novelnext Chapter 123 They started chatting
Chapter 123 They started chatting
Chen Miaowen stood there blankly on the third floor, under the incandescent light.
"Is it my fault for being careless...? I never expected that old man, who had lost all four limbs, could still wear those glasses? How did he manage that..."
"Perhaps you shouldn't have taken off your sunglasses."
"Yes."
Chen is still twisted, perhaps cold-hearted, but he's still a normal person, capable of thinking things through with a normal mind.
"Has that woman already gone upstairs?"
Since he was currently constrained and couldn't resolve the problem temporarily, he decided to focus his attention on Pu's clone.
"We've seen her, we've even attacked her... but it's no use. There's a barrier around her, just like the one above the steps..."
Diablo was somewhat speechless. Why was it that ever since he traveled back and boarded the ship, he always encountered barriers that the Red King couldn't break through? Was his Red King really that weak?
As Diablo continued watching, he became even more silent.
"That woman... why is she acting the same as before? Smiling and chatting with the bartender across the invisible 'bar counter'? She doesn't even seem to care about my clone..."
Chen Miaowen fell silent, having nothing more to say. He simply thought to himself, "Why are there still people who can ignore the two substitute envoys? And two of them at that?... How outrageous must the Imperial Court be?"
"Should we recall the clone and split it again?"
"Let's wait a little longer... It seems this old man can still control the way your abilities are used. You can't use your abilities right now, can you?"
"Yes, then, then let's wait... and think about a way to break free..."
There was no sound on the third floor, not even the buzzing of mosquitoes. Only the silent Chen remained, seemingly trapped under an unknown amount of control. Behind him was a seemingly normal shadow, but within that shadow lurked a monster that was no longer young.
"So, bartender, are you trying to seize the throne this time? Is that why you're fighting these little clones?"
"Madam, aren't you a neutral party? Why do you have to care about a mere bartender like me?"
"I like you, didn't you already know that?"
The woman scratched her head and smiled faintly, "But you're practically neutral, aren't you? I wonder what the Emperor is thinking... Why not just let the captain do all this?"
"You know the captain isn't happy about it."
These words were overheard by the clones, and then, tired of fighting, they stopped as instructed by Chen Zhu's clones, and began to knock on the woman's invisible barrier, saying,
"Instead of telling me about the Emperor's story, tell me everything about the captain, okay?"
"...Aaaaaaah!"
The woman was genuinely startled. She had come up from the back floors, basically ignoring the spider-sized clones and heading straight for the bartender.
She assumed these little gadgets were something else, or perhaps the work of some party participant. Plus, the barrier she was given was thick enough that she thought these clones were either tickling her or causing a restless commotion.
Upon closer inspection, she was surprised to find that these clones all had the face of the immobile person from the third level, and then they started talking to her.
"Wow, that's amazing... Did you do all these human pigs? You're clearly under control right now?"
After the woman recovered, she reached out and grabbed one of the clones through the barrier. "No, don't struggle... I'm neutral, I won't attack you."
"Heh, you can't attack me either. I can't deal with you for now, but you'll never be able to deal with me..."
"Oh? So confident? Then why are you being controlled by an old man?"
"Try it if you don't believe me."
"..."
The woman seemed speechless, staring at Spider Chen in her hand, noticing his nonchalant expression. "But I can strangle you right now."
"casual."
The atmosphere was tense to the point of being oppressive, but it wasn't actually tense, because the neutral woman seemed to be trying her best to maintain a neutral stance.
"Forget it, neutrality is a directional identity, and I can't break free from the constraints of that identity."
The woman sighed, then suddenly took off her sunglasses, staring wide-eyed at the spider as if trying to kill Little Chen with her golden light.
"But I don't need to tell you anything! I've already said things for you in some ways! Even, even in some places for you..."
The woman's voice trailed off, then after glancing at the unperturbed bartender, she roared again, "Because you've angered me!"
She was like a raging tiger, her roar echoing deafeningly throughout the cabin, until the bartender began to shake his head, deciding to stop her.
"Alright, alright, you can leave... My friend and I are still adversaries, and the battle is far from over..."
"Seriously... it's just the two of you now, right? But how long are you going to keep fighting? Can't you just come down and fight?"
The woman sighed, stretched languidly with her hands behind her head, displaying her graceful figure, and then left the cabin.
"I'm going to get some fresh air... I hope you guys finish this soon."
She quickly disappeared from the sight of the 5,001 audience members.
"Neutral? I don't get the feeling that she's neutral. She told you herself that my physical body is being controlled... Isn't this using public office for private gain?"
Spider Chen, now freed, said to the bartender on the steps, "But that doesn't matter, because you're such a coward, so cowardly that you're too afraid to come down the steps... so this fight is inconclusive."
"So, sir, what are you planning to do? Actually, just chatting here wouldn't be bad either."
"...I have a question, but that crazy woman probably won't answer it. I'm asking you..."
"Tell me, I will try my best to answer."
"Were your abilities all bestowed upon you by the Emperor?"
"Sir, coincidentally, this is the only question I can answer... You could say that... it's all the Emperor's power, including this barrier. However, my barrier is rather limited, only able to establish a fixed coordinate. But the lady's barrier is different, because her position was established by the Emperor, making her completely neutral, and thus her barrier is stronger."
The bartender paused, a smile playing at the corners of his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"If you think she's not neutral because she gave me restricted information that might expose your whereabouts, it's certainly not that simple. She must have helped you in some way as well... That's neutrality and fairness. Am I right?"
"Yes, that's right," Chen Miaowen replied.
"Well then, I also have a question for you, but whether you're willing to answer it or not... is up to you."
The bartender said what Chen expected, and Chen naturally replied, "Okay."
......
"Why bother trying to provoke that crazy woman... was it to test whether her neutrality was genuine? But isn't it already quite obvious?"
Diablo expressed his confusion after the consciousness of Chen Zhu's clone returned.
"...If you're neutral, you won't leave behind sunglasses."
Chen seemed lost in thought. "I can't recall my clone right now, otherwise they'll find my real body... But... why did he ask that kind of question?"