“I miss Chuyao,” the Sexually Repressed Shadow said, “It’s been so long without doing anything. If Chuyao were here, she definitely wouldn’t be able to hold back. She’d find a way to stir up some activity, so I could naturally have an excuse to get close to Song Yunyao.”
Broken Shadow: “Cut the nonsense.”
Broken Sister and Sexually Repressed weren’t at odds, nor was it a scolding; it was just that right now wasn’t the time to talk about such things.
But Sexually Repressed had no choice. It couldn’t say anything about what was happening here, and Broken couldn’t either. They could only listen as Milky Ning Reflection spoke alone.
“Like Chuyao said, observe more, think more. From what we’ve observed, the people here are vague and ambiguous ask and you get secrecy, ask carefully and even they don’t know. So, as the only one who could possibly know everything, Swina acts refined and easygoing. This kind of contrast shows he must have a rotten heart.”
Milky Ning Reflection calmly analyzed, “When someone actively offers to help you, can it really be a good thing? There’s definitely something wrong!”
It was now noon break. Shen Ning returned to her dormitory and lay on her bed, but didn’t sleep. Instead, she discussed matters with the reflections.
The topic was exactly what Swina had proposed to meet Liu Shu face to face that afternoon.
The young woman sighed, saying that even if there were problems, she couldn’t give up on this opportunity.
“Sure, you can meet, but you must follow the rules. Don’t yell like you did this morning.”
“Got it,” she replied.
That morning, she had indeed lost control a bit. Shen Ning reached out and massaged her temples, apologizing for what had happened earlier.
She didn’t know why, but at first, she was just too shocked. Then it was like stepping onto a slippery slope the emotions escalated uncontrollably.
Beep beep beep, beep beep.
The timer on her phone went off. The girl climbed out of bed, turned off the alarm, and glanced at the screen. The signal still showed zero bars completely dead. Anyone unaware would think it was in airplane mode.
Inside the Research Institute, communication was only possible through communicators and broadcasters. Once inside, contact with the outside world was severed.
She put on her clothes and left the dorm, entering the common area, where Swina was already waiting.
“Miss Shen, let’s go.”
It was the familiar route and room, but Shen Ning noticed something different.
“Is it just the two of us? Where is everyone else?”
She remembered there had been a chubby man in a suit in the Glass Room before.
“Fort, the supervisor, is a bit old-fashioned and methodical,” Swina explained. “He won’t agree to open the door, so I didn’t tell him.”
A perfectly reasonable explanation.
Shen Ning didn’t want to think too much for now. Like usual, she sat on the chair, nervously staring at the Metal Door.
“Don’t forget the discussion results from the noon meeting,” Milky Ning Reflection reminded her, “Control your emotions.”
The girl nodded, understanding, then took several deep breaths.
Just like this morning, she sat there waiting for some time. Behind the door came soft “click-clack” sounds.
“Miss Shen, a reminder,” Swina broadcasted, “For safety, please stay seated and don’t move around.”
The girl nodded in acknowledgment.
Click, clack, click, clack. After several mechanical locking sounds, the Metal Door slowly opened.
Shen Ning’s heart jumped.
Although mentally prepared, the scene beyond still shocked her.
It was nothing special just a sealed square room but standing there was a figure made entirely of stone.
From head to toe, it was stone. The surface was rough and jagged, assembled into a humanoid shape. The head was barely recognizable as a face, sharp in places, but with a vague human expression.
A familiar human face.
Holding her breath, the girl cautiously said, “Liu Shu?”
It looked very much like the Liu Shu she remembered, yet completely different. Even the mutated creature from the Mine was only a person covered in stone, not this kind of fully stone-formed being.
But the moment it spoke, it confirmed its identity: “Little Shen Ning, finally I see you again.”
Her nose tingled with emotion.
She had thought after the Mine incident, all the dear elders were gone, only left in memories alongside the Shadow of Torment. Until the first strange dream beneath Ya Ha Tower, when Liu Shu warned her not to go, she suddenly realized things might be turning around.
Now, here he truly stood before her. His petrified form was unexpected, but undeniably him.
“Little Shen Ning, you really made it out. Li Shu and the others are all proud.”
Liu Shu’s voice sounded squeezed from stone cracks, muffled yet clear enough for her to understand.
“Going out to become a big star? You’re good at singing.”
Shen Ning quietly wiped her eyes, shaking her head. “No, I’m better at… fighting now, not so much singing.”
She thought of Broken Shadow and added, “Maybe I’ll sing more later. By the way, Liu Shu, I want to ask—what’s going on with you all now?”
“We, we…”
Liu Shu was about to speak when suddenly the small room’s red warning lights blazed.
From the ceiling, a solid hammer dropped, smashing Liu Shu’s stone head into pieces right before Shen Ning’s eyes.
Crunch!
That was it.
Shen Ning couldn’t hold back any longer. She shoved the table aside and glared angrily at the Glass Window.
Inside the room, the airflow surged, compressed into a small vortex aimed at the sturdy specially made glass.
Swina looked at the wildly fluctuating waveforms on the detector and smiled with satisfaction.
Now, besides [Shock], [Rage] was also on their side.
Seconds later, Fort, the supervisor, pushed the door open, looking bewildered. “What happened? What’s going on?”
He had been sleeping in his room just moments ago. Suddenly hearing the lab alarm, he rushed over.
“Shen Ning agreed to cooperate with the experiment, but requested to meet someone she knew in person. I agreed,” Swina said lightly, “But after seeing the acquaintance, she lost control.”
“You’re reckless,” Fort said. “Previous reports said she’s emotionally unstable… damn it!”
He was about to scold his colleague but turned and saw a small Spirit Storm drilling at the glass window.
The glass cracked with countless fractures like a spiderweb, on the verge of shattering.
“No time to say more,” Swina said to Shen Ning’s side, “Let’s restrain her together.”
Hands made of stone emerged from the floor, walls, and ceiling, surrounding Shen Ning.
These Stone Giants’ hands came from a Three-Stage Peak and a Three-Stage Early rank Spirit Power Users, both stronger than the girl.
Forced, she had to send the Spirit Storm back, erecting a wind wall around herself to defend.
“Uh, I think,” Milky Ning Reflection said, “When they hit Liu Shu’s head with an iron pickaxe, they didn’t kill him. So this probably won’t kill her either.”
Shen Ning had just realized and gritted her teeth. “It was on purpose.”
“But what does he want? To force himself to act?”
“No matter what, he’s achieved his goal.”
Just now, Shen Ning, a Three-Stage without any skills yet, wasn’t a match for the two supervisors.
Under continuous suppression, her Spirit Power reserves were nearly depleted.
The stone hands enclosed her in a circle, with only a weak wind wall resisting inside, preventing her from turning into a pulp.
The entire sphere was then transported under their control to a special holding room.
“Phew.” Sweating heavily, Fort relaxed and said to Swina, “Forget this morning. I’m not covering your ass for this dangerous stunt. You’d better write a report.”
“No problem,” Swina said amicably. “You go rest. I’ll watch her. Don’t worry, things almost went wrong just now. I won’t take risks again.”
The special cell resembled the place where Shen Ning had stayed when she first entered Shengling Academy three years ago.
It was completely sealed with no visible door, nor any way to open it from inside.
The walls were pure white, seemingly metallic. The room was empty except for a camera and a broadcaster mounted in the ceiling corners.
Before long, Shen Ning heard Swina’s voice broadcast.
“Miss Shen Ning, unfortunately, for the project’s safety, we have no choice but to keep you here.”
The only response was a cold laugh from the girl.
What regret? Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?
After half a minute, Swina spoke again, voice faintly echoing.
“Actually, I had high hopes for you from the first meeting. Do you remember at Commerce Plaza when I wanted to recruit you? Although you often refused, I still believed in you. I thought you hid hatred in your heart… just like me.
Now, you can finally sit there and listen to me finish.”
Shen Ning heard the chair creak as if Swina deliberately dragged one over. After sitting, he continued.
“Where did we leave off? Right. The school told us to protect ordinary people, so I personally captured the erring good friend, then praised myself in front of the whole school. That day, standing on the podium, I was so proud. The principal personally pinned the Academy Freedom Medal on me, a delicate-looking thing made from 3D printing and spray paint.
Later, I realized it was all a lie. Countless times recalling that scene, I can’t help but wonder how the teachers and leaders who knew the truth felt watching proud me.”
Swina suddenly burst into laughter, chuckling for over ten times.
“This fool, he wouldn’t really believe it, right? I’d love to see his reaction after graduation when he finds out the truth. Hilarious.”
“Miss Shen Ning, did you ever win awards in elementary school? Like doing all your arithmetic right or some minor honest deed, and the teacher says ‘Well done,’ giving you a little red flower? But in reality, whether the red flower or what you did, none of it mattered to them.”
“I never went to elementary school,” Shen Ning replied lightly. “I think I already said something like that.”
The broadcast abruptly stopped, then resumed with a darker tone.
“That’s exactly what I hate about you, Miss Shen Ning. You said it yourself, at noon in the cafeteria yes, you grew up in the mining area, lived fifteen years as an ordinary person, never went to school. So what? You just had to say it and sabotage me, then secretly mock me in your heart?”
Just then, urgent knocking interrupted Swina’s rant. Fort knocked while saying,
“Professor Swina, a call from Fred Valley Research Institute. Someone from Center City is coming to inspect the Research Institute.”