Chapter 280: Chapter 63: A Man’s Romance is His Caliber
The robust barrel spat blue flames, firing bullets engraved with Explosion Runes in rapid succession. They were all caught by the Fierce Beast that leaped out of the ocean.
Time seemed to pause for a moment. Then, violent explosions thundered, and a rain of blood fell from the sky. What a thrilling scene!
"That was so satisfying! I’ve decided, I want to play this next time too," Feng Mengmeng said, her little face flushed as she operated the controls, blasting each Fierce Beast to bits.
This violent display made even the lone husky in her arms tremble with fear, pressing itself against her, too scared to move.
"ROAR!"
Chen Jiuge hit the brakes hard. Feng Mengmeng, unprepared, bumped her head and protested, "What are you doing?"
"Look ahead," Chen Jiuge said, pointing towards the massive figure in the distance.
"HISSS! A Heavenly Immortal Fierce Beast! We’re done for! Weren’t we told that for the entertainment of the race, we’d hardly encounter any Heavenly Immortal Fierce Beasts in the first half?" Feng Mengmeng’s face was a picture of defeat.
"I’ve heard the Fierce Beasts of the Nether Sea don’t cultivate Laws, just pure physical strength, right?" Chen Jiuge casually continued to operate the controls.
"That’s right, but what good is that?" Feng Mengmeng said with a look of despair. "No matter what, its physical strength has reached the Heavenly Immortal level. Although it’s not as strong as a normal Heavenly Immortal, we’re just two True Immortals in an antique True Immortal chariot. Do you think we can possibly win?"
"Not necessarily," Chen Jiuge said with a slight smile.
"Alright."
"What did you do?" Feng Mengmeng asked, puzzled, looking at Chen Jiuge, who was sporting a mysterious smile.
"Ever heard the saying, ’A man’s romance is caliber’?"
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
The heavy truck made a series of gear-turning sounds. The three cannons on top began to merge into one, and the Fire God Gatling guns on the vehicle’s body fully extended, assembling into a massive Super Fire God Gatling.
The assembly took only a moment.
"What—" Before Feng Mengmeng could finish her sentence, a heaven-shattering sound erupted.
Bullets rained down like a storm on the serpent-like Fierce Beast’s head. Each one was engraved with Explosion Runes, each attack a blast, all at True Immortal Level power.
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"
The intense pain made the serpent-like Fierce Beast howl. Its red eyes stared defiantly through the barrage of bullets as it neared the heavy truck.
"It’s over," Chen Jiuge said. He sensed the massive turret was fully charged and gently pressed the pitch-black button with his small hand.
WHOOSH!
A red shell, over ten meters in diameter, traced a beautiful arc through the air, landing precisely on the serpent-like Fierce Beast’s head.
The dazzling light and violent sound left Chen Jiuge and Feng Mengmeng temporarily deaf and blind.
"What’s that? What’s that? I want to play!" Feng Mengmeng’s eyes glinted with a frightening light.
Still disoriented, Chen Jiuge shouted, "What did you say? I can’t hear you!"
「A short while later」
Chen Jiuge got two cans of chilled cola from the mini-fridge behind them and handed one to Feng Mengmeng. "Mmm, that power is really something, huh?"
The cold soda calmed Chen Jiuge’s wildly beating heart.
"Are you some old monster from a Sect who came here for fun?" Feng Mengmeng asked, her expression complex.
"You’re the old monster! I’m not even ten thousand years old yet. I’m just a kid," Chen Jiuge retorted.
"You really are wealthy," Feng Mengmeng said, her mouth agape, her face eventually darkening with envy.
Blasting a Heavenly Immortal Level Fierce Beast from the Nether Sea to pieces with a shell wasn’t impossible, but the cost was extremely high—incredibly so. It also required a powerful Artifact Refiner to make the shells; otherwise, they might explode before even leaving the barrel.
"Low profile, low profile," Chen Jiuge said, somewhat embarrassed.
"Heh heh heh, can you let me try it?" Feng Mengmeng asked, changing her tune.
"Do you even know how many shells an attack like that consumes?" Chen Jiuge refused.
"Is it possible that I’m also an Artifact Refiner, and a Rune Master at that?" Feng Mengmeng took out a piece of Spiritual Ore and casually changed its shape in her hand as Runes slowly materialized on its surface.
Seeing this, Chen Jiuge’s expression changed, and a smile appeared on his face. "Perhaps we can cooperate."
***
If Da Bai was considered a jinx in Eden Garden, then outside, he was a super jinx.
A majestic Fire Qilin forced to labor in a sweatshop, Artifact Refining for ten years—such a thing was headline material in the Heavenly Realm.
"Big brother, big brother, can you let me off?" Da Bai pleaded, putting on an obsequious expression for the Water Qilin chariot beside him.
Qi Zhen looked at the Fire Qilin chariot with a cold smile. "Da Bai, I am not a petty Qilin. The past is the past. I am now upholding the honor of our Qilin Clan."
CLANG!
Feeling another Fierce Beast strike the rear of his chariot, Da Bai was close to tears. You have Spirit Stones, your chariot is high quality, so of course, you can act like this! Can’t you show some consideration for others? I want to finish the race and show off when I drive out of here!
Qi Zhen was in an excellent mood. To think I’d run into this shameless Fire Qilin calling itself Da Bai while out for a leisurely drive in the Nether Sea race. What a disgrace to the Qilin Clan! He definitely needs to be taught a lesson.
SPLASH! SPLASH!
A huge crab leaped out, landed steadily on the ocean’s surface, and waved its two massive pincers at Qi Zhen, the closest target.
As for Da Bai, he was shivering, clinging to the back of the large crab.
"Oops, I didn’t arrange for this," Qi Zhen explained casually.
A Heavenly Immortal Level Fierce Beast posed a bit of a challenge to Qi Zhen, but not an insurmountable one. After all, the Desolate World was the most prolific producer of various rare Spiritual Ores. As a top Divine Beast of the Qilin Clan, Qi Zhen’s chariot was indeed capable of handling Heavenly Immortal Fierce Beasts from the Nether Sea.
Feeling a small bug on its back, the giant crab kept striking with its large pincers, intending to crush the little pest.
Da Bai frantically dodged the pincer attacks, wailing pitifully, "Help me, Qi Zhen! Brother Zhen, save me!"
"Ah, my tail! It was full of Spirit Stones!" Da Bai cried out in agony, watching as his tail was snipped off by the pincers.
"Fine," Qi Zhen said. "But its power is too great for me to control. You’ll just have to pray for good luck."
Dark Ruishui water seeped from the surface of the Water Qilin chariot, forming a Trident. The Water Qilin Qi Zhen was driving swiftly transformed into a humanoid Qilin figure, which reached out and seized the Trident.
"Good luck to you. Divine Skill: Yellow Springs Ruishui River!"
Question: How powerful is the ’Yellow Springs Ruishui River’ when composed entirely of rare Ruishui water?
Answer: A Heavenly Immortal Level crab from the Nether Sea was shattered into eight pieces, and incidentally, a True Immortal Fire Qilin was sent flying as well.
Watching the small red dot rapidly disappear in the sky, Qi Zhen stroked his chin and muttered, "It flew quite far. Looks like I still need more practice; I can’t even control the power properly."
From the sky, Da Bai’s mournful cries echoed, "Why is it always me who gets hurt?!"
***
Sometimes, be it for humans or beasts, when fate intervenes, there’s no stopping it.
Wang Hai, driving his Qiongqi, smoothly severed the limbs of the Heavenly Immortal Fierce Beast before him. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, he heard something cutting through the air and took a sliding step back.
THUD.
Looking at the huge splash in front of him, Wang Hai revealed a smug smile. "Indeed, I am the most cautious Qiongqi. Truly worthy of being me."
"COUGH, COUGH! Damn you, Qi Zhen! I’ll remember this!"
Da Bai’s Fire Qilin chariot was surprisingly sturdy. Trembling, he climbed out from atop the Heavenly Immortal Fierce Beast he had inadvertently crushed with his landing.
"Brother Da Bai?" Wang Hai exclaimed, his expression lighting up with joy upon hearing the familiar voice.
Looking at the Fire Qilin chariot, which now only had its two hind legs, its armor and tail almost completely gone, Wang Hai hesitated before saying, "Brother Da Bai, that’s a... unique-looking chariot you’ve got there."
"Big Brother Wang, I... WAAHH!" Upon seeing his old friend, Da Bai burst into tears.
After a heartfelt outpouring, Wang Hai nodded in agreement. "Qi Zhen really did go too far. But, Brother Da Bai, aren’t you going to be eliminated like this?"
"Eliminated? Impossible!" Da Bai sneered. "This chariot represents my entire fortune, meticulously constructed with all my might. How could it be so fragile?"
"Super Saiyan Transformation!"
(A little reminder: Da Bai had recently been watching Dragon Ball and was particularly fond of that thrilling sensation of powering up at critical moments.)
CREAK! CRACKLE!
A somewhat twisted transformation sound rang out, and a humanoid mecha with only two legs appeared.
"Um, Brother Da Bai," Wang Hai cautioned, "although it only has two legs and can still run, I’m afraid it might be hard to counterattack if you encounter a Fierce Beast."
"Hmph! Big Brother Wang, you underestimate me," Da Bai said with an expression that showed he had anticipated this.
Watching Da Bai jump out of the cockpit, pull out numerous parts from his Storage Ring, and quickly assemble new mecha arms to attach them, Wang Hai finally remembered that his little brother was also an Artifact Refiner.
"Alright, Big Brother Wang, we can continue now," Da Bai said, looking at the newly refurbished mecha with satisfaction.
"Brother, you really are well-prepared," Wang Hai’s lips twitched. Was Da Bai the first one to perform on-site chariot repairs during the Nether Sea race?
A Qiongqi, alongside a giant mecha resembling a Transformer, sped across the sea’s surface. Ah, this was youth!
***
"Okay, okay, stop shooting! If you keep this up, you’ll take out all the Fierce Beasts here!" Chen Jiuge said helplessly, blocking Feng Mengmeng, who was about to fire again.
Feng Mengmeng’s face, as red as a monkey’s butt, wore a fierce expression. "Caliber is a man’s romance!"
Chen Jiuge’s mouth twitched. Wasn’t that what I said earlier?
"You’re a woman," Chen Jiuge reminded her.
"But I have the heart of a man! Super Cannon, FIRE!" Feng Mengmeng shouted.
WHOOSH!
The largest cannonball shot steadily into the water. A moment later, a delicious-looking takoyaki appeared on the sea’s surface.
Because of the Barrier set by an Immortal Golden Immortal, once these Fierce Beasts leaped out of the sea, they could not dive back in.
"Xiao Ha, go fetch it for me. I’m getting a bit hungry," Feng Mengmeng said, tossing the little Er Ha in her arms out of the car window.
Upon landing on the sea, Er Ha’s size surged. It quickly grabbed the takoyaki and returned to the side of the heavy truck.
"Good boy." Feng Mengmeng petted the dog’s head. This Er Ha, made of who-knows-what Spiritual Ore, wagged its tail happily.
Looking at the takoyaki Feng Mengmeng handed him, Chen Jiuge sighed helplessly and activated the heavy truck’s autopilot mode.
He took a bite.
"Mmm, this tastes really good. No wonder the Sect Master used to say he loved eating Nether Sea takoyaki the most," Chen Jiuge marveled.
"Eh? You’re from Myriad Beasts Sect?" Feng Mengmeng suddenly realized.
Chen Jiuge looked puzzled. Had I mentioned the Myriad Beasts Sect?
"Don’t be surprised," Feng Mengmeng said with a grin. "My Master told me that the Sect Leader of Myriad Beasts Sect is a takoyaki maniac. Before he became Sect Master, he would squat by the Nether Sea every day fishing for octopus, and nearly drove the octopuses in the Nether Sea to extinction."
Chen Jiuge was torn between laughter and tears. Was the Sect Master really that extreme in his youth?