Chapter 33
Li Jia accepted the system's suggestion to use the auxiliary functions, but the system did not tell her in which area it would provide assistance.
The system only told her that the secrets of heaven should not be revealed, and that it had its own ingenious plan.
At night, Li Jia was attracted by a fragrance, the same scent as the one on her wrist. She got out of bed and found no one to her left.
She went out.
After waiting for a while without seeing her return, Li Jia seemed to be a little sullen. She changed her shoes, put on a gauze dress, and followed the fragrance out the door.
The closer she got, the stronger the fragrance became. Li Jia's mind began to go haywire, and her body became increasingly uncomfortable and agitated.
She strained to find the source of the fragrance, but couldn't find it no matter how hard she looked. Unconsciously, she walked to the vortex of light at the top of Landu, where the fragrance was emanating.
Li Jia saw a little mermaid and swam over to her, sweetly saying, "Sister, can you do me a favor?"
Li Jia felt her body getting hotter and hotter, and the little girl smelled so good. She nodded unconsciously after hearing what the little girl said and asked, "What do you need me to help you with?"
"Help me put this cap stud on the light vortex, because I was playing around and accidentally loosened one of the cap studs on the light ring. If I don't put it back on, the light ring will fall down and the entire Landu will be plunged into darkness."
As she spoke, the little girl started to cry out of fear. Li Jia wanted to ask her why she didn't go to her family's adults or other mermaids for help, but there was no one around; she was the only person there.
"Alright then, give me the thing and I'll come over and install it for you, but I'm not sure I can install it completely."
Li Jia comforted the little girl, took the white hat stud from her hand, and walked towards the center of the light vortex.
The halo at the center of the light vortex was gentle yet contained enormous energy. When she got close, Li Jia felt a slight stinging sensation on her skin, but the strange heat inside her body seemed to be even stronger, overpowering the discomfort.
Li Jia gripped the cool, translucent white cap stud in her hand, and followed the direction the little girl pointed to, searching for the so-called "loose" connection.
The aperture has a complex structure, and as the light flows, countless nodes flicker on and off.
Li Jia's consciousness grew increasingly hazy, and she acted entirely on instinct and guided by the fragrance.
She groped around and finally spotted a tiny gap at the edge of a vortex where the light seemed to be dim.
Is this the place?
She turned around to ask, but found that the little mermaid had somehow retreated some distance away, hidden in the waters where the light was weaker. Her small face seemed to carry an expression of nervous anticipation that was incongruous with her age.
Li Jia had no time to think deeply; the anxiety within her urged her to complete this task as soon as possible.
She stood on tiptoe, stretched out her hand, and tried to align the cap stud with the notch.
Just as the cap stud was about to touch the vortex of light, the white cap stud suddenly burst forth with a strong, eerie light.
At the same time, the light vortex itself seemed to sense this foreign, malicious energy. Its originally gentle light suddenly became dazzling, emitting a deep, angry buzzing sound.
A tremendous repulsive force suddenly erupted from the center of the light vortex, violently sending Li Jia flying!
"Bang!"
Li Jia crashed heavily onto the icy water, her chest heaving with blood and qi. The fragrance on her wrist seemed to fade slightly at that moment, bringing a brief moment of clarity to her chaotic mind.
To her horror, she saw that the cap stud, as if it were alive, pressed its tip firmly against the barrier of the light vortex, constantly trying to penetrate it. The eerie light it emitted was fiercely clashing with the golden light of the vortex itself, producing a teeth-grinding hissing sound.
The small vortex of light that it attacked was becoming unstable at a visible speed, flickering and even showing faint cracks spreading.
This is not a repair at all!
This is destruction!
Li Jia suddenly turned her head to look at the little mermaid girl.
The sweet and pitiful expression on the little girl's face had vanished without a trace, replaced by a strange and excited smile of triumph.
Her figure began to blur and distort in the rippling water, as if she were just a phantom.
"you……"
Li Jia instantly realized that she had been tricked; the little girl had successfully disrupted the order of the light vortex through her.
Anger and lingering fear instantly overwhelmed Li Jia, causing her to ignore the strange sensation in her body.
Just then, a cold yet familiar voice suddenly rang in her mind, carrying a hint of something almost imperceptible...
satisfy?
"System: Assistance functions activated. Crisis data has been generated. Please wait patiently for the arrival of the target."
Wait a minute? Crisis data?
"Yes, we need to create a deeper bond between the master and the target, so this is the only option ovo"
The system even made a cute gesture after it finished speaking.
Li Jia: ...
Is this what you call "support"?
The system didn't directly tell her the auxiliary content, but instead gradually led her into the data storyline, letting her follow the content as it unfolded.
The strange cap stud continued to attack the light vortex.
The buzzing of the light vortex grew louder and louder, and the light throughout Landu began to flicker erratically.
Finally, the sound of water breaking and angry shouts rang out, clearly indicating that the commotion had finally alerted the guards of Landu.
The phantom of the little mermaid girl gave Li Jia a malicious, mocking smile before completely disappearing into the water.
Li Jia sat alone on the cold ground, facing the vortex of light that was being destroyed. She felt an unresolved heat and surging blood within her.
It's over, everything is over.
The guards were rushing over in the distance, and now she had no way to explain herself.
The system's "assistance" dragged her into an even deeper vortex.
What should she do?
She can't explain herself even if she has hundreds of mouths.
The arrival of the shark guards sent shivers down Li Jia's spine. The facts were right in front of her; no one would believe her.
The merfolk chieftain, seeing the broken vortex and the dying light, was enraged, his anger echoing across the empty sea. His voice carried an undeniable sternness: "Guests from afar, what have you done to the vortex?"
"no……"
"I……"
Suddenly, the earpiece on my wrist vibrated; it was Hera.
Li Jia took the whistle off her phone and put it to her lips, her voice trembling, "Your Majesty, I was in the center of the light vortex, and the light vortex shattered... I'm all alone here..."
Li Jia quickly understood what he meant, and hurried footsteps came from the other end. She reassured him, "Don't panic, I'll be there soon."
A minute later, the slender figure with blonde hair and red eyes bypassed the guards surrounding her.
Hera reverted to her temple attire, exuding a chilling and arrogant aura. Her gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on Li Jia's pale face.
The woman walked straight towards her, took her hand in her palm, and the warmth of her hand instantly calmed her down.
It was a sense of security and reliance that Li Jia had never experienced before.
“I am this girl’s guardian, and she is my only servant.”
Hera waved her divine power, and divine runes flashed on Li Jia's and her collarbone, which was the most direct and effective evidence of their relationship.
Hera's tone was as calm as ice: "Until the truth comes out, no one has the right to question my servants before I do."
The merfolk chieftain was stunned: "Your Majesty, the evidence is right before our eyes. Who else could it be but her?"
As the vortex of light gradually faded and the entire city of Lan was about to be plunged into darkness, the shark guardian roared angrily, "So what if you are the God of Marriage! Does that mean a god can protect a sinner!"
Are you questioning me?
The gods whispered like the serpent's tongue.
The air suddenly froze, the sea curtain poured in, and crimson liquid seeped from the eyes of the central stone statue in Landu.
The oppressive force transformed into an invisible hand that gripped the questioner's throat. It struggled as if suffocating, its fins digging into the cracks in the stone slabs. It knelt down stiffly, and the pressure broke all the vertebrae in its body.
The voice of the gods seeped into every pore, transforming into thousands of ice spikes that pierced the marrow. The scales of the questioner began to peel away, revealing the festering flesh beneath.
"I told you."
"It wasn't her."
The scene was extremely bloody and disgusting. It was only then that Li Jia realized that the person who had been by her side day and night was not an ordinary person, but a demon with the absolute right to interfere with the life and death of others.
For some reason, Li Jia felt inexplicably sad and even collapsed on the ground, vomiting.
As someone who grew up receiving education in modern society, Li Jia cannot accept why people can arbitrarily harm others or objects based on a single word or action.
If he is wrong or guilty, he should be punished by law, not deprived of his right to live.
Hera couldn't understand why Li Jia was so afraid. During this time, she had become as calm as still water. According to her usual temperament, if she had ever made any accusations against the gods, being exposed to the elements would be the least of her punishments.
But she couldn't ask Li Jia directly, so she could only protect her behind her, using her shadow to shield her completely so that others wouldn't see her disheveled state.
When the merfolk saw what happened to the other merfolk, they were all terrified. All their questions and doubts were shattered, and no one dared to utter a sound.
The power of discourse always lies in the hands of the strong; this is an immutable law.
"Your Majesty the God of Marriage, please save Lan Du! The light of Lan Du must not be extinguished."
The mermaid chieftain realized that Hera was an omnipotent goddess, and he immediately lowered his head to pray to her.
Hera's eyes trembled. She reached out her hand, and her deep red divine power drilled into the broken part of the light vortex. In no time, the crack in the light vortex healed and reset, showing no signs of change.
Seeing that the vortex of light had healed, the mermaids cheered and jumped for joy. Hera's gaze was not on them. She squatted down and hugged Li Jia in her arms, only to find that Li Jia was burning hot all over, like a warm stove.
Having just been frightened, Li Jia was completely dazed and disoriented, curled up in a ball. Hera patted Li Jia's back: "What's wrong?"
"I...I feel terrible..."
Tears streamed down Li Jia's face. She couldn't tell which way was which, nor could she tell who was holding her. The familiar scent wafted into her nose.
She always felt that she knew this person, and she felt at ease, so she unconditionally let her hold her.
"I feel so bad..." the little one murmured, his voice already trembling with tears, "I want to go home, I want to go home..."
Li Jia felt as if her body was being roasted and fried on a flame, with bloody chunks of flesh roasting alongside her. Waves of fishy smell made her feel nauseous and want to vomit.
A searing pain spread from her lower abdomen to her limbs and jawbone. Li Jia gasped for breath and collapsed limply.
Her thoughts didn't give her much of a choice. Her consciousness, along with the pain, plunged into darkness. She only remembered that in the instant she closed her eyes, she saw a wisp of golden hair through the crack, as dazzling as the sun.
The sting made her lose her composure.
After much deliberation, the mermaid chieftain realized that Hera had done him a great favor by repairing the light vortex for the mermaids.
Seeing how worried she was about the girl in his arms, he felt it was necessary to reveal the secret of the mermaid race to Hera.
"Your Majesty, she has entered her 'hot period'."
"Hot period?"
The light vortex of the mermaid race is the source of the continuation of the mermaid bloodline. The light vortex is related to whether the children of the entire mermaid race can grow up smoothly. Offspring are equivalent to the future of a race.
To protect these future generations, the merfolk ancestors sacrificed their own flesh and blood in exchange for a continuous supply of mermaid wax cores, which burn eternally at the center of the vortex of light.
The ancestors placed something in the wax core; if the vortex is damaged, it will immediately release the siren extract inside, emitting a unique and alluring mermaid scent that will arouse the most primal desires deep within. Only by satisfying this deadly desire through sexual intercourse with a human will it stop.
"What if we can't?"
"If the needs are not met, the extract will travel through the internal organs and burn the skin and flesh. The pain is unbearable for ordinary people. In the end, it will burn to ashes."
"Your Majesty, this is just an ordinary person. You can easily find someone else to replace him..."
Before the mermaid chieftain could finish speaking, he had already vanished.
Li Jia lay naked on the bed, moonlight shining through the window sill adorned with seashells, illuminating her sweat-covered skin, making her appear as if she were coated with a layer of broken shimmering light.
The girl's eyes were tightly closed, but her long eyelashes trembled violently from the unbearable pain. Her brows were furrowed deeply, and her lips were bitten white by her teeth.
She was in pain from the very marrow of her bones; even breathing was a sharp, agonizing pain, each inhale feeling like swallowing a scalding hot iron.
It's so hot.
"It hurts so much..."
Hera had been staring at her face for a long time by the bedside, her fingertips almost touching her sweaty hair, but she stopped at the last moment.
Once she crossed that line, all that remained for her was utter ruin.
But losing her would be more painful than utter ruin.
Finally, she took off her clothes, and the two of them were completely naked. Hera turned her face towards her and whispered in her ear.
“Li Jia”.
She called her name softly, her voice low and hoarse, with a barely perceptible tremor: "Who am I?"
Li Jia was enveloped by the icy body. Like finding an oasis in the desert, she was reluctant to let go. She clung to her tightly, just to get a moment of relief.
The surging passion in my blood gradually subsided like the receding tide, and the burning pain was transformed into a fine itch by the touch of the jade-like knuckles.
Before Li Jia could even make out the outlines of her surroundings, a clear female voice rang out behind her again: "Who am I?"
"Who are you...?" A girl's weak sobs escaped her throat as Li Jia curled up in her arms.
The air fell silent, then a low chuckle drifted over. The next second, the deep voice was incredibly close, as if carried by the wind into the ear, with a warm breath brushing against the earlobe: "Li Jia, you know that."
"I know..."
Li Jia forced herself to lift her head, only to be met with unfathomable deep red eyes, a shadow looming over her.
Before she could react, her lips were covered by a warm touch, carrying a hint of urgency, instantly dispelling the heat and dryness on her lips.
Her tongue lightly swept across her vulva, icy and cool, exchanging a few breaths with her, an indescribable sensation.
Li Jia wanted to refuse, but she was powerless. Both of them were naked, and she only dared to hold onto her hair and tremble slightly.
She seemed to notice her stiffness, so she softened her kiss, brushing her nose against her sweaty temples, her breath slightly hoarse and suppressed: "Don't be afraid, this will make you feel better."
I won't force you until you agree.
As soon as she finished speaking, her kisses landed again, dense and domineering. Once Li Jia had tasted the sweetness, she began to respond to her actively.
Soft moans escaped from the room, mixed with heavy breathing, and were especially clear in the quiet night.
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