Chapter 176 The Nameless Corpse (1)
A stench permeated the area around the arena, even more unbearable than Pandora's waste. Shu Ningmiao, not wanting to waste any more words with him, turned and left.
The fat man muttered behind her, "Why does she need a boat? Is there some information I don't know?"
Shu Changyan put his hand on her shoulder and led her outside, shutting out the unpleasant sights and smells behind them: "There are so many people in Xindi who run smuggling businesses, it won't be hard to find a boat."
It just takes a little more time.
"Um."
Shu Ning's eyebrows furrowed slightly, not fully relaxed: "I just find it strange...it's too much of a coincidence."
But even if they were after her, what good would it do? Shu Changyan was the kind of person who wouldn't care even if someone held a knife to his back, and Shu Ningmiao quickly put the matter aside after a moment's thought.
The isolation zone between the control area and the new district has yet to be built, maintaining a fragile calm on the surface. On the new district side, under the leadership of the Self-Defense Forces, order is barely maintained. The shelters are still being built, but the number of Manla patients is still increasing.
After gathering all the necessary supplies for the voyage, Shu Ningmiao finally had time to visit Prometheus's former temporary base.
The place has been renovated and is now completely different from what she remembers.
The low, dilapidated building had been crudely reinforced, and most of the windows had been replaced with mismatched boards salvaged from who-knows-where, barely serving as a place to shelter from the wind and rain.
The outside is a large gate made of scrap metal and coarse wire mesh, and people patrol it voluntarily.
A man and a woman suddenly appeared, both with masks covering most of their faces and hats pulled down low, immediately attracting wary glances from the shadows.
Fortunately, Eric was nearby. She didn't recognize the others, but she was familiar with Shu Ningmiao's figure.
“You’ve come at the perfect time.” Eric’s eyes practically lit up when he saw her. “I’ve been waiting for you for ages.”
—Shu Ningmiao left without leaving any way to contact her, and she disappeared without a trace. They had no way to find her and could only wait for her to come to them.
"What's wrong?" Nothing major has happened in Xindi recently, so Shu Ningmiao didn't know why she was so agitated.
Erice's gaze lingered on her and the people behind her, finally too embarrassed to look any longer, and her tone softened: "We got the boat, but we haven't been able to contact you."
After hearing her explanation, Shu Ningmiao went inside with her: "Where did you get the boat?"
Instead of answering the question directly, Eric turned to look at the person sitting on the floor not far away, fiddling with equipment.
Rennagi put down what she was holding, zipped her tracksuit all the way up, and looked at her quietly: "I got this through someone. I heard from Eric that you want to go to Pingyi. Can you take me with you?"
Such coincidences really do exist in the world.
Shu Ningmiao tapped her forehead with her fingertip, looking rather helpless: "You didn't get it from the owner of the fish trap, did you?"
Rennagi's eyes widened slightly: "How did you know?"
"We went to the earth cage too." Shu Ningmiao looked at him seriously for the first time, as if considering it: "Are you sure you want to go back to Pingyi?"
"Okay." He stood up, brushed the dust off his legs, and walked towards her quietly, but his tone was very serious: "Take me with you, I won't hold you back."
"Moreover..." Rennagi gently pressed her forehead: "You know that we Pingyi people are particularly mentally advanced. Even though a long time has passed, I can still remember some of the way I came."
He was afraid she would think he was a burden, so he got the boat first and then talked to her.
Since there was free labor at her doorstep, she figured she might as well take advantage of it. Without a second thought, Shu Ning readily agreed, leaving Lian Naqi stunned.
His gaze wandered, then drifted to Shu Ningmiao's side. The black-haired man beside her had gentle, curved eyes, while his blue eyes quietly watched him. His superior memory instantly allowed him to recognize the man's identity, and he swallowed silently for a moment.
At this moment, Erice realized that they hadn't actually come for the ship in the first place. She pulled him over, blushing slightly, and asked, "Did you come here for something else?"
“Well, it’s okay, I came here to see him anyway.” Shu Ningmiao took over her words and handed a brand new terminal to Lian Nagi.
On her first day as Shu Ningmiao's new teammate, Lian Nagi received an unprecedentedly difficult task.
Shu Ningmiao handed him the terminal and asked him to hack into the Union Building and contact Weston, because she didn't remember Weston's terminal number.
Since she couldn't use her special ability for the time being, and she wasn't as skilled as Rennagi in controlling [neural connections], she decided to just come and ask him for help.
Rennagi broke out in a cold sweat on her pale skin: "I can, I can..."
Shu Ningmiao observed his complexion: "If you can, why do you look so pale?"
Rennagi glanced up quickly, then looked down again, bracing herself against the cold gaze of the blue eyes above her, and reluctantly connected to the terminal using her ability: "...I'll try it first."
Connecting to Weston's terminal was not difficult; he had unparalleled confidence in his abilities and quickly found someone to contact once he entered the network.
However, no one answered after I requested a call three times.
Rennagi was surprised that even after finding everyone, she was stuck at this step and felt a little embarrassed.
After listening to him finish speaking, Shu Ningmiao said, "Send him a message. If he still doesn't answer, I'll go and climb the DC power grid of the research center."
The next second, a call request popped up on the terminal.
"Shu Ningmiao," Weston said softly, "you're looking for death again... I'm busy."
"I have important business to attend to."
“I have important business to attend to. Shu Changyan has made a complete mess of the Union Building, and look at the state of Pines, with an emperor about to ascend the throne above them.” Weston complained sarcastically, then suddenly pressed, “...Is Shu Changyan right next to you?”
Shu Changyan's senses were very sharp: "What's wrong?"
Shu Ningmiao covered the receiver and silently shook her head at him.
“I have something to tell you.” Weston’s tone turned somber, and this time he didn’t continue to argue with Shu Changyan: “No one can hear us.”
Weston never joked about such things. She gestured to the people inside and then left alone, walking to an open space where there was no one for miles around.
The ambient sounds on the other end of the terminal changed, and then it became completely quiet.
“There’s new information about the Manra disease,” Weston said bluntly. “We’ve found the variable. The date of the surge in Manra disease patients highly overlaps with the date of the mining of the Pioneer Stone. Shu Ningmiao, do you know what this means?”
Shu Ningmiao instantly understood, her fingers clenching tighter and tighter: "The outbreak of the Manra disease was caused by Pinne's large-scale production of weapons to deal with superhumans."
"Yes, Manla disease was caused by Pinhes."
She had asked Weston at the time what the impact of the large-scale destruction of the foundation stone would be, and little did she know that her words would come true.
"I just received this data report today, and it was completely destroyed in less than an hour after it circulated within the research center."
Weston rubbed his forehead, his temples throbbing: "If this were to be made public internationally, Pigne would be doomed. Zhao has already signed a ceasefire treaty with Intori, and the excavation and development of Dianshi have all been halted. I don't know if Manla disease will be alleviated as a result, but it's a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. Manla disease affects so many people; it can't be completely resolved simply by stopping it now."
There was a brief silence between them.
“Weston.” Shu Ningmiao paused. “You didn’t develop the weapons, nor did you promote the secularization of Pandora.”
She sensed his underlying impatience and unease.
"I'm fine."
Weston's hand slid down from his forehead, tilting his head back to shield his stray hairs and eyes. He chuckled softly, whether out of anger or self-mockery, it was hard to tell if he was actually being comforted by Shu Ningmiao.
Shu Ningmiao didn't give him any time to be moved. She went back to her original intention and asked him for something: "I want to go to Pingyi. Can you make me a GPS navigator?"
"Okay! I'll make it for you."
Weston's voice was forced out through clenched teeth as he coldly hung up the phone.
Now she had the boat, the people, and the equipment.
Although this angered Weston again.
The vortex of Pinheis gradually expanded, and the shadow of Wei Sheng Qian Heng always loomed above. Going to Pingyi might be the only way for her to break the deadlock and find the final answer.
Several members of the Self-Defense Forces came over and helped Alan inspect the old ship, which had been in disrepair for a long time.
On a misty morning, a modified, unassuming medium-sized ship quietly moored in a secluded harbor in Xindi.
The Self-Defense Force members, along with Allen, Erice, and several other members of Prometheus, squatted on the shore to greet them.
Rennagi shook her hand reservedly, her lips pursed.
Shu Ningmiao and Shu Changyan stood at the bow of the boat, gazing at the gray sea.
The sea level stitches together with the equally dark sky at the horizon, presenting a depressing leaden gray.
The sea breeze was biting, blowing Shu Ningmiao's black hair. She leaned against the mast at the bow of the ship and looked back. A series of hurried but light footsteps came from afar, breaking the silence of the journey.
In an instant, people on the shore and on the boats all looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a tall and agile figure breaking through the thin mist and running towards them. Her long hair, tied behind her head, flew as she ran, and the uniform jacket she wore, which symbolized her identity as an officer, was open and fluttered in the wind.
She stopped abruptly a few meters from the boat, her breathing slightly rapid from running, but her sharp eyes shone brightly as she stared straight at Shu Ningmiao at the bow of the boat.
Shu Changyan slightly raised his hand to signal Lian Nagi, who was preparing to untie the mooring ropes, to wait a moment. He looked at this uninvited guest with a calm yet scrutinizing gaze.
Shu Ningmiao ran a few steps towards her, her raised eyes and brows showing a genuine look of disbelief: "Xiao Jiang! How did you get here?"
"They ran here!"
Xiao Jiang grinned as she answered, took a deep breath, and straightened her back, as if she had finally broken free from some invisible constraint.
How did you know where I was?
“Oh, you mean how I know… Weston told me.”
This person's revenge is so childish.
Shu Ningmiao had already planned that once she left the new place, she would withdraw the [Jealousy] and [Lust] she had placed on Zhao, steal the wind control ability, and take control of it herself.
Unexpectedly, Weston directly told Xiao Jiang about it.
Xiao Jiang's gaze swept over the astonished faces. In front of everyone, she decisively ripped off the uniform jacket that represented her status and honor and casually threw it at her feet.
She'd had enough.
“Shu Ningmiao,” Xiao Jiang said loudly, a wild smile curving his lips, “Take me with you.”
Before Shu Ningmiao could respond, she took a half step back, nimbly leaped through the air, and landed steadily on the deck. The sea breeze ruffled her brown hair and blew her thin vest.
As it landed, the deck tilted slightly with the gentle waves—this wouldn't have affected the balance, but Shu Ningmiao naturally reached out her hand.
Xiao Jiang raised his hand at almost the same moment and grasped her hand.
The tall, lithe woman stood there, with the abandoned past behind her and an unknown journey ahead.
She was like a free wind that had finally found its direction and was about to blow into the distance.
Xiao Jiang raised her chin, meeting Shu Ningmiao's gaze that was inches away, and her lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
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