Chapter 95 Patience and Deterrence (9)
The human body is a fragile container.
Imagine the body as a riverbed, and the trickling streams within it as Pandora.
Any change will disrupt this delicate balance established by nature; depletion will lead to drying up, surging and accumulating silt, and overflowing torrents will easily wash the riverbed to the point of collapse and breach.
Then, everything will be destroyed by this unstoppable, out-of-control torrent.
Su Ni is currently in this state.
Shu Ningmiao was surprised to learn that his eyes could be so wide open, with the whites of his eyes tinged with a cloudy yellow and constantly oozing black liquid.
But he seemed oblivious, still smiling at her with a wild and twisted smile, the scene was so bizarre it was indescribable.
She could sense that her own [arrogance] state was normal, so the only problem must be with Su Ni's special ability.
Additional abilities are usually one-on-one, but judging from how he can switch targets at will, his additional ability has probably become a field-based ability, so his passive state is impossible to defend against.
The fact that "transfer" damage has lost its conditions, distance limitations, and constraints makes it virtually unsolvable.
This "unsolvable" situation inevitably comes with a deeper cost.
Society may not be fair, but Pandora is indeed "fair" to humanity.
The church seemed to freeze in that instant; the four people facing each other remained silent and motionless, a deathly stillness.
"You're not dead yet, are you?" Looking at Shu Ningmiao's hands tightly clutching her neck, staring at the blood gushing from between her fingers, Su Ni laughed heavily: "Don't disappoint me."
Even though that's what he said, such a vital injury would be fatal to an ordinary person.
At the rate of arterial blood loss, even a superhuman wouldn't last long.
But Su Ni was not in a hurry to kill Shu Ningmiao.
The best prey needs to be tormented repeatedly to be truly satisfying.
With a "thud".
A tear fell into the dust, and Erice lay prostrate on the ground, his arm twitching twice.
Something on her scalp felt like it was throbbing and pulling at her face. The left side of her head was throbbing badly, and she was sometimes lucid and sometimes couldn't remember anything.
Someone smiled at her and said, "You are important, we need you."
A person smiled and said to her, "We are friends."
But blood seeped into her pupils, and her vision was filled with the long neck of Shu Ningmiao that had been forcibly cut open. The expressionless girl's face became blurred in her eyes.
The amount of bleeding from the carotid artery was terrifying.
Will Shu Ningmiao just die like this?
No...
Erici always felt that Shu Ningmiao wouldn't die—for a considerable period of time, she felt that Shu Ningmiao was like an indestructible lawnmower, crushing difficulties like weeds on the ground.
This is what she envies most.
Shu Ningmiao's coldness had kept her tossing and turning at night, but she had to admit the excitement she felt when she saw Shu Ningmiao again.
Even a brain that has been controlled and thrown into chaos will find some reassurance because of this person.
Even though she didn't know how Shu Ningmiao could help her.
She has to...she has to get moving.
In these days of breakdown, the thoughts that have plagued her countless times resurfaced—
She wanted to stand up.
Even if it was just for Shu Ningmiao who came here.
Erice lay face down on the ground, tears streaming down his face and splashing onto the floor.
She awkwardly shuffled forward a few steps using her elbows, but what could she possibly do to Su Ni in that state? She was no match for her at all.
No one can rival a reflection.
In the past, when bad things happened, she couldn't help but wonder why it had to be her.
Having fallen to such a state, she is completely unable to think about that sentence anymore.
Su Ni noticed her movement, turned around and looked down at her, carelessly exposing her vitals to others.
Shu Ningmiao was still able to stand despite suffering a fatal injury, which was purely due to the physical qualities of a superhuman. Whether she could survive was another matter. As for Wei Shengqianheng's superhuman abilities, they were of little use and he didn't even take them seriously.
Erice broke out in a cold sweat.
He knelt down in front of her and lifted her face with one hand: "You hated her, didn't you... or rather, you were jealous. Now that you see her dead, are you happy?"
Su Ni smiled at her, speaking in a considerate tone, and manipulated her limbs like a doll, straightening her clothes and placing her back in her seat.
“This friend of mine,” Su Ni gently blew on her face, “helped you get revenge for what happened before.”
Eric was so angry he was trembling all over.
"Only you would think that way!"
She tried to push him away, but could only move her elbows slightly; her wrists and legs hung limply, making her look more like a lifelike doll.
But soon after, Erice suddenly fell silent.
Her pupils darted around as she looked up, then she quickly raised her voice as if to cover it up, shouting, "You...don't touch me..."
Su Ni grinned slightly, but before he could utter a complete syllable, his voice abruptly stopped.
The wind whistled past her from behind, and a light, airy figure descended from the sky in the next second, turning around and kicking Su Ni with a "boom," sending her flying and crashing into the wall, the sound of her bones making a teeth-grinding crunch.
Shu Ningmiao landed where he had just been standing, barely managing to stay still.
Su Ni leaned against the wall, only stunned for a moment. With a creaking sound of bones remodeling, the broken ribs on her body healed quickly without leaving a trace.
"You can still move? The abilities of superhumans are indeed more durable than those of ordinary people." Su Ni narrowed her eyes and looked at Shu Ningmiao. The wounds that had just been on his body were all returned to Shu Ningmiao herself without missing a single detail.
The girl was still able to stand up, supporting herself on a single bone, standing alone in place, looking at him with icy eyes.
"It's no use. There's no point in you doing these things, sister."
How pitiful and adorable! Su Ni felt a pang of pity.
Faced with an insurmountable deadlock, it turns out that Shu Ningmiao also possesses this kind of foolish and reckless courage.
"You are more resilient than I imagined."
Su Ni chuckled and mimicked her by placing her hands on her neck, twisting her body defiantly: "You're injured like this and you still have the energy to move around? Aren't you afraid of dying?"
As long as this fatal wound remains, no matter how much Shu Ningmiao moves, it will only hasten her death.
He didn't want Shu Ningmiao to die, but he repeatedly enjoyed this torment.
Shu Ningmiao stared at him for a moment, then suddenly lowered her hand. Blood did not spurt out as he had expected.
The wound on her neck had closed tightly at some point, and the scarlet blood seeping from between her fingers was all from the residual liquid left after she had just been cut open.
The girl lowered her blood-soaked hand and walked towards him, her brows sharp and menacing, filled with chilling killing intent.
He was struck by the coldness and shivered, a fleeting fear flashing in his eyes: "How could you... it's impossible."
Fueled by a massive amount of Pandora, his "transfer" ability was no longer an additional superpower, but a field-type superpower with a huge range, putting everyone in the church under his control.
He witnessed Shu Ningmiao's neck being cut open.
Aside from healing abilities, how could such a severe wound heal so quickly?
Shu Ningmiao's lowered hand brushed across her chest. Although the wound had barely closed, blood and foam were still stuck in her throat.
Her voice was roughened by her wounds, as if it contained tiny cracks, yet it was still very clear when it reached the ear.
"You're still the same..."
Shu Ningmiao glanced at him up and down with barely any movement, her tone not particularly sarcastic, but her words stung him even more than sarcasm: "Getting carried away."
However, Shu Ningmiao was actually relieved that he remained as arrogant as ever after gaining power.
No matter how much her superpowers are enhanced, Su Ni is still the same Su Ni.
Humans control superpowers.
Superpowers may be inexplicable, but people are always flawed.
There are many people in the world who are more skilled in combat than her, but Shu Ningmiao does not think Su Ni is one of them.
"Shu Ningmiao, shut up!"
Su Ni's eyes grew even more bloodshot, and her hands trembled rapidly: "You're the same... For so many years, you've always thought of me as nothing more than a dog that only deserves to lie at your feet with its tongue hanging out, that I've usurped your place and stolen your things, and that you don't even want to look at me properly."
Shu Ningmiao couldn't understand why he would become hysterical because of something she said.
"You overestimate yourself," Shu Ningmiao said bluntly. "You're not even worthy of being a dog."
Su Ni laughed mockingly, her smile suddenly freezing for a moment before she grinned, revealing her teeth: "Then you still got your neck bitten off by me."
"Ah... now, what are you going to do with me?"
He completely shed his docile facade, revealing his eccentric nature, and spoke with an air of arrogance.
"If I can kill you again, can you use your healing ability again?"
Stimulated by Shu Ningmiao's words, he slowly came back to his senses.
He didn't understand how Shu Ningmiao managed to stop the artery from being cut open and stand up.
But it's impossible that she's using a healing-type ability.
Su Ni knew that her superpower was extraordinary, but the Pandora within the human body had its limits.
With her physical skills far exceeding those of ordinary people, she has clearly invested most of Pandora's resources in enhancing her strength.
Even if she had the remaining Pandora to use for 'healing', its power wouldn't be as effective as Erici's 'purification' for wounds.
The ability to seal a wound so quickly is something even the most skilled healers would struggle to achieve.
Su Ni's chest heaved violently, and she could hear her own breathing and heartbeat becoming increasingly rapid, but her mind slowly cleared up.
It's different from before.
Nothing in this world can bind him anymore.
No matter what methods Shu Ningmiao uses or how she treats herself, the final confrontation will deplete the Pandora within her body.
On this one point, he will absolutely not lose.
He can't lose either.
He wanted to live above everyone else, possessing both immense strength and a healthy body.
The voice in my mind slowly became clearer.
The man kept his eyes closed, not looking at him, and spoke with a leisurely smile: "Do you know why I chose you? Even trash has its uses."
The man's usually casual tone pierced through his pretense with a sharp edge, almost overlapping with the cold expression on Shu Ningmiao's face.
Su Ni slowly clenched her fist—
Achini kept his word, cured his illness, and gave him powers beyond those of ordinary superhumans.
He closed his eyes and could feel the abundant energy flowing out of his body. He was bathed in a refreshing fragrance, and his thoughts felt light and hazy.
Only the unfamiliar breathing grew heavier.
It took Su Ni a while to realize that the panting was actually coming from him.
"Ha-haa."
My heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.
He was so engrossed in his own little world that he didn't even notice his face beginning to turn black.
The fresh air and dreamy aftertaste that filled Su Ni's mind were completely unnoticed by Shu Ningmiao, who was standing not far in front of him.
She smelled a familiar, strange fragrance mixed with a pungent, putrid stench, greasy and nauseating in the air.
There was only one correct point in Su Ni's statement.
That means she can't carry healing abilities. Stealing abilities with [Jealousy] requires a cooldown period. She can't just make decisions based on a sudden flash of inspiration; she must prepare the abilities she wants to carry in advance.
After enrolling in Cornunos, she actually mastered a lot of the tricks of superpowers, especially the publicly available superpowers recorded in textbooks.
There are many, but only one can be chosen, and this choice could be crucial, determining her life or death.
Of all her superpowers, healing abilities are time-consuming and easily interrupted, so they were never on her shortlist.
Even with Weston's skilled healing abilities, there is still a gap of several seconds.
No one will listen to her say "pause" and wait for her to recover before continuing.
In Su Ni's eyes, the hand she released was not actually completely withdrawn; her blood-stained fingertips were still connected by a thin golden thread that almost no one could see.
Rewind a minute, and no one could see the rapid trembling of her vocal cords beneath the blood.
No one heard her murmur.
"Use the person who has died and been resurrected to open the door, lock the wounds, seal them away without a trace, and prevent the wounds of flesh and blood from being torn apart again."
The wound that Su Ni transferred to her did not truly heal; it was merely "locked up."
Shu Ningmiao once thought, if all the cracks can be locked, why can't wounds be?
When both the conditions and the object exist, the concept of a 'lock' is fully valid.
When she stole Edvina's power, the "Golden Chains," she already had a vague feeling that this concept could be applied elsewhere.
What's powerful is not just the lock itself, but the concept of the 'lock'.
The gold, which was being entangled by Pandora, obediently flowed from her fingertips, and the translucent golden chains pierced through the flesh and blood of her neck, intertwining and closing.
If you treat the wound as something that is "locked up," then the moment the lock is formed, any openings will be tightly closed.
This is the concept behind the existence of a "lock".
Shu Ningmiao's eyes flashed slightly. Without giving him a chance to breathe, she jumped and flipped over, and the portable knife in her hand popped out.
The girl's body hovered in mid-air, bent into an explosive arc, about to touch his body.
As long as there are still people within Su Ni's ability range, Su Ni will not die. Having realized this, Shu Ningmiao has changed her original actions slightly.
She seemed intent on controlling him and restricting his movements.
Both of them knew very well that Su Ni had no chance of winning against her in close combat. As long as she didn't die in one blow, Su Ni wouldn't be able to do anything to her either.
But Shu Ningmiao was confident that she could easily subdue him even if she was injured when they got close.
"...Give me a little more time, they are no match for me."
Su Ni was oblivious to everything around her, pleading softly. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, which were bloodshot.
He didn't open his mouth, but made a muffled sound: "Tsk."
The impatient "tsk" made Shu Ningmiao's eyebrows twitch as if struck by lightning, and a bad premonition arose in her heart.
This tone doesn't sound like Su Ni.
It's like a completely different person.
Come to think of it, from the moment she entered, she hadn't seen any other living people besides Su Ni and Eric.
Achini was nowhere to be seen, but Shu Ningmiao had a feeling he would appear here.
The next moment, the air was ripped apart by a sharp scream, and a gust of air surged up around him, blasting away the approaching Shu Ningmiao.
Su Ni's body jerked violently for a moment, then she held her face in her hands and tilted her head back. Bone-like bird wings sprouted from her back, and the large, bony wings flapped, which was the source of the gale just now.
A pair of eerie eyes peeked out from between the hands covering her face, staring intently at her.
Those were not human eyes.
His hands and body were covered with dense, vein-like fungal hyphae, and black pus oozed from the festering skin beneath them.
Su Ni stared blankly at the black liquid dripping continuously at her feet.
His face was bulging and could not be covered by his hands; the edges of his mouth had hardened into the shape of a beak.
His large, unnaturally bright eyes bulged from his face, darting around before finally settling on her.
Shu Ningmiao's heart skipped a beat.
Su Ni's appearance—is just like... the humanoid contaminant she encountered during her supernatural practice.
No matter how realistic a combat simulation system is, it can't compare to reality. This was the first time she had ever seen a corrupted entity in real life, witnessing a human being transform into a monster.
He seemed oblivious to his own appearance, slowly walking towards her, his secretions leaving a long trail on the ground. His bird wings flapped behind him, serving as both a shield and a weapon, creating an airflow that made it difficult for her to approach.
"What's wrong?" He asked in that soft, timid tone, which, combined with his grotesque and terrifying body, created an incongruous and eerie feeling that went straight to the top of my head: "Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I'm ugly right now?"
"...Appearance isn't that important at all." Su Ni suddenly laughed.
He would use his appearance and sweet talk to please his parents, but his pretty and delicate face was precisely the original sin that caused him to suffer bullying in the Yingjian District.
He didn't care about his appearance, whether it was ugly or beautiful; he only felt relaxed and comfortable, as if he were floating on clouds.
“I should thank him…” Su Ni chuckled.
The situation changed in an instant. Shu Ningmiao cautiously took a few steps back, not daring to move forward rashly. She carefully observed Su Ni and couldn't believe that he, in this state, still had the ability to communicate normally.
"Who is he, Achini?" Shu Ningmiao stopped, holding the knife horizontally in front of her, and stared at him intently. "Where is Achini? Do you know what he wants to do?"
"It doesn't matter." Su Ni sneered, "I just want to live like this now, I don't care what he wants to do."
Shu Ningmiao raised an eyebrow: "Then why do you still listen to him and act as a watchdog here?"
"Sister, I didn't listen to him. I didn't want to kill you..."
Su Ni gave an irrelevant answer, twisting her wrist so that pus slowly dripped from her palm. She spoke slowly, "If I really wanted to kill you, why didn't I hit you harder just now?"
"Is that so?" Shu Ningmiao pointed the tip of her knife at him and smiled brightly: "Let me guess, if I were to completely sever your neck, would your head fall first, or mine?"
If Su Ni dies, the superpower effect will naturally cease to exist.
However, gambling on this unknown moment is too risky. Shu Ningmiao sat at the poker table, and the chips in her hand were definitely not her own life.
"You wouldn't dare."
Su Ni said in a sinister tone, "When I was a child, my mother told me a story—a prisoner wanted to know if a person would still have consciousness after their head was cut off, so he made an agreement with the executioner before the execution that if he still had consciousness after being beheaded, he would blink once."
"After beheading him, the executioner lifted his head as promised, and everyone present saw his bloody head blink eleven times."
"Don't worry." As he pressed down with his hands covering his face, a trembling smile appeared on his rotting face: "Even if I die, I'll take you with me, sister."
At the same time, Shu Ningmiao felt the same pain of her face being torn and pressed, and she felt a deep sense of empathy.
The only difference is that Su Ni doesn't feel pain, but she does.
Su Ni laughed wildly, throwing away her weapon like a madwoman, and tearing her own flesh with her deformed fingers, torturing her like a dull knife.
He cannot feel pain, but he enjoys the suffering that others inflict because of him.
Her wounds kept reopening, making it impossible to get close to her.
Su Ni planned to slowly torture her to death like this.
Shu Ningmiao shamelessly thought that if Su Ni were to transfer the harm to anyone else present, whether it was Wei Shengqianheng or Ai Ruiji, she would not hesitate to cut off their heads.
But she knew that if Su Ni was still mentally sound, she would definitely target her.
Putting aside old and new grudges, the three people present—
Wei Sheng Qianheng is a weakling with no fighting ability. His superpower is not suitable for flexible combat. His casting time is long and his range is extremely fixed and conspicuous, making him too easy to defend against. His existence is dispensable.
Erice's mobility was restricted; he couldn't even move his body.
The only one who could pose a threat to him was her.
Shu Ningmiao let out a soft sigh, her fingers lightly flicking the hilt of the knife. The tip of the blade twitched towards him as if beckoning him, and she slowly said, "You're right."
"I despise you." Shu Ningmiao raised her knife at him, but subtly retreated step by step.
She knew very well what he was thinking: "From the day you stepped into the Shu family, I never looked at you properly. I look down on your background and your methods of winning people's favor."
“But most importantly, you are too weak.” Shu Ningmiao smiled slightly: “A person as weak as you can only ever torment those who are weaker than you.”
"you--"
Every word was sharp and piercing. Su Ni was completely enraged by her words and screamed as she charged at her.
A smile flashed across Shu Ningmiao's face, but this fleeting smile only further enraged the monster in front of her.
He rushed in front of her, stretched out his deformed hands, and grabbed her neck tightly.
After transforming into a monster, he moved even faster, appearing in front of her almost in the blink of an eye.
Shu Ningmiao didn't even have time to make a sound; she could only slightly open her mouth.
Do you remember how you wanted to strangle me when we were kids?
Su Ni slammed her to the ground, and through her twisted hands, one could glimpse a section of pale skin stained with blood, with delicate blue veins clearly visible: "I strangled that bird, and you want to strangle me too? In your heart, I'm not even as good as a bird perched on the eaves that could fly away at any moment."
He slowly tightened his grip on his hands.
“Now, you can only look at me, exactly like that bird.” Su Ni breathed heavily: “Slowly… die in my hands.”
His image trembled subtly in Shu Ningmiao's eyes, immersed in her struggle before death.
In a daze, he saw the scene before him turn into countless blurry blocks of color, gradually dissipating and becoming difficult to focus.
Shu Ningmiao, whose neck he was gripping, shattered like a phantom.
In Su Ni's increasingly blurred vision, all she could see was a fine layer of blood on her face.
Her hands pressed down hard on the back of his head, almost crushing his skull.
However, being unable to feel pain, he was slow to react, and by the time he realized it, it was too late.
For the first time since he turned fifteen, the trauma had lingered on him for so long, and the feeling was so unfamiliar.
The feeling of suffocation was like a sharp blade, clearly cutting through the thin, almost imperceptible membrane between him and reality.
Su Ni let out a soft "ho" sound, and a chill ran down her spine.
Shu Ningmiao took a deep breath, controlling his head with one hand and wrapping her other arm around his neck. Her taut muscles were like iron clamps, slowly tightening as she whispered in his ear.
"Superpowers are not wrong, but people always make mistakes." Shu Ningmiao's cold gaze swept across his face, and she saw her own condescending reflection in his magnified, trembling eyes: "Look, it's just a few words, and what have you forgotten again?"
Su Ni's pupils contracted as she realized something, and she became unusually quiet. Her body was then twisted and broken.
The cracking sound of bones breaking echoed throughout the church.
However, he did not transfer his injuries to anyone present.
All the talk of winning or losing, or dying together, was fake. Shu Ningmiao never thought of taking risks with him, nor did she ever think of subduing him while he was alive.
The only thing he forgot was Wei Sheng Qian Heng, who had stopped at the door and disappeared from his sight at some point.
The person who held his life in their hands gave him no chance to resist; he was killed instantly.
Shu Ningmiao loosened her arms, letting the monster in front of her collapse to the ground like a mud figure that had lost control.
Wei Shengqianheng's ability has a limited range, and Su Ni's ability is too troublesome. She doesn't even want to give him a chance to say one last word.
The church was so quiet that you could hear a drop of water.
Shu Ningmiao walked quickly to the scattered benches and reached out her hand to the person sitting with their knees bent behind the bench.
Wei Shengqianheng turned her head and examined for a moment the large patches of dried, dark blood on half of her face.
The two looked at each other, his face deathly pale, his voice weak but still gentle: "You cooperated well, didn't you?"
After he was injured upon entering the room, he received a suggestive look from Shu Ningmiao, understood her intention, found a secluded corner to hide in, and pretended to be seriously injured to avoid her.
At first, Su Ni was able to rationally observe his movements, but in the end, she was completely unaware that he had activated his 'Forgiveness' domain. She was enraged by Shu Ningmiao's words and rushed into the trap at her feet.
Shu Ningmiao raised an eyebrow, bent down, and extended her hand to him.
The hand was beautifully shaped, but it was covered in so much unsightly bloodstains that its original fair skin was almost completely obscured.
Wei Shengqianheng didn't react for a while, but after a long time, he raised his index finger and gently placed it on her palm.
Shu Ningmiao tightened her grip instantly, grasping his fingertips and pulling him up from the ground.
As the warmth from her fingertips spread to her palm, Shu Ningmiao felt that only at this moment did Wei Shengqianheng seem somewhat real.
This person was more thoughtful and cooperative than she had imagined. With just a glance, Wei Shengqianheng immediately understood what she wanted to do. Shu Ningmiao felt relieved and found him much more pleasing to the eye.
She pulled Wei Shengqianheng inside, made sure the bleeding from the wound on his hand that had just been moved had stopped, and then quickly let go of his hand.
Wei Shengqianheng was shaken off, but he remained standing still, watching her receding figure for a long while before taking another step.
Eric supported himself on his arms and slowly moved his upper body, his face even more disheveled than Shu Ningmiao's.
Shu Ningmiao half-squatted down in front of her, examining her awkward posture: "You can't move your hands and feet right now?"
The girl was still in shock from Su Ni's death when she heard these words and her breathing became slightly rapid. She bit her lip and said, "...He severed my tendons in my hands and feet."
She was still immersed in the feeling of disbelief. In a short period of time, the situation changed drastically. She watched her classmates die one by one and had long since given up hope. She thought that everyone would die here, but she never expected that Su Ni would die so easily in her arms.
She choked up and said, "They're all dead, it's all...my fault."
Does the romance between Su Ni and Erigi in "Secret Love" also have this kind of twisted plot?
She doesn't remember.
Shu Ningmiao raised an eyebrow: "If I remember correctly, your superpower should have healing properties."
Although it's not as strong as a pure healing ability, if she had been using "purification" to heal herself, she shouldn't still be unable to stand up like this.
“I…I tried it. After it heals, he would repeatedly cut it off to torture me.” Erice’s body trembled slowly as he propped himself up. “He’s a madman.”
Shu Ningmiao had no interest in hearing her story of being deceived. She grabbed her shoulders and lifted her up, interrupting directly, "Then why did you come here with him? And what about Achini? What does he want?"
After being roughly shaken on the shoulder, Erice became agitated upon hearing Achini's name, and spoke rapidly, "I came with him because Achini said he needed me to do something, but I haven't seen Achini yet... I was just staying here when Su Ni suddenly went crazy and killed everyone."
Shu Ningmiao stared at her without blinking: "What does he want you to do?"
“He…he wants my powers.” Erice’s voice trembled as he answered haltingly, his shoulders gripped tightly by Shu Ningmiao’s hands, which were like iron clamps. “He wants purification.”
"What do you mean?" Shu Ningmiao frowned slightly, completely confused.
“His superpower… can steal mine, as long as I am willing to be ‘sacrificed’.”
Shu Ningmiao's eyelids twitched—this condition was indeed true. If Achini's superpower was indeed sacrificial fire, and its nature was the same as teleportation, if Erig's will was strong enough, even superpowers could become the same "offering" through flames, transmitted through his flames as a medium.
However, all of this comes with conditions.
—Shu Ningmiao suddenly pressed down on her chin, her fingertips almost carving a deep mark on her skin, her voice turning icy: "Are you stupid? Why would you willingly give him your superpower?"
Erice's tears washed away the stains, leaving a watermark, but she tried to sound calm: "Because I can't do it."
"What?" Shu Ningmiao narrowed her eyes, turned her head and exchanged a glance with Wei Shengqianheng, and the two of them already knew the answer.
“My powers… you see, I can’t even completely purify the smallest pollutant.” Erice turned his head away. “Powers are useless to me, but if they were in Archini’s hands… he could purify this planet’s pollution through Pandora, and how many people could that save?”
Shu Ningmiao lifted her up with one hand, looked around, and placed her on the base of the already broken saint statue on the side of the church: "You can sit here, it's quite suitable."
Eric didn't argue. He lowered his eyes, twisted his hands, and quietly used his purification ability on himself. Shu Ningmiao explored the surroundings to make sure there were no cubicles or basements.
Achini doesn't seem to be here.
But after hearing Eric's description, Shu Ningmiao already understood.
Achini issued a grand warning to Pigne, but hesitated to take action, perhaps waiting for the final opportunity that came from Errighi.
At least that was good news, she glanced sideways at Erice, who was sitting on the base with her head down.
As long as Erigi is here, Achini will definitely show up.
Erice nervously raised her eyes slightly: "Aren't we leaving first? It's not safe here..."
Shu Ningmiao gave her a meaningful look: "I can't let you crawl out."
Eric's face flushed red, and he lowered his head to concentrate on treating himself.
The church fell silent again. Shu Ningmiao propped herself up on the back of the chair with one leg, sitting backwards, and stared at Su Ni's mutated corpse on the ground with an unreadable expression.
Wei Shengqianheng sat on the bench opposite her, his expression as still as a stagnant pool, completely calm.
Eric glanced at Shu Ningmiao out of the corner of his eye, then looked at Wei Shengqianheng, and suddenly realized the incongruity of the two of them appearing at the same time.
Are they on good terms?
Why are they all here together?
Wei Shengqianheng noticed her gaze, looked up, and their eyes met.
The stained glass windows were filled with colorful light spots, one of which happened to fall on his forehead. He squinted slightly, his long braided hair falling to his chest, calm and gentle, giving people an inexplicable sense of peace.
However, looking at his eyes alone gives a completely different feeling; those dark, still pupils are like an abyss suddenly cut off from a clear stream.
Eric's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned his gaze away to look for Shu Ningmiao.
Wei Shengqianheng spoke softly, "I remember you."
Erice instinctively wanted to shake her head, but she didn't know why.
He glanced at Shu Ningmiao, then his gaze drifted lightly to Eric, his gentle words like a thunderclap: "Don't you remember when you came to church with that young master from the Shi family last time?"
Eric and he both looked at Shu Ningmiao at the same time, their voices instantly distorting: "No! Let me explain."
Shu Ningmiao was pondering Achini's whereabouts, half paying attention and half lost in thought. When she noticed their gazes all turning towards her, it took her a while to realize what those words meant.
Seeing Eric's tense face, she gave a subtle look but said nothing: "Is that so?"
Her mind was completely preoccupied with Achini, and she had no time to think about anything else.
Furthermore, she didn't really care what Shi Yu was doing behind her back.
Erice finally managed to reattach his hand, but his nails dug deep into his flesh.
She believed she had a clear conscience, but Shi Yu and Shu Ningmiao had a close relationship, which made the atmosphere awkward. She wondered what Wei Shengqianheng's intentions were in bringing this up at this time.
It was so quiet that I couldn't hear anything approaching.
Shu Ningmiao circled around, extinguishing all the possible sources of fire in the room, before finally stopping in front of her: "What were you and Shi Yu doing at church?"
She thought Shu Ningmiao wouldn't ask anymore.
Fortunately, she was given a chance to explain. Erici breathed a sigh of relief and quickly explained, "That day, I used a teleportation device to the new land, but I made a mistake and landed near the orphanage. I was afraid that the nun would find out that I wasn't attending classes in Cornunos. I happened to run into Shi Yu, so I asked him to help cover it up. He took me to the church, that's all."
Having come to this point, she had no secrets left to hide.
There are too many suspicious points.
Shu Ningmiao's eyes twitched slightly.
Shi Yu had just been to the new area, so why was she going there again? What could cause the teleportation item to malfunction after its anchor point was fixed? Why would Shi Yu help her for no apparent reason?
It takes a series of coincidences in the world to come together to create such a situation.
“We didn’t do anything,” Erice continued to argue, her gaze shifting over her shoulder. When she saw what was behind her, her pupils contracted in surprise: “Wait… behind us…”
Shu Ningmiao turned her head in an instant and felt Ai Ruiji excitedly stretch out his only movable hands and shove her to the side with all his might.
Losing his balance, Erigi fell off the base.
Her disheveled hair revealed her utterly panicked expression, and Erice's pupils almost shrank to the size of almonds: "Run!"
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