The two girls bantered and played around, enjoying a brief moment of relief amidst their anxiety and unease.
Since there was no way to organize an evacuation for the villagers in time anyway, they had simply given up trying.
If General Jiyan had truly defected to the enemy and brought the Fractsidus to Taoyuan Village, they would use their lives to buy time for the villagers who realized the truth to escape.
They had long since steeled themselves for this outcome.
A faint static hum sounded.
Yangyang stopped her playful scuffle with Chixia, pulled out her terminal, and connected the call.
Baizhi’s tense voice immediately came through: “Yangyang, have the villagers of Taoyuan Village evacuated?” Chixia glanced back at the noisy village, scratched her cheek awkwardly, and answered meekly on Yangyang’s behalf: “No…
The villagers refuse to leave.
They’re even clamoring to see General Jiyan.” Hearing this over in the Central Plains, Baizhi felt her vision go dark.
Frustration surged within her chest, nearly causing her to faint on the spot.
She fell silent for a long moment, a thousand thoughts rushing through her head that she wished she could voice all at once.
Finally, she uttered a heartfelt: “Brilliant.” Back in Taoyuan Village, Chixia picked up on the whirlwind of emotion behind that single word and quickly tried to soothe her: “Don’t be mad, Baizhi!
Just tell us, where are General Jiyan and his group right now?” “Southern Central Plains.
They’re heading along the road toward Taoyuan Village.
I set up a few blockades along their path in advance—” *BOOM!* Mid-sentence, a thunderous blast echoed through the terminal.
Yangyang’s heart instantly leaped into her throat, and she asked anxiously: “I thought I heard an explosion!
Baizhi, are you okay?” “I’m fine.
That sound was General Jiyan blasting through my blockade with his spear.
It delayed them for about half a second.” Baizhi’s voice was completely flat, carrying a distinct air of quiet resignation.
A corrupted General Jiyan was about to arrive at Taoyuan Village, yet not a single villager had fled.
Instead, they were preparing to give him a hero’s welcome…
Could things possibly get any worse?
“Baizhi, is there a small Resonance Beacon near General Jiyan’s current location?” You Luoming suddenly spoke up.
Lying in wait, Baizhi subconsciously raised her head to check where Jiyan was.
There really was a small Resonance Beacon nearby.
She lowered her head and replied: “Yes, why?” “Nothing.
I have a rough idea of where they are now.
Don’t worry, I’ll go take care of them.” You Luoming pushed himself off the rock, landing smoothly, and started walking toward the southeast.
The map of this world was largely identical to the one in the game, but the actual distances were vastly greater.
In the game, sprinting from Taoyuan Village to Jinzhou City took a few minutes at most, but in reality, it could take an hour or more.
As a professional account farmer, You Luoming knew every inch of the game map by heart.
Now, knowing the location of a single Beacon was enough for him to pinpoint Jiyan’s relative position.
“You Luoming, don’t go!” Yangyang caught up in a flash and grabbed his arm.
Smart as she was, how could she not realize that You Luoming intended to confront General Jiyan?
When she had heard You Luoming claim earlier that he would fight General Jiyan alone, she had taken it as a joke.
But now it was clear—he was actually serious!
This was complete madness!
You Luoming had only awakened his Resonator abilities yesterday!
Defeating a single Tacet Discord was one thing, but he actually thought he could take on General Jiyan?
Yangyang could not comprehend how anyone could be this recklessly bold.
“Don’t be reckless.
General Jiyan was personally appointed by Sentinel Jue to lead the military.
His strength is unfathomable—he isn’t an opponent you can face.” “If I don’t go block them, should I just sit here and wait for Jiyan to come knocking on our door?” You Luoming looked entirely nonchalant, seeing nothing strange about his actions whatsoever.
Yangyang was struck speechless.
Her gentle brow knitted together as she explained softly: “Speaking strictly out of my own wishes, I want nothing more than for you to defeat Jiyan, defeat the Fractsidus, and ideally even beat that weirdo in red who invaded Jinzhou.” “But the reality is that you only awakened your Resonator abilities yesterday.
You might not be stronger than them—in fact, you’re just a passerby traveling through Jinzhou.” “You have no need, and certainly no obligation, to risk your life facing an opponent you can’t possibly beat.” Yangyang grew increasingly emotional, finally shaking her head with a bitter smile, her words brimming with helplessness and despair: “I’m truly grateful that you’ve stayed with us this far.
But danger is coming.
Please, find a safe path and leave Jinzhou.” “Leave?” You Luoming asked in surprise.
“Then what about you guys?” That single question struck a deep chord within Yangyang.
Tears instantly welled up in her reddened eyes, pooling softly in her gaze: “We…
will stay and fight alongside Jinzhou until the very end.” Silence fell as her words faded.
You Luoming said nothing.
He now fully understood Yangyang’s heart and knew that they were already prepared to die.
Whether it was Scar, who had invaded Jinzhou, or Jiyan, whose loyalty remained uncertain, both were insurmountable mountains standing before them.
Faced with invincible foes, they had long grown numb and exhausted from the pain.
Yet fate would not show mercy just because they endured, nor would it stay its hand because they remained hopeful.
When brutal reality sought to strip away the last things they held dear, they would offer their lives as fuel, igniting an unyielding wave amidst the despair of the Lament…
even if such a wave meant nothing to their enemies.
This grim determination to face death weighed heavily on You Luoming’s heart.
He finally realized with painful clarity that they were living, breathing people—not programmatic NPCs who handed out quests and vanished, nor beings he could brush off with a half-hearted excuse.
“You said the villagers of Taoyuan Village refused to evacuate, but in truth, the ones who really don’t want to leave are you guys.” “Well, I think…” “…what ought to end is the suffering, not your lives!” You Luoming gently pried away Yangyang’s hands where they clutched his shirt.
His gaze was steady, calm, and filled with quiet confidence.
“I’m not like some blond camera who pretends to be asleep and runs off whenever trouble starts.
Since I’m here, I won’t turn a blind eye.” “Rest assured—” “I will win!” You Luoming gently pulled away from Yangyang’s grasp and, without another word, sprinted toward Jinzhou City.
Back where they stood, the terminal in Chixia’s hand crackled with sound: “Chixia, who was that man asking for my location just now?
Is he reinforcements from Huanglong?” “No, you’ve met him!
It’s You Luoming, the guy we picked up yesterday.
His newly awakened Resonance Ability is amazing!” Chixia looked up at You Luoming’s receding figure, then spoke back into the terminal: “He just ran off to fight General Jiyan.” “Huh?!” On the other end of the line, Baizhi went completely numb.
The guy they picked up yesterday awakened a Resonance Ability and is now going to 1v1 Jiyan?!
It was like a level-one marksman trying to solo a full-build jungler with max passive stacks.
That was literally feeding!
As a normally cool-headed and aloof Huaxu researcher, Baizhi was turning bright red, utterly broken, and spiraling into panic!
Her frantic voice shrieked through the speaker: “Chi!
Xia!
Go stop him right now!”