activa-t Chapter 23: From which era are these wanderers?
Chapter 23: From which era are these wanderers?
His hand holding the key trembled slightly, and before he could even speak, the system awkwardly stepped forward to explain.
"Oh... well... it's just... a special case..."
"Something weird always seems to be triggered..."
"Passing the 170th review will ensure that the timeline here isn't stretched too far when the host travels through time..."
Thanks, I find this feature useful, but not much.
"What the heck? A hidden dungeon!"
"How did the conditions for activation become active?"
"How did I travel through time? Did my body or my consciousness travel through time...?"
Oh, he remembered, he no longer had a physical body.
But that's not the point! The real problem is that he's going to wear it again!
I give up.
"Don't tell me that my fading consciousness just now was a sign that I was about to transmigrate?!"
Then the system gave me a shy emoji.
he:?
"Host's guess was quite accurate~ That keepsake bears traces of time and space, as if someone deliberately left it for you."
"This is a great opportunity."
"Host, go through there. I can check things out from over there."
The system doesn't seem worried about his safety at all. Has it even considered the possibility of him traveling through it?
"Did you even consider my past safety?! Did you even think about the fact that I can't stray too far from my original body?!"
"You better think carefully about how I'm going to explain this to the wanderers!"
"system!!!"
Seemingly, after his repeated roars, the system finally came to its senses a little. A question mark slowly popped up on the blue panel, then quickly disappeared, replaced by an emoji that said, "I believe in you."
"I believe the host is definitely capable of doing this."
"Since you've already traveled through time and space, you probably don't care about your original body anymore, right?"
"Keep it up! I believe you can explain it clearly."
The panel in front of him vanished with a snap, and no matter how many times he clicked on it, it wouldn't reappear; it had truly broken through his defenses.
As time ticked by, he collapsed weakly into the space, rubbing his temples as he looked at the key in his hand.
First, I need to come up with a good reason and figure out how to get through this—it's not as simple as what happened with Xiaobai last time, where they just faked their death after lying.
However, the wanderer needs to return to check the mission details. Without a good reason, he'll likely get a severe "lecture" if he comes back.
Therefore, it is absolutely unacceptable to just run away without telling anyone.
"This is so troublesome... Maybe I should just say I was kidnapped..."
"When they finally came back, they took care of the kidnappers themselves and escaped..."
And nobody said frequencies can't be hijacked—even though he looks like a wandering ghost, what if he might encounter a Taoist priest?!
Time was of the essence; the forced teleportation was just minutes away. The key in his hand began to resonate with him once more, and he could feel the world before him beginning to change: finally, it spoke.
"Brother Chao... I might have something to take care of..."
"It might be a while before I can come back."
"Don't lose my original body during this time..."
Upon hearing this news, the wanderer on his way to the Huaxu Research Institute stopped abruptly, frantically asking himself in his mind.
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"Given your current situation..."
The next moment, the wanderer also felt an even stronger frequency forcibly severing the connection between them, and could only hear the other's voice intermittently.
"Don't panic..."
"I will definitely come back... Just protect my true self..."
"I...I'll go ahead..."
He watched as the sword in his hand was gradually enveloped in a golden light, transforming into a stream of light. With the final burst of power, he could no longer hear that person's voice.
"..."
Yangyang naturally noticed what was happening on the wanderer's side, but since the two were communicating telepathically, she only saw the wanderer hurriedly draw his sword. After a golden flash, he seemed to have lost something important, and his expression instantly turned cold.
"A wanderer...?"
Yangyang sensed something was wrong, covered her chest with both hands, and spoke with some concern. Then, she was stunned into place by those golden pupils:
Its brilliance, like molten gold, concealed a chilling killing intent as its gaze swept lightly across the surroundings. Even knowing that this sharpness wasn't directed at him, he couldn't help but tremble, as if the blood in his body had frozen in that instant, his entire being locked in place by an invisible pressure, unable to move.
The wanderer realized that his expression of emotion had been too obvious and had frightened the other person, so he suppressed it. However, it was obvious to everyone that the other person was in a bad mood.
"...Is there a place in the research institute where frequencies can be studied?"
Yangyang was taken aback for a moment, then thought it through carefully in her mind, and nodded.
"There should be some...but..."
"Go, go."
Although she didn't know what had happened, Yangyang knew she shouldn't ask too many questions, so she silently followed behind the other person.
--------
"Couldn't this time travel experience be any better...? Where did we land here...?"
"Holy crap...cough cough cough...there's water..."
After struggling to tell the wanderer that he was running away, he felt the key suddenly emit a beam of light, and the space instantly twisted, pulling him inside.
As soon as he landed, he felt like he had fallen into water, which was constantly devouring his frequency, making his already ethereal state even weaker—and no one told him that this thing could even drown an ethereal being!
"Coo coo...coo coo..." (This is going to kill me...this is going to kill me...)
I swam upwards with all my might, but unfortunately, I'm only half a landlubber. The more I struggled, the deeper I sank, and all I could see was the sunlight getting further and further away...
The late emperor passed away before completing his great undertaking.
Farewell, this magnificent world.
This is really going to kill me; my frequency has been completely wiped out.
Just as he himself had given up on rescue and was about to sink to the bottom of the water, that familiar hand suddenly broke through the water's surface, like a miracle, grabbing him tightly on the edge of despair and pulling him back from the abyss of death to the world of light.
"Mo Wunian! What are you doing in the Sky Sea this time?"
"The frequency dissipation is quite severe..."
He was pulled back from the brink of death again, but this time the feeling was even more unbearable. He closed his eyes tightly, letting the other person pull him into their arms, unable to move.
After a while, feeling his internal energy surge, he slowly opened his eyes. He was about to see who had rescued him when the familiar face silenced him again.
"Trendy guy?!"
He hurriedly broke free from the other person's embrace and stood aside to examine the situation carefully: Well, this outfit clearly wasn't that of the wanderer he knew.
What era have they dragged him into this time?!
But then he realized a very important problem—wasn't he already having trouble maintaining his ethereal form? How did he suddenly regain his physical form?
A brain that's been washed with water becomes smarter.
The wanderer before him felt a flicker of disappointment in his eyes as the other left his embrace, but he quickly regained his composure, slowly walked up to him, and looked at him.
"What's wrong? You don't seem to be doing well today..."
"The frequency is also much weaker..."
"Is it because you're too tired?"
He sensed with alarm that his connection with the other party seemed unusual and began to quickly search for reasons.
"Cough...it's probably because I just fell into the Sky Sea..."
"I'm not that tired..."
A glint flashed in Chao's eyes. He merely smiled slightly at the person in front of him, whose acting was clearly subpar, but said nothing.
"Hmm~"
"However, it's probably not convenient for you to go out in your current condition. Come over here for a moment."
After a brief analysis, I realized that I really can only obey the other party, and it's probably because my physical body is from another dimension that my frequency is dissipating at an incredibly fast rate.
Now it's turned into a ghost again.
Although I didn't quite understand why they wanted me to go over, I just did as they said.
Floating and swaying, I arrived in front of that person and saw them extend a finger and press it against my forehead—the kind of feeling where I could actually touch it.
The next moment, he felt a powerful yet gentle energy flow into his body, rapidly repairing his faltering form.
It suddenly had a physical form again.
"..."
He saved himself so easily? Then why did he work so hard to boost his engagement frequency before?
The wanderers at this time were ridiculously strong!
He looked at his current body in shock, then shifted his gaze to the wanderer, looking at that smiling face, and felt that something was wrong—
I just transmigrated here, so why does this person in front of me seem like they've known me for a long time?
Vulnerability
"Ding~ Congratulations, host, you have successfully transmigrated."
The system will conduct an investigation during this period.
"The token will automatically teleport back after its energy is depleted."
Please ensure your safety during this period.
The system just sent a notification; it didn't even bother to check if he had almost been eliminated immediately after landing.
So heartbreaking
Then he discovered an even more devastating reality: looking around, he found that the already unfamiliar surroundings were even more unfamiliar now.
There really is no way out.
"That should be enough. The frequency of these injections should be enough to maintain your form for a while."
"Looks like I'll have to find someone to make you something that can store frequencies."
The wanderer in front of him seemed to know him well, and immediately approached him, taking his hand.
Damn it! Why do I smell "philosophy" again?
Just as I was wondering if I could break free, before I even exerted much force, a look of grievance appeared on that face so close to mine.
"What's wrong? You usually let me hold your hand..."
"Could it be..."
These two sentences completely shut him down: Wasn't he supposed to have transmigrated directly? Why does it feel like he's transmigrated into someone else's body?
And isn't this wanderer's personality a bit off? Why does it feel so overtly teasy?
After carefully analyzing the situation, for his own safety, he could only quickly reassure the other party.
"No, no, no... How could that be!"
"Hold my hand wherever you want, hold my hand wherever you want."
Then, he felt his left hand being gently pulled, his fingers being untied one by one, and then interlocked tightly with the fingers of his other hand.
"..."
A true man can bend and stretch; it's just holding hands! It's not like brothers can't do it.
He could clearly sense that the other person was in a good mood, so he decided to strike while the iron was hot and ask about the current situation first.
"Hey Chao, what's going on with us right now...?"
"What are we going to do now?"
"The little one just drowned and is a bit disoriented."
The other person wasn't surprised by his doubts; their golden pupils gleamed as they looked at him with a smile.
"Hmm... it means traveling the world with me."
"No goal in mind, just staying with me."
"...You've already worked hard enough."
"But right now, I'll just build something for you."
"Otherwise, it'll turn into a ghost again next time~"
There was a hidden meaning in his words, but he couldn't discern it at the moment.
From the fragmented words he had heard earlier, he could roughly tell that the wanderer before him had not yet lost his memory:
Or the emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty
That made him even more puzzled. How had he managed to attract the other person and even become so close to them?
"Brother Chao, now..."
Before he could finish speaking, the other person gently covered his mouth with a hand.
"Just call me Chao. How could you bear to use such a distant term?"
He didn't quite understand what an emperor usually liked to do, but he was at least certain that something was off about the man in front of him.
But he still gave in (crossed out) and obediently nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Chao, where do we go next?"
"Jinzhou"
"I'll use the power of time and space to preserve your frequency, so you don't have to worry even when I'm not by your side."
"At least you can take care of yourself."
The other person's words stirred delicate ripples in his heart, a warm feeling quietly rising from within, mingled with complex and subtle emotions. However, within mere seconds, he forcibly sank all of this deep into the recesses of his heart.
—I am ultimately not the person the other person is calling out to.
In that instant, he even envied his own fortunate self; but he missed his good older brother even more.
Although there wasn't that special kind of bromance like we have now, at least that's how normal brothers should interact.
No?
I admit I left in a bit too hastily, and besides saying I would definitely come back, I didn't say anything else to the other person.
I wonder if he'll throw his sword away in a fit of anger.
The people around him didn't say a word, but simply patted his head gently, and with a wave of their hands, the clouds before his eyes were cleared away.
It is that beautiful city
"Go, go."
"Time is short, I'll take you there directly."
He felt the surrounding frequency fluctuate once more, and golden light appeared on the other person's hand. In an instant, the surrounding scenery was distorted. Although he had experienced this once before, he still felt a little panicked.
But when that person held my hand, it so perfectly calmed my heart.