Chapter 160 Painted Body Swallowing Charcoal (9)

She didn't ask how You An left; if he could be here, he should be able to leave in the same way.

Shu Ningmiao withdrew her hand, but You An still looked dazed: "If Prometheus regains his power and poses a new threat to Pines, they might change their strategy."

Upon closer reflection, it seems that the last truce between Pigne and Intori was also influenced by the developments of Prometheus. Achini's actions were too reckless, forcing the higher-ups to recall all their agents to the Union House.

The internal and external situation in Pigne is like a swaying scale. Once the internal crisis in Pigne weighs down like a weight, nothing else will be able to compare. But if it really develops to that point, Pigne will hardly have a peaceful day.

"Really?" You An suddenly raised her head, and her only remaining eye regained some of its former color, revealing a hint of stubbornness.

How could Shu Ningmiao guarantee anything about this? "You should go and discuss it with Eric first."

In any case, if Eric knew he was still alive, he would probably be happier than Eric himself.

She gave You An a push, urging him to flee deeper into the jungle.

You An staggered a few steps and couldn't help but turn back to look at her: "Then what are you going to do? How are you going to explain to those people if you let me leave?"

"It's nothing," Shu Ningmiao said without offering further explanation.

When Lucico agreed to let her handle the Yu case alone, she already had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

This man doesn't care about You An, or rather, he doesn't take You An seriously.

His goal from the beginning was her; she was the big fish Lucicole caught.

Even though she was mentally prepared, she still found it difficult to immediately return to face Lucico. The ability to read minds was devastating to a person's thinking; if she let her guard down for even a moment, Lucico could easily break through her defenses.

Shu Ningmiao hesitated for a moment before walking out of the woods.

The burly man next to Lucico began to frown from a distance and questioned her, "Where is he?"

"What escaped was just a clone left behind by the flames." Shu Ningmiao remained calm, showing no sign of tension. "That's it."

The burly man thought about it carefully and it seemed to make sense. He subconsciously examined her face but couldn't find anything to question.

The ground, which had been ravaged by the fight, had now been cleaned up, with only the damp water stains on the ground giving it away. Lucico sat in his former spot, still looking presentable.

“It’s alright.” Lucico placed his hand on the armrest of the folding chair and turned to look at her sideways. “Thanks to you all.”

He wasn't surprised at all; he simply reached out and invited her to sit back down: "Shall we continue our conversation?"

"good."

He waved his hand, signaling the people around him to make room: "Monk, take Qianqian to the shallows, didn't she want to fish for shrimp?"

The girl with pigtails, called Sisi, asked in confusion, "When did I say that..." but the bald, burly man covered her mouth and half-pushed, half-carried her away.

The burly man lowered his head and coaxed her, "Let's go, let's go. We'll go into the mountains and see if we can find any other traces of that person."

Only after they were far away from the lakeside where Lucicolai was sitting did the bald, burly man codenamed "Monk" release his grip, examine the fire-scorched marks in the forest, and stride toward the direction Shu Ningmiao had come from: "This man's ability reminds me of someone."

Sisi wiped her mouth with her sleeve, quickly caught up with him, and said irritably, "Who?"

“…Achini, didn’t you know? The terrorist who was active in Pigne before, his ability seemed to be related to fire, and he hasn’t been dead for very long.” The monk pinched his chin: “Maybe he’s not dead.”

“How should I know?” Sisi kicked a stone at her feet. “Back then, I was still in the orphanage fighting with my peers for tranquilizers.”

“So you should be grateful to the representative,” the monk said earnestly, following the trail of blood up the forest, where it suddenly disappeared at one point: “It seems it really is gone.”

"That's right, don't you trust that girl?" Sisi's eyes darted around. "I think she's amazing."

“Being strong doesn’t necessarily mean she’s good.” The monk felt somewhat helpless. Everyone else was good, so why did he have to be the one to take care of this unfortunate girl? The girl, just entering puberty, was full of thorns and only had a natural affinity for the strong. He had carefully taught her for more than half a year, but before he could even exchange two words with the black-haired girl, she started to side with outsiders.

Shu Ningmiao didn't pay attention to their conversation. She mechanically sat down in the chair next to Lucico and tried to distract herself by thinking about something else.

“Do you know why he came?” Lucico asked her.

What else could it be for...? He knew it all too well.

Shu Ningmiao's tone was devoid of emotion, as if she were stating the truth: "Not everyone likes war."

Lucico asked in quick succession, "Then do you think I should abandon the withdrawal from Intori?"

Shu Ningmiao knew he wasn't asking for her opinion. She turned to glance at him, looking weary of his roundabout way of speaking: "Whether it should or shouldn't be said, countless people have already said it to you."

Lucico laughed heartily: "Yes, that's right. You say it's okay, I do it today, and tomorrow he says it's not okay, so I give up tomorrow. What's the point of accomplishing nothing?"

“I know many people think I’ve done something wrong,” Lucico said, “but in the end, the facts will prove me right.”

Shu Ningmiao nodded perfunctorily.

“A few days ago at the Union Building, a man tried to assassinate me. He was an employee of the security department. He said that I had caused the internal strife in Pinnech. It’s ridiculous. The contradictions and conflicts accumulated over hundreds of years, the support and opposition to the development of Pandora between people with superpowers and ordinary people, is this caused by a war? No, quite the opposite.”

"—Look, are people still discussing Pandora lately?" Lucicole narrowed his eyes. "...Because of this war, everyone has rediscovered the importance of Pandora. The environmentalists and anti-Pandora factions have all disappeared. They must understand one thing: if it weren't for Pandora, would we, Pines, be so powerful? I have never instigated any internal conflicts within Pines. On the contrary, I have been resolving our domestic conflicts. The war has united us like never before."

Shu Ningmiao said, "This spirit of unity makes us hate strangers without any reason."

“The people of the Tori are not our compatriots, and there is no need to feel guilty about hating them,” Lucico said calmly. “War is not an end in itself, but a means to solve problems. We can get something better through this method, and at least it will make the people of Pinhes happier.”

"Fine." Shu Ningmiao didn't want to argue with him: "What exactly do you want to tell me?"

Lucico looked away and clasped his hands together: "Then I'll be frank. You don't need to count how many legs an ant on the ground has in your head. I won't use my powers on you anymore. This is my way of showing my sincerity."

He chuckled and said, "I'd like to make a deal with you."

The surroundings were completely silent. Shu Ningmiao held her breath, her gaze fixed on his face, but she didn't relax at all.

Lucico smiled and pulled a cone-shaped pendant from his suit lapel.

He held the pendant's chain, letting it dangle in front of them.

"This is a heart stone pendant. You should recognize it, since you and Weston seem to know each other quite well."

Lucico looked at her meaningfully and subtly adjusted the pendant: "It doesn't fluctuate, which proves I haven't used any superpowers. Is that alright? A politician's credibility is very valuable, and I won't waste it on something like this."

His words made her even more certain that he had been secretly watching her for a long time, and it was still unknown whether such attention was good or bad.

Shu Ningmiao finally spoke: "What deal?"

"You, come and protect me."

The two met eyes through the pendant, Shu Ningmiao staring at him with a hesitant look in her eyes.

The chain dangled from between Lucico's fingers like a snake.

He leaned back in the folding chair and said, “I hope you can protect my safety and work for me personally as a candidate for the position for the next two months.”

At her age, entering the system of enforcers is like a meteoric rise, equivalent to breaking free from the limitations of ordinary rules and being able to do more.

Both publicly and privately, she had no reason to refuse.

But with so many superhumans in the capital, why did Lucico choose her? She seems to have nothing in terms of status, strength, or loyalty. If she were Lucico, she would never keep someone like that as a bodyguard.

“Why did I choose you? Because I think you are the strongest ability user in Pinnech right now.” Lucicolai joked, “I have fourteen meetings and open-air speeches to attend during this period, and I need to hire the strongest person as my bodyguard in case she is hired to assassinate me one day.”

“Don’t look at me like that,” he flicked the pendant again. “I don’t use any superpowers.”

He said gently, "People can deceive themselves. If I relied entirely on superpowers to do things, I wouldn't be sitting here."

"I didn't think that way." Shu Ningmiao said calmly, "I'm not the strongest superhuman either."

“I have met many people, but none of them have ever possessed a Pandora as powerful as you.”

Lucico gazed at her meaningfully: "You and your brother are the complete opposite, aren't you?"

Can he determine the Pandora within someone else's body?

“It’s a little trick.” Lucico seemed to see through the doubt in her eyes again: “The higher the Pandora content in a person’s body, the louder the sound I hear, so the more you think, the louder it is for me to hear—I won’t bother myself with that, right?”

Shu Ningmiao shut her mouth, avoiding the trap in his words: "I don't know."

He sighed: "I thought I was being very sincere, so what's your decision? Are you willing to accept it?"

Unsure of what Lucicolet was planning, she moved her lips slightly but did not immediately agree.

She doesn't trust Lucicolet and knows that Lucicolet can't trust her either. Given this situation, could it be a trap for Lucicolet to put her by his side?

A chilling silence lingered for a long time.

Lucicolai shifted his position, crossing his legs, and suddenly brought up a completely unrelated topic: "I've met your brother."

Shu Ningmiao knew that Shu Changyan had served as his bodyguard for a period of time, but she didn't know if Lucico had ever read his mind.

Lucico quickly answered her question.

“Of all these people, I just couldn’t read his mind.” Lucico’s eyes still held a hint of regret. “He’s a very dangerous individual, but his mission level is very high. Do you know why?”

"……Why?"

“As long as you have something you want to protect in your heart, you can be driven to become a sharp weapon. I believe you will eventually become like him.” He revealed a knowing smile, as if he had something in his grasp: “Because I said, this is a deal.”

“You may have heard about the Cherubim Project and speculated about some of the actions. Most people in the council think that after the destruction of the Intori, the Envoys will become the biggest threat to Pine. But I don’t think so, because I am also a superhuman. The identification of ‘fellowship’ is a very subtle thing. Humans think they are human, Pine people think they are Pine people, and superhumans think they are superhumans. This sense of identification makes us protect each other.”

Lucicolai spread his hands: "You guarantee my safety, and in return, I will recall some of the agents in Intori ahead of time, such as your brother. It's a win-win situation."