Chapter 147: Seaweed

Chen Ling led the two of them through the heart of the town to the desolate coastal suburbs. The surrounding buildings became fewer and fewer, and the sea breeze became increasingly biting.

The outlines of warehouses appeared in Chen Ling's field of vision. He swept his gaze over them one by one, lost in thought.

"It should be around here..."

"Chen Ling, stop keeping me in suspense." Zhao Yi couldn't suppress his curiosity anymore. "What exactly is this vehicle we're looking for that can go directly into Aurora City? I don't see anything else here..."

Chen Ling quickened his pace. "Looking for a train."

"A train? How is that different from the one we just abandoned?"

"The train we're looking for doesn't need tracks to run, and it has enough carriages."

Hearing this, Zhao Yi's eyes widened in shock. "A train that doesn't need tracks? Does such a thing really exist?"

"It exists."

Chen Ling answered firmly.

It certainly existed. When Chen Ling went to the Military Path Ancient Treasury, he had personally ridden that train. If he remembered correctly, the Fire Tamperers had hidden the train in a warehouse here... Although it was later discovered by the Enforcers, it wasn't moved, so it was highly likely still sealed in place.

Zhao Yi wanted to say something else, but suddenly stepped into a puddle. Splashing water covered his pant legs, and as the wind blew, it froze into jagged ice shards.

"Damn it." Zhao Yi couldn't help but curse. "Is this place flooded? Why is there so much water everywhere..."

"The water level here isn't right; it's much higher than when I came last time."

Chen Ling looked at the churning waves not far away. Large chunks of ice were being tossed onto the black reef beach with the waves. Seawater washed over the main road in waves, and as the cold wind blew, it formed thick frost on the road.

Chen Ling walked into the warehouse complex and began to open them one by one according to his memory. Perhaps due to the sense of crisis brought by the extinction of Winter Harbor, his speed was extremely fast, and he was agile even on the frost-covered ground.

Zhao Yi couldn't keep up with his speed at all and could only take Ling'er to hide behind a warehouse. The sea breeze was relatively weak here, but even so, the two of them were shivering from the cold.

"Brother Zhao Yi... how much longer do we have to stay here?" Ling'er asked, shivering as she curled into a ball.

"...I don't know, it depends on Chen Ling." Zhao Yi looked at the red-clothed figure moving rapidly through the warehouses and muttered to himself. "But this kid is quite reliable, it should be soon... Ling'er, are you cold?"

"Cold..."

"Give me your hands, I'll warm them for you."

Zhao Yi took her small, frozen-red hands and bent down, blowing hot air on them continuously. The heat condensed into thin, fine shards in mid-air, drifting away. Zhao Yi rubbed them hard, and after warming her small hands, he tucked them back into her pockets.

"Better?"

Ling'er blinked. "Mm."

Zhao Yi looked at the porcelain-doll-like girl in front of him, feeling his heart melt. He couldn't help but complain, "When I was a kid, I told my dad to give me a little sister, but he wouldn't listen... Later, my mom died, and he had to run the shop alone, working until his hair turned white... You tell me, if he had listened to me back then and given himself a little 'cotton-padded jacket' (daughter), wouldn't that have been better than fighting with me every day?"

Zhao Yi let out a long sigh, and thinking of that gray-haired face, a sense of loneliness appeared in his eyes.

Ling'er didn't understand what Zhao Yi was saying. She only knew that Zhao Yi's expression didn't look good. After hesitating for a moment, she took her small hands out of her pockets, covered Zhao Yi's blood-stained palms, and opened her mouth to blow hard.

Zhao Yi was stunned and smiled helplessly. Just as he was about to say something, he saw a snake-like shadow flash in the puddle frozen into ice beside him, rushing toward them at high speed!

Whoosh—!

The shadow was too fast. Zhao Yi's pupils contracted sharply, and without thinking, he pulled Ling'er into his arms!

Zhao Yi felt a massive force whip against his back, and he was sent flying by the blow, hanging in the air for several seconds before slamming into the frost-covered ground!

Unprecedented pain burned through all his nerves. Zhao Yi felt as if his back had been ripped open; the pain from this single blow was more intense than all the cuts he had received before combined.

"Brother Zhao Yi!" Ling'er was shielded tightly in Zhao Yi's arms and wasn't hurt, but seeing Zhao Yi covered in sweat, she turned pale with fright.

Zhao Yi had no time to answer Ling'er. He roared in pain while struggling to look back.

He saw a tattered piece of seaweed emerging from the reflection in the puddle like a swimming snake, wriggling and twisting in the thin ice mist. Its surface was covered with countless fine incantations, making one's scalp tingle just by looking at it.

What the hell is this?!

Zhao Yi didn't have time to feel the pain, because the seaweed whipped through the air again, rushing toward him at an astonishing speed. Fortunately, Zhao Yi was prepared this time and rolled half a meter away while holding Ling'er, barely avoiding the seaweed's strike range.

Slap—!

The seaweed whipped against the ground, instantly shattering all the frost on the surface. A hideous gully appeared on the ground, and gravel flew everywhere.

This scene made Zhao Yi's scalp tingle. His back had taken a blow like that head-on just now; what must it look like now?

Zhao Yi didn't hesitate to hoist Ling'er up and run. He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs!

"CHEN LING!!!"

At this point, Zhao Yi couldn't care about saving face. The seaweed in front of him was clearly not a naturally occurring species. Since it was a calamity, it had to be left to the professionals.

But Chen Ling wasn't a god, after all, and couldn't just teleport to his side the moment he called. Meanwhile, two more shadows flashed out of the puddle nearby!

Zhao Yi's pupils contracted slightly. He cursed internally, then used his signature move—a dog-roll—flipping twice on the ground.

The whistling sound of air being broken passed by Zhao Yi's ears, shattering the ice layer one after another. He slid several meters on the ice in a precarious manner. Dizzy and disoriented, he lost his sense of direction and crashed into the warehouse next door.

The sound of tools clattering to the ground rang out. The intense pain almost made Zhao Yi faint. He looked at the incantation-covered seaweed appearing out of thin air not far away, which had blocked all exits... Behind him was a sealed wall.

"Brother Zhao Yi..." Ling'er's voice began to tremble.

Zhao Yi shielded Ling'er behind him with one hand, his pale face wide-eyed. He picked up a steel pipe from the ground and pointed it at the many wriggling seaweed outside the warehouse, cursing,

"Come on!! You bunch of bastards... those cowardly Enforcers might be afraid of you! But I'm not!!"