An abandoned small county town on the border of Beixing.
A man with long golden hair, wearing an exoskeleton suit, walked into a deserted bar. When he spotted the figure seated at the counter, he let out an unconscious sigh of relief.
“Meeting at a bar? That doesn’t seem like your style.” Ye Dang smiled as he walked over and sat down beside the man. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink, Shadow.”
Guan Tong turned his head to look at him. “Haven’t you noticed? This is one of the few buildings in this county town that hasn’t collapsed yet.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
“You don’t seem surprised I’m still alive.”
“Of course.” Adam’s face was full of confidence. “I had plenty of faith in you. So when I got your private message, I just thought it was normal.”
“Then I suppose I should thank you for your confidence.”
Adam chuckled, then his expression turned serious. “Do you know what exactly happened? Was it a Suroma-planned attack?”
“The thing that attacked me was a high-energy laser fired by an array item. Who else do you think it could be?”
“…Why would they do that? Did they know you were Shadow?”
“I’m not sure,” Guan Tong said. “But even if they didn’t know it was me, they’d certainly consider an Ascendant who could stop the Bright Moon from rising to be a potential threat.”
Adam narrowed his eyes. “If they weren’t sure the target was you, weren’t they afraid of taking a loss? Don’t forget, that single high-energy laser shot cost the lives of so many high-tier Ascendants.”
Guan Tong shook his head.
What Gill had written in his private message was only a partial truth leaning toward the execution level, but the motives behind why the Suroma decision-makers did this—whether they knew the attack target was Shadow or not—that part of the truth remained hidden in the fog.
But even if it was only the truth at the execution level, it was enough for Guan Tong. As long as he knew the target, he could always dig up the whole picture later and piece it all together.
“So what are you planning to do?” Adam asked. “I know you’re definitely going to retaliate.”
“Let’s first go to the Argan Grasslands as we previously agreed, and meet the Moon Key,” Guan Tong said, sidestepping Adam’s question.
Adam looked at Guan Tong seriously. “…Even though I’m a Suroman, my family is still under Bruce’s control. If your target is him too, we can continue to work together.”
Guan Tong made no comment. He stood up and said, “We’ll talk about that later. Let’s get moving first.”
The two left Beixing and, five days later, entered the Algan Grasslands.
Compared to the many dilapidated and barren cities they had passed through, this high-altitude grassland was a scene of moist, fertile soil and lush green grass full of life.
Adam watched yaks grazing leisurely, looked up at the blue sky and white clouds that seemed almost within reach, and couldn’t help but sigh. “This really is a peaceful place, cut off from the world. It’s like it hasn’t been affected by the Doomsday Rules at all.”
“If you can shake off your dependence on modern technology, this is indeed a suitable place for natural survival,” Guan Tong said.
“Yeah. No wonder the Moon Key came to settle here. Once I get my wife and kids back, maybe our whole family should just come and live on the grasslands… Speaking of which, this grassland is huge. Do you know where she is?”
“My shadow will tell me.”
The moment Guan Tong stepped onto the grassland, a small number of shadow lines slithered up from his thigh and spread outward in all directions to search.
“Your ability is really convenient,” Adam said with a hint of envy. “It can fight, recon, even burrow inside sealed physical forms. It can do anything. It’s way too versatile.”
“No matter how versatile an ability is, it still has its limits.”
“That’s true.”
A few hours later, Guan Tong’s mind stirred. A shadow line had relayed back the information he wanted.
He and Adam immediately headed over.
After some time, a tribal camp composed of more than a dozen black yak-hide tents came into view.
Standing on a slope, they could see many people working in the camp. Some were drying fur clothes, some were chopping firewood, and others were holding ropes, ready to go herd cattle.
This scene, rich with a primal atmosphere, was quite striking. Adam muttered, “It feels like stepping back a few hundred years.”
The two made no effort to hide themselves. They stood openly on the slope and were soon spotted by the people in the camp.
The first to see them was a girl hanging clothes to dry. The moment she looked up and saw them, she cried out in surprise. Soon, everyone in the camp ran out, warily watching the two approaching strangers.
A tall, dark-skinned man stepped forward from the crowd. “I’m Jie, the leader of this camp. Who are you?”
“We…”
“They’re here for me.”
A woman’s voice came from behind the crowd. The tribespeople parted to make way, and the Moon Key walked out from among them.
When Guan Tong and Adam saw her, they noticed she had changed quite a bit since the last time.
To put it simply, she looked much healthier.
Previously, the Moon Key’s skin had been pale as paper, and she wore robes wrapped in a thick blanket, giving her a sickly appearance. Now, her complexion was rosier, and she had abandoned her skirts for a thin woolen shirt that was easier to move and work in.
Jie asked in surprise, “Yue, you know them?”
The Moon Key nodded. “Everyone, don’t worry. They mean no harm.”
At her words, the camp’s wariness faded.
After spending this time together, everyone had come to trust the Moon Key completely. Thanks to her abilities, several accidental disasters in the tribe had been avoided in advance, earning her a prestige as a shaman that rivaled that of their leader, Jie.
“Since you’re Yue’s friends, the ‘Children of Argan’ tribe welcomes you!” Jie showed a friendly smile and shook hands with Adam and Guan Tong.
“Children of Argan?” Adam asked curiously. “Is that the name of your tribe?”
Jie nodded. “I came up with it. I think this great grassland provides us with food, clothing, and a place to settle. It’s like our mother, so I named the tribe that.”
“That’s pretty good.”
“Heh, if you’re interested, you can join us. As Yue’s friends, you’re welcome in our tribe.”
“Thank you. We appreciate the kind offer,” Guan Tong said. “But we came here to talk with the Moon Key. Is now a good time?” He looked at the Moon Key.
“Mm. Follow me.”
The Moon Key led them to a tent. Like the outside, the tent was filled with primitive, simple items, with hardly a trace of modern industrial products.
“Please.” She sat down behind a wooden table and gestured to two straw cushions placed in front of it.
The two sat down on the cushions. Adam spoke first, his tone earnest. “Moon Key, thank you for letting Shadow come to help me. Without your aid, I would have definitely died on Eden Island.”
“You’re welcome,” the Moon Key said. “You used to spend a lot of money asking me for prophecies, far beyond what the commission required. Consider this my repayment.”
Adam was not so easily convinced. “What are those external possessions compared to life? I will always remember this help in my heart. If you ever face any difficulties, I will do everything in my power to help.”
The Moon Key gave a slight nod, then turned her gaze to Guan Tong.
“You… how have things been lately?”
Her look toward Guan Tong carried a trace of curiosity and inquiry. Ever since she had tried to prophesy about Guan Tong last time and suffered a backlash that broke her finger, she had been deeply concerned about his fate.
She could almost assert that “Shadow’s” destiny was extremely critical, and it was likely to involve countless people. As a prophet, it was hard for her not to be curious about Guan Tong’s current situation.
“Not bad,” Guan Tong said.
“Not bad?” Adam retorted. “Almost dying is not what I’d call ‘not bad.’”
“…"
“You… almost died?” The Moon Key looked surprised.
“I did run into danger, but I’ve already gotten through it,” Guan Tong said calmly.
He didn’t want to be like a worn-out old woman, telling every acquaintance he met about the unfair treatment he had suffered, or how he had nearly died. After all, in this brutal era of the Doomsday Rules, how many people didn’t encounter danger or endure injustice? Compared to the tens of billions who had already tragically died, simply being alive was a kind of luck.
The Moon Key hesitated for a moment before saying, “You should be more careful. Your destiny…”
“What?”
“…I can’t foresee it, but I know it’s tied to many important things. If something goes wrong, it could change everything.”
“…"
Guan Tong frowned. He really couldn’t find any useful information in the Moon Key’s mystical ramblings.
At that moment, Adam stated his other reason for coming. “Moon Key, besides thanking you, I came this time with a commission I’d like you to accept. If you’re willing to help, I’ll give you whatever reward you ask for.”
The Moon Key pulled her gaze away from Guan Tong and said to Adam, “Go ahead.”
“I want you to prophesy the whereabouts of my wife and children,” Adam said in a low voice. “They’re being secretly held by Bruce right now. I want to know where they are so I can rescue them.”
Upon hearing this, the Moon Key was silent for a moment, then refused. “I’m sorry. I can’t accept this commission.”
“Why?!”
“I have an agreement with Bruce,” the Moon Key said without hiding it. “I won’t perform any prophecies related to him. That was the condition for my leaving the New Covenant.”
Adam shot to his feet.
“How is this possible?! That bastard Bruce… He actually used this as a bargaining chip?!”
Unlike Adam, Guan Tong wasn’t too surprised.
Given Bruce’s style of doing things, someone like the Moon Key—a world-famous Ascendant, and one with a special ability like “prophecy” at that—would certainly have been kept an eye on long ago.
The reason he hadn’t forcefully kept her in Suroma wasn’t kindness. He likely figured that if he forced her, and the Moon Key refused to cooperate with the prophecies, even killing her would only waste her precious prophetic ability. This way, letting her go on negotiated terms preserved the possibility of future cooperation.
But Adam quickly calmed down, knowing this outcome wasn’t strange. Bruce was exactly that kind of person. His outburst had come from the frustration of being unable to use the Moon Key’s power to find his wife and daughter, turning it into anger.
He still held a sliver of hope. “What if it doesn’t involve Bruce? Can you just prophesy the location of my wife and daughter?”
The Moon Key looked at Ye Dang. “From the moment you linked Bruce with them, I couldn’t perform any related prophecies for you. I’m sorry. I have to keep my agreement.”
“…"
Ye Dang slumped back down onto the straw cushion, gripping his hair with his right hand, his expression pained.
Seeing this, Guan Tong spoke up. “If his commission won’t work, then I have one.”
“Go ahead.”
“I also want you to prophesy a location for me. The target is the Your Holiness of the Fire Thief Worship Cult. And…”
He pulled a photo from the inner pocket of his trench coat—the registration photo he had gotten from Zhang Minglu of the Countermeasures Research Office back then.
“This man is called ‘Han Qiu.’ I’d like you to prophesy his whereabouts as well.”