The Creators: From Night City

Page 371

Reality isn't a game; there's no need to insist on placing the World Stone in the most conspicuous place, providing a mechanism for contenders to fight over and destroy it.

From the very beginning, the Worldstone, exposed to Heaven and Hell, was a lure designed to make angels and demons fight each other for this seemingly attainable Worldstone during the period when Heimul, the land of parasitism, Jiang Bing corrupted the Worldstone, and Rasmar altered the rules of the world.

This stone was, from the very beginning, the carrot dangling between heaven and hell, much like how an ancient army always besieged a city with three gates, merely giving them a channel for venting that they thought was right. And this channel was Jiang Bing's trump card that he had planned long ago.

A spatial rift unfolded behind Jiang Bing, and Heiml's branches emerged from the rift, pulling Jiang Bing through two gaps and directly back onto the throne.

Amidst Arreat's frantic trembling, the golden tree continued to grow, lifting the Mithril Throne high into the heavens, parallel to the angels.

The Forger returned to the throne, like a spark falling into a furnace.

Flames blazed from the throne, growing ever stronger until they shot into the sky in just a few breaths.

The flames surged into the Eye of Anu along the link between the throne and the Worldstone, and under its blessing, the flames were magnified a thousandfold, flowing into Heimul's body along the branches that wrapped around the surface.

The golden tree was instantly ignited, and flames spread along its tangible branches all the way to the sky, then along Heimul's invisible roots, burning wildly across the void and towards the entire Sanctuary.

Chapter 763 The Dust Finally Settles

The giant tree was drawing energy from the World Stone, purifying and transforming it, causing the golden tree to grow rapidly, sprout branches, buds, and grow fiery red leaves, only to wither away the next moment.

Leaves danced in the wind, scattering across the summit of Mount Arreat, and were swept up by an invisible wind, blowing across the entire Arreat plateau and the Land of Terror.

Heiml made his first real move.

These leaves, composed entirely of energy, scattered and landed on the bodies of the battling angels and demons, instantly transforming into bursts of ethereal flames that ignited the parts of their bodies that came into contact with the leaves.

The leaves that fall to the ground or onto the rocks seem to have no physical form at all; they simply melt away and disappear without a trace.

Of course, many more leaves defied gravity, rising from the bottom up into the shattered sky, swarming towards the spatial passage opened between heaven and hell.

As the leaves fluttered down, angels and demons began to suffer casualties.

These leaves are like solid strong acid flying in the wind; wherever they land, they can burn a hole in the spot.

Although a single leaf is not fatal, the branches of the Heiml tree grow vigorously, and the shedding of leaves is a continuous process. Over time, the massive amount of fallen leaves spreads out, almost covering the entire sky and mountains.

If an angel or demon is slightly unlucky enough to come into contact with a large number of fallen leaves in a short period of time, it will be like firewood that has been ignited by a flame from a distance, and it will be set ablaze with a 'bang' and turn into nothingness amidst screams and wails.

These angels and demons, burned clean, had their souls and origins completely annihilated, never to exist again.

Jiang Bing's self-directed and self-acted actions, his willingness to go to great lengths and personally participate in the game, were not solely for the sake of the World Stone.

He orchestrated this elaborate scheme to leave as many angels and demons who had invaded Sanctuary as possible behind, to thoroughly inflict pain on them, to awaken them, to make them understand, to deliver a decisive blow so that they wouldn't have to suffer a hundred blows in the future.

Angels filled the sky and fell like dumplings being dropped into a pot, while the even more numerous demons rose up everywhere.

Imperius caught a swirling leaf in his palm, watching it burn to nothingness within his golden gauntlet. After scorching and licking away a thick layer of the armor, he couldn't help but gasp.

"withdraw!"

At this moment, the Archangel of Courage could no longer care about the Worldstone, which was protected by Heiml's layers of protection. After summoning the Archangel of Hope, the two of them led their army directly to the dimensional rift above the shattered sky.

Meanwhile, the army of hell also began its great retreat under Diablo's leadership.

The falling leaves intensified, and Jiang Bing sat on the throne, diligently fulfilling his duty as the 'Spark,' providing Heiml with the initial flame while grinning as he felt the massive amount of ether surging towards him from all directions.

Archangels and demons of hell are indeed valuable (ether), but they are not easy to 'monetize'. These grunts are easier to deal with; although they are of poor quality, their sheer number makes up for it.

The Sanctuary already possessed a strong repulsive force against angels and demons, and with the angels and demons intentionally fleeing, the speed at which both sides withdrew was equally astonishing.

Behind them, the burning leaves followed, even passing through spatial passages and falling into the higher heavens and the burning hell.

Soon, Heimul's roots entangled the entire Sanctuary, the spatial passage between Heaven and Hell was closed, and the shattered sky gradually healed, restoring the heavens to their original state.

With Rasma collapsing heavily to the ground, emitting labored gasps like a fish out of water, everything finally settled down.

The sanctuary is finally safe for the time being.

………………

Several years after the Battle of Mount Arreat, which would later be known as the 'Chaos Strife', some of the humans in Sanctuary suddenly awakened an ability rooted in their bloodline—the Pure Flame.

This ability is completely independent of magic, but it seems to exist within every human in the Sanctuary, regardless of wealth or poverty, status or wealth, whether they are elderly or newborn infants. Everyone is equal and has the opportunity to awaken this power.

Most awakened individuals will choose one of two paths.

Either travel to the summit of Mount Arreat in the northern Lands of Dread, to pilgrimage beneath the ever-burning Tree of Holy Flame, or head to the New Blind Monastery in eastern Tristram on the western continent, from where you can transfer to a vehicle called the 'Rail Train' to enlist in the Witcher Legion at its Witcher Fortress deep in the southern mountains of Kanduras, undergo basic training, and then travel throughout the world to cleanse Sanctuary of evil and fight against the insidious encroachment of Heaven and Hell upon Sanctuary.

Of course, some people would choose to do both, since the Arreat Plateau is also the main base of the Witcher Legion, and it is very convenient to sign up for the army there.

The barbarians, who had lived in Arreat and the Land of Dread for generations, broke their stubborn stereotypes and a large number of their best warriors joined the mysterious Witcher Legion.

They make up a very large proportion of the Witcher Legion, basically covering most of the assault and heavy gunner positions in the entire legion.

The strong and robust barbarians, clad in heavy armor and wielding heavy shotguns, shattered the evil intentions of countless demons and heretics who sought to wreak havoc, as well as their frail bodies.

It is said that the strongest, most resilient, and most devout warriors in the Witcher Legion will be guided by Him, blessed by His call, and ascend to His kingdom to embark on the glorious and great endless path of Witcher with Him.

However, this legend has always been discussed by the general public as gossip. Farmers and idlers like to drink a few cups of various inexpensive drinks produced by [Anti-Entropy] and then loudly discuss gossip they have heard from who-knows-where.

Rumors abound, such as "The Lord of Eternal Flame once fought Heaven and Hell atop Mount Arreat, their shoes flying off in the process," "Necromancers now not only manipulate corpses but also frequently travel with those mysterious Witchers, supposedly to bind the souls of their enemies and become even more evil," "The most famous holy city of Travincal in Zakarum was inexplicably blasted into a huge crater by those Witchers using some kind of magic," and "The Cathedral of the Holy Light has also been condemned as heretical; using the Holy Light is allowed, but faith is a crime."

They didn't get bored, because every now and then, new messages would come from all over the world, which they could discuss over and over again for months.

The world is changing so rapidly that these farmers and fishermen at the bottom of society are not very perceptive. However, they are surprised to find that the frequency of rumors about which village was slaughtered by monsters or which town was haunted has dropped sharply.

In real life, a caravan called "Anti-Entropy" has quietly flourished across the eastern and western continents, spreading to almost every city and even town, and silently occupying a very important place in the lives of all the residents of the Sanctuary.

They bought up all agricultural and sideline products, animal furs, herbs, wild fruits, and all other resources, and sold daily necessities, various iron tools and farm implements, and general merchandise at low prices. They also sold medicines to treat common diseases. Although they were engaged in trivial businesses such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, they greatly improved the quality of life for the lower classes.

Legend has it that deep in the southern part of the Kanduras Mountains in the Eastern Continent, next to the Demon Hunter Legion's headquarters, lies a magnificent steel city, the birthplace of all Anti-Entropy caravans. Unfortunately, most of the common folk have yet to have the chance to see it.

However, most people feel that the world is much better than before.

Chapter 764 Misty's Guest

Night City, Watson District, Little Chinatown.

Misty's psychic hut.

The smoky sticks used for exorcising evil spirits were burning slowly, emitting a sticky and spicy smoky aroma.

"Misty, I feel like this week has been incredibly unlucky. My boyfriend #3 cheated on me with my best friend #2, and one of my regular customers was stolen away by a colleague I've always disliked. Oh my god, am I being haunted by some kind of demon? No wonder my eyelids have been twitching non-stop lately."

A woman with denim shorts slit up to her buttocks and a bra that barely covered her upper body sat in front of the psychic altar and spoke to Misty, who was holding tarot cards.

“Demons cannot easily enter a human body. After all, we are born with the sacred Trinity Ring, which can keep evil out,” Misty reassured her client, blinking her smoky-eyed eyes.

The wind chimes, meant to ward off evil, rang incessantly, mingling with the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures playing on a loop inside the shop, creating an atmosphere that was both mysterious and eerie.

"Then I won't be cursed. Let me tell you, there's a new woman in the shop who's always had a problem with me and wants to take my place as the top hostess. A few days ago, I saw her mysteriously fiddling with something. Could she be cursing me?"

“It’s possible,” Misty said, reaching out to calm her agitated client and setting the tarot cards aside.

"We can do a simple crystal divination. You know, crystal is the purest crystal in the world. It can sense any changes in the magnetic field nearby or recently."

"Then what are we waiting for? Come on!" The girl was so eager that her bright red lips were squeezed and slightly deformed.

Misty opened a drawer to the side, took out a velvet bag, and pulled out a natural white crystal pendant from it.

“I need you to calm down, Antaya, and try to restrain your thoughts as much as possible so that the crystal can sense the magnetic fields hidden in your body that do not belong to you.”

As a loyal customer of Misty, the young woman naturally obeyed her every request, obediently closing her eyes and trying her best to suppress her thoughts.

Misty, on the other hand, held the white crystal pendant in front of the other person and quietly watched the white crystal sway.

The slightly swaying crystal pendant naturally returns to a still state over time.

After a long while, when all the Tibetan Buddhist music in the shop had finished playing, the young woman finally couldn't help but ask, "So, Misty, did you find anything?"

The crystal was rotating and undulating slightly, but there was nothing obviously unusual about it.

Just as Misty was about to speak, the crystal in front of her seemed to be flicked by an invisible finger in the air, and began to swing wildly.

Misty's heart skipped a beat. Although she had been running this psychic hut for a long time, she had never seen any supernatural phenomena. She was quite certain that there was no airflow in her shop just now, so what was the reason for the crystal's sudden swaying?

Could it be that the guest in front of me is really possessed by some kind of demon?

Just as she was lost in thought, the natural pebble curtain that Jack had given her at the shop entrance made a 'whoosh' sound, and Jiang Bing, wearing a black suit jacket and leaning on a cane, suddenly stepped into the shop.

Misty shook the crystal in her hand even more vigorously until Jiang Bing raised an eyebrow as if he had noticed something, glanced at the white crystal, and then she quieted down again.

With her keen senses and sharp perception, Misty's heart skipped a beat.

"Good afternoon, Misty. Do you have guests?" Jiang Bing greeted one of his few friends in Night City in a friendly manner.

Before the person being greeted could speak, Misty's client spoke first.

"Oh, handsome, are you also a client of Misty? Would you like to get to know each other?" The woman's carefully drawn eyebrows and eyes swept across Jiang Bingjun's handsome face, finally settling on his fair, slender and well-proportioned fingers.

These are hands that look like they haven't done much heavy work; only someone who has lived a life of luxury could develop such hands.

Of course, skin sculpting is also an option, but both of these indicate that Jiang Bing is either rich or noble.

"Antaya, stop fooling around!" Misty quickly spoke up to stop her little hussy customer. As her loyal customer, she knew that the other party was a high-class sex worker at the Charcoal Club and a VIP member of the Red Cloud Bar.

The former is a well-known SM-themed club in the Night City underground, while the latter is also a very famous SM-themed club.

The only difference is that the former's main customer base is men, while the latter's main customer base is women.

It sounds a bit convoluted, but in short, this old customer named Antaya's main job at work is to be beaten by men, and after get off work he goes to Hongyun to beat up male models. He emphasizes a combination of activity and stillness, yin and yang complementing each other, and his main goal is to not suffer any losses.

Thanks to her profession, her style of doing things is extremely unrestrained and wild.

"What's the big deal? It's just getting to know each other. After all, I might be possessed by a demon right now, and I might need something masculine to exorcise it."

The woman swayed her voluptuous breasts, while her alluring eyes were fixed on Jiang Bing's crotch, the meaning of her words self-evident.

Jiang Bing raised an eyebrow slightly at the terrible remark. Having just returned from the dark world, he was quite unaccustomed to suddenly encountering a genuine old-school Night City tough guy.

After all, in terms of 'outstanding people and beautiful scenery', Sanctuary is still a bit inferior to Night City.

“Mr. Sabur is here to see Dr. Victor, right? He’s at the clinic right now, there are no other customers. You can just go directly there, and I’ll let him know.” Misty quickly tried to smooth things over, after all, this was her boyfriend’s boss, the owner of [Anti-Entropy].

Although she wasn't involved in the underworld, the name "Anti-Entropy" was still very familiar to her due to a series of major events, such as the change of ownership of Dogtown.

Jiang Bing did come to see Victor, but there was nothing important to discuss. He had just reached the pinnacle of his spiritual growth in Sanctuary, exchanging blows with the archangel and the great demon, and was exhausted both physically and mentally. So, he took a two-day break, which he hadn't done in a long time, to visit relatives and friends and get some rest.

Victor was the second friend he met. The first was a blue-eyed guy he liked to meet on the rooftop. The two talked about the conflict between Anti-Entropy's gradually unfolding business activities in Night City and the stagnant gang culture. Afterwards, he brought a bottle of good wine, intending to chat with Victor, his old friend who understood both technology and human nature, to replenish his rapidly depleted humanity.

By the way, his plan for tomorrow is to go to the junkyard to talk to 42 about a universal solution for cracking brain-computer interfaces, and catch up with old friends. In the evening, he plans to have tea and contemplate the Dao with Michiko Arasaka and Selena Zero.

Let's also talk about how to effectively drive Arasaka out of Night City.

Upon hearing Misty's reply, Jiang Bing nodded in agreement, showing none of the ruthlessness he displayed when he struck down the Archangel of Courage and the Demon of Fear with a single blow, as if he were a god descending to earth.

As Jiang Bing passed by Misty's psychic hut, he glanced at Misty's client and casually gave him a positive reply.

"You're not possessed by a demon, but the visual module and nerve connections in your face have become dulled. If you don't want to wake up one day with uneven eyes, you should see a prosthetic doctor as soon as possible."

"what?!"

The woman had considered that the other party might refuse, agree, play hard to get, or treat her coldly, but she never imagined this outcome.

Chapter 765 The Luxury Brand "Pipe Valley"

The engine was roaring.

A massive Alvarado V4FC 580 Playboy drove across the main street of Little Chinatown and turned into the street where Misty's psychic hut was located.

This muscle car with a dual axle and four wheels at the front is a luxury version of the Villefort Alvarado, which is a convertible version of the base closed body model.

However, this innovative design is still not very robust, and the unique vehicle design means that this model of car requires regular maintenance, which can sometimes be quite expensive.

However, for many of the Night City underworld bosses, the Alvarado is the perfect tool to flaunt their luxurious lifestyle and respectable status. The spacious synthetic leather seat adds a touch of pleasure to cruising the city streets, while its aggressive appearance undoubtedly earns them envious and jealous glances from young women on the street.

Although Jack Wells is now a proud city councilor, he still belongs to the target customer group of this group of cars.

"Girl, if you ask me, you need to learn to delegate. Yes, you're the head of the intelligence department now, enjoying great prestige and power, but you're working overtime every day, never having a moment's rest. What's the point of having such a high position if you have nowhere to show off your power and earn so much money?"

On the other end of the holographic phone was Valerie, who looked radiant but seemed somewhat listless.

“Jack, to be honest, if the company wasn’t building a strong AI system called ‘Domain’ to facilitate collaborative work and reduce manpower workload, I would have quit. It’s really too tiring. It’s been so long since I’ve had a drink with you.”

Jack took off his sunglasses and tidied his appearance in front of the lenses, then replied, "You're right. Let me tell you, Ritz Bar has been renovated three or four times. They have exciting shows every week. Last month, they even invited Japan's most famous adult entertainment star, Higashii Kyoko. You, on the other hand, have missed it all. Judy is going crazy missing you."

In the video, Valerie takes a glass of clear, green drink from the side of her desk, drinks it down in one gulp, and lets out a long sigh of relief.

This herbal extract drink is like a magic elixir for overworked office workers who work long hours, completely replacing coffee and inhaled stimulants, effectively preventing physical exhaustion and the risk of sudden death caused by overwork.

Of course, no working person who works overtime until late at night would be happy about this. After working overtime for a long time, even the best medicine cannot soothe their mental exhaustion caused by overwork.