Chapter 90 Patience and Deterrence (4)
"...It was a feeling of facing something inhuman."
A person with a normal human body structure and who could communicate with her began to give her a terrifying feeling of being neither human nor inhuman.
When Achini exposed the abnormality beneath the human face, it also evoked a deep-seated fear within her.
Liang Siyan couldn't explain this feeling, which even her brain wasn't sure about, to Shu Ningmiao, so she could only say, "When you actually face him, you'll know how terrifying he is."
Shu Ningmiao raised her eyebrows slightly, unmoved by Liang Siyan's words: "You said you taught literature when you were in Cornunos. Have you read the myths and epics of Intoli?"
“I’ve only read two excerpts.” Liang Siyan paused, then looked up to observe her expression. “Because the Tuoli civilization is backward and does not rely on intelligent systems and electronic devices, it relies entirely on oral traditions passed down from elders. To this day, Pinhe has no systematic written records.”
The isolation and backwardness of Intori gave it an air of mystery.
Just like most students fantasize about vampires, dragons, and magic, Liang Siyan was also quite interested in Intori when she was in school. However, the cost of studying the country was too high, so it was obviously not realistic to pursue it as a hobby.
To fully understand the mysterious culture and history of this country, one must learn its dozens of similar yet enigmatic ancient languages.
Life is so short, who can waste more than ten years on this without thinking?
Pinelli was a scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Intori, and also a genius in linguistics.
Hearing her words, Shu Ning gracefully bent her legs, not at all surprised by the answer: "Do you have paper and a pen?"
"I'll go get it." Just as promised, Liang Siyan didn't ask her why, got up and borrowed paper and a pen from someone around her, and handed them to her.
Shu Ningmiao's gaze remained calm. Her pen paused slightly as she wrote a piece of advice on the paper: "In the celestial realm, it is the sun; in the terrestrial realm, it is the fire of sacrifice."
This is the last verse of praise about "Achini," the fire god, in the manuscript that Arsia gave her.
The handwritten copy was actually just lying there on her, but she never intended to take it out for these people to study.
Shu Ningmiao planned to use Prometheus's men to kill Achini, but she never trusted them.
—She wasn't even a temporary ally; at best, she was just a knife she picked up on the street.
The knife that you pick up casually may be sharp, it may be rusty, or it may even cut you. This was something Shu Ningmiao already knew when she was about to pick it up.
"What is this?" Liang Siyan frowned.
"It is a hymn to the god of fire from the epic mythology of Intoli."
"Within the territory, it is used for fire worship."
Shu Ningmiao pointed to this sentence and slowly said, "This explains the two forms of fire as the origin. I don't know what the earth is, but it corresponds to the heavens and may refer to hell in the Intoli culture. The most important word in this sentence is 'fire sacrifice'."
"I guess this is Achini's special ability."
Shu Ningmiao drew a big X on the paper: "You have always thought that Achini's special ability is a kind of strange fire, but his real special ability is actually fire sacrifice."
Liang Siyan frowned in confusion: "What's the difference?"
"Light the fire, offer sacrifices, and pray to the gods for your own desires."
Shu Ningmiao stared at her, her eyes still bright even in the darkness: "In mythology, the sacrificial fire is responsible for conveying the offerings that humans make to the gods. Doesn't that sound familiar?"
"Teleportation." The girl tapped the thin, brittle paper with the tip of her pen, highlighting the special ability of Achini.
The woman suddenly understood: "You mean Achini is related to the fire god in Inthologian mythology?"
Your previous guess was not without merit.
Shu Ningmiao succinctly concluded: "He is either a god, or a human created in the image of this god."
The latter seems more likely, because Achini's entire persona perfectly matches the image in the manuscript of this hymn.
This, in turn, proves that Achini was not a god.
Take Pinheis as an example. The same story has different versions in different places, with many contradictory characters and various differences. If there really are gods, they shouldn't be exactly the same as any one of them.
Achini was essentially cosplaying based on this hymn that circulated in Pigne.
He is playing the role of a god.
Given that Achini was a man-made creation, his creator clearly drew considerable inspiration from the myth of Intori.
Or, to put it more directly, Achini is a man-made fire deity.
Liang Siyan was first surprised, then looked a little puzzled.
"You're wondering what the point is, aren't you?" Shu Ningmiao seemed to see through her unspoken doubts and spoke coldly: "Sacrifice involves many complex steps: lighting the fire, offering sacrifices, praying... What is the most important attribute for believers?"
After pondering for a long time, Liang Siyan hesitated before asking, "Sincere?"
"Isn't it 'dedication' for you?"
She saw a faint smile appear on Shu Ningmiao's lips, a smile that was not mocking, but rather a kind of assessment.
"After receiving the Life Symbol from Su Ni, I've always had a question—why did he give you this kind of supernatural item?"
"Later, I observed your members who invaded Kornunos at the training ground."
Shu Ningmiao stared at Liang Siyan's pupils, which were trembling more and more clearly: "They are all dead."
It was not a death that could be explained by common sense, but a sacrifice akin to moths flying into a flame. These ordinary people without awakened superpowers flew out of Achini's flames like insects, and then rushed headlong into another fire.
This behavior goes against human instinct.
“All superpowers have limitations, including his fire.” Shu Ningmiao was afraid that she would get angry, so she didn’t say it too bluntly: “Combining the nature of mythology and sacrificial fire, his fire should only be able to accept people with a heart of ‘dedication’. The so-called transfer of superpowers is actually a sacrifice.”
Rennagi said that everyone who obtains the Life Symbol is actually prepared to die for it.
Humans are strange creatures. As long as they believe that their sacrifice is for a great purpose, they will be willing to die. However, not everyone can maintain a spirit of "dedication". People's thoughts and mentality change from day to day. When they really face death, fear and dread are very normal reactions.
—Just like when she held a knife to Rennagi, Rennagi said he "didn't want to die."
Of all the Prometheus members she had met, only Rennagi had clearly demonstrated her will to survive to her.
Why?
Shu Ningmiao thought of a seemingly unrelated detail—the life talisman worn by Lian Naqi was not a superpower item, but a regular life talisman, an ordinary pendant with no function.
The Symbol of Life, as a Prometheus symbol, is distributed to every member of Prometheus. Although it is a supernatural tool, its only function is to shield a person from all senses.
A numb sense will only lead to wrong judgments, and Su Ni is a prime example of this.
This seemingly useless function actually has another purpose: to weaken people's "will to survive" and artificially create more believers who are willing to "sacrifice".
Achini replaced Prometheus's original "symbol of life" with a magical artifact he created, using the sense of dedication of the Prometheus members to achieve his own magical abilities.
Liang Siyan's expression changed instantly, staring at the girl in front of her in disbelief. With just this one clue, she was able to deduce Achini's true superpower.
Or rather, Shu Ningmiao had been coldly observing them even earlier.
Shu Ningmiao put down her pen decisively and said bluntly, "I need your help to find Achini's whereabouts, but given your current state and the number of people, it's impossible to completely search the new land in the next few days."
Liang Siyan had a bad feeling: "Do you have any other ideas?"
"Sacrifice another person."
Shu Ningmiao approached her, her fingertips hovering over her neckline, where the shadow of a pendant chain could be faintly seen: "A ritual cannot be completed by one person alone, and the teleportation channel is by no means one-way. I know you still have the 'Life Symbol' made by Achini."
"Use the life symbol he created, just as you did before."
Her tone was as calm as if she were describing a shopping list for tomorrow: "As long as there is even a moment when the timing coincides with Achini's use of fire, one can pass through the sacrificial passage and meet the gods."
Do you know what you're saying?!
The surrounding air suddenly became heavy, even solidified. Liang Siyan took a deep breath and spoke again: "We don't know when he will use fire. He can go on without using his powers, but we can't stay in the fire forever! This is risking our lives for a result."
Shu Ningmiao looked at her with her arms crossed, her reaction indifferent and unmoved.
“…Even if we accidentally teleport to Achini's side, we'll only face death.” Liang Siyan gritted her teeth, forcing out a sentence: “I don’t want to see anyone else die because of this.”
"That's your problem to solve, not mine."
Shu Ningmiao straightened up, took off her white coat, whose original color was no longer recognizable, and threw it on the ground. She then casually patted the dust off her clothes.
"Otherwise, why would I agree to cooperate with you?"
Her indifferent gaze revealed an impenetrable wall, as if frozen solid. Only then did Liang Siyan realize that the girl who had injured and killed one of them on the bridge had been too easy to talk to all this time.
"Since you know it's dangerous to face Achini, I'm risking my life to confront him. It's not like I'm moved by a few words from you."
Ignoring the tense atmosphere around her, Shu Ningmiao leaned against the box indifferently: "If you have no value to me, then it's not a cooperation."
Liang Siyan's appearance was exactly what she wanted. After studying the contents of the handwritten copy about Achini, she had roughly pieced together the limitations of Achini's superpowers.
Using the properties of the sacrificial fire would allow her to find Achini quickly and directly, but unfortunately, she couldn't use this method.
Regardless of how long she could survive in the flames, Shu Ningmiao was well aware that she was definitely one of the least selfless people in the world, with zero spirit of sacrifice.
But she knew that Prometheus's men would surely succeed.
Coincidentally, before she could even approach Liang Siyan, Liang Siyan appeared before her.
"My body can't even hold on for a single breath in the flames right now."
Liang Siyan reached out and grabbed her wrist, lowering her voice as much as possible, almost humbly: "If I could do it, I would agree to it without hesitation. If I can't, I have no right to make this decision for others."
If she agrees, it's tantamount to asking one of the children here to die. Who should go? Aren't they all the same?
Liang Siyan sometimes really felt that it would be better for her to die, but even though she died in the fire, none of the problems were solved.
The two fell into a tense silence when a hoarse, sickly voice interrupted Liang Siyan: "I'll go."
Shu Ningmiao turned her head and stared intently at the person who spoke next to her for a while. This person was of medium height and his whole body was covered by a cloak.
Seeing her gaze sweep over him, the man silently took off his cloak, revealing a head of snow-white hair.
His neck was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze, and his voice was hoarse, completely lacking its previous crispness: "I can go."
Liang Siyan opened her mouth silently, but no sound came out.
She was actually an ice-controlling ability user who almost died in the river under her control.
Shu Ningmiao saw all of Lin Chuiyun's memories in the water and was deeply impressed by them, so she could still recognize him at a glance.
He's still alive.
Lin Chuiyun lowered her eyes, staring fiercely at her, then clenched her fists, turned her head away to suppress her anger, and spoke again: "I cover my body with ice, so I can withstand being in flames for a long time. I am the most suitable candidate. Sister Liang, you don't need to say anything more. Besides me, who else can stay in the fire for so long?"
Liang Siyan did not refute him. After a long while, she slowly calmed down and said, "We still need a tracker."
Everyone present knew that those who went there would have a very low chance of coming back alive to tell them their location.
Shu Ningmiao shook her head: "There is a signal jammer."
If the tracker works, she can determine the location directly based on the tracker on Erice's body.
Shu Ningmiao was fairly certain that Su Ni, Erici, and Achini were together. The signal jammer didn't seem like something Achini would set up; it was probably something Su Ni set up to prevent others from finding Erici through other means.
"Perhaps a micro-pulse wave could work." A head popped out from behind Lin Chuiyun, whose face was expressionless and tense.
The boy's voice is very distinctive and hard to forget once you've heard it.
Shu Ningmiao turned to look in his direction: "What are you doing here?"
Rennagi was even wearing her school uniform. Upon hearing this, she pursed her lips and said, "It was Sister Liang who brought me here with props. I also want to help everyone."
—In fact, it was Achini's outrageous behavior that triggered a series of investigations, which could potentially implicate Rennagi, who was at school. Liang Siyan brought him back, but concealed this concern and did not mention it.
“The microwave pulses emitted by the oscillator do not require signals and cannot be blocked by supernatural abilities.” Rennagi suggested very naturally: “Divide the new land into forty-two sections based on the range of the microwave pulses. Forty-two people will be needed to monitor the pulse frequency. The approximate location can be determined by the strength of the frequency.”
"etc……"
"I have no objection." Lin Chuiyun spoke before Liang Siyan could, silencing all the woman's hesitation.
The two looked at each other without speaking. After a moment, Lin Chuiyun turned his head away to avoid their gaze.
"...It will take time to arrange personnel. I will notify you as soon as I have news." Facing Shu Ningmiao's calm gaze, Liang Siyan gently closed her eyes, opened them again after a moment, and said without hesitation, "You stay here for a while."
Liang Siyan left with a disgruntled Lin Chuiyun, presumably to gather the others to arrange precautions and say some things that she, as an outsider, shouldn't hear.
Shu Ningmiao wasn't interested in this either; she had already achieved her goal, and upon hearing this, she looked away.
Rennagi didn't leave. He slowly moved to her side, and Shu Ningmiao, who had been lost in thought, turned her attention to him: "Aren't you going to help?"
“The base has a vibrator ready-made.” Rennagi put her hands behind her back and looked at her for a long time. “All we need to do is set it up. We don’t need to do it.”
How could you have something like this?
Shu Ningmiao stared speechlessly at the boxes of instant food scattered all over the floor.
It's highly suspicious that such a dilapidated environment would contain a vibrator, a rarity even among military supplies.
"It was to monitor the National Union Building," Rennagi said honestly, "but it didn't work."
"..."
"Should we take a look around here? It'll probably be a while before we see," Rennagi suggested. "There aren't many people staying here. They're mostly people who came back with Sister Liang. There are about 150 of them."
“There are over a hundred ordinary people here who haven’t awakened.” The boy walked quickly ahead of her, glancing back at her every now and then. His uniform collar was a bit too wide, vaguely obscuring half of his face, revealing only his dark eyes. “That’s why I thought of coming back to help… Actually, I had already planned to leave Prometheus.”
He spoke his last words very softly.
Shu Ningmiao followed him around and found that the facilities in the base were more complete than she had imagined. There were lights and electricity, and an artificial water channel had been dug along the edge.
The water inside is flowing, and it looks like it's connected to a water pipe somewhere on the ground. The people living inside rely on this to get clean drinking water.
Shu Ningmiao squatted down by the ditch, turning her head slightly to observe the people around her. People from the base were sitting in twos and threes by the ditch, while some were lying on the ground in rather strange postures.
Rennagi followed her movements, squatted down, scooped up a puddle of water, stood up and walked to the person in the contorted position, then poured the water on the person's hair.
The man shuddered and turned around, and Shu Ningmiao finally saw his bloody, mangled face, which looked like it had been charred and rotting.
His face and body were still dripping secretions and dander from time to time.
"Hot..." he made a weak sound in his throat.
"Would this be better?" Rennagi scooped up a small puddle of water and poured it on him.
The man's mouth was open, and he could only make "ah ah" sounds, unable to utter any other sounds.
The boy T, who was picking his nails next to the man, looked up impatiently: "He's about to die, how would he know about hot or cold?"
Rennagi patiently said, "Watering isn't illegal."
The man wailed for a while, his voice gradually fading, before the boy beside him impatiently pulled a cloth over his head.
Shu Ningmiao caught a clear glimpse of the man's miserable state out of the corner of her eye. It was far more severe than Yelü Qi's condition. She guessed that Yelü Qi had probably chosen death out of fear of becoming like this: "There are also many Manra patients in Prometheus?"
“Most of them.” Rennagi squatted down next to her, playing with the water flowing in the ditch with her fingertips. “Think about it, if you get this disease in the new land, you either go to the church’s asylum to die, or you join us and take revenge on Pine in your final days. There are no other options.”
“If it had nothing to do with him, who would risk so much to oppose the entire country? Human life is like flowing water, it flows from one end to the other very quickly, and even in death, not everyone can leave a trace…” Rennagi’s voice was calm, then she suddenly stopped, raised her eyelids, and looked at her calmly: “I mean… are you really going to go find Achini?”
Shu Ningmiao was somewhat surprised and quietly looked at him, propping her chin on her hand.
"What do you plan to do if no one stops him?" she threw the question back at him.
Liang Siyan's condition could no longer be seen in front of Achini, and now Prometheus is left with only a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people—literally old, weak, sick and disabled.
“I will pray that Pineh can find him soon.” Rennagi said guiltily, “Let the Envoy handle this matter.”
"You still pin your hopes on the Pinheid government?"
"...People always change."
“Even Sister Liang can’t do anything about him.” Lian Naqi’s eyes were clear, with a striking contrast between her pure black pupils and whites. She stared at her almost without blinking, her tone very calm: “I’m worried about you.”
Rennagi, who was usually reserved, suddenly became blunt. Shu Ningmiao glanced at him and asked, "Do you know anything about Achini?"
“I haven’t seen him much… Every time I saw him, he was always surrounded by small animals.” Rennagi said as she recalled, “He seems to be very popular with animals.”
Since she had hardly ever seen Achini, Rennagi wanted to provide her with some clues, but she couldn't recall anything.
Shu Ningmiao took the initiative to speak, picking up where he left off: "Aren't you afraid of him?"
She observed Rennagi's expression. When the boy mentioned Achini, he did not have the same physical resistance as Liang Siyan, and his emotional fluctuations were not even as great as usual.
"To be honest... I didn't feel anything, maybe because I haven't met him often." Rennagi frowned and thought seriously, "The first time I met him, I thought he was a good person."
Shu Ningmiao said, "Are you an animal?"
"How is that possible!"
Liang Siyan, calling out to her from afar, interrupted Lian Nagi's increasingly off-topic conversation: "Ready?"
"You'll come back, won't you?"
Lian Na looked at her, then glanced at Liang Siyan, and lowered her voice: "You don't actually need to take the risk alone. There are no signal jammers here, and I won't stop you from notifying Pine... Just don't expose us."
Shu Ningmiao took out her terminal and waved the completely black screen at him: "It's out of power."
Rennagi was speechless, and said dryly, "There are universal chargers if you go further in."
"No need." Shu Ningmiao stuffed the terminal back into her pocket like a decorative piece: "The electricity is connected to the circuitry above, right? You're stealing water and electricity, which is illegal."
As expected, the boy's attention was easily diverted: "Do we really need to do something so illegal...?"
Liang Siyan stood behind him, patted his hair helplessly, and looked tired.
They exchanged a glance, neither intending to speak to the other. Shu Ningmiao silently got up and walked with Liang Siyan to a cleared area in the middle.
The fire area, centered on Lin Chuiyun, was cleared and surrounded by fireproof materials to ensure it was under control. Liang Siyan was extremely efficient, and in a short time, even the people responsible for monitoring were all ready.
"We can begin once the personnel arrive at the designated location." Liang Siyan paused in front of the fire, turned around, and gave her a meaningful look.
"After this is over, I plan to disband Prometheus."
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Author's Note: From the *Pinexor Dora Daily*
Strange Tales and Ghost Stories
Legend has it that when someone committed suicide by setting themselves on fire, they saw a red-haired, golden-eyed Rakshasa demon in the flames.
【Urban News】
The Church of the Holy Spirit has seen its water and electricity expenses in the New Territories increase by 15% year-on-year over the past three months. The Church of the Holy Spirit has proposed reducing the budget for the next quarter, which has received widespread support from the faithful.
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