandoned; I truly wish to use this book to shed the "rambling" tag I’ve been criticized for by old readers over the years.

This is my commitment to this book.]