Four days later, at night. The upper area of Bainiao City.
This is the urban area closest to the Canopy Airport and the area with the most serious noise pollution. Loud rock music was playing in the street bars, and young men and women were chatting outside about the commotion of the past few days. They swore that it was aliens, a sign of dragon disaster, and an AI riot, making up various excuses for their drunken nonsense.
In the bar, a curvaceous green-haired girl sat alone in front of the bar, holding a glass of iced orange juice in her hand and drinking it slowly. Drinking juice in a place like this would make people laugh. Three men had already come to make fun of her tonight, but she didn't say a word.
Someone tapped the green-haired girl's shoulder, and she turned around to see dazzling blond hair and a pair of iconic shark teeth shining coldly.
"Hello, Baioli?" the blond ranger said in surprise.
"Servais~" The green-haired woman stood up, hugged the ranger warmly, and kissed each other's cheeks, "What a surprise! We haven't seen each other for a long time, and you can still recognize me at a glance!"
"As soon as I saw a girl drinking orange juice, I knew it was you." Servais grabbed the orange juice, took a sip, and smacked her lips, "It's really good. Where have you moved now? I've been looking for a long time and couldn't find it. I remember your old house was on Elderberry Street..."
"I later moved back to the family. At that time, I had the urge to compete for the head of the family."
"I'm telling you!" Servais slapped her thigh, "You're not really the head of the family now, are you?"
"How is it possible..." the green-haired woman smiled, "I tried it and found that I am not good at strategizing and weighing those nonsense, so I decisively quit scientific research. You must have heard of my name in the past two years, right?"
"That goes without saying? Master of prosthetic engineering, I can see your interviews in magazines." Servais was sincerely happy for her.
"What interesting commissions have you received recently?"
"Forget it, it's the same old thing. Lead the way, find people, give first aid, and help customers find prosthetics."
"Why didn't you bring Kaizi with you to share the money with you?" the green-haired woman pretended to blame him.
"I can't even find a client at your doorstep to guide you around? I know you like to be quiet. You only focus on scientific research and never take on private work..."
The green-haired woman rubbed her fingers with a teasing smile on her face: "Private jobs can always be accepted. If you are interested, you can accept them. Do you accept private jobs such as prostitution tasks, you little pauper? Now I have plenty of money, as long as you can pay me the price. I’ll be having sex with you every night for a month, playing with different tricks until you become dumb..."
Servais stuck out her tongue and made a face: "Go, go, go, you have a son and become a wife, and you still covet my young and beautiful body? I am not selling my body as an artist, not even 10,000 krits!"
"Are you going to sell it for one hundred thousand krit?"
"Oh my God, I really have to think about it for three or four seconds before I tell you categorically that I won't sell it."
"I can't help you, you money addict!"
The girls laughed and talked without restraint, like those freshly graduated students who had no inhibitions and talked wildly. They talked about the recent climate, their respective jobs, the disobedient graduate student that Baioli brought and her newly born son. In the dead of night, the ranger had already drank three bottles. She left the bar drunk, happily saying that we would meet again next time when we were free.
Baioli waved to her until the ranger's back became a blurry dot in his field of vision and could no longer be seen.
Her smile slowly disappeared, and the youth and vitality she showed in her conversation and laughter also faded away with her smile. The green-haired girl was still sitting at the bar, but her back was slightly hunched like an old woman. Her tears fell down drop by drop, dyeing the dark green bar black.
The champion came from outside the bar, pulled up a stool and sat down without saying a word.
"...The last time I saw her was twenty years ago." Baioli said with difficulty. "I was 53 years old that year. I heard a report that there was a ranger who was looking for information about me and I knew it was my old friend. I went to meet him as a surprise, wearing my formal clothes and bringing my favorite tea and flowers.
But she looked at me in surprise and said, "Sorry, madam, did you admit the wrong person? How could you be Booli?" She is a researcher who is not very rich. She likes to drink orange juice but not tea. She likes to wear dresses and never formal clothes. She just got married and gave birth to a child not long ago. Her face is so smooth that there are no wrinkles... It is impossible for her to become this in such a short time. You look like this! "
"I didn't know what to say, so I left. I said to the girl, I'm sorry, I recognized the wrong person. Listening to my steady voice and response, I realized that she was right. I am indeed not Baioli anymore. She knows her. That young girl has grown old long ago, and that person can only live in her memory forever!"
Baioli fell on the table and cried loudly.
The champion has defeated and killed countless people in his life, but he has never seen anyone cry so sadly. He understood why the old man went out of his way to change his body, she had to do this. If the ranger does not show her former appearance, she will no longer be able to recognize her friend. She will continue to search for the afterimages in her memory in Baidu City but find nothing. In the end, she has no choice but to give up and move to the next stop to start a new one. journey.
"I don't know what to say. I'll pour you a drink." The champion poured her a glass of whiskey. "It's best to drink some wine when you're sad."
Baioli grabbed the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. She coughed violently, trying to swallow the fire in her throat. The temperature dried up her tears, leaving only the withered despair and madness.
"Let's go." Baioli wiped away his tears and stood up, "There is nothing left to remember."
"The mood adjustment is really fast."
"I am an old woman and I don't have the strength to cry for a long time." Baioli put on his round glasses. "The Changlong body experiment went well. I proved the feasibility of artificial totems. The young queen received this news. She will be very happy that she can finally get her wish."
"What about you? Are you happy?" the champion said, "Actually, I just thought of a better plan. Why don't I let you go and travel with her. I will tell Gaius later that you have no use for my sword. Just cut it and deal with it, it’s quite easy.”
Baioli shook his head slowly.
"It's like you said. Some fires are lit and can never be extinguished."
She left the bar, leaving everything behind, and never looked back.
·
One day ago, early morning.
Pieces of green leaves drifted in the wind through the various layers of the city on the ancient trees, playing melodious and cheerful flute sounds. The morning in the Wooden Machinery State begins with the rhythm of nature. The Aviary City Band, created by many botanical doctors and artists, has served as the city's time telling function twenty years ago and is still very popular among citizens.
Father Gray was busy with various patients all night during the turmoil of the Wind Angel. He was only free to help design Gongsun Ce's prosthetic body order from the next day. Fortunately, the prosthetics required for constructing the technique don't need to be very elaborate, just having some wild ideas is enough. With the help of Maho, they finalized several preliminary plans, and Gongsun Ce took care of the rest by himself.
"The impact of this incident is quite large." Gongsun Ce asked during the leisure time.
"It can't be small." Father Gray said firmly. "Such an incident happened to 100,000 people. The aftermath alone is enough for the church and the government to drink. The agents I know are going crazy these days. I estimate that at least five Within this year, the number of people using wooden prosthetics will be greatly reduced.”
"But will anyone continue to use it?"
"There must be." Gray said, "Poor people, people who are seeking convenience, old-school people, unconventional people... In the face of a base of two billion, a small group of people is still a huge group. After disassembling the prosthetic body, Recovery plans are also a subject that requires in-depth study, and I think I can continue doing this research until I retire.”
Gongsun Ce expressed deep admiration: "You have worked hard."
The priest handed him the printed design and said calmly: "Hi, I'm a doctor!"
He thanked Father Gray again, and then went to the ancient tree center that supported the Bird City. Booli Dadalion left the family without any regrets after the Wind Angel experiment. The people of the Dadalion family were greatly shocked by this sudden change. Fortunately, ancient families always have countless prepared plans, and now, three days later, Padis Dadalion has become the temporary acting head of the family. After discussion, everyone decided to inspect the totem and return it to the Dadarion family. Firstly, it was because it had little use after leaving the Wooden Weapon State. Secondly, they were worried that taking away the totem would cause bad changes in the environment.
Mr. Perdis was standing at the entrance of the ancient tree's inner studio. The middle-aged man's eyes were full of melancholy.
"I thought that my mother no longer cared about the family and the family business, but I didn't expect that she would make such a choice..." Paddis said, "I am her son, but I have done nothing for her."
"She is not that cold-blooded." Gongsun Ce said, "The fact that nothing happened to you is the best evidence."
Patis looked at him confused.
"Mr. Perdis, you made a lot of noise when you fell that day. You also had a wooden prosthetic body on you, right? But you were not affected when the Wind Angel experiment started. After investigating the remaining intelligence, we found that the wooden prosthetic body on your body was She was not included in the test, which shows that the old lady still has some family affection." Gongsun Ce pushed up his glasses, "Not much, just a little."
Patis was silent for a long time, looking even more sad than before. He sighed sadly, handed the totem clock back to Gongsun Ce, and left the core of the family first.
Gongsun Ce looked up at the wooden clock in the middle of the plant studio. During the three days of investigation, he learned that the totem of the Dadalion family was more like a "key". Only the small clock as a token could enter this place. , in order to exert all the power of the totem. He focused his attention and saw the ancient common language shining green on the edge of the small clock.
【Ended by restriction, strong by self-control. 】
Gongsun Ce scanned the surrounding environment, and he quickly discovered another note, written on the side of the huge clock as if echoing the notes on the small clock.
[If there is a rare space, I will write more to enhance the effect of the spell.
This damn place was called the Green Forest State in the past thousand years. I didn’t think it was appropriate, so I changed it to the Wooden Weapon State. The weirdness and craziness of this place is so deep-rooted (it sounds like a play on words, I like to call it a 'bad' joke), and it's hard for people to watch the plants grow and wither day after day without thinking of their own short lives. Either they devote themselves passionately to fighting against nature or they are greatly stimulated and begin to pursue eternal life.
The previous head of the Dadarion family went to sea to search for the elixir of immortality. It is said that he met a shipwreck and died near Zero Island. I don't know if he got his wish. This family is prone to madness. I seriously considered for a few days whether to take away their totems, but after much deliberation I decided not to do it. Most of the people in the newly formed church are muscle-heads, and there are not many smart people in the Mithril Pillar. If they take over the leadership of this place, within three hundred years, the church will become the next one to pursue eternal life. Organization, then the people's livelihood in the Northern Continent must be suffering again.
Let the Dadarion family continue to be in charge of this place. I made up a mythical image of a wind angel as a mind factor. If they keep listening to my story, in a few hundred years this will become a good cultural totem, which can suppress the sea of trees...]
Gongsun Ce circled around and looked at the other side of the huge clock. After the ellipsis, it read:
[I'm careless. I haven't even finished writing about my glorious achievements. There is almost no room in this list. 】(The handwriting becomes very small)
This is a precious totem that has been passed down from generation to generation. Sir, can you please stop writing it in a diary?
Gongsun Ce tried hard to control the urge to shout and quickly scanned the lower half of the record.
[The totem of the Wooden Weapon State is rough and complicated compared to other regions. It looks like a failure due to immature ideas. Its structure is incomparable to the beautiful golden stars of the Ultimus family. But it still has the characteristics of a living thing, and can greatly affect the surrounding environment. From this point of view, it is a standard totem.
As the tour continues, one thought has been lingering in my mind. Why did the king of the mysterious world create these totems? Old Slok said that they are the descendants of giant dragons, but I always vaguely feel that things are not that simple.
I feel like they are immature creation wizards.
Hopefully I'm overthinking it. I hope you are a good person with self-control who can see this nonsense.
Remember, people are strong because of self-control. 】
Gongsun Ce kept these precious notes in his heart and made the pictures he saw into visible images engraved in his heart. After doing all this, he turned around and left without taking anything or saying a word.
On the way out of the ancient tree, he took out his mobile phone, adjusted back to his normal state, and said with a flattering look on his face: "Lord Qiluo Shen..."
"Lord Qi Luo Shen does not answer the prayers of Huaxin believers."
"I am your loyal believer, please have mercy on me."
"Hmph!" Qiluo on the mobile phone puffed up her cheeks and blew herself up into a big balloon, which exploded with pink smoke. A normal-sized Qiluo stepped out of the smoke and tapped the screen with her fingertips.
"You're kidding, after all Akaguchi Maho has been with you longer than us." Qiluo's eyebrows arched, "God Qiluo will always be on your side."
"Many thanks!"
"But I will still punish you when you come back."
"I knew it……"
Qiluo threw a lovely blowing kiss and slipped away from the phone screen. Gongsun Ce walked out of the depths of the ancient trees and came to the upper area of Bainiao City. Maho pushed her small suitcase and waited for him quietly. Her hair looked as blue as the sea in the light.
"I'm done with my business trip. It's time for me to go back." Maho smiled, "Send me off on a white matter plane?"
"What kind of plane are you going to fly when I'm here?"
Gongsun Ce used telekinesis to hold up the box, picked her up by the waist, and flew into the blue sky. There was a strong wind blowing 10,000 meters above the ground, and their hair was flying in the air.
The wind was so loud that Gongsun Ce had to shout loudly: "Sister Zhenfan, have you thought about your career plan?"
"I figured it out!" Maho replied loudly, "I want to continue to be a researcher!"
"That's great. You will definitely be a good doctor!" Gongsun Ce didn't even ask her the reason for her decision. He only needed support. "Speaking of which, why did you use the empty dragon body that day? After I saw it, I was almost scared to death, thinking that you were possessed by the void thoughts."
"It's a kind of commemoration." Maho recalled her laughter, "Technology itself has no distinction between good and evil. That's what Sora is supposed to do. I heard Kirara say you brought her cup?"
"This thing is now my personal belongings. When this mission is over, I can repair it and return it to you..."
"No, it's yours." Maho put his finger in front of his lips, "If you have a chance, use it to do something good, okay? Repair it into what the Holy Grail should be."
"Kongsu under the Nine Springs will be angry when he sees it."
"She will laugh and clap her hands like 'Ah... Yeah'." Maho smiled, "I promise."
"Okay, although I don't quite understand what the Holy Grail should be like, I will definitely try my best."
They didn't say anything serious after that. They happily walked through the clear sky, occasionally mentioning the past and letting out a knowing smile. Thirty minutes later, the two landed at the foot of the mountain three days ago. Maho straightened his hair for a while and adjusted back to his usual cold expression.
Gongsun Ce was admiring her movements from the side and reached out to mess up her hair that she had managed to comb.
Maho glanced at him: "Childish."
"I've liked seeing you angry since I was little - oh, don't turn your fingers, it hurts!"
Maho tortured his right hand severely and said helplessly: "I won't play this trick with you in the future. Let's go, bye."
The storage warehouse airdropped by Sky City landed, and his sister Maho walked towards the green sphere alone. Gongsun Ce looked at her back and remembered what she said that night, and his heart moved.
"Hey, Maho!"
"What's wrong?"
"We all had a messy childhood, but our youth is not over yet!" Gongsun Ce circled his hands into a trumpet and shouted, "So if there is no time to do or catch up on the opportunity, we can wait until later. If we make up for it, our future will still be bright!”
Maho wanted to walk into the warehouse quickly, but she couldn't help but turn around and look back. The young man's smile was hearty, completely different from the boy in his memory.
She heard the laughter in her heart again, hearing the greedy girl smirking at her and pushing her forward slightly.
"...If." Maho said, "If one day Ayane also finds her important person, she will also leave my family. At that time, I can only live alone."
"Living alone is very lonely. Come and live at my house when the time comes." Gongsun Ce pushed up his glasses. "With contact, you will never be lonely again."
Maho looked at his sincere eyes, blushing and smiling.
"No regrets."
"no sooner said than done!"
Akaguchi Maho leisurely returned to the shelter and returned to their sky capital. There are memories of her past, her current career, and the future waiting for her ahead.
Gongsun Ce flew back to Bainiao City. At the top of the uppermost canopy of the ancient tree, the Morning Star is getting ready to go. The crew was waiting for him on the deck, and Qiluo had a small wooden doll dangling in his hand, which was a small souvenir they had picked out in the past few days.
Gongsun Ce lay down on the cold deck quite consciously, and said with a heartbeat: "I will cut you as I please, without any complaints!"
The eldest lady put her hands on her hips and said, "You will be the one cooking for the next week."
"I understand, little one!"
"Understood, get up quickly and we're going to leave." Shigure Rei said lazily.
"I understand...ah?" Gongsun Ce said blankly, "Are you going to let me go just like that?!"
Qin Qianbai pulled Gongsun Ce up, tapped his forehead and said, "You are the head of the family, idiot."
"...I'm so frightened!"
The Morning Star flew up in the sunshine, away from the vibrant forest and towards the clear blue sky.
Everything about the Woodcraft State was left behind, and they embarked on a new journey.
·
A few days later, Cecil Laboratory, the capital of the sky.
Reina Cecil held today's report and looked at her researcher with a look that could be described as horrifying.
"Have you done additional verification? Corrected the theoretical flaws? Are you planning to personally participate in the Machine God Project?"
"I made a report in advance." Maho said.
Dr. Cecil stood up from the table, walked around her, gasped and said, "Have you been brainwashed by the old woman?"
"I have witnessed the madness of Baioli Dadalion with my own eyes, and her talent is not as good as yours." Maho said without changing his expression, "In thirty or forty years, you are likely to become a more fanatical lunatic than her. Come up with a bunch of wild ideas that are even worse than Akaguchi’s plan. Even for the future of the biochemistry industry, I will become a more authoritative expert than you, so that I can set an example for the industry and a foundation of conscience."
Dr. Cecil slumped in his chair and laughed loudly, pointing at the super-powered person's nose.
"You're so talented, Akaguchi Maho, your arrogant attitude is just like my style back then!" She yelled with a ferocious smile, "But you little girl is still 10,000 years away from me! When will you become Akaguchi? You're a Ph.D., stop talking to me about your bullshit academia and authority, now get out of here and work on the Unit 4 project, right now, right now!"
"When I become Dr. Akaguchi, I will pull you down from this position no matter what." Maho said tit for tat.
They quarreled for a while as usual, and then Maho left work and went to chat with his schoolmates. Caldesia was eating burgers with her in the fast food restaurant, and Ayane was drinking strawberry milkshake next to her.
"Senior, didn't you say you don't like this profession?" "Maho-chan, are you motivated again?"
"Career and hobby don't have to be tied together," Maho said. She thought about the doctors she had seen, Boley, Gray, Cecil, and herself.
"There are always other things that we need to take the initiative to shoulder, such as conscience and responsibility."
Little stars flashed in the eyes of Caldesia and Ayane.
"Wow, senior, you are suddenly so mature!" "Maho-chan is so handsome~!"
Maho smiled slightly and said in a different tone from the past.
"I'm a doctor."
(End of chapter)
