Chapter 891: Bubble
Chapter 891: Illusion
It was a golden palace…
Golden armor hung on a life-size marble sculpture. The
bright red carpet stretched from the top of the palace to the last marble step at the foot of the palace, and extended into the distance along a marble platform rising from the ground, connecting to the distant horizon.
Looking down from the air, the entire palace was like a long sword lying flat on the ground.
The towering outline and magnificent look perfectly matched the unique aesthetics of giants in the hearts of the Willant people.
Below the marble steps were cheering people.
They stood on both sides of the platform, holding flowers in their hands, as if celebrating something.
A sudden breeze blew the petals from people’s hands, and the intoxicating fragrance blurred Kant’s eyes for a while.
Who am I?
Why am I standing here?
He looked down at his chest, where a dazzling array of medals hung on a wall.
The countless honors made him feel both familiar and unfamiliar, and a little cramped and terrified.
At this moment, vague memories flooded into his mind like sweet spring water, and he suddenly remembered everything in a panic.
He was the hero of the Weyland people!
The conqueror of Centaur!
The butcher that made the alien race tremble with fear!
He made great contributions to the expansion of the Legion’s territory, and the 500th planet of the Legion was officially named after him!
And the name that people cheered was also his name –
”Kant!!”
”Good job!!”
”Long live the Legion! Long live the Marshal! Long live Kant!!!”
”The Marshal is above! He is watching me!!”
The cheers all over the mountains and plains supported his spine, and his steps gradually became confident. He walked forward, followed the steps, and climbed to the top of the hall.
As expected, the respected Marshal was sitting on the stone chair at the end.
That majestic face was full of love.
Kant’s eyes were filled with excitement. He knelt on one knee on the stone steps and bowed his head.
At this moment, the generous and majestic voice came from right in front of his head.
”… Kant, your loyalty and bravery won us the final victory.”
”Now, I appoint you as the legion commander.”
”From now on, you will be the 100th legion commander of the legion.”
”… I hope you will not indulge in the glory and victory of the past, guard against arrogance and impatience, lead our tribe to continue to move forward, and continue to win in this universe!”
Kant’s heart was excited, and he raised his head with tears of gratitude and accepted the appointment.
According to the next process, he will be rewarded as a marshal, return to the crowd with glory, and accept people’s cheers and inspections.
However, at this moment, a strange memory suddenly flooded his mind.
His heart was throbbing, and under a strong tendency, he blurted out.
”Your Majesty, the Respected Marshal, I have something to report to you… Your soldiers are absolutely loyal to you, but there is a group of traitors in our logistics department. When we were fighting bloody battles with the enemy, they stabbed us in the back and drank our blood. I hope you can see through this matter, punish these scums, and give an explanation to the soldiers.”
A sharp light flashed in the marshal’s eyes, like an indestructible spear.
However, what Kant felt from the cold light was not cold, but the warmth of afternoon sunlight.
”They will be punished.”
The solemn promise was like a heavy hammer, shattering all the conspiracies and tricks.
Kant had no doubt that this sentence had become a reality. He even seemed to have seen the ghosts and monsters kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, and the corpses lying in the pile of dead bodies. He felt
extremely happy in his heart, as if his great revenge had been avenged.
After thanking the marshal, he suddenly remembered those people who cheered for him, so he spoke immediately.
”Respected Marshal, we have conquered 500 worlds, but most of our people still live in poverty. Our victory is inseparable from their support. Perhaps we should share some of the spoils with them.”
After saying these words, he put his forehead on the ground, anxiously waiting for the Marshal’s response.
He felt that his request was a bit too much.
Besides, it is never easy to take the cake from the hands of the vested interests. However,
the Marshal seemed to be in a good mood today, or maybe it was because his worries were exactly what the Marshal was worried about. The majestic and unquestionable voice once again recognized him.
”You are right, these spoils originally belonged to them, and from now on they will live a rich life.”
The moment the voice fell, the cheering people outside the hall had more tight silk and satin on their bodies, and the luster on their faces became more ruddy. The
golden furnishings in the hall still exuded a golden luster, including the bright red carpet… Their spoils did not decrease a bit because they were distributed to people.
The Marshal sitting on the throne was like a god who followed his words, and every word he said became a reality.
Like a living wishing machine.
Kant was so excited that he put his forehead on the ground again, and suddenly thought of something.
”I have another unkind thing…”
The marshal continued in a gentle tone without any impatience.
”Tell me, my most loyal warrior.”
Kant swallowed his saliva and spoke hurriedly.
”That battle was not easy… Many brothers fell, and some brothers were injured. Although they can no longer continue to offer loyalty to the legion, their lives should not end here. I would like to apply to you for a habitable planet to settle them and their families there.”
The marshal nodded and agreed readily.
”I allow you to use the 500th world you conquered for us to settle those brave children. 499 galaxies will provide that land with inexhaustible material wealth… It will become a paradise on earth and the center of a prosperous world.”
Kant’s heart was excited, but soon a new question emerged in his mind. What
about the other 499 worlds?
What will become of the human world there?
He knew that if he continued to pester, anyone would get impatient… even the great and kind Marshal.
But he still couldn’t help but want to ask about the difficulties in his heart.
Because the voice in the dark told him that everything he wanted could be realized in this world.
This is the universe that exists for him –
but just when he was about to speak, everything in front of him became blurred again.
Kant was startled and stood up from the ground.
Wait –
give me another minute!
The softness wrapped around his brain was gradually replaced by cold air. He opened his eyes suddenly, but saw that the golden palace had disappeared, and what came into view was the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling.
”You finally woke up.”
A hoarse voice came from the side. He looked sideways and saw that his boss Daniel was sitting next to him.
Kant sat up from the bed and looked around, then looked at his chest, only to see that the military uniform with medals had turned into a thin shirt.
The brain was like a sponge soaked in water.
He reached out and pressed his forehead covered with sweat, and patted it hard with his palm.
”…Where is this?”
Daniel lit a cigarette, puffing smoke while answering concisely.
”Marshal’s arsenal, wasp’s hive.”
The dull memory poured into his mind, and Kant finally remembered what happened before he lost his memory.
”Damn… I inhaled the powder after the snake oil evaporated.”
Daniel sighed deeply.
”You inhaled an excessive amount of hallucinogenic substances, and I thought you would never wake up.”
Kant asked immediately.
”Where are the others?”
Daniel replied.
”Taran is in the room next to yours, and he is unconscious like you. As for the others, we put them in the Cartnord prison, including the gang members and the smuggled laborers from the province of Borneo.”
Kant nodded, and suddenly remembered the medicine bottles found in the warehouse, so he looked at Daniel fiercely.
”By the way, I found some in the warehouse…”
Before he finished speaking, a calloused hand pressed on his mouth.
”Whatever you found, the fire has burned them all.”
Kant was stunned.
”… Fire?”
Retracting the hand pressing on his mouth, Daniel took out a cigarette from the cigarette box and handed it to him.
”It’s normal for such a big explosion to start a fire.”
Those light words were like smoke dissipating under an incandescent lamp.
Kant’s Adam’s apple moved, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn’t say it.
He understood Daniel’s eyes, which were both a warning and a reminder.
In the face of the power of a higher dimension, all their efforts and calculations were as fragile as an ant, and the other party could crush them to death with just a flick of their fingers.
For some reason, Kant suddenly thought of the bizarre dream just now, and a trace of bitterness rose in his heart.
Reality and dreams seemed to be completely reversed.
For a moment, he even had the idea of hiding completely in that dream.
If only he didn’t wake up…
”By the way, how do you feel?”
Hearing his boss’s concerned inquiry, Kant raised his head blankly.
”What’s wrong?”
”Snake oil, you must have taken a lot of it,” Daniel pointed some ash in the ashtray and stared into Kant’s eyes. “I heard that stuff can make people see hallucinations… People who touch it will eventually become addicted. At first they are mentally disturbed, and finally they start talking nonsense.”
Kant shook his head.
”…I’m fine, maybe it’s the first time.”
”That’s good.” Daniel patted his shoulder and grinned, “I heard that people with strong faith will not be affected by snake oil. I don’t want our plan to be reduced in number just at the beginning. I hope you’re okay.”
Strong faith…
Kant smiled weakly.
If it were before, he would probably nod without hesitation, but now he doesn’t even have the confidence to admit such a thing.
”…By the way, since the military is involved, do you still need to continue investigating?”
”Of course,” Daniel said lightly, “We haven’t found any evidence that the alliance is involved.”
Kant couldn’t help asking.
”…What if there is none?”
Daniel pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray and crushed it into a crumpled paper ball.
Just like his frown because of boredom.
”Then find a way to make it.”
…
On the other side, the official website of “Wasteland OL”.
Since there is no way to contact the big guys, Taran can only use the method of casting a wide net to ask private messages one by one, and he will chat with whoever is free to reply to him.
”Brother, help me, I can’t log in. QAQ”
Fang Chang: “What’s wrong with you? (sweat)”
Taran Raider: “I seem to have inhaled a hallucinogenic substance, and I fell out of the server directly. (crying)”
Fang Chang: “emmm… Generally speaking, excessive pain will cause the server connection to be disconnected, and hallucinations should also be considered a triggering condition. I remember that in the early versions, someone was disconnected because he accidentally ate poisonous mushrooms, and it was fine after the toxicity subsided.”
Fang Chang felt that it was probably because the game experience of “hallucination” was not made, so he simply replaced it with coma.
Of course, it is not ruled out that it was actually made, but it was deleted just to save computing power.
After listening to Fang Chang’s explanation, Taran felt much better.
”I see, I thought I was dead.”
Fang Chang: “Not really, you are already over level 30. Normally, even for an intelligence player, the physical attribute is more than three times that of a normal person, you will be fine after a good sleep.”
This question really does not require any technical content, Fang Chang replied and did not continue speaking. After
listening to Fang Chang’s advice, Taran lay down on the bed and planned to take a nap, but he was used to falling asleep through the helmet, and he couldn’t fall asleep no matter how he tossed and turned, so he simply put the helmet on his head.
After staring at the dark black area for three or four hours, a ray of light finally came into view.
Taran was delighted and immediately opened his eyes, and he really returned to the world of “Wasteland OL”.
”Are you awake?”
Taran sat up from the bed and looked to the side, only to see his partner Kant sitting on a chair smoking.
”What happened?”
Kant’s expression was a little gloomy. He was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke.
”Something unexpected happened. All the evidence we collected with great difficulty was burned.”
”Burned?!” Taran’s eyes widened. “What’s the situation?! I don’t remember there was a fire.”
Kant’s expression became more and more complicated. He closed his lips tightly and didn’t speak for a long time.
Taran took a deep breath, sorted out the thoughts in his mind, and suddenly his heart moved, and he asked.
”…Speaking of which, what did you see?”
Kant did not hide it, and said it concisely.
”Victory.”
Taran: “Victory?”
”After conquering 500 star systems, we finally ushered in the prosperity of the Weilant people. The Marshal led us to build a real utopia…”
Kant seemed reluctant to mention the dream, and he made a few random excuses.
But Taran still understood the general idea, and was stunned for a while.
Good guy.
Five hundred star systems to pass the level! ?
These big noses are too difficult!
…
The evidence was burned and the investigation came to a standstill, but fortunately the witnesses were still alive, and Taran decided to make a breakthrough from them.
According to Kant, the garrison that arrived later took all the people found at the explosion site to Cartnode Prison and charged them with arson suspects.
With the help of “guide” Daniel, Taran followed back to Cartnode Prison.
The smuggled laborers from Borneo Province were locked up in a ten-person room, while the gang members of the Hyena Gang and Iron Hand Gang were given a single room.
When passing by one of the “big bunk beds”, a laborer from Borneo Province put his face against the fence and begged Taran who was passing by in the corridor.
”Master, we are just workers, we don’t know anything… Please let us go.”
”Yes… Those villains forced us to do it.”
”We were all deceived! We really don’t know what we are doing… doing that kind of thing.”
”Woo woo woo… I want to go home.”
Looking at those ugly faces, Kant felt disgusted from the bottom of his heart.
Everyone lies, and he himself is no exception.
However, these guys didn’t tell a single word of truth, as if they were born liars, and they lied as soon as they opened their mouths. They either made a fuss or confused concepts, not only deceiving others, but also deceiving themselves.
However, this was just his own opinion. The “spy from the alliance” standing next to him obviously had a different opinion from him.
This guy himself didn’t realize how much he had revealed in the details of his words and deeds.
”… Don’t panic, everyone. I believe that as long as you cooperate with us, the garrison will give you justice.”
Seeing that someone responded to his prayers, the Brahma people behind the fence were immediately grateful.
One of the men with thick eyebrows and big eyes patted his chest, looking like he was going to fight the evil forces to the end.
”Don’t worry, sir! We will answer whatever you ask! We dare not hide anything!”
”That’s the best.”
Taran nodded with a smile, took out a small notebook, and asked.
”Where are you all from? Which state in Brahma Province?”
Everyone answered hurriedly.
”I’m from Snake State!”
”Me too!”
”I’m from Wolf State…”
Taran listened carefully. Snake State had the most people, followed by Wolf State, and then Lion State and Dog State.
The latter two were occupied by the Southern Legion, while Snake State and Wolf State were the territories of the Kingdom of Borneo.
”Who introduced you here?”
Hearing this question, everyone looked at each other, and finally the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes spoke up.
”Master, I don’t know about the brothers in other states, but Snake State… that was Lord Shah Rukh’s idea. Every household has to send a strong man, either to the front line or to go to sea to make money… We have to go wherever he tells us to go, and we have no choice.”
”Yes!”
”It’s true in our Snake State!”
”Then let’s just assume it’s like this for now.” Taran made two notes in the notebook, and then looked at the others, “What about you in Wolf State?”
He asked a simple circle. According to the answers of these laborers, most of them were sent by local warlords to make extra money.
Generally speaking, the warlords would give them a sum of Borneo currency as a resettlement fee, and the earned dinars belonged to the warlords.
This operation looked familiar to Taran, most likely copied from Lassi.
The first state in Borneo to engage in labor export was Mammoth State, and it was reasonable for other states to follow suit.
As for whether it was forced, everyone said it was forced, and it can only be regarded as one-sided.
After asking all the doubts, Taran’s heart moved, and he looked at them and continued to ask.
”By the way, after inhaling snake oil…what did you see in your dreams?”
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and gave a rare variety of answers.
”I saw many, many houses, the kind that didn’t leak!”
”There were ox carts that ran very fast, and I made a lot of money driving them.”
”I saw Mr. Zaid! He gave me a medal and said he would make me a general!”
”Ahem… hehe, I saw a big, white… female student.”
Listening to these various confessions, Taran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry for a moment, but he still extracted them into keywords and wrote them down in a small notebook.
Houses, money, power, women… they seemed to have seen a lot of things, but it seemed that they only remembered these things over and over again.
It seems that everyone sees different things after inhaling snake oil.
As for the addictiveness.
That is also obvious.
It is not difficult to see from their greed when talking about that beautiful dream that they are extremely eager to have another bite so that they can return to that bizarre and gentle place.
Taran can now be sure that A Guang actually made the “illusion”, but perhaps in order to prevent the illusion from being too realistic and causing an effect similar to “snake oil”, it was not installed.
Of course, this was just an immature guess made by him as an ordinary player.
Maybe Guang was just being lazy.
Looking at Kant, who was smoking an unknown number of cigarettes, Taran shook the small notebook in his hand.
”…The testimony mentioned the warlord of the province of Borneo. Is this enough to prove that the alliance was involved?”
”It’s a bit far-fetched.” Kant flicked the ash and said concisely, “We need more powerful evidence.”
He couldn’t just say it out loud. That kind of thing doesn’t matter at all. I’m waiting for you to show your hand.
And now he also has some doubts about whether what he did is right.
And if not, why did he step onto the battlefield in the past…
I really want to see the marshal again.
He suddenly found that he wanted to talk to him about his confusion more than making a wish to that lord…
Looking at the taciturn Kant, Taran shrugged helplessly.
These big noses are really hard to deal with.
Anyway, it’s just throwing dirty water and not really handling the case. Isn’t it enough to get some unfounded clues and process them a little?
”…Then we can only continue to investigate. I have a feeling that we are getting closer and closer to the big fish.”
”Well, keep investigating.” Kant impatiently waved his index finger holding the cigarette butt and ended the topic. The
two continued to move forward along the corridor, and accompanied by the warden, they came to the depths of the cell and saw Morse who was held in solitary confinement.
This man who exuded a cold aura all over his body sat in the corner with an indifferent expression.
When he saw Taran and Kant appearing at the door, he finally showed a happy smile on his face.
As he expected, his ability was appreciated by the Enlightenment Society.
It was worth his previous selfless dedication…
”Did I pass your test?” Morse asked knowingly with a grin.
Kant sneered in his heart, laughing at this little ant who knew nothing.
However, he soon thought that he was also an ant in another cage, and the eyes of those real big men looking at him were the same as his current eyes, so the sneer in his heart could not help but be a little bit unbearable.
Taran was very into the role, and had completely replaced the role of the disciple of the Enlightenment Society. Looking at Morse with a faint expectation on his face, he smiled and nodded.
”Congratulations, Mr. Morse, you have proved your ability. From now on, you officially join us as a disciple.”
He had consulted the “guide” Daniel about accepting Morse into the Enlightenment Society.
Although the latter was a little embarrassed, he finally nodded and agreed after his persuasion.
Morse breathed a sigh of relief.
When he first entered the prison, he was still a little uneasy, but now all the uneasiness disappeared.
He didn’t know what the disciple meant, but he knew that he was now a person with a backer.
”By the way, my little brothers…”
Taran looked at Kant, who coughed lightly and said in a businesslike tone.
”The garrison will withdraw the prosecution and charges against them. It was just an abandoned factory building. Only a few wanted criminals died. You didn’t cause any damage to this settlement.”
Morse showed a bright smile on his face.
He escaped from Cartnord Prison unscathed, and brought his own brothers with him.
There is no doubt that from tomorrow on, his name will become a legend in the entire Blackwater Alley!
”Thank you…” ”
You’re welcome. We still need your work… Due to a fire, the evidence we found was unfortunately lost. But fortunately, the witnesses are all in prison. We plan to go directly to that Tony and put an end to this mystery.”
Morse moved his neck, making a creaking sound of joints rubbing against each other, and his smile gradually became cruel.
”That’s exactly what I want. I’ve wanted to meet him for a long time.”
Admiring the ruthlessness of this guy, Taran nodded in appreciation.
”Very good… By the way, by the way, what did you dream about when you were unconscious just now?”
What did you dream about?
Morse was slightly stunned, and a trace of confusion appeared in his turbid pupils.
Seeing that he didn’t speak, Taran smiled and prompted.
”Generally speaking, we will see what we want to see the most, such as what Mr. Kant and I saw… uh, a prosperous age for people of noble blood.”
He originally wanted to say that it was a prosperous age for the Weilant people, but then he thought it would be a bit strange for a foreigner like him to say this, so he cleverly drew a frame that could fit anything in.
After all, no Weilant would deny that his bloodline was not noble enough, and he didn’t need to explain anything extra.
Kant really didn’t deny it.
After hearing Taran’s reminder, Morse’s cloudy pupils finally regained their clarity.
His Adam’s apple moved, and a strange smile squeezed out of his face.
”Of course, it’s to become a legend in Blackwater Alley… I dream of riding on everyone’s head.”
Kant sneered.
”What a good guy.”
”There’s nothing wrong with that. Simple people are easier to satisfy, and becoming a legend in Blackwater Alley is much easier than conquering five hundred planets.”
Taran smiled and put his hand on his partner’s shoulder, then looked at Morse and said, “Listen, as long as you listen, we will make your dream come true.”
As he said that, he threw a bunch of keys into Morse’s hand.
”Now, go and release your companions, and remember not to release the wrong person.”
Morse nodded slightly respectfully.
”As you command.”
(End of this chapter)
