Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - What Money Couldn't Buy (II)

"Hiss... Hiss..."

My heart is beating so fast.

"Hiss... Hiss... Hiss..."

I feel a little dizzy.

"Hiss... Hiss... Hiss... Ahhh..."

There was a strange feeling that something inside was about to burst out of my body.

What's that sound...?

There's noise, it's very loud...

My breathing sounds so heavy.

"Gulp... what...?"

My chest felt so tight, like I was experiencing altitude sickness. I gripped my clothes tightly at my chest.

What is that?

What exactly is that cuboid covered in velvet?

Why is it so attractive to me?

Why did I sense a danger from that thing greater than all that I had felt before combined?

"I must find out the truth" and "I should stay away from that stuff"—two completely different thoughts kept clashing in my mind.

"Xiao Ye! Little Butterfly Die has no external injuries, she's just been unconscious, that's great... Xiao Ye?"

The voice of Haoyue reached my ears, sounding so distant.

"Xiao Ye? You look..."

"That..."

With slightly trembling fingertips, I pointed out to her where that thing was.

"Um... could you help me figure out what it is?"

"Xiao Ye, now is not the time for this—" Hao Yue glanced at the thing covered in velvet, but immediately lost interest, "--whatever it is, the first thing to do is to get Little Butterfly Die away!"

I glanced at Little Butterfly, who was nestled in her arms. Her innocent and adorable sleeping face couldn't dispel the inexplicable unease in my heart. I shook my head vigorously and, in an almost pleading voice, said again—

"Please, Haoyue... just consider it as fulfilling my small wish... just help me see what that is!"

"... All right."

Haoyue sighed; she had also noticed that something was wrong with me. She wanted to give Little Butterfly to the Sick Spider, but seeing the Sick Spider's small body, she gave up. So she gently placed Little Butterfly on the ground and wove a cushion out of moonlight.

After doing all that, she nodded to me and then walked toward the thing.

Haoyue stood beside it, gestured to me, then reached out and gently lifted a corner of the velvet blanket to peek down.

I'm waiting for her reply.

But she remained in that position, frozen.

After a few seconds, she slowly turned her head with a robotic, stiff movement, looked at me with a somewhat dazed expression, and then looked at what was under the velvet.

"... Bright Moon?"

"Um, Xiao Ye..."

Haoyue's expression was very strange, extremely strange; it was the first time I had ever seen her with such an expression.

"I... I've never seen it before, so I'm not sure... but... why don't you come and take a look?"

As she spoke, she forcefully ripped off the velvet blanket, revealing the object's true form.

"Ah..."

That was a coffin.

It's the same crystal coffin as the one where Little Butterfly was placed before.

Although I don't know much about it, from a distance, the crystal material of this coffin is clearly several levels higher than that of Little Butterfly's; it's probably some kind of rare and precious material.

It's quite strange that Yu He, who has never been fond of luxury, would place such a thing in his secret room.

I swallowed hard, desperately suppressing the turmoil in my heart, and with trembling legs, I stepped forward—

It was only a distance of about ten meters, but it felt like an eternity to me.

Actually, with my current eyesight, I can see things clearly from more than ten meters away, but I just don't want to admit it.

Only when I was right in front of it, with no way to avoid it, did I finally turn my gaze to the person in the coffin.

"..."

How beautiful it was!

The person in the coffin was wrapped in a snow-white long dress, revealing only their head, fingertips, and feet, but the dress was far from enough to conceal the beauty of their body. A slender, fair body, alluring, high breasts, a waist so thin it could be encircled with one hand, legs in perfect proportions—a darling of the Creator, every detail was flawless.

Looking up, her long, jet-black hair reflected the cold white light, partially obscuring her stunningly beautiful face. This face was so beautiful it made one want to kneel and weep in awe of the Creator's greatness. Even someone as discerning as myself, who has seen countless beauties, had to admit that this beauty surpassed even Haoyue, Xiao Wu, and the Lady.

And,

She looks a lot like me.

It's not that we look exactly alike, because a quick glance reveals many differences between us. But... in many details, and in the overall feel, we are...

"Xiao Ye, this..."

"Don't say it."

"I've never seen what she looks like, but..."

"Please don't say it."

"This guy must be—"

"Don't say it!!!"

Don't say it, I'm begging you, don't say it! I know, I was certain the moment I saw her, but this is impossible! She's dead, she died a long time ago! Her body was destroyed, her power almost completely lost, leaving only a pitiful Blood Mist drifting on Earth in another world, trying to take over my body but failing before completely dissipating in the torrent of time and space!

That's how it should be.

With her physical body destroyed, her power lost, and her soul scattered, it was impossible for her to leave behind any remains.

Not to mention—the body lying in the coffin was not only perfectly intact, but its chest was even rising and falling slightly.

She's breathing. Why?

What exactly is going on?

"No matter how many times I see her, I can't help but sigh, she's so beautiful, isn't she?"

"--!?"

He suddenly appeared on the other side of the coffin, no more than a meter away from me.

Without warning, without a sound, if he hadn't spoken, I probably would never have noticed him.

The anxiety is getting stronger.

Something big is about to happen, and it will happen to you.

From when? From where? From whom?

Just as this anxiety reached a new level—

"Xiao Wu! Something's moving fast—ah!"

Boom!!!!

A deafening roar, followed by a cloud of dust and a blinding flash of lightning.

Just a second ago, an object moving at an extremely high speed approached, and it didn't slow down at all when it landed. It just crashed down with astonishing force, even shaking the ground twice.

"Yo, Urushihara! Long time no see!"

A sharp, mechanical sound, amplified countless times, reverberated throughout the entire underwater space. The creaking and groaning of countless metal objects grinding together was deafening. As the sound grew louder, tall buildings seemed to sink into the ground, as if something enormous was rapidly approaching from underground.

At the spot where the heavy object had just fallen, a streak of azure lightning shot into the sky, and the figure of a young girl emerged from it.

Long, shimmering blue fiber-optic hair

The scarlet camera's eyes,

Artificial beauty that lacks realism

So far, things are still normal.

Below the neck, the entire structure is a metal skeletal frame. The decorative artificial skin was stripped off from the beginning, exposing the dense array of machines that replaced the internal organs, making it look extremely grotesque. Each arm has at least three elbow joints, and the fingers are like sharp tweezers. The feet have been completely replaced with propellers, with billowing flames shooting out from the feet, which resemble airplane stabilizers, making a constant buzzing sound.

"You are... Julia?"

"Oh my god, you know me? We've only met once? Wow, I should feel honored, right? Super honored, right? Hahahaha!!!"

Even though there was nothing funny, she kept laughing like a madwoman, and the mechanical sound from the voice-generating device in her mouth became even more jarring.

Xiao Wu frowned slightly.

Was that feeling of anxiety I felt earlier coming from Julia?

But...

(Even though the enemy has appeared, the anxiety... hasn't disappeared?)

On the contrary, it continues to strengthen.

(Could it be that someone else is actually the one giving me this feeling? What's going on...?)

"Hey, you're a loser, stop jumping around here. You're really annoying."

This is Xiao Wu's honest opinion.

"Huh? A defeated opponent? I don't understand!"

"Your companions are almost all dead, and you still ran away in defeat. What's the point of coming back again?"

"How could it be boring? On the contrary, you were my target from the very beginning!"

"... I?"

Xiao Wu was stunned. So this Julia was her enemy?

"Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! You didn't expect this, did you? You definitely didn't expect this! On the eve of the final battle, the person who appears before you is your long-hidden enemy. This is a super classic and super romantic plot!"

"No, I..."

"Yes, yes, I know what you want to say! 'What!? You are actually-' 'After all these years, I still can't get rid of the past...' 'Impossible! There's no way I could have been exposed!' -- and so on, anyway, that's the kind of lines you want to say! Okay, okay, following the usual formula, the plot won't feel like it's getting to its climax if you don't say these fixed lines! So, come on, say it!"

"You've heard people say that... So, I have no idea I've ever had any grudge against you!"

"..." "..."

"... Huh?"

"... What do you mean 'hey'? If you, a defeated soldier, have come here just to cause me trouble and bark like a madman, could you please get lost? I really don't want to waste my time on trash like that."

"No, no... So you really didn't know who I was... Ah! I see!"

Julia's eyes lit up—they really did shine—then she clapped her hands, as if she had thought of something.

"So that's how it is! This is a classic plot! 'I... I have no grudge against you...' 'Really no grudge? Think back carefully, the couple you murdered ten years ago!' 'What? You were the child from that time? You've endured all these years just to seek revenge against me!?' 'That's right! Die in repentance!' --That's how it must unfold, right? Right? It must be right! Then I'll mercifully tell you--"

"I don't even care who you are! Don't force me to swear!"

"Quiet—I'm telling you, my name is Julia, my full name is Julia Fiaz!"

"..."

"Hahahaha, you didn't expect that, did you? You definitely didn't expect that! That's right, I am Julia Fiaz!"

"..." "..."

"..."

"... Hey, give me some kind of response?"

Even if you say that...

Xiao Wu scratched her head, looking impatient.

"... So, who exactly is this 'Fiaz'?"

Clang!

Julia fell straight down from the sky and crashed to the ground, but she immediately got up and straightened her crooked neck.

"So, Fiaz! My supreme and great Creator! My beloved father whom you killed!"

"So who is that?!"

"Have you forgotten?! The Chief scientist of the League of Scholars at the Central United Academy Social Sciences!"

"Oh, I think there is such a person."

After thinking for a long time, Xiao Wu finally came to mind a strange man wearing glasses with six lenses. Come to think of it, he had even dismembered himself? But it was too long ago for her to bother recalling it carefully.

"But I didn't sign anything about killing him—"

"Enough with the nonsense, I've been preparing for this day for a long time, prepare to die!!!"

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The super expansion begins!

Tomorrow is the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao). To show my support, I will update a 4,000-word chapter tomorrow. I wish all the Gaokao students success on their first attempt!