Chapter 938: Projection

Chapter 938: Projection

"Why are you so dawdling? Hurry up, we're going to miss the bus!" Yang Na, dressed in her blue school uniform, said impatiently to Li Huowang as he pushed open the door.

Catching sight of Sun Xiaoqin in her apron behind him, Yang Na flashed a wide, bright smile. "Hello, Auntie."

"Nana, waiting for our Huowang to go to school again? You're entering middle school next year, aren't you? Still going to the same one as our Huowang?"

"Yes, Auntie, that's right."

"If you know we're going to be late, then why aren't you running!" Li Huowang shoved past her, thumping down the stairs. "Yang Erlang! Hurry up!"

"How dare you shove me!" Yang Na braced one hand on the banister, vaulted over the steps, and slid down toward Li Huowang with a graceful glide.

Her body slammed heavily into his backpack from behind, and just as he stumbled forward, she locked her arm tightly around his neck.

The two bickered and played as they sprinted to the bus stop, managing to catch the bus just in time.

Once seated, they both let out a sigh of relief, instinctively pulling items from their bags—one a handheld game console, the other a romance novel.

Amidst the swaying of the bus, the two sat side by side, each lost in their own private world.

But happy times are always fleeting; by the seventh stop, they reluctantly packed their things to disembark.

"Oh my, you're actually crying? No way, you're crying over a book? Hahahaha!"

With eyes red-rimmed, Yang Na hooked her right arm around Li Huowang's neck and skillfully delivered a knee strike to his stomach. "What do you know? It's so moving, the prose is beautiful. It's a story about two people who secretly loved each other but missed their chance—in my heart, it's a masterpiece."

Li Huowang stood up, clutching his stomach. "Huh? If they liked each other, why miss out? Aren't they just two idiots?"

He added a final jab: "I don't want to end up like that when I grow up."

At that moment, their eyes met. Yang Na blinked, then pointed at his nose. "Fine! You dare use foul language! I'm telling the teacher!"

She turned and ran. Li Huowang chased after her, catching the smile on her face—the corners of her mouth lifted, revealing dimples on her cheeks. She looked so beautiful.

It was the first time Li Huowang realized that the girl he had played with since childhood was actually quite pretty.

From then on, Li Huowang began to notice that as she grew older, Yang Na became more and more beautiful; yet, he never imagined that her most beautiful moment would come after her death.

Yang Na was dead, killed in a horrific way, her body severed in two. Her hair drifted in the cold seawater, beautiful in a soul-shattering way, beautiful enough to break Li Huowang's heart.

Yang Na was dead. The childhood sweetheart who had grown up by his side was gone, just like that.

"Nana..." As Li Huowang opened his mouth in despair, seawater flooded his throat, sending him into a fit of violent coughing.

Clenching the oxygen tube, tears streaming down his face, Li Huowang lunged forward, clutching the severed half of Yang Na to his chest.

Feeling her cold skin against his own, his mind buzzed. Beyond the frantic thumping of his aching heart, the rest of his body seemed to cease to exist.

"No! I don't accept this reality! I won't accept it! I am Ji Zai, the master of confusion and the Dao of Truth and Falsehood! I am a Si Ming! I am a god! Whoever I want to live must live!"

With blood rushing to his head, Li Huowang frantically grabbed the dangling "mermaid tail," trying to shove it back into Yang Na's abdominal cavity.

If he could just put it back, she would live! He could fix her!

But the tail was slippery, and every time he grabbed it, it drifted away with the current.

Just as he reached out to grab a length of intestine and wrap it around his arm, a massive force struck him from behind, sending him flying several meters away.

Where he had been standing, a porcelain toilet fell from above; had he not been knocked away, it would have crushed his skull.

It was Wu Qi who had saved him. She slapped him hard, trying to snap him out of his delirium.

Qing Wanglai drifted over, glanced at the corpse, and grabbed her neck to shove her aside.

Li Huowang yanked the hand clutching the intestines, pulling the drifting body back to him.

Clinging to her, Li Huowang glared at Qing Wanglai with a hysterical gaze, his military knife already raised. "It's all because of you! All of this is your fault!"

"Is this the time for infighting? Don't forget you have the power of 'Narrative Recall'!" The voice in his ear made his hand freeze.

His blood-rushing brain cooled rapidly. Li Huowang regained his senses, trembling as he reached out to stroke her snow-white cheek.

"It's okay! It's okay! I will bring you back! I will bring you back! As long as I kill this Si Ming, I can bring you back!"

He looked up at the surface of the sea. The water was in total chaos, churning into violent, towering waves.

Standing on the underwater desert and looking up, it felt like the sky was inverted, watching the tsunami roll across the surface.

Li Huowang kicked his fins, swimming toward the surface. As he broke through, the crashing waves battered him senseless.

Emerging once more, he finally saw the projection of the Si Ming. Under a sky as black as night, the towering tsunamis and swirling waterspouts filled his vision.

It felt as if he were not fighting a mere Si Ming, but the heavens and the earth themselves—the factory from before was nothing compared to this.

Qing Wanglai appeared from the left, pulled off his oxygen mask, and shouted: "In this situation, you can't do anything! Whatever this projection is, its power is far beyond ours!"

"The only rational choice is to retreat! Leave these waters!"

Ignoring the plea, Li Huowang leaned down and kissed Yang Na's forehead, his eyes filled with obsession and resolve. "It's okay! No matter what this projection is, I must kill this Si Ming! I must kill him!"

He raised his knife, pointing it at the dark clouds above. "Do you hear me? I will kill you! Even if it costs me my life, I will kill you!"

With a crack, a blinding white light flashed, and a silver bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the blade in his hand.

Sorry, I wasn't satisfied with today's writing. I will revise it and post it tomorrow. Three chapters tomorrow.

(End of chapter)