CHAPTER 418: CHAPTER 414 THE DESPICABLE OLD MONSTER

"Lord Dumpling is going up to the sky!"

"Is it fun?"

"Fun! It’s just as fun as when Lord Dumpling rode in Your Highness’s ladybug car before!"

"But you shouldn’t move around carelessly."

"I know!"

"Good..."

Zhou Li stuck his head out of the basket and looked down at the ground.

As the hot air balloon gradually rose higher, the ground became smaller and the view broader; the several volcanoes on the ground became more clearly visible to them.

The scenery was indeed better from up here.

Tuanzi stayed quietly in Zhou Li’s arms, staring curiously at the ground. "So many little ants..."

Brother Nan looked into the volcano’s crater. After seeing it clearly, she felt somewhat disappointed. She thought it was just a big dirt pit and felt her expectations were wasted.

After coming down, they also climbed Dakong Mountain.

It was one of the many volcanoes.

They were simply killing time. Since it was cool in the morning and the young people were full of energy, they chose to spend their time this way. In fact, after looking at the mountains and taking photos of them from the hot air balloon, there was no real need to climb these two mountains.

It was just noon when they left the park.

Tuanzi kept clamoring for Zhou Li to buy her a big balloon. Zhou Li feigned deafness.

「The next stop was Ginkgo Village.」

The house prices in Ginkgo Village were about the same as those in Heshun Ancient Town, maybe even a little cheaper, possibly because the ginkgo leaves hadn’t turned yellow this season.

Huai Xu didn’t return today, probably because that fat guy who played Archers hadn’t teamed up with him for gaming. Consequently, they booked two rooms. Zhou Li didn’t feel comfortable sleeping next to Brother Nan, so he ended up sharing a room with Huai Xu.

As soon as they entered the room, Huai Xu lay down on the bed. He looked around; all that could be heard were birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves.

"Living in a village is different from living in the city! Each has its own benefits!"

"You talk like a modern person," Zhou Li said.

"What’s wrong with that?"

"Nothing... What’s with the sudden contemplation?"

"Just a sudden thought... It came to me all of a sudden!" Huai Xu rolled on the bed, to the edge of the mattress and back again, then continued, "Those poets back in ancient times would just write down whatever they thought of. If I knew how to write poetry back then, you might have had to memorize my poems in school."

"..."

"Your silence is very suspicious!"

"..."

"Right! Why didn’t you go sleep with your girlfriend? Do you still think sleeping with me is the most comfortable?"

"You’re really narcissistic..."

"Sleeping with Lord Dumpling is the most comfortable!" Tuanzi said.

"’This—’ Huai Xu pointed at Tuanzi on Zhou Li’s bed and stared at Zhou Li without blinking, trying to pressure him into calling Tuanzi narcissistic too, just to make himself feel better."

"Correct," Zhou Li said.

"MEOW!"

"’Your life is over,’ Huai Xu pronounced, lying flat on the bed as he delivered his verdict to Zhou Li. ’You raise flowers, pet cats, fritter away your life on trivial pursuits—you’re done for.’"

"..."

Zhou Li couldn’t be bothered with him.

And so, the room fell quiet for a while.

However, Huai Xu hadn’t been lying down for long when he suddenly turned over and faced Zhou Li. "If Master Ming died, and humans and demons were still at war, would you follow the same path as Master Ming?"

"Hmm?" Zhou Li was somewhat surprised. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"’Because if you were to follow the same path as Master Ming, you wouldn’t have to worry about what would happen to Li Daimao after you’re gone. It should be Li Daimao who worries about what would happen to you if she’s gone.’ Huai Xu paused. ’So she said she should be the one asking you.’"

"This eavesdropping habit of yours is really terrible."

"’I wasn’t eavesdropping; I just have really good hearing. I heard it fair and square!’ Huai Xu retorted, then urged discontentedly, ’Hurry up, stop changing the subject!’"

"Honestly, I haven’t thought about it."

"Then think fast!"

Huai Xu lay spread-eagled, as motionless as a mannequin, only his head turned to stare at Zhou Li.

When Zhou Li didn’t respond for a long time, Huai Xu couldn’t help but speak again, "Look at you, you salted fish, even less thoughtful than your girlfriend. Li Daimao has already thought of it, and you still haven’t. Aren’t you ashamed?"

"Ashamed."

"Think quickly, and stop talking!"

"You’re the one trying to make me talk..."

"Be serious!"

"’I’ve heard the Demon Kingdom is looking for solutions. Perhaps in this era, the issue can be resolved,’ Zhou Li replied ambiguously."

"’So you don’t really want to live that long,’ Huai Xu observed, unconcerned by his evasiveness."

"..."

Zhou Li stayed silent as images began to surface in his mind. He thought of Brother Nan, who was currently in her prime—vigorous and full of life. His mind was muddled, unsure how to express his thoughts. After a long time, he finally said, "Brother Nan thinks a few decades is enough. If it were me... then I could only slowly watch her grow old and die. How cruel is that?"

"’I’ll have to watch all of you grow old and die too.’ Huai Xu’s voice became very calm, an unusual tone for him."

"Cruel, isn’t it?"

"It’s alright, I guess..."

Huai Xu turned his head away. After a few seconds, he continued, "The solutions proposed by the different Demon Kingdoms vary. Each Demon Kingdom has prepared several plans, spearheaded by different individuals for research and verification, progressing on multiple fronts. I can tell you responsibly that at least a third of these solutions involve warfare with humans or other methods to eliminate humans. Some of these plans were proposed many years ago and are close to being feasible, but because Master Ming is still around, they haven’t been implemented."

Huai Xu paused. "Perhaps by now, when it comes to the destructive power of war, demons might not be able to outdo humans, but it’s still uncertain who would win if a war actually broke out."

Zhou Li could understand what Huai Xu was saying.

Demons seemed to be entities from another dimension, capable of attacking from angles that humans find difficult to defend against. Moreover, they have the Old Land, so they can always retreat there in the event of nuclear bombardment, rendering many devastating weapons largely ineffective. At least until humans can fully harness the power of Heavenly Masters, or even develop a synthesis of ’Heavenly Master’ abilities and technology, demons hold a natural advantage in initiative.

Master Ming is close to death, and even he is panicking...

Who will maintain this balance in the future?

Though demons are naturally peaceful, they are ultimately like people drowning. They want to survive.

"We’ll see what happens later..."

At that moment, Zhou Li couldn’t articulate a clear reason. He really was just a salted fish; thinking about these things was too much for him.

"Just keep dragging your feet..."

Huai Xu said this, then suddenly changed the topic. "But the future might not necessarily force you to face this..."

His voice suddenly dropped. He whispered covertly, looking around, "I know that Yu Country is researching two plans: one is to leave this planet and go to another place without intelligent life; the other is to use the power of the Old Land to create another, smaller space suitable for them to live in. The Mirror Zone is for this... but don’t spread it around!"

"How do you know this?"

"’I heard it through the grapevine,’ Huai Xu said slyly. ’SHHH... Not many people know about it. Don’t let it slip out!’"

"You know about it, yet you claim not many people do."

"’I’m a professional! Besides, I didn’t get the information directly. I deduced it myself from various scattered bits of information, even some that seemed unrelated!’ Every word from Huai Xu oozed ’I’m so awesome.’ ’Did you really think this Great Devil King is just a good-for-nothing who only knows how to eat, drink, and sleep?’"

"You also know how to play games."

"..." Huai Xu scrutinized Zhou Li carefully with a frown. "You really don’t know how to talk!"

"Are those two plans real?"

"’Pretty close,’ Huai Xu said earnestly. ’These two plans have been researched for a long time. Yu Country has the most scholars among the four Demon Kingdoms, so what they research is... this sort of thing.’"

"High-tech stuff."

"’Exactly. But Yu Country surely has many other plans I don’t know about,’ Huai Xu continued explaining. ’They also cooperate with other Demon Kingdoms; the divisions between them aren’t clear-cut. I’ve heard that some human scientific research institutions are backed by Demon Kingdoms. For example, some observatories with telescopes searching for habitable exoplanets, and some entities involved with rockets, might be connected to them.’"

"I see..."

Zhou Li’s enthusiasm for conversation had waned.

It was all this old monster’s fault—he deliberately brought up a topic that troubled my heart, and after achieving his goal, he feigned comfort. How infuriating!