Chapter 157

Chapter 157

The Floating Island was a city drifting among the clouds, its position never fixed.

Many years ago, headquarters had attempted to locate it via satellite, but found nothing. To this day, where it resided remained a mystery.

Over the years, the Prevention and Control Center had learned little about the island's interior. They only knew its master was a winged being, a rather reclusive figure. Twenty years ago, he had begun cooperating with the Slaughterhouse, delivering packages worldwide.

The island had been discovered by accident.

That was over a decade ago.

At first, it had appeared abruptly in the skies above the Third District, where observers spotted birds flitting through the clouds.

Others thought it a mirage. Until headquarters definitively detected pollution readings emanating from it.

But before any investigation could be launched, the cloud had vanished.

Lu Yan flipped through the files while Xiao Bing measured his aberration level.

Xiao Bing's expression was one of utter disbelief. "Lord Di Ting, your aberration level hasn't risen. It's actually dropped. How is that possible?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself," Lu Yan replied.

He had no intention of explaining. Given the circumstances, no one could force him to.

Xiao Bing gave up asking, though he looked immensely relieved. He began chattering. "Earlier, I heard from Teacher Ji Wen that you'd suffered an accidental, severe spike in aberration from overusing your talents... We were all so worried. Then I received that case report on pollution source excision surgery in my inbox. I thought you were putting your affairs in order. I cried for a long, long time in secret."

Though never explicitly stated, Lu Yan was a spiritual pillar for many.

People like Director Li and Researcher Bing—their work revolved almost entirely around him.

Even if his feedback was sporadic.

For a moment, Lu Yan wasn't sure how to respond.

[The bonds between people are a strange thing. You will take responsibility for Xiao Bing and the others, won't you?]

He didn't answer.

This time, Lu Yan had no intention of concealing his spiritual power threshold. That same day, posts about him flooded the Apocalypse Forum once more.

[Shocking!] The Tyrant's Top Spot is in Jeopardy (HOT)

OP: Heard Di Ting was at the Center today testing his spiritual power threshold. He literally blew out the tester with a 17,000 upper limit???

1L: Can confirm, was there. It's true. Indra looked stunned.

2L: I don't get it, but I'm shook. Has it even been a year since he became an Awakener?

3L: What does 17,000 even mean? I'm sitting here at 700.

4L: Last time the Tyrant tested, he was at 13,000. I hereby announce the Tyrant's abdication. Long live the Di Emperor.

……

……

Lu Yan paid no mind to the commotion he'd caused. He set off with his support staff.

The Floating Island's location came from the system.

This cloud-borne island was currently drifting near the border of the Third and Fourth Districts.

Indra fidgeted aboard Lu Yan's private aircraft, eventually crossing his legs and floating half in the air. "Why are we going to the Floating Island?"

Lu Yan's silver eyes gazed calmly out the window. "To retrieve what belongs to me."

Many years ago, Deep Sea Society cultists had cut seven fish eggs from his body, prematurely ending a god's gestation.

As his brother had said, rather than ask who he was, one should ask who Lu Yan was.

Even now, Lu Yan didn't know what he was.

Perhaps he was meant to be an ignorant, fearless vessel. But due to some accident, this vessel had grown like a person, ultimately molded into the personality called "Lu Yan."

The final piece of his body was on the Floating Island.

*

After nearly ten hours of flight, the plane finally reached its destination.

The Third District was high-latitude, coastal, mostly grassland. A massive cloud floated above a vast expanse of prairie, casting a deep shadow on the ground below.

This cloud drifted, sometimes closer, sometimes farther. It changed shape with the wind.

Without specific detection, anyone would assume it was just an ordinary cloud.

The helicopter door slid open. Indra led by example, floating out first.

[Talent 175 - Levitation]. The talent didn't drain him much, so Indra spent most of his time using it.

With his three heads, six arms, and lotus-bearing back, his body was heavier than most imagined. If he didn't float, his leg bones would likely buckle.

Indra hovered steadily in mid-air and waved to Lu Yan. "Come on out. Don't worry."

For safety, Lu Yan wore a parachute pack.

According to the system, he probably wouldn't die from this height. But the impact would still hurt.

Lu Yan took a tentative step. The wind tousled his hair.

He stood on empty air, no different from solid ground.

He glanced down. An endless grassland stretched below, dotted with flocks of sheep rolling about like white marshmallows.

Good thing he wasn't afraid of heights.

Indra asked, "But are you sure the island is here? Is this new intel from the Center? I haven't heard anything in the Fifth District."

Lu Yan didn't feel like explaining. "Yes."

Indra's extra arms, not entirely obedient, scratched at his back, digging out a few lotus seeds. "Sorry, Doctor Lu. My back itches."

Following the principle of waste-not, he fed the seeds to his other two heads.

From within the calm cloud layer ahead, a faint rumble of thunder echoed.

The mythical Indra governed thunder and war. Using it as his codename, this Indra also possessed [Talent 53 - Thunder], making him acutely sensitive to lightning.

His expression turned serious. "That thunder isn't natural. It's a talent, too."

Lu Yan pondered for a moment, then stepped into the cloud.

The cloud here was dense, almost semi-solid. Lu Yan's nostrils filled with moisture, his vision a white haze.

Others might suffocate here, but Lu Yan quite liked the damp feeling.

The crackling electricity within the clouds didn't strike him. Instead, the clouds parted, revealing a staircase leading upward beneath his feet.

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow. "What's this about?"

[The master of the Floating Island is a rare moderate in the apocalypse. Perhaps you can talk. After all, another reason the island remains isolated is that its master isn't as powerful as outsiders think.]

[Also, the Rabbit Butcher, Lu Jiahe, and 07 are here.]

Back at the Slaughterhouse, the system had suggested mailing the egg-form 07 to Lu Jiahe for incubation.

Afterward, Lu Yan had asked a few times. He only knew the Rabbit Butcher had completed the delivery safely.

He truly hadn't expected all three to be on the Floating Island.

"What about Indra?"

[Don't worry about him. He's lost. He won't die.]

Lu Yan's eyes could largely isolate mental pollution and illusions, but others weren't so fortunate.

He drew Hellfire from his waist and moved forward. The dagger was growing warm.

The Floating Island slowly unveiled itself before him.

At the cloud's center lay a clear lake. Messenger pigeons strolled by the shore, their bodies several times larger than normal, their eyes an eerie crimson.

Some pigeons opened their mouths, revealing slender, snake-like tongues lined with sharp teeth. They plunged into the lake, snatched fish, and swallowed them whole.

Besides pigeons, other avian creatures were present.

Layers of mist partitioned the island into different spaces.

Unlike other polluted zones, the atmosphere here was almost cozy. Ignoring the appearances of some pollutants, it felt like a world from a fairy tale. Sunlight spilled onto the cloud layers, refracting into a rose-gold hue.

A gentle voice spoke from behind Lu Yan. "It took me eighty years to build this island."

He turned.

The island master wore a long white robe resembling surgical scrubs, a case file in hand. A top hat sat on his head, which was that of a bird—the face obscured, a massive beak protruding from the brim.

Previous intel suggested the master's original form was a crow. Behind him, ink-black wings draped down, and he hovered slightly off the ground.

A white pigeon landed on his shoulder. The island master spoke softly. "Hello, Lu Yan."

The messenger pigeon studied the visitor with curiosity.

Unexpectedly, the pollution aura around the island master was faint.

Lu Yan stared at him. "You were waiting for me?"

"I suspected you possessed the talent of Omniscience." The island master raised a hand. Two large birds brought over a chair and a wooden table. "After all, given humanity's current intelligence, the Floating Island is not easy to find."

Lu Yan pressed his lips together.

"If you don't mind, perhaps we can talk."

The island master sat opposite him, removed his hat, then leaned forward and took off his face covering.

The massive beak was actually an iron mask. Its edges had left shallow impressions on his face.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Song Tianyu. I've been away from human society for too long. Please forgive any discourtesy." A layer of gray-black down covered Song Tianyu's cheeks. He poured a pot of tea. "You may not have heard my name. I am Qiao Yu's husband."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan was momentarily stunned.

He had never met Professor Qiao in life. By the time Lu Yan was born, Qiao Yu had been dead for years.

He had only briefly encountered the man within Tang Xun'an's dream.

On the day Yu Zhizhi awakened, Qiao Yu didn’t head for the shelter. He went to the ninth underground floor instead.

He’d said his lover, now a pollutant, was imprisoned down there.

Later, after emerging from the dream, Lu Yan had asked Tang Xian’an about Director Qiao’s fate.

Tang Xian’an told him Qiao Yu had been saved by his lover, who had become a pollutant. His lover died in that moment. Qiao Yu himself passed away from illness near the end of the last century.

“The day Yu Zhizhi evolved, I regained a sliver of my sanity. But I was still a pollutant.” Song Tianyu recounted the events simply. “I saved him from the clutches of other pollutants. So, Qiao Yu made a radical decision.”

“He reported to headquarters that I had perished in the disaster. Then, in secret, he kept me.”

The act was heretical. Unthinkable. If discovered, it would have tarnished the illustrious legacy of Qiao Yu’s life.

Song Tianyu’s body wasn’t old, but his narration was slow, measured, often trailing into contemplation. “I did, gradually, regain my mind. If not for the pollution value readings, if not for the weakness that came without feeding… I was no different from a normal person. Well, except I possessed talents no normal person had.”

“It was also then that Qiao Yu proposed the ‘evolution’ hypothesis. In the past, all aberrations were labeled ‘pollution.’ He understood clearly that human society had no place for me, no matter how gentle or harmless I appeared.”

Song Tianyu paused. “I am a mistake that needs to be terminated.”

In a sense, he was right.

Mankind had fought to this day, dedicated to eradicating pollution. In this war for survival, there could only be one victor.

Song Tianyu said this without sorrow. His expression was utterly calm.

“But to wait for you, this mistake has persisted until now.”