Keno spoke with increasing fervor, clearly in a state of fanaticism.
Su Xing had to marvel at the ingenuity of his idea; if it could truly yield significant results, it would undoubtedly leave a profound mark on humanity’s milestone in life sciences.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t a scientist and had little interest in these matters.
She impatiently interrupted Keno, “Get to the point. I only want to know about the Snow Maidens.”
Keno frowned, displeased by Su Xing’s interruption, but continued his narration, “The Snow Maidens are actually the result of this research. At that time, the Raile couple attempted to introduce low temperatures into cells, but without exception, every cell died due to the excessively low temperature. The experiment reached a stalemate.”
“But Raile and their ideas were always surprisingly clever. They discovered that some phantasms were naturally very adapted to extreme cold, such as ice sculpture birds and snow spirits. So, they tried to introduce the blood of these creatures into human bodies, allowing human cells to adapt to severe cold, and then introduce low temperatures into the cells.”
“In this experiment, many people died due to rejection reactions. But there were also some who survived!”
“Those are the Snow Maidens?”
Evincel, who had opened his eyes at some point, asked with furious eyes.
Keno nodded, confirming the answer, “Yes, the Snow Maidens. They are products of biological modification. As the Raile and Mina couple wished, those who successfully underwent modification gained the ability of eternal life.”
Su Xing interjected thoughtfully, “But the Snow Maidens have an unavoidable flaw?”
Keno looked at her with appreciation and asked kindly, “How did you guess?”
Su Xing replied as if it were obvious, “If there were no flaws, how could this technology, which was developed ten years ago, not have made any waves by now? How could I have never even heard of it?”
Keno seemed to have been reminded of something painful by her words and sighed, “Yes, because of the fusion with the blood of wild phantasms, these Snow Maidens lost their humanity and became true phantasms. This point has never been resolved. They tried many methods, but none were successful, so they could only temporarily shelve the project. Raile and Mina left, and this group of highly aggressive Snow Maidens was left here.”
Su Xing narrowed her eyes, half-believing and half-doubting his words, “So what about you? What role did you play in this story, and why didn’t you leave?”
The answer to this question was simple yet heavy, “My wife and daughter were both participants in that experiment back then.”
At these words, everyone fell silent.
Having already known the outcome of that experiment, hearing that Keno’s wife and daughter were involved naturally made it clear what their fate was.
This also explained why Keno chose to stay.
The air suddenly grew quiet.
Keno, as if relieved, turned to comfort everyone, “Actually, it’s okay. After all, they’re still alive. Although they’ve lost their minds, they won’t harm me. After all these years, I’m actually living quite well. Although I will still die in the future, my wife and daughter, in a sense, are truly together forever. Their relationship has always been very good, and they signed up for the experiment for that very reason. Now, this can be considered fulfilling their wish.”
“Waaah! Uncle Keno, you’re too miserable!”
Suddenly, Kaka burst into tears.
He was already covered in snot and tears, having cried so much.
Keno laughed softly, patting his shoulder, “Don’t be sad. Look, I, the protagonist, am not sad anymore.”
Quinn remained silent throughout, seemingly unable to cope with the shock of his idol suddenly becoming a great villain.
It was only then that he finally spoke, “Then do we… do we have any way to so-solve this problem? I feel that th-those Snow Maidens don’t want to ex-exist like this, do they?”
“If you lose your mind and human feelings, what good is eternal life? What’s the difference between that and a corpse preserved in formaldehyde?”
Keno’s expression subtly changed, “Let it go, children. This isn’t something you can solve. Let’s think about how to get out instead.”
Su Xing was stunned, “You can’t come and go freely?”
Keno gave a bitter smile, “Of course not. I’ve been trapped in here for a long time. If it weren’t for my wife and daughter protecting me, I would probably have been killed long ago. The Snow Maidens are still very united internally, so they won’t kill me, but they won’t let me leave either. I barely survive on the food my wife and daughter bring me every day. If they weren’t with me, I might have sought death long ago.”
Evincel suddenly asked, “Can we get out if we just kill these Snow Maidens?”
Keno’s face changed dramatically, “No! Aside from anything else, you simply cannot kill the Snow Maidens. Although they have human-like appearances, they are essentially made of snow. If they’re broken apart, they can easily re-coagulate.”
Hearing this, Su Xing raised an eyebrow, “What if they’re melted? If they melt into water, they can’t re-coagulate, right?”
As if mocking her naiveté, Keno sighed, “It’s freezing here, and we can’t even get out. We have no way of generating high temperatures.”
Su Xing wasn’t surprised.
She threw a wink at Quinn, then asked Keno in a confident tone, “So why don’t you use Quinn’s method? You should know how to deal with this group of Snow Maidens, right?”
Keno lowered his head in silence, not speaking.
Suddenly, faint footsteps were heard from outside.
Su Xing’s expression changed, and she quickly commanded, “Even if the snow re-coagulates, it’ll take some time.
So, we’ll smash these Snow Maidens and then we run!”
Evincel glared at her unhappily, “Do you have to tell me?”
Su Xing gave a fake smile, “I wasn’t talking to you.”
She looked at Kaka and Quinn.
Kaka and Quinn quickly nodded, indicating they understood.
The next second, the door opened, and two Snow Maidens walked in side-by-side.
Evincel, with quick reflexes, directly twisted one Snow Maiden’s neck.
After a brief pause, without giving Su Xing a chance to act, he swiftly ended the life of the other Snow Maiden as well.
Agile movements, truly worthy of a killer’s reputation.
Su Xing gave this guy a bewildered look, tugged on Keno’s sleeve, then turned her head and tilted it towards Kaka and Quinn, “Follow me!”
With that, she rushed out first, following the little fox.
As she ran, she asked the little fox, “How’s your sense of smell? Can you find a safe room?”
The little fox knew the situation was urgent.
It nodded, its four legs striding ahead to lead the way.
They ran out at top speed.
Quinn suddenly shrieked, “Th-those Snow Maidens!”
Su Xing turned her head and saw that the two Snow Maidens had already revived.
They glared angrily at Su Xing and the others, stomping their feet in unison.
Then, cold air began to emanate from beneath their feet, solidifying everything it touched into ice.
The ice spread rapidly across the ground, seemingly intent on freezing the entire corridor.
“Hiss!”
Su Xing gasped, “Run fast! Don’t get frozen!”
Evincel, who was already ahead of her, suddenly snapped, “Kaka! Your phantasm isn’t just for show!”
Su Xing also just remembered this.
Seeing Kaka’s confused expression, she quickly added to Evincel’s words, “Your Little Blue’s spines are very hard. Make it attack the Snow Maidens! Interrupt their skill!”
Seeing the ice on the ground spreading faster and faster, Kaka, with a thought, summoned his porcupine fish.
“Little Blue, go!”
The porcupine fish sensed its Phantasm Master’s will and floated towards the Snow Maidens.
However, the closer it got to the Snow Maidens, the colder the air became.
Soon, ice began to form on Little Blue’s spines.
The ice spread from the spines to Little Blue’s body, appearing to be about to freeze Little Blue solid.
Little Blue’s speed also slowed down, but it still didn’t give up, struggling to get closer to the Snow Maidens.
“Waaah, Little Blue…”
Kaka could feel Little Blue’s struggle, tears already welling up in his eyes, but he knew he was also carrying Su Xing and the others’ lives, so he had no intention of giving up.
He bit his lip, sending all his strength to Little Blue, “Little Blue, charge!”
Phantasms and Phantasm Masters had always been complementary beings.
Kaka’s firm will re-energized Little Blue, who had become somewhat weak from the cold.
It shook itself, shaking off the ice on its body, then accelerated again and charged towards the Snow Maidens, hitting them forcefully.
The Snow Maidens were made of snow to begin with.
When struck by the sharp spines at a vital point, they immediately disintegrated.
Little Blue, having collided with the Snow Maidens, was turned into an ice block and fell rigidly to the ground.
Kaka, with tears in his eyes, summoned Little Blue back into his body.
As he continued to run, he fought back his sadness and apologized, “My phantasm might not be able to do anything else now.”
Hearing this, Su Xing rolled her eyes at him good-naturedly, “What are you talking about? You’ve already done the most you could.”
Quinn also struggled to comfort Kaka between breaths, “You… you being with us, that’s… that’s the biggest help, you really are, really amazing.”
Evincel pursed his lips, “Idiot, hurry up and keep up.”
Finally, the little fox made a turn and led them into a room.
As soon as they entered, Kaka couldn’t help but gasp, but Su Xing quickly covered his mouth.
This room had only one cylindrical culture vat, and inside it was a white-haired woman!
Su Xing turned to Keno, “What is this?”
Keno gave the little fox a strange look, “I don’t know whether to say you’re lucky or what. This is the first Snow Maiden who successfully fused with phantasm blood and was introduced to low temperatures back then, and she’s also the queen of all the remaining Snow Maidens. Snow Maidens generally don’t come into this place.”
Evincel asked impatiently, “Can this Snow Maiden let us leave this cursed place?”
“No,” Keno shrugged, “but she can make the other Snow Maidens calm down. As long as you can control her, you can get out.”
Su Xing gave a sarcastic smile, “Easier said than done. We can barely escape from ordinary Snow Maidens, let alone a big BOSS like this?”
Keno also understood this and said confidently, “As long as you can break this glass cover, I can help you control her.”
To make Su Xing and the others believe him, Keno even revealed a big secret, “The one imprisoned inside is my wife.”
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