Chapter 8
Ji Chuyao said that this sort of humanoid monster is a “High Dimensional creature that had evolved”.
This was the first time Si Chen has heard of this kind of thing so he was understandably a little curious. “Can High Dimensional creatures evolve?”
“Yes. Our universe’s environment has made it so that a ‘humanoid’ form is the overlord of living beings. If High Dimensional creatures wish to survive here for a long time, the best form can only be human. Thus, they also have to ‘evolve’.”
“Under normal circumstances, this kind of evolution would take millions of years or even longer. But in a Space Fold, anything is possible.”
Ji Chuyao lowered his voice, “My family was among the first batch of human Evolutionaries. According to some theories, the reason why ‘High Dimensional Invasions’ are happening is that our world is the only breeding ground of life left among the entire Ten Dimension universes. … the universes of the other dimensions are dying out.”
Si Chen understood.
As some astronomers say, the life of the universe is also finite.
Other universes were dying of old age. But the intelligent races living in them weren’t.
Therefore, those intelligent races started the “High Dimensional Invasions”, wanting to continue their civilization in other people’s homes.
And thus, there were ‘Space Folds’ and High Dimensional organisms that evolve into humanoid forms.
So, this wave was a two-way rush.
The mothman in the distance had already put on his clothes and stood up awkwardly.
It was only then that Si Chen found that apart from the barely human-like upper body, the lower body of the mothman was the plump body of an insect, with its scrawny, furry legs that couldn’t at all be used for walking. It could only rely on its wings for flight.
At this moment, dark red and viscous blood was dripping down the moth’s legs.
Si Chen saw a headless corpse lying where it was originally sitting.
It was a human fitted with a metal prosthesis. Now the human part had been devoured, leaving only the mechanical arm and two mechanical legs.
This was also the source of the bloody scent that Si Chen caught.
That unlucky guy had probably been charging at the charging station when he unexpectedly encountered such a big moth.
Ji Chuyao stopped talking.
The moth was captured by his scanner. It showed energy fluctuations equivalent to an Evolutionary on the First Step of Heaven’s Stairway.
Ji Chuyao himself was an Evolutionary on the Sixth Step. Before evolving, the moth could have been taken out with a single shot.
This single mothman would be easy to deal with but he was afraid there was more than one of them here.
Even on the same Step on Heaven’s Stairway, High Dimensional creatures and the human Evolutionaries have their own strengths and weaknesses.
There are many determining factors, such as physical strength, the path of evolution, combat awareness… and so on.
Ji Chuyao was currently heavily injured and Si Chen’s stats were weaker than the average Evolutionary’s. He didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
The now satiated mothman rubbed its hands and then began to slowly flap its wings, taking off into the air.
Si Chen held his breath, holding tight onto the only weapon on his body.
The pulse cutter was actually very small, even thinner than an ordinary fruit knife but Si Chen nevertheless got a sense of security from its cold touch.
The only thing that bothered him a little was that the Eternal Life Abyss that resided in his body became very restless after seeing the moth.
Like a bird in a cage, it kept bumping against the bars.
“Mom! Hungry! Eat!”
As it said that, it made to control Si Chen’s body to charge ahead.
Si Chen used all his strength to push the disobedient mama’s boy back.
His whole body was trembling slightly with how forcefully he was holding it back.
Ji Chuyao glanced and found that Si Chen was trembling.
Some inexplicable feelings arose in his heart.
Si Chen had been so calm this entire time that Ji Chuyao even forgot that the person in front of him was an “ordinary person”, not even an Evolutionary before today.
He wasn’t like him, who had started training from a young age; as young as four or five, he’d already been locked in the same cage as a High Dimensional creature and made to fight.
He patted Si Chen’s arm, silently conveying the emotion of “consoling”.
“…?” Si Chen turned around suspiciously and found that Ji Chuyao’s expression was extraordinarily gentle.
Si Chen made to speak but in the end, he gave up on trying explain. Because — the mothman was already flying over their heads.
Right now, it was that time between day and night and the light was dim. The two of them were inconspicuous among the shadows of the bushes.
In the next second, the mothman, which had been flying slowly, suddenly leaned over and rushed towards them.
As an intelligent creature, it had long caught scent of them. The unique structure of its compound eyes made it particularly sensitive to capturing motion.
It had simply been assessing their strength. Si Chen’s aura was very light, almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person’s; but Ji Chuyao’s presence radiated danger.
It purposely flew over the both of their heads. It then caught sight of the shivering Si Chen and the legless Ji Chuyao.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The duo made no more to attack which meant that that it was time to hunt!
Ktf wbatwjc mbeivc’a tfiq yea ifa bea j ragjcuf “tftf” ijeut ogbw lar cfkis fnbinfv wbeat, ogbw ktlmt atgff ibcu abcuefr klat pjuufv fvufr qgbagevfv bea.
Ciwbra lc atf yilcx bo jc fsf, atf wbatwjc rkbbqfv vbkc lc ogbca bo Vl Jtfc.
Al Jtesjb lcralcmalnfis kfca ab ugjy Vl Jtfc’r rtbeivfg ab rtlfiv tlw yftlcv tlw. Lbkfnfg, tlr tjcv mjwf jkjs fwqas.
Si Chen had been one step ahead of him and had jumped up from the ground.
The pulse cutter in his hand pierced deep into the mothman’s compound eyes. The mothman staggered in its flight.
It opened its mouth wide and screamed. Its long tongues wanted to pierce Si Chen’s neck.
Si Chen wasn’t sure if his muscles had melted due to that high-speed move, but his hands had already grabbed those three long tongues. The barbs around those tongues stuck into Si Chen’s palm and blood gushed out like a leak.
The mothman, who was still struggling fiercely, stiffened before its breathing suddenly weakened.
Si Chen bit off its trachea. The hot liquid tasted like mutton soup, very warming to the stomach.
The Eternal Life Abyss hadn’t lied to him. This mothman was indeed delicious.
Holding the pulse cutter, Si Chen stabbed dozens of times in a row, leaving hot blood all over the ground. There was a fierce look on his face.
When High Dimensional creatures abandon their original bodies and choose to evolve towards a humanoid form, they too have surplus weaknesses.
The mothman went completely still.
Si Chen stopped. His body was running hot and the blood in his veins was flowing too fast, making his blood vessels bulge onto his skin. The surging blood was dark, almost black, making his bulging veins look like the lines of tattoos.
Because of his poor health since he was a child, Si Chen has always avoided physical conflicts with others. His physical reaction speed couldn’t keep up with his thinking speed and he was beaten the shit out of most of the time. So he didn’t actually understand how he was able to kill it in one go.
It had been the Eternal Life Abyss who had taken over his body just now. Si Chen felt it, but it was more like being a different kind of onlooker.
However, Si Chen’s ability to learn has always been strong. This was his greatest strength.
Though hazy, he had begun to be able to grasp something. It was a very faint feeling but enough for him to mentally chew on repeatedly.
The Eternal Life Abyss conveyed joyful emotions in his body. It was a pity that its language ability was not enough to express such joy.
It had hunted prey and given it to its mother!
This way, mother won’t think it a useless cub who only ate and contributed nothing.
Si Chen touched his teeth subconsciously.
It wasn’t just his imagination. His teeth had sharpened. Several canine teeth had directly transformed into conical fangs. The tops of his lower canines could even poke directly into his upper gums.
Thankfully, these teeth all grew together to fit. Looking at it all together, it wasn’t too much different from his original teeth.
Si Chen wiped the blood from his face.
Next to him, Ji Chuyao looked a little dazed. “…It seems that my injury is so serious that it has damaged my central nervous system. Otherwise, why would there have been something wrong with my combat assistance system?”
Si Chen glanced at the mothman on the ground whose blood had been sucked dry. He asked, “Do you want to eat?”
It stood to reason that other parts of it could also be eaten.
For example, the round abdominal cavity hanging behind the tailbone. It looked like a lot of meat.
Pity he was already too full to eat.
Ji Chuyao recalled the taste of the insect-like High Dimensional creatures he’d eaten. He shook his head politely. “Thank you, I’m not hungry yet.”
According to Ji Chuyao’s reserve database, after hearing his answer, the expression on Si Chen’s face indicated “regret“.
…What the hell.
Si Chen, who was now full and had managed to clean himself off as much as he could, pushed the supermarket shopping cart and took Ji Chuyao to the charging station.
The last hapless man had left his precious treasures here: his mechanical body parts.
The Machine Core Group had a monopoly on the market for mechanical bodies. Ji Chuyao glanced at the model and began to install it on himself.
He struck the parts’ bodies repeatedly.
The unlucky man had been practically picked clean but there were still some remnants and residues left.
Si Chen picked up the employee ID card off the ground.
[Safety Management Bureau employee card]
[Name: Guo Tian]
[Serial number:]
[Level: First Step – Mechanical Transformation]
The photo on the employee ID card looked familiar. Si Chen remembered that he’d picked up a mobile phone in the Space Fold two days ago. The screen saver had been the photo of a young woman and this person. The woman’s last words had been “Mom loves you”.
He thought it was a picture of a wife and her husband. He didn’t expect it to be a mother and child.
Because of gene medicines, the general life expectancy was more than a hundred years old. Many still looked young in their fifties and sixties.
Ji Chuyao moved quickly and he had already installed a leg on himself.
He scanned the employee ID card in Si Chen’s hand, and said casually, “I thought no Evolutionaries would stay in the Disaster Zone.”
People in the Disaster Zones sharpened their heads in order to crawl their way up. They would rather be a dog in the Safe Zone than a human outside. Most of the people in government are from wealthy families in the Safe Zone. They were evaluated based not on the state of safety or the economy but by how much resources they can send to the Safe Zone.
Ji Chuyao: “But it’s still not uncommon. After all, Evolutionaries who are only on the First Step are allowed only to bring themselves to the Safe Zone. Many might be reluctant to part with their families…”
Si Chen pursed his lips.
He thought of his adoptive parents.
When Si Chen was still young, day after day, he’d read with eyes rimmed red, thinking how he would be a big man in the future once he was admitted to university. He would then stand in front of them all dignified and ask why they hadn’t come back for him.
One had to be decent and respectable. Only in this way can one be qualified to talk about “forgiveness”.
But he was no longer the kid he was back then and there were some things you didn’t need the answers to.
Ji Chuyao hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, “Sorry, did I say something wrong again?”
Si Chen’s expression wasn’t pained but he’d captured a very faint sadness.
Si Chen laughed, his eyebrows curved. “What?”
Ji Chuyao lowered his head in doubt. “It’s nothing. Maybe it’s because my energy core is damaged that I keep making mistakes in my data analysis. It’s happened several times already.”
…
…
Far off in the distance —
That Ji Chuyao, who was no different from a human being, said something similar, “There is now more superfluous data. Why?”
He was floating in mid-air, his green blue eyes were slightly shining.
Through the misplaced time and space, he saw Si Chen’s face.
Ji Chuyao hesitated. “Because of you?”
Based on the aesthetics of the human species, Si Chen was very good-looking.
But the replica has also seen better-looking things. Why would it generate abnormal data because of him?
He couldn’t understand.
Then, in that case, he’ll simply let it be.
He closed his eyes again.
…
…
Ji Chuyao’s new mechanical legs didn’t fit well. To put it simply, based on the human body’s proportions, it was a bit short.
But after installing the mechanical legs, Ji Chuyao was already taller than Si Chen.
After he stood up, Si Chen realized one thing. — Ji Chuyao must be taller than normal people, else his upper body wouldn’t be so long.
Si Chen couldn’t help but glanced at his lower body.
How should he put it? He actually got a boner. Wasn’t there something not quite appropriate about this?
Si Chen threw a pair of pants over. “Put them on.”
Along the way, Si Chen, while pushing the cart along, had picked up some supplies. This included clothes and pants.
Looking at it this way, it was truly prescient.
Although Ji Chuyao thought it was unnecessary, he obediently put it on.
“The energy waves in this Space Fold are weakening now.” He said, “It feels like in a few days, this Space Fold will be over.”
Once its energy is exhausted, the dark matter barrier will disappear.
The High Dimensional creatures will return to their original universe, but the transformed landscape and some other things will remain behind. In addition, “energy mines” will be born underground.
This was also the reason why Disaster Zones have become resource areas.
Looking at Si Chen who was listening carefully, Ji Chuyao added, “The only thing that worries me is that the temperature in this Space Fold is too abnormal. It looks like a sign of heat death. But the probability of this is very low, I hope I’m simply thinking too much.”
Si Chen gave an “en”.
Heat death is one way a universe could die. Simply put, it is a high-temperature explosion.
The temperature here was too extreme. The sky wasn’t yet dark but the temperature had already dropped to freezing point.
Ji Chuyao took out the folding lamp again but didn’t turn it on immediately.
Si Chen sat beside him, skillfully dealing with his wounds, looking very practiced.
Fighting with the mothman just now, his hand had been bitten into a bloody mess.
Ji Chuyao stared at the dried blood on his face and said slowly, “Well, since I can walk now, our transaction is over. Let’s go on our ways separately.”
He was an Evolutionary on the Sixth Step. Although he was seriously injured, he was still more powerful than Si Chen. If they were in a normal situation, Ji Chuyao wouldn’t let Si Chen leave his side.
But he had provoked the very petty-minded Insect Queen. Evening was when the Queen was active and night time was approaching.
What’s more, although this Space Fold was dangerous, he had already seen Si Chen’s ability to survive.
If Si Chen stays by his side, it would be really dangerous for Si Chen.
Ji Chuyao’s heart was filled with twists and turns, but his programming hadn’t taught him that he should speak out his complete train of thought.
He handed the folding lamp to Si Chen. “This is for you. You can turn on thermal mode so you won’t be so cold at night.”
When Si Chen heard his words, he was stunned for a moment.
Ji Chuyao always spoke in a leisurely manner, but he handled things very reliably.
If it weren’t for his surname being Ji, Si Chen even thought they could be friends.
He didn’t expect Ji Chuyao to be the type to just throw someone out after they’ve run out of use.
However, when Si Chen thought of the other’s identity as a wealthy family’s son, he felt that it wasn’t incomprehensible.
The Space Fold was about to end. They were people from two different worlds and there was no need to remember their brief encounter.
Si Chen looked away from his smiling face and said calmly, “Thank you for taking care of me these past couple of days. Then, I’ll be going ahead.”
He left without leaving a trace; the very picture of the “hands in pockets, no one loves me” meme.
Si Chen didn’t take the folding lamp with him.
Ji Chuyao sat on that very same spot, chin in hand, looking at Si Chen’s back, inexplicably annoyed.
He seemed to have forgotten to ask for Si Chen’s social media account.
But it didn’t matter, he could check this kind of thing in the database after they get back.
…
…
Ji Chuyao’s scanning range could reach 120 kilometers at maximum efficiency.
However, in order to save energy, he was now operating in energy-saving mode and this reduced his range to 15 kilometers.
Even with this limited range, he was able to detect the Queen’s approach.
Ji Chuyao carefully simulated all possible battle scenes. To be honest, his chances of winning against the Queen were really low.
But the Queen wasn’t at full strength either. It only had two heads now.
And so, there as that ‘what if’. After all, he was Ji Chuyao. In the Ji Family and perhaps even among all the great wealthy families, he was the strongest of the younger generation.
When he felt the Queen approaching, his energy core roared excitedly again. Instead of blood, condensate boiled through his body.
Ji Chuyao pulled out his collapsible sword.
This sword was installed in his arm and could be drawn out of his body. It wasn’t a mechanical creation, but a long, handle-less sword. In its entirety, it appeared as an elegant arc.
The sword was called “Sky Blue” and it has been with him since he was a child. At first, Ji Chuyao wasn’t even as tall as it was but gradually he grew able to hold it steadily. No one knew how much effort he had put in all these years.
The blade glowed blue. Ji Chuyao was ready to fight.
However, his high fighting spirit was soon arrested.
Because the Queen wasn’t running towards him.
Instead, it ran towards the direction that Si Chen had left for a few hours ago!
As an intelligent creature, it knew very well that it had to pinch the soft persimmon.
After their fight yesterday, Si Chen had already made it on its hit list.
The Queen travelled underground. The surface groaned and clods of dirt rose and fell.
The pair of mechanical legs he’d picked up was of a very low level, without a jet power system installed. It was only a little stronger than ordinary legs.
Ji Chuyao retracted the sword and ran in big strides.
He ran so fast that the screw mechanism at the joint of the prosthetic legs burst with sparks.
With a bang, something flew out.
Ji Chuyao had broken his leg running.
“…”
He stood on one leg on the road and for the first time in his life, he had the urge to swear.
A little shameful
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Thanks for the chapter!
Hahaha~ the image of Ji Chuyao standing on that one leg cursing at the sky.
seems like the ji chuyao in the space fold is not aware of his identity as a “clone” of sort to the one outside?
Yup, only the main body knows about the replica
Hero to the rescue…or not… heh. Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣 goodby leg 🦵
Thanks for the chapter!
thank you for the chapter 🥰
(°o°:)
Pffft- ahem I didn’t laugh at ml hehe.
Thankyou for the chapter 💚❤️
LMFAOOO POOR GUY
Well, hop along mister 🤭
Baby ChuYao is so cuteeeee🤣