Chapter 38: Give Me a Minute

Chapter 38: Give Me One Minute

"Wait!" Fang Xiaoling looked down at the scenery below, feeling a wave of dizziness. This was the 32nd floor. With Li Mengling’s frail body, if she fell, no one would ever be able to occupy this vessel again. She shouted, "What’s the rush? Don't we still have five minutes? How can you be so untrustworthy?"

"Trying to stall for time?" Jiang Tongtong raised an eyebrow, looking at her with an amused expression. "Fang Xiaoling, do you really think that just because I’ve caught you, you still have a chance to survive? Let me be clear: even if that Roland, who has lived through a hundred lifetimes, were here, she would be no match for me. Besides, I came here under the guise of handling the incident where Li Mengli killed a member of the Tower just to eliminate you! As for Roland, she was just an incidental target; since she has already abandoned you, it doesn't matter what happens to her."

"I get it now. The Tower, right? The Tower! I’ve heard that old man mention it—impressive! Everyone in the Tower is a chosen one! You must be someone special, definitely impressive! But why are you trying to get rid of me? We don't have any grudges, do we, sister?" The wind made it hard for Fang Xiaoling to keep her eyes open. "Is this all because of Shen Yi? What’s so rare about a stinky man? If you want him, just take him! Take him, he’s all yours! There’s no need to kill anyone, right? Besides, this girl, Li Mengling, is innocent! She’s only in her first year of high school!"

"You still have the energy to worry about others?" Jiang Tongtong gritted her teeth. "Fang Xiaoling, if it weren't for that bitch Roland interfering time and again and dragging you through time to this place, I would have eliminated you back in your original world!" She spat the words out. "Shen Yi? He was merely a small tool I used to torment you! Killing him is nothing compared to making you taste the betrayal of a lover yourself!"

"That makes no sense at all! What do you mean 'taste it myself'? What did I ever do to you? I didn't even know you before this!" Despite her shouting, Fang Xiaoling realized the situation was dire. Survival was the priority, so she immediately changed her tune. "Wait! I think I understand now. Are you talking about the things I did to you? I remember now! Look, just give me one minute to organize my thoughts. I have things to say about all that!"

"Stop playing games. What could you possibly remember?" Jiang Tongtong prepared to throw her out, but suddenly, she realized that Fang Xiaoling had fallen asleep.

"What is this? Playing dead? Hey!" Jiang Tongtong shook her vigorously, but there was no response. The girl’s arms hung limply outside the window like a lifeless doll.

"Do you think I’ll be disappointed if I don't get to torment you just because you're playing dead?" Jiang Tongtong frowned. She tried to throw her out several times, but her own lingering frustration held her back. "Fine! I'll give you one minute to see what kind of nonsense you can come up with! When the minute is up, whether you're playing dead or not, you're going over the edge!"

She said this more to herself than anyone else. Fang Xiaoling couldn't die while unconscious; that would be too easy for her. But if this dragged on and her superiors discovered her true goal was Fang Xiaoling, things might get complicated.

"Just one minute!" Jiang Tongtong gritted her teeth, counting down in her heart.

"Just one minute!" Inside the Astral Realm, Fang Xiaoling was stomping her feet, on the verge of tears. "It’s over, it’s over! I’m probably dead already! God, I can't believe this. Why is this happening to me? I just gained superpowers, I haven't even been back for ten minutes, and I haven't even had a chance to use them yet—and now I'm going to die?!"

"Miss Fang, don't be so anxious," Jung said, resting his chin on his hand. "You said you’ve only been back for less than ten minutes?"

"Yes! Ten minutes at most!" Fang Xiaoling suddenly calmed down. She sighed, "Whatever, I'm dead anyway. I’ll just stay in the Astral Realm forever. It’s just..." She started crying pitifully, "I’m sorry, Uncle Jung, the Astral Realm doesn't have daylight anymore..."

"Pfft." Seeing her like this, Jung couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry, you aren't dead yet. According to your real-world time, it confirms Einstein's calculation from three days ago: one day in the real world is three years in the Astral Realm. Before you appeared, the Astral Realm didn't pay much attention to the concept of time because none of us age. But you’ve been gone for three or four days, and everyone here missed you and worried you wouldn't return."

Einstein emerged from the crowd, "So I provided the calculation, proving you had actually only been gone for a few minutes."

"I calculated it too!" Hawking shouted from the crowd. "The old man was only a few seconds faster than me!"

"Being a second late is still second place!" Einstein laughed triumphantly. "You mere junior, how could you hope to steal the spotlight?"

"Alright, alright! Now is not the time to discuss this." Jung stopped them and spoke seriously to the surrounding spirits. "Miss Fang is in trouble in the real world; someone is trying to kill her. There might only be a minute left in the real world, maybe even less. Let’s be conservative and estimate half a minute in the real world, which gives us about nine hours in the Astral Realm. We need to help Miss Fang find a way to save herself!"

The Astral Realm erupted into a chaotic discussion, like a pot of boiling porridge.

"Everyone, stop arguing!" Jung shouted at the top of his lungs. "We don't even know the specific situation yet, what are you all debating about?! Where is... Gandalf! Gandalf! Where is he? Gandalf?!"

"Coming! I'm here!" Gandalf shouted back, swatting at the heads of other spirits with his staff. "Quiet! Quiet! I told you all to be quiet!"

Gandalf ran to Jung, looking quite honored to be called upon at such a moment. "Mr. Jung, what do you need me to do?"

"You know magic, don't you? You have a good imagination. Help Miss Fang explain the situation to everyone and build a platform so the people in the back can see." Jung patted Gandalf on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "It’s your time to shine. Don't be modest; after all, we're old acquaintances."

"You can count on me!" With a wave of his staff, a high platform rose beneath Fang Xiaoling’s feet. In truth, any spirit in the Astral Realm could have done this—it had nothing to do with magic—but as Jung had explained, he chose Gandalf for his superior imagination. It was like painting in the real world; everyone could pick up a brush, but whether the result was good or bad was a different matter.

At this moment, the entire Astral Realm centered around Fang Xiaoling. She was the only hope for light that all these spirits could see; her matters were the matters of the Astral Realm.

It had to be said that Gandalf’s imagination was indeed excellent. Following Fang Xiaoling’s description, he manifested a portion of the building. Fang Xiaoling leaned half her body out of the window and said, "This is roughly my current state. There’s a very strong woman behind me who could throw me out at any moment!"

"Wait!" Jung seemed to enjoy the feeling of leadership. He stepped onto the platform and shouted to the crowd, "Is there any woman here with great strength?!"

"I’ll do it!" A woman in a blue qipao leaped up, performed a backflip in mid-air, and landed steadily on the platform. "I am Chun-Li! A character from the game Street Fighter!"

Mai Shiranui, standing below, curled her lip, "Ugh, she beat me to it."

"Heroes need not be judged by their origins," Jung bowed to Chun-Li. "Please, go up and assist."

Following Fang Xiaoling’s instructions, Chun-Li grabbed her with one hand and held her waist with the other. Fang Xiaoling’s feet left the ground, and her entire body became like a seesaw, stuck in the middle of the window frame.

Fang Xiaoling couldn't feel pain in the Astral Realm, so she found it quite fun, but after laughing for a moment, she remembered the reality of her situation and turned serious again. "That's right! This is exactly it. She can throw me out at any second, and she’s exceptionally strong. What do we do?"

"Curse her!" a witch shouted.

"Use a substitution jutsu!"

"Wouldn't it be faster to knock her out with Haki?"

"What if Miss Fang falls out? It’s better to control her mind!"

"Stop!" Jung shouted. "This is the real world! No virtual characters interfering! Are there any real-world people here who are particularly good at fighting?"

Before he could finish, the crowd in the distance parted to reveal a circular clearing. In the center stood a man wearing a yellow jumpsuit. Seeing the spirits around him clear away, he holstered his nunchucks, crossed his arms, stood straight, and lifted his chin slightly...