Chapter 20: The Girl in the Void
Stepping through the silver door, Luo Ling found herself in a silent void.
Before everything began, after everything ended.
Within the ethereal nothingness, a lone girl sat curled up, hugging her knees, drifting slowly.
As before, Luo Ling recognized this girl as herself.
Not the pale, young girl with long white hair, but her high school self.
But… something was different.
Her shoulder-length hair, usually tied in a ponytail, flowed freely in the void. Her closed eyes faintly shimmered with a dark gold hue, and pale red markings traced the corners of her eyes. Blue scales, disturbingly familiar, covered her arms and spread across her entire body, giving her a demonic appearance, yet an aura of deep sorrow surrounded her.
Luo Ling remembered this clearly. This was her appearance when she lost control, when she killed Li Tianming.
…Was this her true self?
Luo Ling slowly reached out, gently touching the girl in the void. A piece of information instantly appeared in her mind:
[???: ???]
[First Authority: Devour — Consume It, Understand It, Become It]
[???]
“…”
Just like when she touched the girl in the coffin, specific information about an ability was displayed.
But the path and name were question marks, and the description of the ability seemed strange…
Why was it called an Authority?
Luo Ling realized that her inexplicable hunger and uncontrollable craving for Grotesqueries likely stemmed from this Authority called “Devour.”
It seemed she truly was an Awakened One, just with a rather unusual ability: consuming Grotesqueries to gain their power.
Of course, not all Grotesqueries were deemed worthy of Devour. After consuming the Forgotten River Child, Luo Ling hadn’t gained its abilities but had instead strengthened the power of the Puppet Ballad.
Perhaps… only High-Risk Grotesqueries were considered worthy, while lower Sequence Grotesqueries merely served as nourishment.
Just then, a sense of rejection arose.
Luo Ling found herself being pulled away from the silent void and her other self, drifting towards the silver door.
In the last moment, she seemed to see the girl in the void open her eyes, gazing at her calmly.
And her perspective seemed to split. From the other perspective, she clearly saw a gray shadow slowly receding…
At the same time, Luo Ling’s consciousness wavered, and a faint voice called out to her, laced with concern.
“Hey, hey, wake up…”
“Hiss… Is she dead? She’s barely breathing… what should we do?”
“Mouth-to-mouth, we need to give her mouth-to-mouth! The teacher taught us during military training!”
Luo Ling slowly opened her eyes and saw a small, cute face with closed eyes approaching her, an expression of nervousness… and anticipation?
“…I’m awake,” Luo Ling turned her head slightly.
“Eek!”
The cute girl jumped back, looking at Luo Ling with embarrassment. “S-sorry, I saw you were unconscious and thought…”
“It’s okay.”
Luo Ling rubbed her temples. After leaving the mindscape, a wave of exhaustion washed over her.
She suddenly remembered her previous experience. After touching the girl in the coffin, she had transformed into that form. She quickly checked her hands.
…Fortunately, she hadn’t turned into a demon.
But Luo Ling confirmed that her appearance had returned to normal; she was no longer the young, white-haired girl who looked underage.
—Now she at least looked like an underage high school student.
“How did you faint here?” the cute girl asked curiously.
“I’m… a little anemic.”
Luo Ling, not good at lying, avoided her gaze and stood up, cautiously looking around.
This place seemed to be not far from the graveyard, but fortunately, no police were chasing after her.
It seemed… Ji Ying was right. The Puppet Ballad was currently only focused on her.
“But it’s class time,” the cute girl frowned slightly. “This is far from Huabei High School…”
“How did you know?”
Luo Ling’s heart skipped a beat. She was indeed a student at Huabei High School, but how did this girl know?
Could it be… a Lamb controlled by the Puppet Ballad?
Only then did Luo Ling carefully examine the girl who had tried to give her mouth-to-mouth.
She had short, refreshing hair with cute bunny hair clips, and just the right amount of baby fat made her look even more adorable, especially her lively eyes, brimming with youthful energy.
She wore a simple, light yellow dress and a small, Q-version Hello Kitty crossbody bag. Although petite, her figure suggested she was about the same age as Luo Ling.
“See, your shoes? I’m also from Huabei High School, a freshman this year. Just call me An Yu,” the cute girl said with a bright smile, then asked with confusion, “But I don’t think I’ve seen you before?”
Luo Ling looked down at her shoes, her heart easing slightly.
These were the shoes she had bought during military training in her freshman year, with the words “Huabei High School” clearly printed on them.
Because her family couldn’t afford new shoes, Luo Ling had been wearing them ever since.
Although they had been repaired several times by her sister, she continued to wear them.
“I’m a senior, it’s normal that you don’t know me,” Luo Ling said calmly. She wasn’t a prominent figure at school. Her grades were decent, but she had never participated in any school activities, just a small, unremarkable student.
“A senior still wearing military training shoes…”
An Yu’s eyes widened, then she realized she had misspoken and quickly changed the subject.
“But Senior, aren’t you seniors very busy? Why are you here?”
“I’m on sick leave,” Luo Ling shook her head and asked in return, “What about you? Why are you here?”
She still hadn’t dismissed her suspicions about An Yu. Lambs controlled by the Puppet Ballad only had parts of their memories altered and were mostly normal.
“I…”
An Yu hesitated, her gaze darting away.
Stupid!
An Yu wanted to hit herself. Why did she have to mention class time to a senior on sick leave…?
How should she explain this…?
Right, she could use the same excuse as her senior!
“Because… because I’m also on leave,” An Yu said weakly.
“…”
Luo Ling was silent for a moment. She considered herself a bad liar, but seeing this junior, she could only sigh.
There were even greater experts!
With her appearance, she shouldn’t be a Lamb, right?
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