Chapter 146: Finally, I’ve Caught You
Qualcomm saw that Luo Xue had indeed stopped the “string vibration” device, at least partially.
And… since Qualcomm wasn’t a cultivator, he couldn’t sense spiritual power and didn’t know how Luo Xue did it.
This unknown factor caused Qualcomm, who had held the initiative from the beginning, to waver slightly.
“Miss Luo Xue, can you really stop the ‘string vibration’ device?” Ceres exclaimed in disbelief, but seeing Luo Xue’s still serious expression, she calmed down slightly. “Could it be…”
“This is already your limit.” Qualcomm said in a deep voice.
“Perhaps?”
A strange smile appeared on Luo Xue’s pale face.
Besides Luo Xue, only Ling Ling could vaguely sense the fluctuation of spiritual power, but she didn’t know what was happening, just holding Luo Xue’s arm with a confused expression.
“But this won’t work. Activating the ‘string vibration’ device is already risky, with a very low success rate. Now that you’ve stopped part of it, the entire Suspended High Tower might be torn apart before the ‘string vibration’ is complete.”
Qualcomm said faintly, “My goal is to make a last-ditch effort before facing judgment, not to destroy Suspended High Tower 132, my life’s work.”
“Is there a difference?”
Ceres said indignantly.
If not for a whim, following Luo Xue to Suspended High Tower 132, she wouldn’t have discovered Qualcomm’s secret.
If Qualcomm continued, once he reached Level 10, beyond human limits, and activated the “string vibration” device, the Federal Council could only watch helplessly as this bastion of human civilization was buried in the turbulent flow of space-time.
Even Ceres, who was very interested in these theories, thought this was impossible, let alone the conservative old fogies in the Federal Council.
After Qualcomm activated the “string vibration” device without hesitation, Ceres had secretly notified the Federation, but she hadn’t received a reply yet.
“So… stop the device, Qualcomm. I know you can.” Luo Xue said in a deep voice.
She saw the runes that controlled the operation among the pieced-together formation runes.
Besides the activator, Qualcomm should also have a deactivator to stop the “string vibration” device.
Such a massive project couldn’t be activated without testing. In Qualcomm’s plan, he would conduct a test run every ten years for fifty years, only fully activating it at the end of his life.
Qualcomm remained silent, not responding to Luo Xue.
Because just like the activator, the deactivator was also a one-time use item.
Once the device was stopped, Qualcomm couldn’t reactivate it before finding a new activator. Doing so would be burying his dream with his own hands.
He sat silently in his wheelchair. Even though the first activation of the “string vibration” device had plunged the entire Suspended High Tower into unprecedented panic, his resolve remained unshaken.
“I don’t want to kill you, Luo Xue, really, because you’ve surprised me.” Qualcomm sighed. “After meeting you, I realized you’re actually a good kid. It would be a pity for you to die at my hands.”
Despite saying this, Qualcomm slowly stood up from his wheelchair.
Distorted spatial cracks appeared around him, twisted light passing through his body, forming an indescribable shadow.
“Uncle Qualcomm…”
Ling Ling was a bit scared. Although Uncle Qualcomm seemed different today, she also felt like he hadn’t changed at all.
His previous kindness and his current coldness and ruthlessness were no different.
Qualcomm had transformed into his space-time avatar. He seemed to be embedded within this space-time, difficult to describe.
“I see… countless worlds overlapping with ours…”
Qualcomm’s hoarse voice echoed from all directions. The shadow extended slightly, like Qualcomm extending his hand, slowly approaching Luo Xue.
Slow, but precise.
The shadow’s target was Luo Xue’s heart. She couldn’t dodge. No matter how she tried to escape, the shadow followed closely.
In Qualcomm’s eyes, countless possibilities flickered in the future, but the world a few seconds later became increasingly clear, all pointing towards one outcome.
Luo Xue’s heart would be pierced by the space-ripping power of the twisted shadow, and she would die.
He followed this predetermined outcome, there was no possibility of salvation.
Ceres tried to slightly delay Qualcomm’s movements to buy time for a counterattack.
But she realized in despair that her ability had no effect on the twisted shadow, as if it were hitting empty air.
Because… the twisted shadow before Luo Xue and Ceres wasn’t Qualcomm himself, but just a projection of him in this world.
“The Law of Space and the Law of Time…”
Luo Xue’s breathing quickened slightly. She knew that some Nascent Soul cultivators had comprehended these two monstrous laws, but most could only master one.
Even just one of these laws made one almost invincible among cultivators of the same level, especially the Law of Time, which was extremely difficult to deal with.
Even though Qualcomm could only use a small fraction of these two laws now, for example, seeing the world a few seconds into the future through the Law of Time, and slightly tearing space through the Law of Space, it was still… fatal.
“Find a way to stall him, he can’t maintain this state for long.”
Just then, Ling Ling suddenly spoke.
Luo Xue and Ceres looked at her in surprise.
“The… necklace told me…”
Ling Ling shrank back slightly.
Whenever she encountered a problem, she would habitually ask the necklace, because Qualcomm had said it contained her father’s wisdom.
Ling Ling felt that she was stupid and couldn’t understand anything, so she had always relied on the necklace. This was her limitation, the reason her research hadn’t progressed.
Although the “Lingxi Remains” possessed Lingxi’s knowledge and thoughts, it was still an inanimate object, unable to think independently, only passively providing answers.
Often, asking the right questions was more difficult than finding the answers.
But now, facing Qualcomm, this characteristic of the “Lingxi Remains” became an advantage.
As Qualcomm’s only friend, Lingxi was probably the person who understood him the most in this world.
“Uncle Qualcomm’s legs… seem to be injured because of this ability…” Ling Ling added.
“Controlling space-time also causes irreversible damage to oneself?” Luo Xue murmured. “Such powerful power is indeed worth such a price.”
A Level 9 ability user was actually only equivalent to a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, but Qualcomm’s ability allowed him to kill even peak Core Formation cultivators.
As long as they hadn’t formed a Nascent Soul, once their heart, brain, or other vital organs were destroyed, they would die.
But now…
Even though she knew that Qualcomm couldn’t maintain this state for long, Luo Xue had no way to deal with this shadow that didn’t truly exist in this world.
“Fine, Miss Luo Xue!” Ceres gritted her teeth. “I still have one trump card… I can give it to you!”
“What is it?”
As soon as Luo Xue asked, the shadow suddenly paused, then turned and charged towards Ceres.
Seeing this, Luo Xue understood. This trump card must be a threat to Qualcomm, which was why he changed his target.
Ceres couldn’t answer Luo Xue’s question. She used all her strength to transfer her trump card to Luo Xue, then several spatial cracks appeared on her body.
Ceres didn’t have Luo Xue’s speed and couldn’t dodge before the shadow tore through space.
In the blink of an eye, Ceres collapsed, severely injured, blood pooling beneath her.
“Ceres…”
Luo Xue couldn’t worry about her, because the shadow had turned and was now charging towards her.
The next moment, Luo Xue knew what Ceres’s gift was.
“So… this is it?”
Luo Xue’s pupils constricted. In her vision, everything slowed down, but this was just her perception; time itself hadn’t actually slowed down.
To be precise, her reaction speed had been enhanced several times, even dozens of times.
Her perception was also enhanced.
Ceres’s neural control could manipulate, sever, and weaken others’ nervous systems, and naturally, it could also enhance them.
But this enhancement wasn’t just a simple strengthening. Luo Xue realized that along with her enhanced perception, the pain she felt also increased exponentially.
Ceres never used this trump card unless absolutely necessary, because it was a double-edged sword, aimed at both the enemy and herself.
Also, just as Ling Ling had said, Qualcomm couldn’t maintain this state for long.
His movements had already slowed down considerably, and Luo Xue could even hear his faint panting from within the distorted space-time.
“More possibilities…”
In Qualcomm’s vision, the future became blurry and uncertain.
The clear image from a few seconds later rewound, almost overlapping with the present. And beyond that, countless possibilities overlapped, offering no guidance.
But Qualcomm was no ordinary person. This couldn’t shake his resolve. His space-ripping attack continued.
This time, the spatial crack appeared directly at Luo Xue’s heart.
With Luo Xue’s speed, she could barely dodge, but this time… she didn’t completely avoid it, just shifted her body slightly, and the crack sliced through her shoulder.
“…What’s going on?”
Qualcomm instinctively felt something was wrong, but the blurry future didn’t tell him what.
“Finally, I’ve caught you… Qualcomm…”
Luo Xue’s expression twisted slightly from the intense pain, but a triumphant smile appeared on her lips.
Leave a Reply