100: Chapter 100 Cousin

9 PM, fourth floor of an abandoned residential building.

Chen Zhen stood at the entrance, looking at the young man in the corner.

Shen Nian, in his early twenties, thin, with injuries on his face and tattered clothes, but his eyes were very bright.

Pale gold, exactly like Shen Mo's grandfather's.

Shen Mo walked up from behind, staring at the person for a long time.

"My cousin?" He frowned. "How come I didn't know I had a cousin?"

Shen Nian gave a bitter smile.

"There's a lot you don't know." He propped himself against the wall to stand, took a step, and stumbled—there was an injury on his leg.

Chen Zhen didn't move, just watched him.

Shen Nian walked to him and reached out to hand over the fragment.

The fifth piece.

"For you."

Chen Zhen didn't take it.

"Why?"

Shen Nian looked at him, his gaze complex.

"Because I can't use it," he said. "I tried Fusion, but failed. I almost died."

He lifted his shirt, revealing his chest.

There was a hideous scar there, extending from his shoulder to his abdomen, dark red, as if something had torn through it from the inside.

Shen Mo gasped.

Zhou Rui watched from the side, his expression also changing.

Chen Zhen stared at the scar for a few seconds.

Using [Internal Vision], the scar contained lingering chaotic Qi.

It was exactly the same as the red light that erupted from the previous The Out-of-Controls before death.

"You've been contaminated?"

Shen Nian nodded.

"Three months ago. I found this fragment and tried to perform Fusion. But it contained the consciousness of that thing." He paused. "I almost turned into those neither-human-nor-ghost things."

He looked at Chen Zhen.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Chen Zhen nodded.

"The source."

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment.

"You know?"

"I killed him," Chen Zhen said. "At Changbai Mountain."

Shen Nian was silent for a few seconds.

Then he smiled.

In that smile, there was relief, fortune, and a little... admiration.

"No wonder you can stand here," he said. "The people who wanted to kill me were all killed by you?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

Shen Nian waited for two seconds; seeing that he didn't speak, he didn't press the issue.

He shoved the fragment into Chen Zhen's hand.

"Take it. I've guarded it for three months just to wait for someone who can truly use it."

Chen Zhen held the fragment, sensing the aura within.

Chaotic, violent, exactly the same as the previous The Out-of-Controls.

But much weaker than the one he killed.

[star core fragment (Mildly Contaminated)]

[Contamination Level: 23%]

[Suggestion: Purify before use]

23%.

Much cleaner than the previous one at 67%.

He raised his right hand, and a dark blue light lit up in his palm.

[Star Core: Fourth Layer] activated.

The light enveloped the fragment, and those dark red veins began to tremble, as if they were being scorched.

One second, two seconds, three seconds—

Ten seconds later, the fragment completely returned to a pure dark blue.

[Purification Complete]

[Obtained: Pure star core fragment x 1]

Shen Nian watched from the side, his eyes wide open.

"You... you just... purified it?"

Chen Zhen put the fragment away.

"What else?"

Shen Nian opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

Shen Mo laughed from the side.

Zhou Rui was also laughing.

Shen Nian looked at them, then looked at Chen Zhen, and suddenly understood something.

"You are that..."

He paused.

"The 'person waiting' that my grandfather mentioned?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"What else did your grandfather say?"

Shen Nian was silent for a few seconds.

"He said to give the fragment to you." He looked up. "He also said to be careful of one person."

"Who?"

Shen Nian took a deep breath.

"My father. Shen Zhiqiu."

10 PM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the array, with five fragments laid out in front of him.

Four fused, one newly obtained.

Shen Mo, Zhou Rui, and Shen Nian sat opposite him.

Shen Nian looked at the walls full of Talismans, four Celestial Star Arrays, and six pots of spiritual plants, his expression complex.

"Did you set all this up?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer, just looked at him.

"What's the deal with your father?"

Shen Nian was silent for a few seconds.

"He also holds a fragment," he said. "But not the contaminated kind. He actively defected to that thing."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Actively?"

Shen Nian nodded.

"Three months ago, that thing sent a Puppet to find him. Not only did he not resist, he actively accepted the contamination." He paused. "He said, only by becoming like that could he survive."

Shen Mo listened from the side, his expression changing.

"Then my grandfather..."

Shen Nian looked at him.

"Your grandfather's Clone was killed by him."

Shen Mo was silent.

Chen Zhen looked at him, not speaking.

Zhou Rui asked in a low voice from the side: "Where is that Shen Zhiqiu now?"

Shen Nian shook his head.

"I don't know. But before he left, he said he would collect the remaining fragments." He looked at Chen Zhen. "He is also waiting for the Heavenly Road to open."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

Then he asked: "What is his Realm?"

Shen Nian thought for a moment.

"Qi Refining Level 7. After contamination, perhaps stronger."

Qi Refining Level 7.

Stronger than Yun Xi, stronger than the The Out-of-Controls at Changbai Mountain.

Chen Zhen stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was deep, and the city lights were scattered like stars.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Seventeen dots of light.

Five red ones—two in the Northeast, one in the Northwest, two in the South.

Seven yellow ones—scattered everywhere.

Three green ones—Yun Xi is at the foot of Changbai Mountain, the other two are still in their original places.

Shen Mo's small one—in his pocket.

Shen Nian—no fragment, but lingering aura of contamination on him.

He himself—here.

And that newly appeared one—Shen Zhiqiu?

No.

He stared at the light dot in the Northwest direction.

That red one, it was moving.

Very fast.

Coming in this direction.

He withdrew his perception.

"He's coming."

Shen Nian's expression changed.

"Who?"

Chen Zhen turned to look at him.

"Your father."

11 PM, outside the Secret Base.

Chen Zhen stood in the open space, looking at the night sky in the Northwest.

The clouds were thick, and the stars were invisible.

But in his perception, that light dot was getting closer and closer.

100 kilometers.

80 kilometers.

50 kilometers.

Shen Nian, Shen Mo, and Zhou Rui stood behind him, their expressions all very grim.

Shen Nian said in a low voice: "He is much stronger than me. Are you sure you want to wait here?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

He took five hundred Talismans from his Storage Space and activated them all.

Purple light illuminated the entire night sky.

30 kilometers.

20 kilometers.

10 kilometers.

It's here.

A blood-red light descended from the sky, crashing into the open space and exploding into a shockwave.

The light dissipated.

A middle-aged man stood there.

In his fifties, looking very much like Shen Nian, but his eyes were completely different—blood-red, pupil-less, with only two burning flames.

Shen Zhiqiu.

Qi Refining Level 7, his aura was violent and chaotic after contamination.

He looked at Chen Zhen and smiled.

"You are the one who killed my father's Clone?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Your father's Clone? You mean Shen Zhiyuan?"

Shen Zhiqiu nodded.

"That old immortal, guarded a lousy fragment for a hundred years. And in the end, gave it to you." He stared at Chen Zhen. "Hand it over."

Chen Zhen didn't move.

Shen Zhiqiu waited for two seconds; seeing that he didn't speak, his smile turned cold.

"Not giving it? Then die."

He raised his hand, and blood-red light condensed in his palm.

Chen Zhen looked at him.

Five hundred Talismans lit up simultaneously.

Shen Zhiqiu was stunned for a moment.

Then Chen Zhen spoke.

"Do you know why your father guarded that fragment for a hundred years?"

Shen Zhiqiu looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because he was waiting for someone," Chen Zhen said. "Waiting for someone who could truly use it."

He raised his right hand, and the light of the five fragments in his palm lit up simultaneously.

The dark blue light illuminated the entire night sky.

Shen Zhiqiu's expression changed.

"You... you fused five pieces?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

He activated [Star Core: Fourth Layer], and expanded [Starlight Domain].

The ten-meter diameter Domain instantly enveloped Shen Zhiqiu.

Shen Zhiqiu's speed dropped by 30%, while Chen Zhen's speed surged by 50%.

Shen Zhiqiu wanted to move, but it was already too late.

Chen Zhen had already appeared in front of him.

[Starlight Slash]

A dark blue blade of light shot out from his palm, striking directly at Shen Zhiqiu's chest.

Shen Zhiqiu flew backward, crashing onto the ground ten meters away.

He struggled to climb up, looking down at his own chest.

There was a wound deep enough to see the bone, and blood-red light surged from the wound, flickering wildly.

He looked up at Chen Zhen, his eyes full of disbelief.

"You... how is it possible..."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Your father asked me to tell you something."

Shen Zhiqiu froze.

"What words?"

Chen Zhen walked up to him, looking down at him.

"He said he doesn't blame you anymore."

Shen Zhiqiu's body stiffened.

The blood-red light fluctuated violently, as if struck by something from this sentence.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But nothing came out.

The blood-red in his eyes began to fade.

Three seconds later, it disappeared completely.

He lay there, looking at Chen Zhen, his eyes calm.

"He... really said that?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Shen Zhiqiu closed his eyes.

Tears slid from the corners of his eyes.

"Thank you."

His body began to dissipate, turning into countless specks of light that drifted into the night sky.

Chen Zhen stood in place, watching those light specks disappear.

Behind him, Shen Nian walked over slowly and stood beside him.

He looked at the place where his father disappeared, silent for a long time.

Then he spoke.

"He is free."

Chen Zhen nodded.

Shen Nian looked at him.

"That move you just made, was it intentional?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

Shen Nian waited for two seconds, then gave a bitter smile.

"Forget it, pretend I didn't ask."

He turned and walked back to the base.

Chen Zhen stood alone in the open space, looking at the night sky.