Flower and Vine

Limbo roared. Amidst the echoing roars, colossal facilities hummed into motion. Across the endless plain of steel, towering machinery stood like mountain ranges, operating with deafening rumbles. Rivers of molten steel surged incessantly, the ringing clatter of pounding and forging unending. Countless mechanical tools scurried among them tirelessly like an army of ants. As temperatures climbed steadily, the acrid air grew thick with various toxins, amidst unending noise and tremors. The outermost perimeter of Limbo had thoroughly turned into a desolate domain uninhabitable for ordinary men. Yet deep within the innermost reaches of Limbo, inside the Pure Land... In the dream within a dream, sunlight beamed down, peaceful and serene. Crowds bustled in the plaza outside. Following the grand battle and the distribution of numerous bounties, including limited skins and gear rewards, countless people had donned their new equipment and appearances to show off in the public space, occasionally howling like happy dogs, overflowing with joy. A small window divided the public space from this private domain. Guided from outside, the lively hustle and bustle faintly filtered in, keeping the quiet cottage from feeling too desolate or oppressive. The flowers in the vase looked freshly plucked, their delicate blossoms emitting a faint fragrance. Petal by petal, they refracted the sunlight, casting subtle iridescences across the walls. "Brother, Brother, flowers... flowers, pretty." Amidst the bouquets of blooms, inside a box cushioned with soft velvet, a face bearing lingering traces of youth smiled naively, repeating over and over, "Flowers... flowers... pretty flowers." "Yeah, they're pretty." Yan Fei nodded, his voice unbelievably gentle. He lightly pinched the boy's cheek, careful as if touching a fragile soap bubble, then turned a page of the book in his hand and continued reading to him: "...a flat-faced or knife-edge in-line translating follower cam mechanism, with the cam rotating clockwise at uniform speed... given that the drive wheel transmits maximum torque... a pair of standard-tooth involute external gears installed with zero backlash..." "Bro... Brother, candy... sweets..." "Alright, let's have some candy." Dizzy and blur-eyed, Yan Fei looked up, picked up a piece of candy from the table, and gently fed it into his mouth. At once, the boy beamed with delight. Licking the small candy drop, his gaze drifted toward the blossoms swaying in the breeze. Mottled patches of light fell across his face, as if he, too, had melted into the flowers, leaving Yan Fei transfixed. Holding the book, he could read no further. He simply gazed quietly at his face, looking at the flowers alongside him. After a long, long time, a soft chime of the alarm sounded, repeating again and again, yet he was still reluctant to tear his eyes away, until the final deadline was at hand. Yan Fei carefully cradled the box and placed it among the vibrant blossoms. Then, picking up the jar, he counted out ten of his favorite candies. After a moment's thought, feeling that too much sugar wasn't good, he put three back. Placing the seven candies into the box within reach, he gently stroked his hair. "Only one a day, okay?" "Brother, Brother..." The boy's youthful face no longer looked at the flowers, nor at the candy, but remained fixed on Yan Fei, murmuring repeatedly as if pleading for him to stay. "Brother has to go out now, to kill the villains who hurt you." Yan Fei hugged the box, bending down until his cheek pressed against his, and whispered softly, "Mr. Ji told me that once we wake from this dream, you can recover. When that time comes, Brother can repair cars for people and do welding, and you can go to school. We... we... we can..." His voice hitched. He wanted to make promises, yet tears welled up uncontrollably, choking back his words: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I..." Tears fell drop by drop, sliding down the side of the box. *I'm sorry for letting you end up like this.* *I miss you so much.* "Bro... Brother." "Mm, I'm here." "Brother." "Mm. I have to go." Yan Fei held him close, giving his cheek one final caress. "Wait for me to come back." "We'll go home together." The door clicked shut softly. Soft murmurs echoed in the silence for a long time before gradually fading away. The smiling face bathed in sunlight, asleep amidst the flowers. Waiting quietly. *** Ji Jue gently shut the door. Solid Alchemy sealed the interior from the exterior; the sixth layer of containment completely cut it off. "...Dealt with?" Bao Dachai asked, gnawing on a cucumber as he squatted at the end of the corridor, craning his neck to peer over. "Went smoothly. As strong as she is, she has no guard up against those closest to her." Ji Jue sighed softly. "What I put in the wine should be enough to keep her asleep for days." "If you ask me, that wasn't very wise." The old codger shrugged, playing devil's advocate. "You ought to understand how special she is. Against the Holy God, she's crucial firepower." Ji Jue said nothing, turning his head to look back. He stared at him quietly. As if weighing him. Until the old codger threw up both hands in surrender. "Fine, fine, you call the shots." The old codger shook his head, sighing inaudibly to himself. There was a reason they said the new wave pushes the old aside. The youngsters these days were truly ruthless and uncompromising. Just over a speck of worry, he didn't hesitate for a second to drug his own teammate... Even if the motive was protection, wasn't this a bit overprotective? Forget it, an old man shouldn't meddle in young folks' business. "Ah, youth." He gave an inexplicable sigh, clutched his hat unsteadily, and followed behind. "Mr. Ji, everything's ready." Wearing a respirator, Yu Shu reported in a muffled voice, "Personnel organization and deployments are pretty much set, ready to move at any time. Though there seems to be a minor oversight—I couldn't find my own deployment orders." "Because there are none," Ji Jue said. "You're staying behind." "Huh?" Yu Shu went blank. "You stay behind," Ji Jue repeated, telling him, "You must stay, Ah Shu." With that, he handed the case in his hands over to him. "You have only one assignment: keep it safe. Don't open it, and don't panic. Just treat it as looking after it for me for a while." Apart from Wen Wen and Yu Shu, there was no one he could trust with the contents of this case. In fact, not even Yu Shu completely. Yet his faith lay not only in Yu Shu, but in the Grand Elder who had raised the boy with his own hands. Besides, Wen Wen wasn't the sort of person who had the patience to follow orders. This cargo was simply too important. He gave Yu Shu's shoulder one final pat, leaned in, and whispered into his ear, "If I fail, just run. Holding onto hope is nothing to be ashamed of." Yu Shu stood dazed, looking back in shock. After a long pause, it finally clicked. "Mr. Ji!" Ji Jue looked back and met his gaze, which showed with startling clarity through the misted visor. "I... I won't run." Taking a deep breath, he fought down his nerves and unease. "I'll stay right here and wait for everyone to return." At that, Ji Jue smiled. He waved a hand in farewell. And just like that, he pushed open the final gate. Beyond the gate, iron demons stood as thick as a forest, looming silently like statues, stretching uninterrupted to the far edge of the iron hell. Yet every pair of scarlet pupils seemed pulled by a black hole, locking onto Ji Jue, following his every movement, quietly awaiting his command. Ji Jue took a step aside and glanced back at the old codger. He gestured forward with an inviting hand. *What are you waiting for? Stop slacking off—time to put your remaining years to use, old man!* "..." The old codger of tales let out a soft sigh. If anyone had even a shred of utility, in this bastard's hands, they'd be squeezed for every last drop. Squeezed dry was one thing, but this bastard pulled up his pants and acted like a stranger right after; after enjoying so many perks, he wouldn't touch the subject of Nirvana with a ten-foot pole. Fine, grasshoppers tied to the same string. Fellow Mohists, might as well back each other up. In the quiet, he dragged his creaky old bones forward at an unhurried pace, shuffling into the exact center of the plaza. He looked up at the overcast sky above, then glanced around. "Back up a bit," he said. A uniform shriek of grinding steel erupted. Within an instant, the surrounding demons withdrew a hundred meters. "Not enough. Back up more." So they fell back another hundred meters. "Still not enough. Keep falling back—" Muffled footfalls echoed like rolling thunder, unending. In less than a single minute, an empty circle with a two-kilometer radius appeared at the heart of Limbo's central plaza. "Barely enough. Watch yourselves." The old codger shrugged and pulled a small cloth pouch from his pocket. He unwrapped the cloth pouch, only to reveal another cloth pouch. Unwrapping that one, damn it, there was yet another cloth pouch. After the cloth pouches came small paper packets, and when the last paper packet was peeled open, a pea-sized object finally rolled out. Freed from dozens of layers of containment, the tiny bean instantly radiated brilliant, dazzling light, dreamlike and mesmerizing. As he tipped his palm, it fell silently into the ground. *Clack.* A crisp snap, and it sank into the steel, vanishing without a trace, leaving only a faint, barely perceptible ripple spreading outward. "Young man, shall I trade these beans for your cow?" The old man cackled with an eerie chuckle, chanting lines from a fairytale to awaken its ultimate power: "These are magic beans, capable of growing as high as the sky in a single night!" Instantly, the sound of fracturing rang out. Steel groaned. The entirety of Limbo shuddered violently. The collapse of the heavens was yet to come, but the splitting of the earth was already right before their eyes. A fissure ripped open across the ground, and from within it, a winding vine suddenly shot forth, surging upward like roaring fire, climbing without limit. In the snap of a finger, it had bridged hundreds of meters. As the vine sprout surged, its stems thickened, gradually taking on a luster like iron and stone as they ballooned outward, swelling again and again. Plates of steel buckled and the ground shattered. Thick, colossal roots pierced through the metal, threading through rock, spreading across the entire surface of Limbo in the blink of an eye. *Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!* Amidst howling gales, the vine climbing skyward expanded once more. A stony hue faintly emerged behind the fissures until it collided with an invisible barrier—only for the barrier itself to be shattered into dust an instant later. Climbing higher, higher, and higher still! As if creation itself had manifested from the earth, a boundless Heavenly Pillar pierced straight into the firmament, gouging through every obstruction, every rule, and every fetter in its path! Upward! The Hall of the Heavenly Eye sounded alarms in an instant, and countless angels swooped down, but it was already too late. Neither lightning strikes nor bombardments could shake the growth of the vine. Every severed section regenerated with ferocity, climbing toward higher reaches faster and wilder than before. Tiancheng shook violently. Under the Pope's forceful exertion, it began to move. Yet it was too late. Like a spike, the vine impaled the bottom of Tiancheng, then bored through bedrock and divine power, punching through the uppermost layer, continuing ever upward. At last, as if its potential were finally spent, it swiftly decayed, withered, and blew away on the wind... Yet when the vine withered and vanished, what remained in its wake was no longer a living plant, but a colossal tower rising from the depths of Limbo straight into the heavens, piercing clean through Tiancheng! "'The people of the nations upon the earth said, let us test the limits of heaven; and so, amidst the wrath of God, the Tower of Babel came to be.'" At this moment, gazing upon the majestic form of his creation, the old codger grinned and gave a slight bow, presenting his final performance to his audience. Now, the mortals of the earth could finally set foot in the kingdom of God. No longer in fear of so-called majesty and wrath. "Let us go, everyone. Forward!" Before the myriad iron demons, Ji Jue took the first step. Spreading his arms, he announced to all: "Past this point, there is no turning back, nor will there be Limbo or Pure Land to shelter you. The true battlefield lies ahead. All the vengeance and grudges you seek shall find fulfillment and retribution! The moment I promised you has arrived!" "Now, the gates of hell and heaven stand wide open. Hesitate no longer—let the so-called Tiancheng and the Kingdom of God burn together!" Ji Jue turned, looking behind him, and raised his right hand into a clenched fist. He roared to them all: "Today, we wage war against God—unto death!" "Unto death!" "Unto death!!" "Unto death!!!" And so, legions of demons roared, and Limbo screeched. Singing at the top of their lungs, they chanted ballads of hell, shouting the very same battle cry. Iron light and flames converged in the dark, boiling and surging, embarking upon the road of no return. From hell, to heaven!