Volume One Chapter Forty-Seven: Desert Oasis

“What in the world is happening…” Mode clutched his abdomen, straightening his knees as he gazed into the distance. Beyond the platform beneath his feet, all he could see was endless yellow sand; the surroundings were clearly nothing like the scenery near Qin City’s safe zone.

A heavy thud drew Mode and Mu Qing’s attention. The middle-aged man beside them had collapsed onto the ground. Both his arms were broken, his body riddled with wounds torn open by the power of the boundary void. The countless mechanical arms and claws that once danced around him had lost their energy, now strewn lifelessly across the sand. One eye socket was empty, and the glow in the other mechanical prosthetic was fading away.

The final flickering candle had gone out. The man, bereft of his arms, had embraced his ideals and died silently.

As Mode stepped closer, he gasped at the grim reality of the man’s body. Though the boundary void’s overloaded force had ravaged him, the marks of the Tianren Path’s bio-intelligent mechanical modifications remained unmistakable. When the simulated skin for disguise lost power, the grotesque mosaic of a devil emerged beneath the transparent layer. A black spine supported his not-so-tall frame, studded with electrodes and energy conduits; most of his organs had been replaced by mechanical substitutes. The mechanical claws were deeply rooted in every bone, directly wired into the circuits within the marrow.

“So this is the method of the heretics from the Tianren Path.” Even having witnessed similar scenes, Mu Qing was sickened. She picked up the clothes the man had torn off earlier, unexpectedly finding two items in the jacket pocket.

One was a small unopened package; the other, an old steel pen. Faintly, one could make out the words “First Research Institute” engraved on the side.

“This fellow dabbled in the Doomsday Cult, got involved with the Tianren Path heretics, and apparently used to work at the First Research Institute.” As Mode retrieved the severed hand gripping the boundary void stone knife sheath, Mu Qing spread the torn clothing to cover the man’s remains.

“We’ll look into his background later. Right now, his identity isn’t our headache.” Mode tore off the other sleeve, cleaning and re-bandaging his abdominal wound.

Suddenly, Mode noticed the platform beneath his feet trembling. “Let’s get out of here.” Seizing the boundary void stone knife sheath, he leaped toward the distant sea of sand. Mu Qing followed, and after opening the package, discovered a boundary void stone ring inside.

Both searched for a jump point and leapt off the earthen platform. Only after running a safe distance did they stop and look back.

The massive hemispherical block of earth finally buckled under its own weight, collapsing into countless fragments that plunged into the yellow desert. Dust billowed skyward as the earth shattered.

The two were astounded. Standing in the desert, they saw that the circular platform they’d stood upon, nearly a hundred meters wide, resembled half an ice cream scoop—someone had gouged it out of Qin City with a giant spoon and set it down here.

They hadn’t simply been teleported; the ground beneath them, nearly a hundred meters thick, had been transported along with them.

Mode was once again left breathless by the spectacle.

Li Xiang’s body, too, was buried completely as the hemisphere collapsed.

“It must be that summoned entity reacting with the knife sheath in your hand, transferring us—platform and all—here. But what is this place? I recall there aren’t any deserts near Qin City.” Mu Qing covered her nose and mouth, waving away the encroaching dust. She took out her phone—unsurprisingly, there was no signal. “We shouldn’t linger. Let’s walk and try to figure out where we are. Out here, phones are little more than scrap metal.”

“Which way should we…” Mode started, then sensibly fell silent. They didn’t know the coordinates or the directions, but Mode clearly knew which way they shouldn’t go. Without further words, they ran.

Because, far to their right and behind, a towering sandstorm tornado was slowly approaching.

…

Using the only reliable method during the lunar tides—the eastward and westward rise and fall of the sun—to orient themselves, Mode and Mu Qing escaped the giant sandstorm and headed east.

On their journey, they were caught in a battle between the desert fox and scorpion clans. Barely recovered from his wounds, Mode fought desperately to survive the leaders’ siege. After several mirage misdirections, Mode finally dragged his exhausted body to the edge of an oasis.

Stumbling to the central lake, Mode dipped a finger into the clear water and flicked a drop into his mouth. Confirming it was clean, he drank deeply from the lake. The journey, coupled with the scorching sun, had left his throat dry as tinder.

Mu Qing also reached the lake, crouching to drink her fill.

“To stumble upon such an oasis before dying of thirst, your luck isn’t half bad.” Wiping droplets from her chin, Mu Qing glanced at Mode, who was sprawled out in the sand, resting.

“Wherever desert clans live, the underground water veins must be rich. To sustain the scale of those two clans, the water must be abundant enough to nurture an oasis nearby. If not for those mirages throwing us off, we wouldn’t have found this place only after nightfall.” Mode placed his hands behind his head, gazing at the stars. “Did you realize those mirages were fake from the start?” he suddenly asked Mu Qing.

“Of course,” Mu Qing answered openly. “But I’m not one for rescuing you from disaster, at most I just add a little flourish—wash a dish or sweep the floor for you now and then.”

“Who takes care of whom is up for debate; back home, I did all the chores myself.” Mode retorted, as Mu Qing, from who-knows-where, produced a bucket and drew water from the lake.

“Don’t just stare—this is the last unopened boundary void stone that guy had. The contents haven’t been dealt with yet. Its original owner was probably an adventurer; the stone is well-equipped.” She set the bucket down and, as if displaying an arsenal, began pulling out a pile of survival gear from the stone: flint, tents, shotguns, emergency rations—everything needed for the wild.

“Come on, let the big sister add her touch and clean your wound; it’s time for a fresh dressing.” She grabbed a medical kit and a towel, soaked it gently, and called Mode over.

“You heal fast,” Mu Qing remarked, wrapping layer after layer of gauze around Mode’s waist.

“It’s just my constitution—not only do I recover quickly, but not a single scar remains.” Mode obligingly raised his arms.

“No scars at all…” Suddenly, Mu Qing slapped Mode’s bare back, the sound crisp and loud.

“They say scars are a man’s badge of honor—how come your skin is softer than a girl’s?” “It’s just my constitution, what can I do?”

Dinner was a can of emergency rations each, heated simply as the two sat together and chatted over their meal.

…

“The original owner must have been an adventurer from the exploration zone ‘Afriga.’ Most of these brands only supply that area—you can only buy this equipment there.”

“You’ve visited the exploration zone too?” Mode was surprised at how quickly Mu Qing deduced the ring’s origin. He wondered why the canned food tasted so oddly familiar.

“I went there on business. Wait—what do you mean, ‘too’?” Mu Qing caught the implication in Mode’s words.

“When I was a kid, Uncle Changsheng took me there. But I was shy back then, didn’t pay much attention to local customs—what stuck with me was the food, all quite distinctive.” Mode swallowed the last bite, gulping down several mouthfuls of water.

“Yes, very distinctive…” Mu Qing turned over her empty can, finding, as expected, that infamous ingredient list on the bottom.

…

The ring’s previous owner hadn’t traveled alone; the clothes included women’s styles—likely a husband-and-wife adventurer team.

Mode and Mu Qing each gathered some lake water to wash, changing into clean clothes.

“By the way, I think I’ve broken through again,” Mode said, causing Mu Qing to spit out her water in surprise. “What? Again? Don’t tell me you’ve reached the ‘Received Body’ stage already?”

Mode nodded under Mu Qing’s gaze, confirming her guess. He stretched out his right hand, channeling the strange sensation to activate his ability, and a streak of dark golden energy leapt from his skin, swirling around his palm in a swift stream.

He really had reached the ‘Received Body’ stage—the ability to control objects at a distance. Mu Qing touched Mode’s pulse, carefully gauging the strength of his ability’s current. Yes, he was a genuine newly advanced ‘Received Body’ level.

Mu Qing was nearly losing her mind. How could he break through silently again? For him, bottlenecks weren’t even as flimsy as paper—they simply didn’t exist! Mu Qing had seen countless prodigies, even counted herself among the most monstrous, but each advancement took ten days to half a month. This guy, from awakening his ability to reaching the ‘Received Body’ stage, hadn’t even taken half a month.

“Hey, when did you awaken your ability?” Mu Qing asked as Mode concentrated on forming the golden light into a flying needle.

“September 19th, I think…oh! That means it’s been two weeks since we met.” Mode replied.

Indeed, today was October 2nd, Monday. Two weeks had passed since Mu Qing and Mode first met, and Mode first awakened his ability.