Chapter 156
TL: Resonance
Wen Jingrong took four hours to reach Kistler mountain. By now, he has already learned about the general situation from the investigators’ call.
Recently, accidents have frequently happened at the mining field established by Qingwei at Kistler mountain. It was delaying the progress of the project, so Bai Lin called Ge Junxuan along to check out the situation at the scene. A sudden rainstorm came when they were returning home in the evening, so the two of them had to stay at the site lodging for a night. But at around 1-2 in the morning, Kistler mountain collapsed resulting in a heavy mudflow. It buried almost the entire site, workers as well as the nearby villages. More than 300 people are trapped.
Large number of police and rescue team members has already gathered at the site by the time Wen Jingrong reached Kistler mountain. As the storm had just passed, the ground was very muddy and the mountain was still in an unstable state. The rescue work was proceeding very slowly, they have only managed to rescue a few tens of villagers in the outer area. Ge Junxuan and the workers of Qingwei are still buried under the mud, their life and death unknown.
Seeing Wen Jingrong’s anxious look, Shang Ke said, “I’ll go take a look.”
If there is negative energy, it means that there is someone alive. A large amount of negative energy has accumulated at the area buried by debris above the village. This shows that there is still a significant amount of people alive and are in extreme fear.
“Be careful.” Wen Jingrong said worriedly.
Shang Ke nodded his head, then turned invisible and flew towards the area accumulated with negative energy.
As Shang Ke dived through the ground, he continuously found villagers in the ruined houses. They are trapped in a dark place and barely breathing as they bear with the intense pain and endless despair. They might die at any moment.
After searching for about five minutes, Shang Ke finally found Ge Junxuan and Bai Lin in a cottage.
。
Bai Lin, a mother and daughter were hiding in the cellar and did not suffer from much injury. On the other hand, Ge Junxuan was stuck at the cellar entrance and couldn’t move his lower half. He seemed to have fainted.
Shang Ke didn’t understand. Ge Junxuan was just one step away from the cellar, why didn’t Bai Lin help remove the heavy object on him and bring him into the cellar? It has been 5-6 hours since the accident happened. Which means, Ge Junxuan has been stuck for so long. If this goes on, his lower half will probably be paralyzed even if he was rescued later.
Shang Ke does have powers, but it was limited to the characteristic of his body. He was better with illusion and didn’t have much offensive power. There was no way he could break through the thick layer of soil within a short amount of time and directly rescue them. However, it was still possible for him to help remove the heavy object pressing down on Ge Junxuan.
Taking advantage of the fact that Ge Junxuan was still unconscious, Shang Ke materialised his body and quickly acted.
“Shang… Ke…” A hoarse voice suddenly sounded in Shang Ke’s ear just as he was busying himself. Turns out that Ge Junxuan didn’t faint. He immediately noticed Shang Ke’s presence after feeling the changes on his body.
He stared at Shang Ke in amazement with his bloodstained eyes. Shang Ke’s body was shining faint white light which looked particularly dazzling within the darkness.
Seeing that he was noticed, Shang Ke no longer hid himself. He softly comforted, “Don’t worry. Someone is coming to rescue you soon.”
“Just what are you…” Despite not being completely conscious, he still knew that it wasn’t possible for a normal person to dig into the ground without a sound.
Shang Ke gave him a wink and said, “I’m a celestial being, don’t worship me too much.”
Ge Junxuan was amused by him and replied, “If you’re really a celestial being, why don’t you just use your celestial powers to get me out? Why do you have to waste your strength by digging the soil?”
“You don’t understand. Celestial beings have their powers restricted when they come down to earth. Wouldn’t they just do anything they want if it wasn’t restricted?” Shang Ke said as if it was the truth.
Ge Junxuan actually believed it and showed an amazed expression. “Really?”
Shang Ke gave him a glance and changed the topic, “Let’s not talk about me. Why didn’t Bai Lin come and help you when you’re stuck here?”
A trace of sadness flashed past Ge Junxuan’s eyes when he heard this question. His expression also turned cold as he answered, “When the mudflow occured, the owner of this house wanted to bring me to hide in the cellar. However, Bai Lin was still in the guest room, so I ran over to call him. By the time we both reached the cellar, the mudflow had already crushed the house. It was at that moment he pushed me away and jumped into the cellar himself.”
Shang Ke wasn’t surprised by Bai Lin’s behaviour. However, why was he still unwilling to help Ge Junxuan in this temporary safe circumstance?
“Why doesn’t he help me?” Ge Junxuan sneered, “It’s very simple. He will receive a large sum of insurance if I have an accidental death. Last year, we gave each other our accident insurance. He said that it’s proof that we will be together in life and death.”
What can Shang Ke say to the innocent person before him? Ge Junxuan is a gentleman, but Bai Lin is a complete villain.
Ge Junxuan teared and his sight became a little blurry. What Bai Lin said back then was: “I know that you’re the only child in your family and might not be able to marry me. These two insurances are our oath of marriage and also the proof that we will be together in life and death.”
Because of this, Ge Junxuan never ever doubted him despite hearing bad rumours about him. Ge Junxuan fantasy finally broke when he was pushed aside unhesitantly by Bai Lin and left to lay painfully in the dark for 5-6 hours.
Ge Junxuan felt much better after Shang Ke removed the object that was pressing on him.
“Don’t worry, the rescue team has already arrived. Bear with it a little longer.” Shang Ke said so and prepared to return back to Wen Jingrong to tell him the news.
“Thank you.” Ge Junxuan faced the spot Shang Ke had disappeared from and thanked softly. The area before him fell into darkness again.
“Junxuan is still alive!” Wen Jingrong was pleasantly surprised when he heard this good news. He immediately said, “Lead the way Keke, I will go and save him immediately.”
He had urgently called for some modified small intelligent excavators which can move in relatively soft mud. Even the professional rescue teams were not equipped with it.
After some communication, the rescue team captain has agreed to sent a group of rescue member to help him with the rescue.
While they were on their way, Shang Ke was one step ahead and rescued the villagers who are not buried too deep down. He managed to rescue groups of 3-5 people with the help of tools and his powers.
He is able to accurately locate the position of the survivors, so his rescuing efficiency is very high. By the time the rescue team arrived, he had already rescued more than 10 people. He had also marked the location of the survivors who were buried deeper down which saved the time needed for detecting.
The people were very amazed by this, but rescue work is difficult and they didn’t have energy to pay attention to this. However, the reporters following them were very interested in this mysterious rescuer. After interviewing several survivors, their heads already churned out a story about an unknown hero saving people as well as a report about the crisis.
Wen Jingrong left behind two intelligent excavators and brought the remaining people and machines to the location Ge Junxuan was trapped at.
Shang Ke has already marked the position on Wen Jingrong’s digital map, so it didn’t take him long to find the exact position.
The mud was removed layer by layer by the excavator. If all goes well, they will be able to go through in less than half an hour.
However, it started to rain again. Droplets of rain landed on the ground forming pools of muddy water.
Wen Jingrong’s expression turned grim and he urged, “Hurry up.”
The sky gradually turned darker like the colour of ink, making people feel depressed.
A few beeping sounds could be heard and the rescue team captain’s voice sounded from Wen Jingrong’s walkie talkie: Mr Wen, please evacuate immediately. The ground is extremely unstable now and there might be a second collapse anytime.”
“Give me another 30 minutes.”
“No, please evacuate within 5 minutes! This isn’t a discussion. It’s an order.” The rescue team captain’s tone became very strict.
How could Wen Jingrong give up when he is so close to rescuing Ge Junxuan? If he leaves now, Ge Junxuan will not survive if another landslide occurs.
The rescue work was still ongoing and the rain became heavier. Around more than 10 minutes later, Wen Jingrong and the rest finally saw Ge Junxuan’s figure. Simultaneously, rumbling sounds could also be heard from the distant.
The mountain really collapsed again. Mud and rocks mixed with broken tree parts to form a large torrent and flowed down from the top.
The expression of Wen Jingrong, Ge Junxuan and the people around turned very ugly. Following their desire to survive, the rescue member left behind the people they saved halfway and quickly escaped.
“Jingrong, quickly escape! Don’t care about me!” Ge Junxuan was seriously injured and couldn’t walk. He couldn’t escape even if he was rescued from the pit.
“Stop babbling! Wen Jingrong jumped into the pit and carried Ge Junxuan on his back.
Just when they were about to leave, they saw Bai Lin climbing out from the cellar with a dirty face. He didn’t even give Ge Junxuan and Wen Jingrong a glance and only cared about escaping on his own. He also drove away on the only excavator left.
“Fuck!” Wen Jingrong couldn’t help but swear. He was carrying Ge Junxuan and had no chance to stop Bai Lin.
Ge Junxuan clenched his fists and felt very disappointed and guilty.
“Jingrong, just escape. Don’t care about me.” Ge Junxuan’s eyes were full of sadness and no one knew whether it was rain water or tears on his face.
“Just take care of yourself!” Wen Jingrong rebuked fiercely.
The reason why he placed Ge Junxuan with so much importance is because Ge Junxuan was the only one who supported him unconditionally when he was having difficulties back then. Ge Junxuan is a good friend and Wen Jingrong is willing to risk for such a friend. To add on, he also has Keke by his side.
A light flashed at the corner of his eyes and Shang Ke’s figure appeared by his side.
Wen Jingrong’s restless heart immediately calmed down the moment he saw Shang Ke.
Shang Ke looked at the mud and rock flowing down the mountain behind him. Judging by the speed, they will probably be buried in a few minutes. And it isn’t just them, there were still around 100 survivors that haven’t got rescued yet.
Shang Ke’s negative energy doesn’t have the ability to resist natural disasters, but his body which has gone through thousands of years of cultivation is already indestructible. If he integrates his body with the mountain, he should be able to slow the debris flow.
Shang Ke looked at Wen Jingrong and said with a smile, “Wen Jingrong, you guys will definitely be able to escape.”
After saying so, he held Wen Jingrong’s face and kissed hard on his lips. Then, he turned around and flew straight to the collapsing mountain.
“Keke!” Wen Jingrong feels worried for some reason.
【Don’t look back, just try your best to escape.】Shang Ke’s reminder sounded once again by his ear.
Wen Jingrong gritted his teeth. Stepping on the muddy ground, he carried the injured Ge Junxuan and escaped outside with much difficulty.
Keke, I’m waiting for your safe return.
Ge Junxuan looked back through the rain and saw Shang Ke transforming into a pen in the sky. Then, he stuck himself into the mud. In an instant, the flowing mountain suddenly solidified. Even though it was still raining heavily, the mountain was still like a rock and didn’t move.
Seeing this extraordinary sight, Ge Junxuan didn’t feel amazed. Instead, he felt an inexplicable fear. It was as if there was a dark power enveloping his heart.
All the survivors who are still under the ground felt a biting cold followed by endless despair, pain, sorrow and anger… Strong negative emotions turned into negative energy and quickly surged towards Shang Ke who was within the mountain body.
A being that attracts negative energy gathers evil and tempts the human heart. It’s all too powerful and its existence cannot be tolerated by the world.
Pen spirits have to sign contracts with humans to avoid the law of nature. If they misguide humans’ hearts without restraint to absorb negative energy, they will immediately receive backlash from the law.
In order for Shang Ke to gain the greatest amount of power within a short amount of time, he had no choice but to break the contract and absorb negative energy in large amounts.
As more and more negative energy gathered, the airflow also became more stagnant. The rainstorm stopped and was replaced by night-like darkness.
The pitch black pen-body glowed. Within the darkness, golden black light circulated and held on to the collapsing mountain like Ding Hai Shen Zhen[1].
He had used the power of evil to save people. It has violated the laws, but he had no need to be ashamed.
Wen Jingrong suddenly turned his head around. The flowing mud and rocks in the distant mountain has solidified with the ground when he didn’t notice.
Black light flashed by and the ground tremored. The layer of soil suddenly turned into a thick layer of powder, forming a sand river within the night breeze and slowly drifted away.
The negative energy dissipated and the darkness faded. The horizon gradually became brighter and the coldness enveloping everyone’s heart also disappeared like smoke.
Everyone felt relaxed. Only Wen Jingrong felt like he has fallen into an ice cave as his whole body was freezing cold.
While he was stunned still, a black light shot towards him. Wen Jingrong reached out his hand unconsciously.
The black light slowly fell onto his palm. It was his Keke.
Wen Jingrong had a look of surprise. He has yet to call out “Keke” when he sees the pen on his palm cracking and instantly turning into powder… .
[1] Ding Hai Shen Zhen (定海神针) – Ding Hai Shen Zhen can also be known as the Jingu Bang and is the weapon used by Monkey King in the story called Journey to the West. Before the Monkey King found it, it was stuck on the ocean floor. There are a few different explanations to the origin of this item but the most suitable explanation for this situation would be: According to the story, there was a water demon making havoc in the heavenly lake causing raging waves to form. The Queen of Heaven got angry, took out the Jade pin on her hair and stabbed it into the lake. This caused the raging waves/water to calm down.