Out of tune (10)
Because Shu Ningmiao suddenly remembered the door on the Zhunti Pagoda that couldn't be opened.
She'd have to break down the door and go inside sooner or later, so why not practice in this guest room today? Shu Ningmiao casually waved her hand, signaling the waiter to take care of their young master.
Shi Yu has a low alcohol tolerance, but she has excellent manners when drunk. At most, she'll just be a little slow to react, her eyelids half-closed as she calmly watches her give instructions.
Following the directions given by the waiter, Shu Ningmiao went upstairs and found the second guest room, then gently knocked on the door a few times.
She faintly heard a flurry of rustling fabric coming from the room, which quickly subsided, and the person inside remained silent.
Shu Ningmiao knocked on the door again and raised her voice: "Miss Yang, is it convenient for you to come in?"
After a moment, seemingly sensing that she wouldn't leave easily, the woman impatiently spoke from inside the room: "I'm changing my clothes."
Shu Ningmiao said, "There are no clothes in the guest room."
Silence fell inside. Shu Ning placed her hand on the doorknob and continued to twist it, ignoring the resistance from inside.
The lock snapped open with a crack, and she opened it with ease.
The woman inside sat on the edge of the bed, her face full of anger, twisting her skirt and clenching her fists tightly: "Is this how you treat your guests, Shu Ningmiao?"
Shu Ningmiao walked in calmly, closed the door behind her, and sat down next to her without a word: "This is the Shi family home, and I am also a guest. What is the proper way to treat a guest?"
Miss Yang saw that Shu Ningmiao was sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, and she looked like she was on fire. She was about to jump up and leave when Shu Ningmiao held her shoulder down.
Her movements were very gentle, yet they left no room for refusal.
The long, slender fingers pressed down on his body, as if they carried immense weight.
Miss Yang's eyes showed a look of horror. Shu Ningmiao was clearly just a girl of similar build to her, so why did she have such great strength? Could it be because of a superpower?
After her failed attempt to awaken her powers, she had already severed ties with the other social circle that had awakened her abilities. This was the first time she had faced the pressure from those with superpowers, and her palms were sweating profusely.
Shu Ningmiao stared intently at her, cutting to the chase: "Who told you to do this?"
Miss Yang gave a soft snort: "What nonsense are you talking about? I already said I want to change my clothes, so get out of here."
The woman kept her gaze fixed on the ground as she spoke, never making eye contact with her. Shu Ningmiao knew she was lying.
During the brief silence that followed, tiny beads of sweat trickled down Miss Yang's nose. She was nervous; this was not the expression of a woman who had been making a ruckus at the Shi family's house.
Shu Ningmiao placed her hand on top of hers, gently cupping it, and turned her head to look at her, her face still bearing a half-smile: "You joined Prometheus, didn't you? You wanted to leave right after you made things difficult for her, but someone wouldn't let you leave because it would be too deliberate."
She thought and thought, but couldn't think of anything she could take advantage of about Erici. Even if she turned her upside down and exposed everything, she wouldn't find much of a bargaining chip. If everyone were weighed on a scale, Erici's most valuable asset would probably only be her superpower.
Arrighi's ability "Light" has an effect on the corrupted. Prometheus believes that Pandora caused this corruption and must be trying to find a way to solve it. They are very likely to have their eyes on the ability "Light".
“What is Prometheus? I’ve never heard of him before—” Miss Yang’s voice trailed off.
Shu Ningmiao's hand grasped hers, and it was Shu Ningmiao's action that made her stop speaking abruptly.
Shu Ningmiao crushed one of her joints.
Ms. Yang was in so much pain that she was covered in cold sweat. The pain of her broken joints was only brief, but a slow, sharp pain gradually crept up her head.
She tried to pull her hand away, but Shu Ningmiao held it firmly, preventing her from moving an inch. Under Shu Ningmiao's gaze, she felt a chill emanating from every pore of her body, and she shivered violently.
Shu Ningmiao stared at her quietly, as if looking down at her from above an abyss. A thin layer of cold sweat seeped out from her back. Her mind went blank, and she subconsciously clenched the thing in her other hand.
Perhaps due to excessive tension, as the pain and fear gradually subsided, she seemed to hear a buzzing sound in the air, almost like a hallucination.
Shu Ningmiao then spoke: "As expected."
The heart-shaped earrings reacted at this moment.
The only people present were her and this Miss Yang. Miss Yang was an ordinary person who had not awakened any superpowers and did not use any superpowers.
It can only be that this Miss Yang in front of us used a supernatural item.
The principle behind Heart Stone is to react to the Pandora released by the superpowered user. Superpowered items simply store the one-time superpower in the item, and the Pandora released is still the same.
Shu Ningmiao remembered that Su Ni had said that the pendant's function was to shield against pain. If Miss Yang had joined Prometheus, she should also have such a pendant.
As for how to verify it, it's very simple; she has already verified it.
A faint, soft light emerged from beneath Shu Ningmiao's fingertips, silently seeping into the woman's broken finger bones. Ai Ruiji's "Light" ability was somewhat useful for dealing with minor injuries and ailments.
Miss Yang seemed to be still tightly gripping her superpowered gadget, unaware that her broken bones had been reattached. Shu Ningmiao didn't want to leave any room for gossip; even if the woman made a huge fuss later, no one would believe what she said.
Everyone knows that her special ability is offensive.
Shu Ningmiao's gaze fell on her other tightly clenched hand, and she used Pandora's 'control' to open her fingers one by one.
Miss Yang could only watch in astonishment as her arms opened uncontrollably, breaking out in a cold sweat. As Shu Ningmiao opened her arms, the pendant that she had been clutching in her palm flew out of thin air and into Shu Ningmiao's hand.
Shu Ningmiao picked up the familiar pendant and shook it. The grayish-white pendant was covered with a dull color, which was a sign that the superpower tool had been used.
She tilted her head slightly, meeting the woman's frustrated gaze through the pendant's round handle: "Let's talk."
"There's nothing to talk about."
Shu Ningmiao's attention was focused on the pendant, and the woman finally broke free from her grasp: "So what if I joined? Everyone else joined, and I joined too. I didn't do anything, I didn't break the law, what's it to you?"
She gripped her hand tightly, her knuckles still aching and swollen, yet there wasn't a single scratch on her hand. She felt an unknown fear of Shu Ningmiao, but she still forced herself to maintain her composure, refusing to admit what she had done.
"Let's talk about Prometheus." Shu Ningmiao hadn't come here to seek justice for Erici in the first place. She crossed her legs and looked at her calmly: "They gave you this? Do you know what it is?"
The woman remained silent. Shu Ningmiao's fingertips traced the pendant, her tone calm and even: "Did you know that people with superpowers get reduced sentences for murder?"
“Yes.” The woman bit her lip. “They gave it to me. Every member who joins has one. They call this thing… ‘the Symbol of Life.’ As long as you use it, you won’t feel any pain.”
Shu Ningmiao said "Oh," and then asked, "Why do you want to join them?"
The woman's fingertips dug into her own hands, turning slightly white.
Shu Ning pointed to the corner of her mouth with her fingertip. The woman involuntarily looked up, feeling as if something was pulling on her muscles, forcing her to open her mouth.
"say."
Shu Ningmiao has been undergoing basic 'control' training with Pandora for the past few weeks, and she is now quite proficient in using it. Compared to her own power-enhancing abilities, this basic but useful control is closer to people's imagination of superpowers and magic. The unknown can bring fear and pressure, making people more willing to speak.
"Because...because I find you people with superpowers disgusting." The woman's lips twitched. "Just because you've awakened a superpower doesn't mean you can step on other people's heads and do whatever you want..."
"Fine! I just hate you guys. I joined because they said they'd use protests to force the Joint Council to change the legislation for people with superpowers. As for the rest—that overpass has nothing to do with me. I just planned to vote for them when they run for members of the Joint Council!"
Shu Ningmiao thought to herself, she believed such a thing. If Prometheus's boss participated in the election of members of the United Parliament, he would be eliminated at the first stage of the criminal record check and would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Despite having only a superficial understanding of the organization, they joined it so easily, unaware that they might be drawn into criminal activities.
If Shu Ningmiao were to start a business selling health supplements, she might be added to her customer list.
"How do you usually keep in touch?" Shu Ningmiao placed the pendant beside her, folded her hands on her knees, a few strands of black hair falling down her cheeks, and smiled charmingly: "Is the other Prometheus member present Su Ni, my dear?"
——
After sobering up a bit and seeing off the guests, Shi Yu accompanied her mother to the living room to finish praying. The liquid in the holy water bottle from the church emitted a mixed smell of medicinal oil and incense ash. After Madame Grana finished praying, she dipped her fingertip into the liquid in the bottle and applied it to Shi Yu's wrist.
"We have a lot, but we shouldn't take it for granted."
Lady Grana placed her hands on her chest, crossed them together, and touched her thumbs and little fingers together in a prayer gesture before opening her eyes again: "Could you go for me again on the next day off? My body isn't really suited to going to places like New World."
Shi Yu held onto his mother's arm, not refuting what she said. The gently swaying crystal lamp above his head illuminated his profile, and he nodded slightly, still nonchalant.
Mrs. Grana patted his hand approvingly: "Go and take Miaomiao away."
Shi Yu walked up the stairs and saw Shu Ningmiao standing in front of the window on the second-floor corridor, her eyes half-closed, her chin resting on her hand as she looked down.
Without disturbing her, Shi Yu walked over and stood beside her. From this angle, she was looking at Su Ni in the parking lot outside the manor.
The boy lowered his head, seemingly being scolded. Shu's father was so angry that he shoved him a few times, but because of Su Ni's illness, he couldn't bring himself to hit him hard.
Su Ni turned her face away, so her expression was not visible.
Shu Ningmiao suddenly spoke, breaking the silence between the two: "I have already seen Miss Yang off."
"What did you say to her?" Shi Yu turned to the side, his light eyes fixed on her: "I've noticed that you seem to be paying a lot of attention to that person lately."
He thought for a while but couldn't remember the name of the pink-brown-haired girl, so he had to use a vague nickname instead.
He bumped into them at the start of the school year, then they were classmates, and now he just happens to be at the Shi family's house. So many coincidences piled up together, it's almost too much of a coincidence.
Shu Ningmiao was still thinking about other things.
If this was a situation deliberately orchestrated by Prometheus, did Su Ni approach Erigee with a specific purpose from the beginning? What did he want to do, and what did Prometheus want to do with Erigee?
The game's storyline, told from Eric's perspective, is nothing more than a clichéd fairy tale of mutual redemption. Su Ni does indeed have psychological issues, but through their interactions, she will be moved by the friendship Eric brings her, and they will become true friends.
But if all of this is based on falsehood from the start, how believable is the plot as seen from the protagonist's perspective?
Shi Yu repeated his words softly, and Shu Ningmiao was suddenly brought back to her senses. Shi Yu leaned against the window with his arms crossed, seemingly waiting patiently for her reply.
"It sounds like you're complaining that I'm giving attention to other people."
She didn't want to answer Shi Yu's question. She raised her head slightly, paused when there was still some distance between them, and blurted out nonsense: "Are you jealous?"
Shi Yu was about to say something when she heard this and stared at her quietly for a while before letting out a soft laugh.
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