Chapter 269 The Embrace Behind
I had previously promised Mazao that I would help her get used to modern society, and later, in my spare time, I would occasionally take her out to enjoy the scenery of peacetime. However, recently, I've been so busy and it's inconvenient to stay in the city, so this project has been temporarily put on hold.
Now that we had a rare two days of safety, and were about to set off for Moonshadow Mountain, which was three or four hundred kilometers away, I took the opportunity to take her on a train ride.
Actually, if I first launch the "Fireflies" at dozens of times the speed of sound to the Moon Hidden Mountain area, then use fire teleportation, and combine it with Asaha's spatial teleportation, we can reach the target location in a very short time. No other means of transportation can match this method in efficiency. However, I've noticed that Asaha has always had a considerable curiosity about many public facilities.
I heard that in the post-apocalyptic era, although not many people use vehicles like cars and motorcycles, some of them are still operational and rideable. Asaho said she seemed to have seen them a few times. But large public transportation facilities like trains and airplanes are different. She had only seen abandoned trains and airplanes before, and had never seen them in motion.
Even if we arrived at the Moonshadow Mountain area a few hours early, we would still have to wait in the ancient town at the foot of the mountain until tomorrow before we would have a chance to encounter Silver Moon, who had taken Chang'an's soul hostage. At least that's what the Lord of the Divine Seal expressed in his dream last night. So I took the opportunity to satisfy Mazao's curiosity. On the other hand, I also had my own little scheme.
Actually, I had already launched the "Fireflies" ahead of time, intending to conduct a search in Moonshadow Mountain first.
That area is likely where Silver Moon is lurking. Although even if I go there beforehand, I probably won't encounter her, but I might find some useful clues. Besides, since it's Silver Moon's territory, who knows what kind of dangerous place it might be? I enjoy adventuring in unknown territories, but that doesn't mean I'll deliberately step into them unprepared. Preliminary investigation is also part of the adventure, and the "fireflies" are designed to be used as reconnaissance tools, so this is making the most of them.
Once we reach the target location, Asahi definitely won't choose to stand aside. In fact, since I'm relying on her jinxed nature to help me find Silver Moon, and she possesses investigative and tracking abilities far exceeding mine, I'll certainly have to depend on her a lot. To prevent any accidents from happening to her, I must first use the time on the road to thoroughly check for any potential "landmines" at the target location.
We had a quick lunch of hamburgers and fries at the train station before boarding the train.
I bought a sleeper ticket. The carriage wasn't crowded; about half the berths were empty. There were adults and children nearby, some well-dressed, others disheveled. Some were chatting, while others were playing audio on their phones.
I led Ma Zao to her assigned berth. She looked around with interest, though I couldn't quite put my finger on what was piquing her interest. Perhaps, from her perspective, the mere sight of so many people sitting or lying around her in relaxed postures was enough to make her feel curious and intrigued.
Looking at the surrounding scenery, I suddenly remembered what Dongche had said. He said he had captured the senior researcher from the Humanitarian Affairs Department while traveling by train near the Fufeng base. So, after leaving the Fufeng base this morning, he must have also left by train. Of course, he probably isn't on the same train as us now. Besides, he promised me that he wouldn't go near Hujia Village in the next couple of days. Maybe he's still in a town near the Fufeng base.
I hadn't mentioned to Asako that we might run into Toussa again in the future, so I said it to her at this moment.
"Winter train..."
She gave me a look of disgust. For some reason, she seemed to dislike Dongche. Especially when Dongche got close to me, she seemed particularly unhappy. Perhaps it was because it was still unclear whether Dongche was human or ghost, which made her extra wary.
A flight attendant was pushing a cart selling food and drinks. After she passed by us, I noticed Ma Zao's empty hands and thought I would buy her some food, so I left my seat and chased after the flight attendant from behind.
On the way, I heard the passenger next to me playing a video on his phone; he seemed to be watching a live news broadcast. Just then, a weather report interrupted the broadcast, saying that a mysterious weather phenomenon had suddenly appeared in some areas: an unidentified warm air mass was moving westward and might bring strong winds and rain soon.
"Even the weather has become so strange. It's already November, and there's still a warm air mass?" one passenger chatted with the person next to him. "Did you see the news this morning? It seems the government has acknowledged the existence of paranormal phenomena, saying that some kind of 'soul-loss syndrome' is spreading..."
"What will become of this world?" sighed a passenger next to me.
The warm air currents moving westward... I had a slight thought in my mind, but I could only suppress it for now and think about it later.
The train attendant had already gone to the next carriage. I caught up with her and bought some snacks and soft drinks. On my way back, I passed by the restroom.
The sink was set up outside, with a mirror above it, reflecting my own familiar face.
How exactly does Asaho view me? This question resurfaced in my mind. Although I consulted Xiaowan last night to find out if Asaho might develop romantic feelings for me, even Xiaowan couldn't give a definitive answer. After all, Asaho had repeatedly expressed her disgust and contempt for "adult men who like little girls" in front of her before.
Xiaowan advised me not to directly ask Mazao about her true feelings towards me, so I'll follow her advice for now. But that would make things a bit tricky.
If it's just about becoming best friends with Asahi, or having a family-like relationship, that's naturally not enough for me. Assuming she truly has no romantic feelings for me, what should I do to take our relationship to the next level?
If I were a few years younger, maybe it wouldn't have been so inappropriate. Although that might have led others to accuse me of puppy love, it would have been much better than being seen as a pervert by Asahi. Perhaps it was based on similar thoughts that I became wary when Fuyutsu showed interest in Asahi. When the demon hunters at Fuyutsu Base compared Asahi and Fuyutsu, I actually felt a little conflicted.
Is it possible that if I really shrink, I won't seem so abnormal?
While no one was paying attention, I quietly disassembled and reassembled my body, mimicking my appearance when I was twelve or thirteen years old.
I've transformed into this form twice before in front of Asaho, and she looked disappointed when she saw me quickly revert back. I don't understand what's so great about this form, but maybe she likes it when I'm like this, or maybe she just finds it novel.
I plan to test her reaction using this form first.
I carried the snacks and soft drinks to my chest and went back to Mazao's side. When she saw me like this, she immediately looked surprised and asked me why I had changed my appearance.
"It's just a change of pace, don't worry about it."
I answered seriously, and then placed the snacks and soft drinks next to her.
She nodded, seemingly confused, then looked me up and down with a particularly curious gaze, as if trying to imprint my current self onto her retina. It was the first time she had ever looked at me like that, and I actually felt a little unsure of what to do with my hands. After all, what I was doing could be considered as pretending to be young, and if she had made a few laughs, I would have felt more at ease. But being stared at by her silently like this, I was honestly quite embarrassed.
"Oh right, Ma Zao, could you please take this..."
To change the subject, I summoned a fragment of my divine seal and handed it to her.
"Hmm? Okay."
Although she didn't seem to understand my intentions, she still took the fragment of the divine seal and asked curiously, "Why are you giving this to me?"
The divine seal fragments of those chosen in the Void Realm should not be touched by anyone other than themselves, not even those destined to possess the fragments. However, this particular fragment indeed did not pass through Ma Zao's hands. Having reconfirmed this phenomenon, I explained its significance and my own speculations about it.
Perhaps this result is also due to my jinxed constitution, and the reason I was able to form a bond with the fragments of the divine seal is probably also thanks to Asaho... I explained in a serious tone, but as I spoke, I slowly realized that Asaho had been staring at my face, as if there was something strange painted on my face.
Perhaps it seems a bit strange that I'm talking about such a serious topic in this way.
To test whether she was focusing on the topic, I tried to pose a question to her—since those who are not destined to obtain the Divine Seal Fragment cannot access it, it's a bit strange that Chenlong can use it. Could it be that Chenlong just happens to be destined to have the Divine Seal Fragment? Judging from Fufeng's attitude, such people should be quite rare.
“Chenlong himself should not have had any direct connection with the Divine Seal Fragment.” Mazao seemed to be recalling the information she had investigated from Chenlong’s severed arm in the past. “He did not use the Divine Seal Fragment directly, but used Dr. Silver Mask as an intermediary. In essence, he influenced the Divine Seal Fragment by influencing those who were destined to be connected with it, and in turn, he was influenced by the power of the Divine Seal Fragment.”
The Silver Mask Doctor's existence in the real world is not much different from that of a magical artifact; that's probably the truth.
It seems that Ma Zao is still listening to me.
Just as I was thinking this, I saw her sitting on the edge of the sleeper berth, patting the side next to her with an expectant look, and saying, "Zhuang Cheng, come sit over here?"
"Huh? Why?"
I asked her questions while obediently sitting down next to her.
She curled up into the bunk, slowly moved, squeezed behind me, and then stretched out her arms from behind to gently hug me.
I could feel her soft, slender body pressed tightly against my back, her body heat passing through the fabric of her clothes.
This wasn't the first time she'd hugged me, but I'd always only realized I was being hugged after waking up, and the last two times I'd pulled away before she woke up. This was the first time she'd hugged me from behind so proactively while we were both awake. My heart seemed to start racing.
Was it really the right thing to transform into a twelve or thirteen-year-old? She hasn't been very affectionate with me lately, but now that I've changed, the distance between us has immediately become different. Before, she probably secretly thought of me as a pervert who liked little girls, but if I weren't an adult and were a boy, then my liking for her would just be liking someone my own age.
Her voice, filled with emotion, rang out very close to my ear.
"It feels like I've become the older sister," she said.
My sister… she seems a little different from what I expected. It seems like I'm only being treated as a sibling, not a lover. I'm starting to want to turn back. But if I turn back into a human now, she probably won't hug me anymore.
Since she's happy, I'll keep changing for a little longer.
Mazao didn't say anything more, just quietly held me, as if enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. I didn't struggle, but sat obediently on the edge of the bed, feeling the touch and warmth of her hugging me from behind.
After some time, I suddenly received a message from afar.
It wasn't a message received by my phone, but by my consciousness. A thermal energy signal from afar triggered a preset command, sending me a notification. I remained calm and sensed the connection between myself and this thermal energy signal. The source was a branch facility somewhere in Luoshan, a thermal energy signal I had left in Lu Chan's body.
One of the preset instructions I set for this thermal energy symbol was to alert me when Lu Chan made any noteworthy movements.
This is a rather vague pre-defined instruction. Defining what actions are noteworthy is quite difficult, and without a precise definition, huge problems will arise during practical execution. Originally, this kind of pre-defined instruction would not have been able to be executed by the thermal symbols and the "fireflies," but since my power awakened, my manipulation skills in this area have improved, making it much easier for me. Even vague instructions like this can work.
Now, under the watchful eye of thermal energy markings, I see Lu Chan sitting at a desk, holding a black pen, writing a short line of text in a notebook—
"Zhuang Cheng, are you there?"
(End of this chapter)
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