Chapter 131: Stone Egg’s Fury

Those words stirred something in Zhou Yi’s heart. Activate the mark?

In truth, he had never considered any of this. At the time, he had merely been desperate enough to try anything, with no idea how else to deal with the situation.

There was no point explaining himself. Trying to reason with Stone Egg was futile.

The sensation of suffocation made Zhou Yi extremely uncomfortable. With great effort, he forced out a few words.

“If I die, there won’t be any spirit stones left for you, will there?”

“Heh... It’ll just mean one more stone statue...”

Although Stone Egg said this, the pressure around Zhou Yi’s neck eased considerably. Zhou Yi knew it was only trying to frighten him. What did all those stone statues mean?

At the very least, they proved one thing: Stone Egg had been attempting to absorb spirit stones and constantly grow stronger. Perhaps it was trying to break free from its stone form, but had failed again and again. Even so, it had still managed to find him.

It was not because Zhou Yi was particularly exceptional. There had to be some connection between him and Stone Egg—or perhaps some factor akin to blood-type compatibility. That was why Stone Egg had been holding back.

“I’m different. At the very least, I’m different from those stone statues. I hid more than thirty spirit stones in World 2000. If you can sense my memories and thoughts, you should know that I’m not lying.”

With a soft thud, Zhou Yi was thrown onto the beach.

Clutching his neck, Zhou Yi coughed incessantly, as though he meant to cough up his lungs. He lay on the sand for quite some time before finally managing to crawl to his feet.

He looked toward the empty sky and shouted hoarsely, “When I was about to explode from absorbing the spirit stone just now, you could have simply intervened and stopped me! Instead, you let me nearly burst apart. Relax, and don’t be impatient. We’ve already made our plans.

“We’ll go to Yunnan in the next couple of days and see whether this world has any spirit stones. One of my slaves has already summarized a set of useful experience. I believe we have the right method and the right place. Finding spirit stones is only a matter of time.”

The waves seemed less violent than before. Just as Zhou Yi began to relax slightly, he was seized and flung away, smashing directly into the feet of the stone statues.

The impact made his breath catch. He had no idea whether his ribs were broken, but the pain between his ribs and across his chest was enough to draw cold sweat.

Before he could get up, Zhou Yi was seized once again. This time he was thrown even higher, crashing straight into the statues. The sound of stone shattering rang out without pause.

Then came a series of impacts—seven or eight in succession. They merely smashed several statues to pieces. Zhou Yi’s fingers twitched, and he still struggled to rise.

Enduring the dizzying sensation spinning through his mind, Zhou Yi felt as though his internal organs had all been displaced. Blood gushed from his forehead, streaming down his cheek and neck to his chest, staining a large portion of his clothes red.

When he opened his eyes, his left eye had already been dyed crimson.

In a space like this, where he could see no one and could only be at another’s mercy, Zhou Yi was furious. If someone was angry, there ought to be a reason for it. One could not simply begin smashing him without warning.

Zhou Yi waved his hands, clutching an ice arrow in each. Perhaps because he was in this space—or for some other reason—the ice arrows had already turned black.

He thrust his hands toward the void and hurled all twelve ice arrows away.

After that single motion, Zhou Yi dropped to his knees.

His ribs, breastbone, and head all throbbed with pain. His right leg was probably broken as well, but his arms hurt the most. They had been twisted behind his back, and he was suspended in midair by both shoulders like a chick being carried.

Zhou Yi tried to kick. His foot struck one of the statues. He did not want to become one of them. The fear of death had never felt so close.

He roared, “What did I do wrong? Or tell me what you want me to do! Say it! Making me guess without saying anything—is this how you cooperate? If you really can’t stand the sight of me, then kill me! Come on, do it!”

As the final word left his mouth, the six-pointed star halo around Zhou Yi’s body began to spin as well. He had not manipulated it; in fact, he had no idea how to control it. Yet the mark grew brighter and more conspicuous, casting a layer of light across the entire dark space.

Only then did Zhou Yi notice the change on his chest. Since he was dangling like a chick, his head drooped forward, allowing him to see the six-pointed star on his chest.

The halo around the star spun faster and faster, while its light grew increasingly brilliant. The runes that had flashed into existence before appeared once again, and the force restraining Zhou Yi vanished in an instant.

The pitch-black space began to pale like the belly of a fish, and the sound of the waves weakened considerably.

“...Oh?”

The voice sounded extremely puzzled. This was its space; it was the god of this place. It had never expected Zhou Yi to be able to block its emotions.

“Ant...”

Zhou Yi knew it was insulting him. Let it insult him. He had only recently arrived at the base, and had advanced by one level after passing through just a few mission worlds. He could not fight and knew no techniques. He truly was no more than an ant.

“Mm. I’m an ant. I’m useless. And then what?”

Zhou Yi did not say the rest aloud: Even if I’m an ant, aren’t you still using me?

This was not the time to argue. He wanted to ask Stone Egg what it meant by its behavior today. Why had it suddenly gone mad and attacked him? Was it merely bored, or was it trying to convey something?

Had he offended it somehow? The problem was, he had not done anything.

Of course, it would be best if they could establish some rules for the future—such as one spirit stone every two months, or a certain number of spirit stones absorbed within a given period before Stone Egg could draw more from him. Would it not be better to make such matters clear in advance?

Before the voice could answer, Zhou Yi’s vision blurred, and he was thrown directly out of that space.

The pain in his chest and head seemed to remain. Zhou Yi instinctively raised a hand to touch himself, only for someone to suddenly lean over him and repeatedly pat his cheeks.

“Zhou Yi, are you awake? Can you hear me?”

Zhou Yi forced his eyes open. He was already lying on a bed, with Sophia beside him. She was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, and the worry on her face was genuine. Her eyes were even slightly red.

Behind her stood Fatty and Cheng Zhi, the latter wearing an apron and holding a shovel. The two of them hovered anxiously around the bed, stamping their feet in agitation. The moment they saw Zhou Yi awaken, they hurried closer.

“Boss, how are you?”

Zhou Yi shook his head. His gaze fell to his arm, completely bare without a sleeve. Lowering his eyes slightly, he saw that his chest was bare as well, with only a thin blanket draped below his stomach.

Zhou Yi panicked. Three grown men were standing right in front of him, yet he was shirtless. He instinctively reached for the blanket, but Sophia was kneeling on the bed and pressing it down, making it impossible for him to pull it upward.

“I’m fine... Where are my clothes?”

Fatty rubbed his nose and quickly averted his gaze. He pointed toward the window, then toward the carpet on the floor.

“It was quite a spectacle just now. This place looked like the aftermath of a fire. The curtains were scorched black and crumbled into powder at the slightest touch. The carpet was even worse—it had burned to ash. You were lying on top of it, covered only by ash in the shape of clothing. No matter how we called to you, you didn’t respond.”

Zhou Yi paused, recalling what had happened. He glanced out the window. It was nearly noon, and the sun was shining directly inside. It seemed he had been dragged away for quite some time.

Could the problem have been the metal-element spirit stone when he absorbed its energy?

Zhou Yi shook his head and stopped thinking about it. The air felt rather cold against his body, and being without clothes was truly unpleasant.

“You should all go out first. I’ll get dressed and come down.”

Sophia pressed him down at once, her face filled with anxiety.

“Don’t move so quickly. When I was cleaning you up just now, I thought you had been burned beyond recognition. But after washing you, I found that only your outer clothing had burned. You’re not seriously hurt...”

Zhou Yi froze. His grip tightened around the blanket as he stared at Sophia and cut her off.

“Wait. Who did you say cleaned me up?”

Seeing that something was wrong, Fatty immediately grabbed Cheng Zhi and backed away. After a few steps, he turned and hurried out, carefully closing the door behind him.

Sophia glanced after them, somewhat puzzled, then replied with complete justification, “I changed your clothes. I washed you. You were covered in a layer of black soot and oily smoke, like a crispy mooncake. Of course I had to check you over. I’ve seen and touched every part of you. So what?”

Zhou Yi stared at Sophia, momentarily speechless. She had already said everything he could possibly say. His embarrassment and awkwardness vanished in an instant, since Sophia had genuinely been worried that he had turned into a piece of charred coal.

Zhou Yi coughed. The smell of singed pig bristles in the room was truly unpleasant. Still, there seemed to be no sign of fractures in his body or legs, and there was no injury to his head either. Perhaps those injuries had existed only within Stone Egg’s space, where he had been able to feel them.

“I didn’t mean anything else. I just wanted to ask whether you could get me a set of clothes. Hurry and prepare. We need to leave for Yunnan as soon as possible!”

Sophia glanced at him and pouted, rolling her eyes. She even looked somewhat like an ordinary human girl. Without keeping him waiting long, she got up and brought over a stack of clothes, placing them beside the bed.

Zhou Yi looked at the clothes, then at Sophia.

“You’re going to watch me get dressed too...?”