Chapter 143 A Branch in the Nest Forest (6)

Their lips and tongues were forced to intertwine, and she tasted the metallic, rusty flavor on the tip of his tongue.

His fingers intertwined with hers, and Shu Changyan gripped her wrist so tightly it almost crushed her bones, but her drooping eyelashes trembled, like fragile butterfly wings soaked by rain.

She suddenly pushed him away, her breathing rapid, and stared at him intently. After a while, she turned her head and pressed her face against his, feeling his face burning hot.

Shu Changyan tilted his head slightly, his face nestled in her palm, his long black hair falling loosely around his neck, looking a little dazed.

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, let go, snuggled into his arms, turned her head to rest against his chest while looking at the terminal, pretending she hadn't noticed anything.

After a long while, Shu Changyan freed one hand and touched her head.

She still felt something was wrong, so she lifted her head, holding his neck, and looked into his deep blue eyes before lowering her gaze: "Get out."

Shu Changyan's eyelashes fluttered twice as he looked at her gently.

Shu Ningmiao felt that he was getting a little too excited.

His eyelids were moist, and the tip of his tongue was crimson. Perhaps he had been too idle in the capital, with no important tasks, and the passion for violence and the desire to kill had faded, while his hidden desires and obsessions became doubly clear.

The man's long, slender fingers slid down her hair, curving slightly as they gently brushed her warm face, and he smiled faintly.

The warmth seemed to emanate from him. Shu Changyan pulled her into his arms, his breath hot and moist. He nuzzled her neck like a puppy, his steady voice tinged with amusement: "Wait a minute, let me... hold you a little longer."

His long, slender fingers gently held her hand, as if cradling a light, floating cloud.

In the quiet room, Shu Changyan sat on the edge of the bed, burying his face in her cool hair, which cooled his burning skin a little.

He could hear heartbeats that were almost in sync, as if one person had two heartbeats, as if they were born to be so perfectly in sync.

With the "Lazy" state boosted by her abilities, and Weston's superb powers, she was able to run and jump again after only one day. However, there are precedents of superhumans developing infections and embolisms after treatment, so even if she has recovered, she must spend three days in the medical facility for observation.

The three-day observation period felt very long, and the news made her famous far and wide, with people visiting her every day.

Weston told her that Arcea's condition had improved a lot recently, and she was even able to walk for half an hour every day with the aid of a device.

When Arsia came to visit her, she brought her a big bag of gifts and eagerly asked her to open it. When she opened it, she found a familiar special edition of the "Superheroes" picture book.

Shu Ningmiao's heart softened.

Arcia lacked experience interacting with her peers; to be precise, she had barely spoken to anyone else. Weston himself was too lazy to deal with interpersonal relationships, let alone teach her.

She could tell that Arsya was imitating her; when she visited Arsya at the medical center when she was bedridden, she gave her the same book.

Even now, Arcia is still a little afraid of Shu Changyan. Shu Changyan didn't say anything and was placed outside the ward, leaning against the wall of the medical corridor in a daze.

After accepting Arsia's gift, she tried to talk to her about the suspicious things about Wei Shengqianheng, but she saw that Arsia looked a little puzzled.

She sat in her wheelchair, tilting her head: "I don't think I remember again."

Shu Ningmiao suddenly shut her mouth.

Perhaps because of the medication, or perhaps for other reasons, Shu Ningmiao knew that her memory was somewhat impaired, so she needed to keep a paper diary and correspondence to remind herself.

But she began to have a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Suddenly remembering something, Shu Ningmiao raised her hand that was holding Arsia's fingertips and saw the familiar string flow being pulled away from Arsia's fingertips.

The string flowed through Arsia's body, as if taking something away.

She touched the wisp of flowing string that drifted out and saw a brief flashback.

Before him was Weston's blurry face. The young man had his hands in his pockets, half his face hidden in the shadows, and his thin lips parted: "I wouldn't consider giving this kind of book to an adult unless her intellectual development is significantly below average."

He gave a cold snort: "Fine, then give her this."

"..." Shu Ningmiao opened her eyes and pinched her brow: "Was it Weston who picked you up this morning?"

Arsia shook her head, seemingly wanting to say something subconsciously, but after thinking carefully, she frowned: "...I don't seem to remember either."

Shu Ningmiao gently lowered her hand, already guessing what had happened.

While revealing the "secret" to Arsia, Xuan was also constantly revising her memories.

Every minute and every second, Arsia had to process the chaotic memories in her mind and try her best to preserve the parts she needed, which was the root cause of her physical breakdown due to overload.

Therefore, the more information Arsia revealed to her, the more of it needed to be corrected.

Therefore, Arsia was never able to reveal who the person behind it all was.

The "Omniscient One" should not be called the "Omniscient One" at all, but rather the "Guardian of Secrets." Her supernatural ability is a chronic disease that is never curable.

If Arsia's recent improvement is related to her memory loss, then it's best to prevent her from remembering it.

Omniscience is an arbitrary illusion; the more you know, the more painful it becomes.

Shu Ningmiao changed the subject, casually opening a page of the picture book. The special edition limited-edition picture book was different from the others, and it also came with a lot of freebies.

The so-called special merchandise consists of plush toys of the chibi-style protagonist wearing animal and fruit headgear, as well as a series of keychains in different poses. After all, Arcia is still a child, and she is unexpectedly interested in collecting these.

She took all the little dolls out individually and placed them in Arsia's hands.

There was also a sticker included, but the design wasn't very nice. Arcia puffed out her cheeks, shook her head, and refused, then casually put it aside.

After distributing the freebies, Shu Ningmiao turned her gaze back and randomly flipped to a page that happened to be a close-up of the protagonist of "Superhero" wielding a sword in a cool pose.

The protagonist has black hair and black eyes, and a bright smile.

This picture book is very famous and can be found almost everywhere, but Shu Ningmiao only vaguely remembered it today after looking at it closely. It seems to be an IP based on the first Phineas. Because the fictional characters make up 98% of the story and the protagonist has already started to leave the planet and conquer aliens, no one cares about this.

She picked up the chibi-style figure with black hair and black eyes, wearing a strawberry ice cream headpiece, from Arcia's arms and asked, "What's his name?"

Arcia hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Asheng?"

Shu Ningmiao, skeptical, opened her terminal and searched. The protagonist of "Superhero" was indeed named Asheng. She scrolled down and found that his companions were named Lanlan and Dena.

The protagonist, Asheng, has black hair and black eyes and is warm and kind. Lanlan is a cute white-haired girl with twin tails, and Dena is a reckless, muscular man with blond hair.

Everything seemed familiar, yet nothing felt right. She rubbed her forehead, feeling her thoughts were a bit jumbled.

After Arsia left the clinic, Shu Changyan walked in and saw her covering her forehead and eyes in deep thought, which made him frown.

"Help me get this." She slowly opened her eyes and said to him, "There's a photo inside my coat."

He did as she asked, took out the photo, and handed it to her with the back facing up.

She retrieved the photo from a file folder in Edwina's office; it was a picture of Edwina and Lanxi together.

As she left, she didn't know why, but she inexplicably took the photo with her.

Running your fingertips along the rough edge of the photographic paper on the left side reveals a completely different sensation from the other side, suggesting the photo has been cut.

She placed her hand completely over the photograph, trying to use the strings to bring it back to its original state, which was much more difficult than tracing back the wound.

This photograph has been preserved for over three hundred years, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact moment it was intact and developed.

But after fighting Wei Shengqianheng, her understanding of the string seemed to have deepened a bit, and she became much more skilled at using it.

The photographic paper tumbled and twitched in her palm. She frowned slightly and pulled out the pristine photograph.

The complete photo shows three people: Edwina, Lanxi, and...

There are also microorganisms.

His face had changed slightly, but she could recognize him at a glance. His hair was shorter than Shu Changyan's, and his eyes were curved. He was wearing combat uniform and leaning against a sword.

She handed the photo to Shu Changyan and pointed to the sword the black-haired youth was leaning against in the photo.

That sword was the one Shu Changyan used. If the council hadn't destroyed all the documents during the purge, she wouldn't have only just figured out such a simple truth now.

Somewhat anxiously, she picked at the strawberry stickers that Arsia had placed aside, tore them off, and stuck them on the back of Shu Changyan's hand. She told Shu Changyan her speculations, then opened the picture book and compared them one by one.

Although "Superheroes" is primarily fictional, the intricate connections between them are still evident.

"Who is the illustrator of this picture book?" Shu Changyan couldn't find the illustrator's name on the picture book, but when his eyes met hers, he thought of this at the same time.

The person who created this picture book should know something, even if they don't know Wei Shengqianheng.

"It's okay." Shu Changyan noticed her tense nerves and leaned closer to comfort her, letting her stick the sticker from her fingertip on his face. "I'll check, it'll be quick."

He was decisive and quick to act. The day she was discharged from the hospital, he brought her detailed results. The current illustrations for "Superheroes" are handled by a studio, while the original concept came from an artist from Pingyi who disappeared after selling the ownership of the work.

Following this clue, she found the last contact address left by the artist, which was located in Pingyi.

After Lucicolai took office, international relations became somewhat delicate. Shu Changyan could not leave Pinne at will. She had to return to Cornunos in a couple of days to participate in the second supernatural ability practice, so it was impossible for her to go to Pingyi to find someone.

This matter had to be put on hold for the time being; her first plan after being discharged from the hospital was to go to Xindi.

During the few days she was hospitalized, the Church of Yangsong closed its main church under the pretext of fasting, but not because of any special holiday, which made her even more uneasy.

With the new land under lockdown, obtaining passes became much easier. She and Shu Changyan disguised themselves simply, leaving their terminals in the capital, and quickly and smoothly entered this most chaotic place in all of Pinne.

Shu Changyan was alright, but she was the one who needed to protect her face. The photo of her shaking hands with Lucico was published in the daily newspaper for a whole week, and many people knew about her "heroic rescue".

She covered herself completely from head to toe. Shu Changyan stood with his hands on his hips, looked her over for a while, and found it amusing.

The buildings of all sizes in the new district are so numerous and chaotic that even her outfit blends in without looking out of place. Shu Changyan walked ahead at a leisurely pace, very familiar with the way to the church district.

She withdrew her gaze from observing the different routes and was led by the hand by him: "I know the way."

"Will they take you to church?" Shu Ningmiao recalled that her own parents had also been obsessed with converting to Christianity before they passed away.

“Yes, but not when I’m a little older.” Shu Changyan held her hand, the calluses from years of wielding a sword were rough, but his expression was calm and showed no sign of anything amiss: “They don’t force me to do anything. After I learned to read, I would occasionally go to the bottom of these tenement buildings to participate in ‘competitions,’ and then wait for them to go home outside the church area.”

Passing by such a place, he pointed it out to her. The so-called "tube-shaped building" is a circular wooden and bamboo-woven building that looks very fragile. In reality, the inside is just a small gambling platform, and the real competition is below. It was raided by the Self-Defense Forces, and these buildings are easy to dismantle.

It's called a competition, but it's really just a bunch of teenagers fighting each other. Winning a match earns them a dozen or so cin, enough to feed them for several days. Some people from the capital even come specifically to watch this unusual animal fight.

It seems that the money Shu Changyan used to buy her gifts all came from this source; she calculated it and it was a terrifying amount.

"You win often?"

"I've never lost." Shu Changyan didn't try to play the victim at all; his voice was casual. "So I thought I could do anything, which is why I stubbornly left Xindi."

He lowered his eyes, and his words revealed an extremely natural air, which was novel to her because Shu Changyan seemed to have no interest in these things at all.

It wasn't until she got closer to the church district that she realized there were more areas blocked off than she had imagined; the largest church was almost completely sealed off from the entrance.

It wasn't difficult for them to get in, but everything was locked up, and forcibly opening the door would be quite conspicuous.

She gestured for Shu Changyan to stand outside and keep an eye on things while she went inside to look around for any hidden doors.

Before she could find the small door, she caught a glimpse of the outline of a familiar three-wheeled motorcycle in the distant bushes. She was startled, silently concealed her presence, and quietly approached.

The freckled boy sat down in the grass, his body covered by waist-high grass, leaned against the car wheel, and fell into a deep sleep, clutching his stomach.

It's him again, that boy from the Self-Defense Force, Alan. Isn't that too much of a coincidence?

Why does he always hang around the Church of Praise?

Shu Ningmiao skillfully bypassed the patch of grass and fell behind, her footsteps silent and light, almost unreal.

The even breathing was suddenly interrupted, and the boy sat up straight with fright, looking up in surprise.

A cold hand wrapped around his neck, and Shu Ningmiao gripped his neck tightly, one hand pressing against his artery, the other pressing down on his chin to prevent him from looking around. Her voice was low and her gender and age were indiscernible, as if she were threatening him: "Take me inside."