Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 797

Chapter 797

Chapter 797: Guanyin, Queen of Heaven

Hua Li frowned . “This is good, but also troublesome . A hundred million people . Our bastions can accommodate them, but it’s like housing a hundred million ticking time bombs . One misstep and it can all blow out of control . ”

Kang Hui nodded his agreement . “I also feel we can’t bring them onto the ships . We don’t know if there are alien spies among them, and the ones that take human form are their strongest . We can’t afford any trouble from within . I recommend leaving them where they are, containing them on the planet somehow . ”

Lan Qing’s face was solemn, this was a problem indeed . They’d had a plan, but part of it had been contingent on some of the humans having avoided mutation . Now it seemed all of the survivors had been tainted by the aliens . This was a problem because these unfortunates now had to be contained and fed, and given adequate space .

The three bastions had brought along a lot of energy reserves for the fight, but its food stores were limited . Providing for so many people was impossible – maybe over the short term, but no one could know how long this war would last . Sending them to another planet presented a whole other set of problems, since they couldn’t know how much trouble a hundred million aggressive mutants would cause . Then there was the time it would take to send them all .

What to do? It was a problem Lan Qing was struggling to resolve .

“Bring Lan Jue in on the conversation, see if he has any suggestions . He knows the aliens better than anyone . ” Hua Li suggested .

“Right . ” Lan Qing dialed in the number to his brother’s communicator .

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“I understand . ” Lan Jue quickly grasped the breadth of the problem his brother was describing . “I think Hua LI’s right, we can’t bring them onto the bastions . We are humanity’s last hope, destroying the aliens has to be our main priority . We can leave them on the planet for now and figure out what to do with them later . We can also contact the Eastern and Northern governments to send food and aid, they shouldn’t be too reticent to help with that . We just won a major victory, they won’t have any choice but to help us . ”

Lan Qing nodded his head . “This is an option, but remember it isn’t just this planet we have to consider . There are seven others where we can expect similar situations, and we don’t have enough soldiers to even keep an eye on them . We couldn’t even if we had twice the amount of forces . Not when we have the alien home worlds still to fight . ”

Lan Jue’s face scrunched in thought . He seemed to come to a prompt decision . “If we can’t control them then we simply don’t try . Once we take care of the progenitors on these planets we just ignore the infected for the time being . We leave them to their own devices until the alien menace is handled, then we can tackle that problem . These mutants are hardier than normal humans after their infection, they’ll be fine for a while . ”

The others mulled the idea for a moment . It seemed like the best option .

Suddenly, Zhou Qianlin’s voice intruded . “A-Jue, can you bring one of the infected here to me? I feel like there’s something I might be able to do for them . ”

The other three heard her as well . When he heard the voice a small smile spread across Lan Qing’s face . He knew then that their breakthrough had been a total success, and Zhou Qianlin had awakened .

Hua Li was surprised by the revelation and rapidly blinked his eyes . “Qianlin’s back?”

Lan Jue nodded, smiling .

Only Kang Hui was out of the loop . “Who is this? She has an idea of how to handle the infected?”

“I’m not sure,” Lan Jue replied . “She and I have just ascended to Paragon . Her powers are focused on healing, so we can give it a shot and see if there’s some way we can help them . Keep the line open, we’ll try now . ”

“Alright . ”

Lan Jue raced off . A few moments later he returned with two infected victims, a man and a woman . Both of them had had their spirits sealed away by Luo Xianni’s powers and had slipped into a coma-like state .

When Lan Jue put the two of them before Qianlin, something strange happened . Even before she did anything the two victims seemed to sense her presence . They shook and jerked violently as a purple mist steamed off of them . As the toxic cloud was dispersed by the wind their bodies also began to change, shrinking back to normal proportions as the purple hue that tainted their flesh receded .

“This…” Lan Jue had believed her when she said there may be a chance she could help them, but he did not expect the presence of her aura to be enough . It was incredible .

He shut his eyes and extended his perception toward the infected humans, searching their bodies for mutations . Quickly he discovered that they both had something like a Core nestled in their chests . Both were fractured and an energy spilled from them, manifesting as the purple mist they’d witnessed . The toxic cloud dissipated without foundation wherever it drew near to Qianlin, all without her needing to do a thing .

Without this aberrant Core altering them, the victims’ bodies quickly returned to normal . Their blood flow slowed and the abnormal swelling of their organs was reversed, followed by the rest of their bodies .

Qianlin waved her hand, birthing a wave of white light that settled over the two of them . Instantly the rate of recovery hastened . In a few short minutes they were back to normal .

Lan Jue and the others he was connected with watched the whole thing . The four men gaped at what they saw . This perplexing dilemma that faced them was dealt with after almost no effort, and in short order .

Lan Jue performed another quick check of the victims and discovered no residual problems . They were healthy as could be, but for the fact their spirits were still locked away . That was the only thing keeping them asleep .

Lan Jue called out . “Driver, bring more of the infected over here . ”

But Qianlin shook her hand . “No need, I’ll handle it . ” As she spoke she took a single step forward, remaining close to Luo Xianni . A white aura sprang up around her and slowly began to spread out . As it did an image appeared at her back, the dharmic manifestation that looked so much like her .

The image grew to several times the size of Zhou Qianling, its white gowns fluttering in an unfelt wind . As it hung suspended in air, arms spread, a saintly aura flooded the arena . All of a sudden the white aura surged in all directions .

The Driver, Gourmet, and Pharmacist had been grappling with the problem of how to deal with these poor souls when suddenly that white light swept by . To them it felt like their protogenia was stirred to life and all traces of exhaustion washed away . The Driver felt it with particular sensitivity . After gaining insight from Lan Jue’s breakthrough his powers had been tempestuous and wild, but the white light set them at ease .

They watched bewilderment as the mutated humans began to change, their monstrous appearance melting away as mists poured from their orifices . All traces of the poison were borne away by the white light and wiped from existence . The demon-like casualties were returned to normal before their eyes .

“This is…”

They were stunned as they saw the biggest humanitarian problem ever faced handled without explanation . Then they saw the image floating in the sky . The image of Qianlin was rich his holy emanation, suspended above them like a faerie goddess .

“This… this is a living Guanyin!” A stunned Pharmacist said aloud to herself . She had a great deal of faith in her own Domain, but upon seeing Qianlin’s she couldn’t help but be filled with admiration .

Not only was she beautiful, but her presence brought with it a breath of nourishing warmth . Pathogens and evils of all sort were cleansed in the light of her aura, and the whole arena was blessed .

The three Paragons felt the urge to bow their heads in worship to the image, to say nothing of the normal forces that had come to join them .

“Guanyin, Queen of Heaven . What do you think of this name for a title?” The Gourmet offered .  1

The Driver’s smile was a ringing endorsement . “Not bad, it suits her . ”

The image returned to Qianlin’s side, that welcoming smile ever present on her perfect features .

“That sounds fine . ”

Lan Jue took her into his arms and gave her a gentle kiss . “My love, you are incredible . The Gourmet thought we might call you Guanyin Queen of Heaven . I think that’s a fitting name . ”

“I wouldn’t dare blaspheme the goddess of mercy,” Qianlin hurriedly said .

But Lan Jue was insistent . “How is this blasphemy? You help bring the goddess’ light to all people . Helping so many honors the Buddha and brings happiness . ”

Qianlin couldn’t help but smile . She was a good person, and there was nothing more pleasing to her than saving lives .