Chapter 233: Eji
According to military regulations, those infected by artifact calamities must enter the Spirit Transformation Pool for purification. This is because artifact calamities are a type of spiritual virus that affects the reason of infected Spirit Masters, causing them to gradually become tyrannical and bloodthirsty. At the same time, their Spirit Artifacts may develop their own consciousness and become uncontrollable by the Artifact Master.
If someone deliberately conceals such facts and chooses not to purify, while not resulting in a death penalty, stripping their military rank and serving a few years in prison is still a given. After all, history has proven that most infected by artifact calamities cannot control their inner bloodthirsty urges and eventually become killing machines, even risking being usurped by their mutated Spirit Artifacts. Of course, this applies to “most,” as a small minority with truly firm wills, or those whose Spirit Artifacts possess special abilities, can suppress the artifact calamity or even use it to enhance their combat power. Because of this, some people infected by artifact calamities, under the temptation of immense benefits, believe they are part of that firm-willed minority capable of suppression.
“Rumble—”
The magma boiled, and the golden-haired centaur in the center of the volcano stood still. The furious flames beneath its hooves continuously spread outwards, forming rings of fire. The air temperature rose little by little, giving off a large amount of gray mist. This mist was highly concentrated Calamity Force, which wrapped around the centaur’s crimson waist and concave upper torso, flowed over the perfect mountains covered by the radiant golden sacred armor, passed down the fair collarbone, and condensed into an abyssal black rune between the eyebrows of its beautiful, delicate face.
【Eji Heavenly Horse】
This was the Spirit Artifact of the Walker Xize. After being infected by an artifact calamity, it had evolved extremely powerful abilities, but this was precisely what Xize found vexing. This ability caused the concentration of Calamity Force around Eji’s body to be terrifyingly high, making it impossible for him, as the master, to get close, let alone use it.
“Berna, how much longer until the advanced Calamity Spirit Pearl is successfully manufactured?” Xize, wearing small glasses on his large, protruding nose, held a cigar in his right hand, which was a mechanical prosthesis, and gently flicked off the ash.
“Sir, please give me another week,” the tall, thin, bamboo-pole-like man respectfully replied in a deep voice, standing behind him with his hands clasped. “The mutated A-class spirit paper has now been captured, and the Laboratory is a bit short-handed.”
The advanced Calamity Spirit Pearl could effectively resolve the problem of the Calamity Force around the Eji Heavenly Horse, but creating one was not an easy task.
“Five days. You have five days at most,” Xize said coldly.
“Yes.” The bamboo-pole man did not dare to argue.
Xize turned his head to the distant, respectfully standing phantom of the Cold Eagle. “What is it?”
“Reporting to Walker Sir,” the Cold Eagle swallowed hard. He recounted how the Burning Heaven Sacred Hall had entered the Star Wheel, and the sacred flame was stolen by two mysterious individuals.
“Useless!”
“!” The Cold Eagle’s breathing hitched. He lowered his head, terrified and not daring to speak. Suppressing the urge to get angry, Xize’s expression darkened slightly. Recent events had been exceptionally unfavorable. The mess in the garden had yet to be settled, the framing of Uncle Wei and his son was thwarted by these two who escaped, and the sacred flame, crucial for the opening of the Fourth Divine Treasury, was intercepted by a mysterious person. However, fortunately, the advanced Calamity Spirit Pearl was nearing completion. Once he could control the Eji Heavenly Horse, his combat power would be significantly boosted, preparing him for the struggle for the Fourth Divine Treasury.
“Cold Eagle, continue to pursue Xia Feng.” Xize waved his hand. “Berna, absorb the knowledge from that A-class spirit paper as quickly as possible to produce the high-level Calamity Spirit Pearl.”
“Alright, you may both withdraw.”
“Yes!”
The two subordinates clasped their fists, and their illusory figures flashed, disappearing from sight.
***
Eternal Flow Sea, the Capsule Ship sailed serenely.
Xia Feng lay in the cabin, bearing a heavy burden, feeling increasingly suffocated. He twisted his neck and grumbled, “Miss Mu, I’ll suffocate to death like this eventually. Can’t you shift down a little?”
Miss Mu Qingtong’s beautiful eyes lowered slightly as she glanced at the man’s face in her arms. Her expression was unchanged. “Mr. Xia, I am doing this to better control the direction of the Capsule Ship and prevent it from tilting.” Mu Qingtong then proceeded to explain the operating principles of the Capsule Ship to Xia Feng.
Originally, the Capsule Ship was designed for a single pilot and was very easy to operate. The various sensor components on the cabin walls were fully attached to the pilot’s body, allowing them to sensitively detect the pilot’s movements and thus synchronously steer the ship, accelerate, and even drift. However, with two pilots now, the sensor components on the cabin walls could not fully cover both their bodies. This required Mu Qingtong and Xia Feng’s bodies to cooperate and align. It was like a bicycle, where Xia Feng’s neck and head acted as the central column on the front wheel, requiring handlebars for directional control. Mu Qingtong’s purpose in pressing down on his head was to control the direction.
After listening to Mu Qingtong’s explanation, Xia Feng felt a bit overwhelmed. “Cough, so that’s how it is. Miss Mu, I originally thought you were deliberately taking advantage of me~”
“.Oh? So, you dislike me pressing down on you like this very much?” Mu Qingtong’s beautiful eyes lowered, staring at him quietly.
“Of course!” Xia Feng said the opposite of what he meant, with righteous indignation. Mu Qingtong was already accustomed to Xia Feng’s shamelessness. After a moment of thought, she pursed her lips and smiled. “Mr. Xia, but when you were molesting Yue Hongli just now, didn’t you seem to enjoy it?”
“You—you don’t speak nonsense! Be careful, or I’ll sue you for defamation!”
“Also, I told you, this is not molestation! This is strategic deterrence!”
“Mr. Xia, you don’t actually need to lie. After all, this is an attachment behavior inherent in the genes of mammals towards mother figures. I wouldn’t look down on you.”
“.”
Upon hearing Mu Qingtong’s explanation, Xia Feng nodded thoughtfully. “I must say, Miss Mu, what you said actually makes a lot of sense. This is… not lust, but the result of genetic control!” Xia Feng felt a sense of sudden enlightenment. He had initially felt a bit embarrassed, but now he thought about it, what was wrong with attaching to a mother figure? Exactly!
“Alright, as long as you understand.” Mu Qingtong patted his head and said indifferently, “Don’t fidget around from now on, it will be very itchy and can easily affect my state.”
“.”
“Got it, got it. Can you stop patting my head?”
Mu Qingtong’s gaze was calm. She ignored him and focused on steering, looking at the screen in front of her. Xia Feng raised his eyes and glanced at the black-dressed woman’s delicate collarbone and fair jaw, showing no signs of blushing embarrassment. Having observed her like this for several days, this woman seemed to feel no shame at all. This gave Xia Feng a sense of strange frustration. He was blushing furiously, but this witch was acting as if nothing had happened.
“Mr. Xia, I’m going to accelerate.”
At this moment, a calm voice came from above him. Before Xia Feng could react, the black-dressed woman had already clasped his wrists. A strong backward force surged through him.
“Entering full speed mode—” As a mechanical female voice sounded, Xia Feng felt the surrounding cabin walls suddenly contract and tighten, completely sealing any gaps within the cabin. It became difficult to breathe, and the operation of his Spirit Pressure became sluggish.
“Wait—wait a moment! Don’t be so fast!”
Hearing Xia Feng’s slightly flustered tone, Mu Qingtong pursed her lips and glanced down. Not only did she not slow down, but the corners of her lips hooked upwards as she directly pressed the red button, which represented maximum speed.
Swish—
In the azure sea currents, fiery streams of light ignited around the Capsule Ship. It moved at an astonishing speed, leaving countless afterimages, and disappeared into the depths of the pitch-black currents in the blink of an eye.
