Several minutes passed, and 0732 still hadn't responded.
Jiang Nuo's patience gradually wore thin. She tapped her fingers on the bed sheet and frowned as she asked.
[0732?]
[Special Dark Power detected. Connecting to the Lingduan System. Please wait...]
System General Bureau.
When 0732 met Lingduan Baize, it was investigating the Dark Power that had fled to the Three Thousand Worlds.
" Dark Power have been detected in the Super S-Class mission world."
0732 reported meticulously and methodically.
Lingduan Baize stopped what he was doing, and after a moment replied, "Deputy Director An Yin is colluding with Dark Power."
0732: "The mission world cannot withstand this; should we mobilize system power?"
"Need not."
Lingduan looked away. "Let Jiang Nuo continue his mission; he's very capable. An Yin has already escaped to another world."
0732, unusually, asked, "Which world?"
"An endless world of challenges."
Lingduan glanced at the consciousness screen, "Someone will kill him."
"OK."
[ The Lingduan replied, "Please continue the main quest. The Dark Power here is merely a remnant."]
[Side Quest Triggered: Defeat the mutated monsters created by Dark Power, Reward: 2000 points]
[As system compensation and reward, the system shop is now open to you. Recommended item: Awakening Pill. No points are required for this transaction.]
A dark, unremarkable pill appeared in Jiang Nuo's palm.
He picked it up, somewhat hesitant.
Is this thing really useful? I hope it doesn't poison Si Yan to death.
[Task takers need not doubt the system shop; everything from the system is guaranteed to be of high quality.]
"Alas, like Wang Po selling melons, praising her own wares."
[...]
Jiang Nuo stuffed the pill into Si Yan's mouth, fed him water to swallow it, and then held him in her arms.
He could sense that the Demonic Qi within Si Yan's body had stirred up the Spiritual Power that had been suppressed by some Dark Power.
So his body temperature gradually returned to normal.
The Awakening Pill worked very quickly. Si Yan's consciousness slowly returned, and his Spiritual Power loosened. Jiang Nuo placed his palms on his heart and dantian (lower abdomen) to absorb the Demonic Qi that had been suppressed into his body.
Allowing Demonic Qi to enter the body is a risky move; if it remains in Si Yan's body for too long, something bad will definitely happen.
However, this back-and-forth absorption and transfer also took a lot of Jiang Nuo's mind and energy. He frowned slightly and pinched Si Yan's cheek playfully.
A cold hand grasped the fingers that were wreaking havoc on his face.
" Nuonuo..."
"You're awake."
Jiang Nuo lowered her head and stroked Si Yan's cheek. "How are you feeling?"
It's still so cold.
Although Si Yan was no longer so cold that she was losing consciousness, she was still drowsy and cold. She wanted to snuggle into Jiang Nuo's arms and cling to him, but he refused.
"Go take a hot bath and wash away these curses."
Jiang Nuo ran her fingers over Si Yan's abs and poked him.
"Uh-huh..."
Si Yan instinctively felt a little itchy, but when she looked down, she froze, her entire upper body covered in blood.
As the memories from her hazy state of consciousness returned to her mind, Si Yan's phoenix eyes instantly reddened.
These... are all Nuonuo's blood.
Seeing Si Yan lower her head and remain silent, Jiang Nuo assumed that Princess Jiaojiao's mysophobia had flared up again, so she quickly said, "It happened so suddenly, I didn't have time to think of any other solutions."
" Princess Jiaojiao, you... um?!"
Jiang Nuo blinked blankly, her soft lips caught off guard.
Why are we kissing as soon as I wake up?! Is it that exciting?
" Nuonuo, so much blood."
Si Yan murmured, her voice deep and weak, "It hurts... doesn't it?"
"Actually, it's alright."
Jiang Nuo told the truth, "My wound heals very quickly."
"It breaks my heart." Si Yan, her expression downcast.
"..."What should we do then!
Jiang Nuo leaned in and kissed him, "Then don't be in pain, go wash it off quickly."
The room reeked of blood.
Si Yan sat up slightly, but insisted on looking at Jiang Nuo's wound.
Upon discovering that he had simply torn off a piece of cloth to tie it up, the heartache between his brows deepened.
Jiang Nuo quickly stopped him from seeing it, saying, "It's really healed."
No, it hasn't. So much time has passed, and the scar still hasn't healed.
Jiang Nuo was in a hurry to use blood, so the wound was a bit deep.
Si Yan gently stroked the scar with her fingertips and asked him softly, "Does Nuonuo know why I fainted?"
Jiang Nuo considered 0732's explanation and then used a more tactful approach.
"There is a Dark Power here that has bred mutated monsters and is also suppressing the Spiritual Power within you."
"I'm going to stay and kill it," Si Yan said firmly.
Jiang Nuo: "Okay."
That's what I think too.
So, can you go take a bath now?
After taking a shower, Si Yan had recovered quite a bit. She changed her clothes and then clung to Jiang Nuo, who was covered in blood, to change as well.
After resting for a while, an hour had passed.
They didn't go out, and the other staff and guests dared not leave the cabin, fearing they might encounter some monster and become the next corpse.
So when the two of them came downstairs, they were left staring blankly at everyone in the living room.
[Oh my god, Si Jiaojiao!! Thank goodness she's alright! I was so scared!]
Wow, he recovered so quickly! It's all God Nuo!
[Today's shameless couple is locked in again!]
Jiang Nuo: "... Is today's live stream over?"
Yang Xiaoxiao her head, "Not yet, we don't even dare to go out to film anymore."
Seeing that Si Yan had recovered, she was completely relieved and invited the two of them to sit down next to her.
" Brother Jiang, I need to tell you what happened these past two days."
Jiang Nuo poured Si Yan a glass of milk, then looked up at her. "Go on," she said.
Yang Xiaoxiao scratched her head, her tone hesitant.
"These past few days, it seems like I'm seeing another version of myself all the time."
She emphasized the word "I," adding, "It's not in the mirror; sometimes it's around the corner in the hallway, sometimes it's when I suddenly go downstairs, or it's just a sudden glare that I can see."
"At first I thought I was seeing things, but at night I could still see that 'me' smiling at me."
The more Yang Xiaoxiao, the more creeped out she felt, and she clung tightly to Zhu An's arm, " Zhu An saw it too!"
Zhu An nodded, "Starting yesterday, when I went downstairs, I saw another version of myself going upstairs."
Everything is exactly the same, except... the smile.
She tried to imitate it, but it just didn't feel right.
"The 'me' I see always appears with a big smile on my face."
As they were talking, Qin Sicun suddenly said, "So... I think I saw it too."
This successfully drew the attention of others. Qin Sicun frowned, "I thought it was a nightmare. I've always had nightmares."
"Oh, that's terrible."
Ming Xu, following her idol's example, went and poured Qin Sicun a glass of milk, saying, "Drink more milk, it'll help you sleep better."
"Thank you." Qin Sicun accepted the gift, both amused and exasperated.
Okay, okay, Brother Cun is lactose intolerant!
He's lactose intolerant, but he won't drink the milk his wife gives him—it's just showing off.
If only one person saw it, it could perhaps be explained as a trick of the eye or a coincidence, but for three people in a row to see another version of themselves is truly bizarre.
A staff member couldn't help but ask, "Why isn't anyone communicating with the production team?"
Zhu An: "Will this be of any use to you?"
Staff: "..."
Okay, it really isn't very useful.