Chapter 488 Lin Xia Appears in the Future

“Get stronger, and fast.” Chu Bamboo hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a bowl. Expressionless, he made a cut on his wrist, and blood flowed out.

“What the—?! What are you doing?!” Lin Xia’s expression changed drastically as he subconsciously reached out to cover the wound.

“Don’t interfere!” Chu Bamboo pressed down on Lin Xia’s shoulder with his other hand. Lin Xia’s expression was conflicted. But since Chu Bamboo had already made the cut, he realized stopping him now was pointless. He forced himself to calm down and just watch the blood flow.

A few minutes later, the small bowl was full of blood.

Chu Bamboo took a deep breath and activated Rewrite. His slightly pale face instantly returned to its normal color.

“???” Lin Xia’s serious expression froze. He thought for a moment and suddenly felt like a clown for having worried about Chu Bamboo earlier.

“Trying to use the Nuclear Radiation Stone for your Cultivation is basically suicide,” Chu Bamboo said calmly. Of course, the Life Ladder could also be used for Cultivation, but it was a finite resource. Using his blood, therefore, was more cost-effective.

“Of course, this won’t be enough for you to succeed in your Cultivation!” Chu Bamboo paused briefly before continuing, “When you run out, remember to tell me!”

Helping one or two people start on the path of Cultivation wasn’t difficult for Chu Bamboo. Although using his blood to help others cultivate sounded a bit strange, with his Reduplication Ability, it didn’t really harm him much…

Of course, then again, even though he had a way to provide a constant supply of Cultivation Resources… there weren’t many people in this world worthy of such a sacrifice from him…

In fact, if it weren’t for the immense strategic importance of Lin Xia’s Ice Seal Divine Techniques, Chu Bamboo would have preferred his friends and family to simply undergo Genetic Modification after having children…

Chu Bamboo glanced at the book in Lin Xia’s hands. “Well, don’t be in too much of a hurry. Even with your future self giving you a cheat code… succeeding in your Cultivation within the month would be a victory…”

Lin Xia closed his eyes. After a long moment, he rubbed his face vigorously.

“I really want to tell you not to do this… but you’ve already let the blood, so it’s pointless for me to get all sentimental now… Since you think this is necessary, I’ll follow through.”

“Now that’s more like it.” A smile appeared on Chu Bamboo’s face. ‘As expected of my good brother. He knows I hate those sappy dramas… the kind where the price has already been paid, but people are still arguing resentfully! It’s completely meaningless, just a waste of time.’

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xia spoke quickly, “Is the security level in this room high enough? Let’s increase it… I plan to do my Cultivation right here! I won’t stop until I’ve completely absorbed the blood… But you need to take precautions too! Don’t let any of the blood get out… Otherwise, whether it’s cloning, or some future Curse that targets blood… it would be a huge problem!”

Lin Xia’s imagination ran wild.

“Mhm!” Chu Bamboo nodded and said softly, “I’ve already spoken to someone about it. In the future, the density of cameras in this building… will be higher than you can possibly imagine! And it will be equipped with some… safeguards that Z can use!”

“Then I can rest easy.” Lin Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After that, Chu Bamboo left.

After a brief silence, Lin Xia took out his phone and suddenly said, “Hey, niece!”

“Is there something you need from me?” Z’s voice held a hint of confusion.

“…I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but… could you try to comfort Ah Zhu a little? Or maybe tell him a few jokes? Don’t push him too hard! It’d be best if you could help him relax.” Lin Xia’s voice was filled with concern.

“…” After a short silence, Z said seriously, “You believe Father is under a bit of stress?”

Lin Xia glanced at the blood and sighed. “It’s more than just ‘a bit’ of a problem… Even if… forget it!”

Lin Xia concealed the emotion in his eyes. ‘Did something major happen in the future again? Dammit! If only I could be by the future Chu Bamboo’s side…’

‘No, with my current strength, I’d be useless even if I went!’

Lin Xia’s expression turned serious. ‘Get stronger. Get stronger at any cost! And then, survive…’

‘I have to try and help that future Chu Bamboo!’

…

「Dream World.」

Chu Bamboo opened his eyes and calmly scanned his surroundings. Just as he had expected, the scene was identical to the last time.

‘I should still be in the Human Empire Line!’ Chu Bamboo said to himself as his thoughts raced. He called out, “Nuwa No. 17!”

However, there was no response.

Chu Bamboo froze. Confusion and uncertainty flickered in his eyes. After thinking it over, he called out, somewhat uncertainly, “Z?”

Still no response!

“…Is that how it is?” Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Chu Bamboo thought for a few breaths, then took out his phone. “Hive! Are you there?”

During yesterday’s Human Empire Line, Chu Bamboo had discovered that despite the change in timelines, an anchoring effect had allowed Hive to remain on his phone. At the time, Hive wasn’t very significant to him, since he’d already confirmed he couldn’t use it to contact Z. That was why he hadn’t bothered calling out to it.

“I am here.” Hive’s voice was gentle.

A trace of surprise appeared on Chu Bamboo’s face. “Your voice… No, you’re not an AI, are you?”

Compared to before, Hive’s voice was now much more expressive.

“Of course not!” Hive’s tone was cheerful. “However, the main body granted me a certain trait! It makes me second only to an AI.”

“…I see.” Chu Bamboo was thoughtful. “Why is Nuwa No. 17… wait, do you even know about Nuwa No. 17?”

“There is no information related to Nuwa No. 17 in my memory, but there is information on Nuwa!”

“Father, based on my deep analysis… you seem to have some connection to Nuwa? Mmm, in my database, Uncle Lin Xia is currently with Nuwa!”

Chu Bamboo’s body froze, his mind going blank in that instant. His fingers trembled slightly. “Lin Xia… is alive in this era? Or rather, he was cryogenically frozen!”

Chu Bamboo was truly shocked. Before entering the dream, he had assumed he would most likely meet many acquaintances in this era. After all, he had locked onto a specific time! But he never, ever would have thought… it would happen so suddenly!

And then…

Chu Bamboo’s expression changed abruptly. He looked up at the empty space before him, which was suddenly torn asunder. A Western Giant Dragon stared at him with a cold expression.

“…” Without a moment’s hesitation, Chu Bamboo killed himself.

Another reset.

An inexplicable glint shone in Chu Bamboo’s eyes. His little test had worked. The Emperor was most likely still around, and he was watching him.

That Western Giant Dragon was, in all likelihood, thrown at him by the Emperor—a classic case of killing with a borrowed knife.

‘So, was it the name “Lin Xia” that provoked the Emperor and made him want to kill me?’

‘No.’ Chu Bamboo muttered to himself. ‘On this timeline, what is Lin Xia’s Power Level? Could he have achieved Becoming a God too? Otherwise… why would the Emperor have such an extreme reaction?’

‘But, if he really is a Divine Being… when I said the two words “Lin Xia,” shouldn’t he have been able to react instantly and appear before me across time and space?’

His thoughts raced, a tangled mess he couldn’t seem to sort out. Finally, he made a decision.

“Cat of Destiny, Chaos!”