Journey · Imperial Capital Arc (Fifteen): What Makes Funuo Nuo Special

In conclusion, after confirming that the Phrolova sisters were doing alright in this world and hadn't caused any trouble, Xiao Ling didn't make things difficult for them and let them leave.

His mother treated the two sisters like her own daughters, personally seeing them off at the door. Before leaving, she gave Xiao Ling a glare, which made the boy shudder and feel the clothes hanger marks on his face start to sting.

As you know, the Dragon Country use three great instruments of torture: clothes hangers, belts, and... any stick that's handy. When elders get their hands on these magical weapons, they're like Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun reincarnated, able to beat their unruly and disobedient descendants until they howl in pain.

Well, at least the outcome was good; this whole saga involving the Phrolova sisters is finally over.

At the door of Xiao Ling's room.

The Shorekeeper walked slowly to the door and knocked twice, neither too loudly nor too softly.

"Please come in." Xiao Ling's voice came from behind the door.

After receiving permission, the Shorekeeper turned the doorknob, pushed open the door, and entered the room. He immediately saw Xiao Ling sitting at the computer desk, staring at the computer screen, seemingly deep in thought.

She closed the door behind her, walked to the bed closest to Xiao Ling, and sat down gracefully. She finally saw the contents of the computer screen:

The screen displayed Phrolova's figure, who was using the spider lily in her hand to create musical notes. As her gestures rose and fell, the notes fell one after another, eventually forming a complete piece of music.

After admiring Phrolova's waiting posture, the Shorekeeper turned his gaze to his profile, where the red coat hanger stood out prominently on his fair face.

"A-Ling, does it still hurt?" the Shorekeeper asked gently with concern.

"My heart aches..." Xiao Ling said, feigning sorrow, "Shorekeeper, you just watched me get beaten up..."

"Miss Keyue is an elder, and according to the rules here, as a junior, I cannot contradict an elder to their face; that would be inappropriate."

"Well, of course I know that..." Xiao Ling said helplessly.

Looking at Hajiling, who still seemed a little aggrieved, the Shorekeeper pondered for a moment and then made a bold decision.

She leaned close to Xiao Ling's cheek and gently pressed her cheek against the red mark on his face.

Feeling the soft touch on his cheek, Xiao Ling was stunned for a moment, his surprised gaze instantly turning to the Shorekeeper with a sly smile on his face.

"Shorekeeper, where did you learn that?" he asked, blinking.

"I heard that doing this can relieve pain. Although there's no conclusive scientific evidence, I want to try it." The Shorekeeper smiled gently. "A-Ling, does it still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, it doesn't hurt anymore, Shorekeeper is so good to me~" Xiao Ling chuckled like a child who had been coaxed.

"As long as A-Ling is happy."

After this little incident, the Shorekeeper finally asked the question he had wanted to ask earlier.

"Speaking of which, A-Ling, you stared at Phrolova for a long time just now. Was it because of what happened earlier that you had some thoughts about it?"

"You understand me so well, Shorekeeper." Xiao Ling patted the other's head as a reward, then explained, "I was just wondering why there were two Phrolova appearing at the same time."

"Has A-Ling figured it out yet?"

"I'm starting to get a clue. I've actually discovered another Phrolova —I'll call her Funuo Nuo for short. She has quite a few unique qualities."

"Why don't you share it with me, A-Ling? We can organize the information we have together."

"Okay." Xiao Ling nodded and then began to recount the various anomalies she had discovered in Funuo Nuo.

"To put it simply, I don't think Funuo Nuo is the complete Phrolova, because the frequency I observed within her that belongs to Phrolova himself is incomplete. At least I can confirm that she is not like Mia and Avidia, who were original beings who traveled from a certain point in time."

"I made the same discovery, but I also observed that a small portion of the frequency was missing from Phrolova's own body. However, it seems that she wasn't greatly affected by this missing frequency."

"Actually, there is." Xiao Ling stated the unusual phenomenon she had observed, "Just now, when Funuo Nuo was scalded by the spilled hot water, I saw that Phrolova Benluo also showed a physiological reaction of being scalded at the same time."

"Empathy?" the Shorekeeper speculated.

"That's right, so I think they're in a symbiotic relationship now."

The Shorekeeper smiled and nodded in agreement with Xiao Ling's point of view, then continued, "So, the second question concerns the frequency composition of Funuo Nuo himself."

"Based on my deduction, besides a portion of the frequencies originating from Phrolova himself, Funuo Nuo's frequency composition also includes thousands of frequencies containing information about Phrolova."

"Yes, speaking of which, I need to add a setting." Xiao Ling snapped his fingers, "Phrolova's bandaged eye contains the Tacet Discord of the townspeople."

"In that case, the second problem is easily solved. Perhaps the other part of Funuo Nuo's frequency originates from these spirits' memories of Phrolova."

"One last question," Xiao Ling said thoughtfully, "Why is she here?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet why this Funuo Nuo appeared, after all, even Phrolova, the person involved, doesn't know the root cause." The Shorekeeper shook his head honestly, "But I'm certain that Miss Funuo Nuo's influence on Phrolova is definitely positive."

Xiao Ling pondered for a long time, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and offered a guess.

"Shorekeeper, have you ever heard of the 'viewing style'?"

"A cinematic format?" After searching for a while, the Shorekeeper AI replied seriously, "Isn't it a form of online literature in this world? Specifically, it involves bringing anime or game characters into a cinema-like space, where the future of one or more characters is revealed through a movie..."

As she said this, she suddenly understood Xiao Ling's intention and A-Ling, "Could it be that you think the townspeople know in advance Phrolova's future holds?"

"Otherwise, there's no way to explain why Funuo Nuo exists." Xiao Ling nodded, her eyes softening. "Just as I wanted you to live a happy and warm life, you came to my side. The residents of the town must also want Phrolova to live a happy life, but they can't actively interfere..."

"So that's why the observer Funuo Nuo, came into being?"

"It seems this is the final conclusion." Xiao Ling clapped his hands twice.

"Actually, by analogy, Singilum, whom I encountered at the Star Torch Academy, and Funuo Nuo are quite similar. The former is an existence formed by the mixture of my and Aemeath's frequencies and Exostrider, while the latter is a combination of Phrolova's frequency and the frequencies of the town's residents."

"And what they all have in common is their individual or collective obsession," the Shorekeeper added. "So A-Ling, what do you plan to do to her?"

"What are we going to do to her...?" Xiao Ling slumped in his gaming chair. "We can't rush this; we have to take it slow."

"Firstly, you can clearly see Floro's attitude towards me. Secondly, as the supervisor of the Remnant Star Society, she has done a lot of bad things. I have no way and no right to forgive her on behalf of the victims. I also can't rashly decide to let her live under the same roof as us. If I do that, Katieuno and the others will eventually fight her because of their past grudges with Floro."

The Shorekeeper nodded twice, fully understanding Xiao Ling's implication.

"In short, I should first build a good relationship with Funuo Nuo. For the foreseeable future, she will probably be my main source of information about Phrolova." Xiao Ling sighed.