Chapter 151 Prologue
Large fragments of rocks flew out from the flames, leaving a crater in their wake.
People on the shore were swallowed up by the waves that surged up at the same time, and the aerial attacks suddenly stopped.
Shu Ningmiao stared intently at the helicopter hovering overhead. The surrounding sounds gradually faded away, and all she could hear was the frantic pounding of her own heart.
At this critical moment, however, her mind was filled with unrelated thoughts.
The team has many experienced teachers, so why was Lux, who had just graduated, chosen as the team leader?
The Beria family invested heavily in supporting Lucico's rise to power; now it's time for Lucico to repay the favor.
Lucicolai needed a legitimate reason to declare war on Intori, and putting Lux in charge of the team was just for show. If it weren't for Weisheng Qianheng's interference, Lux should have led the students safely back to the capital from Gab's "attack".
—Can such achievements make him the executive he has always dreamed of?
A chilling coldness kept her incredibly alert, and memories flooded her mind. She had seen this very helicopter before, the one that launched the attack. It was this kind of helicopter that the police sent to rescue her and Prometheus's men after they fell into the water on the bridge.
At that distance, didn't the helicopter hovering in mid-air see the other two people?
It's not necessarily that they just didn't see it.
She's finished.
Shu Ningmiao suddenly realized what was happening, turned around and ran wildly back to the burning village.
Just as the bullet shattered the small boat, she saw You An chase after the sinking boat and jump into the sea. There was no time to think further; if the helicopters hovering overhead noticed her, she would be the next one riddled with bullets.
Before the smoke from the bullets had even cleared, she used the smoke as cover to rush back into the raging fire. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed a handful of soil that had been soaked by Pandora and pressed it onto her arm without hesitation. Pandora instantly drew the surrounding fire to her, igniting her skin.
No, that's not enough.
She grabbed a burning piece of wood and pressed it against her unburnt skin until it began to bleed.
Her vision began to blur, and Shu Ningmiao raised her head. The thick smoke couldn't hide the trembling in her pupils. She could hear voices talking in the distance, but all she could hear was her own heart pounding so hard it was almost breaking down.
In the firelight, a dark figure stood not far from her. Shu Ningmiao tried to see clearly and strained to open her eyes. The surrounding scenery swayed violently in her vision. Wei Shengqianheng stood motionless in front of her. There was fire all around, but his black hair was loose, wet and sticking to his face, still dripping water. He stood incongruously in front of her, like a hallucination.
The darkness before her eyes surged uncontrollably, and Shu Ningmiao closed her eyes in despair.
Snap.
Snap.
She thought she heard the sound of the tide. Was she dreaming?
Yu An stood alone at the end of the waves, the firelight cruelly tearing apart the quiet sea.
Pat, pat.
In the stillness of the beach, her attention was drawn to the increasingly clear pattering sound, like the sound of children running barefoot across the sand, dirty and filthy, their feet treading on clumps of mud soaked with blood.
You An's face flashed in the gunfire, the boy's features blurred and melted as if covered by moisture, until they disappeared completely.
The light went out.
She stood there stunned for a long time, surrounded by familiar darkness.
The dream was unreal, but she was very lucid and felt it all very clearly.
It turns out she wasn't dreaming, but had fallen into the String Flow again—why... was she here?
As if sensing something, she turned around and saw a blurry shadow composed of countless streams of light sitting cross-legged behind her, quietly watching her.
She knew who the shadow was.
Within the space of "String", only she and Wei Shengqianheng exist.
The illusory figure of Wei Sheng Qian Heng floated up to her, placing his hand on her shoulder, as light as a wisp of lingering mist: "I reminded you, isn't it better not to go ashore?"
He stretched out his other semi-transparent hand and snapped his fingers. The light illuminated the area and her face. Her once fair skin was now covered with unhealed scars, and her bluish-purple veins bulged out.
Shu Ningmiao stood still, her palms outstretched, dark bloodstains faintly visible through the edge of her waterproof suit.
The girl's gaze swept over him like ice, then she closed her eyes, showing neither her usual disgust and anger nor uttering a single word, only a deep weariness remained.
Shu Ningmiao had learned from countless lessons that attacking Wei Shengqianheng was completely useless. Seeing that she didn't even want to pay attention to him, Wei Shengqianheng tilted his head, and the phantom formed by the string flow slowly grew the skin of a living person, grew platinum-colored hair, and formed the face of a living person.
"Don't you want to talk to me?" He narrowed his eyes, curved his lips into a flawless smile, and gave her a compliment: "Or would you rather see this face?"
Shu Ningmiao finally responded.
However, the reaction was not friendly. A clenched fist struck "Shi Yu's" face, and the illusory image was instantly shattered.
At the same time, another phantom appeared out of thin air behind her, its wet, sticky fingers gliding over the uneven wounds on her face.
"Shu Ningmiao." Wei Shengqianheng's fingertips touched the congealed blood on her neck: "Why do you always hate me so much?"
Shu Ningmiao turned around and took two steps back, covering the back of her neck with her hand to avoid his movement, and scoffed upon hearing this.
Wei Shengqianheng stood still, his fingers outstretched, still maintaining that illusory smile: "That's right, I killed you once—because of Achini, but you've also killed me several times, so we're even..."
Shu Ningmiao finally spoke her first words, ignoring his explanation, her voice filled with sarcasm: "Wei Sheng Qianheng, I want you dead, to die forever."
Upon hearing this, Wei Shengqianheng suddenly laughed, a laugh that made Shu Ningmiao frown.
Shi Yu's face flickered expressionlessly, gradually transforming back into Wei Sheng Qian Heng's appearance. His dark eyes finally regained their luster, revealing a chaotic and crazed expression.
"I'm waiting for you," he murmured. "I'm waiting for you... If you can do it one day, I'll give you a surprise."
The voice of Wei Sheng Qian Heng gradually faded into the distance, and the light before his eyes grew brighter.
Her consciousness convulsed and returned to normal, then she suddenly opened her eyes.
All she could see was the blinding white light; she was unable to move, not even a finger.
The familiar beeping of the monitor reached her ears, and the pungent smell of disinfectant filled the air. She was probably already at the medical facility; her injuries hadn't been treated yet, so she must have just arrived. Her condition was much better than she had expected.
Her body was stronger than she had imagined, and she was able to regain consciousness in a short time after all that commotion.
There was no one else in the operating room; it was so quiet that she could hear the chatter outside the door.
“…We can’t do that. I just found out, and she’s in very bad shape.” Someone pleaded in a low voice, “If she dies here, your career will be ruined.”
"I'm not discussing this with you." That cold, familiar young male voice, even carrying a hint of sarcasm, said, "Let me in."
"This is already the best medical facility in Weinan City, and there are also people with superpowers who can treat patients. Just let them come."
The man was already getting impatient: "In the entire Pinne, there won't be a better healing ability user than me."
Shu Ningmiao closed her eyes, and the weight that had been hanging over her heart gradually lifted.
As the door opened and closed, the overhead operating light was adjusted to a suitable position. The slender, tall young man stopped and stood quietly in front of the hospital bed, his gaze fixed on her.
Shu Ningmiao lay quietly with a breathing mask covering her face, her eyelashes weakly covering her pale skin, and her wounds were shocking to behold.
...The moment he actually saw her lying there, he even felt hatred.
He took a deep breath, lowered his fingertips, and tried to feel the wound on her face. The moment his fingertips touched her skin, he watched as she suddenly opened her eyes.
Shu Ningmiao's lips, hidden beneath her breathing mask, suddenly twitched, uttering a short, indistinct syllable: "Don't move yet."
Weston's hand froze on the spot, his gloomy face blank.
"Take the things out of my clothes." Shu Ningmiao's lips moved quickly, seemingly unaffected by the horrific injuries on her body: "Don't let anyone see."
"What is that?" Weston's movements were as quick as his thoughts. As he spoke, he suddenly reached out and covered her abdomen. The entire garment had been burned away, almost blending into her blood-soaked skin. Due to the backward medical conditions in Weinan City, the medical staff here dared not rashly remove the clothes from her wounds and had not even noticed that there was something hidden under her clothes.
While using his supernatural abilities to stop the bleeding, he carefully lifted his clothes and took out a well-sealed folder.
“How stupid.” Weston’s lips were pressed into a thin line, his emerald eyes bloodshot, and he almost gritted his teeth as he said, “...Are you an old lady who sews jewelry into her underwear?”
Shu Ningmiao could almost hear the sound of his joints clenching and grinding. She was silent for a moment, then spoke softly, "You cried?"
Weston looked at her with a stern face and said nothing.
"I know what I'm doing." Shu Ningmiao paused, then finally said something kind: "I believe you."
"What do you believe in me?" Weston's face was pale, his pupils were a dark green, and there was a thin layer of bloodshot veins. "You almost died! If your injury hadn't been so serious and it hadn't broken any bones, the medical clinic wouldn't have agreed to let me treat you. What was the point of you risking your life to save this thing?"
“There are no ifs.” She gently moved her head, her eyes turning to him, her lips moving silently: “Because I burned it myself.”
Instead of offering empty words of comfort, she activated her superpower, "Sloth," by taking the initiative to burn herself with fire. The double healing effect of "Sloth" also had an effect on self-healing, though not significant, but enough for her to hold out until rescue arrived.
Since Pigne's helicopter was nearby, she was certain that someone would soon come to the fire to search for her. She didn't have much time and had to convince them that she had been staying in Gab and hadn't seen anything happening at the beach—if she wanted to go back to Pigne.
Disguising the marks of prolonged burning is only the first step.
Her injuries had to be severe enough that the rescuers would have to take her to the nearest medical facility. Medical care in this area was not very advanced, so the doctors there would not dare to perform surgery on her unless her injuries were serious enough.
She didn't believe Weston would definitely come; she was just gambling that if Pine's goal was to wage war against Intori, the moment Gab was set ablaze, the news would spread throughout the capital, and Weston would be among the first to know.
This is precisely the purpose of Cernunus's journey to put his ideas into practice. Gab was merely a distant village to the people of the capital, while most of Cernunus's students came from wealthy and noble families, and the threat they faced was far more valuable than any life in Gab.
They, including her, are natural propaganda symbols.
Shu Changyan has likely already landed in Intori by now, and besides Weston, she can't think of anyone else who could have secured this information at this moment.
This was the best solution she could think of in that short moment.
“You… shut up.” He leaned closer to her, speaking in a low voice. Shu Ningmiao finally saw his face clearly. He was still handsome and calm, but his chin had a bit of stubble, and his pale lips were a little chapped. His eyes seemed to have already guessed something: “Yesterday afternoon at six o’clock, the council representatives declared war on Intori. You were transferred to this medical station this morning. Apart from you and a missing student, no one else was seriously injured. The missing person has not yet been found. You are the most seriously injured, so you will be given special attention. I will keep your things for you. Think about what you should say.”
After Weston finished his reminder, he stopped talking, gritted his teeth, and treated her wound. After taking several deep breaths, he finally released his cold fingers, his face expressionless.
“I’ll help you.” Weston pressed hard on her shoulders, his face dark and his eyes bluish. “Don’t be stupid.”
Shu Ningmiao leaned against the hospital bed as the medical staff came and pushed her to the nursing ward. Weston left under the urging of the medical staff. As the door opened, she noticed another long, slanted shadow cast on the floor of the corridor.
Weston, his lean, tall figure with his back to her, stopped and nodded to the man.
Yu Lu walked over, brushed past Weston, and stopped in front of her. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and his brows and eyes were unusually serious, exuding an air of authority without anger. Several adjutants followed behind him.
He rubbed his temples, softened his voice, and called her name.
He flew in on the same flight as Weston, specifically to clean up the mess left by Gab, and took up the position of sheriff for the entire southern region.
In the quiet nursing ward, she responded softly.
Yu Lu took out her notebook: "Your classmate said that you went back into the fire to find You An."
"Yes," Shu Ningmiao admitted.
She never minces words on such non-critical issues.
Have you found him?
"No."
Have you found any trace of him?
“I found his house, but all I saw were his parents’ bodies.” Shu Ningmiao leaned against the headboard of the hospital bed, speaking very slowly, as if recalling something, or as if she was just unable to stop herself from collapsing from exhaustion: “I wanted to go back then, but the fire was too big, and I couldn’t get out.”
Yu Lu pulled out a stool and sat down next to her: "Tell me what happened at the bottom of the sea that day?"
"I...I don't quite remember when it was." She sat quietly on the hospital bed, her lips pale. "About a few hours later, there was a sudden loud bang, and the entire sea was shaking..."
She deliberately omitted some key details and gave a general description of the situation. If it was as she guessed, Pinhes should never have thought of letting the students go ashore. It was Lux’s major mistake to let the students and other teachers go ashore rashly. If anyone should be held accountable, it should be Lux. There was no way to find any doubt in her words.
As expected, Yu Lu didn't dwell on the topic. She made a rough note of it and told her that You An hadn't been found yet, and that the missing student was him.
She had nothing to say.
Yu Lu looked into her eyes, then paused, suddenly freezing: "Why are you crying?"
He had known her for a long time and had never seen her shed a single tear. He cautiously probed, "Because of You An?"
Shu Ningmiao blinked belatedly, and warm tears welled up and streamed down her face without her even realizing it. She didn't know she was crying, nor did she know why she was crying. In the end, she simply said, "For the people who died here."
She didn't know the name of the little boy in the red headscarf whose life had come to an abrupt end, nor did she know the names or pasts of the people who had perished in the village. Just as the dead wouldn't remember her, the emotions between people were not connected, yet the fear and regret of death were equally intense and overwhelming.
Suddenly, someone standing nearby interjected, "Could Ms. Shu have a two-minute interview? Our local media have been waiting for a long time, just to take two photos."
He rubbed his hands together.
Yu Lu looked at her, but she stared blankly away. Before she could speak, people outside rushed in with long guns and short cannons, their flashes pointing directly at her.
"So pitiful." The person holding the camera couldn't hide their excitement as they pressed the shutter button like pulling a trigger: "So beautiful."
Yu Lu said angrily, "That's enough."
"The heartwarming story of the Gab tragedy, the female student who risked her life to save her classmates by rushing into the fire—that's something worth promoting," the first man said with a forced smile. "Right now, there's a lot of public discussion about Gab and the students' deaths. Releasing this kind of positive public opinion is good for us."
Most importantly, it's firsthand information from their local area.
The photographer peeked out and said, "By the way, if I may ask, are you dating that missing student? Is he your boyfriend? Oh, then classmate can be changed to boyfriend."
In the bright white light, her pale face and gruesome, unhealed wounds became a work of art.
Shu Ningmiao did not answer any of the questions: "Don't take pictures of me."
She didn't want her tears to become a banner for the beginning of chaos.
"Just one more shot, just one more shot," the photographer said dismissively.
She raised her head, and her eyes, neither pitiful nor beautiful, were sharp and fierce, as if they pierced through his flesh.
The camera lens snapped off instantly, twisted into scrap metal by some unknown force, and shattered into pieces in the man's hands.
Everyone was stunned.
The photographer's hands were still trembling; he couldn't believe that his camera had been snapped off out of thin air.
"Alright." Yu Lu stepped forward, blocking Shu Ningmiao's path, his eyes filled with warning: "She's a patient and needs rest."
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