PSW - Chapter 135
Chapter 135
"Why couldn't you let me out after you picked up Yun Lingjian?" Zhou Xiyue looked annoyed, her body huddled together against the wind and snow. The merciless, biting wind whipped against her, and snowflakes blurred her vision. "It's too cold. Can't I just wait at your place?" Isn't that Yu Yinan a fire ability user? Chu Yi's home must be nice and warm!
"Of course you can." Most of Zhao Haiyue's face was hidden under her scarf, and her glasses were fogged up, making her extremely uncomfortable. "If you're willing to be in the same space as that powerhouse."
"Is she that scary? Didn't you say she looks like a delicate, sweet girl?" Zhou Xiyue really couldn't understand what was so terrifying about a sweet girl. Even if she was incredibly powerful, wasn't she still a sweet girl?
If it weren't so inconvenient out here, Zhao Haiyue really would have shot Zhou Xiyue a harsh glare. This girl really doesn't know how good she has it! she thought. Why couldn't Zhou Xiyue have seen the image of Zheng Yi chasing that terrifying, giant blue lightbulb zombie? Not to mention, Zheng Yi was even more powerful now. If Zheng Yi intentionally revealed a bit of her power to intimidate them…
"Hurry up, we're almost there. Go on, swipe your ID card." The ID card of the ability user administrator was definitely not as convenient as the director's. Every time she came to see Yun Lingjian, she had to swipe her card, register, and then wait for quite a while.
"…I still have to wait even if I swipe it," Zhou Xiyue muttered helplessly, but she still braced herself against the strong wind and ran forward with great effort, resignedly swiping her card. Just that short distance of running against the wind left Zhou Xiyue feeling exhausted. She felt like the wind would blow her away just by walking; running was like… weight training?
"Get Yun Lingjian out here. It's urgent." After swiping her card, Zhou Xiyue entered the waiting hall outside the laboratory and directly pressed the communication button to contact the person in charge of the lab.
"What's so urgent?" Unexpectedly, it was Yun Lingjian who answered on the other end. "We're short on materials lately, and you can't go out to search during the extreme cold. There's not much to research on hand, so everyone is thinking about what other instruments they can invent or how to improve the existing ones. I'm quite free."
"Uh, in that case, just pack up and come out." Zhou Xiyue was stunned for a moment, and her serious, mature tone deflated. "…We'll talk about the details when you're out."
Afterward, Zhou Xiyue and Zhao Haiyue sat together on a bench in the waiting hall. Huddled together and wrapped in their puffy down jackets, they looked like two big, round dumplings from a distance.
"Aren't you the director? Why do you have to wait too? Isn't there a special entrance?"
"What are you talking about? Since when does Humanity's Light have special privileges? …Alright, fine, we do, but not to that ridiculous extent. Besides, this waiting time is obviously for Yun Lingjian to disinfect, change her clothes, and get ready to come out!"
"I would have swiped my own ID card if I'd known. Now there's an unnecessary record of you coming to see Yun Lingjian."
Zhou Xiyue ground her teeth but ultimately didn't retort. Zhao Haiyue could maintain a composed facade as long as she didn't speak, but you couldn't keep up that act in a relationship. How on earth did she and Yun Lingjian fall for each other? And now that she thought about it, the way those two treated her versus how they treated each other—it was a total double standard!
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Yun Lingjian walked over quickly.
Before Zhou Xiyue could react, she caught a flash of movement in her peripheral vision. Zhao Haiyue had already rushed forward.
"You came too? What is it… Is it about Zheng Yi and the others? Are they here?" Yun Lingjian reached out to steady Zhao Haiyue and asked softly before the other woman could even speak. She had ventured a guess, and seeing Zhao Haiyue's expression, it was clear she was right.
They actually traveled back during the extreme cold? Their strength is truly… Yun Lingjian then remembered they had gone to Xuancheng, and their purpose was the meteor fragment. Their return now must mean it was "related to the meteor fragment?"
"!" Zhao Haiyue was dumbfounded. She hadn't even had a chance to speak and could only nod passively. "Yes. How do you know everything?" Zhao Haiyue seriously suspected Yun Lingjian had planted some kind of listening device in her home; otherwise, how could she know everything?
"It's the middle of the extreme cold; what major event could possibly happen? You came with Zhou Xiyue, and we just talked about all that yesterday. It was just a random guess." Yun Lingjian explained with a smile. She had wanted to raise her hand to touch Zhao Haiyue's face and adjust her scarf, but when she lifted her hand, she realized her fingers were ice-cold. After a moment's thought, she lowered it, put on her gloves, and pulled Zhao Haiyue's hand into the large pocket of her own down jacket. "Let's go. We shouldn't keep them waiting."
"Zheng Yi… is incredibly powerful." Zhao Haiyue hesitated. "You can't judge her by the standards of an ordinary ability user. Across the entire world, she is absolutely one of the most top-tier, most terrifying individuals."
"The former leader of Xuancheng was a dual-ability user, and one of his abilities was mental-type. He was the strongest ability user there. But even he couldn't get too close to the meteor fragment, let alone touch it. If other ability users forced themselves to get too close, they would be hit by the violent energy and explode." Zhao Haiyue's tone was very serious as she spoke. She said gravely, "But Zheng Yi just brought the fragment back like it was nothing."
"But they're the ones who told you that," Zhou Xiyue couldn't help but interject. "What if they were exaggerating?"
"…If anything, they left things out. There's no way they exaggerated." Although Zhao Haiyue was answering Zhou Xiyue, she didn't turn her head. She kept her serious gaze on Yun Lingjian and continued, "Even before getting the meteor fragment, she could easily chase after that glowing zombie. That mental-type zombie that led the horde, the one you're all studying now, started running the instant it saw her appear! She's that strong. I couldn't even probe her with my ability. She… she advised me that… that all the mental-type ability users who tried to use their powers on her before all exploded and died."
"…My intuition tells me she wasn't lying." Zhao Haiyue still clearly remembered how she felt at that moment—that oppressive, tense, and suffocating feeling of being surrounded by cold, of being extremely close to death.
"…" Zhou Xiyue pressed her lips together. Logically, it sounded too exaggerated. If it were true, how terrifying would that be? How could a human… That would be breaking all limits, wouldn't it? The apocalypse hadn't even been going on that long. No matter how much one evolved, mutated, or awakened, there had to be an upper limit, right? But emotionally, as she looked at Zhao Haiyue, she saw how solemn and serious her friend was. She could even sense a deep-seated fear in her as she spoke.
Zheng Yi… huh?
She lowered her gaze and didn't interrupt again. After all, she was about to meet her, wasn't she?
Yun Lingjian, meanwhile, squeezed Zhao Haiyue's hand and listened intently until she finished, then replied with equal seriousness, "I understand. I believe you. I'll be careful."
"A zombie that could lead a horde was a troublesome existence for all of Humanity's Light, yet she dealt with it easily. Such a person… such an existence will only become stronger and more untouchable after obtaining the meteor fragment." Yun Lingjian looked at Zhou Xiyue. "She must have taken most of the fluid from that zombie's brain. And the small portion that was left, after continuous experiments, trials, and consumption, and after a series of dilutions and purifications, could be made into a strengthening serum that can enhance even our abilities. Xiyue, this is quite obvious."
"I get it." Zhou Xiyue scratched her head in frustration. "For an existence that defies common sense and imagination to stay at Humanity's Light and even be willing to meet us… what could she possibly want from us? Destroying this shelter would be as easy as flipping her hand, right? And she was hiding her identity all this time…" Is this just a hobby for powerhouses? Hiding among ordinary people and keeping a low profile?
Zhao Haiyue and the others didn't delay any longer and walked quickly toward home. Along the way, despite the relentless snowstorm and difficult path, Zhao Haiyue did her best to recount, bit by bit, all the major and minor details of how she met and interacted with Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan. She wanted Yun Lingjian to have some understanding of Zheng Yi before they formally met.
Extremely skilled at deception?
Yun Lingjian lowered her gaze. The codename "Saint," and all the things Zheng Yi had done… Perhaps Zheng Yi… leans toward the side of "good"?
Finally, they arrived at the residential building. The heavy main door closed, shutting out the howling wind and snow. Zhou Xiyue tactfully went upstairs first, not wanting to compete with the other two for a spot side-by-side.
Knock, knock.
After some deliberation, standing before Zhao Haiyue's familiar door, Yun Lingjian took a deep breath and knocked seriously.
So, what kind of person is such a powerful existence, really-
Footsteps sounded, and soon, the door was pulled open. The first thing that rushed out wasn't a person, but the mouthwatering aroma of food!?
"You're just in time~ Go inside and wash your hands, you can serve yourselves and start eating right away~" The young woman at the door had a face like white jade and a complexion like a morning flower. The ample heating inside gave her fair skin a rosy tint, making her look extremely cute. Her black eyes were exceptionally bright, and she glanced over the three of them openly, her gaze carrying a clear, spirited air. "Turn the faucet to the left for hot water~"
Yun Lingjian was truly stunned. Is this Zheng Yi? Or… She looked toward another woman who was tidying up some kitchenware. The woman noticed her gaze and looked back. Her black eyes betrayed no emotion, and her expression was largely neutral. She gave a slight nod as a greeting. However, judging by the tense line of her jaw, she seemed… a little nervous and awkward?
"Don't stare at Jiejie~ She always gets a little nervous around strangers~" Zheng Yi shifted slightly to block Yun Lingjian's view, then turned sideways and made a "please" gesture, directing their gazes to a previously empty corner of the living room. How did a small room suddenly appear there? Was that a bathroom? With a shower?
"Let's wash our hands first. It's cold outside. We'll get food after we've washed up. We can talk while we eat, there's no rush." Zhao Haiyue raised a hand to pull Yun Lingjian along and nudged Zhou Xiyue with her elbow, leading them toward the shower room. Although she had no idea how it had appeared or why there was hot water inside…
…as long as she remembered this was Zheng Yi's doing, then no matter what strange and precious treasures Zheng Yi produced, she wouldn't find it ridiculous.
Perhaps, if one day she saw Zheng Yi flying through the sky in a Gundam, she would be able to calmly pour herself a cup of tea and sip it slowly.
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