Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Yao and Zhang Daniu stared at each other.

What should I do next?

Zhang Daniu asked.

“First of all, let’s be sure of three things. First, this is a world where superpowers exist. Whatever seems illogical and scientific can happen. Do you agree?”

Li Yao asked.

“Agreed.”

Zhang Daniu nodded solemnly. He pointed at the empty plastic bag and said, “You’ve eaten 100 bucks of my bread!”

“Don’t be so petty. I’ve tried my best to keep my stomach in. Secondly, it is definitely not a coincidence that the Ark Foundation found you and ‘Traveler Dream’ at the same time, is it? It is very likely that this is an organization that specializes in searching for superpowered people. As to whether they are kind or malicious, and what they will do when they find the superpowered people, there is no telling.

Li Yao said, “But we must prepare for the worst, mustn’t we?”

“…Yes.”

Zhang Daniu thought for a long time but still could not think of any other possibilities. He covered his face and lamented, “I just wrote a novel. Why am I so unlucky?”

“Thirdly, you are very likely to be the next target of the ‘Ark’.

“This is just my speculation,” Li Yao said. “I don’t have any direct proof. But even if the possibility is only one in ten thousand, it is still worth it to try your best to find the answer. You don’t want to be dissected and studied in a laboratory, do you?”

“Nonsense.”

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“But the evidence right now is not enough to prove that the ‘Ark Foundation’ is malicious. Chances are that they are good people. Don’t you see that ‘Dream Traveler’ is living a good life under the protection of the Ark?”

“Yes. This is what we are going to figure out next.

Li Yao snapped his fingers and said, “Alright. Now that we’ve reached a consensus on the three points, let me give you my suggestion—I suggest you contact the ‘Ark Foundation’.”

“What?”

Zhang Daniu jumped up. “Are you crazy or am I? I’m not going to contact them!”

“Assuming that the Ark Foundation is malicious, there is no way that you and I can get away from them. I guarantee that, as time goes by, the people of the Ark will gather more intelligence about you and even me and devise a ‘perfect plan of action’ against us. By then, we will have no secrets at all and will be at their mercy—this is the disadvantage of being in the dark while they are in the light.

Li Yao opened his hands and said, “But right now, the day after I contacted you, the Ark Foundation should still be unaware of my existence. As long as you contact them or even enter the secret base of the Ark Foundation, I will have a way to sneak in and protect you in secret. Even if you are chopped into pieces and dissected for research, I will definitely avenge you, Master Niu!”

Zhang Daniu glared at Li Yao for a long time. “This is not funny at all.”

“All in all, a blessing is not a curse. A curse cannot be avoided. This is our only chance.

“I can’t keep my identity a secret for long,” Li Yao said. “If you want to take action when the Ark Foundation knows everything about me, it will be too late.

“Wait.”

Zhang Daniu asked, “What if the Ark Foundation is friendly?”

“If the Ark Foundation was kind, how did the creators of the fantasy worlds die?

Li Yao said, “Even if some of them were suddenly ill and some died of accidents, at the very least, ‘Father of the Ring’ Galiot was killed by a shooting. The shooter admitted that they were from an organization named ‘Apocalypse’. The organization must’ve been malicious! In order to avoid serious harm from the ‘Apocalypse’, it is better to seek the protection of the Ark Foundation as soon as possible!”

“Sounds reasonable.”

Zhang Daniu said, “Hey, why do I feel that your thinking is getting sharper and sharper and your will is very firm? Your two eyes are shining like two light bulbs?”

“This is all because of you, Master Niu. How should I put it? I feel that you are a star, and I am a planet. There is an inexplicable attraction between us. The more I get to know you, the more I remember many things. Incredible ‘instincts’ even burst out from the depths of my every cell.

Li Yao warmed up his hands and feet at a super high speed that was invisible to the naked eye. His fists pierced through the air and even drew obvious white lights.

“Stop.”

Zhang Daniu said, “I will never have any ‘inexplicable attraction’ with a muscular man in my life. Just tell me what I should do next.”

“Let’s do it exactly.”

Li Yao’s mind became incomparably clear. He spoke with complete confidence, “Next, I need to spend the entire day to purchase a few things. Mainly electronic components. I need to use them to make miniature detectaphones and trackers. I also need to purchase weapons. Rest assured. Of course, I won’t purchase those particularly eye-catching, murderous-looking controlled knives. But I need to have the necessary self-defense ability. Oh, that’s right, there’s also high-energy food. I’m still in the state of rebirth, cell reconstruction, and ‘super metabolism’. I can’t always rely on bread and sugar water to survive. I have to go to the military goods store to purchase some true compressed military food. Rest assured, I feel that once my cells are completely reconstructed, I can eat much less food.”

“After purchasing everything I need for the operation, I need to go back to school and erase all the traces I left in the dormitory, especially the notebook in which I recorded my dream and the dumbbells that I tore apart.

“After all the traces are cleared, I will meet you here. I hope that you can stay at home in the meantime and make sure that the gas and the circuits are safe. Don’t ever go out. Can you do that?”

“Sure.”

Zhang Daniu also realized the seriousness of the problem and nodded vigorously.

“Buses, trains, and planes are too revealing. I’m planning to rent one and modify it myself. By the time we move, the odds of us being discovered will be much lower.

Li Yao was tapping his fingers, when he suddenly frowned, as if he had encountered an unprecedentedly complicated problem. He said, “Right. There’s another tricky problem.

“What is it?”

Zhang Daniu was shocked by Li Yao’s solemn attitude.

“I’m out of money.”

Li Yao extended his hand towards Zhang Daniu. “Master Niu, purchasing electronic components, weapons, and high-energy food is very costly. I also need to rent a car. How much savings do you have? Can you give it all to me?”

“Ah!”

Zhang Daniu was dumbfounded. He looked at Li Yao’s hands in disbelief. “You—you don’t have any money?”

“That’s right. I’m a college student, and I don’t have any income. Over the past week, I’ve already used up all my money.”

Li Yao said, “When my parents passed away, they left me a small house in my hometown, but I didn’t have much money to rent it. Every month, I would have to pay 1,000 credits in rent, and I would have to work part-time to study. My life was quite difficult. Over the past week, I overdrafted three credit cards and took out two online loans. I really don’t have any money left. Master Niu, you’ve been roaming the online literature world for so many years. You must have some savings. How much do you have?”

“I…”

Zhang Daniu’s eyes were filled with tears. His lips trembled for a long time. It was obvious that he wanted to curse. He held it in for a long time before saying in a trembling voice, “Nonsense. If I had money, would I still live in such a place? I don’t have money. I really don’t have money. I only have 20,000 bucks left. I haven’t paid the rent for the next quarter!”

“Twenty thousand is enough.”

Li Yao said, “You don’t have a wife anyway. Why do you need a wife?”

“…” Zhang Daniu.

“…” Li Yao.

“I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you in the novel! Really! I’m going to kill you in ‘Forty Thousand Years of Cultivation’!”

“Don’t be rash, Master Niu. Our operation is either a success or a failure.”

Li Yao said, “If you succeed, it is very likely that you will be able to crack the ultimate secrets about the ‘Vulture Plan’ and the ‘Origin of Earth’. You might even be able to save the entire planet! If so, 20,000 credits are nothing. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to offer you a hundred or even a thousand times more in return!”

“True.”

Zhang Daniu thought for a moment. “What if it fails?”

“If we fail, the two of us might be captured and dissected by the ‘Ark Foundation’ or the ‘Apocalyptic Organization’.

Li Yao said, “If that’s the case, what’s the point of you saving 20,000 credits for your wife?”

“…”

Zhang Daniu took a deep breath. “Let me see. I have to think very calmly. Are you really trying to cheat me of 20,000 bucks with such a lousy excuse?”

Li Yao smiled.

It was a smile that was filled with confidence and could suppress everything.

“Master Niu—”

He picked up the encyclopedia from the ground, which he hadn’t torn apart yet, and stabbed his fingers into it. The veins on his arms and neck bulged out, and he tore the dictionary, which was tougher than a brick, into two halves!

“Well—”

Zhang Daniu looked at the neatly cut dictionary. There were still ten deep indentations that still carried a burning smell. He was speechless for a long time.

“Master Niu, now you should be clear what kind of terrifying power you have awakened, right?”

Li Yao grinned hideously. “Give me the money now!”

“Is—is this considered robbery?”

Zhang Daniu shouted desperately, “This has to count as robbery!”

“Earth will remember you.”

Li Yao snatched the bank card from Zhang Daniu’s hand and said solemnly, “The six billion citizens of Earth will remember your 20,000 credits of rebellion funds.”

Leaving the author’s home, Li Yao went directly to the largest electronic components market in Jiangnan City.

With the awakening of his brain cells and his soul, countless information about refining and maintenance from the ‘Four Universities of Cultivators’ flooded into his brain every second. Although the world of Cultivators was different from that of Earth, magical equipment and electronic products shared similar principles. Li Yao did not intend to make any complicated electronic products. They were just simple detectaphones and trackers that were not difficult for him at all.