Era of Mist

Chapter 278: Chapter 277: A Dog in Times of Peace or a Man in Times of Chaos?

In Tumu Fortress Space City, the sky screen darkened and then brightened. It was a brand new day.

Humanity had entered the Space Age, an era of near-universal cultivation. But according to the research of various leading experts, they still hadn’t completely escaped the influence of their home planet. These experts explained that aligning their daily schedules and lighting with that of Central Star was crucial for the health of the Space City’s residents.

And people believed them.

In this day and age, you weren’t qualified to be an expert without at least reaching the third major realm of Mind Art cultivation. As a result, their credibility was far higher than that of their counterparts in other world lines.

Thus, even from hundreds of millions of kilometers away, that distant blue planet continued to influence every aspect and detail of their lives, linking all of humanity together.

These shared routines and habits were what kept the era of deep-space city-states from fracturing.

「6:00 AM」 The Mu Yuan District Orphanage gradually grew lively.

This round of trial work placements had been a great success.

The metrics showed that the number of orphans placed in legitimate businesses was up by 8%, while the number headed to the Waste Dust Factory to burn away their lives was down by 12%. The average monthly income for these placements had increased by 16 value points. This was the result of all the effort and maneuvering by Situ Zhennan and Shi Tiexin.

It wasn’t an earth-shattering change, but the more Situ Zhennan looked at the metrics, the happier he became.

It was the best cohort he had ever overseen.

The trial work conditions and schedules varied by company, but the Orphanage’s cafeteria still bustled with activity. The orphans, having chosen their employers, gulped down synthetic food, desperately trying to extract what little essence they could. With their sixteenth birthdays fast approaching, they knew their time was limited. Even this food was a finite luxury; every meal was one less they would eat here.

At 6:30, the orphans left the building in groups, heading off to their respective companies for trial work. They steeled themselves, putting on their most energetic and spirited faces as they walked with trepidation down the path toward their future.

In the small, single room that got the best light, Shi Tiexin stood by the window, his gaze deep and emotional as he looked down below.

”Better to be a dog in peaceful times than a human in chaotic ones...”

’Mai Ba’s last words echoed in his mind. The image of Fujiwara Jizhen right before his death also kept replaying in his head. Truthfully, he hadn’t been particularly close with either of them. Mai Ba wasn’t a sycophant like Ah Fei, nor was he fiercely loyal like Ah D or as obedient as Guo Bing. His bond with Mai Ba simply wasn’t as deep as his bonds with the other three.’

’But watching two people swept up in the tides of a grand era die right before his eyes...’ For a teenager whose main body was only sixteen, Shi Tiexin still hadn’t fully processed it.

Just because people couldn’t read anything on his face didn’t mean he truly had a heart of stone, devoid of all thought and feeling.

It wasn’t until he returned to the Main World Line, until he opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of the Orphanage, until he turned on the tap and felt the familiar shock of a cold shower, that Shi Tiexin finally let out a slow breath. It felt like coming home after being tossed about in a raging storm.

Watching the orphans of his year apprehensively rushing toward their futures, Shi Tiexin felt that they, himself included, were the ”peaceful dogs” of a peaceful era.

Thinking of Mai Ba, who had died with such regret, Shi Tiexin suddenly thought, ’What’s so bad about being one of those peaceful dogs?’

”Peaceful dogs” had their own struggles, but undeniably, they also had their own rewards.

Shi Tiexin took a deep breath, went down to the cafeteria, and ate. Along the way, many people called out ”Brother Tie,” ”Brother Tie,” but Shi Tiexin was completely unfazed.

’The ”Iron Tyrant” of the Orphanage certainly had more prestige than the so-called ”Four Celestial Kings” of Fengming First Middle School,’ he thought. ’But compared to the ”Black Venerable” who once ran rampant across the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, it was nothing worth mentioning.’

After devouring four large slabs of meat in one go, Shi Tiexin put down his bowl, got up, and went out.

He slowly walked three laps around the Orphanage building. With every step, he gently twitched a specific muscle in his body. From his thighs to his calves, from his upper arms to his forearms, by the time he completed the three laps, the bone-deep exhaustion had finally begun to subside.

The recent string of battles had been too draining. At least, for a Cultivator of his level, it was truly overwhelming.

But what made Shi Tiexin ponder was that even after returning to the Main World Line and his original body, he still felt exhausted. The fatigue seemed to have followed him like a shadow; it hadn’t simply vanished.

His original body had only been asleep, so why was it just as tired?

’What’s going on?’

Shi Tiexin felt there had to be a profound reason behind this phenomenon.

After carefully sensing his condition, Shi Tiexin suddenly discovered that the buff that increased his stamina recovery speed seemed to have changed slightly.

’It seems to have gotten... faster?’ Shi Tiexin thought carefully, then immediately shook his head. ’No, not ”faster,” but... wait, could it be...!’

Shi Tiexin immediately began to assess the situation in his mind and suddenly came up with a hypothesis that was very likely the truth—the extra stamina wasn’t appearing out of thin air, but was being transferred from his other world lines!

He wasn’t simply getting a 50% boost to his stamina recovery. Instead, he was drawing a quarter of the stamina from each of his selves in the other two world lines.

For example, when he was in the Black Venerable World Line, he had received stamina support equivalent to one-quarter from Champion Scholar Stone and one-quarter from his main body. As the Black Venerable’s Essence Nurturing realm grew higher, his own physical fitness improved, so this stamina support seemed to have less and less of an effect.

It was just that the battles had been one after another, so he hadn’t noticed.

Conversely, now that he was back in his main world, he could receive a quarter of Champion Scholar Stone’s stamina and a quarter of the Black Venerable’s stamina simultaneously. Champion Scholar Stone was a bookworm who, in the end, was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, so we can set him aside for now. But the Black Venerable was a genuine expert who had broken through his limits. His one-quarter contribution was extremely noticeable.

With both combined, the effect on his main body was an actual increase far exceeding 50%—it was more than 60%.

It was precisely because of this stark contrast that Shi Tiexin had noticed something was amiss.

Although it was just a hypothesis, Shi Tiexin had a gut feeling that it was probably true.

’Different possible versions of me can actually support each other?’ Shi Tiexin clenched his fists, feeling a surge of excitement.

Feeling the bone-deep fatigue, Shi Tiexin suspected that his main body hadn’t just contributed a quarter of its stamina; it had likely given everything it had without reservation. It was just that when this stamina crossed between possibilities, it was dissipated for some unknown reason, with only a quarter of it ultimately making it through.

’I used to think that having to nurture my essence from scratch in every new possibility was a bit troublesome and not worth the effort. But now, it seems like the best deal imaginable! And this was just the first Destiny Mission. If I complete more of them in the future, there might be other, even better effects.’

With this in mind, Shi Tiexin’s spirits lifted as he walked back to his small room. He was ready to get his things in order and go be a proper ”peaceful dog.”