The scenery of Freiden City was still quite nice.
As the political capital, it boasted many iconic buildings, full of cultural and historical flavor.
At a restaurant on the right-hand street of the God of the Scales statue, Yu Jing casually asked about the outcome of the Hearing,
“The situation is complicated, you know.
Many high-ranking officials have come, but even they could only sit in the audience, with their seats behind mine.
Everything went smoothly at first, but just as the presiding judge was about to announce the result, a person suddenly appeared on the remote screen. That person was—”
“Don’t, don’t say that.”
Yu Jing forcibly cut off her student’s storytelling: “I just want to know the general outcome. How will they deal with the parties responsible? Does Shen Ning still need to worry about being taken back for research?”
Hearing her own name, Shen Ning looked over as well.
Xu Chuyao thought for a moment, then shook her head: “Not in the short term.”
“Short term? They haven’t given up yet?”
“They have new ideas and directions now.”
So complicated indeed.
You’d think Chuyao really wanted to tell the whole story.
Unlike Xiaolu, talking about politics wouldn’t scare you.
After lunch, the three of them found a place nearby to take a break, then received word that the Hearing had reached a conclusion.
Returning to the venue, the dark-skinned presiding judge announced the final result:
“After discussion and research by the review panel, taking all aspects into consideration, the following decisions regarding the Locke Morgan Family involved in the Freiden Free City incident are made:
First, provide full funding for the reconstruction of the Freiden Academy, the city’s main buildings, and the commercial district.
Second, impose fines in accordance with regulations.
Third, suspend all research projects related to X Crystals, pending new project evaluations by the special expert group.”
After finishing the announcement, she closed the booklet in her hand: “The Hearing is officially concluded. Thank you all.”
The words truly fell softly, yet the outcome turned in an unexpected direction.
Beti sat quietly beside her uncle.
When she came back to her senses, she saw Xu Chuyao heading for the main entrance again.
“Big-Breasted Lady! Wait for me!”
Miss Holmes jumped straight down from her chair, and her uncle quickly helped steady her.
“What are you doing? If you keep chasing after her, you’ll never be a proper lady!”
“But I have to chase her!”
This time, Beti easily caught up with Big-Breasted Lady at the main door, but noticed a white-haired girl with a hostile glare standing beside her, who didn’t seem very friendly.
“If you have something to say, say it,” the girl snatched her girlfriend’s sleeve back from Pingli. “No pulling or tugging.”
“Well then, how about we find a dessert shop?” Xu Chuyao suggested, “Or maybe a café?”
It was spring in Freiden, and the afternoon weather was neither cold nor hot, calm and pleasant—like a person who had just woken up from a well-rested nap.
The café was not large but exquisitely decorated.
In front of Xu Chuyao and Shen Ning were a mocha and a cappuccino respectively, while Miss Holmes ordered a traditional black tea.
From the brief self-introductions just now, Beti learned that the white-haired girl was Xu Chuyao’s girlfriend, and also the origin of the “lesbian rumors.”
“We once went to a concert together, and she kissed me right in front of the director’s camera,” Shen Ning took a sip of coffee and said lightly, “That’s probably how they found out.”
As the heir to the legendary detective family, Beti immediately saw through it, this girl was pretending to be nonchalant but was actually showing off.
But why boast about that to me?
Beti didn’t understand, since she was just a little proper lady.
“Let’s talk business. You want to know why things suddenly took a turn, right?”
Miss Holmes nodded vigorously.
Shen Ning perked up too. From the recap her girlfriend had told her, the trial against the Locke Morgan Family had been going well, macro-narratives didn’t help but when that person appeared, things subtly shifted.
“The reason is simple: the relationship between expectations and the price to pay keeps changing.”
Xu Chuyao stirred her coffee spoon: “The original plan to awaken innate talent the expected cost was unknown because it never succeeded. Now, tens of thousands of ordinary lives have already reached a critical point.
Then came the Petrified Corps; it’s obvious the higher-ups aren’t very interested anymore. The upper limit of mutant strength is already fixed.
The expectations of these two projects aren’t enough to forgive the Locke Morgan Family, but at this point, Menros came forward with a new expectation for the Crystal project.”
Menros Salier, the most powerful and highest-ranking person at the entire Hearing.
“What expectation?” Beti asked in confusion.
Xu Chu Qiong swirled her spoon in the coffee: “Probably doesn’t want to follow in your grandfather’s footsteps.”
That made Miss Holmes unhappy: “My grandfather’s life was glorious, he was steadfast to the end, and passed away peacefully. What’s wrong with that?”
“Exactly, he passed away peacefully.”
Those light words from Xu Chuyao made Beti silent, then increasingly uneasy and shocked.
“You mean he… doesn’t want to leave?”
Shen Ning quietly took a sip of coffee.
What was going on? They had agreed to think about this together and promised to be faster than the English girl, but she had already said three or four sentences across, and Shen Ning hadn’t said a word.
Sexually Repressed Shadow: “Don’t rush. We’ve already been thinking hard.”
Broken Shadow sighed: “Even if we think it through, it takes time to communicate with each other.”
Why did she initially feel this method was useful? Real-time discussion isn’t a guessing game. Others don’t have a time limit. After saying this, they say it will be late this month. This isn’t playing Werewolf.
Milky Ning Reflection: “Chuyao is speaking. Everyone listens to Chuyao, right? Why discuss it?”
Shen Ning bit her lip. She knew her girlfriend and the English girl were talking about serious matters, and it did sound serious, but seeing her girlfriend talking with a pretty girl made her unhappy especially since she couldn’t join the conversation.
[Counter Villain Value +50]
Xu Chuyao turned to look at the girl, inexplicably.
“Shen Ning, did you add milk to your coffee?”
“Yes.”
“Sugar?”
“That too.”
Then why are you angry? Chuyao really didn’t understand.
While the two were exchanging heartfelt words, Beti had already figured it out: “Menros immediately asked about the Spirit Power Fourth Ban. Is this what it’s about? But why does he think it will work?”
“He’s a Fourth-Rank Spirit Power User, and just happens to be Earth-elemental,” Xu Chuyao bit the straw and said, “He thinks he’s different from ordinary people, that he’s superior. He can avoid paying the ordinary price and still enjoy their benefits, like storing the soul long-term in the Crystal network.”
“Is he sure this preservation is permanent?”
“Of course not. Who knows? After all, the first soul imprisoned in an X Crystal was three years ago. But look at him—can he guarantee he’ll still be self-sufficient three years later?”
Seeing Beti hesitating, Xu Chuyao pulled out her phone from her jacket pocket after a long pause.
“You’re bold. You bet, you accept the outcome.”
Blushing, she showed the QR code on the screen.
“This is how to contact me. I owe you one favor within my power. Call me if you need.”
“Uh…”
Chuyao understood the principle, but why the blush?
After adding her contact, Beti picked up her tea and left.
Her little “feet” tapped on the ground quickly, but in reality, not at all.
“She can’t stand that her own wisdom is being overshadowed by me, so she’s embarrassed and blushing,” Xu Chuyao explained to her girlfriend.
“People with old noble aristocratic mannerisms are like that—proud and dignified.”
The girl said nothing and simply +50’d silently.
Just drinking coffee cost almost two hundred.
“Let’s go back to the Head Teacher. It’s time.”
No matter what, the Hearing was over.
The Freiden Free City incident’s curtain fell.
The Freiden Academy would receive a large reconstruction fund and compensation, but the damage was done: over a hundred students had died, and the reputation damage caused by Professor Swina to the Academy was just beginning to show.
Within the Free City, several buildings collapsed due to the Crystal explosion, with casualty figures still unknown.
The Locke Morgan Family would compensate for economic losses, but the ordinary people who died became part of the Crystal project’s probability denominator.
There were already over twenty thousand; what difference would a few more make?
Expectations had shifted, and the acceptable range of that number grew larger.
The return flight was arranged.
Sitting on the plane, Yu Jing asked about the final result again.
To prevent the story from being interrupted again, Xu Chuyao quickly gave a brief version:
“The Locke Morgan Family was supposed to be held heavily accountable, but an old man named Menros suddenly appeared. He focused on the power of imprisoning souls in Crystals, believing himself superior to ordinary people.
With souls going in, they’d become emperors, no longer worried about aging or decay.
So they let it slide lightly and planned to let the Locke Morgan Family conduct research on this.”
It was clear Yu Jing was not like Mi Xiaolu; she wasn’t scared by the story but just gave a wry laugh and then worriedly said,
“Since that’s the case, will Shen Ning be taken back again for experiments?”
Hearing her name, Shen Ning looked up at the two.
“In the short term, no. Even if the old man is eager, it will take some time for the new project to get on track.”
Xu Chuyao held her girlfriend’s hand.
“Don’t be afraid. If they come for her again, I’ll find a way to go along. We can’t let them bully us twice.”
Just after the lottery draw, she showed her toughness.
Milky Ning Reflection: “If Chuyao says not to fear, then I’m not afraid. I have courage, so I’m not afraid, no matter winter or summer.”
In most timelines, they both had a fondness for singing.
Holding her girlfriend’s hand, listening to those reassuring words, Shen Ning seemed to drift back to that day when the girl led her team into the research institute, kicked open the locked room door, and came to her side as if it happened only yesterday… Indeed, not much time had passed.
She didn’t remember what she said that day, only that she thought in her heart: there’s nothing to fear anymore.
Later that night, in an early spring season, under the city’s nightfall, the group returned to Shengling Academy.
— (End of Part Two) —