Chapter Thirty-Five: A Game Against Time

When consciousness returned, Gongsun Ce realized he was in a space of pure white. For a fleeting moment, he thought a midday nightmare had struck him in the midst of battle. Then he saw the other presence in this endless expanse.

Ten meters away stood a middle-aged man in sunglasses, facing him squarely. The man wore a brown overcoat, a black vest, and vintage jeans. He was tall and powerfully built—the very image of the leader of the Dragon Worshippers. His stance was natural, without the slightest flaw, reminding Gongsun Ce of a certain expressionless girl's family member.

This man was clearly a close-combat specialist, the esper assessed silently.

The man in sunglasses spoke. “I am Xu Junyi, an Illusory Aspect practitioner of the Manifestation Realm. State your name.”

“Gongsun Ce, esper,” Gongsun Ce replied, surveying the empty world around them. “So this is the Impermanence Law of Manifestation? It's quite a contrast to the two from Illusory Aspect: Divine Communion.”

“Oh. You have excellent composure... Good, saves me the trouble of calming you.” Xu Junyi fished out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. A lighter appeared in his hand as if from thin air. “Mind if I smoke?”

“If you keep your distance, I don’t care.”

He did just that.

The middle-aged man took a few steps back, lit a cigarette, and, with his back to Gongsun Ce, smoked without the slightest defensive posture.

Gongsun Ce was momentarily at a loss. He couldn’t tell if this was the condition for activating the man’s ability or some sort of psychological warfare for a particular purpose. If it was an ability like “fulfill a certain condition and the enemy dies,” then doing nothing would obviously be a mistake. Out of caution, he decided to shield himself first—setting invisible threads, taking flight, conjuring a wall of white matter to block any incoming attack—

“?!”

Gongsun Ce was stunned.

No threads. No flight. No white matter. Abilities that once came as naturally as raising his arm now refused to answer his call, no matter how he summoned them... It was as if an ordinary man had lost a limb. That hollowness echoed within him, the discomfort of dislocation nearly nauseating.

“No need to be surprised,” said the Dragon Worshipper calmly. “Neither of us can use any ability beyond normal comprehension now, for what we’re about to engage in is a fair fight... as fair as possible.”

Xu Junyi stubbed out his cigarette and walked forward, stopping ten meters away.

The esper pondered what that meant, arriving at an answer most unfavorable to himself.

“You’re stripping both our abilities and settling things in this space? That’s not how I know Illusory Aspect works.”

The man in sunglasses smiled.

“Heh... Your understanding of Illusory Aspect. Does an outsider who’s never practiced the Impermanence Law have the right to define its standards?”

“...I can’t argue with that. Still, I can’t say this is a fair fight for me.”

Without his powers, Gongsun Ce was just a college student in decent shape. He knew no martial arts, had no professional training. For him to settle things with this middle-aged man—who looked like he could wrestle a bear barehanded—was a defeat before it even began.

“Absolute fairness doesn’t exist. But I wouldn’t stoop so low as to settle a fight with you on these terms. You’ll learn everything about my Impermanence Law, and you’ll know exactly how to respond to this duel. Nothing is hidden... for that is the rule of the Fragmented Time Arena, the rules manifested from my own heart.”

Xu Junyi stamped his right foot. In the empty space, a massive round table appeared, like one from a casino.

He raised three fingers. “I decide the method of victory. You choose the battlefield and the aid you’ll receive. Whoever loses the ability to fight is defeated. Even if the loser dies in the Arena, they won’t die in reality, but for the rest of the day, must not harm the victor by any means and must follow all of the victor’s instructions. This is my Illusory Aspect: Manifestation—a fair duel where all conditions are open and transparent.”

“Must obey the victor’s instructions...?” Gongsun Ce focused on the final outcome. If he understood correctly, the loser in this duel would be completely dominated by the winner.

He now understood how the man had reached the underground.

“You used your Manifestation on the authorities? Because you won in the Arena, they had no choice but to help you cover your tracks... They had to bring you to the underground of the City of the Firmament!”

Xu Junyi nodded slightly.

“Those bloated officials of the Union may have lost their strength, but they didn’t have much wits left, either. Getting here was far easier than I imagined—find the building leading underground, defeat everyone inside, and my mission was complete.”

Gongsun Ce pictured a group of fat, suited, middle-aged men brawling with this man, a wave of sympathy washing over him.

He then remembered that he was the next to fight, and the sympathy turned to a sour sense of helplessness.

The bespectacled youth spoke rapidly, “How much time in the real world will our battle take?”

“An instant. So don’t bother dragging it out—even if you stand here for a hundred years, less than a second will pass outside.”

“Isn’t that wonderful? I can stand here and chat nonsense for a thousand—”

He abruptly covered his mouth.

The words he was about to utter stalled inexplicably. Some invisible force surged into his mouth, stopping him from speaking in the crudest manner.

The man in sunglasses chuckled, “I told you—there can be no deception here. You don’t have the confidence to talk for a thousand years, so a lie like that simply cannot be spoken.”

Another rule: lies are forbidden.

This world was harsh indeed for those who were used to talking their way out with lies.

“Ah... Fine. Back to our battle’s terms—how about I decide the method of victory, and you choose the battlefield and your aid?”

Xu Junyi tucked his hands into his pockets and regarded him calmly. “If you chose to settle this with video games or car races, or some other contest I know nothing about, how would that be fair? Likewise, if I chose chess or Go, would you agree?”

“Let’s not do board games, then.”

There was no loophole to exploit.

He was beginning to understand his opponent’s intent. This Manifestation existed for only one purpose—as the man had said from the start: a fair duel.

Xu Junyi slapped the tabletop. Countless doodle-like images flickered across the table’s surface before settling on two stick figures exchanging blows.

“The method of battle I’ve chosen is one everyone knows—fighting. Resolving disputes with fists or weapons is a universal solution for human conflict, in any era.”

The bespectacled youth sneered, “Settle things with fists against you, a close-combat muscleman? How fair.”

“That’s why you get compensation. You pick the battlefield and one item of aid. If you’re unhappy with the difference in strength, use your wits to win.”

The Dragon Worshipper pointed at the table. “Place your hand on the table and imagine your desired arena, but no traps or mechanisms that impede either side. We’ll both see every detail. If you can’t imagine one, the table will choose randomly.”

The youth took a deep breath and placed his hand on the table.

He knew the coming battle was heavily against him. Stripped of his powers, he was like a sniper without a rifle, a swordsman without a sword—his skills rendered useless.

The environment and aid were his only hope for a comeback. He had to find a setting with a real chance of victory... Even if the opponent saw through it, he needed an arena where he could gain an advantage.

Gongsun Ce drew on his memories of past battles, searching for any useful material. On the table appeared a panoramic view of the arena: a construction site enclosed by green fencing.

Yellow sand swirled under a gloomy sky. Steel rods and concrete were piled beside a blue carpentry shed. A bulldozer sat by the sand heap, a dump truck at the shed’s entrance, lunchboxes and cigarette butts scattered in the sand, as if a crew of workers had only recently finished up.

“Oh...”

Xu Junyi was about to speak when, in the center of the site, an abandoned factory building appeared. The table’s image zoomed in, revealing the factory’s interior—filled with odd machinery, pumps, lifts, seed-packing machines found in repair shops, welding guns and visors from construction sites, plus many sleek, silvery devices he didn’t recognize at all.

He also noticed, scattered across the floor, on the larger equipment, and in the corners, odds and ends like screws, bolts, metal scraps... and particularly large-caliber bullets.

The youth opened his eyes. “My chosen arena is this factory. I need to confirm: will we both appear here at the same time? How far apart will we start?”

The man in sunglasses folded his hands behind his back, certain he’d guessed the youth’s plan.

“Simultaneous entry, ten meters apart. You intend to use these components and specialized devices as weapons, don’t you? Will you assemble something with the City of the Firmament’s technology on the spot? Or use the existing materials as deadly projectiles?”

“...”

The gray-haired youth frowned deeply, saying nothing.

His reaction only made Xu Junyi more confident in his guess. For no matter how crafty, anyone who could only speak the truth could do little—once their hidden strategy was exposed, silence was the only option.

The middle-aged man stared into his opponent’s eyes, increasing the psychological pressure. “You may choose one more item of aid, but it must be a small-to-medium object useful in close combat. Its potential uses will be known to me. If you choose a firearm, you may have no more than two bullets.”

“Thanks for clarifying. Can I ask what today’s previous opponents chose?”

Xu Junyi smiled and nodded. “You may ask, but I won’t answer.”

“How cautious... Well then, let me consider my weapon.”

Gongsun Ce placed his hand over the table.

A black, flowing light appeared beneath his palm.

The colorless black twisted into lines, slowly emerging from the center of the table.

Xu Junyi saw a double-edged sword with no blood groove, a hilt wrapped in blood-colored cloth, and a cross-shaped spike protruding from the pommel.

The man narrowed his eyes, recognizing immediately that this was a weapon that should not exist in reality.

It was as if thick night had become viscous liquid, forged into a blade by pale flames after being bathed in blood.

An ominous, jet-black longsword.

The sword was so sharp that even its forming outline stung the eyes beneath his sunglasses.

“I forgot to mention,” Xu Junyi said, “your aid must not be an object from the extraordinary side... Anything involving supernatural abilities cannot exist in this duel.”

He tapped the table, and the half-formed blade vanished in a burst of light.

The esper remained unfazed, not angered by these ever-expanding rules. “I’d appreciate it if you’d clarify all the rules in advance. Then I’ll take this: a personal force-field device for solo combat. Pure technology, nothing extraordinary about it.”

He reached again for the table, but nothing materialized.

Xu Junyi replied unhurriedly, “The high-tech weapons of the City of the Firmament are just as far from common sense for someone like me, who lives outside. In a fair contest, such weapons should not exist; that’s only natural.”

The youth sneered. “Common sense? Whose common sense—yours?”

“This is my Manifestation. Only my sense of normalcy applies here...” Xu Junyi tapped the table with his finger. “Don’t think you can exploit any loopholes in a fair duel. In my rules, any aid that breaks them simply won’t appear.”

Gongsun Ce could no longer be bothered to argue what was fair. He concentrated, sorting through other possible weapons. “Portable mind-control device.”

“Invalid.”

“Small plasma hand-cannon.”

“Invalid.”

“Biological slime.”

“Invalid.”

Invalid, invalid, invalid... With each verdict, none of Gongsun Ce’s imagined weapons could take shape. The gray-haired youth’s expression grew worse. Xu Junyi conjured a chair and, smiling, said, “Give it up, kid. You’d be better off just asking for a handgun... Oh, but with only two bullets allowed.”

“Tch...!”

The gray-haired youth slammed a fist onto the table, his mind finally made up.

Xu Junyi laughed to himself. He had deliberately explained the rules piecemeal to unbalance his opponent’s state of mind. And now, his strategy had paid off. When every possible avenue to victory was blocked, when his greatest weapon was stripped away, the young man had lost his composure.

He’d seen it all before—espers, Illusory Aspect practitioners, those with great power beyond the norm often relied on that power as their core. They failed to realize their battles were won by ability against those without, by superior power over the weak; they saw only the inequality brought by power, never their own true strength.

But on a truly fair battlefield, stripped of supernatural advantages, of the calm brought by skill and technology, they must reveal the weak, cowering self hidden beneath their fortress—never truly hardened within, but just another twisted soul.

The esper drummed his fingers anxiously along the edge of the table. Before him appeared a bright red mechanical gauntlet.

The gauntlet boasted an exaggerated semicircular guard. Five small holes gleamed on the knuckles—an obvious sign of internal mechanisms.

Gongsun Ce spoke quickly, “Multi-function mechanical gauntlet, with built-in lighting, lock-picking, buzzer, and locator. Comes with a smoke and a tear gas canister, each can be launched like a missile to harm the enemy.”

The man in sunglasses shook his head. “A usable weapon, but you haven’t disclosed everything—still a deception. You violate the world’s rules, and so it cannot be used in battle.”

“You also didn’t tell me all the rules at first, did you?”

“But I told you afterward, didn’t I?”

Gongsun Ce glared at him, squeezing out the final words. “The gauntlet can be loaded with small bits of metal and fired as bullets.”

Where would he find small bits of metal?

Naturally, among the junk scattered around the abandoned factory.

“Hah... Hahaha! Very well, I accept!” Xu Junyi stood with his hands behind his back, laughing loudly. “You’ve made a grave mistake, boy. You set a complex arena, filled it with useless details, trying desperately to distract me, never realizing my Manifestation’s rules are tailor-made to counter your clever tricks. All that effort wasted. You’d have been better off just picking a gun!”

The esper sneered, “Sorry, I’ve never fired a gun. If I’d chosen one, it would have been to your advantage instead.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t truly die. You’ll become a member of the new world, just like me, and then you’ll regret what you’re doing now... Just wait. Ten seconds to the duel.”

The empty space shifted rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the two stood at the center of the derelict factory.

The Dragon Worshipper’s leader removed his sunglasses and assumed a fighting stance.

“Illusory Aspect practitioner, Xu Junyi.”

The gray-haired youth looked at him expressionlessly, raising the gauntlet on his right hand.

“Esper, Gongsun Ce.

“3... 2... 1!”

As the final countdown ended, the invisible restraints binding them both disappeared. Gongsun Ce immediately activated the gauntlet’s mechanism. A smoke canister shot out, and white smoke instantly filled the factory!

“Tricks.”

Xu Junyi stamped his foot and charged toward the corner to his right front. During the preparation time, he’d observed closely—this was the only pile of parts closer to the youth and farther from himself. He’d anticipated exactly this: the esper would obscure vision and rush here to reload ammunition for his attack!

Unfortunately, the youth had misjudged the difference in their physical abilities. Xu Junyi was much faster than anticipated! The man surged forward at superhuman speed, kicked the pile of parts apart, and lashed out with a punch!

“Oh?”

The iron fist cut through the haze but failed to hit its intended target. Had he misjudged? Xu Junyi threw several more punches, the force scattering the thinning smoke until he finally spotted his enemy.

Gongsun Ce had vanished by the factory door—he’d abandoned the terrain that favored him and instead fled outside!

The Dragon Worshipper leader guarded his body warily, watching for a sneak attack, stepping cautiously outside.

“Kid, you’re just wasting your energy... The arena is as you set it. You can’t run beyond its boundaries.”

He tried to shake the youth’s morale with words, all the while guessing his next move.

This opponent didn’t seem reckless... Even if unsettled before the fight, he shouldn’t lose his composure at the start.

He stepped out of the factory, scanning the surroundings quickly.

“...!”

Xu Junyi’s pupils contracted.

He caught the gray-haired youth in action—Gongsun Ce smashed a fist through glass.

The window on the left side of a vehicle.

The sandy yellow, ironclad behemoth outside the factory—construction’s most common vehicle—a dump truck’s window...!

The youth was cool and decisive, his earlier anxiety and unease gone. He agilely climbed into the cab, fired up the engine without hesitation, and the multi-ton monster roared to life, charging straight at the man in the overcoat!

“You!!!!”

“Come on—one-on-one, fair and square!” Gongsun Ce shouted over the thunderous noise. “Any skill you like—this is a dump truck!”