Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 591: You Have No Choice
By the time Steven and Lin Yuhsia returned to the candy shop run by the Rat King, Wei Yenwu was already there, waiting for them.
"Mr. Steven, your unique ability is truly something rarely seen in this world," Wei Yenwu remarked slowly. "Even I have only ever heard of similar spatial powers among the Banshee and Lich royal courts of the Sarkaz. As expected of the man behind a major conglomerate."
This was not the first time Wei Yenwu had witnessed Steven's teleportation-like abilities. Lin Yuhsia had informed him about it long ago. Still, seeing it with his own eyes left him visibly astonished.
An ability like that—appearing and disappearing without warning—was extraordinarily rare.
Especially after hearing from the returning penguin that Steven had crossed from Lungmen all the way to the Ursus border in only a matter of minutes, Wei Yenwu's curiosity toward him only deepened.
Spatial Originium Arts did exist, but to travel so freely between nations as though distance meant nothing?
Steven was the only person he knew capable of such a feat.
That alone was enough to prove he was far from ordinary.
"Alright, alright. You can skip the flattery," Steven said casually as he dropped into the seat beside Wei Yenwu.
He lowered his head, picked up the cup of tea that had clearly been prepared for him beforehand, and took a leisurely sip before continuing:
"I only came here to confirm one thing. Regarding the disaster brewing out at sea—the one that could potentially destroy this entire land—what exactly is Lungmen's stance on it?"
The matter concerning Zorah Magdaros was simply too unbelievable. Even with the Emperor's guarantee as a Beast Lord, and Nian acting as witness, it still sounded absurd enough to make anyone doubt it.
Right now, what interested Steven most was Lungmen's attitude.
Strictly speaking, the one who truly needed to make a decision was the True Lung of Yan. But since Kal'tsit had already spoken with Wei Yenwu, Steven was genuinely curious how this seemingly rebellious ruler of Lungmen intended to respond.
"…To be honest," Wei Yenwu finally said after a long silence, "even now, I still find it difficult to accept that such a horrifying catastrophe is truly about to happen."
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"No matter whether for this land… or for Lungmen itself… it would be a disaster capable of wiping everything away."
"I worked hard to establish and maintain the order Lungmen has today. If that event truly comes to pass…" His expression darkened. "That is a result I absolutely cannot accept."
Wei Yenwu lifted his eyes and met Steven's gaze.
"So if you really want my honest answer, Mr. Steven…" Wei Yenwu let out a weary sigh. "From the bottom of my heart, I wish this were all a lie."
But then he paused, before adding quietly:
"However, judging from the attitude you're showing me right now, along with part of the information Yuhsia just reported… regardless of how unwilling I may be to accept it… this is already an established fact, isn't it?"
He looked at Steven as if asking for confirmation.
"That's right," Steven replied bluntly, making Wei Yenwu's expression grow even grimmer. "Believe it or not, that thing is already there. And in about half a month or so, it's going to erupt."
"And when that happens… whether people believe it or not won't matter anymore."
As he spoke, Steven casually delivered a reality grim enough to crush hope itself.
In truth, within about a week, the nations of Terra would likely obtain definitive confirmation anyway.
Every country on this land already understood the dangers hidden within the oceans.
And if they truly committed resources to investigating—especially with a rough location of Zorah Magdaros already known—it would not be impossible to verify the truth.
That was also the reason why, even though those nations had likely already been informed by Kal'tsit, none of them had given a clear response yet.
Before obtaining definite proof, they would never so easily choose to side with someone, even if doing so meant wasting half of the already scarce time left to alter the ending.
"Then… there is one thing I wish to confirm."
Lowering his voice, Wei Yenwu leaned slightly closer to Steven and spoke in a tone only the two of them could hear.
"If that disaster is truly real… if even so many Feranmuts and Beast Lords are powerless against it, and even the rulers of the sea itself cannot change the outcome…"
"Mr. Steven, can you truly guarantee that you are capable of handling this matter?"
His brows were tightly furrowed.
And this question was, in truth, the greatest doubt shared by nearly everyone aware of the situation.
A catastrophe capable of destroying the entirety of Terra…
Could they really place all their hopes on a mysterious young man whose origins were completely unknown?
Even though Kal'tsit had already revealed that the so-called "solution" was actually the same Void Knight who once caused such a massive upheaval in Kazimierz, doubt still lingered in people's hearts.
Steven answered the elderly dragon-like man bluntly:
"Whether I can do it or not, do you people even have another choice?"
"If I can't solve it, do you think you can?"
"If you were actually capable of handling this yourselves, I would just leave it all to you guys and do some other thing instead."
Steven honestly could not care less whether they trusted him or not.
If not for certain personal considerations, he would not even bother involving himself in this mess in the first place.
After all, if everything really did go to hell, Steven was fully confident he could save everyone he personally knew of.
"…Then it seems I was rude."
Wei Yenwu fell silent for a moment.
At last, a faint smile appeared on his worry-filled face, as though he had finally made up his mind to gamble on this decision.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Steven. Regardless of whether you ultimately succeed, merely your willingness to shoulder such a responsibility is already a great undertaking."
"Lungmen will always be your friend."
"And our cooperation… will only grow closer from this point onward."
As he spoke, Wei Yenwu directly extended his hand toward Steven, expressing Lungmen's goodwill.
"Words alone aren't enough to prove sincerity."
Steven casually reached out and gave the offered hand only the barest symbolic shake, showing absolutely no intention of being polite.
"I'm a practical person," he said lazily. "If possible, I'd rather see something more tangible."
"For example… lately, there's something I've become rather interested in."
"Please, go ahead," Wei Yenwu replied calmly, unsurprised by the request.
"Anything within Lungmen's capabilities—your matters are our matters."
Kal'tsit had already warned everyone long ago that this savior's personality was… somewhat peculiar.
"Good."
Steven nodded casually.
"Then I'll skip the small talk."
"What I want to know is this—"
As he spoke, he took out the chess piece he had obtained some time ago.
Holding it between his fingers, he lightly tapped its surface before asking:
"Does Lungmen possess any information regarding other objects like this?"
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M