Chapter 25: Face to Face

It feels pretty bad.

It’s so bad that words can’t even begin to describe it.

Yao Bingling leaned against a large tree. This place was already two kilometers away from the designated combat zone. Compared to the scorching heat of the core area, which was like an oven, it was much cooler here.

Furthermore, the trees in this forest area are among the densest; even standing on the ground and looking up at the sky, he can only see a thicket of trees as dense as the shed he built. This level of concealment is enough to shut down a large portion of Destiny’s Sky Eye and satellites.

This allowed him to rest for a bit. He lowered his head and continued to grind the mixture of several herbs in water until it was very fine and viscous. He then used a little of the mixture to apply it to his back, but the pain from there made him pull his hand back.

His back was still covered in blood; the bullet wounds had not yet healed.

This is understandable. You could say that Yao Bingling is to blame for this situation. Kiana’s weapon is his, and almost every one of his weapons has been modified or altered. In particular, the bullets contain toxins that are antibodies against Honkai energy. These toxins are a biotechnology used to strengthen the Valkyrie’s body and make her adapt to Honkai power.

However, it is also highly poisonous to Honkai Beasts and Death Warriors.

Moreover, Kiana’s relentless attacks truly frightened him. The uninterrupted attacks, without any pause, relentlessly ravaged his opponent like a torrential downpour, striving to weaken him as much as possible even if he couldn’t defeat him.

Yes, the damage Kiana caused him was far greater than Kiana herself realized. Although he could heal, it would take much longer than she imagined.

Yao Bingling stretched his shoulders, took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and applied all of his homemade ointment to his back. Then, he took out a box from under a rock beneath a tree.

These were supplies he had placed in various parts of the mountains and forests in the past. To be honest, he himself didn’t know why he had done this in the past, but now it seemed that he had subconsciously sensed this possibility and made preparations accordingly.

The box was opened, revealing a set of neatly folded clothes, a PC18 semi-automatic pistol with two extended magazines, and a first-aid kit.

The first aid kit contained very simple items: a 500ml bottle of disinfectant, a bottle of about twenty painkillers, five syringes and three small bottles, as well as a large amount of gauze and bandages.

The disinfectant and painkiller are both high-end products produced by Tianming Medical Department. In particular, this painkiller is a level 3 potent painkiller, which can have an absolute pain relief effect within seconds of being swallowed. However, the aftereffects are quite obvious, and it can cause fainting or even hallucinations to a certain extent.

Yao Bingling had always said that this thing would cause a lot of trouble if used anywhere except on the operating table, so he had never used it. As for why he had this medicine… it was thanks to a guy who always said it was better to be safe than sorry who forced a few bottles on him.

“You’re right, it’s always better to be prepared.”

Yao Bingling recounted the man’s words, then poured out two painkillers, chewed them, and swallowed them. Within seconds, the medication quickly took effect; a sensation similar to being injected with an anesthetic appeared in his head. His senses began to dull slightly, but the pain in his back noticeably subsided considerably.

“This thing isn’t medicine at all!”

Just two pieces are enough to have such an effect. If someone were to eat too many without being careful, they might immediately fall into a very strange trance.

This drug, after being diluted with water, could probably be used to give addicts a high.

He slowly took out a syringe from the medical kit, and from the three bottles containing two amber liquids and one light blue liquid, he chose the amber one for injection, and then plunged it into the wound on his neck that Mei had cut open.

Due to his injuries, he had to continue maintaining his body in a death squad state to recover.

His skin was still stronger than alloy. Without injecting it through the wound, the syringe wouldn’t even be able to deliver the medication.

A few seconds after the amber-colored drug was injected into his body, Yao Bingling suddenly opened his eyes wide and his mouth wide open, inhaling a huge amount of air, as if he had been injected with chicken blood. His muscles were tense like living steel, and the writhing muscles began to concentrate on his back. The skin and flesh under the ointment were being repaired at high speed by the surging Honkai energy, and even the Honkai energy antibody could not stop it!

Of course, Yao Bingling wasn’t giving himself a shot of adrenaline; he was giving himself a potent military stimulant!

This thing is a life-or-death treasure that can make a soldier whose leg has been blown off and who is still bleeding fight for several hours as if nothing happened with just one injection. Moreover, the raw materials are extremely rare. Even though he made countless meritorious contributions in the past when he was fighting to the death in Tianming, he and his squad were only given a box of twenty injections.

Naturally, such precious items would be remarkably effective when used for healing!

“strong enough!”

As if nothing had happened, Yao Bingling stood up. Thanks to the effects of the painkillers, he quickly bandaged himself, got dressed, and walked to a large rock on the other side of the woods.

Himeko Murata was lying there.

Not only was she unconscious due to her severe injuries, but Yao Bingling also injected her with a sedative, so she was sleeping soundly and there was no need to worry about her waking up.

And her back, which had been completely charred before, was now miraculously clean, showing no signs of burns or even abrasions.

The method of injecting Honkai energy is quite effective. Although Honkai energy can erode the human body, that is determined by the user’s consciousness.

Having clashed with Jinwu for so many years, Yao Bingling knows very well what kind of energy Honkai is. Now that he knows the convenience of Honkai energy, he even understands why Anti-Entropy wanted to manipulate Honkai without reservation.

Maintaining the first stage of Honkai, he could completely control the Honkai with his consciousness to repair and activate Himeko’s lifeless cells, allowing them to regenerate or even revive, without leaving any Honkai energy in her body.

“What a convenient power!”

As Yao Bingling spoke, a sharp pain erupted from his heart in the next instant, as if someone had reached out from inside his body and grabbed his heart!

The reason why this happens in this situation can be found by omitting even the action of the dying brain cells.

“Are you a cockroach?!”

There was no need to speak; clenching his teeth, the feeling of his heart suddenly stopping and his whole body gradually going numb made it impossible for Yao Bingling to speak.

He merely organized this dialogue in his mind, yet its meaning was accurately transmitted to the sealed entrance to the abyss deep within his thoughts. There, a pair of golden eyes peered through the iron bars of his soul, and a hand reaching out, connected to a golden hand formed of Honkai energy, grasped Yao Bingling’s heart.

And that Honkai energy was the residue that Yao Bingling had used to treat Himeko!

“Can’t you just shut up for a while and let me have some peace and quiet?”

No one will answer, and that’s natural.

“Okay, let’s try face-to-face.”

The paralysis of his heart caused his whole body to go out of control, and Yao Bingling, who was now semi-paralyzed, collapsed to the ground. With the strength and reason he could still use, he picked up a stone on the ground that was about the size of his fist, and a somewhat crazy smile appeared on his lips.

The muscles in his arm tensed instantly, and he slammed it down on his head without holding back!

The powerful impact almost instantly detached his consciousness from his body, plunging him into boundless darkness.

It felt like being kicked into an abyss, with nothing but boundless darkness, imbalance, weightlessness, and an unprecedented sense of loneliness.

Soon, but not particularly fast… Yao Bingling was surprised to find that he couldn’t perceive the existence of time… It felt like, one second you were here, and the next second, but you were still stuck in the previous second.

This feeling was unfamiliar, but Yao Bingling knew what it truly was.

Just like the speed of nerve reflexes, in the movement of a person with extremely fast reflexes, one second experienced by an ordinary person is equivalent to two or three seconds for them. And everything Yao Bingling is feeling now is like that: the brain is operating at high speed, the deepest part of consciousness, and all senses are fully activated.

One second is equivalent to one minute, or even one hour.

This means that he has now entered the deeper parts of his own mind, and here he is not alone.

Abruptly, the fall stopped. It wasn’t paused, but rather a spatial displacement… It was as if what should have been an unfathomable abyss beneath you suddenly transformed into a very long corridor, and the rock walls you couldn’t hold onto became the floor beneath your feet.

This sudden return to balance felt very strange to Yao Bingling.

What’s even stranger is the environment here. It’s pitch black, with no light in sight, yet paradoxically, you can clearly see your own hands and feet in this environment.

Moreover, … even though I knew I was inside my own body, I felt like I had entered a huge black box.

“What’s this?”

It was as if it had appeared suddenly, yet also as if it had been there all along unnoticed; a huge iron gate appeared, seemingly open…

He went closer to observe and found that there were many marks on the iron gate that had been violently struck, damaged, and twisted. Judging from these marks, it seemed that something had been imprisoned here and was trying to break out of the cage.

“This angle.”

It was an impact from the inside out… which means this place is…

“Oh, damn it.”

This is bad.

A burst of intense light erupted from behind, and a fiery humanoid creature burst forth from the darkness!

Yao Bingling immediately turned around, but the opponent’s speed and strength were quite terrifying. Although it was just a humanoid being that looked about the same size as him, the momentum and ferocity of its attack were like that of a huge ancient bear!

There was no chance to resist, and he didn’t even give Yao Bingling time to react. By the time Yao Bingling realized what was happening, the other man’s hands had already grabbed his neck and tightened instantly like industrial clamps, lifting him off the ground with tremendous force!

The entire body resembled a human torch, retaining Yao Bingling’s face but covered with cracks like the fractures of lava layers. Within those cracks, one could see the churning flesh and blood surging like real magma.

Those eyes, which should have represented the color of holiness, became exceptionally eerie and terrifying because of the hatred in them!

“Surprised! Motherfuck!” Jinwu yelled, grabbing Yao Bingling by the neck!

As the detainee, Yao Bingling knew of his arrival from the very beginning, so he had been lying in wait in the prison where Yao Bingling was being held.

This is the iron bars of his soul, the prison formed by his mind, and it will only be opened because of his arrival as the one who created it.

He’s done all that, so the rest is simple: kill this guy, kick open the iron gate, and take over his body.

“Ughhhh!”

Compared to the pain of suffocation, what Yao Bingling felt first was the burning heat coming from the other person’s hands. It was like two branding irons stuck on his neck. Large areas of scorch marks had appeared on the skin of his neck, and large blisters had appeared below his shoulders.

Yao Bingling realized that he had made a mistake, a big mistake! This victory had unusually made him lose his head.

“It should have been like this a long time ago. It should have been like this ten years ago. I should have killed you long ago!”

The Golden Crow roared ferociously, grabbing Yao Bingling by the neck and lifting him up in front of it. Its golden eyes, filled with a mixture of madness and excitement, stared at Yao Bingling, whispering in his ear, word by word, “I will kill you, but not so soon. The resistance and humiliation you have inflicted on me over the past ten years cannot be allowed to end so easily. I will tear you apart piece by piece and devour you. Then I will take over your body.”

His consciousness began to disintegrate—this wasn’t a figure of speech, but a real disintegration of Yao Bingling, who was being held captive by the Golden Crow. He was beginning to give out.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Jinwu shouted, releasing his grip on Yao Bingling’s neck and throwing him to the ground.

But this did not make Yao Bingling feel any better, because Jinwu’s hot hands had burned his respiratory tract. Even though he was only a projection of his consciousness, the pain was still quite real.

“Not now, of course not now…” Jinwu also squatted on the ground, his hand that had extinguished the flames grabbed Yao Bingling’s hair and lifted him up in front of him: “Don’t die so soon. You and I both know that things will definitely not end like this, right? The interesting part is after I take over your body.”

Grabbing Yao Bingling’s hands as if cradling some kind of sculpted head, Jinwu’s tone was extremely excited. He roared like a madman, “Listen up, I’m going to beat you half to death here, then dump you here to let you know what it feels like to be imprisoned, and then take over your body and become you, using your body to do some pretty interesting things.”

Not only was his respiratory tract burned, but his vocal cords were also severely damaged. This was supposed to be his own consciousness space, but he had absolutely no control over it. It seemed that he was too caught up in the crisis to think of something as simple as using thoughts to communicate.

“As for what it is, did you see that little girl?” He forcibly turned Yao Bingling’s head, making him look at the suddenly appearing scene, which was Yao Bingling’s visual image.

From close to the ground, you can see Himeko Murata lying on the rock.

“I remember you’ve always been alone because you had to resist me. Oh, poor kid, you’re over thirty and still a virgin. But don’t worry~” Jinwu pressed his head against Yao Bingling’s face and said in a barely audible voice, “I’ll help you get rid of her, but of course, I can’t guarantee I’ll break her~”

In an instant, something here changed.

Jinwu sensed it; naturally, he had to sense it, because the change originated from within his body. To be precise, it was the hand that had pierced his body that brought about this highly contrasting change.

“…What?!”

The stark contrast and pain left Jinwu unable to even process this reversal, but soon Yao Bingling grabbed the back of his head with his other hand and forcefully pulled him from beside his ear to in front of him.

The golden pupils saw a face contorted with rage, and eyes brimming with murderous intent!

“Well!!!”

Without any warning, Yao Bingling’s entire head slammed into Jinwu’s nose. Hot blood gushed out from the cracks in Jinwu’s face, splashing onto the ground and immediately igniting a small area of ​​flames. The blood that landed on Yao Bingling’s forehead instantly burned his forehead to just bone!

But the next second, the horrific wound healed.

“This is my consciousness, you bastard!”

Yao Bingling’s voice echoed throughout the space.

“My territory, my domain, my…mindset!”

The carbonized neck began to repair itself at high speed. He grabbed Jinwu and lifted it up in the same way, then tossed it slightly and delivered a high kick to its side. It was as if a grenade had been detonated under Jinwu’s ribs. With a loud bang and the sound of large pieces of bone breaking, Jinwu was sent flying several meters away!

“I am the master here, you b*tch.”

With his voice fully restored, Yao Bingling stretched his neck and said, “Now I understand what it feels like for a villain to die from talking too much. Thanks for your nonsense, it helped me concentrate.”

“Then let me return your words verbatim. I’ll beat you half to death first, then lock you up here forever. When I’m about to die, I’ll swallow a bomb, and we’ll go to the Western Paradise together.”

As soon as he finished speaking, explosive speed erupted from Yao Bingling’s body. Almost without any warning, his punch, which could be described as a sneak attack, landed squarely on Jinwu’s face!

The powerful impact can smash a person’s head almost instantly, like smashing a watermelon with a baseball bat!

Yao Bingling looked at the golden crow with disbelief, noting that after taking the punch, the golden crow merely turned its head away, its face showing only scorch marks and smoke, and felt immense pressure.

“…Dominator? So what? You’re not powerful enough.”

After saying that, Jinwu turned around and punched Yao Bingling in the face. The powerful impact almost knocked him to the ground, but Yao Bingling managed to withstand it. He then bent over and delivered an uppercut that hit Jinwu in the chin, sending him flying into the air before landing.

“So let’s do something we should have done ten years ago. It’s time for a man’s showdown, you bastard.”