The whole weird world is waiting for me to go to heaven

Chapter 997 Gods and Buddhas Everywhere (Part 1)

Although there are some issues with the wording.

Objectively speaking, Liu Sheng and Qiao Yu are indeed on the same combat strength level as Yun Lan's father, Yun Shan, the city lord of Yun Shan City.

But if Wanfo Temple is truly filled with beings of this caliber...

What else can they do?

If one city lord possesses such power, what about the city lords and mayors of other cities?

Wouldn't that mean gods were walking all over the place?

[As expected, those old stories weren't lying! Just when you think you're at the top of the world, once you level up to the big map, you'll find you're actually at the very bottom...]

Liu Sheng cried out in his heart.

[Not even at the very bottom...] "The World" objectively points out.

At this moment, Liu Sheng had already exited the passage of the Seven Mysteries Token.

He left his previous world and went with Qiao Yu.

Of course, this time they also brought Qingguang, as well as the old lady who had already been placed in the container for collecting strange objects.

According to Liu Sheng's current [Rule: Space (2.0)], it's still a piece of cake for him to take two people and a ghost across interstellar space.

Qingguang was still a little dizzy from just crossing interstellar space. Ling Xiaoshu stretched out her long vines and hugged her, poking her little face with the leaves.

It was rare to encounter a creature even less noticeable than herself, so naturally she was very curious. Of course, from an outsider's perspective, it just looked like Ling Xiaoshu was flapping her wings at thin air.

There are 25 seconds left in the countdown.

For this reason, Liu Sheng chose to leave temporarily to avoid getting entangled and wasting time.

"Retreat?" Ling Xiaoshu tilted her head and asked, "Sister, you ran away?"

"That's called a tactical retreat!"

Liu Sheng blushed and corrected himself seriously.

“Oh…” Ling Xiaoshu nodded, his face full of sincere and unconditional trust in Liu Sheng.

Liu Sheng then asked about the "world":
"When we fled... cough, when we retreated, those charlatan temples of Wanfo didn't catch up, did they?"

【No. 】

[First, the clear light obscured our figures. Then, you activated a spatial jump, escaping to the edge of District Thirteen. Next, Qiao Yu used the Heavenly Concealment Technique to completely hide our whereabouts. Finally, we returned using the Seven Mysterious Tokens.]

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yu slightly raised her chin, subtly revealing an expression that seemed to say, "Come and praise me."

Unfortunately, Liu Sheng was still listening to "The World's" report and didn't notice.

[In addition, I have activated the quantum protective barrier to prevent anyone from breaking in before the passage closes.]

"You've learned how to build a quantum barrier?"

【certainly. 】

While cracking it is difficult, replicating it is not.

However, this time, they returned empty-handed.

Who would have thought that Wanfo Temple was such a terrifying place?

The problem is that with such backward technology on the ground and such low levels of ability among so-called superhumans, Liu Sheng and the others naturally could not have imagined that there were such terrifying beings above.

But this also raises the question: what is the purpose of such a powerful being occupying this place?

This indicates that the location is profitable.

Liu Sheng nodded, his gaze deep: "The only question is, what exactly is this so-called 'profit'?"

"What we can confirm now is that Wanfo Temple took Old Zhang away, or rather, he went to Wanfo Temple voluntarily. There is no StarNet there, so we cannot track him, and he has disappeared."

"Someone informed the old lady of his disappearance... which caused the old lady to spread her anger throughout the StarNet, affecting our KPI promotion plan."

In other words, some people don't want us to be promoted.

"This person could be Yunlan, but it could also be someone else, since Yunlan didn't admit it at the time. But they are definitely connected to the Special Bureau and Wanfo Temple, and they also have interests related to Yunlan."

"However, this incident also revealed an important piece of information: they cannot directly interfere with the core system of Shunfeng Express."

"The only thing we can interfere with is the branch's system."

"If Shunfeng Express, Wanfo Temple, and the Special Bureau have already colluded, why bother with all this fuss and emotional propaganda? Why not just deduct my KPI directly? You could even stop it when someone submits my reward application."

"Therefore, it can be confirmed that what they can interfere with is StarNet, which controls the computers at the network points and generates videos and pushes them to everyone."

I did sense another force within the StarNet, but I couldn't resist it because I didn't have enough control over it, and I had a vague feeling that I couldn't force my way through.

[Previously, I thought this fear and worry stemmed from the fear of alerting the Out-of-Character (OOC) monster, but now it seems more likely that it's because I sensed the presence of so many powerful beings behind it all.]

Liu Sheng nodded, quickly figuring things out:
The information currently known includes—

"First, Wanfo Temple can control the StarNet."

"Second, the Special Bureau is backed by the Wanfo Temple."

"Yunlan's father was said to be a former leader of the Special Bureau, but after retiring, he continued to serve as the city lord on the surface, but actually lived in seclusion at Wanfo Temple. Perhaps that was the place where retired cadres reside."

[Retirement Home for Elderly Cadres.] "World" Summary.

"Third, the Swift Wind Transport belongs to another force, and the Special Bureau and Wanfo Temple cannot interfere with it or affect the operation of the mechanism."

"But they are worried that someone might actually get promoted through the promotion mechanism, so they have to resort to public opinion manipulation to influence my promotion."

"Fourth, Yunlan's actions should be autonomous. Influencing the old lady was something her superiors asked her to do, but subsequent actions against us are not necessarily so, because that would be redundant."

"So what are you after from us?" Qiao Yu asked, scratching her head.

"I guess so," Liu Sheng nodded. "But what she's after is unclear—firstly, she doesn't know we're beings beyond high-level superhumans, nor does she know we come from another world. So what she wants is probably Pikachu, our methods, and..."

Liu Sheng's gaze fell on Qing Guang, who was being held in Ling Xiaoshu's arms, and her brows slowly furrowed.

Why is she so fixated on Qingguang?
This deduction, though merely a mental exchange, still took some time; there are 23 seconds left on the countdown.

There are still a series of problems that haven't been solved. We don't know what's wrong with Old Zhang. He still hasn't obtained the core purpose of entering that world—the passage agreement, the location of the stargate, and the complete star map.

Seeing that Nangong Wan was also starting to get anxious.

The revised plan needs a complete basis; having energy and fuel alone is not enough at present...

At that moment, Liu Sheng's heart stirred slightly.

He looked down at the strange object in his hand that sealed the "Sad Old Lady".

Actually, it wasn't entirely without any gains.

If there's no way to solve all this now, was it possible in the past?

Even if it's just one of countless past events.

That also holds countless possibilities.

That's what Liu Sheng thought.

The countdown is ticking, 22 seconds left!
[Entering higher-dimensional analysis...]

Over there, Qiao Yu, Ling Xiaoshu, and Qingguang all came over.

They grabbed Liu Sheng's hand together.

Together we plunged into darkness.

……

The first thing that reached Liu Sheng's ears was a humming, murmuring melody.

The repetitive syllables sound like many people chanting in your ear, like wisps of smoke, entering your ear and then your nasal cavity.

Blue smoke?

Yes, the smell of incense.

It was so strong it was almost pungent.

Liu Sheng is very sensitive to materials. He can tell at a glance that they are mixed with inferior chemical fragrances. Although they are not toxic, they are cheap and not good for long-term use.

The smell of the cheap incense overpowered the others, but upon closer inspection, there were other pungent and mixed scents that irritated her nose, including lemongrass, mint, eucalyptus leaves, turpentine, and other ingredients, which instantly sobered her up.

But now, she doesn't even seem to have the strength to open her eyes.

Not just the eyes.

She could barely feel her body.

It felt as if my whole body had sunk into a pot of thick paste, unable to move, my senses bound by something invisible, with only a vague perception barely holding me up and spreading outwards.

cough cough cough.

A strong tremor erupted, accompanied by a violent cough.

The sound came from her body, yet it seemed not to belong to her. Waves of vibration reverberated through her internal organs, leaving Liu Sheng feeling somewhat dizzy and disoriented.

It seemed like someone was slowly helping her up.

Then came the sound of drinking water.

It gurgled and gurgled into the body, making an unusually loud sound, as if it had used up the last of its strength just to swallow this mouthful of water.

After a moment, she felt a faint moistening sensation spreading through her.

It seems the skin has been stretched out.

But this did not prevent her body from continuing to sink into a drowsy state.

Liu Sheng's mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts. For example, where was Xiao Shu? Where was Qiao Yu? Where was Qing Guang?
Also, what exactly is she now?
Could it be... that I've become an old lady?

But she had a vague feeling that it wasn't true.

Because she couldn't move even a single finger.

Even the tiny tentacles looked listless.

The strength of the small tentacles follows the body itself; if the body has no strength, it will naturally be half-dead.

This was the first time Liu Sheng had ever seen the little tentacle so weak and powerless. The thought made the little tentacle angry, and it said that it was all someone's fault.

Although it lacks strength, it still serves other purposes.

Small tentacles started from her body and slowly extended outwards, opening up a sliver of blurred vision for her.

She finally "saw" where she was.

A room completely dark.

She lay on the bed, the surface of her skin rough to the touch. The low bedside table was piled with various cheap medicines—menthol, Tiger Balm, safflower oil, liniment… The pungent smell of these mixed together was the same smell she had just caught.

Smoke was still drifting in from outside.

His eyes turned.

A dark, hunched figure sat on the edge of the bed.

Liu Sheng was secretly alarmed.

This is Old Zhang.

A pair of cloudy, deep eyes stared intently at "her".

There was a deep emotion in his eyes, so deep that it was almost impossible to understand, but it was still a matter of caring, concern, and regret, and something else that was hard to decipher.

"What's wrong, old man..."

The voice emanated from her body, aged and weak, drifting like a wisp of smoke, "What are you looking at?"

“I’m looking at you, Shaoping. After all these years, you still look the same. It’s as if time has only been unkind to this old man.”

He coughed a few times.

It was heartbreaking, yet also filled with joy.

"Cough cough cough... You old man, you're just trying to coax me. I'm already too old to be anything but."

No, in my eyes, you are still the same as before.

"Hehe, since you say that, then don't put the mirror away!"

The only response was silence.

"The mirror... is all broken."

"Did Er Ya fall? She's the naughtiest of all."

These words plunged Old Zhang into an even deeper silence.

The silence was so profound that even the darkness felt cold.

After a long while, Old Zhang finally responded in a low voice, "No, it's not Er Ya's fault. I didn't hold on to her and she dropped it."

"Sigh, old man, you're getting on in years, you should take it easy."

"rest assured……"

"By the way, did you do the thing your company asked you to do last time?"

"whats the matter?"

"Oh dear, old man, you always say I have a bad memory, but you're the one with a bad memory! Wasn't it your boss who came to our house specifically to say that you're indispensable for that matter?"

"Old woman, don't you remember?"

"Remember what?"

"...It's nothing."

"You're getting old and clumsy, maybe you shouldn't go..."

"Okay, I'm not going."

"That's good, then running around on the ground will be enough for us."

"I originally thought it was too hard for you to be running around like a delivery driver at your age, carrying and lifting things everywhere. If it weren't for saving money for our children..."

The coughing sound came from deep within her body again, this time even more violently, so strong that Liu Sheng felt as if she was about to be shaken out.

Old Zhang reached out and patted her on the shoulder to calm himself down. "Old woman, say less."

"It's okay, it's all my fault for catching a cold. I missed out on a few days of work. Once I'm better, I'll go back to work overtime and make up for the losses..."

Old Zhang fell silent again.

After a long pause, he said, "Don't worry so much. Get some rest. I'm not tired. I've been doing this for so many years, I'm used to it."

"Anyway, just be careful..."

"Ah."

"By the way, did you offer incense?"

"Up."

"You can't forget that, you know... otherwise, how can Buddha protect us?"

"Of course, I won't forget."

"Okay, now take your medicine."

The meatballs, still carrying the scent of incense, were handed over.

A series of laborious chewing sounds.

Then Old Zhang picked up the spoon again and carefully fed the baby some water.

"Okay, stop wasting water... I've had enough..."

The medicine slid down her throat and into her body. She didn't know if it was really effective, but Liu Sheng vaguely felt that her body seemed to relax a little, and even her voice became lighter.

Then I remembered even more things.

"By the way, where's Er Ya? She's usually the most boisterous one, why haven't I heard her today?"

"They probably went out to play."

"Are Daya, San San, and Yao'er going too?"

"……Yes."

"Hey...you have to be careful. Although things are more peaceful these past few years than they were a few years ago...children can just disappear while running around."

"it is good."

After saying a few words, the little bit of energy that the medication had barely managed to lift seemed to dissipate quickly, like smoke blown away by the wind.

Liu Sheng could vaguely sense that there were still questions about this body. After a few slight buzzing sounds, she finally ran out of strength to speak.

The body was completely powerless, with only heavy breathing echoing hoarsely as it struggled to breathe inside.

Old Zhang was still sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at something.

It's as if they're waiting, or confirming something.

After staring for a long time, he slowly raised his hand and then brought it down hard.

Tighten it little by little.

It was as if they wanted to hold onto their last breath.

Liu Sheng couldn't control her body, but she clearly sensed that her breathing, which had been slow and steady, became sluggish, blocked, and eventually stopped completely.

Everything in front of me was blurry.

The burning, suffocating sensation spread rapidly.

She tried to scream, but no sound came out.

Only consciousness was still churning violently, a jumble of chaotic voices echoing in the mind, as if a million possibilities were collapsing at the same time.

Is she about to suffer a long-awaited defeat?

This is your only chance...

We can't afford to fail!
However, Liu Sheng was now in an extremely passive position.

Trapped in a broken shell, she was powerless to even struggle, as if it were a coffin prepared for her.

No, there is still power here, if we can dig...

When Liu Sheng mobilized this power, the suffocating feeling gradually faded as darkness enveloped the area.

She vaguely heard screams.

Then I heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.

The heavy, dull thud seemed to travel through a different world, reaching my ears before slowly fading away.

Then, her entire body, along with her remaining consciousness, slid into a deeper slumber.

Complete silence descended, leaving only the lingering fragrance.

(End of this chapter)