PSW - Chapter 158
Chapter 158
Wan Yinyue couldn't be entirely sure; after all, the trio hadn't suddenly attacked. But she had a gut feeling that the person completely hidden beneath the cloak was exceptionally dangerous, and her sharp intuition had saved her life many times before.
Yongdu… Unfortunately, Humanity's Light didn't know much about that city. What Wan Yinyue knew of Yongdu was all from before the apocalypse. After the apocalypse, every inch of the once-familiar Ling Country had become utterly strange. She leaned back against the car seat, reaching back to grasp Xie Congdong's hand, but she hesitated, unsure what message to convey. After a long while, she slowly wrote: Should we… go to Zhongshan with them?
If these three were truly a hidden danger, wouldn't that make them accomplices? No, they had already come this far… Even if they didn't lead the way, if this person truly had ill intentions, they would probably head to Zhongshan anyway. After writing down the question, Wan Yinyue already had an answer in her heart. If they were really a problem, then she and Xie Congdong couldn't just leave. Perhaps, just perhaps, by following these three to Zhongshan… they might find an opportunity to warn the base leader to be on guard. If this person caused trouble as soon as they arrived in Zhongshan, she and Xie Congdong could also lend a hand. Yes, that was it.
Of course, it would be even better if the journey was peaceful and uneventful, and it all turned out to be a mistake born from her overly sharp intuition.
Before waiting for Xie Congdong to write a reply, she wrote a new word: "Go."
Wan Yinyue felt a little more settled. She was about to tell Xie Congdong to get some rest—she would take the first half of the night watch, and he could take the second. But just then, Xie Congdong suddenly squeezed the fingers she was about to pull back!
Wan Yinyue frowned in pain, but before she could say anything to Xie Congdong, she felt something and whipped her head around. A dark figure was standing by the car window. The person's face was hidden in the shadow of their hood and the darkness, standing silently by the window, seemingly peering inside.
"!" Wan Yinyue's heart seized. It stopped for a moment before beginning to pound violently.
"Do you need anything to eat?" the person asked in a deep, slightly hoarse voice. He seemed to be smiling. "I'll keep watch. You can sleep soundly."
"…No, we're not very hungry. Thank you," Xie Congdong managed to squeeze out a smile and reply. Wan Yinyue's emotions gradually calmed, and she also offered her thanks. The figure outside the window didn't stubbornly linger. After hearing their reply, he turned and left. Wan Yinyue sat up to watch and saw him walk step by step toward the bonfire and sit down beside it.
It was then that her gaze fell upon Xia Sheng and Xia Cheng, whom she had found a bit odd earlier. She suddenly realized that the two of them seemed to hold a deep-seated fear of that "Xia Sheng."
She grew even calmer, closing her eyes to recall everything that had happened since they first arrived, trying to remember the details of the trio's expressions. Suddenly, she realized that when Xia Sheng introduced himself, the siblings' expressions had been slightly stunned. Their fear of Xia Sheng was ever-present, which was why they never spoke up on their own! Were they being controlled?
That's right. When the woman named Xia Cheng made introductions, she only introduced her brother, Xia Sheng. Did that mean Xia Sheng wasn't their brother at all? Both of them were ability users, seemingly transformation-types… Wan Yinyue pondered, guessing that this Xia Sheng's power might be exceptionally terrifying. At the very least, these two ability users couldn't resist him. Perhaps even with the two of them added to the mix, they still couldn't resist? Or maybe Xia Sheng had some kind of leverage or knew their weakness?
They still had to go to Zhongshan. As soon as they arrived, they would immediately find an excuse to separate from them, use their Humanity's Light token to request a direct meeting with the base leader, and tell them everything. They would see how Zhongshan planned to handle it. Yes, they couldn't alert the enemy. They would have to cover it up well tomorrow morning… She turned her head to look at Xie Congdong and said in a low voice, "Let's sleep."
The next morning, Changping quickly imposed a simple information blackout among the stationed ability users regarding the disappearance of the meteor fragment. They didn't plan to reveal Zheng Yi's existence just yet. At the very least, they needed another two or three days of hype and transition…
Ling Xunyun didn't show much distress upon learning that Zheng Yi had already taken the meteor fragment. After a simple breakfast, she set about handling the publicity. First, she would amplify the story of the ephemeral water dragon above the residential building, piquing the curiosity of the ability users and even the ordinary people in the base. This would make them proactively investigate the matter and ponder whether it was someone's hallucination or the product of an ability user's power. It would be even better if some small arguments broke out between those who witnessed it and those who suspected it was a hallucination.
Yes, for this part, they could first have a few internal ability users "act" a little, and then, during the argument, bring up questions like, "If that wasn't a hallucination, how powerful would that ability user have to be? Does such a powerful being really exist in the apocalypse?"
While Changping was organizing the groundwork, Yu Yinan stayed in her room, writing earnestly. Through the descriptions in her text, she felt as if she had returned to those days of traveling inseparable from Zheng Yi. In this short year, she had experienced adventures she had never encountered in the first twenty-plus years of her life, witnessed all sorts of people and events, and finally severed ties with the knots in her heart.
Zheng Yi… ah, Zheng Yi. Yu Yinan sat quietly in the room, but Zheng Yi wasn't there. If Zheng Yi were beside her, she wouldn't be able to fully immerse herself in her memories and depict the events they had experienced together. So, after breakfast that morning, Zheng Yi had gone alone to the Dawn Research Institute to have some experimental discussions with the Director about the meteor fragment.
According to Zheng Yi, she could provide even more fragment powder for them to conduct all sorts of research, but she needed to go there and see the details and direction of their research firsthand.
For some reason, Yu Yinan thought back to the fishing village. Zheng Yi had cleaned out the abusers inside and handed them over to the victims for final punishment. A long, long time had passed, but Yu Yinan would still occasionally remember rushing out to see Zheng Yi crouching before a little girl, offering her a handful of milk candies.
She still remembered the boundless sea, painted in shades of pink and orange, and the continuous green mountains on the opposite shore, with light always piercing through from that direction. She took a deep breath, and as she put pen to paper, she felt the wind blowing against her cheek from outside the window carry a faint scent of the sea, as if it had blown all the way from the distant Chuanyang.
There were so, so many details.
Perhaps that was the justice Zheng Yi had chosen.
Two days later.
The groundwork went even more smoothly than Ling Xunyun had imagined. Everyone in Changping, whether ability user or ordinary person, was now suspicious and curious about the water dragon in the sky, guessing whether it was a surreal mirage or the work of a powerful ability user. And Yu Yinan's efficiency was astonishingly fast; she soon handed them the first draft of the chronicle.
Ling Xunyun didn't delay. They understood that Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan probably wouldn't stay here for long. If Zheng Yi's goal was the meteor fragments, then she would likely set off for other places soon. This… was a good thing for them. To be precise, it was a good thing for all of humanity.
Soon, she and Lou Chen finished reading the chronicle together.
"Her writing is beyond imagination," Ling Xunyun couldn't help but praise. She had originally thought Yu Yinan's first draft would have many shortcomings, grammatical errors, or contradictions that needed revision. But after reading it carefully, Ling Xunyun found herself drawn in without even realizing it.
"This probably isn't the first draft. She must have done a preliminary revision and polish after finishing it," Lou Chen said, his eyes focused on the words, a smile playing on his lips. "It's really good. It could be published directly."
"Perhaps it's because it's filled with so much sincere emotion." Ling Xunyun gazed at certain phrases and descriptions. Just by reading them, she could feel Yu Yinan's heartfelt sincerity and… a reverent attitude, as if she worshipped Zheng Yi as a god. "There's nothing that needs to be changed, and I don't see any typos. Read it one more time. If you're sure, let's print it directly."
"Yes, we can also start preparing for Zheng Yi's 'performance' on stage. Let's arrange a few conflicts first. We'll have people argue near the mission center about things the Changping base officials haven't even made a judgment on, to fake a conflict." Actually, this kind of conflict would be most appropriate in a tavern, but Changping didn't have one. Or rather, with food being scarce, alcohol had naturally become a luxury.
After the conflict, they could make their entrance directly, officially introducing Zheng Yi into everyone's view. Hmm, what should the introduction be? "The guardian deity from Pujie's Humanity's Light, the most powerful ability user, the pinnacle of human strength—the 'Saint,' Zheng Yi?"
It might be a bit awkward, but that was fine. Perhaps being a little awkward would leave a deeper impression on the public. Once Zheng Yi displayed her formidable power, that little bit of awkwardness would be completely erased by the stunning visual impact and the aura of a powerful individual. By then, people would understand just how fitting those titles were.
"…You just can't think of a better introductory title," Lou Chen glanced at her helplessly, ruthlessly exposing her.
"We can't use even more exaggerated descriptions, can we? That wouldn't sound like we're describing an ability user at all. This is enough, unless you can think of something better."
The supreme being above the water dragon, the embodiment of justice, the Saint incarnate walking the earth… Okay, maybe that really wasn't appropriate. Lou Chen grumbled internally but ultimately nodded, not voicing these thoughts. "She seems to be at the Dawn Research Institute today as well. Hmm, you go inform her that everything is ready and she can perform at any time?"
Ling Xunyun stared at him, her face expressionless.
"…Alright, I don't really have much to do today, and I was planning to visit the Director anyway. Yes, I'll go." Lou Chen carefully organized and put away Yu Yinan's manuscript. No longer trying to outsource his tasks, he resignedly took the manuscript and left first. First, he had to get it printed, to turn these pages into booklets… This was truly a considerable expense. Fortunately, Zheng Yi's side could reimburse the material costs.
Thanks to Zheng Yi, the Director's research was progressing at lightning speed. It seemed they had already formulated a relatively stable awakening serum based on the meteor fragment. How many days had it been? They had already started recruiting ordinary people as volunteers for experiments. Of course, the experimental data hadn't been fully compiled yet; they were still under observation. According to the institute's latest report, research into an enhancement serum to help ability users improve their abilities across the board was also in its preliminary stages. The Director had also proposed that Chi Heqing lead a special squad to escort her to Humanity's Light to exchange research findings… Alas, he and Ling Xunyun hadn't approved that yet.
Yes, it was better to wait until the work with Zheng Yi was done and over with before seriously starting any diplomatic affairs.
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