The "Return to the Painting" Federation Suspected of Being Contaminated

The next day, Jingxing got up very early.

At the crack of dawn, he carried his art supplies and went out to meet Sampo. Together they took the first train to Haiyuan City again.

The sea was gray in the early morning, and there were few people on the seawall, except for a few seabirds taking turns dozing on the buoys.

After Sampo carried the easel and paints to the embankment, he tactfully left, planning to return and help tidy up after Jingxing finished.

Jingxing fixed the canvas to the easel, letting the sea breeze rustle the canvas, then took out his Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer, and prepared to put brush to paper.

Since the day before yesterday, when Xuzhao taught him how Pathstrider should use energy, this was Jingxing first time Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer. He no longer needed to constantly calculate the Imaginary Energy in his body, and could freely wield the brush, which was truly exhilarating.

The composition of the painting Jingxing wanted to draw today was very simple: a train running along the coast, a sea gilded by the rising sun, and people doing morning exercises on the seawall.

Having already conceived a plan, he decided to change his painting style. With such a clear and serene landscape, on a whim, Jingxing decided to try the Photorealism painting method he had practiced before. With Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer as his brush, he didn't need to change his paintbrush; as long as he had a thought, the colors falling on the tip of the brush would naturally change.

After the brushstrokes, an image almost indistinguishable from a photograph remained on the canvas. This was Photorealism, which Origin more than a decade ago in the capital of the Klimt Constitutional Republic. It was also a painting style that Jingxing had been obsessed with for a time, a style that showcased his technical skill. Although he was later defeated by the Intellitron specializing in painting at the Genius Society, and hadn't tried it again for a long time, Jingxing was now very confident that even if Zhenzhu were to compete with him in Photorealism, she wouldn't be able to beat him.

In the afternoon, as the sun began to set, more tourists appeared in Haiyuan City. As Jingxing bent over to sketch the rocks in the foreground, a shadow suddenly fell onto the canvas.

"Sir, please take a look at this!"

Jingxing turned around and saw a girl of about fifteen or sixteen standing in front of him, holding a stack of flyers. Her face was red from the sea breeze, but her eyes were unusually bright.

She shoved a flyer into Jingxing's arms. "We are the Haiyuan 'Re-entering the Painting' Association. We want to restore Haiyuan City to its former state. Please support us in returning to our old lives! Reject the company's forced assimilation!"

Jingxing looked down at the flyer. Printed on the paper was a window overlooking the sea, its color a pale shade, as if the ink had run out during printing. The flyer's title was handwritten. "Go back to the painting; that's our home."

"Are you locals?" Jingxing asked.

"Yes, our ancestors came from the painting." The girl nodded vigorously. "After the company pulled us out, our lives became much harder than before. Everyone said the company wanted to treat us as bad debts, but it wasn't like we wanted to leave the world of the painting. Since they can't manage us, they should let us go back into the painting and return to our old lives."

Jingxing could tell that the girl in front of him was serious. There was a certainty on her face that didn't belong to her age.

But her behavior made him feel uneasy. It's not wrong for someone to want to go back to the past, but what if someone feeds this idea something else into her heart?

Jingxing recalled the Beast Molt underground, its attempt to contaminate him. Had it only tried to contaminate him?

The next second, a sea breeze blew from behind her, carrying a faint scent into Jingxing's nose. It was very faint, but Jingxing frowned slightly. In this breeze, he smelled the stench of Voracity Contamination.

The smell of Voracity Contamination.

Jingxing calmly accepted the flyer, flashing a touristy smile, "Okay, thank you for your promotion, you've worked hard."

The girl bowed happily, clutched the flyer, and ran to the next passerby. Jingxing waited until she was far away before looking down at the hand that had taken the flyer. Thankfully, his fingertips hadn't changed color, and the taste of Voracity hadn't lingered on them.

He then folded the flyer, put it in his pocket, and took out his phone.

[Jingxing: In Haiyuan City, I encountered a group calling themselves the Haiyuan "Re-entering the Painting" Association handing out flyers. The girl handing me the flyers had a Voracity Contamination air about her.]

[Xuzhao: What I feared most has come to pass. If this kind of social group were to be corrupted, the impact would be enormous. But Beast Molt body couldn't possibly corrupt beings on the ground; it must be due to the actions of another entity.]

[Jingxing: You mean, it was done by Yaboli's people?]

[Xuzhao: It might not be her. Never mind, you should tell Zhenzhu instead of telling me.]

[Jingxing:... What does this have to do with Zhenzhu?]

[Xuzhao: Dual-Phase Paradise is under her management, and it seems to be involved in internal company power struggles. What does that have to do with you and me? Does Qlipoth pay your salary?]

[Jingxing:...]

[Xuzhao: Just tell Zhenzhu that you saw someone acting strangely while sketching in Haiyuan City, like they were being corrupted by some kind of Path force. Zhenzhu knows you're Pathstrider, so it's not surprising that you're sensitive to pollution.]

Jingxing stared at the screen for a while. He wrote down everything he had just seen, attached a photo of the leaflet, and sent it to Zhenzhu.

After finishing, he stood back in front of the easel, only to find his hands trembling slightly.

Jingxing took a deep breath and focused his attention back on the canvas. He was here to paint. At least until dusk, he wanted to concentrate on that one thing.

In the evening, Sampo rushed back to help pack up the stall. Seeing that the painting on the canvas was already finished, he circled the easel twice, marveling at it.

"This painting looks just like a photograph! It's amazing! I never knew there was such a style."

Jingxing casually inquired about the Haiyuan "Re-entering the Painting" Association. Sampo scoffed, "Those people have been causing trouble for years, gathering at the old pier every day. But their activities are limited to Haiyuan City; they haven't really made a big fuss."

"I see." Jingxing said thoughtfully. Even if a neglected social group is corrupted, it's unlikely that many people will notice.

"I wonder if Ms. Zhenzhu has seen my message. It hasn't shown as read. Is she that nervous in Thousand Stars City?" Jingxing muttered to himself. "I wonder if she can handle Yaboli then."

Even if she can't handle it, her boss, the head of the Strategic Investment Department, and the company's publicly disclosed Preservation Emanator "Diamond" should be able to keep Yaboli in check, right?

As the sun slowly sank below the horizon, Jingxing and Sampo packed up their art supplies and prepared to leave the beach.

"Are you coming again tomorrow?" Sampo asked.

"Let's go somewhere else tomorrow, anywhere but the World-Painting Academy."