Chapter 157: Seed (2 in 1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Yao did not deny Tang Ling’s speculation. Instead, he sized Tang Ling up with a keen gaze. “How did you come up with that?”
“Instinct?” Tang Ling was not sure because when he heard the description, he thought of the uncommon voodoo insect raising. How should he explain himself? Therefore, he claimed that his answer came from his instinct.
Su Yao did not think Tang Ling was brus.h.i.+ng him off by saying that the thought came from his instinct, so he went quiet and lit another cigarette.
Within the cloud of smoke, Su Yao looked extremely burdened with a mysterious and impenetrable veil of sorrow mixed in his expression. Tang Ling was also infected by the heavy emotion although he did not know what caused Su Yao to be sad.
“From a certain perspective, your saying ‘when the champion emerges, the dream will collapse’ isn’t entirely wrong either,” said Su Yao, “But the correct way to say this is—the man at the end will appear at the end of the dream path, trampling the dream; he holds the key of opening and searching for the beginning.”
Su Yao then looked at Tang Ling teasingly. “Can you decipher this?”
“I can’t. I can only understand that Dream Seeds enter the dream to achieve the goal which is to reach the end.” Tang Ling was very straightforward with his answer because Su Yao mentioned before that all the Dream Seeds entered the dream to reach a common goal.
Combining that with this strange phrase, did it not clearly state that the goal was to reach the end?
“You seem concerned about this phrase,” Su Yao said.
“I’m not,” Tang Ling replied casually.
“Why?” Su Yao squinted his eyes.
“Do I even have the right to be concerned?” Tang Ling was speaking the truth. He was just someone who pa.s.sed the dream test and had not even entered a real dream yet. Talking about the end of the dream still felt a little too surreal for him.
Compared to that, Tang Ling thought that being able to survive the dream and get the scrumptious rewards from the Mysterious Store was more important.
“Sissy.” Su Yao slapped Tang Ling on the back of his head again.
The slap was much stronger than the previous, so Tang Ling felt a little dizzy. He complained, “What should I do? Based on what you told me, the dream is an extremely unfair place, so being able to survive is good enough for me.”
“Ho ho! Unfair? What do you mean by unfair? Tell me.” Su Yao was not angry about Tang Ling’s argument. Instead, he looked a little interested.
The kid has finally got the point!
“How long has the dream world existed?” Tang Ling asked Su Yao without replying to the previous question.
Su Yao showed admiration in his gaze as he said calmly, “The second day after the drastic s.h.i.+ft of the era. It existed since that very day and is a publicly acknowledged timestamp.” After that, he studied Tang Ling in an attempt to see whether the latter was frightened or not.
“Then, it fits. I might not know when exactly did the era s.h.i.+ft drastically, but I’m curious as to why such a huge historical event is buried so deep by intentional parties. Most of the people now know nothing about it, but why?” Tang Ling spoke with confidence.
Su Yao stopped Tang Ling. “Cut to the chase.”
“Fine. The point is that I don’t know the exact time, but I know that this era is at least 150 years old, meaning that the dream world has also existed for 150 years.” Up until this point, Tang Ling looked at Su Yao. “Uncle, do you think those old monsters still exist?”
“What old monsters?” Su Yao obviously was not on the same page as Tang Ling.
“I’m referring to the first batch of people that went into the dream.” Tang Ling suddenly looked very earnest.
However, it did not sound outrageous from Tang Ling. The earliest batch of Purple Moon Warriors of Safety Sector No. 17 had someone as old as 90 years old, yet there was not a trace of aging in him.
Did it mean that those who become Purple Moon Warriors could prolong their life expectancy? It was highly possible.
Even the small Safety Sector No. 17 was able to produce such a powerful individual, yet the whole world was much bigger than this, so how many powerhouses were out there? Tang Ling had solid reason to believe those who were chosen as Dream Seeds were extremely powerful.
Aside from the other matters without evidence, the fact that the Mysterious Store existed proved as much. What kind of proof though? The Mysterious Store power was indubitable, and the great things that it housed were probably countless.
If someone was able to keep surviving the dream, how much reward would he have gotten from the Mysterious Store? It was difficult to believe that one could not become a powerhouse with numerous resources.
“You are not all stupid, kid.” Su Yao smiled kindly at Tang Ling, but the answer he gave next sounded cruel. “Based on what I know, they still exist.”
“Then, I’m right again. That’s why I say the dream is unfair, Uncle Su Yao.”
Since the topic had reached this depth, there was no need for nonsense anymore.
What were the advantages of those who entered the dream earlier than him? What was the a.n.a.lysis they had about the dream? How was the investigation to find out why the dream world existed and what for? If it was just to select the champion to reach the end of the path, why would there be such an unfair environment?
Should the so-called selection not put all the partic.i.p.ants at the same starting line? Or did the one behind this formidable force have outrageous ideas and profound thoughts?
Su Yao chuckled at Tang Ling’s theory. He drained his gla.s.s of vodka to the last drop. The alcoholic drink made his face pink. He then suddenly shouted at Tang Ling, “Then? Is this the reason why you become a sissy? An unambitious sissy?”
“If I run into other Dream Seeds that enter the dream earlier than me, I’m dead for sure, alright?!” Tang Ling also yelled back.
“Why are the others trying to kill you?” Su Yao raised a confused brow.
“So what? Are those who entered the dream before me not going after the goal?”
It was literally nonsense. The compet.i.tion was fierce and harsh. Only a single Dream Seed could reach the end. If they were not killing each other, were they imaginary enemies instead?
If surviving the dream once meant that one could get scrumptious rewards from the Mysterious Store, then what about the person who reached the goal? What would he get then?
“Even if it is? So what?” Su Yao looked serious as he said word for word, “The reason why I found the other Dream Seeds is not just because I want to tell you all this. I’m trying to tell you that absolute unfairness is absolutely fair because the one who can reach the end will reach the end. He will descend like a king, and nothing will stop him, not even time can delay him. Do you understand?”
“I don’t understand.” Tang Ling was being straightforward.
Su Yao kicked him over again and put his boot to Tang Ling’s chest, pinning him to the ground. He looked down on Tang Ling with a dominating bearing. “Then, you better understand! Living in a chaotic era where people raise arms, no one is guaranteed to own the world with favorable geographical, climate and human conditions. The conqueror in the old civilization lost to an impoverished family while the python king that transcended its era lost to a farmer…”
Cough, cough. “Uncle Su Yao, I understand now. I, cough, will become a useful person!” Tang Ling could not breathe with Su Yao’s boot over his chest.
Su Yao then moved his foot away.
Tang Ling was respectful, but deep in his heart, he did not agree with Su Yao’s words. The only thing that drove him forward was hatred. It was the hatred that was branded in his bones.
What champion? What ambitions? He was just a young kid from the settlement. What he missed the most was the warmth from his deceased family in front of the fire, but he did not want to disappoint Su Yao either, so the only thing he could do was to stay alive.
“Doc.u.ments.” Su Yao took several pieces of paper from his pouch and tossed them to Tang Ling when he sat back up.
Tang Ling opened the doc.u.ments for a look. They were all records of the dream world, but the content was very limited. It was none other than the preparations before going into the dream world and some other information about the terrains and survival techniques.
However, the doc.u.ments left out the important things like what kind of environment would he encounter in the dream or what kind of battle awaited. Not a single word was mentioned.
“I know, I know. The help I can provide you with is limited. Dream Seeds…are all so high up on top. These are all I can get. I was afraid that I couldn’t remember all of those, so I took notes. Nonetheless, it must help in some way.” Su Yao sounded a little guilty as if he was feeling sorry for not doing enough for Tang Ling.
Tang Ling feigned a laugh, yet he folded the papers, which he should destroy after reading, and kept them in his pocket.
“They’re gonna be useful in some way,” said Tang Ling.
“Good.” Su Yao scratched his head and said, “The time of entry for each dream is random. Sometimes, you will enter the dream more frequently. Sometimes, not even once a year or two. Regardless of which, you must survive the dream world. Got it? Survive.” Su Yao sounded rather vehement as his big firm palms kept tapping on Tang Ling’s shoulder and it started to hurt, but Tang Ling did not show a painful expression and just nodded repeatedly.
In fact, he had many other things to talk to Su Yao about, like the start to the end of the garage incident and the fact that he had been saved by a mysterious person.
However, when he briefly mentioned the incidents to Su Yao earlier, the latter was not interested at all. Instead, he showed a disdainful smile as if he expected all this to happen, and that it was a reasonable course of the matter.
Nevertheless, of course, he reminded Tang Ling, “Maybe soon enough, Safety Sector No. 17 isn’t going to be as safe, but it’s none of your business. All you need to do is become stronger.”
Is it none of my business? Tang Ling had no idea as well. He had a feeling that he was somehow involved in all this, and Su Yao’s att.i.tude towards certain things hinted that Tang Ling was indeed related to something.
Yet, Uncle Su Yao said it’s none of my business? Fine then. It’s none of my business.
Tang Ling did not want to think about it because he strongly believed that he was only a tiny person in this vast world.
The two of them went silent again.
While Su Yao was not a talker at the start and Tang Ling was not as lively a rascal like his cover in the Hope Barrier, he must ask about ‘it’. Tang Ling lowered his head and spun his gla.s.s, the little bit of apple juice left in his gla.s.s rippling along with the motion.
“Uncle, I think it’s time for you to tell me about it,” Tang Ling said it with his head lowered.
“Tell you about what?” Su Yao was a little tired. His half-squinted eyes made him look like he was falling asleep in the quiet environment.”
“‘It’.” Tang Ling pointed at his chest.
Su Yao widened his eyes and suddenly looked energetic.
“Are you trying to back down from your promise?” Tang Ling showed an unreconciled look.
Su Yao went quiet. Tang Ling fixed his gaze on him. His att.i.tude towards this topic was very clear. He wanted to know the truth.
“It is a seed,” Su Yao conceded and spoke in hesitation.
“A seed?” That was the answer? It felt a little too simple and peculiar, so he waited for more elaboration.
“Yes, a seed, a seed that coexists with you like the zombies and the Devil Fungus.” Su Yao gave an example, but it was not a comfortable one.
“Which means the way I transform my self is not my own ability but this seed’s?” Tang Ling tried his best to stay calm, accepting the saying and adapting to the strangeness of it all.
“As a matter of fact, you can’t really describe it like that. Didn’t you notice? Your growth is really slow, but I’ve never really shown concern about it,” Su Yao spoke about two vital points.
Tang Ling remained quiet. Of course, he knew his growth was slow. Even though everyone in the Fierce Dragon Squad thought he was very strong, it was actually because of the Level 3 vicious beast meat that he consumed. H also ate a lot more and digested quicker than the others, hence the growth.
Excluding these external factors, Tang Ling thought he might not be able to exceed Amir, or even Orston and Yu.
Was it how the Perfect Genetic Chain should perform? Tang Ling did suspect that the Perfect Genetic Chain was just a saying that Su Yao made up to comfort himself.
Speaking of the Perfect Genetic Chain, Tang Ling thought of the scene that happened during his Genetic Chain test. That strange experience that he had gone through—there was something similar to a seed that helped him realize his true potential.
Was the seed ‘it’? With the thought in mind, Tang Ling bolted upright with a strange look on his face.
“What? Did something cross your mind?” Su Yao seemed to be expecting such a reaction from him. He knew the seed had appeared in Tang Ling’s Genetic Chain Test before. Tang Ling was the one who had told him about the details of the test.
Did Tang Ling finally realize what the seed really was?
“Does it have its own thoughts and wisdom?” Tang Ling’s hand started to shake as he recalled the details from that day including the youth that the seed presented, and the strange feeling of kindness that he felt.
Was that the truth? Was it because he and the seed coexisted in a body, hence the kindness? It felt so strange as if he was the father of the seed.
But a living being with wisdom coexisting with himself? Tang Ling’s hand was s.h.i.+vering violently. He felt like he was no longer himself but a composite being consisting of two types of living beings. What kind of strange existence would it be?
“H-How did ‘it’ came to be? Is it my own mutation? Did it grow inside me naturally? Or did someone plant it in me?” Tang Ling, who was always calm finally, lost it. He could not imagine the latter possibility. If it had been planted by someone, why would the seed be planted in his heart?
If it was the former, was he still…human?
“It grew inside you? What are you dreaming about?” Su Yao was unusually calm though. In fact, he had been calm from the moment he decided to reveal the seed to Tang Ling.