Chapter 141: A Mad Act, A Difficult Choice
“Phew, we finally escaped.”
Ceres symbolically twisted her wrist, as if she had just carried Night Owl herself.
But she hadn’t. Night Owl’s nervous system was completely under her control, and he had burst forth with incredible speed, escaping the battlefield at the cost of nearly overdrawing his own life force.
The price was evident. When Ceres released her control, Night Owl felt an unprecedented pain, worse than any torture.
What was more terrifying was that Ceres had severed the connection between his nerves and his throat, so he couldn’t even scream.
Luo Xue followed closely behind, and taking advantage of the lingering effects of All Day Flying Flowers, successfully helped them escape Luo Yong and Chen Ting’s pursuit.
Led by Ceres, the three arrived at an inconspicuous corner and entered a standard honeycomb room.
“Oh, Miss Guijiao, don’t move yet, let me check your injuries.”
As soon as they entered the room, Ceres rushed over to examine Luo Xue’s hands.
Taking a full-powered blow from a Level 7 ability user in their strongest form, even another Level 7 ability user wouldn’t be unscathed.
“I’m fine.” Luo Xue quickly pulled her hands away from Ceres and shook her head. “Just a minor injury, it will heal soon.”
Actually, after blocking Luo Yong’s attack, Luo Xue’s arms had been completely shattered. She couldn’t withstand a body cultivator of that level head-on, at least not yet.
But Luo Xue quickly used her survival points to heal her hands, barely managing to block the attack.
This was much more convenient than the Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Pill, just a bit more expensive, and it was a one-time use, which pained her.
[Survival Points -30]
[Current Survival Points: 980]
“You’re fine?”
Ceres asked suspiciously.
Could Miss Guijiao be a Level 8 ability user?
But that didn’t seem right…
Even for a Level 8 ability user, their advantage over a Level 7 ability user should be the ability to transform without any cost…
In their normal state, the difference between Level 7 and Level 8 wasn’t that big.
“Ahem… Big Sis, you don’t have to worry.” Luo Xue touched her nose and quickly changed the subject. “By the way, how did you know no one was here?”
“The second batch of Suspended High Towers were all built uniformly, their structures are almost identical, especially the lower three levels, even the locations of the rooms are the same.” Ceres answered Luo Xue’s question.
“This place is called an emergency shelter. It’s very close to the Suspended High Tower’s engine and can’t be used as a residence, but it can be used as a shelter in emergencies—it might be useful, perhaps, I don’t know, anyway, almost no one comes here.”
She glanced at the dying Night Owl, raised her finger, and released her control over his throat nerves.
“Aaargh… huh?”
Night Owl’s long-suppressed scream was cut short as the hellish pain disappeared.
“I’ve severed all your sensory nerves,” Ceres shrugged. “You’re welcome. I just didn’t want you to disturb Miss Guijiao’s questioning… And don’t look at me like that, I’m not going to eat you.”
Night Owl looked at Ceres, dressed as a punk girl, with fear in his eyes.
She was terrifying…
This woman toyed with his nervous system like it was a toy.
And he could only endure, powerless to resist.
“Why did you reveal my name?”
Luo Xue looked at Ceres, frowning slightly.
Although Li Guijiao was just an alias, it still represented her identity as a Federal officer. Being caught by Suspended High Tower 132 wouldn’t be good.
“He’s about to die, it doesn’t matter.” Ceres said, a hint of pity in her eyes. “His heart meridian is severed. Even the best healers can’t do anything… That enforcer is quite something.”
“Who… are you…” Night Owl’s pupils constricted, then he sighed. “Are you also after Qualcomm’s secret? No… you can’t handle it.”
“I don’t know if what I want to ask is related to this so-called secret, but even if it is, I have to know.”
Luo Xue walked up to Night Owl, who was slumped against the ground, and looked down at him.
She suddenly realized that Night Owl had looked at her like this two years ago, with the same pitying gaze.
Only this time… their roles were reversed.
“Ask away.”
Night Owl seemed uncomfortable being looked at like this and averted his gaze.
“In March of the thirty-first year of the twelfth Eternal Night, you accepted a mission to assassinate someone.” Luo Xue said faintly. “I want to know… why?”
Night Owl abruptly turned to look at Luo Xue, his face filled with disbelief.
“How do you know about this mission? Are you… Qualcomm’s person?”
But he quickly dismissed this guess.
“No, if you were Qualcomm’s person… you wouldn’t be asking me.”
“So, do you know the true purpose of this mission?” Luo Xue asked again.
“I do.” Night Owl lowered his eyelids. “It seems you really want to know that deadly secret…”
“Hurry up and tell us, you don’t have much time left.” Ceres added.
“Are you really sure…”
Night Owl still hesitated. After all, these two girls had gone through so much trouble to save him, and he didn’t want to harm them.
“Do you think that if we took you away, and then you died… would the Suspended High Tower think it’s more likely that you kept the secret, or that you shared it?”
Luo Xue said faintly, “The moment you fell into our hands, the Suspended High Tower should have already assumed that we know the secret.”
“…That’s true, I told you so.” Night Owl sighed in resignation. “That mission was to silently assassinate a Wastelander child in a settlement. The true purpose… was to take away Lingxi’s daughter, Ling Ling, from the settlement.”
Luo Xue’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Ling Ling… was actually Lingxi’s legendary daughter?
Since few children in the settlement had living parents, including Luo Xue, Ling Ling being an orphan wasn’t unusual.
But Luo Xue quickly suppressed her surprise and continued listening.
Ceres noticed this, but didn’t say anything.
“There were many reasons why they had to go through such lengths to bring back Ling Ling. After all, killing a few Wastelanders wasn’t a big deal. They’re just… dead. Not many people would care.”
In his final moments, Night Owl calmly recounted the cruel truth.
“In short, Ling Ling was brought back to the Suspended High Tower and, in some way, participated in the experiment her father couldn’t finish, continuing the research on the awakening potion.”
“The research on the awakening potion isn’t a secret. Even the Federation knows about it.” Ceres said.
“As for Ling Ling’s existence, she was indeed registered in the rebuilt laboratory, and because of her young age, Suspended High Tower 132 was even fined for employing child labor. They just didn’t say she was Lingxi’s daughter.”
“You’re saying… Ling Ling is currently in Suspended High Tower 132?” Luo Xue turned to Ceres, her voice laced with anxiety.
“Logically, she should be. After the Federation issued the fine, they ordered Mayor Qualcomm to dismiss Ling Ling, but… they’re probably still continuing the research in secret.”
Ceres nodded, but her expression was still puzzled.
“But… how could a nine-year-old child conduct such research? When Lingxi committed suicide, he burned all his research data, not even the archives have any records.”
“They used some… special methods.” Night Owl’s voice was weak. His heart meridian was severed, and he was only alive because of Ceres’s ability. “She obtained Lingxi’s memories and thoughts. The legendary Lingxi Potion… its research has continued.”
“The Federation hasn’t completely banned the research, they just haven’t publicly approved it.” Ceres said. “The Council knows the value of this potion, the benefits it could bring, but there’s just a small price to pay… This isn’t a deadly secret.”
“No, you don’t know his true purpose… the true purpose of his research.” A bitter smile appeared on Night Owl’s lips. “It’s not about letting ordinary people become ability users. The original goal… was to explore the tenth level, beyond the ninth level of ability users.”
“Hmm?”
Ceres frowned slightly. She wanted to say that it didn’t seem like a big deal, but she patiently continued listening.
“Qualcomm is also an ability user, a Level 9 ability user, this… shouldn’t be a secret within the Federation, right?” Night Owl said slowly.
Ceres nodded.
“But you don’t know his ability… Have you heard of ‘string theory’? His ability proves the existence of ‘string theory,’ and he even created a device that can change ‘string vibrations’ based on it, but a Level 9 ability user isn’t strong enough to fully control it.”
Night Owl said in a low voice, “In other words, Qualcomm wants to… travel between worlds. He wants to take the entire Suspended High Tower 132 and leave this world filled with disasters and nightmares by changing its ‘string vibrations’…”
“Impossible,” Ceres immediately blurted out. She had done extensive research on this. “Even if ‘string theory’ is proven, traveling to other worlds by changing ‘string vibrations’ is almost impossible.”
“Not to mention whether we can even adapt to the basic rules of other worlds, it’s hard to say if ‘other worlds’ even exist.”
From her earlier discussion with Luo Xue on the small aircraft, it was clear that Ceres was fascinated by this topic and was among those who most readily accepted this theory.
Even she thought it was impossible. If Qualcomm’s plan was revealed, it would never be approved.
Moreover…
Qualcomm wanted to take an entire Suspended High Tower with him.
This was something the Federation would never accept. Every Suspended High Tower was humanity’s most valuable asset, and losing even one was a great loss.
“We have to report this to the Federation immediately.”
Ceres took out her digital terminal.
“Wait a moment.” Luo Xue raised her hand and stopped Ceres. “This matter… can’t be revealed now.”
“Why?”
Ceres paused.
“Do you think the Federation will allow Qualcomm to continue his research?” Luo Xue asked.
“Absolutely not, even the most radical council members wouldn’t allow such a crazy act.” Ceres shook her head.
“Based on your understanding of Qualcomm, what do you think he will do… once the Federation decides to intervene?” Luo Xue asked again.
Ceres was silent for a moment, then put down her digital terminal.
“He will immediately activate the ‘string vibration’ device, even if it’s out of control.”
“At that time, the entire Suspended High Tower 132 will be buried along with his madness.” Luo Xue said softly.
This was why Night Owl couldn’t reveal this secret. As long as someone knew, Qualcomm would silence them.
If too many people knew, he would activate the device, and everyone would die, along with the entire Suspended High Tower.
A difficult choice.
“Hehehe… I’ll leave it to you…”
Night Owl looked at the two girls’ troubled expressions and chuckled triumphantly.
Luo Xue glanced at him and suddenly said,
“Do you know who I am?”
“You are…”
Night Owl narrowed his eyes. He had been guessing Luo Xue’s identity since they met, but he couldn’t figure it out.
Luo Xue’s appearance was different from anyone he knew, and those who could block Luo Yong’s full-powered attack with their bare hands were extremely rare. He couldn’t tell.
“In this life, I… did have a good start.” Luo Xue said slowly.
“What!” Night Owl’s eyes widened. “You… you are…”
He remembered.
The stubborn gaze of the girl buried under the rocks was still fresh in his memory.
It was her.
She… wasn’t dead?
Or… had she been reborn?
An indescribable sense of absurdity and irony filled his mind. Night Owl felt like the world was playing a joke on him.
At this moment, his heart meridian completely ruptured, his pupils losing focus, and the life known as “Night Owl” quietly ended.
“Miss Guijiao, what do you mean?”
Ceres was completely confused. Why did Night Owl suddenly know her identity after hearing those words?
She had used all the resources of the Federation and couldn’t find any information about Luo Xue, only concluding that she was a Wastelander before and therefore had no records in the Suspended High Towers.
“He played a joke on me before, and I’m just returning the joke.” Luo Xue said, then sighed. “Actually, I just want to know where Ling Ling is…”
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