Chapter 144: Reunion
“Is it really that serious?” Luo Xue raised an eyebrow. “But after careful consideration, this plan is indeed not feasible.”
“…Of course, it’s not feasible.”
“Mainly because there’s not enough time. Otherwise, it might be worth a try.” Luo Xue said regretfully.
Charging Hidden Flower required time, and so did escaping the Suspended High Tower with “Sparrow,” but what they lacked most now was time.
“What are you even thinking?” Ceres looked at her as if she had seen a ghost. “Even a Level 9 martial artist wouldn’t dare to be exposed at an altitude of five thousand meters. That’s equivalent to facing the wrath of a natural disaster head-on.”
Just then, Liu Yun, who had been under Ceres’ control, suddenly opened her eyes and said,
“The Mayor wants to see you.”
“Hmm?”
Luo Xue and Ceres looked at Liu Yun, their expressions changing slightly.
“Didn’t you block all her means of external communication?” Luo Xue asked.
Ceres frowned deeply.
“That shouldn’t be possible…”
Luo Yong and Chen Ting shouldn’t have given up on their search of the second level yet. The second level was the size of an entire city. It wouldn’t be easy to find the ruins of the emergency shelter, let alone confirm Night Owl’s death.
At least in the short term, Qualcomm shouldn’t know about the situation here… let alone contact Liu Yun.
“You underestimate Master Qualcomm.” Liu Yun shook her head. “No matter what, as long as he wants to do something, he can do it.”
Liu Yun and the others’ admiration for Qualcomm was undisguised. They didn’t even address him as Mayor, because the only person they followed was Qualcomm, not the position of mayor.
“Then why couldn’t he find Night Owl before?”
Ceres asked, a faint smile on her lips.
“…Because we were incompetent.” Liu Yun looked away and said in a deep voice. “Since you’ve already learned Master Qualcomm’s secret from Night Owl, it’s normal for him to want to see you.”
“Do you know this secret?” Luo Xue asked.
Liu Yun shook her head.
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.”
Luo Xue and Ceres exchanged glances. They knew that no matter what… they had to see Qualcomm now.
“Where does he want to meet us?”
Luo Xue looked at Liu Yun and asked.
“The ninth level of the Suspended High Tower,” Liu Yun said softly. “You will be the first guests to visit the ninth level. Besides the mayor, only two people have been up there in history.”
“Lingxi, and his daughter, Ling Ling.”
This was a special privilege. The ninth level was always where the highest authority hid all their secrets, the true center of control for the entire Suspended High Tower.
It housed the controls to forcibly activate the Suspended High Tower’s engine, which could only be done by the mayor in emergencies.
Once activated, the Suspended High Tower would descend five thousand meters and forcibly dock with the ground.
Therefore, entering the ninth level was equivalent to entering the heart of the Suspended High Tower.
Who would willingly let others enter their heart?
Was Qualcomm’s action to show his sincerity to Luo Xue and Ceres, or was he planning to let them witness his final act of madness?
The situation was back in Qualcomm’s control, and Luo Xue and Ceres were once again passive.
“And…” Just then, Liu Yun suddenly said, her gaze towards Luo Xue turning strange, “Master Qualcomm seems to be asking for… ‘Miss Luo Xue’ and ‘Miss Ceres’.”
“Luo Xue?”
Ceres looked at Luo Xue, confusion in her eyes.
Was this her real name?
But it didn’t seem familiar…
At least, she hadn’t heard of it before.
Luo Xue’s pupils constricted.
She knew that the appearance of this name meant that Qualcomm already knew her true identity.
…He knew that she was the ghost from the wasteland who hadn’t been killed.
“Access to the ninth level has been granted to you. You can enter anytime.” Liu Yun continued. “However… I’ll give you one piece of advice. Don’t try to understand Master Qualcomm, you can’t.”
“Tsk, a brainwashed fan’s unique admiration for their idol.”
Ceres scoffed, but her expression turned serious.
“How do we get up there? The gravity elevator?”
Luo Xue looked towards the elevator, which wasn’t far.
“Of course not, the gravity elevator doesn’t go to the ninth level.” Before Liu Yun could speak, Ceres shook her head and answered, “How should I put it… the entire Suspended High Tower has ‘doors’ to the ninth level.”
Ceres stood up, took Luo Xue’s small hand, and said softly,
“Hold on tight.”
Luo Xue was stunned for a moment, then felt her body suddenly become much lighter.
Strange runes appeared, enveloping her and Ceres, their power familiar to Luo Xue.
“This is… spiritual power?”
Luo Xue’s eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately examined the runes carefully.
Then, she discovered a terrifying fact.
These runes… were teleportation runes, encrypted.
The entire eighth level of the Suspended High Tower was enveloped in a teleportation formation that could transport people to the ninth level!
“Calm down, Miss Guijiao… Luo Xue.” Ceres tightened her grip on Luo Xue’s hand, thinking she was panicking because she had never experienced this before. “There might be a bit of discomfort during the spatial jump, but it will be over soon.”
“But how could the Suspended High Tower have this…”
Luo Xue looked at the increasingly bright runes, her expression dazed, and murmured softly.
The teleportation formation was activating, it would take some time.
“You mean the spatial jump device? This was left behind by the previous civilization and can only be used on the Suspended High Towers.” Ceres explained. “Because the power to drive this device can only be the energy converted from natural disasters.”
“Wait, spiritual power is… the energy converted from natural disasters…”
Luo Xue reached out and touched the floating runes, and a familiar spiritual power flowed into her body briefly.
Indeed, this so-called disaster energy… was highly pure spiritual power! So dense that it almost had physical form!
Could it be that the true nature of natural disasters was actually a turbulent tide of different types of spiritual power, similar to the Blood Sea?
And the so-called Suspended High Tower engine… was actually a formation?
Could the previous civilization… be a cultivation civilization…
Luo Xue’s mind raced, countless questions arising.
But soon, the teleportation formation… or rather, the spatial jump device, was ready.
Luo Xue and Ceres vanished in a flash of white light, leaving behind only Liu Yun, still tied to the bed, her expression downcast.
…
“Welcome, my guests.”
Qualcomm’s voice was calm and steady, his earlier amiable demeanor gone, his cold eyes filled with authority.
He sat in his wheelchair, his back to the sunlight, seemingly having maintained this posture for a very long time.
Ceres, having just arrived on the ninth level through the spatial jump device, was still disoriented, almost collapsing to the ground.
Luo Xue supported her, holding her waist to prevent her from falling.
After all, Luo Xue had used teleportation formations before, and this was just to the next level.
The teleportation formations Luo Xue used before were long-distance ones, the process hundreds of times longer, and the discomfort much greater.
The ninth level of Suspended High Tower 132 was quite simple. The place where Luo Xue and Ceres landed looked like an abandoned laboratory, a small room filled with various instruments, most covered in dust.
At the end of the laboratory was the only observation window in the entire Suspended High Tower, but it was also simple and unassuming, like an ordinary window, letting in some sunlight.
The middle-aged man in the wheelchair bathed in the sunlight, but his expression was hidden in the shadows.
“Qualcomm…”
Luo Xue looked at the man in the wheelchair. She knew that this meeting was completely different from their previous encounter.
Before, it was Suspended High Tower 132 receiving Federal officers. Now, it was a confrontation between her and Qualcomm.
After a while, Ceres recovered and looked at Luo Xue in surprise.
She had thought that Luo Xue would be worse off than her and had planned to support her after they landed, as she had never used a spatial jump device before, only heard of it.
But… it was Luo Xue who helped her.
The spatial jump device was only used within the Suspended High Tower to reach the ninth level, and not all Suspended High Towers had it. Some used secret passages to reach the ninth level.
As for the spatial jump device itself, unfortunately, like all creations of the previous civilization, it couldn’t be replicated or studied.
“I didn’t expect you to be alive, Miss,” Qualcomm said with a cold smile, “This was Night Owl’s last mistake in his final mission—tell me, what was his end?”
Luo Xue was silent for a moment, then replied,
“He was buried under the rubble.”
Qualcomm gently tapped the armrest of his wheelchair and said slowly,
“Quite vengeful, Miss.”
“I just thought some things… should be returned to him… and to you as well.” Luo Xue said softly.
She looked up at Qualcomm, who was looking down at her, but her gaze wasn’t subservient, but rather carried a hint of pride.
A cold smile appeared on Qualcomm’s lips.
Only Ceres, who didn’t understand anything, looked confused. What was going on? Did they know each other before?
But they hadn’t seemed to during their previous encounter on the seventh level…
Wait, back then, Luo Xue was called “Li Guijiao.” She had deliberately concealed her real name, which meant… it was very likely that her appearance was also a disguise?
Ceres’s heart sank slightly. She had already been trying to imagine how mature this little girl was, but she hadn’t expected that from their very first meeting, Luo Xue had been wary of everyone.
“Where is Ling Ling?”
Luo Xue asked in a deep voice.
Qualcomm didn’t answer immediately, but looked deeply at Luo Xue.
Then, he sighed deeply.
“Behind you.”
Luo Xue looked back in shock and saw a small figure standing at the laboratory door, looking at her with a mixture of fear and anticipation.
Fear because Luo Xue’s current appearance was that of a stranger, and Ling Ling was always shy.
She had been in the Suspended High Tower for two years, but she still rarely spoke to anyone, only Qualcomm could manage a few words with her.
Anticipation because…
“…Sister Xue’er?”
Ling Ling tilted her head. This unfamiliar girl gave her a feeling similar to Sister Xue’er, but she didn’t look like her at all. How strange…
Although Qualcomm had told Ling Ling to go back and rest, she hadn’t left.
The reason she came to the observation window wasn’t because Qualcomm was here, but because she had the habit of looking down at the earth from here.
Even though Sister Xue’er, whom she missed the most, was missing, her whereabouts unknown.
Ling Ling always felt that as long as she looked down at the earth, Sister Xue’er would be within her sight, even if she was just a tiny speck…
Luo Xue almost didn’t recognize Ling Ling at first, because she had changed so much.
Before, Ling Ling, living in the wasteland, had always been dirty, her hair a mess, lucky to have some rags covering her body, let alone any nice clothes.
Now, Ling Ling’s hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, and she wore a clean, oversized lab coat, looking like a little girl cosplaying as a researcher.
Only her clear, big eyes hadn’t changed, even her slightly timid demeanor was exactly the same as in Luo Xue’s memory.
Luo Xue’s worried heart finally relaxed. The worst-case scenario hadn’t happened. Ling Ling was safe and sound, standing right before her.
“A’Ling, it’s me.” Luo Xue smiled and reached out to rub Ling Ling’s hair. “It’s good… that you’re okay.”
Ling Ling instinctively shrank back, but feeling the familiar warmth and touch of Luo Xue’s hand, tears welled up in her eyes.
“Sister Xue’er!”
Ling Ling rushed into Luo Xue’s arms, hugging her tightly and sobbing slightly.
Ceres blinked, suddenly feeling like a third wheel.
But seeing the other third wheel’s indifferent expression, Ceres continued watching.
Qualcomm was patient, not interrupting their reunion, just unconsciously tapping his fingers on the armrest of his wheelchair, his expressionless face betraying no thoughts.
“Sister Xue’er, why have you changed your appearance again?” Ling Ling rubbed her eyes, looked up at Luo Xue tearfully, and asked, “Did you… reincarnate?”
“…I didn’t reincarnate.”
Luo Xue glanced at the smiling Ceres and sighed slightly.
Her appearance changed slightly.
Her body became smaller, her snow-white hair cascaded down to her waist, and her face, more delicate than the ghostly girl’s, made even the worldly Ceres marvel.
“How did you survive?”
Qualcomm suddenly asked.
Luo Xue thought for a moment, then replied,
“Guess.”
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