Weapon System 10: Discovering the Method to Decipher the Sun (2)

At a distance of thirty meters from the warehouse entrance, Zhang Yidao began setting up a table to perform his ritual. Zhang Mingjing approached him quietly and muttered, "That's too far!"

"Then where do you want to do it?"

"Within ten meters."

"Kid, if you get within ten meters, those three mutant cats will be on you before you can blink. Do you really want to get bitten?"

"Don’t worry!"

After a brief hesitation, Zhang Yidao finally moved the table to about ten meters from the warehouse door. The sight made Xiao Nüxia so angry her blood pressure soared.

At that moment, Zhang Mingjing realized that the two of them actually cared a great deal about him, and he couldn't help but feel a little touched.

Before opening the warehouse door, Zhang Yidao called out to Boss Ma, who was standing thirty meters away, "Watch closely, Boss Ma! Not a single one of these little monsters will get away—we'll take care of them all for you."

Boss Ma grinned broadly and nodded, then used a remote control to open the warehouse door.

However, as the door opened, no mutant cats appeared. Yet Zhang Mingjing could already sense that they were lurking just beside the doorframe, ready to pounce.

He extended his right palm, focused his mind, and silently intoned, "Sword, come!"

In an instant, a strand of golden light shot from his right palm, transforming into that small, radiant sword, now hovering above his hand.

He knew these mutant cats were cunning. To lure them out, he began to walk forward slowly.

"Zhang Mingjing!" Zhang Yidao hissed nervously, "What do you think you’re doing?"

"Don’t worry," Zhang Mingjing replied softly.

Xiao Nüxia was on the verge of tears with worry.

Step by step, Zhang Mingjing advanced. He had no intention of ambushing the three mutant cats with his light sword—if he did that, Boss Ma wouldn’t witness his abilities.

He pressed onward until he sensed the three mutant cats' heartbeats quicken. Knowing they were about to spring, he immediately stopped moving.

Now, only five meters separated him from the warehouse door. Both Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia were so tense their hearts pounded in their throats, barely restraining themselves from shouting, "Come back!"

But when Zhang Mingjing halted, the three cats suddenly held their ground, though their hearts beat ever faster.

"Even mutant cats are this clever," Zhang Mingjing thought wryly. He took another step, this time making more noise on purpose.

The moment he finished his first step and lifted his leg for the second, all three mutant cats burst out simultaneously.

The sight startled him, and he shouted, "Sword, go!" At the same time, he willed the three mutant cats’ deaths.

The light sword swooshed through the air, dispatching two of the cats instantly, but the third was already upon him. Fortunately, his senses and strength were far beyond what they once were; with a single-handed slap, he sent the mutant cat flying more than ten meters.

Before the cat landed, the light sword darted over for a finishing blow.

What happened next was astonishing: none of the three mutant cats died. Instead, they gradually returned to normal, crouching on the ground, still terrified.

Boss Ma was dumbfounded, unable to believe what he'd just seen. After a moment, he came to his senses and nervously approached to take a closer look.

Zhang Yidao reacted quickly. "We’ve already severed the demonic energy from them," he explained at once, "so now they’re back to normal."

Boss Ma was instantly awestruck, showering them with praise and gratitude. He asked for Zhang Yidao’s account details and immediately began transferring payment.

Zhang Mingjing had already recalled the light sword into his body, but suddenly felt a surge of energy within himself—and sensed the light sword had changed as well.

He placed his right hand behind his back, focused, and summoned the light sword again. Instantly, it appeared in his palm.

A thrill ran through him. "Damn! The light sword has grown three centimeters longer and finally has some substance. Has it entered an upgrade mode?"

Not only had Zhang Mingjing succeeded in his demon-slaying mission, but his actions also sparked an epiphany among the elders of the Fifth-Dimensional Space, who burst into cheerful discussion.

One elder laughed, "When the sealing light struck the sun, its fifth-dimensional code was embedded in some of the sun's photons. These photons then traveled to Earth, entering certain plants and animals and causing their mutation. However, all our higher-dimensional weapons are encoded with an inviolable rule: under no circumstances can they kill lower-dimensional life forms."

Elder A sighed, "So by embedding the sealing light's code in those plants and animals, not only did we fail to seal them, but we actively released energy to them, making them even stronger. Yet, after releasing its energy, the light itself devolved to three dimensions."

"And since Zhang Mingjing’s light sword can absorb energy, it instantly sucked the energy out of the mutant cats, restoring them to normal."

"Alas! Over the past year we focused solely on cracking the code, neglecting the constraint clause embedded within it—that’s the loophole!"

"Hahaha! So, do any of you now have a method for decoding the sun?"

"Hehehe..." The elders laughed in unison—they had found a way.

Their plan was to transform the sealed space-time monsters into two-dimensional material life forms, then release them onto the sun under high-temperature protection.

These space-time monsters were inherently greedy; even after being reduced in dimension, their nature would not change. The sealing light, originating from the fifth dimension and containing immense energy, would be irresistible to them.

When the sealing light identified them as two-dimensional, not only would it not harm them, but—thanks to the constraint clause—it would actively implant its energy within them, turning them into three-dimensional material life forms.

Elder A explained, "Most of the sealing light’s code is on the sun’s surface—it will all be consumed. Once the code is embedded in the space-time monsters, the decoded portion of the sun will erupt instantly. At that moment, we’ll immediately remove the monsters' high-temperature protection. Having just become three-dimensional, they’ll be instantly incinerated."

"Excellent!" the elders cheered, delighted.

But soon after, one elder, having run calculations through the Destiny System, delivered less welcome news.

"Though the three-dimensional space-time monsters will be burned up instantly, their thought models remain fifth-dimensional. Not only will they not be destroyed, but the explosion and high temperature will shatter them into thousands of code fragments. These fragments will embed themselves in solar photons, about one percent of which will reach Earth and enter some living beings, turning them into monsters. These creatures will be far more formidable than mutant cats or dogs."

Elder A asked, "If we release one two-dimensional space-time monster, how many monsters will it create on Earth?"

"Around two hundred."

"And how many two-dimensional space-time monsters would it take to consume all the sealing light codes on the sun’s surface?"

"Seven."

Another elder suggested, "It’s best to release one space-time monster at a time. After Earth’s people have dealt with one wave of monsters, we’ll send the next, and so on."

"Can the humans’ weapons handle these monsters?"

"With their current arsenal, it’ll be difficult."

"Hmm. According to the rules, we can’t provide them with weapon blueprints. Let’s think if there are other ways to help them exterminate the monsters."

Elder A proposed, "I have an idea: gather all the monsters in one place—it’ll make it easier for Earth’s people to wipe them out."

"How would you lure them?"

"Since these monsters all carry the space-time monsters' codes, they must be extremely greedy. We could drop a small sphere containing immense higher-dimensional energy, but set it so that even if the monsters obtain the sphere, they can’t access its energy."

"Brilliant!" the elders agreed.

"But, where should we lure the monsters to?"

"Let’s draw them to the southern town where Zhang Mingjing lives!"

"Agreed!"

...

Boss Ma’s payment of 120,000 was deposited into Xiao Nüxia’s account. On the way home, Zhang Mingjing kept demanding his 40,000 share, but Xiao Nüxia only repeated, "I’m saving it for you."

Zhang Mingjing refused to let it go and pestered her endlessly, but Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia were both stubborn enough to withstand all his whining.

Zhang Mingjing was left utterly exasperated.