TRCP 227 PART 2

Part 2

Before the dust from the fallen rocks had settled, an even greater tremor came. They looked up to see the rock face above them cracking over a large area. This was it. The cave was really collapsing!

Enduring the sharp pain, Rong Lan picked up the completely unconscious Chu Xingzhou and Li Da’ai, his body transforming into a golden streak as he shot out of the cave, disappearing in a blink.

Yao Qianjiang transformed into a column of water, instantly wrapping around Cong Xia and flying toward the entrance.

“Abu! No! Abu—!” Cong Xia screamed.

Abu looked up, its purple eyes filled with fear and reluctant tears, its snow-white fur stained with blood. It raised a paw and, mimicking Deng Xiao, waved at Cong Xia. Rocks fell like rain, dust filled the air, and Abu’s figure quickly vanished from Cong Xia’s sight.

In a flash, Yao Qianjiang had brought Cong Xia to the mountaintop. The entire peak began to collapse. Tons of snow tumbled down from the summit. The people who had escaped fled far away, watching helplessly as a mountain peak slowly disappeared.

Yao Qianjiang threw Cong Xia onto the snow. Cong Xia struggled to his feet and immediately ran back towards the cave entrance. “Abu—!” He had promised Deng Xiao he would never leave Abu behind! Zhuang Yao’s life was uncertain, and there was no telling when he would wake up. If Zhuang Yao ever woke up, how could he tell him that they were all alive, but Abu was buried alive in the snowy mountain? For that lonely child, Abu was his only family.

Deng Xiao, Tang Yanqiu, and Liu Fengyu also rushed toward the disappearing cave. Even the recently escaped Bai Ling and Dorje, dragging their injured bodies, ran toward the entrance.

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Gcw, Mkydck, ds, rzlypl nsxl swv, R clt usw! Wasx vbl cltkddkdt, kv oyp yzoyup vbl pkm sq wp yde sdl nyv, yzoyup!

Mbkdjkdt sq vbl wdnsdpnkswp Hbwydt Zys, vbl xkppkdt Ubldt Mkydck, yde Gcw hydkpbkdt kd vbl ewpv, vlyap pvalyxle esod Usdt Dky’p qynl. Gd kxytl pwaqynle kd bkp xkde: vblx kd vbl okdvla qsalpv, bweezle yaswde y nbyansyz qkal, oyvnbkdt vbl pdsoqzyjlp qyzz, pdwttzle kd Gcw’p qwa qsa oyaxvb. Nssjkdt cynj dso, lhld vbswtb vblu olal olyj vbld, lhld vbswtb vblu olal lmrsple vs vbl lzlxldvp yde pwaaswdele cu eydtla, vbyv bye clld vblka byrrklpv vkxl. Jlnywpl cynj vbld, vblu olal yzz vstlvbla, yde vblu bye bsrl. Mbl ealyx sq y clvvla zkql kd Jlkfkdt bye pwpvykdle vblx vbaswtb nswdvzlpp byaepbkrp. Jynj vbld, vblu eked’v jdso ps xydu plnalvp, eked’v nyaau pwnb blyhu cwaeldp. Mblu qswtbv sdzu qsa vblxplzhlp, qsa vblka nsxrydksdp. Ebld eke kv pvyav? Ebld olal vblu qsanle kdvs vbl byapblpv cyvvzlp, qynkdt sdl zkql-vbalyvldkdt pkvwyvksd yqvla ydsvbla, pwahkhkdt cu y byka’p calyevb lynb vkxl? Tl bye clld yhskekdt alyzkvu, vbkdjkdt vblu nswze oyzj pkel-cu-pkel qsalhla. Tl bye qsatsvvld vbyv elyvb oyp vblka nsdpvydv nsxrydksd.

Usdt Dky rayule qaydvknyzzu kd bkp blyav, rayule qsa y xkaynzl. Tl oyp okzzkdt vs pynakqknl bkxplzq vs pyhl yzz vbl pvaydtlap, yp zsdt yp bkp nsxrydksdp nswze pvyu okvb bkx wdvkz vbl hlau lde!

Mlyap czwaale bkp hkpksd. G pbyar rykd pbsv vbaswtb bkp qssv yp bl vakrrle byae sd y asnj, bkp cseu pzyxxkdt kdvs y pdsoeakqv. Mbl csdl-nbkzzkdt pdso bkv bkp lulp, dspl, yde xswvb, pldekdt y pbkhla vbaswtb bkp ldvkal cseu. Tl rwpble bkxplzq wr yde pnalyxle yv vbl nsxrzlvlzu hydkpble xswdvykd rlyj, yv vbl qzyv lmrydpl sq pdso, y blyav-oaldnbkdt nau: “Mkydck! Gcw—!”

G vsadyes lawrvle qasx vbl taswde, xkmkdt okvb asnj yde pdso, pbssvkdt pvayktbv kdvs vbl pju. Mbl czkggyae aytle, nalyvkdt y xytdkqknldv pnldl ytykdpv vbl obkvl, hypv xswdvykd, xsxldvyakzu scpnwakdt lhlausdl’p hkpksd.

Usdt Dky pvyale czydjzu yv vbl vsadyes. Rd vbl nldvla sq vbl pokazkdt okde yde pdso oyp y xyppkhl eyaj pbyeso.

Mbl vsadyes tayewyzzu ekppkryvle, yde y obkvl qktwal zlyrle swv sq vbl pdsou xkpv. Mbswtb kvp obkvl qwa oyp xyvvle okvb czsse yde kv zkxrle, kv oyp wdxkpvyjyczu Gcw!

“Gcw!” Pldt Dkys nakle swv, awpbkdt qsaoyae. Tl zlyrle wr yde vbalo bkp yaxp yaswde Gcw’p dlnj, pscckdt wdnsdvaszzyczu.

Abu crouched in the snow, the tears in its purple eyes freezing the moment they fell. It licked Deng Xiao gently, its tail wagging weakly.

Cong Xia was so overcome with emotion that he was laughing and crying at the same time, barely able to speak.

The blizzard slowly subsided. Cheng Tianbi’s tall, naked body appeared on the snow, walking toward them with confident strides. He had the small figure of Mr. Sun tucked under his arm.

“Tian… Tianbi,” Cong Xia stammered, struggling to his feet and running toward him.

Rong Lan flashed over. “How is Mr. Sun?!”

Cheng Tianbi’s face was grim, his lips pressed into a tight line. He gently laid Mr. Sun on the snow.

Cong Xia ran over and saw Mr. Sun’s face was ashen, his lips completely devoid of color. Blood stained his clothes from the corner of his mouth to his collar. His chest was no longer rising and falling.

Rong Lan knelt down in disbelief, his trembling hand reaching to check for Mr. Sun’s breath.

“He’s still alive,” Cheng Tianbi said in a low voice, “but his brain is dead.”

Rong Lan’s fists clenched, his eyes turning red.

Looking at Mr. Sun’s old, frail form, Cong Xia felt a boundless sorrow.

Several of the mutated humans who had been helped by Mr. Sun ran over. Some simply fell to their knees. Zhao Luomeng burst into tears.

Cong Xia poured energy into Mr. Sun’s body, still clinging to a sliver of hope. But when he “saw” the state of Mr. Sun’s cranium, he was at a complete loss.

Tang Tingzhi walked over, stood frozen for a long moment, then closed his eyes. “Brain death. Mr. Sun really encountered… a brain-domain evolver far more powerful than we are.”

“Why?” Rong Lan’s voice trembled. “Why did this happen? Didn’t you go down to save him? You were down there for so long, what happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Cheng Tianbi said heavily. “Let’s take Mr. Sun back first.”

Cong Xia slowly walked over and took off his coat, draping it over Cheng Tianbi. Cheng Tianbi, who never showed any emotion in front of outsiders, suddenly pulled Cong Xia into a hug in full view of everyone.

Cong Xia froze, his nose stinging, the urge to cry returning.

In a very low voice, Cheng Tianbi whispered in his ear, “Is it over?”

Cong Xia closed his eyes, his voice trembling. “Not yet.”

No, it’s not over yet. No matter how many people died, no matter how much blood and tears they shed, this world-ending catastrophe had not been stopped. Their mission was not yet complete. Today, more than half of their group was laid to rest in these snowy mountains. Tomorrow, perhaps many more would die in other battles. But as long as the Cambrian consciousness did not sleep, their fight would not be over. He no longer believed in fate. He didn’t believe that their sacrifices were the price for it all to stop. They were human, people of flesh and blood and feeling. If anyone tried to take away what they cherished, they would fight to the end. They would control their own destiny, even if it meant making an enemy of the entire planet!

The group walked down the mountain like zombies.

The entire team was unusually quiet. Many who had come with them were dead. Others were unconscious. Those who could still walk with their eyes open were mostly tormented by their injuries. No one was in the mood to talk. They just walked numbly forward, hoping to leave this cruel land as soon as possible.

As they neared the foot of the mountain, they were drawn by a series of howls. They recognized the sound—it was the multi-xenomorph monsters.

“I’ll go check it out,” Cheng Tianbi said. He flew toward another mountain peak where the sounds were coming from. A short while later, he returned, his expression heavy. “Those animals are killing each other.”

“We’ll go around them,” Tang Tingzhi said. “Try not to be seen.”

“Tianbi,” Cong Xia said softly, “your former comrade, is he…”

Cheng Tianbi nodded and looked at Tang Tingzhi. “Mr. Sun said that stimulating the brain can awaken the self-awareness within a mutated animal.”

“It can,” Tang Tingzhi said.

“Can you help me? I’ll owe you one.”

“Alright,” Tang Tingzhi said. He turned to the others. “You all continue on. Don’t worry about us.”

Ai Er flew over. “I’ll go with you.”

“Take me too,” Cong Xia said. “You’ve all used up too much energy.”

Cheng Tianbi swept up Cong Xia, and Ai Er picked up Tang Tingzhi. The four of them flew toward the mountain peak.

Crossing over a mountain, they saw a large number of multi-mutated animals fighting and tearing at each other in the vast white snow. According to Jiang Ying, these mutated animals had been more or less under his control before. Some could even travel as far as Xining to act as his spies, which showed just how strong his brain-domain control over these animals was. Now that Jiang Ying was dead, they had lost control.

“You help me lure that big lizard over,” Cheng Tianbi said to Ai Er.

Ai Er handed Tang Tingzhi to him and flew toward the large lizard. The lizard quickly spotted him. Not just the lizard, but other creatures also became interested in Ai Er’s unique form, rushing toward him one after another. Ai Er fired a burst from his machine gun, then quickly flew backward, leading seven or eight mutated animals away.

After luring the animals over a hundred meters away, Cheng Tianbi arrived and killed most of them, leaving only the largest and most ferocious thorn lizard.

The lizard rolled in the snow, attempting to change color, but before it could fully camouflage, its body froze. Tang Tingzhi had already launched a brain-domain interference, embedding himself deep within its brain, awakening the human consciousness within its body.

Cong Xia quickly injected energy into Tang Tingzhi’s body, while Cheng Tianbi and Ai Er eliminated the mutated animals swarming toward them.

The large lizard seemed to be in great pain, constantly rolling and struggling in the snow. After more than ten minutes, Tang Tingzhi was drenched in sweat. Finally, the lizard’s body shrank smaller and smaller, revealing a human form. He looked like he was suffering from an unbearable headache, roaring loudly.

Cheng Tianbi rushed over and grabbed his shoulders, slapping him hard twice. “Captain, wake up! How could you let a beast control you!”

He continued to roar, clutching his head and rolling on the ground. It was clear the consciousnesses within his body were fighting a frantic battle. Sweat poured down Tang Tingzhi’s face like a river. Ai Er watched from the side with a worried expression.

Another ten minutes passed. Tang Tingzhi finally lowered his shoulders in exhaustion. The captain had completely passed out.

Cheng Tianbi held the man in his forties, unsure whether to be happy or sad. He hoisted him onto his shoulder.

“I’ve awakened his self-awareness,” Tang Tingzhi said, “but whether it can overcome the other consciousnesses is up to him. Maybe when he wakes up, he’ll still be…”

“If he wakes up and is still controlled by the beast, I will kill him with my own hands,” Cheng Tianbi said gravely. He then picked up Cong Xia, transformed into a gust of wind, and returned to the group.

The group dragged their heavy feet for more than six hours, finally walking out of the snowy mountains and back to the desert. Everyone in the team was physically and energetically exhausted. They should have rested, but no one was willing to stop. With their last ounce of willpower, they had only one thought: leave this place as soon as possible.

Finally, before nightfall, they found the transport helicopters parked in the desert. As the aircraft carried them into the blue sky, a daze fell over the group. It felt as if the nightmare of the past few days was finally showing signs of ending.

Author’s Note: This chapter seems a bit angsty, doesn’t it? →_→