Cyber ​​Sword Immortal Iron Rain

Fang Bailu had heard of the concept of cause and effect, but he had never heard of the other word.

What is this?

Erni tugged at Fang Bailu's shirt, her voice unusually low and slow:

"Boss, I've heard what the kid said... 'Bearing the burden' is a word that Qigong practitioners like to use. The Microcomputer Taoism Research Association sent our company something called 'Taiping Jing' as employee reading material. I read some of it when I went to the toilet."

"Qigong practitioner? This is probably a Taoist term..."

For a moment, he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave: in this era, some things can no longer be viewed as ordinary mysticism or philosophical concepts.

Erni continued to explain, and the content made Fang Bailu feel even colder:

"'Bearing the burden'... probably means that everything in the world affects each other: the present is the summary of the future, and the future is the projection of the present. It's the 2.0 version of 'cause and effect', right? That's what my colleague said."

Xin's eyes were filled with loneliness and disappointment, and he took over Erni's words:

"She's right... Although everyone has a destiny, not everyone is lucky enough to know it. For example, I can only be a walking corpse... I don't know where my path will lead to."

Smoke emanated from the new breath in a disorderly manner, reflecting the chaotic mood of its owner:

"That's all I know..." He raised his hand - after a slight hesitation, he gently patted Fang Bailu's arm; "Great joy, boss. Knowing the destiny is a great joy."

"How can this be considered a happy event?"

Fang Bailu wanted to tell the two people in front of him everything he had seen in his visualization:

Their beloved weapons or implants deeply embedded in their bodies were displayed in the window by themselves, but the owners of the objects were nowhere to be found - not only them, but also their other friends...

"'Sincerely miss the top ten'... the word 'employee' should be at the end. Miss..."

As if sensing Fang Bailu's sadness, Xin continued to persuade with his strange theory:

"Boss! If everything is random, wouldn't it be more frightening? I don't know what the Tao is, but it's definitely not a dice cup with dice in it that you shake randomly."

Fang Bailu suddenly felt a strange sense of regret:

If I had chosen physics as my major in college in my "previous life", my theoretical weapons would not be so inadequate at this time that I could not even refute the weird worldview of a half-grown child.

He was full of confidence when he stepped into the college entrance examination room, but in the end, because of a small mistake in the multiple-choice questions, he missed out on his ideal major.

"If I hadn't been so excited that I couldn't sleep the night before, I wouldn't have gotten the wrong answer on that question - damn!"

Fang Bailu pinched his waist hard to wake himself up from his random thoughts: this inexplicable reverse cause and effect was making him fall into a new way of thinking.

"No, there is no clear cause-and-effect relationship between these examples. How does the saying go? God throws dice, right! Otherwise, I can infer that I was destined to fail the college entrance examination in my mother's womb..."

He had no idea that he had quoted the wrong quote, and he just suppressed his growing panic. The information that Xinneng could provide had been exhausted, and what was needed now was further action:

"Who told you these things? You can't be sitting in the wild alone and thinking about these things."

Since what Xin said was "retelling", his teacher must know more about this.

"It's 'Atala', she told me."

"Atara? This name sounds similar to Shin-chan." Fang Bailu followed the pronunciation of Shin-chan and pointed his finger at his palm to indicate; "It's the reverse of the Romanization of Shin-chan (Arata)..."

He suddenly understood who this Atala was:

"It's the man you came to town to find. The blood relative you danced with every night."

Fang Bailu turned his head and recalled what Xin had said before. This woman, who he didn't know whether she was Xin's sister or mother, must know the secrets better than him.

"I'll help you find her. I also have something to ask."

"No!" As if he hadn't recovered from his emotional ups and downs yet, Xin's voice showed surprise, which was rare. "That's her destiny, I shouldn't interfere!"

"Your voice is shaking. Are you so resistant?"

Fang Bailu bent down and lowered his head slightly to bring himself to level with the new line of sight.

"No, no... Why do you think so?" He patted Xin's shoulder, and this time he did not vent his frustration on the boy; "Have you forgotten everything you told me? Everything is part of destiny... You provided me with clues, and I came to find her. Isn't that part of destiny?"

Seeing that Xiao Xin didn't say anything, Fang Bailu gritted his teeth and continued:

"Everyone has a destiny, huh? What if your 'destiny' is to leave the wasteland, be introduced to work in our store... and find your Atara through me?"

He said these words to attack the opponent with one's own spear - he did it against his will and it even made him feel uncomfortable.

Even if he just agreed with these words on the surface, he felt that he was compromising with some strange future.

Blue-gray smoke rushed out of the respirator in streams, vibrating between the three people.

But these words also worked. Shin suddenly covered his head with both hands, as if he was having a headache:

"She's... in the city center. But I don't know her exact location..."

"Downtown? How could a barbarian run into a wealthy area?"

Although he still had some doubts, he found that the new attitude was beginning to loosen up, so Fang Bailu hurriedly struck while the iron was hot:

"I'll look for it. I have many ways to find it. Don't worry, there's no one I can't find."

He had originally planned to use some conventional means, but now he decided to directly ask the matchmaker from Yixianqian? to find someone. He couldn't think of saving costs at this time - it was time to use up the last quota of this month.

Shin raised his head and ran his hand across his face:

"She looks exactly like me... No, she looks exactly like me before I was implanted with a respirator."

Fang Bailu looked at the new respirator - it had replaced the lips and the surrounding orbicularis oris muscles. Judging from the depth of insertion, it had even replaced the masseter muscles, and the respirator had already fit tightly against the gums.

Even if it is removed surgically, it is difficult to restore its original appearance.

"They look the same? Are they twins? I'm confused about their relationship..."

Fang Bailu took out his notebook and the communicator he had assembled from under the counter and began to enter the 49-digit password:

"Besides the face? What other features are there?"

He had a pair of narrow eyes with distinct black and white pupils; his nose was straight and straight, and his nose was tall and straight. But this was not enough to locate the "Atala" he mentioned among millions of people.

"She used to wear a mask when she hunted and dreamed." Shin raised his hand and gestured at his forehead; "It was a mask made of flesh and skin in a petri dish, with two horns."

He placed his hand between his brows and turned it slowly:

"There's a pattern of melanin deposits here, like a comma."

"Yin fish..."

Fang Bailu realized that the pattern he described was part of the Tai Chi diagram.

Wearing a mask with a Taoist symbol, and being able to use a visualization machine—

A Qigong practitioner?

"That's enough."

A unique mask, this feature is enough to locate the target.

Fang Bailu lowered her head and used the implanted throat microphone to communicate with the AI ​​matchmaker of Yixianqian?.

Xin's eyes were filled with eagerness, and his fingers were moving restlessly. Erni suddenly bumped him with her intact shoulder and made a meaningful face.

"When did they become so familiar with each other?"

Before Fang Bailu had time to think about it, Hongniang sent back the answer - the answer was unexpected but reasonable.

He leaned against the counter and whispered:

"Your Atala is in Xianying Palace... at the headquarters of the Microcomputer Taoism Research Society."

Chapter 125 Destiny (Part )

Fang Bailu clasped his palms together, brought the newly exhaled smoke towards his face, and inhaled it hard with his mouth open.

The blue-gray smoke smelled a bit strange: it had some of the burnt smell of tobacco leaves, but was not as pungent as cigarettes.

“When it passes through the lungs, it feels more like water vapor and doesn’t choke the throat.”

He was not addicted to smoking, but at this moment he inexplicably wanted to light up a cigarette and take a few puffs - the drugs on hand had been used up, and the psychological pressure was getting worse.

"Boss, take my pack. It's issued by the company, very strong—"

Erni took out a crumpled cigarette box from the pocket of her sweatshirt in front of her belly, picked up a cigarette with her thumb, and handed it to Fang Bailu with the box.

"cigarette……"

The imagined "shop owner" will use the cigarette butt to light up the next cigarette: How big of a smoking addiction must one have to smoke like this?

Fang Bailu felt a thick phlegm stuck in his throat, and he lost interest in smoking. He pushed away the cigarette that Erni handed to him:

"No, no... don't give me cigarettes anymore."

"Anyway, I don't plan to smoke anymore."

Without paying any attention to Erni who was putting away her cigarette box in disappointment, Fang Bailu turned around - Xin had been silent ever since he heard the news about "Atala".

After a while, Xin finally raised his head:

"...Where is Xianying Palace? What is the Microcomputer Taoism Research Association?"

The corners of his eyebrows were raised high, and the center of his eyebrows formed the Chinese character "川" (chuan); his lowered eyebrows made his black and white eyes look extremely sharp, like a sharp blade about to be unsheathed.

The smoke around was changing from blue-gray to light red, like fog passed through by neon lights.

Normally, this kind of look would please Fang Bailu's heart - this was the look a swordsman should have: a hungry soul and sword, both in desperate need of blood to quench their thirst.

But at this moment he only felt a little sad and helpless.

Erni stroked her broken arm and lowered her head in silence.

Fang Bailu stood up again and gently patted his hands on Xin's shoulders. The boy's muscles were tense, and he felt like iron covered with leather. Fang Bailu's movements were gentle, as if he was soothing a furry beast:

"Don't worry... don't worry. This research institute is an organization similar to a study group. Your relatives know how to use machines to 'dream', right? These people also use machines to do some... spiritual practice. Don't worry, huh? Mostly it's a study exchange. I will help you find someone, just wait patiently."

He had not seen many wild cultivators, only Zhao Jizi and Cang Yangzi. It was rare to see Qigong practitioners from Kuala Lumpur who had not joined the research society or registered in it.

And deep in his heart, there was some terrifying speculation:

"Maybe he was captured because he had those rare Daoguo models... But I can't tell this idea to Shin-chan. Let's see if there's any news from Anben later."

Otherwise, why would a Qigong practitioner wandering in the wilderness suddenly enter the city?

Xin turned his gaze away and did not reply to Fang Bailu. But judging from the slight trembling in his hands and the smoke gradually returning to a grayish blue color around him, his impulse was temporarily suppressed.

Fang Bailu’s reaction to the new situation is completely understandable: if his loved ones suddenly disappeared, and when they were found, they were at the headquarters of a large organization... his first reaction would also be to rush into that dangerous place and take a look.

But he could only take new emotions into account to this extent - Fang Bailu would not let him follow this impulse and take more unknown risks.

Not to mention that apart from everything related to immortals, the issue of "destiny" was also like a thorn in Fang Bailu's back.

He exhaled heavily, recalling the images he had seen in his visualization - those fragments had become the background color in Fang Bailu's brain. Whenever he closed his eyes, the meaningful yet unclear images lingered around him like ghosts.

Regardless of other things, what the "shop owner" said was not wrong: some things should be used early, otherwise you may lose money if you use them later.

Fang Bailu walked to the side of the counter and knocked on the prosthetic body that was huddled in the corner: For example, the plan that was temporarily shelved before...

The price doesn't matter. Who can buy things without spending money?

In the current situation, you definitely don’t have too many cards in your hand - and you definitely have a lot to give.

Fang Bailu stuffed the "Mohist disciple" back into the abdominal cavity of the prosthesis and attached the neural electrode patch on the temple.

"Er Ni? Your severed hand can't be used anymore. Let's go find a blacksmith to see if we can make you a prosthetic limb." The prosthetic stood up shakily, staggering due to the damaged knee joint. "Xiao Xin, you come with us."

……

Xin was relatively honest - but judging by the smoke that kept changing colors from blue-gray to light red, and the gripper that kept spinning a few times, it seemed that he was always looking for something to vent his anger on.

Erni sat on the prosthetic's shoulder, bouncing up and down with the movement of her damaged leg. She propped the elbow of her one arm on the top of the prosthetic's head, her face full of boredom.

Fang Bailu walked with one deep step and one shallow step, turning back from time to time to confirm the position of the prosthesis - he felt annoyed when he had to do two things at the same time to keep the half-crippled prosthesis balanced.

If everyone wasn't so sad or resentful, it would feel like a family outing.

"No, we really have to buy a car... a van would be nice. Going out in such a shabby manner would only damage the image of our store."

"Coming."

The destination was not far away, but Fang Bailu really didn't like to come here.

He stood on tiptoe and stepped carefully over the sewage on the ground - the drainage system of "Alley No. 10" was seriously problematic, and coupled with years of rain, it was like a swamp lurking in the city.

But here is the most skilled blacksmith Fang Bailu knows; he is also a partner, elder, or even a friend who has been on good terms with the previous owner.