“Heh, heh, don’t even try to trick us thinking we are just villagers. We know the world is ending. Do you think we don’t have cell phones to keep us updated?”
“That’s right. You can call the government over to deal with us instead!”
The villagers shouted bravely with the knowledge and backing they had. They didn’t take Du Gang’s words seriously at all.
After all, the village chief was experienced and wise. He felt that this group of young people wasn’t as simple as they appeared. The village chief reassuringly said: “Oh, you’re not exactly right to say that. The country has indeed provided maintenance for the bridge and roads, but it was such a long time ago and they have deteriorated again. It was us who forked out money to repair them ourselves…”
“The reason why we don’t let you through is because this bridge is about to collapse. So, return the same way you came from and take a detour somewhere else!”
Du Gang and others once again puckered their brows. If this were before doomsday and the navigation system was still working, they would have gone by another route; even waterway navigation could give them a way out.
But the situation was different now. Not only did their phones not have a signal, but navigation systems also didn’t work. If they relied solely on paper maps, they wouldn’t know their exact location if they were to deviate from the route.
As Du Gang was taller, he had a good look into the village even after the path was blocked.
He spotted a huge dark stone in the center of the village and placed it in front of it were some offerings and joss sticks. At a glance with his superb eyesight, he saw that the joss sticks were still lit.
Apparently, this stone was worshiped by the villagers not long ago.
“What is that stone in your village?” Du Gang asked, pointing at the center of the village in the distance.
The villagers looked back and were startled. Although they couldn’t clearly see where the center of the village was, they knew that it was where the Heavenly Stone was. They were stunned by Du Gang’s amazing eyesight.
“That’s our village’s Heavenly St—”
“It’s nothing!”
Before a villager finished speaking, he was abruptly interrupted by the village chief, who quickly explained: “It’s just an ornament of our village…”
“Ornament?”
Du Gang chuckled and plainly said: “But why do I see joss sticks in front of it?”
The village chief looked at him with a wary face and tried to calm himself down, saying: “That’s where we worship our ancestors!”
The other villagers also stopped talking at that moment as they stared intently at Du Gang and the others, gripping the farming tools in their hands a little tighter.
As long as one wasn’t blind, one could clearly see that the villagers were acting strangely.
“Du Gang, why don’t we take a detour?” An Ya whispered. She wasn’t worried about the safety of her group, but was afraid that Du Gang would go on a killing spree after transforming.
At that moment, Chu Zixuan had also finished his investigation. He nodded to Du Gang with a plan in mind, indicating that he had figured out the situation.
When Du Gang saw his gesture, he laughed: “Are you sure you won’t let us pass?”
“You won’t come through!”
“Young man, listen to the advice of this old man. Go around!” Du Gang shook his head and said to Chu Zixuan and others, “Get in the car!”
The villagers saw them getting into the car and were instantly relieved. Du Gang’s muscles were terrifying. They wanted to avoid having any confrontation with him.
The bridge was blocked by bags of sand and dirt, and even though the group, except Du Gang, got into the car, it still looked to the villagers like they were preparing to turn around.
However, the next scene shocked them.
Du Gang, who stood still, suddenly became bigger, reaching a height of more than five meters. Then, he covered his crotch with one hand, grabbed the car with the other hand, and stomped on the ground.
Boom!
He leaped high up in the sky and over the bridge with the car in hand, landing on the other side of the bridge.
“W-What!”
The villagers were dumbfounded as they looked at the direction where Du Gang had jumped over.
The education they received since childhood made it impossible for them to imagine that a normal person could suddenly grow to more than five meters tall, grab a car, and jump away…
“What is he?!”
“How did he become so big?!”
Some villagers began to panic as fear was written all over their faces.
“Is that man a monster?”
“He crossed the bridge—will Lord Heavenly Stone’s magnetic field be destroyed by him?”
The flustered villagers discussed everything.
The village chief was also bewildered, but immediately returned to his senses after hearing someone mentioning Lord Heavenly Stone.
He loudly chided: “He must be the Giant Spirit God, a guard of the Southern Heavenly Gate. After discovering Lord Heavenly Stone, he came by to greet and has already left!”
When this statement was made, the villagers, who were on the verge of going crazy, immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether it was true or not, they all spoke up: “So that’s how it is. The mighty Lord Heavenly Stone isn’t afraid of the Giant Spirit God!”
“That’s not true. Lord Heavenly Stone is the divine stone of the Nine Heavens used by Goddess Nüwa[1] to mend the heavens…”
“But that Giant Spirit God’s buttocks were exposed after the transformation…”
“Shut up! You mustn’t be rude to the Giant Spirit God!”
Upon sensing that the conversation between the villagers was heading in a direction of poor taste, the village chief immediately stopped them.
Moreover, their criticism of the Giant Spirit God was by itself a very serious problem, not to mention the ideological and moral piece of the problem.
After being warned by the village chief, the villagers quickly watched themselves and none of them continued to discuss Du Gang’s transformation and him being naked. Instead, they praised the greatness of Lord Heavenly Stone.
“Thanks to Lord Heavenly Stone, we were able to survive…”
***
After Du Gang crossed the bridge with the car in hand, he quickly regained his true size and hopped into the car hurriedly.
He had a very helpless problem right now, where after each transformation he would become naked…
Back then, in school, the plus-sized school uniform pants could still hold up after his transformation. But since his advancements, there was no clothing that could do the job.
After entering the car, he quickly covered his crotch with his backpack.
An Ya, in the driver’s seat, blushed. The moment Du Gang transformed, she had a clear view from the front…
“An Ya, you didn’t see it, did you?” Du Gang subconsciously asked.
“No! I didn’t see anything!”
An Ya denied right away without even thinking about it, at the same time stepping on the gas pedal and driving the vehicle ahead.
Du Gang quickly put on a pair of pants and let out a sigh of relief. Then, he turned around and asked: “Chu Zixuan, what did you find?”
“I scanned the entire village and found something that couldn’t be penetrated by my spiritual power!”
A faint smile appeared on Chu Zixuan’s face as he continued: “Since I awakened my supernatural power, nothing could resist being scanned by my spiritual power except for the crystals inside the insects’ skulls… Right in the center of their village, you did see that large stone, didn’t you?”
“Yes!”
“In the center of that large stone is a smaller rock the size of a fingernail I couldn’t scan… Also, I found that there were no insects around that stone for… a wide range!”
The crowd knitted their brows and had some kind of suspicion in their minds.
“I suspect that it is a stone that isolates insects…”
[1] Mother goddess of Chinese mythology who created all mankind.