Nobita's Time Heist

"boom------!!"

With its enormous mouth open, the breath it spewed out burst open in the air, transforming into countless meteors trailing fiery tails that scattered towards the ground!

Chapter 447: The End of the Road

"Pop pop ...

Popon displayed the demeanor of a savior. After being provoked, he remained calm and composed, and his thin, membrane-like body instantly stretched out. His extensibility was such that even those who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit would have to admit defeat.

"boom----"

A huge white film suddenly unfolded out of thin air, completely enveloping the breaths emitted from all directions.

The blows struck Popon like stones thrown into a bottomless pool, creating ripples on his snow-white body before disappearing without a trace. At this point, Phoenicia was desperately grasping at straws. Even with the force of her breath, her five fingers clenched together couldn't break through Popon's defenses; now, spreading her power further, it was naturally utterly ineffective.

Even now, no matter how unwilling she was, Phoenicia had to admit it. This creature, as cute as a slime, was her "natural enemy."

"Heh... natural enemies, so what? I've killed at least fifty, if not a hundred, natural enemies! Mere natural enemies? I still have claws, teeth, and a tail! It won't end like this, understand? Absolutely not!"

……

"【Upgrade Light】—!!"

Nobita didn't waste any words with her. He immediately took out the equipment upgrade item and called out, "Pobon, come here!"

The gigantic Popon shrunk its body at an absurdly fast pace, becoming small enough to be hit by the beam of light, and floated down from the sky. Upon being struck by the upgraded beam, a slight ripple appeared in its behavior; because it was a life form created from various inorganic materials, existing somewhere between "object" and "biological being," the upgraded beam had an effect on it. But Nobita wasn't satisfied with that, and took out the [Performance Boost Spray], spraying it generously at the upgraded Popon.

"Pop! Pop!"

Two super-evolutions nearly transformed Popon into a different species, instantly giving him physical light in his eyes. After a domineering scream, his body changed again, shattering from a single entity into countless gel-like white streams. These streams, capable of defying the law of conservation of mass, soared into the air and actively met Phoenicia.

"Rumble————"

A muffled rumble of thunder sounded, and between the dim yellow sky and the earth, monsters bared their claws and clashed together!

Contrary to expectations, the Phoenician, who hadn't engaged in close combat for who knows how many years, rashly unleashed his first claw strike. The immense mass of the blow, which should have been enough to shatter mountains… instead, upon hitting Poporn's body, splattered countless droplets of a viscous, mercury-like liquid. This caught Phoenician completely off guard, and a sense of foreboding rose within him.

The other party had transcended the concept of a "physical body," becoming a purely liquid creature. Just as you can't split the ocean with any amount of force, whether you bite with your teeth, strike with your claws, or lash out with your tail, it's all ineffective. The other party coiled around her with an exceptionally gentle approach, its all-pervasive silver liquid forming a large net that perfectly enveloped her.

"Ha, you think you can subdue me by suffocation? You're being far too naive," Phoenicia said coldly. "I'm a space creature. Do you really know what that means? There's no air in space. In fact, I can handle all sorts of extreme environments..."

"...to survive..."

Before he finished speaking, Phoenicia's tone changed, and an ending several times more terrifying than suffocation appeared.

The energy within his body, the energy created by the atomic furnace, was being frantically absorbed by this silver outer layer. Popon was treating it like a giant power bank, activating an endless drinking mode through its skin. Energy rapidly seeped from his body and transferred to these ubiquitous silver droplets, yet it could never fill them, like an endless abyss.

The atomic core is an ability that I finally acquired after evolving for so long.

Without this, what am I? A giant pile of flesh?

"No...no—!"

"boom-----!!!"

She was unwilling to let it end there. She opened her enormous mouth and, with a tragic sense of fighting to the death, unleashed a final burst of blazing fire.

It was effective at first, at least successfully dispelling part of Popon's physical body. However, after a short while, its momentum waned, like a stove fire gradually dying out due to lack of fuel; the atomic breath weakened. The beam of light that was unleashed was easily neutralized by Popon's gentle entangling force. The breath landed on the large net woven from bright silver liquid, and instantly, the heat dissipated, melting away without a trace.

……

To be honest, watching this scene from the ground, Nobita was a little apprehensive.

The last time he looked up to watch his adorable pet fight against the imposing boss was in the Valley of the Wind. His pet was named "Wind Child." Rather than a pet, she was more like a clingy little sister. At least in Nobita's eyes, she was a sentient being just like him, only she couldn't speak.

But the final result was not good at all, leaving him with quite severe PTSD trauma.

This time, even though Popon had gained a clear advantage, Nobita still didn't dare to utter a sound. He just clenched his fists and silently cheered him on in his heart.

"You have to win, Poporn... The survival of humanity depends on you!"

He silently prayed in his heart, "Save us once again!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Thump—!!!"

Perhaps Nobita's prayers were truly effective, for Phoenicia's massive form plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily to the ground like a comet striking Earth, causing an incredibly violent impact. Fortunately, the area had already been cleared by her; within a hundred miles, apart from Nobita, there wasn't a single living soul, so naturally, no one was harmed.

Popon's siphoning efficiency was astonishing; in just two minutes, he had almost drained her dry. Not content with merely draining her through the surface, he began to play around even more, splitting himself into countless different streams that burrowed into the enormous object, directly drawing energy from her interior!

Phoenicia let out a agonizing wail, thrashing about with her last breath like a drowning person. The mercury-like liquid she had scattered immediately reformed, clinging gently to her body like a spiderweb, tightening little by little until it finally drained her of her last strength.

……

"No...it shouldn't have turned out this way, it shouldn't have..."

With the atomic reactor core extinguished, the strength of her muscles alone could not support the movement of this enormous body. She suddenly felt very sleepy, and in her eyes, which were about to close, the flames of hatred still surged and danced. Her enormous mouth opened and closed like a live fish waiting to be slaughtered in a market.

"I will curse you, Nobita... I curse you to lose everything you love at the height of your happiness..."

I curse you, that you will never be able to reunite with the one you cherish most!

Having lost her energy source, her body was forced into a dormant state.

This monster, which possessed the potential to threaten the universe's ecosystem, finally closed its eyes amidst its deep-seated hatred.

Chapter 448: A Plan Doomed to Fail

"【Four-Dimensional Viewing Jar】—!"

Any gadget that's associated with the term "four-dimensional" is basically considered an incredibly powerful, overpowered item. For example, Doraemon's four-dimensional pocket, four-dimensional trash can, four-dimensional leaf logo... and this four-dimensional ornamental teapot.

It's actually a component of the "Star Fishing Set". After you fish the celestial body out of the pool, you can store it in this ornamental pot for pure viewing. Listen to how outrageous this description is! It's the kind of thing that would make the Trisolarans have to walk straight ahead if they came.

Jinglu held the pot in both hands, her eyes glazed over, watching as Phoenicia's body was sucked into the pot and shrunk proportionally, instantly transforming into a harmless little lizard. No matter how exaggerated her size was, it couldn't possibly be larger than a planet; this pot could easily hold a star, let alone Phoenicia.

"They actually won like that... To be honest, I still find it unbelievable." Jinglu looked at Popon, who had turned from liquid back into a slime and was rubbing against Nobita's shoulder. However, his cute appearance was completely different in Jinglu's eyes now.

"Bobon is a hero who saves the world"—this is what Nobita himself confirmed, and only just now did Shizuru realize that this was not a joke.

"I didn't realize this little guy was this powerful." Jinglu tentatively reached out her right hand, wanting to touch his body, but then became a little scared. "Won't he melt my fingers?"

"How could that be? He's a genuine gentleman."

When Shizuka's clothes were sucked away by the "Black Hole Vacuum Cleaner," this little guy even stretched out his body, turning into a curtain to cover her—covering her completely so that even Nobita couldn't see a trace of her. This detail shows that Popon is definitely intelligent and human-like; it's just that it doesn't have human vocal organs.

Sensing Jinglu's curiosity, Popon turned his body around, stretched out his body, and extended a structure similar to human fingers, just like in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and gently touched her fingertips.

It felt cool to the touch, and when you poked it, it was surprisingly soft and plump. In Jinglu's memory, the only thing that could be so soft seemed to be a baby's face.

Popon liked her too, and transformed his body back into a soft, gel-like liquid, gently caressing her fingertips.

"What should we do next?" The joy didn't last long. Thinking about the reality, Jinglu became worried again. "Eighty-eight cities have been almost completely destroyed by her. All that's left for us is a broken world."

“That’s not a problem. Rebuilding it with props isn’t difficult; in fact, it’s quite convenient. But I always feel…”

The eyelid kept twitching, which the old man considered an ominous sign that something bad was about to happen.

Phoenicia was sealed away, but the world didn't return to normal as he had expected. The wind howling across the deserted red Gobi Desert still sent chills down his spine. Looking around, there was clearly nothing there, but his long-cultivated sense of danger, honed through years of adventure, made Nobita sense something was wrong. In that moment, he chose to trust his intuition, shoving Jinglu sharply, losing his balance and falling backward.

To the girl's astonishment, a beam of light pierced her shoulder. If Nobita hadn't lunged forward, it would most likely have pierced her heart instead.

"Boom!"

Both of them fell to the ground. Da Xiong pinned her beneath him. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a small hole in Jing Lu's right shoulder, yet no blood was flowing. This was because, in a fraction of a second, the muscle inside the wound had been scalded by the intense heat, essentially sealing the wound with a high-temperature wax seal. The good news was that this technique was quite skillful and hygienic, minimizing the risk of infection; the bad news was…

"Ughh ...

Once she realized what was happening, her pain system started screaming alarms, indicating danger in her surroundings. The pain was unbearable for her brain; Jinglu's forehead immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and she screamed in agony.

Popon sensed something and quickly floated in front of the two, elongating his body to form a defensive curtain. At the same time, he separated a portion of his mass, transforming it into a mercury-like liquid, and entered Jinglu's injured right shoulder. Given his current level of evolution, filling an external wound was not difficult for him. He perfectly "integrated" into Jinglu's body without triggering any rejection reaction, beginning to generate new flesh and establish a new connection with her body.

This process essentially accelerates the healing process, which would normally take years, to just a few seconds.

itch.

The pain disappeared, replaced by an almost unbearable itch. Jinglu forcibly suppressed the urge to scratch, gripped the hilt of the sword with her still-functioning left hand, gritted her teeth, and with a fierce determination, pulled it out. She would rather die than die uselessly and pathetically.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Is she already in your cage? It seems I had too high expectations of her. All her decisions become emotional when it comes to you. An emotional individual cannot shoulder great responsibilities in a plan."

"Finally, now it's just you... and me, just like you've dreamed of countless times."

Jia Kun's voice came from not far away. He seemed to have expected what was happening before him, so he wasn't surprised. He was like a puppet tied to a thin string, following the script step by step.

“Listen to me, Jaqen, in your eyes, maybe this hasn’t even begun yet, and you’re doing something great… blah blah… but in my eyes, it’s already over!”

Nobita drew his silver sword, gripping it in his right hand, while his left hand held the revolver Arthur had given him—a complete Skywalker setup. For some reason, at this moment, the weight of the revolver gave him more peace of mind. Under Popon's absolute defense, he still had a little time to think about how to fight the final battle.

Yes, it's the final battle. Nobita knows very well that there's no point in trying to persuade someone who's already obsessed. What he's doing now is just stalling for time.

He gave her a meaningful look, and Jinglu understood immediately. She picked up the [Four-Dimensional Viewing Pot] again, rubbed her right shoulder, and hid under Popon's body, quietly waiting for her chance.

"This is Popon. If you've been looking at him, you should know that he's a creature from the 22nd century."

“I know.” Jaq’s voice sounded somewhat approving. “To be able to bring such a magnificent creature into your camp, you truly live up to your reputation, Nobita.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. The point is… he’s from the 22nd century, understand? If you change the past, the future will change too. But the truth is, I took some time to go back to the 22nd century, saw an old friend, and even borrowed Popon from him. The future is still the same, and humanity still exists perfectly well. They haven’t become spirits, there’s no spiritual tide… nothing.”

"Your plan has failed, Jaqen. You will be stopped! Even if it's not me, it will be someone else!"

Chapter 449: Hard-Controlling Nobita for Ten Seconds

Faced with a plan that yielded no results, Jia Kun fell silent.

Those who come from the Apexon Foundation are all masters of time manipulation. As the mastermind behind the time-traveling heist, he couldn't possibly be unaware of the intricacies involved. If the past is successfully altered, it will inevitably manifest in the future. And now, the future that Nobita knows is safe and sound, which means Jaqen has failed—regardless of how it was achieved, failure was inevitable.

"There's no need to waste our time. There's still a chance!" Although Nobita himself didn't believe it, he still tried his best to seek the last hope for peace, just like before. "Let's put this farce to an end. Let's all go home and return to our normal lives."

……

This was probably the umpteenth time Jia Kun had laughed like this at Da Xiong. The moment Da Xiong heard him laugh, his heart sank.

"I should thank you for thinking of me in this situation. To be honest, it's quite difficult. I don't think I could do what you did in the same situation."

"What a pity, Nobita, you still didn't understand in the end..."

"Even if I am destined to fail, I must forge ahead."

His voice was resolute: "Not everyone is like you, with a home to go back to!"

"boom----!!!"

In the next instant, the element of sound was unleashed at full force, striking Popon's body heavily in the form of shockwaves, creating a massive dent. It looked terrifying, but for Popon, who could swallow a star, it was utterly insignificant; it merely caused his enormous white "face" to vibrate rapidly. Da Xiong gritted his teeth, preparing to rush out and fight Jaqen to the death, when the ground beneath his feet began to rumble uncontrollably.

"Nobinia..."

"Boom--!"

Jinglu also sensed something. Before she could finish speaking, the ground beneath their feet seemed to possess a will and suddenly rose up! The previously flat, red Gobi Desert suddenly sprouted a cylindrical stone pillar from the ground, like Jack's pea in a fairy tale, growing rapidly and lifting the two off the ground. The excessive speed made the air feel like a wall pressing heavily on them, making it hard for them to breathe.

The earth receded rapidly, the sky drew ever closer, and Nobita's pupils dilated instinctively because he saw a beam of light.

A beam of light specially tailored for him.

"You know, Nobita, the human body is inherently prone to depravity. It can deceive your consciousness, drawing you into endless tenderness. All desires, in the end, are desires of the flesh. It's like those plump rainbow trout, often lurking beneath the surface of reason, and just then..."

His voice gradually faded into nothingness, like some supreme being issuing an inviolable decree within Da Xiong's consciousness.

"I'm a good fisherman."

“Buzz——!”

I didn't see Jia Kun, but there was indeed light falling from the horizon, like wind, like rain, like a blooming rainbow.

Nobita's pupils dilated involuntarily, light rushing into them, and everything in his vision gradually blurred. Shizuku seemed to be calling his name, but the sound inexplicably became extremely distant, gradually turning into a cicada-like murmur, the specific syllables indistinguishable, fading from this world.

Yes, this world.

That red Gobi Desert was quietly fading from his memory, like soap suds washed away silently with a rinse. Phoenicia, the dream universe, and even the survival of all humanity—none of it mattered anymore. Before him stood a familiar red-roofed house, a familiar little courtyard, a nameplate bearing the name "Nobita" hanging at the door, and a wooden door much newer than he remembered.

In the height of summer, cicadas chirped, and the summer vacation seemed endless. Beads of sweat dripped down his face, and the sun warmed him. Although he was soaked in sweat from the inside out, he felt inexplicably happy, as if something worth celebrating had happened.

Looking down, he saw the baseball bat in his right hand. Da Xiong suddenly remembered that this was one of his rare, excellent performances on the field: because it was "rare," he remembered each one very clearly. Watching the ball fly towards him, he would always subconsciously close his eyes and swing wildly, but after a while, he would get lucky, the bat striking the baseball perfectly at the right angle and with the right force, resulting in a walk-off home run that boosted the Gian team's morale to its peak.

Cheers, praise, and even Gian's approval are things that rarely happen on ordinary days.

What's even more remarkable is that Shizuka also came to watch today's match between the town's residents and those from outside. She witnessed Nobita's incredible comeback from the stands, and on the way back, she walked with him for a while. That short walk was enough to leave Nobita completely mesmerized… and this joy he felt was the lingering effect of all those positive emotions combined.

At this moment, Nobita understood that he had returned to the years he had longed to return to most in his life.

That is to say...

Pushing open the door, the house was exactly as he remembered it: a shoe cabinet on the right, a red telephone sitting quietly on the table, and the sound of an electric fan turning rhythmically coming from his parents' room, giving him a sense of inexplicable peace.

"I'm back……"