magician in town

Chapter 673 Ancestral Gift (63)

Initial medical intervention is like damage control on a warship: a ruptured hull can be temporarily plugged, broken pipes can be temporarily connected, and burning compartments must be isolated from oxygen to ensure power can still be supplied. But all of this is temporary, ensuring the ship remains afloat. The ultimate goal is to struggle back to port and dock for a major overhaul to truly have a chance of survival. Relying on damage management to keep the ship afloat and prevent it from sinking is a low-probability event with extremely tight time constraints.

The barely connected pipes were on the verge of bursting, and the hole in the hull was a real hole. The wound on Du Zhengyi's body was far beyond his ability to repair, and he wasn't exactly an expert in damage control. Blood began to flow from the wound, the flow increasing rapidly until it quickly formed a small pool at his feet. He had increased his own blood-producing capacity, which would cause irreversible damage to his organs, but he had already reached this point; such damage was no longer something to fear.

Du Zhengyi swayed, staggered forward, and finally squatted down, supporting himself with one hand on the ground. Blood continued to flow from his body, and he subconsciously calculated just how much blood a person—more precisely, a mage—could lose when using magical enhancements.

Du Zhengyi took a step forward, seemingly instinctively trying to stand up, but this only caused more blood to flow. In other parts of the sealed land, perhaps the creatures responsible for cleaning would have been activated, but this core area was isolated from the entire system, much more unassuming. His right knee touched the bloodstains on the ground, his left hand braced against the floor, his right hand clutching his abdomen, as if he were facing his final moments. If left unattended, he would soon sink like a newly built, dilapidated ship in the Pacific Ocean of his life, having fought only a few major battles.

Just leave him alone...

He knelt on one knee in the center of his own pool of blood, seemingly on the verge of death from a relapse. A ripple appeared on the mirror-like surface of the blood, like a light, floating soul drifting across a river of the underworld. At that moment, Du Zhengyi sprang to his feet. His knee, which had been bent and touching the blood-soaked ground, slammed forward, propelling him powerfully into the air. His hand, clutching his abdomen, held a black blade, the edge piercing precisely through the unseen body. His left hand gripped the body's throat tightly. The ghost, unable to escape its restraints, materialized on the blade, its body pierced through. Du Zhengyi twisted the hilt, creating a fatal hole in the victim's abdomen.

"Here you go." Du Zhengyi chuckled.

A pair of cloudy eyes from a middle-aged mage stared at him in astonishment as a body clad in equipment appeared in his grasp. Du Zhengyi couldn't describe the equipment; it looked like a hastily constructed, half-wrapped suit of armor. The claw-shaped blades on his hands were exquisitely crafted, and the helmet was only half-once; the rest was merely a rudimentary frame, resembling a human exoskeleton. Based on Du Zhengyi's understanding of the Primordial Mages in Qionglin, this seemed like an experimental product from a Primordial Mage's laboratory; even in the Primordial Mages' time, this wasn't a fully developed invention.

"Idiot. Du Zhengyi is about to die, what's the point of launching another attack?" the clownfish cursed, his voice tinged with barely concealed shock.

"Because he's a true high-level counter-attack mage, seeing that I was severely injured and unable to fight back, he couldn't control his bloodlust. Human nature is very difficult to control and change, even if you can influence his mind. It seems that even though you're hanging out with the Lotus Burners, you don't really understand high-level counter-attack mages," Du Zhengyi said.

The mage struggled to fight back despite his severe injuries. His claw-shaped blade buzzed as if charging, but Du Zhengyi crushed the cartilage in his throat, released the blade with his right hand, accurately located the probe that was inserted straight into the brain from the half of the helmet, and ruthlessly pulled it out.

With a piercing wail, the mage's body convulsed violently. Du Zhengyi threw him aside, and the heightened optic nerve left a chaotic, overlapping image of the body writhing on his retina.

He had a feeling that the clownfish was also looking at the miserable, dying corpse.

Indeed, because the clownfish continued, “That was too brutal. You pulled out a part of his nerve. But you’re right, he’s a high-level mage. Killing is his pleasure. His world of consciousness is disgusting and disorienting. I can’t fully communicate with him.”

Du Zhengyi slowly sat down. His strengthened muscles, which had provided the speed and power he had just used, were now twitching slightly. The battle was over, but he couldn't lower the intensity of his nerves as he used to. He assessed his body; it was the final moment, and it couldn't withstand any major changes. Lowering the intensity would also reduce the hormone levels that kept him conscious, which would only hasten his death.

The clownfish stopped stealing and seemed to be watching Du Zhengyi. It was as if he was guarding against Du Zhengyi launching an unpredictable and fatal attack on him, or as if he was guarding against Du Zhengyi suddenly dying and the seal closing faster.

“You deliberately bled him out,” the clownfish suddenly said. “There was something else in the blood that formed a conductive liquid layer, and the quantum field on the invisible man’s feet caused observable interference waves with the liquid layer.”

"To be honest, I don't know what you're talking about," Du Zhengyi said.

“I’m not surprised that you can see the trajectory of quantum tunneling. But with that little bit of radiation effect, you can’t accurately predict the location of the invisible man.”

“I just discovered that contact makes you invisible,” Du Zhengyi said. “Quantum entanglement requires environmental isolation on a macroscopic scale. Any collision at the molecular level will cause decoherence, meaning that contact will prevent invisibility. To be honest, I don’t really understand it either. That’s what the human physicist I asked for help told me, and I can only barely grasp it. The Primordial Mage used quantum mechanics to create wearable equipment for invisibility. I found these devices, but they are not yet stable. Human scientists have helped me a lot; at least this system works. No mage can gain an advantage against the Invisible Man. He is almost invincible and has done a lot for me. I didn’t expect these things to be so vulnerable in front of you… What have you mixed into your blood?”

"I don't know. I just have a vague feeling it will be useful. Whether it's you or me, our origin is the Primordial Mage. Creating a conductive solution commonly used by the Primordial Mage isn't difficult for a mage. Other mages just haven't had time to think of it yet," Du Zhengyi said in a low voice. He began to feel dizzy, but he found that he could still calmly talk to the clownfish. Perhaps it was because everything was about to pass, and whatever the afterlife was like, he couldn't interfere and had to let go.

"You trust Roach too much."

Perhaps because his condition seemed so serious, that he was on his deathbed, the clownfish's speech suddenly quickened. Du Zhengyi was still conscious, but he didn't know when he had fallen to the ground. He lay flat on the ground, his split pupils no longer useful; he was beginning to lose his optic nerve.

“Since you trust Roach, you should know how could I possibly be Roach? I’m not your friend. You have too much useless soft heart.”

Du Zhengyi didn't react at all; the clownfish stood silently beside him. A soft explosion was heard in the air, and two figures appeared in the core control room.

Luo Qi stared in horror at the bloodstains on the ground, his panicked gaze lingering on the motionless Du Zhengyi before quickly averting. His half-open mouth made him look like a simple-minded child his age. He looked up at the mist, as if trying to pierce through it to see who was inside, "I want..."

Mahjong pushed him aside and rushed towards Du Zhengyi. His doctor's instincts made him ignore the danger posed by the clownfish.

Roach's throat was so dry it sounded like someone had cut off his voice, "...I'm going to kill you!"

The clownfish remained silent, and before Roach's will could even contend with it, he vanished into thin air and left the space.

Luo Qi gasped for breath, trying to control his panic, watching in vain as the blurry figure vanished without a trace. He stared at the bronze branches and leaves around him, at the bronze patterns, at the enormous, disgusting jelly-like brain, but dared not look down at the busy mahjong game. Blood stained the soles of his shoes; a fleeting glimpse during its appearance had revealed it to be Du Zhengyi's blood. He stood standing on Du Zhengyi's blood, trembling all over.

The medical entanglement in the mahjong game had just triggered a tug, and he knew something was wrong, but he hadn't expected this scene. It shouldn't be like this. Du Zhengyi had indeed been on the verge of death, but they should still have time. It shouldn't be like this… so bloody and cruel. He had to kill the clownfish. That damned fish had harmed Du Zhengyi twice, as if one near-death experience wasn't enough, as if one fatal blow wasn't enough…

"Roach!"

Mahjong kicked him, and he jumped up suddenly, only then realizing that Mahjong seemed to have called him many times.

“Mahjong…” he called out with great expectation. But what he saw was Mahjong’s unusually sad and resentful face, and his heart sank to the bottom. The doctor’s unpredictable face had never looked so normal and heavy. He didn’t use any medical magic, he didn’t use any magic, he just looked at Roach.

The resentment vanished from Mahjong's face, and when their eyes met, the doctor's expression turned to sympathy and pity. That sympathy nearly killed Roach.

“Talk to him, Roach, he can still hear a little,” Mahjong said, then added hesitantly, “I’m sure he can still hear.”

“I know,” Roach said numbly. “Let me try.”