After Su Mu finally struggled free from that awful memory, she snapped her eyes open and shot upright out of the water.
The splashing droplets hit Luo Jialan, who was beside her, but Luo Jialan only guiltily pulled her head out of the water, the weight of guilt growing heavier on her shoulders.
It’s all my fault.
Sitting in the bathtub, Su Mu looked down at her soaked underwear, her mind going completely blank for a moment.
‘Who am I? How did I end up here?’
“Ahem, are you alright?”
Su Mu nodded blankly, then shook her head, sending beads of water flying from her hair in every direction.
She steadied herself on the edge of the tub and stood up.
As the connector device was pulled off, Su Mu finally regained full awareness.
The chill clinging to her skin made her shiver instantly.
‘Hiss, so cold.’
Earlier, in her panic, Luo Jialan hadn’t cared about the details—she had hurriedly torn off Su Mu’s clothes and soaked her in the tub.
The cool water quickly soothed Su Mu’s burning skin, but Luo Jialan still couldn’t relax.
Because now, that underwear, soaked through, clung tightly to Su Mu’s delicate figure, making her look even more alluring.
‘This is bad, I can hardly control myself.’
Helpless, she could only shut her eyes tight and dunk her head underwater, forcefully suppressing her inner turmoil.
So, when Su Mu opened her eyes, this was the strange and awkward scene she saw.
“There’s definitely something going on.”
Recalling what she’d just witnessed, Su Mu put on a stern little face, making Luo Jialan even more nervous.
‘It’s over. Did she find out everything?’
“I know everything.”
Su Mu suddenly leaned in close, so near that Luo Jialan’s breath caught for a moment.
“I’m really sorry, I just wanted to massage your hand a little. I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.”
“Huh?”
Su Mu scratched her head in confusion.
‘So, she was just massaging my hand?’
‘Sorry, Luo Jialan, I really misjudged you.’
‘Come to think of it, maybe it’s my fault for writing all those fanfics. After Luo Jialan read them, she must have been influenced, at least a little.’
But the most serious problem was the memory she’d just seen.
“Actually, I was talking about Luo Linglan… I saw the memory of her leaving a Shackle inside you.”
Irina could help remove this Shackle, but external force might cause serious harm to Luo Jialan.
The key issue still lay between Luo Jialan and Lando.
How to proceed would require more time to figure out.
After hearing Su Mu’s words, Luo Jialan’s eyes widened, and the droplets on her already flushed cheeks seemed ready to evaporate into steam.
“Also, if undoing the Shackle is dangerous, are you really planning to go through with it?”
Su Mu hesitated.
After all, when the time came, the one most at risk probably wouldn’t be Luo Jialan, but her—Su Mu—right beside her!
If Luo Jialan lost control to desire, the first to suffer would definitely be Su Mu.
“I want to try. Uh, when the time comes, you can have Tang Nai tie me up, just in case I lose control and do something out of line, like that woman did.”
“There’s no need for that. When you’re ready, we’ll try again.”
Su Mu’s words brought a faint joy to Luo Jialan’s heart.
Did this mean she was willing to trust her?
In a sense, yes, but more than that, it was because Su Mu still had Irina’s support behind her.
Su Mu also wanted to speed up her exploration of the Dream Realm, reach C-Class as soon as possible, and get closer to Irina to confirm some suspicions.
‘Irina, who could always come out to protect me whenever I needed—was she once Su Mu herself?’
“You’ll get the answer you want, little Su Mu.”
Irina’s voice was calm, with no hint of emotion, but as always, it brought Su Mu peace.
‘Yes, with her, I can move forward boldly. Having someone who understands my heart in this world is truly wonderful.’
***
The next day, the sun rose as usual.
Ning Xi No.6 had already been taken away by members of the Combat Division.
Reportedly, she would be sent to the Research Center in S City for reprocessing—where the other Ning Xis were also kept.
S City had Motes, as well as Zhen Yi, currently the strongest B-Class Mutant in the Combat Division—the very one who’d participated in the campaign against the Monster King in B City.
Neither of them was any weaker than Edma, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
Having tossed and turned until late last night, Su Mu was still sleeping soundly in her bedroom, utterly unresponsive even as sunlight from the sunflowers spilled over her face.
But the fine sheen of sweat on her forehead revealed that her dream was anything but peaceful.
Her phone alarm rang just in time, startling her awake.
[9:20]
Today’s class was the second period in the morning, so it was fine to sleep in a little.
But right now, Su Mu’s mind was filled with fragments from her dream.
She’d dreamed of some very strange things.
Although her brain was already forgetting those scattered fragments, Su Mu still managed to catch a few bits.
Shen Moling, dressed in a teacher’s uniform, teaching a group of children Chinese?
A certain blonde loli, standing by the podium, legs pressed together, helping her read the text?
‘Shen Moling as an elementary school teacher—why would I dream of that?’
‘I must have been muddled from sleep. That’s it, my Corruption level is off the charts. I need to wake up a bit.’
Yawning, Su Mu got dressed, completely unaware that the protagonist of her dream was engaged in a fierce battle at that very moment.
Within some Ruins on the border of the Dream Realm, two figures were clashing at speeds the naked eye couldn’t follow.
Every second, nearly a hundred collisions erupted, and the shockwaves alone were enough to obliterate every stray concept nearby.
Blazing gold and vivid crimson divided the field of vision, each dominating one side.
The blazing border down the center nearly tore the black sky itself apart.
The golden radiance’s tremors were even more wild and unrestrained than the blood-red, sweeping away all obstacles in sight—yet every time it met those crimson blades, it was held back for a heartbeat.
Edma had never imagined that the revenge battle she’d longed for would be so grueling.
Even after mastering two concepts, she still couldn’t gain the upper hand against Motes.
At best, it was an even match.
But that woman should only have one concept to support her—so why…
“Your attacks are slowing, little Edma. I think we’ll be moving on to the next stage soon.”
Motes’ voice was as shrill as a snapping violin string, laced with ragged breaths and wild laughter, spreading a sense of unease bit by bit.
Like a madman sharpening a blade in the night, ready to slay the king in the grand hall, to splash regal dragon’s blood across the pillars.
The shadow of past defeat once again loomed over Edma’s heart, making her claws tremble from time to time.
She had to pour dangerously overflowing magic into every move just to counter Motes’ attacks.
It looked like she was on the offensive, but in truth, Motes was guiding the rhythm of the battle.
At this rate, she would lose.