Chapter 29: Rain
Ever since arriving in Tianhai City, Yun He’s plan had been going as smooth as butter. Of course, in his opinion, this mission was a piece of cake from the get-go.
The locals of Tianhai City were clueless and weak as sauce, easily manipulated with a bit of scheming.
Though a Blonde-Haired Maiden with large assets popped up along the way, hailing from an influential family outside the city, knowledgeable but ultimately limited in power—unable to stir up any serious trouble.
Until now, when the heavens above erupted into chaos, clouds rumbling and shifting colors as if on fire.
Amidst the fiery sea, thunder roared like an impending storm.
Yun He’s expression darkened. “What have you done?”
”Artificial rain,” Yuan Xiaoling grinned sweetly at him. “Times have changed, technology has advanced, old man.”
As her soft voice trailed off, the first deafening crack of thunder approached.
KARA—!
Torrential rain poured down, enveloping the entire mountain range in a curtain of water.
Yuan Xiaoling watched the cascading sheets of rain, visibility dropping significantly; anything further than arm’s reach became completely obscured.
Emmmmm, maybe she overdid it a little.
With her control over water elements, not a single drop touched her. On the other hand, poor Yun He wasn’t so lucky—standing atop the mountain for mere seconds turned him into a drowned rat.
”So, now, let’s begin round two,” Yuan Xiaoling smiled. “I won’t hold back.”
The tables had turned. Under the relentless downpour, the soil in the mountainous area became muddy and impure, making it difficult to manipulate earth elements. Conversely, water elements thrived; every droplet of rain, every trace of moisture in the air, regenerated their strength.
When there wasn’t much difference in tier levels, a battle between different elemental types could be decided by the overwhelming force of nature itself.
”Damn!”
Mixed with the splashing rain came croaks of frogs. They took advantage of the high concentration of water elements, hiding in the torrential rain where visibility was less than a few meters, leaping toward Yun He like eerie assassins from horror stories.
Croak! Croak! Croak-croak-croak!
These critters appeared out of nowhere, impossible to detect under the curtain of water. With no choice, Yun He summoned the surrounding soil for all-around defense, exacerbating his already strained stamina even more.
But the rain showed no mercy, great masses of cumulonimbus clouds exploding in the sky, releasing days’ worth of pent-up fury. In this endless cascade of water akin to waterfalls, the recovery speed of the water-made frogs exceeded Yun He’s ability to disperse them.
Each time they reformed their bodies, they grew larger than before!
Yun He started to panic, his voice rising through the rainstorm.
”What do you intend to do? What are you planning!?”
To be honest, even Yuan Xiaoling herself couldn’t see clearly at this point—literally speaking, the rain was too heavy, and the water constructs surrounded everything, leaving her blind to what was happening inside.
”I’m obviously here to take you out,” the blonde maiden said seriously. “If you’re gone, my subordinates won’t have to drag themselves into a prolonged battle with your people.”
Croak-croak-croak!
”Hold it! You don’t understand what killing me now would cause!” Yun He’s voice began to tremble with anxiety.
He couldn’t run, he couldn’t fight back, and he couldn’t endure—it was like waiting to die slowly.
”I know. The Inner Stone of the Mind will hatch prematurely, right?”
After Yuan Xiaoling said that, Yun He fell silent for a while.
”You… you know, yet you still dare to act like this… What benefit does killing me bring you?”
”Well, I’ve already said it—if you’re dead, my subordinates won’t have to engage in pointless battles with you guys, losing countless people for nothing.”
This long-term combat between both sides wasn’t about wiping each other out or resolving conflicts—it was purely to provide nourishment for the incubation of the Foundation Stone. It made no sense.
You see, even the minions in games have the mission to push towards the enemy’s towers—not just to give heroes experience points.
”Are you insane?! To sacrifice those cannon fodder and face something you can’t handle prematurely?!”
”Eh, yes.”
Yuan Xiaoling didn’t want to talk to him anymore. She waved her hand, signaling the animal friends to accelerate their attack.
…………
On the waist of the small mountain outside, Luo Zou Cheng and Wu Bian had set up a rain shelter early, keeping them dry. Even so, the sound of the rain hitting the shelter was loud and incessant, creating a palpable tension.
”Maybe we’ve used a bit too much,” Wu Bian whispered.
Luo Zou Cheng remained silent, glancing cautiously at Bai Ling. “Miss Yuan’s orders—fire all the ammunition.”
No questions asked. Orders must be followed.
Bai Ling didn’t participate in the discussion; she didn’t care anyway. Thanks to her telekinetic powers, the rain never touched her.
Feeling the surging elemental impact from the mountain peak, Wu Bian couldn’t help but marvel, “This is the might of a core Element-type user.”
Being Fourth-tier himself but specializing in mental assistance, he couldn’t create such a massive disturbance.
Luo Zou Cheng was more concerned about another matter. “How long will they keep fighting?”
At this moment, Bai Ling finally replied, “It depends on her own thoughts—whether she wants to finish quickly or slowly.”
To end it fast, she could deploy various animal combinations in rotation, exhausting Yun He’s defenses, then suddenly merge the animals into a Water Dragon. In such heavy rain, the Water Dragon’s size and suppression power would be terrifying. Even if it couldn’t kill, it could suppress the opponent and finish with a High-Pressure Water Cannon.
To make it slow… well, just go with the flow.
After a while, Wu Bian tentatively said, “Judging by the time, Miss Yuan seems to have chosen the slower route.”
…………
Yuan Xiaoling wanted to finish it quickly. Although the rain didn’t touch her, standing in this downpour wasn’t pleasant—it wasn’t some romantic drizzle where walking in the rain could build ambiance.
The problem was the rain was simply too heavy, obscuring her vision. Frankly speaking, she was summoning water constructs at full capacity, helping them sustain and recover.
In such a situation, using the Water Dragon or Water Cannon would likely result in a miss. So, she left it to the automatic AI of her animal friends.
They seemed to be doing well, pinning Yun He down from the start.
”It’s been so long, it should be enough by now.”
Croak-croak-croak!
In the endless assault of giant water frogs, a weary middle-aged man stood, looking old beyond his years.
From the moment the rain fell, the outcome seemed predetermined. His survival until now was solely due to his primal instinct to live.
Why hadn’t he anticipated artificial rain? Why could the opponent set up these things in the mountains? Where were the guards responsible for vigilance? Why hadn’t they sent any signals?
Even if they hadn’t noticed, why did no reinforcements come after things went awry? After all, those useless ones were all Third-tier abilities at the very least.
Who could silently eliminate so many Third-tier Spiritual Energy Manipulators? Not even Yuan Xiaoling herself could do that.
In a daze, Yun He suddenly realized something, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Instinctively, he formed a suit of earthen armor around himself, clinging to it for warmth. But the next second, the mud soaked and eroded by the rain quickly crumbled apart.
As the “armor” shattered, Yun He saw numerous shadowy figures in front of him, though he couldn’t recognize them.
”Mr. Yun, why didn’t you tell us.”
”Why did you send us to our deaths.”
”You promised me riches and glory after completing the task.”
”Liar!”
Ah, they were the cannon fodder he had exploited.
The light in his field of vision twisted and distorted, the original shadows dissipating until they transformed into a tall, handsome young man.
”Yun He, I’m quite disappointed with what you’ve done in Tianhai City.”
Yun He’s eyes widened, his mouth trembling.
”Master, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. I encountered unexpected situations.”
”There’s no such thing as ‘unexpected.’ You didn’t do well—that’s all. So, you must know the consequences of failing, right?”
”No, no!”
Yun He’s eyes bulged, his hands hanging limply, seemingly forgetting he was still in the midst of battle. The next moment, several massive water frogs pounced on him.
”Aaaah!!”
After enduring for so long, the final curtain fell. Yun He’s life force weakened with each strike and bite.
On this blood-stained land, washed away by the rain, a strange woman’s voice softly murmured.
”Showing no remorse for those you’ve harmed, yet fearing someone of higher status. Human emotions truly are peculiar.”
…………
It took Yuan Xiaoling a while to realize Yun He was dead.
By the time the rain had eased slightly and visibility improved, the blonde maiden looked closely and noticed something odd—these frogs had stopped moving altogether.
At first, Yuan Xiaoling thought her animal friends were slacking off, but upon closer inspection, she found Yun He’s lifeless body, mutilated beyond recognition, not wanting to look at it any longer.
She’d better inform White Miss Bai Ling at Seaside.
At the mountain waist, receiving Yuan Xiaoling’s message, the group hurried up the mountain.
Although the rain had lessened somewhat, it was still significant for those trekking through it. Luo Zou Cheng and Wu Bian trudged forward awkwardly, each wrapped in a rain cape.
”Where are you going?”
”Oops, the cape blocked my view, I can’t see.”
Bai Ling couldn’t stand it anymore and used her telekinesis to create transparent raincoats for them. Wu Bian tossed the cape aside, feeling instantly lighter.
”Still White Miss, without you, we’d be truly unable to move an inch today.”
”Quit chatting, let’s go.”
”Yes.”
When the three reached the mountaintop, Yuan Xiaoling was fiddling with her mobile phone, about fifty meters east of her lay a grotesque corpse.
”You’re finally here, hurry up, Wu Bian,” the blonde maiden said to the long-haired man. “Check Yun He’s body, see if he’s really dead and if there are any secrets on him.”
Wu Bian glanced at the oddly shaped thing, his lips twitching. “Miss Yuan, you were just waiting for us, huh.”
”This is waiting for you,” Yuan Xiaoling justified confidently. “You are the strongest Perception User in Tianhai City.”
”…”
捏着鼻子检查去了。
没一会儿，无辨带回来一个开心又让人有点唏嘘的结果——云河已经完全死透了。
前世的时间线里，本该在天海市谋划十年，送走无数条人命的云河，提前死在了计划刚开始的时候。
“以后，我们两边的人都不用为了一个没有意义的借口死斗，许多人都因此活下来了，”袁小柠不禁感叹一声，“他这一死，比他活着的贡献要大许多。”
随后她看向白绫，白发少女朝她摇摇头。
没有感觉到心灵基石现世的气息，也许孵化需要一段时间，又或许还差最后一点。不管怎么样，暂时不用担心基石的威胁。
但仍然需要保持警惕。
“我们现在去找戴衡柱吧。”
开车来到四方院门口，袁小柠让罗舟成和无辨留下来看车，自己带着白绫一起进去。
仍然是李莉在门口迎接，身后还躲着个小苏，看来自从上次一起“泄密”以后，她俩就相依为命了。
“真的干掉了吗？”她一上来就问袁小柠，“你真的把那个云河干掉了吗？”
袁小柠莫名其妙：“要是没干掉，我怎么会来这里，不然难道会是如掉？”
“我不是那意思，就……”李莉心情复杂，“云河是戴主任强烈邀请来的，还没能做上点什么，就这样死了。”
在李莉眼中，云河显然算得上那种传闻中的大人物，可是来天海市不到两个月，就这样埋尸于荒山之上，真是令人感慨。
“说明戴衡柱的问题呗，不然能做这糊涂事？”袁小柠耸了耸小香肩，“要么是眼光不好，要么是思想有问题。”
白绫撇撇嘴，在心里补充一句——也许两者都有。
“戴衡柱是不是吩咐过你，要整理什么资料。”她向李莉问道。
李莉点头：“对，就放在资料室，让我等会儿就拿给你们。”
走到门口，敲敲门，李莉和小苏退至一旁。
袁小柠和白绫一前一后走进去，还是上次那个待客室，戴衡柱一个人坐在 there.
“So, Yun He is dead,” he said.
”Correct, easy peasy,” Yuan Xiaoling crossed her arms. “Now, can you tell us?”
Dai Hengzhu picked up a remote control, pressing a button. A large screen on the wall began playing a video.
”This is the footage captured by the surveillance cameras at Four Squares Academy on the day of the incident.”
——————分割线——————
PS: Tomorrow, I’ll release a big chapter, mwah.
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