Dong Zheng also woke up in the training cabin, but he wasn’t in the same room as the Wonton Insurgency team. He sat up from the nutrient solution, pulled out the pipe and mask on his body, and quickly got out.
By this time, the team had already gathered enough information and left the base with weapons in a hover car. Dong Zheng quickly arrived in the armament room, put on protective clothing and an oxygen mask, and got into a hover car.
Snow Parasite Trail required traveling far and there were also many ubiquitous bugs to contend with. If he had no car, he wouldn’t be able to hold on.
Once he made enough preparations, Dong Zheng left the base directly. He needed to catch up to the team as soon as possible. Only in this way would he be able to stop J’s plan and prevent Allen’s death.
The elevator took him outside, where a blizzard was raging. Dong Zheng drove the hover car and followed the route according to his memory. In the past, they’d ran into a spider silk, which alarmed the gigantic spider. Fortunately, they came across a safe house and entered the sewer pipe to an abandoned supermarket. The underground parking lot of the supermarket was J’s first trap. Luckily, no one was fooled, and after escaping the supermarket, they entered the mountainous area, making their way toward the Institute of Biochemistry.
The whole process required taking a little detour, which would allow Dong Zheng to catch up to them.
With the help of his kernel and because he’d experienced this box before, Dong Zheng barely encountered any danger along the way. He drove the hover car through the vast snowy field. His windshield often became blurred by ice and snow, requiring him to get out of the car several times to clean it.
He didn’t wear a mask and the snow hit his naked face, quickly freezing him. His breath rose up in a frosty cloud of mist, and ice condensed on his eyelashes and eyebrows.
The bitter cold wind blew across his face, but with the strength of body power, he had no chance of freezing to death. Even so, it was still cold and uncomfortable.
However, the thing Dong Zheng was least afraid of was physical torture. He was only afraid that he would somehow die here and be unable to return to his original timeline to save his lover and companions.
After driving for two hours, Dong Zheng saw the figure of the giant spider in the distance. Because he was so far away, he only saw a vague shadow. Like an ancient god, it walked along the thick snowy fog, it’s massive body supported by eight slender legs.
At this time, the team’s car should have collided with the spider silk the giant spider had left behind. As a result, the car became stuck and could not be moved. Cui Zuojing used his Tang sword to directly cut off the silk before they restarted the car to escape. As they escaped from the spider, the exhaust gas produced by the hover car moving at high speed warmed the ice and snow underneath, warming up the dormant zergs underground. The swarm awakened and chased them into the safe house.
Dong Zheng bypassed that area. The translucent spider silk was invisible in the snow, and he didn’t want to lose such a good means of transportation too soon.
His kernel was constantly scanning the road conditions, and because of his careful observations, he didn’t suffer like he did last time. At this moment, everyone should be in the safe house and should have probably already found the secret door, which would allow them to enter the underground drainage system.
Dong Zheng drove in a straight line toward the mountains in the southwest, where the Institute of Biochemistry was located.
After six hours of driving, Dong Zheng finally reached the foot of the mountain. At this time, there were still ten hours left before the team would arrive. Dong Zheng parked the car in a place sheltered from the wind, refilled the fuel, and lay on the seat to rest.
In the warm hover car, he temporarily took off his protective clothing and only wore the tactical suit specially prepared for entering the box. The sound of snow hitting the windows were endless, and everything was covered with snow. Dong Zheng took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Despite driving all the way here, he wasn’t very tired. But it was the exhaustion from the depths of his soul that made Dong Zheng feel as if he could not breathe. Two months had passed, but those images never disappeared in Dong Zheng’s mind. On the contrary, as he recalled them again and again, they became more vivid and more heartbreaking.
The power of time in his body was gradually weakening. Once he leaves Snow Parasite Trail, he might be able to return to his original timeline with the prize he’d worked so hard to obtain.
Dong Zheng didn’t dare to sleep. The vast snow field was full of Zergs, and there were no other companions around him. He could only rely on himself. Fortunately, during this period, he had already found the best way to kill time and was immersed in his kernel. As a result, he wasn’t so bored.
The time passed minute by minute, until finally, time was up. Dong Zheng got up from the seat, moved his body, and did a warm-up exercise first before leaving the hover car.
The Arabidopsis thaliana in the center of the kernel had grown very strong and healthy. The delicate stems were covered with small flowers, which were very beautiful. Dong Zheng poured a little water on it.
He turned off the car and did not bother putting his protective clothing back on before directly opening the car door. The wind and snow immediately poured into the car, blowing away the warmth. Dong Zheng walked into the waist-deep snow. Heavy protective clothing would affect his movements, and so he only brought goggles. He walked towards the mountains.
If he remembered correctly, J was lying in ambush on the top of the mountain at this moment, waiting to create an avalanche. Fortunately, before Cui Zuojing could climb up from the snow, Dong Zheng was there to intercept J.
J would never succeed.
At that time, he and Ah’Zuo were wondering why J came later, but now that he thought about it, it turned out that it was him, “Domingo,” who had blocked J and cleared the obstacles for them.
Dong Zheng still remembered the direction from which the sound came, and then climbed towards the mountain little by little.
The Wonton Insurgency team escaped the supermarket and finally managed to pass through the pine forest after a four-hour trek. They seized the time to rest for half an hour, and then set off toward the research institute deep in the mountains.
There was only a one-person-wide trail in the mountain. It meandered to and fro, and on its two sides were towering mountains piled high with snow, all maintaining a delicate balance.
Everyone was afraid of setting off an avalanche, so they didn’t dare to speak loudly. According to the map, they only needed to walk for another four to five hours to reach their destination.
But something changed at this time.
As they were crossing the second mountain, a black snake swished past Dong Linhai. He was stunned for a moment before realizing that something had passed by him. And then he heard a loud shout.
“Ah—!”
In an instant, everyone’s expressions changed.
The delicate balance between gravity and cohesion was instantly destroyed. A crack broke out along the ridge, getting bigger and bigger. And then, amidst a muffled thunderous roar, a huge white wave rushed down!
There were several avalanches rolling down a few cliffs, the crushing snow almost drowning everything in its path.
Tang Ji stood on top of the highest mountain, holding a nine-section whip in his hand. He watched everything unfold triumphantly, crowing over the horrified expression on Cui Zuojing’s face.
With a laugh, he excitedly tightened his grip on the whip, waiting for Cui Zuojing to climb out from the snow so that he could have a bloody contest with him.
Then, as if thinking of something, he suddenly let out an annoyed cry and grabbed his hair hard. But in the next moment, his expression changed. He laughed again, raised his foot, and began walking in the direction where everyone was buried.
On the stone where he’d been standing, a hand appeared. It gripped the rough surface, and soon another hand joined it.
Dong Zheng climbed up.
At this moment, he finally saw J for the first time.
Now, he was going to face one of the Queen’s heirs alone.
Dong Zheng let out a long and silent breath. He raised his eyes to look at the evil black-haired youth in front of him. The youth only looked 16 to 17 years old, and his entire body exuded a strong, bloody breath, as if he was an evil spirit who’d crawled out of the Shura field.
Tang Ji paused and raised an eyebrow in surprise, as if wondering why other pilgrims would come in, but he still took a step forward nonchalantly.
“I won’t let you pass.” Dong Zheng stroked the crossbow symbol with his right hand, and then kicked the snake that was about to quietly sneak an attack behind him.
“Oh, this isn’t something that’s up to you.” Tang Ji looked Dong Zheng up and down, and smiled. “You look like you have a lot of stories to tell, but it’s a pity that you have to wait until you die to tell them to Kether.”
Before he’d even finished speaking, he threw his whip out like a lightning bolt. But Dong Zheng’s kernel had already anticipated the blow. He turned sideways, and the whip snapped past his shoulder. The sound of cutting air blasted in his ear, and Dong Zheng rolled on the spot. The moment he stabilized his body, he grabbed an arrow. The silver arrow whizzed toward Tang Ji’s forehead and was knocked aside by the whip.
Tang Ji was shocked by Dong Zheng’s reaction speed. He narrowed his eyes, but there was no lag in his attack. The nine-section whip flew like a viper, controlling the distance between the two of them. It prevented Dong Zheng from getting close yet made it inconvenient for him to use his crossbow and arrow. It was moving so fast that his eyes couldn’t catch it at all!
But Dong Zheng had his kernel.
The power of body was also helping him make the most appropriate response to the attacks. Even so, if he was to defeat Tang Ji, he needed to do more than dodge.
With Dong Zheng’s unprecedented concentration, such that even he himself hadn’t noticed it, time stagnated for an instant.
He flashed behind Tang Ji and slammed an arrow into the flesh under those thick clothes!
The moment the arrow pierced his body, Tang Ji twisted fiercely and raised his leg, sweeping his foot at Dong Zheng’s head in a violent kick.
But Dong Zheng’s figure had already disappeared.
This time, he was now at Tang Ji’s side. His kernel accurately grasped Tan Ji’s only flaw at this moment, and he punched him in the waist!
The waist was the most important balance point for the whole body. Tang Ji had no choice but to stop the offensive. After rolling a few laps in the snow, he stopped on the ground. Almost grinding his teeth with hatred, he stared at the seemingly calm and patient Dong Zheng.
Dong Zheng was shocked. Just now… he’d used the power of time twice?
On Dusk Island, he’d temporarily stopped his time because the Scepter of Time was in his hand. But now, there was no prop to help him.
Tang Ji got serious. The blood-red mark unique to his heir status on the side of his neck loomed under his collar, and a snake climbed up from the snow, crawled up along his leg, and wrapped around his arm.
“I don’t care what your background is,” Tang J said, “but since you dare to come and stop me, be prepared to die!”
The whip snapped toward Dong Zheng, and at the same time, dozens of snakes jumped from the snow, their curved fangs flashing a cold light as they prepared to bite him.
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