Forge a path to success.

Chapter 34 Shoot Me!
The old wooden walls were illuminated by candlelight, candles burning even in the daytime in the dim swamp. People gathered in bars, prayer rooms, and secret churches, their voices from different races discussing the same topic.

"Have you heard?" "I saw it with my own eyes." "The Calamity Knight himself said he would punish..." "The Divine Child was there too." "That was the end of the world. The end of the swamp...!"

Within a day, news of the Calamity Knight bringing divine punishment spread throughout the swamp. No special propaganda was needed; the superstitious people acted as messengers. First light poison, then divine punishment—what devastating news! The atmosphere of impending doom grew heavy, and even the great wizard Adari's face appeared more somber than usual.

"Great Wizard, I must ask for your instructions." His trusted advisor, the wizard Rand, was utterly bewildered. "All the settlements are in a state of panic. What should we do?"

Adali knew that his confidants placed their hopes on his "divine power," but controlling the mind of the group was not something that could be easily accomplished by a mere foundation; long-term psychological suggestion, atmosphere creation, and environmental coordination were all indispensable.

This time, the decisiveness of their attack caught Adari off guard. The two men launched a surprise attack on five major settlements in the swamp overnight, proclaiming the prophecy of "divine punishment" to the masses. With such a strong preconceived impression, changing the crowd's emotions became an impossible challenge. It wasn't something the Foundation could do with just a single relic.

Ada said in a deep voice, “Go to the various settlements to convey the divine message, so that the believers can prepare their weapons and overcome the divine punishment under our guidance.”

"This is..." Rand's voice trembled, "We...we need to open..."

Adali slammed his cane down: "It's all about preparing for war! The city lord's mansion claims they're bringing divine punishment, is that it? Then let them drink the blood of their own city."

Seeing the unease in his confidants' eyes, he laughed in anger: "Don't be foolish like the ignorant masses. It's all just young people bluffing! We've been operating in the swamp for ten years. How could they possibly resolve this in three days?"

·
"What do you mean by 'a verdict will be delivered in three days'?!" Youyou roared in fury. "Tell me what you mean by 'a verdict will be delivered in three days'?!"

In the main conference room of the central courtyard, Youyou coiled on the table, hissing and flicking its tongue, its snake eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out. In the corner, Jie An printed out a large stack of prescriptions, muttering to himself while comparing them to his old notes. Ji Qiufeng, seated at the head of the table, kept his eyes down, pretending not to hear. Chu Hengkong and Ji Huaisu stood side by side in the doorway, looking like two unlucky kids caught skipping class. Upon hearing the questioning, they both looked up, heads held high and chests puffed out.

"Let's build momentum first, then we'll talk about how to do it later," Chu Hengkong said confidently.

Ji Huaisu retorted, "If the enemy is playing tricks, we can play tricks too! At least now no one dares to lay a hand on our people!"

Youyou shook her head incessantly, her eyes threatening to roll back in anger. Seeing the situation turning sour, Ji Qiufeng quickly interjected, "In war, momentum is very important..."

With a roar that sounded like a dragon's cry, Youyou's snake-like mouth roared: "Ji Qiufeng, shut up! It's none of your business to interfere in educating children!!"

Ji Qiufeng lowered his head, kept quiet, and drank his tea, while the two being scolded tried their best to suppress their laughter. Youyou raised its tail and smacked their hands repeatedly: "What are you laughing at! What about the plan? What about the action plan? Did you even report such a big decision beforehand? The words coming out of your mouths are the pronouncements of the City Lord's Mansion. Now the whole city knows that there will be divine punishment in three days. What will you do if something goes wrong?!"

Chu Hengkong waited for the ill-tempered snake to finish speaking before calmly saying, "The plan is done, and the solution is in place, but there are a few key points that need to be confirmed. Last night's situation was urgent and required immediate action, please forgive me."

"Anyway, our city lord's mansion has long lost its credibility in the swamp, so there's no loss if we mess things up," Ji Huaisu continued to argue.

Youyou had no way to deal with these two scoundrels. She leaned into Ji Qiufeng's teacup and gulped down a large mouthful of tea before catching her breath and asking, "What's the plan?"

Chu Hengkong was prepared: "The identification document for the pill mentioned 'purifying external contamination of particles 4 and below.' Judging from the tone of your voice during yesterday's meeting, I think phototoxicity is also within this range. Even if the pill is not completed, it is still a genuine Level 4 relic. One pill should be able to save many phototoxicity patients."

“It’s not just a lot,” Ji Qiufeng added with a smile. “The power of a 4-point mass is worlds apart from that of 1-3. This one pill alone can save thousands of patients with light poison. Even if they are completely turned into fireflies, they can be brought back to life.”

Youyou tapped its tail impatiently: "I have a way to lure out the source of the light poison. The original plan was to kill the culprit and then treat the patients to completely eliminate the poison, but with you two messing things up like this, who would dare to take our medicine... What are you laughing at?"

The two dispatchers laughed in unison, their sly smiles making Youyou, as the elder, instinctively wary.

Ji Huaisu placed a small object on the table; it was a common weapon in Huilong City. She rubbed her hands together and approached Youyou, her smile sweet: "Lord Youyou~ Could you please take a moment to modify our equipment?"

Youyou stared at the thing, his expression somewhat blank.

"...You two are truly geniuses." Youyou turned to look at Jie'an, "Xiao'an, what do you think of this? Will it work?"

Jie An, who was engrossed in his book, suddenly stood up, his eyes shining: "I know where it is! The dense forest north of Deep Roots settlement is probably in that area. Let's set off quickly!"

After all that fuss, it turned out this guy wasn't listening to the discussion at all. From the moment he got the prescription, he was immersed in his own world, deciphering it with a tacit understanding that only he and his father could comprehend.

Upon hearing this description, Chu Hengkong immediately thought of the small mountain covered in flowers. He didn't rush to answer but instead asked, "You found gold? What is it?"

"Medicinal herbs, of course!" Jie An exclaimed, beaming. "Why do you think the panacea has lost its use?"

"Um... the story got distorted as it was told?" Ji Huaisu guessed.

“My father has only been writing this prescription for a little over twenty years. In that short time, he wouldn’t have forgotten it. The prescription itself is fine, so where did it go wrong?”

Ji Huaisu finally understood: "It's medicine... No wonder, the medicinal properties have changed."

Most of the medicinal herbs in the swamp came from immigrants from various dust islands. However, after transplanting, the environment changed drastically compared to their original habitat. Although they could still thrive due to the fertile soil, their medicinal properties were also affected by the swamp environment. This initially minor impact deepened with each generation and has now manifested itself in recent years, turning what was originally a beneficial remedy into a beverage.

“Some medicines deteriorate in the swamp, while others improve in a new environment.” Jie An said intently. “I understood as soon as I heard my father’s comment. The gold he mentioned was a medicine that was about to take shape… a new variety that would appear in the swamp!”

Jie An wanted to collect prescriptions in order to determine the distribution of altered drugs through comparison, thereby identifying the areas where changes occurred most frequently. That would be the most likely burial sites. Chu Hengkong understood this and turned his attention to another matter: "Then can you write a new panacea prescription?"

“Of course I can!” Jie An said. “I probably can. It’s really just about figuring out how the medicine changes, like switching brands of seasoning when you’re cooking… It should work. I have a good idea of ​​what I’m doing, but…”

He nervously gripped his hat, his voice gradually lowering: "Sorry, it probably won't work. After all, it's my father's prescription, don't count on me. Can we talk about serious matters? I mean, finding the gold first and then dealing with these idiots wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

“That’s the key,” Chu Hengkong said. “You’re describing Adali’s herb fields, located on a hilltop and heavily guarded. I suspect he’s cultivating fireflies around there.”

"Fuck him, beat him to death!" Jie An cursed.

"This requires your assistance..."

Chu Hengkong began explaining the plan. Jie An listened attentively and then sketched on his notebook for a while.

“It’s challenging,” he repeated. “To achieve the desired effect, simply diluting the pills with water isn’t enough. We need to increase the viscosity of the diluent… We might need to add some gourd seed extract and algae paste. I need time to experiment…”

"We have two and a half days left from now," Chu Hengkong patted his shoulder. "It's up to you!" Three days was a reasonable timeframe. The corpses were spreading, and Ji Qiufeng urgently needed treatment; there wasn't much time to waste. So the entire resurrection unit got busy. From the workshops on the sky island to the pharmacies in the central courtyard, the team members racked their brains over the temporarily issued requirements and worked with the person in charge to urgently produce the equipment.

Two days before the verdict. At Youyou's studio.

"Huaisu, do you think this thing meets the requirements?"

"The power is just right, but we'll be a bit weak against crowds... Wait a moment, Chu Hengkong said we can add a few more tubes!"

"...That's a bit unethical, isn't it?"

"How can it be unethical? This is a business that saves lives!"

The day before the verdict. The cafeteria kitchen.

"It's done! See if this is the effect you wanted."

"...It looks a bit strange. And the smell..."

"Oh dear, there's no time for fine-tuning, let's leave it like this! I need to hurry and catch a few geese."

Half a day before the verdict. The command center of the resurrection unit.

"Grandma Sangjia replied that she would be happy to help if the method worked."

"Very good! Having the locals help makes things much easier. Everyone, go over the plan again. This is the special mission we'll be carrying out tomorrow. Is everyone clear?"

"Captain...isn't this a bit..."

"Put away your mental burdens, this is a mission."

"Yes!"

……

And so, the day of the verdict arrived!
The waterfall cascaded down from the courtyard like a white river, the outline of a rising dragon ship faintly visible in the water. The wizard Rand lowered his telescope and signaled with hand gestures. The white-robed followers rushed to the scene, grabbing pitchforks and cleavers, ready to fight the Knight of Calamity to the bitter end.

Today, no one set up stalls at the market, and this area near the port was set up as the front line of the battle. Land and the armed monks waited for their chance in the rear, while ordinary believers acted as the central army, and at the very front of the battle line was a group of zombie-like fluorescent people, who were the fluorescent corpses that the believers had brought out from their homes in response to orders.

This was a wicked scheme devised by Adali. He proclaimed to his followers that the sick could also receive divine help if they contributed their strength. In this way, the fireflies would delay the enemy's advance. The resurrected troops, unwilling to be infected but still wanting to break through, would inevitably have to deal with these corpses. And once the government pulled the trigger, they would personally shatter the order of the swamp.

Without order, evil dragons will also lose their power; this false divine punishment will only bury them.

"My lord, here we come!"

Land also spotted the Calamity Knight; she and her men were riding in an armored off-road vehicle that had driven from the Rising Dragon Ship into the harbor, its roaring engine utterly insane. Everyone in the vehicle was armed with modified firearms. Land was overjoyed at the sight. He led his guards to the front lines to boost morale, raising his arm and shouting, "The Calamity Knight doesn't want to give the Swamp any way out, then we will unleash true divine punishment upon her! Swamp followers, follow me!!"

"May the gods protect us!!" the crowd responded.

The bewildered believers ran towards the wheels along with the glowing corpses, while Rand quietly activated his defensive relic. His mission would be complete once he saw the enemy fire their own guns. He stared intently at the Disaster Knights' fingers, praying they wouldn't be so patient, but things progressed more smoothly than he expected; everyone in the vehicle pulled the trigger.

The evil dragon's henchmen fired their guns!

Rand cheered wildly, anticipating the impending bloodshed and screams, the desperate cries and carnage. But suddenly he sensed something was amiss. Instead of the spray of water from the blast, he heard muffled "plop" sounds... and the blast itself looked strange, its smell and color were odd...

Everyone, including the armed monks, was bewildered, hundreds of eyes staring at the projectile streaking across the sky. The "water bullet" was about the size of a fist, yellowish-green in color, and its texture resembled mud. Upon impact, it made a muffled "plop" sound before disintegrating into a puddle of muddy filth, emitting an extremely foul stench!
Land's mind went blank. He couldn't describe the smell in words; durian seemed far too mild, while rotting seemed a bit exaggerated. It wasn't until the second "water bomb" hit his head, and his body was covered in yellowish-green mud, that the familiar memory was finally awakened.

He wiped his face, trembling, and stared at his hands covered in a yellowish-green stain, letting out a miserable cry: "Shit?!"

That's it... that shape, that color, and that feel... it's definitely X!

"Holy shit, F!" "Help! They're throwing F*** at us!!" "Have they no shame?!"

The fighting spirit that had been painstakingly roused plummeted to rock bottom, and the believers let out a chorus of wails. The armed monks, led by Land, vomited violently on the spot! Among them, the more resolute ones forced themselves to utter moral condemnations! "You actually threw shit at the sick… You will be punished! Go to hell, you bastards!!"

On the SUV, Chu Hengkong stretched out his tentacles and pointed to the front of the battle line: "Is that so? But I don't see any patients."

Following his tentacles, people looked towards the front row of glowing corpses, their faces blank and yellowish-green, their mouths agape as they swallowed most of the ammunition in the initial assault… The patients' families were devastated and on the verge of collapse, but at the same time, they sensed something was amiss. Only yellowish-green and a stench remained, yet…

There is no light.

Unable to see any light, the luminous spots beneath their skin faded visibly, and their bewildered eyes regained their sparkle. The glowing corpses had come to life! They looked around in surprise, asking with the curiosity of newborns, "Where did this X come from?"

But no one answered. The believers were so shocked they were almost incapable of thinking. They saw the Calamity Knight stand on the roof of the SUV, holding a light shield in one hand and a megaphone in the other. Her voice carried throughout the market, reaching the ears of everyone.

"As I said before! Our Dragon God's Judgment Day is for punishing evil and rewarding good. The wicked will die in pain, and the good will be freed from the light. It seems that all of you patients are good, so there is still hope... But those who are deliberately blocking the way are not necessarily so."

She deliberately dragged out her words, scanning the crowd: "Who else wants the Dragon God's blessing?"

The sound of weapons hitting the ground echoed everywhere, and Land was kicked to the ground by two large feet. The believers with spots of light on their bodies were the first to raise their hands and rush into the stinking mud, their shouts rising and falling like a tide.

"Sword, my lord, shoot me!" "Shoot me! Shoot me!" "I have the courage to receive the blessing!" "Get out of my way, I dare to receive the blessing!" "I have been a follower of the Dragon God for twenty years!!"

*Splash! Splash!* Specially designed water guns fired in quick succession, and people happily collapsed onto the ground in a yellowish-green hue. A few believers who missed catching the water sponges lay on the ground, grabbing the blessings and chewing them up greedily. Operation Judgment Day, codenamed "Spray," officially began at this moment!
(End of this chapter)