Chapter 72 Making Ice from Boiled Water (10)
Shu Ningmiao checked several times before she was convinced it was true.
The game only has one save slot, and when she overwrote the old save with the new one, she never considered the possibility of corruption.
It turns out that if this stone breaks, the save file will also be destroyed.
Erice clutched her curly hair in despair: "I didn't mean to throw it."
But in that instant, she felt as if she couldn't control her body or her thoughts.
Shu Ningmiao was still furious, her gaze revealing a clear and chilling scrutiny as she stared at him expressionlessly.
Erice began to have trouble breathing, and a sense of fear belatedly welled up within her.
"I'm sorry..." Erice said subconsciously, as if it had become muscle memory. Her eyes were still blurry, as if she had no idea what she had done.
The inexplicable fire within her dissipated along with her vitality, leaving only lifeless emptiness in her brown eyes.
Shu Ningmiao could not adequately describe Eric's expression; it was not just fear, but also a kind of pain from being immersed in a hallucination.
Erice's negative emotions were amplified to an abnormal degree.
Shu Ningmiao was unsure whether this was the work of Prometheus, Shi Yu, or both.
The broken stone wasn't enough to make her so angry that she lost her mind; throwing a tantrum now wouldn't solve anything.
Once there's a save point, there will be a second one. If this one breaks, she'll have to find other save points.
Shu Ningmiao still remembers that the first place she saved her game was in the combat simulation system, after being invaded by Prometheus.
If she wants to save her game again, does she need to find a way to enter the combat simulation system again?
However, due to the major problems that occurred last time, the combat simulation system has been completely dismantled and transported back to the National Research Center.
For a moment, the surroundings were frozen in place. Eric's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud, his hands on the grass, not daring to touch the fragments beside him.
Rennagi also knelt down with her, his brows furrowed tightly. He had a delicate and gentle appearance, and it was rare for him to show such a stern expression.
He took out his handkerchief and carefully picked up every single fragment, not even the smallest grain.
After wrapping all the shards that had lost their luster and color into a handkerchief, Rennagi stood up and looked at the stone in her palm, so shattered that it was unrecognizable, and could only sigh.
To be precise, he also had his problems; he was too unvigilant. If the stone had been in Shu Ningmiao's hands, it wouldn't have been snatched away in the first place.
It looks like it's made of solid material, so how did it break into this shape after just one drop?
Rennagi cupped a handkerchief and held it out to her: "This thing is broken... I hope there won't be any problems?"
Shu Ningmiao didn't say anything, but took the fragment from his hand and folded the handkerchief.
Seeing her put away the stone fragments, Eric hesitated and stumbled toward her, but before he could get close, he was suddenly blasted away by a gust of air.
Eric fell several meters and got up in a daze.
While they were still using Pandora's basic controls and attacks, Shu Ningmiao was already able to unleash Pandora's power in this way.
When she was first hit, she thought it was some kind of powerful superpower.
She increasingly realized her hopelessness in being compared to Shu Ningmiao.
It's one thing to lose something from Lian Nagi, but how could Shu Ningmiao possibly let someone else have something she already owns?
She lowered her head and calmly said to Erici, "It's better to tell Archini that you broke this thing yourself than to say that I took it from you. At least it will only make you look reckless, not useless."
Erici's face turned as if she'd been doused with ice water. Shu Ningmiao's words hit her sore spot.
Shu Ningmiao wanted to take the stone fragments with her, and no one could stop her. Ai Ruiji knew she had no room to object, and Lian Nagi beside her was already hers.
Watching Shu Ningmiao's disappearing figure, Eric quickly turned his head away, caught sight of Lian Nagi with her hands in her pockets, and said unwillingly, "She's just using you. You treat her as a friend—"
Rennagi wasn't completely oblivious, but she was still trying to find reasons for her in her mind: "That's just the kind of person she is."
"Also, I asked you to take the stone back, not because of her, but because I'm afraid that the stone will cause more people to die."
He had already vaguely sensed something was wrong when Yelüqi fell ill, but he stubbornly refused to admit it.
The continuously flowing blood, like thick ink spreading across pale paper, clearly outlined the expressions of everyone on the training field under the red sunlight.
Only then did he realize that Yelü Qi might really die, and that it was his fault, but he could not waver.
He already regretted it, but there was no turning back.
It was Shu Ningmiao who forced him to face reality, or rather, Shu Ningmiao was the anchor point from which he fell from his ideals into reality.
Eric looked at him in disbelief and whispered, "I'll talk to Sister Liang..."
Rennagi had anticipated her words. She knelt down in front of her, looked directly into her eyes, and softened her expression, which was quite different from her previous nervousness: "Go ahead and say it."
"Aren't you afraid?" Eric pressed. "Or are you already thinking of leaving Prometheus, just because of her?"
“No…” Rennagi touched her hair: “How should I put it, I think I need some time to stop and think about what I believe to be correct.”
Think about what he thinks is right.
From the confusion of adolescence onwards, he has always believed that he is righteous, although it is somewhat naive and ridiculous. But this idea has never changed since he joined Prometheus.
Prometheus was the fire-stealer in ancient mythology, bringing hope to humankind.
When Sister Liang brought him to join Prometheus, they laid plastic bags on the garbage heap of the new land and made an oath in front of the small fire in the middle.
They wanted to "save people from suffering and quell disasters".
Although he acted all high and mighty and threatened Shu Ningmiao in the car, his thoughts were actually very simple, so simple that they were somewhat naive.
If Pines had stopped mining Pandora, there would have been no more patients with Manra disease, and the world would naturally have been a better place.
Although the fate of Pingyi cannot be reversed, there will never be another place like it again.
Of course, he harbored personal grievances against the Pigne government and even thought it would be best if the Pigne coalition parliament disappeared. So when Achini initially wanted to attack Pigne's public facilities, he voted in favor.
But now, he is becoming increasingly negative and lacking in motivation.
From saving lives to killing, as the person in charge of coordinating the network, he knew exactly how many people died in each of Prometheus's operations, and he knew how the public online was vilifying Prometheus's actions.
He doesn't have a good mental fortitude, and his performance in class is very poor.
But it's like walking a tightrope halfway, looking back at the same abyss in front of and behind you, you can only grit your teeth and keep going.
Shu Ningmiao's threat actually gave him a brief respite.
She was the one who gave him the courage to turn back.
Rennagi clenched her fist: "...Go ahead and say it."
He had already made this decision the moment he followed Shu Ningmiao here.
——
The top of the Zhunti Pagoda.
The stone had just broken and not long ago, so there might still be some residual crystals that could be detected. Shu Ningmiao had originally planned to keep the stone for herself to study for a couple of days, but now she had no choice but to head straight to Weston's office.
Weston and Yellen's offices were right next to each other, separated only by a door that couldn't be opened.
As Shu Ningmiao passed by, she saw that Ye Luqi's office door was wide open, and everything inside had been moved out, making the room look exceptionally empty.
There weren't many original items; Yelü Qi usually kept only a few rosters by his side. Yet the room looked as if it had been completely renovated, with no trace left behind.
Several workers were just coming upstairs, seemingly discussing how to change the office chandelier. Judging from their conversation, the new owner of this office seemed quite difficult to deal with.
Before Shu Ningmiao could look away, she heard a slightly reproachful, icy voice that was impossible for anyone present to ignore.
“What are you standing there for? Come here.” Weston stood in the doorway of his office, his coat still inside, the top two buttons of his shirt collar undone, sleeves rolled up, and no tie. “Who are you supervising?”
His unfriendly tone as soon as he opened his mouth attracted a lot of attention. Shu Ningmiao knew he wasn't in a good mood, but she was in an even worse mood.
She walked over without a word, deliberately not looking where she was going, and almost stepped on Weston's shoes. Weston was quick to pull away.
Shu Ningmiao closed the door behind her back, sat down opposite him, and expertly took out a glass bottle, placing it on the desk.
"You didn't give it to him?" Weston frowned.
She didn't speak, then placed the tightly clenched handkerchief on the other side of the glass bottle before saying, "It's no use. Didn't you want to get into the School of Life Sciences? Don't you even know this?"
With her exposing his secrets, Weston's face darkened instantly: "Looks like someone had a boring tea party with you."
"Boring? I find it very interesting." Shu Ningmiao shook the glass bottle, deliberately trying to annoy him.
Weston's face darkened further.
After a long silence, Weston finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "If it's useless, just throw it away. Don't bring it to me."
Shu Ningmiao asked first, "Don't you have anything to ask me?"
Weston glanced at her sideways and retorted, "What do I need to ask you?"
"Then why were you standing at the door waiting for me to come in?" He wasn't even wearing a coat; he couldn't have just happened to see her when he came out.
Before the other party could erupt in anger, Shu Ningmiao had already followed up with, "What you don't want to ask, I do."
She lifted the handkerchief to show him the broken stones inside. The stones, which were originally white, had lost their color after breaking and looked grayish.
Fortunately, she had photos.
“This is what caused Teacher Yelu’s illness.” Shu Ningmiao didn’t explain much, trying to avoid describing Yelu’s current condition in the context of the confidentiality agreement. She believed that Weston would understand: “You should know that Teacher Yelu’s current condition is different from that of ordinary people. This is the root of the abnormality.”
Weston asked her to bring the medicine; regardless, there was at least some camaraderie between them, and he had the intention to help Yelüqi.
Just one thing is enough; if Weston agrees to study the stone, she can learn more about it through that research.
She began to lie with utmost sincerity: "Professor Weston, I'm giving this to you because I think everyone in the entire School of Life Sciences combined is inferior to you. With your abilities, you're sure to discover earth-shattering applications for this..."
“To overthrow Pines.” Shu Ningmiao paused, feeling that she might have gone a bit too far: “—the National Research Center.”
She expected to be met with Weston's impatient venom.
Surprisingly, Weston didn't interrupt her after she finished speaking, and he remained strangely quiet.
Shu Ningmiao stopped and looked at him.
He seemed to have suddenly become a different person; his dark green pupils instantly contracted, tightening little by little as Shu Ningmiao's hand casually covered the broken pieces.
His pupils suddenly dilated, and Weston raised an eyebrow, speaking slowly in a tone so restrained it was almost distorted: "Where did you get this from?"
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