Chapter 78

In the sky.

Ding Lingdang's style of driving the flying shuttle was exactly like her personality—extremely rough, domineering, and reckless. She only took 0.1 seconds to push the power array of the Crimson Flame Battle Shuttle to its limit. The shuttle instantly tore through the air, breaking the sound barrier, and charged recklessly through the sky, without any restraint.

This woman still wasn't satisfied. She maneuvered the Crimson Flame Battle Shuttle, darting left and right through the clouds, spinning at an incredibly fast speed. Li Yao felt as if he was caught in a storm, being tightly pulled by a huge vortex, suddenly thrown hundreds of feet into the sky, and then falling into the deep sea.

Li Yao had to cling tightly to Ding Lingdang's waist, his face pale. If it weren't for his extensive experience with high-speed driving from his past life, he would have vomited long ago.

Ding Lingdang stopped after speeding for about three minutes, turned back, and raised her eyebrows in surprise, smiling. "Not bad, out of ten people who ride my flying shuttle, nine pass out on the spot."

"Often, people ride your flying shuttle?" Li Yao took several deep breaths to recover, asking in disbelief.

Ding Lingdang shrugged. "There were some at first, but very few in the past two years. Every time I kindly offer to give someone a ride, they all run away as if they've seen a ghost. It's really no fun. Forget it, let's not talk about that. Come on, let's have some fun!"

She pressed a symbol array on the control panel, and with a "hiss," the shuttle's cabin door opened. A fierce cold wind immediately swirled inside the small cockpit.

Li Yao was dumbfounded, looking out through the gap. All around was a boiling sea of clouds.

They were thousands of meters in the air. What was this woman planning to do?

Ding Lingdang smiled slightly, stood up from her seat, and walked out of the cockpit, standing on the left side of the small flame-shaped wings. These wings were streamlined and very narrow, more like decorative protrusions than actual wings.

Ding Lingdang stood on the left flame wing, squinting her eyes and looking at Li Yao with a very provocative gaze.

Li Yao's mind heated up, and a surge of uncontrollable madness rose from deep within his veins. He didn't know where he got the courage, but he also clung to the edge of the cockpit, wobbling out to stand on the right flame wing.

"Aren't you going to treat me to a meal?"

Li Yao met Ding Lingdang's gaze head-on, returning it with an even sharper look.

Ding Lingdang, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, said contentedly, "Isn't the environment here nice? Look at the sky, look at the earth. Don't you feel all your worries are left behind, and your appetite opens up, ready to eat ten roasted chickens in one go?"

Li Yao was stunned, gazing into the distance, immediately captivated by the scenery at thousands of meters in the air.

Between the vast and boundless sky and earth, the clouds rolled like angry waves, forming shapes that seemed like gods and demons. Under the blood-red sunset, they were all painted in layers of red, the deepest as dark as rouge, the lightest as pink as peach blossoms.

Li Yao had never known that there were thousands of different shades of red in the world, each one so breathtaking and stirring.

With the howling wind, the sea of red clouds continuously churned, changed, condensed, and dispersed. Suddenly, a hint of golden edges emerged from the myriad shades of red, like golden fish leaping out of the red sea, transforming into wings and soaring freely.

Occasionally, a strong wind would tear open a few gaps in the sea of clouds. Looking down through the gaps, the entire Floating City was beneath Li Yao's feet.

The city resembled a giant turtle with its limbs spread out, lying quietly. Not only the flying shuttles and pedestrians, but even the towering skyscrapers had become small building blocks.

It felt as if they had been separated from the mundane world, leaving only the two of them in the vast and magnificent universe.

The surroundings seemed extremely noisy, with the wind constantly tearing at their eardrums; yet they also seemed extremely quiet, without a hint of the mundane world's clamor, only the sound of their hearts beating "thump thump."

Looking up, the sky, like a transparent giant bowl, gradually lost its azure color as night fell, and the stars rained down between the clouds.

Li Yao's heart stirred, understanding Ding Lingdang's intention in bringing him here.

In the face of such breathtaking scenery, everything in the mundane world seemed absurd, and even the biggest troubles dissipated like smoke.

Even if he really became a cripple, in the presence of such magnificent scenery, he would likely regain his fighting spirit and confidence!

In the last rays of the sunset, Li Yao's face turned bright red, and he smiled sincerely.

"The restaurant is great, but where are the roasted chickens?"

Ding Lingdang pulled out a large military backpack from behind the Crimson Flame Battle Shuttle, hooked the hatch closed with her long legs, and placed the greasy military backpack directly on the top of the shuttle worth tens of millions.

She pulled out one fragrant roasted chicken after another, pieces of braised pork knuckles, blood sausages, and a whole box of energy drinks rich in nutrients from the backpack.

Li Yao's nose twitched, and he took a deep breath, his eyes shining with excitement. "Are these all from the underground ghost market's 'ghost food'?"

Ding Lingdang grinned, showing her white teeth. "By common sense, you should eat light porridge and vegetables after a long coma. Is this greasy stuff okay?"

Of course, it was okay.

Li Yao's stomach rumbled, and without a word, he spread his fingers, grabbed a roasted chicken, and took bites from all sides, finishing a three- to four-pound chicken in four bites. The sound of chewing was like a meat grinder, his cheeks bulging and then flattening instantly.

"Finally, I'm alive again!"

After finishing one roasted chicken, Li Yao's face regained a bit of color. He licked the oil from the corners of his mouth, still unsatisfied, and reached for the second chicken.

This time, it was Ding Lingdang's turn to be dumbfounded. She hadn't expected that Li Yao, who had just woken up from a deep coma, would eat so ferociously. After a moment of shock, she huffed and also tore into a roasted chicken with her hands, holding half in each hand, glaring at Li Yao while chewing viciously.

In the sky, thousands of meters high, amidst the rolling clouds, on a luxury car worth nearly a hundred million, the two of them ate in silence, engaging in a fierce eating contest.

They had no regard for their appearance, like two ferocious beasts that hadn't eaten for ten days and ten nights, diving into a mountain of meat, chewing and swallowing like locusts, leaving nothing behind. In less than half an hour, the entire military backpack of greasy meat was devoured, and the entire box of energy drinks was drained. They had eaten almost the same amount.

Ding Lingdang shook the military backpack, pulling out the last blood sausage, breaking it in half, and sharing it with Li Yao. They looked at each other, both with their faces smeared with food, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Why didn't you leave?" Li Yao finally asked, voicing his confusion.

Ding Lingdang licked her fingers, still savoring the food. After a while, she burped and said, "I waited for you for three weeks, planning to leave. But the day before I was about to leave, I saw a brainwave activity chart of yours—drawn by a meditation master using secret techniques to outline the general state of your brain during your coma."

Ding Lingdang extended her wrist, and a 3D image appeared on the red micro-crystal brain.

At first glance, it looked like a pile of various colored paints, forming towering mountains and deep valleys, with some areas like volcanic eruptions, spewing out colorful lava.

"This one is a very typical brainwave activity chart of other long-term comatose patients," Ding Lingdang said, bringing up a second 3D image.

This image was much darker, as if the world was only in black and white, everything dull and lifeless, without peaks or valleys, like a desolate desert, devoid of any vitality.

"These two images are quite different," Li Yao said.

Ding Lingdang nodded. "The doctor told me that it's because your brain was still relatively active when you first fell into a coma. Over time, your brain would gradually become a lifeless desert. But I felt something strange because your brain activity was hundreds of times more intense than a normal person's, and I had a vague sense of familiarity, so..."

She tapped a few keys on the virtual keyboard projected by the crystal brain, bringing up a third brainwave activity chart.

This image was also colorful, vibrant, and full of life, with sparks flying.

"Look, what's different about this one compared to the first one?" Ding Lingdang asked, staring into Li Yao's eyes.

Li Yao carefully compared them for a long time.

There were significant differences in the details, but the colors were equally vibrant, the waves equally intense, both exuding a spirit of fighting to the end, invigorating and stirring.

"Is this also my brainwave activity chart?"

Ding Lingdang shook her head and revealed the answer. "No, I got this one through some connections from the military. It's a brainwave activity chart collected from battle-hardened soldiers, and when it was collected... these soldiers were on the most dangerous battlefields, fighting with all their might, battling the demonic beasts to the death!"

Li Yao was stunned, carefully comparing the two brainwave activity charts again, but still couldn't see much difference.

He hadn't expected that his brain activity while absorbing Ouyezi's memories would be so intense, almost identical to that of soldiers in the heat of battle.

Perhaps it was this intense brain activity that caused the pineal gland to tear, leading to a sharp decline in his spiritual root development.

Ding Lingdang's eyes were full of admiration. "Seeing your brainwave activity chart, I knew that even though you were in a coma, in the spiritual world, you were still fighting with all your might! So I changed my mind and decided to wait another month. And indeed, I waited for you. So, what's your next move? Do you still plan to take the college entrance exam this year?"

"Of course!"

Li Yao answered without hesitation, lightly clenching his fist, making the veins on his arms gradually appear, like dormant dragons awakening within him!