Simultaneous time travel: But our system is out of sync!

Chapter 114 Stop Pretending to Be Dead

The smoke had not completely dissipated, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder mixed with dust.

The ground was a mess, and the charred craters silently testified to the terrifying power of the explosion that had just occurred.

However, in this central area that symbolizes destruction, a figure slowly appears in an almost absurd manner.

Linbei.

He did not crawl out in a disheveled state, nor did he struggle out covered in wounds.

He calmly emerged from the chaos of ruins and smoke, as if he had simply brushed aside a veil obscuring his view. His ordinary clothes were spotless, without a single wrinkle or scorch mark, as if he had just returned from a leisurely date, rather than from the epicenter of an explosion capable of tearing steel apart and burning flesh to ashes.

That posture could not be simply described as "survival." It was an almost divine "leisurely stroll."

The raging explosion was nothing more than a gentle breeze to him. The destructive energy torrent seemed to encounter an invisible, absolutely insurmountable barrier around him, and could only roar in vain as it retreated.

This mind-blowing scene, like the sharpest ice pick, pierced Jasmine's pupils and reached the deepest part of her brain.

She stood frozen in place, as if chilled by an invisible current. Her eyes, which had once shone with resolute madness, were now filled only with boundless bewilderment and disbelief. Her mouth was slightly open, but no sound came out, as if even the instinct to breathe had been stripped away by the utterly absurd scene before her.

"This... is impossible..."

A silent scream surged wildly within her heart, every cell screaming in denial.

She had witnessed too much death and heard countless legends about powerful beings, but she had never had even the slightest understanding to explain the scene before her eyes—how could a person, a person of flesh and blood, not only survive such a world-destroying explosion, but also be so...so...unharmed and calm?

This is hardly a "survival".

This is simply... a leisurely "stroll" in the flames of hell!

The worldview she had built up throughout her life was utterly shattered at this moment, turning into dust and scattering across the scorched earth before her.

In stark contrast to Jasmine's stunned silence, which was completely shattered by her own perceptions, Lady Rose's reaction was a volcanic eruption of unreserved emotion. The fear and worry she had suppressed earlier transformed into a torrent of overwhelming joy and lingering dread the moment she saw Lin Bei's figure.

Without a word or any hesitation, like a mother animal finally finding her lost cubs, she pounced forward with all her might, opened her arms, and hugged Lin Bei tightly.

"Lin Bei!" A call with a heavy nasal tone was filled with the immense emotional impact of surviving a catastrophe.

Deep within the underground base, facing the threat of evil spirits, she had maintained an unusual composure, refusing to shed a tear. But now, that carefully constructed dam had completely collapsed. Crystalline tears, like pearls from a broken string, rolled uncontrollably from her reddened eyes, quickly soaking her pale cheeks and dampening Lin Bei's clothes.

Yes, deep down she firmly believed that Lin Bei would not die easily, and that trust stemmed from a vague understanding of his unfathomable power.

But despite the trust, worry remains an uncontrollable instinct.

Especially when Jiro Ashina's heavy voice rang in her ears, telling her that the first figure thrown out by the shockwave of the explosion was not Lin Bei, but that hideous demon, her worry was magnified a thousandfold, like a cold venomous snake coiling around her heart, almost suffocating her.

She imagined with dread that Lin Bei might not really be dead, but he might have been severely injured, buried, and unable to escape in time... This agonizing torment finally transformed into immense joy at having Lin Bei recovered the moment she saw him emerge from the ground enveloped in golden light.

This dramatic emotional shift, from the depths of despair to heaven, caused her to completely lose control of her emotions.

When Ashina Jiro saw that Lin Bei was unharmed and his clothes were not even torn, his hand, which had been gripping the hilt of his sword and whose knuckles had turned white, finally relaxed.

He exhaled a long, silent breath of heavy, foul air. Although he already knew that Lin Bei's strength was unfathomable and his methods were even more incomprehensible—just recently at the underground base, he had personally witnessed Lin Bei's almost miraculous ability to bring the dead back from the brink of death.

However, as a retainer of the former head of the Oda family and a samurai who had experienced real battlefields, Ashina Jiro had witnessed far too many terrifying weapons of the military that went beyond the scope of individual martial prowess.

On the front lines, no matter how skilled an individual is, in the face of overwhelming artillery fire and precise, deadly bullets, flesh and blood ultimately appear small and fragile.

The power of the bomb, in particular, the destructive energy released in an instant, was enough to erase all individual differences, leaving him with an extremely deep, even awe-inspiring, memory.

While the explosives Jasmine detonated were, in his view, far less powerful than the terrifying secret weapons the military remembered, their destructive power was still not to be underestimated.

Therefore, although he believed that with Lin Bei's extraordinary abilities, he might be able to survive the explosion and become one of the few survivors, he wondered if Lin Bei would be injured.

How serious will the injury be?

Will they lose their ability to move?

These questions weighed heavily on his mind like lead weights. Only when he saw with his own eyes that Lin Bei was not only alive, but also "unharmed," did that heavy worry melt away like ice and snow.

At the same time, a deeper sense of shock and awe arose in his heart.

What does it mean to be unharmed at the epicenter of such a powerful explosion?

This caused his long-held belief that "individual force is ultimately futile in the face of gunpowder weapons" to be fundamentally shaken for the first time.

The very existence of this young man is challenging the boundaries of common sense.

Just how inhuman was his strength?

Lin Bei gently patted the back of Mrs. Rose, who was still trembling slightly and sobbing softly in his arms, and comforted her gently.

"Alright, it's alright now. See, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?" His voice carried a strange, calming power. Only after Lady Rose's emotions had calmed down a bit did he turn his gaze to Jasmine, who was still in a petrified state.

That gaze was deep and complex.

There was no anger or blame in it, but rather a subtle sense of amazement and a profound sense of affirmation.

Admittedly, Jasmine's explosives did cause him some trouble—to protect Mikako from being blown to ashes, he expended far more power than expected while countering the blast's impact. However, he felt no disgust whatsoever for everything Jasmine had done.

From the perspective of an ordinary person with only "some fighting power," Jasmine's ability to think of using explosives, a "mortal power," to fight against demons beyond reason is commendable in itself.

What is even more moving is her ability to act and her deep-rooted spirit of forbearance and sacrifice.

To ensure the plan's success and prevent the cunning demon from discovering it beforehand and escaping, she actually forced herself to spend every day with those disgusting scumbags and the demon she hated to the core, putting on a brave face and feigning compliance.

This willpower to persevere alone in the darkness and remain clear-headed in the filth is terrifyingly tenacious.

If Lin Bei and Madam Rose hadn't unexpectedly barged in and disrupted the original rhythm, that evil spirit, Mikako, would probably have remained immersed in the illusion of being in control until the very last second before being blown to pieces, completely unaware of how she died!

This resolute determination to perish together with the demons, this courage to willingly sink into hell for the sake of eliminating evil and upholding justice, made Lin Bei sincerely admire them, and the image of the Demon Slayer Corps leader from the original "Demon Slayer" manga flashed through his mind.

In order to lure Muzan Kibutsuji into a trap and weaken his terrifying power to the greatest extent, that person did not hesitate to use himself as bait, luring Muzan into the carefully laid trap—his residence. Then, he resolutely detonated all the explosives buried there, turning himself and the residence into ashes, just to create a sliver of hope for the final battle.

Jasmine's actions at this moment are remarkably similar in spirit to the heroic deeds of that lord!

Both were committed to exterminating evil spirits, and both chose the most tragic yet effective method of mutual destruction.

The only difference is that the explosives used by Jasmine are relatively weak, and the demons she targets are far less terrifying than Muzan.

However, her wisdom, courage, and determination to sacrifice were enough to make Lin Bei look at her with new respect, and even feel a little shocked.

This undoubtedly confirmed his previous judgment: Jasmine, this seemingly unruly woman, possesses a deep-seated sense of justice and malleability that are absolutely worth his effort to win over and guide.

As for why the evil spirit Mikako was blown away first, and Lin Bei appeared later?

This is by no means because Mikako's strength is superior to Lin Bei's.

In fact, the outcome of the battle was already clear in the final ten seconds before the explosion.

When Mikako realized that Lin Beifei had not chosen to retreat under the threat of the explosion, but instead had become even more determined to block her way, it went completely mad and tried its best to tear Lin Beifei to pieces before the explosion.

However, madness is meaningless in the face of absolute power. Faced with Mikako's hysterical counterattack, Lin Bei's eyes turned cold, and he instantly unleashed his true power.

It was an overwhelming, despair-inducing gap. Mikako's supposedly powerful attacks were child's play in front of Lin Bei. In just a few breaths, she was completely crushed by Lin Bei's thunderous force, unable to even mount a decent resistance.

Even at the moment of the explosion, Lin Bei managed to spare some of his strength to precisely wrap around the dying Mikako and save her.

As for why he saved Mikako.

The reason is simple: if Mikako was blown into the most basic particles, how could he refine them into pure yang energy?

This precious energy source cannot be wasted.

Besides this, Lin Bei had several other clues about the evil organization and its possible backers that he needed to pry out from this "living witness".

However, Lin Bei's disgust for this despicable demon that feeds on human flesh and blood was unforgettable.

Therefore, his protection was only minimal—ensuring Mikako didn't die, nothing more.

Therefore, when Mikako was thrown onto the scorched ground by Lin Bei like trash, she remained motionless like a dead dog with its spine completely broken, her breath extremely weak, as if she would completely dissipate at any moment.

However, the demon's tenacious vitality should not be underestimated. Not long after Lin Bei emerged from the ruins, the cursed blood originating from Muzan Kibutsuji within Mikako's body began frantically repairing its nearly shattered form.

The broken bones were silently mended, and the torn flesh began to heal at a visible pace.

It has actually regained some mobility, at least enough for it to struggle to get up or escape.

But at this moment, Mikako didn't dare to utter a single breath, stubbornly maintaining that "dead" posture, stiffly slumped on the ground. Her body trembled slightly from extreme fear, despite her desperate attempts to suppress it.

so horrible!

This man... is simply a demon god walking among humans!

When it was full of confidence, thinking that with the advantage of the terrain and the combination of explosions, it would be able to completely wipe out this troublesome human, reality gave it the most ruthless slap in the face.

Its pride and joy in strength and speed were like paper before Lin Bei, easily crumbled and defeated. Those few seconds of confrontation were an absolute crushing defeat it had never experienced in its long ghostly life.

As the flames of the explosion engulfed it, a twisted, vengeful pleasure rose in its heart, thinking that Lin Bei would eventually turn to ashes with it. But reality dealt it another fatal blow.

The man, draped in a dazzling golden light that seemed almost tangible, slowly emerged from the center of the destruction, like a sun god descending from the heavens! The explosive energy, powerful enough to melt gold and iron, couldn't even shake a single hem of his clothing!

This is no longer a difference in strength; it's an absolute chasm on the level of life itself! Faced with such an existence, escape is a pipe dream, and resistance is a joke. Playing dead is the only humble survival instinct it can think of in its desperation.

Unfortunately, its clumsy acting skills appeared so pale and laughable in front of Lin Bei's eyes, which seemed to see through all illusions.

Not to mention fooling Lin Bei, even Jasmine, who had just recovered from the shock, and the experienced Ashina Jiro could clearly sense the faint but real, chilling aura of a demon emanating from it, as well as the life force that it tried so hard to suppress but could not completely conceal.

The only one who seemed curious about its "playing dead" state was probably Lady Rose.

Under Lin Bei's reassurance, her emotions gradually stabilized, and her curiosity took over again. Seeing the motionless "ghostly thing" on the ground, she resembled an innocent and naive roe deer from Northeast China, unaware of danger. She cautiously approached, picked up a charred twig that had been blown off, squatted down, and with a mixture of curiosity and playfulness, gently poked Meijia's still relatively intact cheek.

"Feed? Is it really dead?" she muttered softly, poking at him twice more with the branch.

Mikako suppressed the discomfort on her face and the humiliation and murderous intent churning deep within her heart (if she had any courage left), remaining motionless and not daring to even twitch her eyelids.

It just hoped that this foolish woman would leave quickly and not attract the attention of that terrifying being.

However, just as Mikako was praying desperately, Lin Bei's voice, as cold as ice yet carrying an undeniable authority, exploded in her ears like thunder, instantly terrifying her and almost causing her to collapse from her feigned death:

"Mikako, if you keep pretending to be dead..."

Lin Bei's voice wasn't loud, but it pierced the air clearly, each word like a heavy hammer blow to Mikako's taut nerves. He slowly turned around, his gaze like a tangible icicle, precisely fixed on the feigning dead demon.

"...I might just make sure you really die!"