Chapter 87 Patience and Deterrence (1)

impossible.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing Shu Ningmiao suddenly fall silent, the girl tilted her head and leaned towards her, her soft green eyes filled with a tentative curiosity. When she came to her senses, she smiled at her, revealing a small, pointed canine tooth.

The familiar green eyes, with their childlike clarity, overlapped with another pair of cold, indifferent green eyes.

Arcia's brother, who possesses "healing" abilities, is rarely seen but can afford her enormous medical expenses—something that ordinary ability users simply cannot do.

Two different yet strangely familiar handwriting styles on the notebook.

A missing rose petal in a beautifully wrapped gift box.

The children's picture book that was given to Arcia but ended up on Weston's desk.

Even... Arcia's familiarity with the combat simulation system.

Shu Ningmiao cupped her face in her hands, observing the girl's features so carefully for the first time.

Arsia nodded at her, grinning at her. Her cheeks weren't very fleshy, but when they puffed up, they were soft and shy, making her look adorable.

Even the contours of their facial features are somewhat similar.

—How come she only realized it now?

No, it's not entirely her fault.

Arcia has sandy blonde hair and a personality that is the complete opposite of Weston's. Who would have thought that she and Weston were related? Are these two really siblings?

But thinking about it this way, there are no other possibilities.

Shu Ningmiao lowered her head, looked directly into her innocent eyes, and helplessly rubbed her face: "You knew all along, didn't you..."

When they first met, she enthusiastically offered to introduce her brother to her, but afterwards she stopped talking about it.

Arcia turned her head to the side, pretending to observe the yellow roses on the windowsill: "Oh, what is it?"

“Weston.” Shu Ningmiao looked at her puffed-out cheeks, trying to hide her laughter, with amusement: “He’s your brother, the one who’s such a skilled healer?”

Having already completed the deal with Weston, Shu Ningmiao is simply shocked by the fact.

Why didn't you say so before?

Seeing that she couldn't hide it from her, Arcia rested her head on her hands and whispered, "Because I think you seem to really dislike him."

Did she mention Weston to Arsiya? How did Arsiya figure it out?

Shu Ning pursed her lips into a thin line, turning her head to hide her disbelief. Weston's emotional intelligence must have all been absorbed by his sister while he was still in his mother's womb!

“It’s okay, that’s why he’s called a crow.” Arcia leaned closer, took her hand, and shook it gently.

Shu Ningmiao asked instinctively, "Why?"

Arcia replied honestly, "Because it sounds awful when it's made."

Shu Ningmiao exclaimed "Ah," as she listened to Arsia launch into another tirade: "Hmm... when my brother was in preparatory school, he often got into fights with others because they couldn't stand the way he looked."

Not knowing what to say, Shu Ningmiao was not surprised at all.

“I’ll be angry with him too.” Arcia held up her diary to hide her flushed face, looking somewhat dejected. “He took the book you gave me. I’m sorry, Miaomiao.”

"It doesn't matter."

Shu Ningmiao listened patiently to her complaints, and gradually realized something unusual as she pondered: "Do you and Weston often exchange notes... or books?"

This doesn't seem to be explained by a good relationship.

The books she saw by Arcia and Weston both had two different handwriting styles.

The more illegible handwriting with the letters connected at the end is probably Weston's, but the two handwriting styles are actually quite similar, and they even read similar books.

The brother and sister are like one person, both in their handwriting and their hobbies...

"Actually... there are no secrets between my brother and me."

Arsia hesitated for a moment, then cupped her face and said, "In order to study Pandora more efficiently, we have been doing the same things from elementary school to university. It is difficult to face an enemy alone, but it will be much easier in a 2v1 situation."

With both of them being exceptionally sharp-witted, the effect was far greater than the sum of its parts (1+1>2).

But in their world, there was almost nothing else but studying Pandora.

Shu Ningmiao was the only exception, and also the only topic that could be discussed outside of research.

"So, does Weston know I was here?" Shu Ningmiao sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“I know,” Arcia nodded firmly. “He said, whatever you want.”

She was right; no wonder Arcia was so familiar with the combat simulation system, and Weston had agreed to her request far too easily.

“Then…” Shu Ningmiao held her face, her fingertips touching the heart-shaped stone earrings that dangled from her earlobes.

She recalled the yellow petal that had fallen into the gift box, and a guess formed in her mind. She paused slightly, slightly taken aback: "Did you make this?"

"I can finally tell you! My brother and I made it together. I chose the gift box. Isn't it pretty?"

"Oh, right." Arcia suddenly grabbed her hand, her soft, lovely face close to hers, a hint of curiosity in her eyes: "Did your brother say anything to you when he gave it to you?"

The girl looked very curious.

In fact, Weston didn't even hand it to her himself, perhaps because he felt embarrassed?

"No."

Arcia's interest showed no signs of waning, and she pressed her for more questions: "Do you still hate him?"

"I wouldn't say I 'hate' it..."

In front of Arsia, Shu Ningmiao couldn't possibly say anything bad about her brother, so she could only gloss over the matter.

"That must be liking someone."

"How could that be?" Shu Ningmiao casually denied. "That's too strange."

“But I like Miaomiao.” Arcia smiled at her, “My brother likes her too.”

Shu Ningmiao didn't take her childish words seriously and nodded indifferently.

She turned to look out the window. The number of people in the clinic had visibly decreased, and the garden was deserted, looking particularly desolate. "Something happened to Cornunos. Weston probably won't be able to come see you for a while. Don't worry."

She couldn't stay here forever. Shu Ningmiao stood up and helped Arcia tidy up some things that were inconvenient for her to put away, then gently covered her legs with a blanket.

Arcia looked down and stroked the pattern of the blanket on her legs, asking her as if she were confused, "What happened?"

"I don't know." Shu Ningmiao was certain that this matter was related to Prometheus and Achini, but she couldn't guess what they wanted to do at all.

What kind of threat could make the police department feel so threatened?

Feeling the warmth on the back of her hand, Shu Ningmiao looked down and found that it was Arsia who had grabbed her hand.

Arcia looked up at her: "I noticed you seemed a little distracted when you came in. Is it because of this?"

She closed her eyes, and after a long while slowly spoke: "I can sense that you are anxious and confused..."

Arcia's senses were indeed exceptionally sharp.

Shu Ningmiao squatted down: "Do you remember the person who attacked the training ground that I told you about last time?"

“I remember.” Arcia wheeled closer to her, her voice soft: “My brother also told me that before this year, Prometheus’s methods were quite mild, and most of the non-superhuman members of the United Council even supported the organization.”

Shu Ningmiao had previously speculated on this conclusion, and now it has been confirmed. The ambivalent attitude of the Pinheid government towards Prometheus in the early stages must have been closely related to the conflict of opinions within the government.

The turning point in all of this was because of Achini.

This mysterious man who appeared out of nowhere changed Prometheus and even Penelope.

“Achini…” Shu Ningmiao said slowly, “It’s really strange that we can’t find any information about this person’s name or appearance in Pigne.”

“Agni shouldn’t be his name. I met him a long time ago.” Arsia held her hand, her brows furrowing slightly at her expression. “Agni means ‘flame’ in the Intori language. He is a fire god worshipped by the Intori.”

Even the name is fake? Shu Ningmiao had an even bigger headache. She was hoping that the Pigne authorities could resolve the issue with Achini, but she felt that things weren't that simple.

She had to do something for herself.

"Where did you see it?" Shu Ningmiao asked seriously. Even if it was a code name, there must be a reason why Achini chose this name as his code name. "Is there anything else?"

Arsia released her hand, pulled a dusty book from under the table, and handed it to her: "This manuscript seems to have been left by the previous patient in the ward. I read it when I was bored. It contains the mythological hymns of Intoli."

“Achini possessed the ability to deliver offerings during rituals and was regarded as a messenger between gods and humans.”

Without Arsiya needing to read it aloud again, Shu Ningmiao had already seen the highlighted passage of ancient Pinhian in the book.

The original owner of this book clearly cared a lot about Vulcan, Achini, as this page has an unusually large number of annotations.

"It also mentions Achini's hymn, which is—'Break through darkness, burn away impurity.'"

Shu Ningmiao was still lost in thought about what she had just heard when she was suddenly startled and asked Arsia, "Could I borrow this book to take a look?"

——

Meanwhile, the round table hall in the National Union Building was already in an uproar.

"You actually believe such an outrageous statement?"

"Pine has already lost seven Pandora springs this year, who knows what will happen next?"

"Forget what those lunatics are saying, the most important thing now is to bring the missing students back."

...

The increasingly loud noise seemed to threaten to rip the roof off the Union Building.

In contrast, the corridor was eerily silent, not a single person uttered a sound until footsteps at the end broke the almost stagnant atmosphere.

The silver-haired youth leaning against the wall raised his eyelids slightly: "Director Yu, you're late."

Yu Lu didn't bother to correct his mistake in addressing him, nodded very slightly, and said in a cold voice, "Aren't you going in?"

“They’ll be arguing for at least two more hours.” Zhao held up his finger, the ring on his hand flashing with his movements, so bright it hurt one’s eyes: “Friendly advice, don’t go in now.”

Yu Lu simply stood still: "What do you operatives think?"

"If I had to be on high alert every time someone announced they were going to destroy the world, we'd be overwhelmed with work by now."

Zhao shrugged: "Let's see what the council says. I also think it's better to rescue the students first, but right now neither our superpowers nor our detectors can find any trace of them, which is a bit of a problem."

Yu Lu frowned: "Even the superpowered individuals within the Public Security Bureau can't find any trace of the students."

"It's probably some kind of superpower that can hinder the use of superpowers." Zhao rubbed his chin, his expression not very tense.

“…Besides the students,” Yu Lu couldn’t help but say, “there’s also that announcement.”

Zhao rubbed the ring on his finger and shrugged. "That Achini, is he the one who threatened the United Council to burn down the whole of Pigne? To be honest, that sounds like something my seven-year-old nephew would say."

“No one can destroy this world.” He turned his head, patted Yu Lu on the shoulder, and smiled. “Superhumans are human too, not gods.”

Before he could finish speaking, the alloy door at the end of the corridor opened automatically, and light extended to both sides through the crack in the door.

"Who?" Yu Lu stopped the conversation, frowning warily.

“It’s alright, it’s Shu Changyan. The council appointed him to protect the National Building.” Zhao straightened his seemingly boneless body: “After confirming his whereabouts, Xiao Jiang and I will go to carry out the mission. He’s guarding here, nothing serious will happen.”

Yu Lu was not surprised that the council would ask Shu Changyan to stay and provide protection, after all, he was Pigne's most readily available and sharpest weapon at the moment.

A tall, slender figure was cast against the light in the corridor. Only after taking a few steps closer could one see the young man's sharp, handsome face, which carried a hint of aggression.

Zhao said in a low voice, "Uh, don't worry about him. He's upset because his sister isn't answering his calls."

Yu Lu seemed to sense something, turned his head and glanced ahead, unexpectedly meeting the other person's gaze.

Shu Changyan, with a clear goal in mind, stood in front of Yu Lu with his arms crossed, and asked in a clear and calm voice: "What are you taking her to the clinic for?"

Yu Lu said calmly, "She said she wanted to go, didn't she tell you?"

He didn't know Shu Changyan, but he did know Shu Ningmiao.

There are many ways for Shu Ningmiao not to want to stay at school, but she chose the most troublesome one because her relationship with her brother wasn't that close at all.

Zhao glanced at Shu Changyan, then at Yu Lu, whose face remained calm, his gaze lingering on the strange atmosphere between the two.

Shu Changyan looked at him coldly, as if sizing him up. He was tall and had a natural advantage in terms of height.

"Is this an accusation? I thought you knew perfectly well why she wouldn't tell you." Yu Lu paused, then suddenly said, "Because she can't rely on you."

This was the first time Zhao had ever heard Yu Lu say such hurtful things, and it was also the first time he had ever seen Shu Changyan with such a gloomy expression.

He suddenly stood up between the two of them, stretched out his arms to create some distance, and awkwardly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Yu Lu, send me the information on those missing students, we'll take a look at it too."

The two looked away at the same time.

There are five missing students in total, all of whom are first-year students at String Light Academy.

Missing Person Number One: Erice, female, with the superpower "Light".

Missing Person No. 2: Su Ni, male, with the ability "Transfer".

Missing Person No. 3: Fordsey, male, with the superpower of "fire control".

Missing Person No. 4: Yao Ying, female, with the special ability "Pure White Shadow".

Missing Person No. 5: Pan Le, male, with the special ability "Lancet".

Apart from students in the same grade, the five missing persons did not have similar background characteristics, so Yu Lu focused on Su Ni.

Shu Ningmiao's warning was one of the breakthroughs. Su Ni was suspected of having dealings with Prometheus, and the disappearance of the other four people was likely related to Su Ni.

However, not all of the remaining four people were kidnapped.

Eric sat in the corner, feeling uneasy under the resentful gaze of his former classmate.

This was an abandoned church. She didn't know the way, only that it was one of Prometheus's temporary strongholds.

The other three missing students, Fordsey, Yao Ying, and Pan Le, were found bound hand and foot, their mouths stuffed with garbage, lying next to the prayer table.

Su Ni sat on the prayer platform with her legs crossed, her feet on one of the people's heads, and a smile on her face.

Eric asked timidly, "Why did we bring them here?"

"Because if only the two of us disappear, it will be very noticeable," Su Ni replied with a smile. "Didn't you want to avoid gossip?"

“But…” Eric frowned, “Won’t they go around spreading rumors? They might even expose us.”

“Hmm…” Su Ni stared at her with her blood-red eyes for a while, and just as Erice felt a chill run down her spine, she suddenly chuckled: “You’re too cute.”

He jumped down from the prayer platform and stomped on one of the boys' heads, stomping his face into the ground.

Why do you think they can go back?

Su Ni rested her chin on her hand, a pool of blood spreading from under the boy's head, making Erice dizzy: "Do you remember who they are?"

When Eric saw the bloody scene, his legs went weak. He wanted to stand up but had no strength. He could only watch helplessly as Su Ni pulled the man up from the pool of blood by his hair and cut the ropes.

“Him?” Su Ni’s face was splattered with blood from the struggling man. “He even said before that I was the offspring of a whore.”

He then looked at the woman beside him: "You too, tell your sister I was brought back from that kind of place, I don't know if I caught any diseases."

The girl shook her head in horror.

"This person even gloated at the Shi family's banquet, wanting to search you in front of everyone."

Su Ni looked at Eric with disinterest: "You know them, right? Didn't they treat you the same way? Don't you want to get revenge?"

He pulled out a dagger from somewhere and plunged it deep into the boy's shoulder blade. The boy's face contorted in pain, and a wail escaped from his gagged mouth.

Eric screamed and shook his head frantically, just like the girl: "Don't do this, Su Ni, don't do this."

Upon hearing her words, Su Ni's face suddenly darkened. She strode towards her, bent down, and patted her face with the blood-stained dagger: "My task was to bring you here. The rest is none of my business."

The cold dagger and the scalding blood touched her skin at the same time, and Erice felt as if all her strength had been drained away, feeling that the person in front of her was extremely unreal.

That gentle, timid boy seemed to have suddenly become a different person.

"Your hypocritical expression is so annoying." Su Ni's blood-red pupils stared at her, the back of the dagger slid across her face: "I don't need your sympathy. Don't look at me like that. Don't you hate these people too?"

"You say we're friends, but when I tormented him, didn't you feel a sense of satisfaction?"

"Your kindness is just cowardice. You also want them to die, but you just don't dare to do it."

Su Ni's words seemed to plunge her into an ice cellar, but with the knife tip pressed against her face, she dared not move.

"Tsk." Seeing her expression, Su Ni knew things were getting out of control. She lowered her head impatiently, her eyelashes brushing against Su Ni's face: "You just need to sit here obediently."

He took a pink hair clip out of his pocket and pinned it to her head. Erice struggled, only to find that her body was paralyzed and unable to move.

He turned and walked away, standing in front of the three people. He spun around in high spirits, his white trench coat swaying with his movements, the hem covered in freshly splattered red.

Erice gagged, tears welling in her eyes. After Su Ni put the pink hair clip on her, she was like a doll, sitting still and unable to move.

Su Ni tilted her head and smiled at her, staring into her eyes, before plunging the dagger into her own chest.

The blade moved in and out of the flesh, healing rapidly, while the person crawling at his feet kept getting more wounds.

Her former classmate crawled on his stomach to her, grabbed her ankles tightly, and pleaded desperately.

Bloodstains were flowing on the ground in a gruesome manner, and the surrounding chairs and candles had turned reddish-brown.

The boy's mouth was wide open, as if he wanted to say something.

Su Ni bent down, lifted his head, and ripped the garbage out of his mouth, but the boy didn't make a sound again.

"Oh." A strange smile appeared on Su Ni's face as she slowly released her grip: "He's dead."

Thick, sticky blood splattered around Erice's feet.

"They deserve to die. These are the people who exploit 'us' and have been bullying you all along."

Su Ni stroked her arm with that blood-stained hand. The once beautiful face was now covered in chilling blood, sending shivers down Su Ni's spine. "Have you forgotten?" she asked.

His lips were still moving as he tried to persuade her, but his eyes shone with a strange, intoxicating light, a pure pleasure at controlling the life and death of others.

Erici's mind went completely blank. The boy's pitiful face, the scars on his body, and the way he stood up for her when everyone questioned him were like a piece of glass shattered by a stone, breaking into countless pieces in front of her.

On that day, she saw the real demon.