Starry Sky Railway: Twin Origins

Chapter 171 Cutting Off the Flames

"boom!"

Sam plummeted toward the ground, and the moment he made contact, a deafening explosion erupted.

The heatwave spread rapidly in all directions, and the firelight illuminated the entire hotel lobby in a fiery red.

Thankfully, this is a scene from a dream, so it won't be destroyed.

Otherwise, Sam's shot could have blown the entire hotel lobby away.

Even Lin Qiong, who was watching from the sidelines, was spared from being hit by the blast wave because Xing was able to draw his Flame Spear in time to block him.

The situation is somewhat worrying regarding Huang Quan and Black Swan, who were near Sam's landing point and were directly engulfed by the explosion...

Soon, most of the firelight dissipated, revealing the embers flickering on the ground and Sam amidst the inferno.

"Target reaction has disappeared, cleaning complete."

Sam turned his head, surveyed the smoke from the explosion, and then began to announce the mission's completion.

"Huh? No way, Huang Quan and Black Swan lost?"

Upon hearing this announcement, Lin Qiong was slightly taken aback, finding it hard to believe for a moment.

It's one thing if others don't know Huang Quan's identity, but how could he not know?

That's the "Void" envoy, capable of cleaving through dreams with a single strike! How could such a being possibly be defeated by Sam?

Even setting aside the Yellow Springs for the moment, just considering the Black Swan, as a Memory Maker, she would be even less likely to be defeated by such a physical attack.

however.

Just as Lin Qiong was deep in thought, Sam turned around and looked in their direction.

“The troublesome fellow has been eliminated. Now it’s your turn, nameless passenger of the Star Train.” Sam raised his right hand and slowly said, pointing in the direction where Lin Qiong was.

Even though Xing was standing right in front of him, Lin Qiong could sense that Sam's gaze and the object he was pointing at were actually only directed at him.

"No, we can talk this out properly, there's no need to resort to violence right away..."

Lin Qiong spread his hands helplessly, trying to defuse the unnecessary conflict with words.

"Hmph, there's no point in saying more."

Sam didn't intend to let Lin Qiong finish speaking, and interrupted him directly with her cold, synthesized electronic voice.

Then, Sam took a few quick steps and activated the propulsion device, heading straight towards Lin Qiong's location.

At the same time.

Seeing this, Xing, who was blocking Lin Qiong's way, immediately raised the Flame Spear in his hand and went to meet Sam.

Having witnessed the destructive power displayed by Sam, Xing dared not be careless in the slightest.

She has to give it her all!

"Flame Spear, charge!"

With a low shout from Xing, the tip of the Flame Spear burst into flames, hurtling straight toward Sam with unstoppable momentum.

Instead of decreasing, Sam's propulsion system produced more noise, increasing its output power.

For a moment, both sides were closing in on each other at an astonishing speed.

Just as the two forces were about to collide, Sam suddenly changed direction and rose from the ground into the air.

Using the powerful thrust provided by the propulsion system, it flew directly over the star.

"What!?"

Upon seeing this, Xing instinctively let out a gasp.

She hadn't expected Sam to be able to change direction at high speed, and she could only continue charging forward with the fire spear in hand due to inertia.

After finally regaining his balance and stopping, Dai Xing turned around to find that Sam had already rushed in front of Lin Qiong...

"Well, so they really came for me. It turns out I'm the one getting in your way."

Seeing Sam fly directly over the star towards his location, Lin Qiong's lips twitched involuntarily.

At this moment, flames burned on Sam's fist, leaving a red trail in the air as he headed straight for Lin Qiong.

Lin Qiong could even feel the scorching heat rushing straight to his face.

however.

Just as Lin Qiong drew his Heavenly Fire Greatsword, preparing to receive the attack, something unexpected happened.

Sam's fist, which was originally aimed at him, suddenly and strangely deviated, as if it had been bounced off by something.

This sudden turn of events caused Sam to lose his balance and fall backward uncontrollably.

"Ok?"

Seeing this, Lin Qiong's hands, which were holding the Heavenly Fire Greatsword high, froze in mid-air. His brows furrowed slightly, his mouth was half-open, and his face was full of doubt.

Before he could figure out what was going on...

next second.

A purple afterimage of lightning suddenly appeared beside Lin Qiong and gradually solidified into the shape of Huang Quan.

The long sword in her hand, still sheathed, was hovering precisely where Sam had just thrown his punch...

"...How is this possible? You withstood an attack of that magnitude head-on and you're still alive!?"

Sam used the propulsion device to stabilize herself and landed back on the ground. She then fixed her gaze on Huang Quan, who had just blocked her attack.

You could even hear the surprise in Sam's slightly raised synthesized voice.

Upon hearing this, Huang Quan slowly sheathed his longsword, the tip of the scabbard pointing towards the ground, and replied calmly:

“Well, that level of fire... I couldn’t guarantee I could escape unscathed, so... I cut it off.”

“Sever...the flames? How is that possible…” Sam’s voice was hesitant, as if he did not believe what Huang Quan said.

In conventional understanding, fire is synonymous with "destruction," capable of ruthlessly burning everything and turning it to ashes.

How do you "sever" something that has no physical form?

Faced with Sam's questioning, Huang Quan didn't offer much explanation. He simply wiped the hilt of his longsword lightly with his thumb and said softly:

"I know this is hard to believe, but... everything ultimately returns to nothingness, even fire..."