Su Nian felt as if she had been trekking through an endless dark ice plain for millions of years.
When consciousness returned, the first feeling was a heavy exhaustion, as if the soul had been drained and then barely stuffed back into the body, every inch of it feeling sore and weak. This was followed by a headache, not a sharp, stabbing pain, but a deep, dull ache originating from the core of the mind, like the exhaustion after overworking the brain.
She slowly opened her eyes, and what came into view was the familiar ceiling—she had returned to the lounge at Lingmo Base.
"You're awake." Ling Mo's voice came from the side, carrying a hint of scrutiny that was barely perceptible.
Su Nian turned her head and saw him sitting on a chair not far away, holding a tablet with complex data flowing on it.
"How long... have I been asleep?" Her voice was a little hoarse.
“Thirty-seven hours.” Ling Mo put down his tablet, walked to the bedside, and handed her a glass of warm water. “How are you feeling? Especially here.” He pointed to his temples.
Su Nian took the water glass and sipped it slowly. The warm water moistened her dry throat, but it couldn't immediately relieve the weariness deep within her soul. She carefully sensed it for a moment, and her expression changed slightly.
Her spiritual power... or rather, the soul energy related to the power of ice souls, became unusually obscure and thin. Like a deep well that had almost reached its bottom, it needed time to replenish itself.
“Your soul power was overexerted,” Ling Mo stated directly. “It’s a miracle you weren’t torn apart after forcibly intervening in that level of soul storm. Feeling weak now is normal, and could even be considered the best-case scenario.” He paused, then added, “After all, the person you were ‘repairing’ was in much better condition than you.”
Su Nian's heart leaped into her throat: "Where's Xie Chen? How is he?"
“He’s doing very well.” Ling Mo’s tone carried the admiration of a scientist. “He’s amazingly well. His energy is stable, the rule repulsion has almost disappeared, and his soul fluctuations are steady and powerful, even more perfect than his data before he was injured. He is currently in a deep, self-repairing sleep and is expected to wake up in a few hours.”
He looked at Su Nian with a complicated expression: "You not only calmed his rampage, but it seems you also... mended some subtle flaws in his soul that are difficult for us to observe. Su Nian, what exactly are you?"
Su Nian lowered her eyelashes, avoiding his probing gaze, and simply asked softly, "Can I go see him?"
Accompanied by Ling Mo, Su Nian returned to the area where the medical pod was located. Most of the equipment here had been repaired or replaced and was back to normal operation.
Through the observation window, she saw Xie Chen lying quietly in the medical pod. The crack between his brows had disappeared, his complexion was rosy, and his breathing was steady, as if he had simply fallen into a peaceful sleep. The chilling aura of rage and pain had vanished, leaving only a serene and profound sense of power.
Seeing him like this, Su Nian's tense nerves finally relaxed a little, followed by a deeper weariness. She subconsciously raised her hand and gently touched the area between her collarbones—where she used to wear the Starry Ice and Snow Brooch, but now it was empty.
“Where’s the brooch?” she asked.
Ling Mo pointed to an isolation storage box inside the medical pod: "There it is. It seems to have exhausted its internal special energy and turned into an ordinary ornament. I don't recommend you wear it again until its energy is restored, or until we figure out how it works."
Su Nian nodded, not insisting. She could sense that the brooch wasn't completely ineffective; it was just like her soul power, needing time to "dormant" and recover. The gentle power it ultimately transmitted was the key.
"The soul link between you," Ling Mo pulled up another set of data, "did not weaken after the storm subsided, but instead became more... resilient and profound. It's like a sublimation after being tempered. This might explain why your soul suffered such great damage, because you shared most of the backlash from his rule rejection and soul rampage."
He looked at Su Nian, his tone carrying a hint of warning: "This means that the connection between you two has become deeper. You share the same fate, and you share the same fate. If he gets into trouble again, your reaction may be more intense, and you may even be dragged directly into his abyss of consciousness, unable to extricate yourself."
Su Nian remained silent for a moment, her gaze still fixed on Xie Chen's peaceful sleeping face, and softly hummed in agreement.
There was no fear, no regret, only a sense of calm after everything had settled.
Ling Mo raised an eyebrow at her expression, but ultimately said nothing more, simply recording the data silently.
A few hours later, the medical pod emitted a soft beep.
The hatch slid open slowly, and the life support system's catheters automatically disengaged. Xie Chen's long eyelashes trembled slightly as he opened his eyes.
Those were eyes that had regained their clarity and depth, no longer filled with the chaos and madness of the storm, nor with the usual languid playfulness, but with a clarity and tranquility like the starry sky after rain. He moved his fingers slightly, then slowly sat up.
"How are you feeling?" Ling Mo asked immediately.
Xie Chen didn't answer immediately. He looked down at his hands, clenched them, then relaxed them, as if confirming his own existence. Then, he raised his head, his gaze passing over Ling Mo and landing directly on Su Nian, who was standing a little distance away.
His eyes were complex and unfathomable, containing the bewilderment of someone who had survived a disaster, a deep-seated attachment, and a kind of... a shocked scrutiny as if he were getting to know her all over again.
In his final moments, as his consciousness completely collapsed and he plunged into boundless darkness and agony, it was that gentle yet incredibly resilient force, imbued with the scent of an icy lotus, that forcefully tore through the chaos and pulled him back from the brink of self-destruction. He "saw" her illusory form coalescing in the shattered ice plains, heard her words, "I'm with you," and felt her unreserved devotion, her attempt to soothe all his wounds.
That wasn't a performance, nor a task; it was a resonance and pull from the depths of the soul.
"It's alright." He finally spoke, his voice slightly hoarse from not speaking for a long time, answering Ling Mo's question, but his gaze never left Su Nian, "It's like... having a long and painful nightmare, and then, waking up."
He lifted the thermal blanket and stepped out of the medical pod. His steps were a little unsteady at first, but quickly became firm. He walked straight towards Su Nian.
Su Nian watched him approach without moving. He stopped in front of her, more than a head taller than her, casting a shadow over her. He didn't hug her tightly as he had in her mind's eye; instead, he raised his hand and gently touched her cheek with his fingertips, a gesture filled with a tender and careful affection.
"You look very pale," he said softly, his brow furrowing slightly. "Did I... hurt you?"
He remembered the terror of the consciousness storm, the destructive power he felt when he lost control. He couldn't imagine how she had withstood that power and ultimately awakened him.
Su Nian shook her head, trying to force a relaxed smile, but it looked somewhat forced due to exhaustion: "I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine after a rest."
Xie Chen gazed at her, his deep eyes seeming to draw her in. He didn't ask any further questions, but the fingers that had gently touched her cheek silently clenched into a fist and fell back to his side. A mixture of lingering fear, relief, and a sense of determination flashed across his eyes.
For the next two days, the base fell into an eerie silence.
Xie Chen's body and mind recovered at an astonishing rate, even becoming stronger than before. He spent most of his time adapting to and familiarizing himself with this more powerful force, occasionally discussing issues of energy control and rule adaptation with Ling Mo.
Su Nian mainly rested, slowly recovering her depleted soul power through meditation. She didn't interact much with Xie Chen, but the invisible, close soul connection allowed them to vaguely sense each other's emotions and states even when separated by distance. A tacit understanding flowed between them in silence.
Ling Mo was even busier, analyzing the massive amount of data he had previously recorded while simultaneously strengthening security at the base, seemingly on guard against something.
That evening, Su Nian finished her meditation and felt much better. She walked to the window in the living area and looked at the simulated sky outside, which was gradually darkening.
Xie Chen quietly approached her.
“We should leave,” he suddenly said.
Su Nian looked at him: "Leave? Your injuries..."
“We’re fine now.” Xie Chen said calmly. “Ling Mo’s place is not a place for us to stay for long. He helped us, but he also ‘studied’ us. If we stay any longer, we will only become more detailed research samples for him.”
He paused, looking at the virtual night view outside the window, his eyes sharp: "Moreover, I sense... something is 'spying' on us. Although it's very subtle, it definitely exists."
Su Nian's heart skipped a beat, immediately recalling the inexplicable unease she had felt earlier, and Ling Mo's mention of "other forces." Could it be...?
Just then, Ling Mo walked over quickly with a solemn expression, holding a communicator in his hand.
“We might be in a little trouble.” He showed the two of them the communicator screen, which displayed a message that had been encrypted and transcoded multiple times, containing only a short sentence:
[The 'key' has been confirmed. Countdown to the start of the recycling process: 71:59:48]
At the end of the message was an extremely subtle serpentine mark, seemingly made of starlight.
The moment Xie Chen saw that mark, his pupils contracted sharply, and his aura suddenly turned cold and dangerous.
“Star Remains…” He practically gritted his teeth as he uttered those two words.
Su Nian clearly felt that the moment he heard the name, Xie Chen's soul surged with a violent emotional fluctuation, a mixture of deep-seated hatred and extreme disgust, which even caused her soul power, which had just calmed down, to tremble.
Ling Mo's expression also darkened completely: "You recognize this logo?"
Xie Chen did not answer, but the sudden darkening of his face and the murderous intent surging in his eyes said it all.
The brief period of calm was shattered completely.
An even bigger storm is approaching.
(End of Chapter 86)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com