Generation Z Mainland

Chapter 29

1. Cloud Grass Realm
The group quickly left the gloomy and oppressive castle with Wang Junxi and Wang Hao, returning to the temporary shelter in the Cloud Grass Realm where the others were.

Zhang Yiran was looking at the distant mountains with a troubled expression when he heard a noise at the door. He turned his head and froze for a moment. He didn't say anything, but just stared blankly at the door. Li Jiasen was helping Wang Junxi into the inner room.

Wang Lujie saw through his worries and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, this is all Mei Suzhi's conspiracy, it has nothing to do with you."

Zhang Yiran looked down at the pendant hanging around her neck, touched it, and softly hummed in agreement.

Inside the room, almost everyone watched with concern as Zhang Xuanrui and Zhi Enhan checked on Wang Junxi and Wang Hao.

A faint golden light swirled around Zhang Xuanrui's fingertips as he gently touched Wang Junxi's brow. Wang Junxi's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, while Zhi Enhan squatted beside him, carefully examining the faint black lines visible on Wang Hao's wrist.

"How is it?" Zuo Qihan spoke first, his voice filled with barely concealed urgency. His fist was clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Zhang Xuanrui withdrew his hand and sighed softly: "Brother Xiao Wang's situation is more complicated than I imagined. His superpower core has been invaded by a cold and yin force. Those noises should be that force disturbing his consciousness."

"What kind of superpower does Xiao Wang have? Can he be invaded?" Fu Ziming asked the question that everyone had wanted to ask but didn't know how to ask.

“Beast language resonance. As for why it was invaded? Sorry, I don’t know either,” Zhang Xuanrui replied calmly.

"What about the black patterns?" Wang Hao asked in a hoarse voice. He tried to raise his hand to touch his wrist, but Zhi Enhan gently pressed it down.

“This is an early sign of the Soul Devouring Curse.” Zhang Xuanrui’s voice was somewhat solemn. “The other party wants to slowly devour your supernatural abilities in this way to nourish some kind of evil thing.”

A silence fell over the room. Suddenly, Li Jiasen seemed to remember something, looked around, and asked, "Where's my sister?"

Standing behind Wang Lujie, Zhang Yiran's fingers traced the stars on the pendant. She pursed her lips, then finally spoke, "Jiasen..."

Wang Lujie turned his head and glanced over, and Li Jiasen also looked over when he heard the sound: "What's wrong?"

"Actually, Xing'er, she..."

Because of Zhang Yiran's pause, Li Jiasen hurriedly walked up to him, his voice filled with urgency: "What's wrong with Xing'er?"

“Xing’er… was kidnapped by Mei Suzhi…” Before Zhang Yiran could finish speaking, Li Jiasen grabbed Zhang Yiran’s shoulders with both hands: “What did you say? Xing’er was kidnapped by Mei Suzhi?”

Zhang Yiran kept his head down in silence, without saying a word.

"Didn't you say you'd protect her?" Li Jiasen almost roared, "How could she..."

“Xing’er was seduced by Mei Suzhi! It has nothing to do with Zhang Yiran!” Si Yin couldn’t help but speak up from the side.

Zhang Yiran turned to look at her, and she walked straight to Li Jiasen: "Xing'er went with her to protect everyone from harm, and also to get some useful information for everyone. Moreover, just now, Asata sent a message to Xiaozhi and the others, saying that Xing'er is not injured at the moment, and she will continue to follow Xing'er!"

Li Jiasen released Zhang Yiran's hand and took a viewing mirror from Si Yin. The screen showed Asata's cute little face as she reported Xing'er's situation to everyone.

"Asata, thank you for protecting Xing'er."

Asata, on the other side, was taken aback at first, then smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry, I will definitely protect the princess!"

For some reason, communication with Asata was cut off. The group sat together in twos and threes, chatting, playing games, and resting.

Only Zuo Qihan stepped out the door, placed his hands on the railing, and stared at the distant mountains with a furrowed brow.

Zhang Hanrui came to his side, leaned against the railing, and said, "What are you thinking about?"

Zuo Qihan turned his head upon hearing the voice, his gaze still heavy with lingering solemnity. He pointed to the distant, mist-shrouded mountains and lowered his voice, saying, "I'm thinking that since we came into this world, so many things have happened, it's like a net that has entangled us all."

Zhang Hanrui looked in the direction he was pointing and sighed softly, "It is quite tricky, but don't forget, we still have so many partners around us." He turned to look at Zuo Qihan, his eyes full of determination, "And you are not alone now. When you were unconscious, everyone said that they would help you protect everyone."

Zuo Qihan paused, a faint smile slowly curving his lips, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly. He looked down at his palms, as if he could still feel the warmth of the flowing flame energy: "Yes, how could I forget?"

2. Soul Devouring Hall

On the other side, Asata intended to follow Mei Suzhi and Li Jiayin into a huge base, but he was blasted away a long distance by a powerful gust of energy at the entrance. Mei Suzhi noticed something was wrong and turned to see what was going on when another girl's voice came from the side: "What are you looking at? Aren't you going in?"

Asata ducked into the bushes to hide perfectly. Mei Suzhi didn't notice anything and turned to look at the girl: "It's Lin Yu, little friend. Where's your uncle?"

Lin pulled the boy who was staring intently at Li Jiayin back to her side: "My uncle asked me to bring Chen Sihan over. He went in first."

Li Jiayin noticed that Chen Sihan was staring at her, so she turned to look at him. Chen Sihan blinked, as if he wanted to convey some message to her. Just as she was about to make a move, the two of them were dragged into the base by Mei Suzhi and Lin Yu, and the door slammed shut.

Asata slumped to the ground in frustration: "Damn it! I can't even get in at this crucial moment!"

Just then, a cat's meow suddenly rang in my ears: "Meow~"

Asata looked around for the source of the sound, she heard a plaintive boyish voice coming from beneath her: "Aren't you getting up? My tail is going to go numb from being pressed down on you, meow~"

Asata hurriedly stood up: "A talking cat?"

A fluffy ball of milky white and light purple gradient fur is slowly unfolding, revealing a pair of clear ice blue eyes. The tuft of silver-gray fur at the tip of its tail is trembling slightly, clearly because it is being weighed down.

It was an exceptionally cute Ragdoll cat, small in size, curled up like a cloud. At this moment, it was rubbing the base of its tail with its two front paws, its eyes full of accusation.

The cat stroked its tail and turned to look at Asata: "I am a descendant of the ancient Spirit Cat."

Asata was taken aback at first, then suddenly laughed and said, "A fluffy cat? But you're so cute~" As he spoke, he reached out and ruffled the cat's fur.

The cat rolled its eyes in a human-like manner, and a soft silver-pink halo suddenly appeared around its body. As the halo flowed, the cat's body gradually lengthened, and its fur transformed into flowing long hair. The milky white hair color gradually turned into light purple and shone with a soft light. Its ice-blue eyes remained clear, and the faint pink tint at the corners of its eyes looked like it had its own tear stains. It looked just like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy.

He rubbed the still slightly numb base of his tail (in human form, the downy hair at the tip of his tail turned into silver-gray curls at the ends of his hair), his tone mournful and tinged with helplessness: "What else could I do? You sat on me for a full three minutes. Any later and my spirit down would have been deformed by you, meow."

Asata scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled, "Oh dear, Brother Cat, you're so forgiving. I was just worried about not being able to get into that city. Do you have any ideas?"

A faint blush rose to the boy's ears, clearly annoyed by the nickname "Big Brother Cat," but he still followed Asata's lead, saying, "Shen Zihang, just call me Zihang. That base is a branch of the 'Soul Devouring Hall,' surrounded by a three-tiered ability barrier specifically designed to suppress unregistered ability users. It's normal that you can't get in, meow." He raised a hand to smooth the silver-gray curls at the ends of his hair, a sly glint in his icy blue eyes. "However, a Spirit Cat's sense of smell can penetrate three layers of barriers. I know a secret passage."

Asata's eyes lit up instantly: "Really? Thank you so much, Zihang!" Shen Zihang's fingertip condensed into a wisp of silver-pink light, transforming into a small pom-pom. "Follow it, and don't make a sound. The people of the Soul Devouring Hall are best at tracking supernatural energy fluctuations. By the way, judging from your appearance, you shouldn't be a supernatural being, right?"

Asata shrugged and said, "I am the guardian elf of the Protoss. My purpose in entering the base is to rescue our princess."

Shen Zihang was somewhat surprised. "If it's an elf, then it's much easier." He raised his hand and released a fluffy ball, which floated lightly towards a rock wall on the east side of the base. The two quickly followed. They saw Shen Zihang reach out and gently press on the rock wall. An inconspicuous stone slowly caved in, revealing a narrow passage that could only accommodate one person at a time.

"Turn left after you go in, avoid the infrared monitor at the end of the corridor, and you'll find the secret door to the core area in the third storage room," Shen Zihang instructed, transforming back into a ragdoll cat and nimbly slipping into the passage. "Hurry up, transforming into your elf form will shield us from our supernatural energy fluctuations."

Asata transformed into a little sprite and followed closely behind.

Passing through the hidden door of the storage room, one enters a dimly lit corridor where one can faintly hear conversations coming from afar.

Shen Zihang suddenly stopped, his icy blue eyes scanning the area ahead warily: "There's someone there, and... there's a fluctuation of awakened superpowers."

A little elf was perched on a cat, hiding in a corner and eavesdropping on the conversation inside.

Li Jiayin and Chen Sihan were seated on chairs, with Mei Suzhi and Lin Yu sitting next to them, while Xia Sanlan and a mysterious, tall, and imposing black-masked man stood in front of them.

Xia Sanlan was facing the man in the black mask, and it seemed that she was reporting to him.

Asata muttered to himself, "What are they saying? I can't make out a single word."

Shen Zihang wagged his tail but didn't say anything.

Chen Sihan stared blankly at what was in front of him, when suddenly the dark energy within his body gradually intensified, causing him to furrow his brows.

Just then, Lin Yu and Mei Suzhi also got up and walked towards the masked man. After bowing, they began to report their work to the masked man.

It's unclear what the masked man heard, but Asata and Shen Zihang only heard him angrily rebuke the three of them: "Too slow!"

"And how could they have let those kids take him away so easily!"

Xia Sanlan turned and glared at Lin Yu. He was afraid that his niece had been bewitched by the person she secretly loved again and let the person go!
"Boss, calm down. Don't worry, I've also injected the same Soul-Devouring Curse into those two children as Chen Sihan. When the time is right, it will take root and sprout. Then, hehe, we'll just wait and see the show!" Xia Sanlan said, looking at the masked man with a fawning expression.

The masked man turned to look at Chen Sihan, who had been holding back: "How is that kid doing now?"

"Report, the Soul Devouring Curse seed has now taken root and sprouted, but..." Lin Yu began.

The masked man looked at Lin Yu and asked, "But what?" His eyes flashed with a vicious light, and Lin Yu couldn't help but shrink back. "I'm not quite sure either. You should ask my uncle for details."

The masked man then looked at Xia Sanlan: "What's going on?"

Xia Sanlan glanced at Lin Yu and sighed. The little girl was quite frightened when she first met the masked leader.

"That's right, boss. The Soul Devouring Curse was still quite evident in the early stages of its development within him, but now I've noticed two different supernatural energies colliding within him, possibly due to the effects of his own awakening supernatural power..."

Before Xia Sanlan could finish speaking, the masked man turned around, his back to the three people, and said, "I don't care about anything else, we need to hurry. I still need to use his power to seize the Holy Flame of the Elves and the Power of the Stars!"

Mei Suzhi glanced at Li Jiayin, a wicked smile playing on her lips: "Boss, I think you can get a portion of the Star Power right now."

Asata watched as Mei Suzhi used her powers to pull Li Jiayin from her seat, who was already unconscious. She was both anxious and angry, patting Shen Zihang repeatedly and saying in a low but urgent voice, "You have to think of something! Our princess is in danger!"

Shen Zihang wagged his tail to soothe Asata, who was lying on his back. Just as he was thinking about how to deal with the situation, Chen Sihan suddenly raised his head, looked at the masked man with a sneer and said, "Didn't you want to see the progress? Come on, you can try it yourself."

Lin Yu looked at Chen Sihan in disbelief. Was this kid like this before? No way! When he was first captured, he was a loud and boisterous little boy.

Asata was stunned. He stopped patting Shen Zihang, and Shen Zihang stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

The masked man walked up to Chen Sihan and gave a wicked smile: "Then do you know what I'm going to do with you?"

Chen Sihan curled her lips into a cold smile and said, word by word, "Does it matter whether you know or not? You nurtured me just to obtain the Elven Sacred Flame, didn't you? Well, let me tell you, you might not have the chance."

Enraged by his last words, the masked man grabbed the boy by the collar and lifted him up, making everyone's hearts leap into their throats.

"You brat, no one has ever dared to question me. The Soul-Devouring Curse in your body is something I painstakingly developed! You'd better be sensible and obey me."

Chen Sihan suddenly threw his head back and laughed. In an instant, the strange energy that erupted from his body exploded. The masked man suddenly laughed and said, "It seems that the experiment was a success. Xia Sanlan, well done! Although you failed to protect the other two and they escaped, the seeds should have been sown, right?"

Xia Sanlan walked up to the masked man and boasted, "Of course, Little Crimson Flame and the Holy Flame of the Elves will be no match for our boss!"

Lin Yu glanced at Mei Suzhi, who merely raised an eyebrow.

Before the aftershocks of the energy explosion had subsided, Chen Sihan collapsed, completely losing consciousness. Li Jiayin, not far away, was also thrown to the ground by the powerful impact and immediately fainted. The smoke still lingered. Shen Zihang formed a hand seal, instantly creating an even thicker fog that obscured everyone's vision. Asata seized the opportunity, quickly carrying Li Jiayin away. Shen Zihang glanced at the unconscious Chen Sihan, then without a word, bent down, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and followed closely behind.

By the time the smug masked man came to his senses, the smoke had dissipated, but he had vanished.

"Oh no, have we fallen for their trap?!" Xia Sanlan was terrified; his boss was sure to get him in trouble now. But to his surprise, he heard the masked man calmly say, "Don't panic."

Mei Suzhi cursed under her breath, thinking, "Damn brat! I knew I was right, someone was following me all along!" She looked up at the masked man and asked urgently, "Boss, we must have been ambushed by those punks. Should we go and bring them back?"

The masked man waved his hand: "Don't panic. Since Chen Sihan's Soul Devouring Curse energy has already erupted, its maturity is just around the corner. At that time, we can sit back and reap the benefits."

Xia Sanlan and Mei Suzhi exclaimed in unison, "Our leader is brilliant!"

"Hahahaha..." The laughter, tinged with an eeriness, spread wildly throughout every corner of the base.

Lin Yu's eyes darted around, and a slight smile played on her lips. She quietly slipped out of the Soul Devouring Palace, and no one knew where she was going except herself.

She contacted Shen Jingzhi, the ruler of the Cloud Grass Realm: "Sister Shen, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

"Zuo Qihan, this time, I must have you."

To be continued
(End of this chapter)