Huang Mao had no idea what was going on. That supervisor kept dragging him around the Longzhang dorm, talking incessantly.
As they spoke, he saw an old man enter, and then, for some reason, his mind started feeling a bit off.
A little while after that, he seemed to space out. When he snapped back to himself, everything in front of him was a blur of white mist, and his body felt weightless, floating up into the air and drifting away as if carried by the wind.
“Your new assignment today is to go to a special place. Don’t worry, there won’t be any danger. Just walk around a bit, find someone you can talk to and have a chat, and after a while, we’ll bring you back for a report.”
He remembered now, that was the last thing he’d heard before everything went blank.
So, this is the special place? Where is this…
Huang Mao lifted his head and looked around, spotting a few weird figures entirely covered in dark stone. They were all staring at him with blank, unblinking eyes, muttering some nonsense about “survival” and “reproduction”—very strange and lifeless words.
“Is anyone there? Help! Someone!”
Luckily, soon enough he spotted a normal person—a young girl with a clean, delicate face and dark hair.
Shen Ning had already anticipated his arrival, and the contents she’d overheard along the way matched up, so she immediately stepped forward to question him.
Who are you, where are you from, what’s your job, what does your Research Institute do, and where is it located?
“I’m Huang Mao, I used to work in North-South City, but recently I’ve been transferred to a new Research Institute. Every day I just do some odd jobs. I don’t know the specifics of the research, only that it’s managed by various departments, and the location is…”
Suddenly dropped into such a strange place, being stared at by a bunch of things that didn’t look human at all, Huang Mao was so stunned that he instinctively answered all the questions thrown at him. The more he spoke, the more dazed he became, his voice growing weaker and weaker.
He realized he’d said things he shouldn’t have, and when his eyes accidentally met the girl’s, he immediately looked away, embarrassed.
Shen Ning also realized something was wrong.
Even though she hadn’t said anything yet, just considering her age and hair color, and the fact that she clearly didn’t have a boyfriend—although there weren’t any obvious signs—her mere presence in this place meant that if Huang Mao went back and described her appearance, the people at the Research Institute would definitely know it was her, and that she could come and go here freely.
What should she do? Is there a solution? Was there any way to fix this?
She waited for a long while, but neither the projection of Xing Yaxing nor the shadow of Pobei said a word, and the avatar of Nai Chu just stood there…
“Tong Li said before,” the projection of Ru Shu struggled to pull out a small horn from its short coat, thinking about how Yao Li would have put it, “I really am trying my best to avoid bugs here, but that’s just how the play goes.”
Yao Li was silent for a long time.
Shen Ning pondered for half a day. Her girlfriend’s image and laughter slowly faded from her memory, but in the end, she wasn’t her girlfriend, and couldn’t think of anything.
Emmmmm, well, since he’s already here, maybe it’s better not to let him go back alive…
“Melon, as a Sovereign Queen, is it really okay to do this?” a calm voice said. “Shouldn’t we at least discuss it?”
“Why do you keep calling me that way?”
“Because this is a suggestion, it’s formal, so you get a formal address.”
Fine, whatever, we’re in this place anyway, and no outsiders will hear about it.
But Shen Ning thought it over and realized there was another problem. She lowered her voice:
“Melon, am I really that obvious?”
“No, don’t worry, it’s not that obvious,” Melon said, adjusting his hat. “It’s just that you have a bit of a murderous air about you.”
The girl turned around and saw that Huang Mao had become completely dejected—not that he was physically weak, but ever since arriving here, he’d felt utterly powerless, completely unable to defend himself.
No strength, no skills, nothing at all. If he had any, he wouldn’t be like this now.
“Don’t look at me like that. Even in your current condition, you can’t beat me,” Shen Ning said flatly. “I’m almost at the Four Stages now.”
Once she said that, the girl inexplicably felt a kind of comfort, like she’d just told her own girlfriend something. Nothing special, it’s just that from Second Rank to Third Rank, Third Rank to Four Stages, Four Stages to Fifth Rank, there’s always an upward progression.
So that’s how the projection of Xing Yaxing became so repressed—he usually liked to imitate Xu Chuyao’s tone.
“Impossible!”
Huang Mao, stuck at the Initial Stage of Second Rank for ages, simply didn’t believe her. He hadn’t paid attention to such news recently and had never heard of Shen Song’s famous name.
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you. I’m just telling you, you have two choices right now,” Shen Ning said, raising two fingers. “First option, answer my questions honestly, keep an eye on the Research Institute when you get back, and if you get another chance, come back and report to me.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Ru Shu’s projection praised. “Yao Li loves this kind of straightforward talk.”
So masterful.
Huang Mao wiped the cold sweat from his brow—he’d already lied about the Research Institute’s secrets, and now she wanted him to be a spy too.
Done for. What’s this girl’s deal, anyway? Some kind of Queen?
“Second option,” Shen Ning lowered one finger. “You try, right now, to survive against these people behind me, without any strength, and escape. Then you can tell your people what you learned here. But at the same time, I’ll spread the word that someone called ‘Cocoon’ snuck into the White Mist World and told me all kinds of things—including the name of your Research Institute.”
“Yes, that’s the way to put it,” Xing Yaxing’s projection found an opportunity to chime in. “Yao Li always likes to threaten people like this!”
Pobei’s shadow sighed. “Why do you always learn the bad stuff and never the good…?”
Why not learn Yao Li’s kindness and gentle consideration for others?
Huang Mao was stunned, especially when he saw Shen Ning make a gesture, and those stone-covered figures began to approach, chanting strange phrases as they moved closer, cold eyes locked on him.
“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! Valhalla Research Institute is on a small island in southern Indonesia, very close to the Equator Defense Line!”
Huang Mao confessed, but Shen Song was puzzled.
Indonesia is there, and the Equator Defense Line…what is that?
No matter what, she couldn’t let him know she was clueless, or her authority would plummet.
The girl turned her graceful neck, and spoke coldly but calmly: “Very good, then the matter of going undercover—”
“I… I’ll do my best to stay in touch,”
Under Shen Ning’s one-sided demand, the two reached an agreement. After that, there was nothing more to say; they just sat where they were for a while, resting. When the small door appeared again and a rope dropped down, Huang Mao was dragged back.
Fen Ning watched him leave, observing as the door retracted the green cord, and then she closed it with a sigh.
On the other side, the people from Mendos were now able to send Spirit Users in here, so things would be busy for a while.
Of course, the girl herself hadn’t been idle either. In the period since the last major outbreak, she’d managed to complete two milestone tasks and four rounds of Daily Tasks—quite a lot of progress.
“Miss Shen Cha, you’re sitting on the ground and must be cold,” Melon said. “If you are, you could sit closer to the White Mist area, it’s warmer over there.”
“No need, I’m not cold.”
That was what she said, but when Shen Ning looked back, she saw seven or eight Tang family members huddled in a pile near the misty mud, bundled up together for warmth.
No wonder you always see people near the thunder, and rarely in the open.
“Why do they support me, anyway?”
“Because you are special, Miss Shen Cha, and your occasional flashes of brilliance give them a feeling of being human, much more intense than just muttering a few words as usual.”
So, Liu Ji seemed to say the same thing.
“But then, why do the others oppose me?” Shen Ning wondered, puzzled. “Didn’t they say before it was just survival instinct…”
If it’s survival instinct, why capture me? It’s not like they don’t want to live.
Melon stuck his head out: “Those people, they’re deeply invaded by the mist, their thoughts might not be very clear anymore. But the instinct to survive is still there, so they find surprise in your consistent behavior, letting habits grow on their own.”
Shen Ning looked at him, indicating she didn’t really understand.
“Miss Shen Cha, I’ve seen a lot of numb people, and the reason they break free from numbness often starts with anger,” Melon tried again, giving a respectful tip of his hat. “When those people oppose you, they feel anger, just like living people feel resentment.”
The hat still didn’t come off; instead, a piece of stone fell from his palm.
“It’s the sun…” Shen Ning whispered.
She remembered when she first arrived at Shengling Academy, she too was numb, not caring about anything around her, thinking only of returning to the No. 13 Mining District, only living day by day at the Academy with no hope for the future.
Until one night, Xu Chuyao tumbled into her dorm for the first time, rubbed menthol balm on her forehead, and stuffed a note calling her a “useless fish.”
That night, Shen Cha was angry for so long she couldn’t sleep, and for the first time, she realized she really was a girl.
“Anger is the most intense emotion. When everything is a blur, just let them think for a while. Every time you beat them back from the mortal world, it’s enough. Once the anger fades, things will get better.”
emmmm.
Shen Ning pondered for a few moments, still unable to let it go. “Melon, you’re talking about those in the opposition, right?”
It’s not like she’s some senior student from Shengling Academy who refuses to recite her surname.
“Miss Shen Cha, who else would I be talking about?”
“No one else, I guess… Changing the topic, do you know about the King’s Throne?”
“King’s Throne?” Melon looked surprised. “I’ve never heard it called that, but there are a few special places around here.”
So it’s called something different from what Liu Quan said, makes sense, since they’re from two different cultures.
Shen Ning was about to ask more when suddenly she felt a wave of anxiety and said quickly, “I have to go back, I’ll ask next time.”
“Go ahead, Sovereign Queen, farewell for now—”
Sunlight, but it’s already late afternoon.
“Hey, Shen Ning, snap out of it, you’re in the real world right now—”
Xu Chuyao waved her little hand, trying to get her girlfriend’s attention.
“Alright, alright, I’m here.”
Shen Ning raised her brows slightly, the misty confusion fading away, and the real world came back into focus.
“See, I told you. Staying up half the night instead of sleeping, always running off on Great Adventure,” Xu Chuyao nagged, “Busy during the day, busy at night, busy even in the middle of the night, look at you, now you’re exhausted.”
“I’m fine.” Shen Ning accepted the drip and said, “I’m not tired…”
“You must be tired, don’t argue!”
She’d just finished talking to Yao Li and then ran off on a Great Adventure—how could she not be tired? Of course she was tired, otherwise what would that make sense?
Even a princess with a soft pillow still has to spend some energy.
Shen Ning had no idea why her girlfriend was so insistent. She had just returned, her head still dizzy, and she sat down quietly to rest.
Xu Chuyao brought over a bottle of water, letting her take a few sips, and then sat down beside her.
“Alright, tell me—how was your Great Adventure? What did you find out?”
Danger, fate, danger.
Shen Ning finished her water, hung the bottle around her neck, and started recalling everything that had happened.
“I succeeded. That plan we talked about before—”
As for the egg that fell out of the sky’s little door, she had managed to turn it into an undercover agent, and even got some info out of it, like the name ‘Valhalla Research Institute’, and its location.
“Close to the Equator Defense Line.”
Nodding.
Xu Chuyao was thinking fast, mapping things out in her mind.
“Equator Defense Line… Equator Defense Line… Indonesia’s Equator Defense Line, that’s the one that defends against Italy!”
Her girlfriend seemed to think of something, her emotions getting a bit stirred up. But Shen Ning didn’t know about the Equator Defense Line or what Indonesia and Italy were; she just watched her girlfriend’s white neck bob with excitement and couldn’t help but swallow quietly.
“What are you staring at?” Xing Yaxing’s projection said. “You finished your random Daily Task yet!”
[Random Daily Task: You’re so excellent, can I touch you.
Task Description: Your beloved Lightning Attribute girlfriend has been at the center of attention lately, everyone wants to touch the Thunder Girl’s lightning, but obviously, only you can do it for real.
Enjoy every zap,]
The girl double-checked in her mind—there really was such a task, and it wasn’t just her imagination in the White Mist World.
Alright, time to do it.
While her girlfriend was deep in thought, Shen Ning quietly reached out her hand, as if doing something very ordinary and casual.
Squeeze~
So soft… but with a faint tingling…
Huh? Tingling?
A surge of blue-white light suddenly burst from the Thunder Girl’s body.
Zzzzzzz xiang!