readytorunbook #345 - You are not mature enough
#345 - You are not mature enough
Daoist Wang comfortably reclined in the massage chair specially prepared for combat mechs.
Ling Tong, dressed only in simple underwear, hummed a light tune as she demonstrated a bit of cooking she had recently learned over the past few months to Wang Jixuan.
On the front end of her silver-white mechanical arm, a small projection screen displayed the recipe's process.
Even the simple indoor stove was powered by her mechanical arm.
It was a rare moment;
Standing beside her, smelling the fragrance of her hair, Wang Jixuan could forget about everything.
The Daoist closed his eyes and said, "Don't bother, I won't starve to death even if I don't eat anything now."
"I learned it specially."
Ling Tong said simply:
"Although Sister Wan suggested that I cook wearing only a bellyband instead of underwear, saying it would have unexpected effects, I still feel a little... hesitant about that.
"Maybe it's because I'm too conservative at heart."
Wang Jixuan blinked.
Conservative meant... well, it's hard to say, hard to say.
Ling Tong quickly finished her work and began setting up the dining area with two plates of unidentified food. Her shapely and slender legs were very pleasing to the eye. Despite having a large number of combat missions every day, her muscles didn't show any exaggerated definition when she relaxed.
She sat down beside the massage chair, her eyes filled with unconcealed joy, her fingers gently touching the contours of Wang Jixuan's chest muscles.
"Have you been under a lot of pressure lately?" Ling Tong asked.
"No pressure," the Daoist smiled. "I've just been hiding away to cultivate. I've been free most of the time. Nine months have passed in a flash. Now I'm confident that I can fight and defeat an SS-level esper."
He accurately added: "No more than two."
Ling Tong leaned in close, listening to his heartbeat, and sighed softly.
"I still can't see the light of victory in this war."
Ling Tong said worriedly:
"I've been constantly on the move, not daring to stop, thinking that if I could kill more Blade Beasts, we would have a slightly better chance of winning the next Blade Beast tide.
"But the huge difference in scale is indeed too easy to make people despair.
"We only have this small area on this planet now, while the Blade Beasts have countless resources. Every time I hear them discuss the word 'starfield,' I feel like I'm in the deep sea..."
"Sorry, a hero probably shouldn't say this."
Wang Jixuan's fingers brushed through her smooth long hair, feeling the softness against his chest. He didn't feel like dual cultivation at the moment.
He smiled and said, "If it's a blessing, it's not a curse. If it's a curse, you can't avoid it. Just keep a calm attitude."
"Yeah," Ling Tong quickly cheered up. "Come and taste my cooking. You're not allowed to say it's bad."
"Uh..."
Wang Jixuan's expression was somewhat rich.
"Is this really necessary?"
"Of course it's necessary," Ling Tong said calmly. "I'm seriously learning housework skills for our married life after we defeat the Blade Beasts."
Wang Jixuan: ...
Let's just try it. He, a dignified Golden Core Late Stage Perfected, half-step Heaven-Earth Bridge Realm Buddhist, Daoist, and Demon triple cultivation Mahayana remnant soul protected small cultivator, couldn't possibly get sick from a bite of food!
However, half a minute later, Wang Jixuan's eyes lit up.
The taste was unexpectedly good.
Ling Tong was slightly relieved to see Wang Jixuan enjoying the meal.
This was even more nerve-wracking than when she had previously tried to pilot a terrifying mech.
Knock knock knock.
The alloy door rang with an urgent signal. Before Wang Jixuan could get up, Ling Tong had already casually put on a coat and went to the door to receive a package personally delivered by Sister Wan.
"What's that?" Wang Jixuan asked curiously.
"Nothing."
Ling Tong responded vaguely, and soon changed into a fitted, pleated dress and tied her hair into a ponytail, staying by Wang Jixuan's side.
This was a compulsory course for couples taught by Sister Wan—how to maintain freshness.
"I don't have any combat missions for the next three days," Ling Tong said softly.
Wang Jixuan smiled knowingly.
...
"Commander, remember that the alien soul cannot be separated from the body for too long, otherwise there is a risk of it developing its own consciousness," Peony reminded in a gentle voice as she released Wang Jixuan's alien soul from the storage bracelet.
She was a spirit body and had now mastered some basic spells, but due to her physical structure, Peony could only use the spiritual energy in the air or the spiritual power hidden in the crystal cores.
Wang Jixuan's alien soul stretched and yawned:
"It's okay, after I finish the meeting here, you immediately take the alien soul and the battle puppets to my body."
Peony deliberately teased him: "Oh my, is that convenient? Won't it disturb your little reunion with Commander Ling Tong?"
Wang Jixuan chuckled: "Your green tea system is clearly inferior to the venomous tongue system."
He was used to bickering with Peony.
Peony smiled awkwardly.
If it weren't for facing her own commander, she would have already!
"Have they arrived?"
"They're all gathered," Peony pointed to Wang Jixuan's alien soul. "Do you want to adjust the attire of your alien soul?"
"No need," Wang Jixuan glanced at the floral shorts, beach sandals, and undershirt he had imagined.
This represented his current excellent mental state.
It could also make the alien soul more anthropomorphic.
Wang Jixuan walked out of the collapsed residential building with his hands behind his back, heading straight for the building of the new studio in the distance.
There was originally a secret base here;
But for the sake of secrecy, all irrelevant people were called to the surface for physical training.
The beautiful name was: Rely on your own legs to increase your chances of survival when facing the Blade Beast tide.
Wu Man's F堂小分队, 赤蛇's 赤蛇深海, Oriental Zheng Hong, and Zhou Zhengde's mother, Zhou Meiying, had been waiting for Wang Jixuan for a long time.
And the two most important figures here were none other than Gao Huating and Amina.
Wang Jixuan looked at the devastation here and felt a lot of emotions.
Entering a slightly distorted light curtain;
Faces lined up in front.
Gao Huating subconsciously rushed forward two steps, but seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall. Suppressing her excitement, her eyes filled with tears, she whispered, "Com..."
"Boss, long time no see."
Shen Qionglin greeted generously.
She was still dressed in her white coat, but she wore a fitted turtleneck sweater inside. Her palm-sized face was delicately made up, and her bright eyes seemed to be able to speak.
"Huh?" Wang Jixuan pretended to be surprised. "Our great scholar also knows how to dress up?"
"This is basic etiquette," Shen Qionglin shrugged. "If you don't need to be respected, then I'll come to the meeting in pajamas next time."
Wang Jixuan smiled and said, "It's better to dress up nicely, at least it can raise our average appearance."
"Hahaha!"
Oriental Zheng Hong directly stole the attention with a loud laugh:
"Amazing! You've got the Blade Beasts and the City of Esper running around in circles!"
Wang Jixuan shook his head with a smile.
This time, the Blade Beasts and the City of Esper fought, and the Blade Beasts opened the Star Gate, etc., the fuse was actually lit by him personally.
He waved his hand: "It all depends on everyone's strong support and hard work."
Everyone smiled.
"Sir," Wu Man took the initiative to invite, "Please come in and instruct us, the meeting room is ready, no electronic devices are operating today."
Wang Jixuan patted Wu Man on the shoulder, and wanted to pat Chi She's shoulder next to him, but his movements stopped.
He looked up and down at Chi She.
She was wearing a fishtail skirt, her long hair was tied into a phoenix tail braid, her healthy wheat-colored skin and hot figure added a bit of charm, and the original 'Blade Beast elements' on her body seemed to be less now.
"Teacher!" Chi She said with a smile, "Do you have any new pills for me to try! I can walk directly on the street now without scaring children."
"I'm relieved to see you're okay."
Wang Jixuan said with emotion:
"It really feels like a world of change.
"Such a good fortress was destroyed by the Blade Beasts."
Oriental Zheng Hong smiled and said, "It's already very good that the personnel were transferred in advance. In that battle, we effectively killed the Blade Beasts' living forces in all directions and defeated a large number of King-level Blade Beasts, which can be regarded as creating some conditions for the subsequent war in the City of Esper."
Wang Jixuan asked: "Has the commander-in-chief intended to expand human territory?"
"Not yet," Oriental Zheng Hong said seriously, "The main thing is the population. Even if forced births are implemented now, it will take twenty years to see obvious results... The commander-in-chief is considering another plan."
"Well, you don't need to tell me this, I'm just asking casually to adjust the atmosphere."
Daoist Wang said with a smile.
After a while, everyone sat down in the spacious and bright conference room. Wu Man and Chi She were seated on Wang Jixuan's left and right, while Shen Hai and Zheng Shiduo were at the end of the conference table.
Wang Jixuan cut to the chase:
"There's no need for me to say more about the current situation. I've taken the initiative to show up, so everyone should know how difficult it is now.
"The problem is whether we can close the Star Gate above the Arctic Circle.
"If we close it, we will have half a year to buffer. Although half a year may not be able to do anything, it is definitely better than the civilization being destroyed in twenty-six days."
Everyone nodded.
Gao Huating wanted to say something but stopped, and found that now was not the time to speak, so she obediently continued to wait.
Wang Jixuan naturally noticed Gao Huating's small actions, but he was not in a hurry and continued to advance at his own pace:
"There are three main problems we are facing now.
"First, how to close the Star Gate."
“I’ve sensed it from a distance. The periphery of the Star Gate is covered with a layer of spatial spiritual energy. Amina has also explained that without the corresponding core circuit and spiritual energy circuit, relying on external force would require at least nine spiritual cultivators, and even then, only peak-state spiritual cultivators would have a 100% certainty of destroying the Star Gate.
“Second, if we are to fight in outer space, the Blade Beast swarm will surely respond.
“The four Pillar Blade Beasts are here. They control the Blade Beast swarm and can operate for a short time on the edge of space.
“Amina also said before that our planet, due to the ancient ruins, suppresses both Blade Beasts and spiritual cultivators to some extent. The Blade Beasts' activity in space is limited.
“This should also be one of the reasons why they decisively abandoned the siege of Nielda Tamon and retreated completely.
“But even with a time limit, their rotating guard of the Star Gate can greatly hinder us.
“Our material reserves are far from enough to sustain a war of attrition against the global Blade Beast tide.”
Wang Jixuan paused, his expression grave, and said:
“Also, there is a third, and most important, problem.
“The Pseudo-Spirit Slaves are constantly evolving. They are essentially Blade Beasts, but with human bodies, containing immense potential.
“Based on my observations—I have some unique intelligence gathering channels that allow me to delve deep into the Blade Beasts' information exchange network—I have personally witnessed Pseudo-Spirit Slaves thinking.”
“Thinking?”
Red Serpent was somewhat astonished: “Aren’t Blade Beasts similar to ant colonies, with a hive-mind network?”
“Yes, ordinary Blade Beasts do not possess the ability to think, but some Pseudo-Spirit Slaves have begun to think.”
Wang Jixuan sighed:
“The souls of Blade Beasts originate from humans and higher intelligent beings similar to humans.
“This conclusion may make you feel disgusted. I was indeed disgusted at the time. The design concept of the Blade Beasts is to slaughter primitive civilizations, causing humans who die unnaturally to produce a kind of stone flower, which is the luminous stone we discovered earlier.
“They mine, to put it bluntly, they slaughter to create these luminous stone shards, extracting the power within to transform it into spiritual energy.
“And then to extend the lives of spiritual cultivators.”
Amina nodded gently: “That is indeed the case.”
Everyone fell silent.
Shen Qionglin's slender fingers were rapidly twirling a pen, indicating that she was constantly thinking.
Shen Qionglin said: “Let’s discuss the problem of the Pseudo-Spirit Slaves later. Even if they can awaken their self-awareness and have a negative impact on the Blade Beast race, that might be after our civilization has been destroyed.”
Gao Huating actively raised her small hand.
Wang Jixuan chuckled inwardly.
This must be Little Huating wanting to express her own opinion; the spiritual energy within her hasn't fluctuated for the time being.
“Huating, just say it directly. There are no outsiders here.”
“Ah,” Gao Huating said with a firm gaze, “It seems like I can help. Closing the Star Gate doesn't require brute force. I have backups of all the spiritual cultivators' core circuits here.”
Amina asked in surprise: “All of them?”
Gao Huating blinked, suddenly not so firm anymore.
“Last time I was chatting with that… someone, and she said so, and told me not to worry too much.”
Wang Jixuan leaned back slightly: “Can you directly create a core circuit?”
“It seems like I can't.”
Gao Huating quickly explained:
“Creating a core circuit should require a very, very large amount of spiritual energy.
“However, if a spiritual cultivator who has mastered the core circuit comes into contact with that place and obtains the knowledge there, they should be able to easily create a spiritual energy circuit to close the Star Gate, so…
“The first problem would be solved.”
Wang Jixuan and Amina exchanged a glance.
Amina, knowing that Wang Jixuan was somewhat wary of that ancient civilization, took the initiative to speak: “Can I go there once?”
Gao Huating immediately closed her eyes, then slowly opened them.
The remnant spirit within her was relaying a message.
She looked awkwardly at Amina and said softly: “She said, you are not mature enough.”
Amina: …
Wang Jixuan looked at everyone present. Many of them were learning about Gao Huating's peculiarity for the first time.
Wang Jixuan said solemnly: “She has always wanted me to go down there, but to be honest, I am a little afraid to go. It's unpredictable down there, and that ancient civilization created the spiritual cultivators, which, in my opinion, is not too friendly.”
Gao Huating nodded quickly.
Wang Jixuan changed the subject: “Therefore, I would like to ask Amina to help me lead the way.”
Gao Huating listened attentively and quickly gave a response.
“She said, that’s okay, but Amina must express her submission to you, and she must also learn how to open the door later. Her energy can only open it once.”
Submission?
Wang Jixuan looked at Amina with interest.
Amina was currently in her large form, more beautiful than flowers, holy and aloof. At this moment, she couldn't help but transform into her small form with a 'poof', glaring and shouting:
“I don't agree! It's clearly you guys making a deal! How did you drag me into this! I still want to! Hmph, anyway, I won't be his follower or maid! There's no way to negotiate this!”