Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - Chapter 534: Blood-Tinted Album (3) (Emergency Extra Update)

Clang! "Ouch!"

Was it because she was overexerting herself and her lower limb disability caused her to lean forward? She fell directly off the wheelchair, her chin hitting the edge of the table hard with a heart-stopping thud. Then her cheek grazed the table, and her body followed... crashing heavily to the ground. She seemed to try to grab something with her hand, but her outstretched hand only hit the table leg with its right-angled edge.

It looks so painful.

What's even more amazing is that she maintained a perfectly expressionless state throughout the entire process, even though her eyes were full of tears from the pain.

"... uh, are"

Are you okay?

"Is it alright...? Waaah..."

Seeing her covering her chin with tears in her eyes (though she remained expressionless), even I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I couldn't bear to leave such a beautiful and delicate girl lying on the ground like that.

Then--

"Hey, Xiao Wu."

"You don't need to tell me..."

Xiao Wu immediately stepped forward and picked up Neumann — Neumann struggled a few times with a blank expression but a flushed face—before carefully placing him on the wheelchair.

Gj Xiao Wu, as expected of the "gay-turning maniac," has an off-the-charts boyfriend vibe.

"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Mengyin Turing Neumann, you can just call me Neumann. I'm seventeen years old this year, and I joined the organization five years ago. As you can see, my health... isn't very good. Please forgive me if this causes any trouble."

She gave a very formal introduction, her voice soft and gentle, making it hard to connect her with the organization. And how did such a girl rise to a high position? She joined the organization five years ago, meaning she was only 12 years old then? Regardless of her abilities, her personality is definitely not suited for combat... Could it be?

"Before you worry about us finding it troublesome, stop putting on that long face," Little Ying said.

"This... I'm afraid..."

"Hmph, don't think I'm the kind of idiot who can be fooled by appearances! Anyway, it's definitely going to be that kind of development, right? The seemingly mild-mannered and sickly girl is actually a perfectly healthy and scheming woman—"

"--I'm not!"

"Still denying it! You can't even act properly. Although your body is convincing, your expression completely betrays you! You look like a 'smug Demon King arrogantly looking down on the exhausted group of heroes and saying, "Everyone here is trash!"'"

"What are you talking about... I didn't want this to happen either, but I have facial nerve paralysis!"

"... ah?"

Facial nerve paralysis?

Is this what's commonly known as facial paralysis?

It's not a cheap, so-called "facial paralysis attribute," but a genuine "facial paralysis disease"?

Little Ying was speechless.

"I know everyone must be very troubled, and it's natural to feel annoyed by someone who can never make an expression... Although this request may seem rude, and although I have no evidence, I really, really hope you can believe me, I have no ill intentions!"

She bowed her head deeply once again, probably as a substitute for not being able to bow. Suddenly, I felt a sense of guilt. We, six able-bodied women, were forcing a frail, disabled girl to bow her head and apologize to us... Of course not.

Whether you sympathize with someone or not is irrelevant; before confirming whether someone has malicious intent, you should at least eliminate any suspicious points you notice.

"... Even though you say that, I still have questions."

Little Ying looked at me in surprise.

"But Xiao Ye, look at her—"

"--It's not your place to talk nonsense. Weren't you the one who started the doubts just now?"

As I spoke, I forcibly pulled Little Ying away.

"Miss Ye... okay, if you have any questions..."

"Your illness,"

I pointed to her face and legs.

"Your physical condition is already very poor, and you also have facial nerve paralysis and a disability in both legs, right?"

"Yes, it's been like this since I was very young."

"That's the strange thing. Why not treat it? There are so many extraordinary people in the organization. Even if they can't make you healthy from the root, curing facial paralysis and leg paralysis should be quite simple, right? As far as I know, Blood Fiend and Madam should be able to do it easily."

When I mentioned Blood Fiend, her eyes seemed to light up for a moment, but then dimmed again.

"I hoped so too, but... it's incurable. Take the legs, for example. Healing abilities are completely ineffective, medication is completely ineffective, and even if we reconstruct the legs, they will quickly become paralyzed. Even if we amputate and replace them with prosthetics, the prosthetics will break down immediately."

In other words, no matter what means she uses to regain the ability to walk on two legs, she is destined to fail.

"... Why is this happening?"

"Because I am the same kind of person as the Leader, my physical shortcomings are a warning from the world to me."

"--!!"

I couldn't help but take two steps back, staring at her in astonishment—after hearing Yusuo Zai's explanation, I knew exactly what it meant. If Neumann was telling the truth, then she was also a "big bug" in this world, someone hated by the world and hunted down by its World Will!

Neumann quickly explained, "But, but! I'm not as badly affected as the Leader. I... am indeed disliked by the world, but I've only been branded with a warning mark, my life isn't in danger!"

"In other words... if your abilities continue to grow, one day you'll end up like the Leader, completely hated by the world?"

"... Yes, that's why I usually try to avoid using my superpowers."

"May I ask, what is your special ability?"

Ling Ye's notes contained very little description of Neumann, and her only ability was described as "Numerical Control," which piqued my interest in her abilities.

What kind of ability allows someone to be hated by the world just like the Leader?

"Numerical Control."

"That's a bit vague..."

"I'll demonstrate... uh, this will do."

She picked up a cup from the table and handed it to me. I hesitated at first, but I held the cup in my palm as she asked.

"First, its original weight... taking seven significant figures, I see... 163.6931g."

She looked around, but we couldn't see anything. Could it be that she could directly see parameters like the mass of an object?

"Let's change it, move the decimal point one place to the left... Okay, it's working now."

"... Huh?"

I weighed the well-made glass in my hand.

Too light?

It's estimated to be only about one-tenth of the original!

I handed the cup down to everyone, and they all weighed it in their hands to confirm that it was indeed only one-tenth of the original weight!

"You feel it now? Then revise it again."

"Oh no, I've gotten heavier!" Little Ying exclaimed.

"It's currently 0.5kg, but other parameters can be changed, such as volume--"

As soon as he finished speaking, the already heavier cup doubled in size.

"Cup rim diameter--"

The mouth of the cup suddenly narrowed, like a flask.

"High--"

The cup transformed into a long cylinder.

"It's not just about the parameters of physical objects; it can also be applied to field matter. For example, you could change the gravitational acceleration of a small region to 7.45 m/s²."

My body felt light.

"Or change it to 15.28 m/s²--"

Another weight has been added to my body.

"I can modify values; the range of values I can modify is everything I can see. Parameters of physical objects, air temperature and humidity, distance between two places, weapon range, wave propagation speed, and even more abstract things like probability—I can manipulate them directly."

"Numerical Control" -- Mengyin Turing Neumann

Those warned by the world.

"Yu He said... if we're only talking about superpowers, I'm the strongest in the organization besides the Leader, but I'm not entirely sure..."

But--

"However... because I haven't dared to use my abilities frequently for a long time, and I have absolutely no combat experience, so... in terms of combat strength, I'm actually not even as good as the lowest level..."

"It's amazing you've survived this long in the organization."

"Because..."

Neumann swayed slightly, her pale cheeks flushing red. Although she remained expressionless, I had the intuition that she was smiling shyly.

"... Blood Sister has always taken care of me."

"..."

I felt as if the Sick Spider's hand, which was gripping my sleeve, suddenly trembled.

Once upon a time --

"Ugh... why are there so many troubles lately! Even if you crush an ant, a new one will pop up. You can't get rid of them all..."

Having just completed her mission, the Sick Spider strode angrily down the corridor of the organization's headquarters. Why did they have to send a Special Class Combatant like her to deal with those small fry who coveted the organization's secrets? Were they just looking for trouble?

"Seriously, those guys... huh?"

The Sick Spider's gaze sharpened as an unexpected figure approached from the opposite side of the corridor.

Blood Fiend – Ai Kasser, or Ai Warrensding.

"Kaser--tsk!"

Almost crying out, the Sick Spider quickly suppressed her voice, desperately trying to calm her wildly beating heart. A jumble of emotions surged within her, yet she couldn't find an outlet. She wanted to release these emotions through fighting, but her reason warned her against it.

In the end, despite his vow to "kill her with his own hands" after being tormented by love and hate, he was unable to do anything.

No, if it were truly possible, I wouldn't have had to constantly avoid "accidental encounters" with her.

So let's keep quiet for now.

Suppress everything deep inside, solidify it with a cold shell, and carry on with silence and indifference to the very end. Let's just pass each other by like this.

--The Sick Spider, thinking this way, was completely defeated a few seconds later.

Just as they brushed past each other, their figures intersecting, it was the other person who spoke.

It was like a lover's whisper, the sound soft yet able to penetrate directly into one's heart.

"It's been a long time, Lilia."

"--Eee..."

Caught off guard, the Sick Spider couldn't help but let out a soft cry. She took a step forward and distanced herself from the Blood Fiend, as if she had been suddenly attacked.

Why are you so agitated?

"You—you're the one! Why are you suddenly talking to me?!"

"We know each other, so it's only natural to greet each other, right?"

"Uh, eh, ah..."

The Sick Spider was speechless.

Yes, if you know each other, it's perfectly normal to greet each other when you bump into each other in the hallway, right? It would be more impolite to see each other and not say hello.

Kasser did nothing wrong; he just overreacted.

Ugh... my face feels so hot! It must be because it's so hot!

"Even if it was just a normal greeting, why did you use that tone?!"

Which tone of voice are you using?

"Like that... uh... how should I describe it..."

"Like a lover's whisper, a tone as if licking the earlobe with the tongue?"

"So you knew all along! You did it on purpose, didn't you!?"

"I guess so."

"..."

This damned scumbag! Are you bullying me? Is it fun to bully others?!

"Um... how should I address this lady?"

"...?"

The trembling Sick Spider suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice.

Looking down, I realized that Kasser was pushing a wheelchair, but I hadn't noticed because my attention was on her.

(Author's note: Blood Sister, that's enough! You flirt with everyone you go around! Stop bullying Spider-chan! Besides, Little Nuonuo was just a disabled 12-year-old girl when she first joined the organization, how could you do that to her!)