Chapter 40: Leaving Black Mountain
Early morning at the South District exit of Black Mountain. A battered stretch of asphalt road twisted away from the city and disappeared into the wasteland, vanishing toward the hazy gray horizon.
Finn’s mountain bike leaned against his leg while Jimmy stood right beside him, eyes wide and pleading.
Jimmy stared at Finn with a solemn face and asked seriously, “Bro, I didn’t hold you back last time, right?”
“Nope.”
“I’ve been working hard, haven’t I? I even awakened a new ability recently.” Jimmy put every ounce of sincerity he could muster into the words.
“You have,” Finn said, nodding.
“And my ability’s actually useful, right?” Jimmy pressed.
“Very useful.”
“So… can I come with you to Ironatom?” Jimmy asked, hope written all over his face.
“No,” Finn answered flatly.
“Bro, don’t leave me behind!” Jimmy’s face crumpled as he grabbed Finn’s arm with both hands and refused to let go. “I know I’m weak, but I swear I’ll work harder! Please don’t abandon me in this world!”
“I’m not abandoning you,” Finn sighed, gently prying Jimmy’s fingers off. “Just stay here and behave. Don’t go running around. I’ll come back for you.”
Finn had already decided. He was going to Ironatom alone. Taking Jimmy would be nothing but a burden.
Besides, Jimmy’s safety was already guaranteed. As long as he didn’t do anything stupid, no one in Black Mountain would touch him. City Lord Darius Smith had even promised to look after him and provide some protection.
Olivia had come to see Finn off. She stood a little ways back, fidgeting, clearly lost in thought. The second she heard he’d be coming back, though, her whole expression brightened.
“Do me a favor and keep an eye on him,” Finn said to her. “I know the rumors make it sound like Jimmy’s some kind of combat monster, but you and I both know his real fighting ability is pathetic.”
“Got it,” Olivia replied with a nod. “He’s a total rookie. Hand-to-hand, firearms—it doesn’t matter. A ten-year-old kid could beat him.”
“Hey!” Jimmy snapped. “You two realize it’s super rude to talk about someone right to his face, right? Couldn’t you at least wait until I’m not standing here?”
Finn didn’t even glance at Jimmy. His eyes stayed fixed on Olivia’s clear blue ones. “Train him hard for me. No mercy. Hit him with everything you’ve got.”
“No problem!” Olivia said, nodding firmly.
Finn gave Jimmy’s shoulder a light pat and spoke in his native tongue. “You got this. And keep our identities secret—don’t tell a soul.”
With that, he ignored Jimmy’s desperate begging behind him, swung a leg over the mountain bike, gave a casual push with his feet, and the bike shot forward with explosive speed, racing down the road toward Ironatom.
Olivia watched his back until the figure disappeared at the far end of the highway. Only then did she turn around, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face, and led Jimmy away.
“I’ll take you to the nearest shooting range first,” she said. “We’ll start with rifles and submachine guns—get you comfortable handling them.”
She strode ahead with brisk, confident steps, every bit the sharp, capable fighter again. The brief trace of loneliness she had shown moments ago was gone. Jimmy had to break into a jog just to keep up.
“Future sister-in-law,” Jimmy said cautiously, “when you’re training me, take it easy, okay? I’ve got a weak body.”
Olivia frowned, her pretty brows knitting together. “I’m not your sister-in-law. Just call me Olivia.”
“Uh, right. Got it.” Jimmy nodded quickly.
The two of them reached the shooting range. Jimmy fumbled with the assault rifle, learning how to aim under Olivia’s guidance.
After firing rounds all morning, his shooting had finally improved—just a little.
The gunshots were deafening. The range was basic, with no decent ear protection, so Jimmy had to stuff two spent casings into his ears to dull the noise.
After a few hundred rounds, his head was ringing so badly he thought he might get tinnitus. A constant buzz filled his skull.
Luckily Olivia was kind-hearted, not some strict sadistic drill instructor, so Jimmy still got plenty of breaks.
Whenever he showed off his lousy marksmanship, Olivia stood to the side and watched. Sometimes she sat on a metal chair, chin resting in her hands, looking distracted like she was lost in thought.
By noon, Jimmy rubbed his sore wrists, scooped a ladle of level-two purified water from the bucket, and gulped it down without bothering to check if it was clean.
Olivia walked over with a measured stride, her expression serious and composed. “Jimmy, I have a serious question for you. You’re not allowed to lie.”
“Mmm… what is it?” Jimmy glanced at her, cheeks puffed out, mouth still full of water.
“Is Finn gay?” Olivia stared straight at him.
“Pfft!” Water exploded from Jimmy’s mouth, spraying all over the ground.
“Don’t waste water! That’s level-two purified water!” Olivia frowned.
Jimmy scratched his head. He remembered how Finn had shoved him off when he tried to hug his waist, complaining it was “too gay.” So he answered with total confidence, “Bro, he’s definitely not gay!”
Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. She rested her chin on her hand again, thinking for a second, then asked with a trace of doubt, “You sure?”
“Of course I’m sure,” Jimmy said, sounding sure of himself once more. “You have no idea—back in my worl… Refuge City, I was an insanely popular dancer. I had hundreds of thousands of fans.
“A ton of them were guys, and they were all dying to get a piece of me. If Finn were gay, he would’ve made a move on me a long time ago.”
“Fans? What’s that?” Olivia asked, puzzled.
Jimmy realized he’d let something slip. Remembering Finn’s warning, he quickly rattled off some random nonsense to steer the conversation away, then swore up and down that Finn’s tastes were one hundred percent women.
……
The desert stretched out forever beneath a wide, pale sky. Wind and sand swept across the open land.
A lone cyclist cut through the wasteland, leaving a long trail of dust in his wake.
The high-energy detector was mounted right on the handlebars. Finn pedaled steadily while keeping an eye on the screen.
Crossing the desert by bike sounded ridiculous, but for Finn it was no problem at all. The mountain bike under him completely ignored the laws of conservation of energy—one push on the pedal sent the rear wheel spinning fifty full rotations, saving him a ridiculous amount of effort.
The frame of the bike was etched with a “Steady Swift Journey” talisman that kept it perfectly stable at all times. No matter how pitted the road, how deep the quicksand, or how thick the mud, the mountain bike glided over everything like flat pavement, racing forward as fast as the wind.
The desert stretched out endlessly, empty and silent. Finn had been pedaling all morning and hadn’t seen a single living soul—only the occasional vulture gliding across the sky.
At some point his thoughts drifted to Olivia Hill. That pretty blonde girl seemed to care about him a lot.
Finn wasn’t the sharpest when it came to these things, but he wasn’t blind to her feelings. Still, he was only a traveler here. He didn’t belong to this world.
If Olivia just wanted a quick hookup, he’d be more than happy to oblige. But toying with her emotions, making sweet promises, and then walking away? That wasn’t his style.
Time passed quickly, yet cultivators were used to loneliness, and Finn was no exception.
Night fell. Endless darkness swallowed the land, with only faint stars twinkling on the distant horizon.
Finn climbed a steep rocky outcrop and looked out over the vast desert below. Everything was quiet. Far in the distance came the faint howl of a wolf, and then nothing.
It was as if the vast world had been emptied out, leaving only him behind. The boundless silence pressed in from every direction, carrying a loneliness deep enough to swallow a man whole.
“Might as well set off some fireworks for myself,” Finn muttered. He pulled a nuclear rocket launcher out of his storage space.
He flipped on the fire-control switch, aimed straight up, and pulled the trigger.
A brilliant red tail flame shot into the sky. Then came the massive explosion. The deafening boom shook the heavens as a nuclear fireball rolled across the darkness like a second sun, flooding the night with blinding white light and turning the wasteland bright as day.
Under the dazzling glow of the nuclear fireworks, Finn lay down fully clothed and fell into a deep sleep.