Chapter 54: I’m a Vibe of Delicate Weakness (23)
“It wasn’t her.” Jiang Zhiyan said, her face expressionless.
“Still suspecting this and that, assigning blame at a time like this, so annoying.” Qian Rongrong rolled her eyes and lay down on the ground.
“Just asking casually, he’s dead, so what? Plenty of people are dead anyway.” The person twitched his lips.
“It wasn’t her, don’t you understand?” Jiang Zhiyan glared at him.
He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times but didn’t say anything. He felt that if he said anything more, Jiang Zhiyan would kill him.
Jiang Zhiyan held Si Xu for a while, then picked her up. Qian Rongrong followed.
The attack caused the building they lived in to collapse, so they had to find another place to rest. She found a relatively clean spot, let Si Xu lie down, and placed some clothes under her head.
Then she sat beside her, waiting for Si Xu to wake up.
Most people were currently exhausted. Perhaps some could still move, but they didn’t want to.
“I don’t think that guy has given up on his suspicion.” The system said.
“We’ll talk when she wakes up, she must have her own preparations.” Jiang Zhiyan rested her chin on her hand and looked at Si Xu, whose face, even in sleep, was etched with exhaustion. Her brows furrowed occasionally, she must be having a bad dream.
Killing in the apocalypse was indeed normal, but Si Xu hadn’t done that before, most of the time, she was still thinking about how to save more people. Although the person killed was a villain, Jiang Zhiyan still didn’t want Si Xu to take the blame, after all, not everyone in the base knew what Chen Yang had done, and saying anything more now was useless, they had no proof.
Si Xu slept for an hour. When she opened her eyes, she was still a bit disoriented and subconsciously reached for Jiang Zhiyan’s hand.
“What time is it?” Si Xu asked.
“I don’t know.” Jiang Zhiyan chuckled. “Don’t all people ask what time it is after waking up?”
Si Xu sat up, supporting herself on the ground.
Jiang Zhiyan recounted what had just happened, and Si Xu frowned.
“I didn’t say it was your ability.”
“Whatever, they can’t kill me anyway.” Si Xu said.
“Why take the blame for something you didn’t do?” Jiang Zhiyan felt that in the current situation, even if her ability was exposed, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
Si Xu didn’t speak, just looked at Jiang Zhiyan, her silence speaking volumes.
Jiang Zhiyan: ?
She really didn’t understand how Si Xu figured it out. She felt like she had disguised herself very well, and Si Xu usually treated her like a baby.
“When did you realize it?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.
“Intuition. Later, someone told me that you weren’t there once when they were counting people, and that was the day before A University was destroyed.”
“Also, that time when we went out, I saw you coming from the road from upstairs, and I searched everywhere, including the fitting rooms.”
“There’s no need to take the blame for me, it’s fine even if you don’t.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Si Xu, then continued, “Do you blame me?”
Jiang Zhiyan remembered Si Xu crying in the car. She rarely cried, almost never.
“Logically, I should blame you, after all, A University ended up… well, like that.” Si Xu frowned. “But it’s strange, I don’t blame you at all.”
“And I think you did something at the time. If you hadn’t done anything, the other eleven of us might not have survived. In the end, whether you want to save people or not is your choice, I can’t force my will on you.”
“Perhaps you had reasons for not revealing your abilities, perhaps you could only do that much at the time. And you did save us the second time. In our situation then, if we had fought, some of us would definitely have died.” Si Xu stood up and patted the dust off her clothes. “You don’t want me to take the blame?”
“Of course not, after all, no one will thank you for it now.”
“I don’t live for others’ gratitude.” Si Xu twitched her lips. “Don’t worry.”
Jiang Zhiyan frowned: “It’s still better not to take the blame. Chen Yang had too many connections, he had so many privileges at the base, clearly, he made many deals with Jiang Zhou and others using his ability. If those people are still alive, there might be trouble. They each probably have multiple abilities.”
“Why didn’t Jiang Zhou make deals with others directly?” Si Xu frowned.
“I didn’t ask, but having a powerful ability doesn’t mean you can climb to the top.” Jiang Zhiyan held out her hand to Si Xu, and Si Xu pulled her up.
Passing by Qian Rongrong, Jiang Zhiyan kicked her foot.
Qian Rongrong yawned and sat up, supporting herself on the ground: “Leaving?”
“Yes.”
After this massacre, the base’s population decreased by 90%, and even the base leader died. Everyone gathered in the ruins, no one speaking for a moment.
Jiang Zhiyan noticed that the man who had questioned her before was standing with a few people, looking at them. Besides them, there were others secretly observing them as well.
“What do we do now?” Someone asked. “Still splitting up? I contacted other bases, they were also attacked. It’s true, being gathered together will make us a target.”
Although he was addressing everyone, his gaze was fixed on Si Xu.
Si Xu’s judgment was correct, but there was no use saying anything now, it had already happened.
“I want to go to the city center and see.” Si Xu said.
“Go directly to them?” Another person frowned. “How many people do you want to take?”
“She’s enough on her own, after all, she has so many abilities.”
The atmosphere instantly tensed with that sarcastic remark.
“Ruthless, aren’t you, Si Xu? You’re the most powerful human now.” The person continued.
Clearly, he believed that Si Xu did it, killing Jiang Zhou for her own selfish desires.
Those who didn’t know what happened started whispering amongst themselves, quickly spreading the story, distorted beyond recognition. Their gazes towards Si Xu changed slightly.
Xue Lin frowned: “Si Xu was with us at the time, she couldn’t have killed anyone.”
“Exactly, don’t be ridiculous, why believe everything you hear? Si Xu’s ability is replication! Replication! I can even transform into different species, isn’t it normal for her to become more powerful at later stages?” Qian Rongrong shouted.
Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her temples and glanced at Qian Rongrong. Indeed, anyone with a bit of sense could figure out what happened after Si Xu’s abilities were exposed.
The expressions of some people became hesitant.
“Then… prove it?” Someone said timidly.
“So what if I killed him, so what if I didn’t? What, are you going to execute me?” Si Xu twitched her lips, glancing at them. “You’re also evolved humans with multiple abilities, how did you get those abilities? Did you kill anyone specifically for their abilities? You know yourselves.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Do you have any proof?”
“Do you have any proof?” Qian Rongrong stood up, pointing at the other person’s nose. “At a time like this, still trying to cause division? Can’t we just be united? I’m speechless, how many people did she just save? Didn’t you see?”
“One thing at a time. If Jiang Zhou hadn’t died, our situation would be much better now, and the survivors could have more abilities.”
Many looked at Si Xu with expressions of dissatisfaction, greed, and regret.
“But he’s dead.” Jiang Zhiyan interrupted, frowning. “Why don’t you prove that your abilities were obtained through legitimate means? Did those people really die of natural causes? How come you just happened to be right next to them when Jiang Zhou was there?”
The person was about to speak when Jiang Zhiyan slammed her stick into the ground. The others watched as the stick sank a third of the way in. She looked at the person with an impassive expression, her meaning clear.
“First, she didn’t kill him, he’s not a criminal, it’s not your place to interrogate her. Second, she doesn’t need to prove to you that she didn’t kill him. Third, I’m not as patient as Si Xu, say another word, and I’ll attack.” Jiang Zhiyan pulled the stick out of the ground.
“Acting tough, huh? Just a…”
Jiang Zhiyan’s stone pierced through his throat. He stared at her, clutching his neck, then collapsed, silent.
The surroundings fell completely silent. Some wanted to express their dissatisfaction but didn’t dare speak. Jiang Zhiyan meant what she said, it wasn’t just an empty threat.
Xue Lin, looking at the bloodstained rock on the ground, touched his own neck, feeling like he had just narrowly escaped death.
Qian Rongrong stared at Jiang Zhiyan, eyes wide.
“Continuing our earlier topic, how many people are we taking to the city center?” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Si Xu.
Si Xu looked at Xue Lin: “Can you see the weaknesses of non-living things? Like that thing that just flew down?”
“Yes.” Xue Lin nodded.
“Let me replicate your ability, then you don’t have to go.” Si Xu said.
Xue Lin was slightly disappointed but also knew he was a weakling. If he went, they would have to assign someone to protect him.
In the end, Si Xu replicated everyone’s abilities and left with five high-damage dealers and two healers, excluding Jiang Zhiyan.
Some disagreed with going now, but Jiang Zhiyan looked like she would kill anyone who objected to Si Xu, so no one dared to speak. Fight? They probably couldn’t win, they didn’t know Jiang Zhiyan’s true strength.
“Host, do you think now is a good time?”
“It’s alright.” Jiang Zhiyan said. “It’ll be fine.”
They quickly approached the city center. Although it was called the city center, it didn’t take them long to reach the edge of it, after all, it was huge. They got out of the car and looked at it from afar. Except for Jiang Zhiyan, who was relatively calm, everyone’s heart rate was soaring.
“Holy shit, what is that thing?”
The silver-white metal exterior, with occasional flashes of light, showed no seams or openings from their angle. Jiang Zhiyan decided it was better to use her own weapon.
“My megalophobia is acting up.” One person turned their head away. “Si Xu, are we still going over there?”
“It has probably already detected us.” Si Xu looked up at the colossal object. “Let’s go.”
Jiang Zhiyan took out her sword. Si Xu glanced at the weapon that appeared in her hand, a thoughtful look on her face: “You like this kind of thing?”
“I like the one you made for me the most, so I’m keeping it safe.” Jiang Zhiyan smiled. “It doesn’t matter what I use, I can use anything.”
Si Xu twitched her lips. The others, looking at the smiling Jiang Zhiyan, looked away, feeling a sense of dissonance.
They didn’t drive, approaching on foot. Nothing came out to stop them, either because the aliens deliberately let them approach, or because they simply didn’t consider them a threat.
The thing was about a hundred stories tall, humans walking below were no different from ants. They stopped, there was no point in going any further.
“What kind of energy source does it use? I wonder how much it costs to activate it once.”
“Who knows? Honestly, I don’t have much confidence now. I even suspect they deliberately let us evolve because crushing us instantly would be too boring.”
“I’ll fly up and take a look.” Si Xu said.
“It’s too dangerous.” The others frowned and objected.
“We’ve already come this far, what’s the difference between going up and staying down here?” Si Xu said, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Although she had a point, they still felt that flying up there rashly was more dangerous.
However, Si Xu insisted. Coming here was already a risk, if they were worried about this and that, they would just return empty-handed.
Jiang Zhiyan also wanted to go up, but she couldn’t fly, and Si Xu wasn’t willing to take her. She glared at the spaceship, slightly annoyed.
The ending of this book was Si Xu negotiating with the intelligent beings, who would agree to take the remaining human survivors with them. The epilogue described the humans’ life in the new world, Si Xu living a good life there. It seemed like the author was planning to write a second part, so the details weren’t very clear, but it seemed like Si Xu was aiming for humanity to thrive in the new world.
Actually, she felt this ending was a bit unrealistic, and most importantly, the current plot had deviated 90% from the original. In the book, Si Xu left the base, went to many places, and engaged in a remote battle of wits with the intelligent beings, finally winning them over with her “personal charm.” And the higher-ups of this operation also seemed to like her quite a bit.
But now the plot was a mess.
And she still hadn’t figured out why the plot had gone off track. There was clearly another hand at play.
Jiang Zhiyan looked up. She couldn’t see Si Xu anymore, only knowing that she was still safe through the system.
It took Si Xu a full half hour to return. As soon as she landed, she quickly drew a detailed picture of the spaceship: “There are no visible seams, everywhere looks the same. I tried attacking it, but the spaceship has a protective shield, I couldn’t break through it.”
“You actually attacked the spaceship?” The others were shocked.
“Yes.” Si Xu nodded, casually making up an excuse. “It’s fine, you wouldn’t be angry if an ant punched you.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Alright, it’s already done, what’s there to say?” Jiang Zhiyan interrupted him. “What’s the next step? Can we only wait for them to contact us?”
“We’re too passive.” Si Xu was a bit frustrated. “I want to talk to them, even if the negotiation fails. If they’re unwilling to meet us, our situation won’t be good.”
“If we’re not afraid of death, I can try.” Jiang Zhiyan looked at Si Xu.
They stared at each other.
The others also exchanged glances. Jiang Zhiyan was clearly a lunatic, Si Xu was a hidden lunatic, the two testing each other’s limits. They had no say in the matter, they were unhappy, but there was nothing they could do.
“Let’s try.” Si Xu nodded. “How are you planning to do it? I looked, there are no weaknesses.”
Jiang Zhiyan raised her sword, the blade glowing red, and slashed at the spaceship, her method simple and crude.
Some inwardly scoffed at Jiang Zhiyan’s audacity, then saw the light flowing on the spaceship’s surface flicker and disappear, a dent appearing where the sword struck.
“Fuck, your weapon…”
“Holy moly.”
The silent behemoth finally reacted. A small, window-like square appeared in front of Jiang Zhiyan, then turned into a screen, a “person” standing inside.
The person also had facial features, arranged similarly to a human’s, but they were all elongated. Their body was much more muscular than an ordinary human’s, one of them equal to two ordinary people.
His pupils were gray, with strange patterns. His expression was calm, no anger, no other emotions. His head and eyes didn’t move, but Jiang Zhiyan could feel his gaze fixed on the sword in her hand.
“Very interesting weapon.” He spoke in standard Mandarin, his voice normal.
The sound was transmitted directly into their minds, not through their ears.
“Tell me your demands.” He continued, his gaze, which should have been on Si Xu, fixed on Jiang Zhiyan, occasionally glancing at her weapon, not with desire, but as if speculating something.
Jiang Zhiyan sensed something was wrong: “System, I think there’s a problem.”
“I think so too, I’ll go check, you talk first, Host.” The system disappeared.
Jiang Zhiyan: …
“We want to know your purpose.” Si Xu gripped Jiang Zhiyan’s wrist.
The others stood behind them, wanting to look but also afraid, just lowering their heads. Hearing Si Xu’s words, they inwardly cursed. As expected of young people, so reckless, how could she speak like that? She wasn’t afraid of angering them.
“Purpose? Select worthy creatures, take them away, help them evolve, increase the biodiversity of our home planet.” His voice was emotionless, stating his purpose clearly, with no intention of hiding it.
Hearing this familiar setting, Jiang Zhiyan finally realized what was wrong, cursing inwardly.
The system also returned.
“Host, we overlooked something, this author has written many books. You’ve transmigrated into another one of her books before, yes, also a female-led story, and, well, in the same universe.”
Jiang Zhiyan felt numb.
“They probably sensed your presence the moment you landed in this world, so…” The system trailed off.
“So those unusual aliens were deliberately testing me.” Jiang Zhiyan maintained her smile. She never paid attention to who the author was when reading the script, after all, what did it matter to her who the author was? They couldn’t suddenly appear and give her cheats when she was in trouble. “What about the world’s consciousness? Is it slacking off too much, not even caring about such a big thing? System, report it, dereliction of duty.”
System: …
“Host, the only fortunate thing is that you weren’t playing a character from their enemy faction, but a native of their planet, responsible for resisting foreign enemies. Unfortunately, the humans in this book might think you’re a, well, spy.” The system lit a candle for Jiang Zhiyan, this was a recipe for disaster.
“Also, Host, you know your own personality, the people you offended, they seem to be still alive. After all, their lifespans are very long, and you died in battle in that world, only fifty years ago.” The system reminded her again. “Although your wife’s soul fragment hasn’t been separated yet, I still suggest you be prepared for forced extraction.”
Jiang Zhiyan twitched her lips, looking at Si Xu, whose expression was dark, clearly unhappy with this explanation.
“So what’s the selection criteria?” Si Xu clenched her fists and continued to ask.
“Two more rounds, good luck.” His gaze fell on Jiang Zhiyan again. “You have priority boarding.”
“The ship has everything you humans need, including entertainment devices.” He continued.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Jiang Zhiyan, Si Xu included.
“I would be very sad if you died here. I remember you like Youyou fruit juice, I have some prepared.”
Their originally envious and complex gazes turned into shock, suspicion, and anger.
Jiang Zhiyan instinctively looked at Si Xu, whose expression was still calm, but also a bit confused, seemingly pondering something, but without reaching a conclusion.
“I’m not going, but I want to talk to you alone.” Jiang Zhiyan said.
“Of course, if it’s you.”
Jiang Zhiyan’s expression was flat. Having been a native of their planet, she knew their nature. They rarely showed their emotions, appearing calm and indifferent, but they were actually very cunning.
Everything this person said was intentional, a boring but effective tactic of sowing discord.
Before going up, Jiang Zhiyan handed her sword to Si Xu.
“I don’t need it, you keep it, what if there’s danger?” Si Xu shook her head. Although the situation was strange, she still instinctively trusted Jiang Zhiyan.
“It’s okay, I don’t need it.”
“Of course you don’t need it when you’re going home.” Another person said through gritted teeth.
“Is it possible that you don’t need a spy to cause trouble for you?” Jiang Zhiyan retorted.
Their expressions turned even angrier.
She had too many memories, so she always purged them after each mission. Now, on the spaceship, some buried memories began to resurface, but even after they did, she found that she didn’t know much about these things.
When she was a female lead, she was on a different track, and she was a lazy person, completely unwilling to learn about things that weren’t related to her. The other track was always on the border, very busy, who would willingly work overtime to learn what other colleagues were doing? And as someone lacking empathy, she wouldn’t actively care about how people in other worlds were doing.
When she was a female lead, she was reckless, knowing she was difficult to kill, pushing the boundaries of the rules for the thrill of it. She constantly fooled both the people in the plot and the system, only becoming more normal after learning that Xie Liaoyi could be saved.
Some things, she didn’t want to remember.
The light in front of her vanished, and a group of people appeared. She carefully identified them, eighteen people, fifteen of whom she had offended.
Standing in front of them, she felt like a dwarf.
Jiang Zhiyan rubbed her temples.
“Explain yourself, why are you here?”
“Reincarnation? Resurrection? You can pick one. I don’t even understand it myself. Do I even look like I’m from the same race as you?” Jiang Zhiyan smiled.
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