Chapter 365: Two People Doing Crosstalk in the Wild

He remembered.

When he was at the Academy, the mutation inside his body suddenly erupted......

"Am I already......"

He didn't finish, but Ying Duo understood.

Ying Duo looked at him, his golden eyes without any ripple, just nodding.

"Hmm, you are already an aberrant species."

Luo Jinyou's fingers tightened slightly.

Although he had expected it, when he actually heard those words, his heart still sank a little.

He felt that unfamiliar power inside his body, completely different from before.

He should be afraid, he should be fearful.

But he didn't.

Because he discovered—he still remembered.

Remembering who he was, remembering what had happened, remembering those people he didn't want to forget.

"I......" he looked at Ying Duo, "Do I still retain consciousness?"

"Hmm."

"According to my cheap teacher, you're called a 'new human'."

Luo Jinyou froze for a moment upon hearing that, "Teacher? Teacher Su Jingchuan?"

Teacher Su Jingchuan actually has ties with those cultists?

Ying Duo shook his head, directly addressing his teacher by name.

"No, Fang Zhiyan."

"Who's that?"

Luo Jinyou thought for a moment, confirming he really hadn't heard that name before.

"...... Haven't heard of him, is he a teacher from Mitra Academy?"

But someone who can make Ying Duo honestly call "teacher" is definitely not ordinary.

"Normal," Ying Duo said, "he's not exactly a good person either."

Luo Jinyou: "......."

He decided not to ask.

Ying Duo directly shoved a paper into his hand; Luo Jinyou lowered his head to look—it was a wanted notice.

On it was Ying Duo's photo; Ying Duo wore a hood sitting there, obviously the hood couldn't contain his dazzling Ying Guang Lu green hair; behind him was a turret charging up, yet he sat there, obliviously typing on a keyboard.

【Wanted Notice】

【Name: Ying Duo (Codename: Flame City Cannon)】

【Charges: Destroying Black Stone Mountain Range, destroying Air Train, triggering mutation in Tianmian City, attacking Church personnel, destroying the core of the spacetime crystal, causing Tianmian City's space to collapse......】

After the charges came a long list, dense and numerous; Luo Jinyou glanced over and couldn't count how many there were.

【Bounty: 500,000,000】

【Note: This person is extremely dangerous, extremely insane, utterly unreasonable; if encountered, please immediately stay away and report to the Church; do not attempt solitary contact.】

Luo Jinyou stared at the wanted notice, silent for a long time.

And beside Ying Duo's name, it was marked in conspicuous red characters:

【Co-Absorption cultist·High-Risk Target·dead or alive】

"Simply put," Ying Duo calmly said, "to save you, I've made the entire Tianmian City my enemy."

He felt his brain wasn't quite up to the task again.

But given his long experience dealing with Ying Duo, Ying Duo's words were likely true, though surely omitted many details.

Because that wanted notice was in his hand, and those dense charges were before his eyes, within them he also saw many familiar terms.

"Ying Duo."

"Hmm?"

"Am I dreaming?"

"No."

"Then... actually I've completely become an aberrant species; is all this just a hallucination before my death?"

Ying Duo looked at him, his golden eyes without ripple.

"You have indeed become an aberrant species."

Luo Jinyou's breath caught, then he heard Ying Duo continue, "But this isn't your hallucination either."

Saying this, he paused; Yang Yixie began to suspect Luo Jinyou had become a nervous wreck from turning into an aberrant species.

"Do you still remember your name?"

"Luo Jinyou."

"Who is your biological father?"

"Luo Wen yuan."

"Who is your biological mother?"

"Wen Jing yun."

"Who do you dislike the most?"

Luo Jinyou froze for a moment, then instinctively replied: "...... you?"

Ying Duo nodded, "That probably means you're not stupid."

Luo Jinyou: "......."

Luo Jinyou realized they really couldn't speak properly with Ying Duo; at times like this, shouldn't they be angry?

Ying Duo just patted their shoulder.

"In short, the situation is this: we've been wanted by the Church; staying here means death if caught, so we need to find a way to slip onto the Dome's territory."

Ying Duo paused, then glanced at Luo Jinyou.

"I'm just a poor ADC that hasn't developed yet, urgently needing a meat shield to protect."

Luo Jinyou: "...... What?"

"ADC, meat shield." Ying Duo repeated, tone still flat.

"It's gaming terminology; considering this world doesn't have such real-time competitive games, you don't need to understand—just help me set up the shield."

Luo Jinyou fell silent.

"Fine." Luo Jinyou started to slack off.

Ying Duo tilted their head, "What do you mean by 'fine'?"

Luo Jinyou stood up, brushed off the dust on them, and walked over to the small car to examine it closely.

"Aren't you supposed to need a meat shield?" Luo Jinyou turned their head, forcing a smile at the corner of their mouth.

Ying Duo wasn't wrong about that; no matter what, if they fell into the Church's hands now, it would be a dead end.

"Although I don't know what ADC and meat shield mean, since it's a 'support', it should mean helping, right?"

Ying Duo looked at Luo Jinyou, then nodded.

"Yeah, the kind that helps by taking hits."

Luo Jinyou's smile froze for a moment, "...... Is it still not too late to regret now?"

Ying Duo didn't explain, just turned their body and continued fiddling with the pile of parts, the Ying Guang Lu energy lines flowing across their fingertips.

"Can you drive?"

Luo Jinyou froze for a moment, "I can...... but I don't have a license."

Ying Duo didn't turn their head.

"I don't have one either, but nobody checks licenses here."

Luo Jinyou: "......"

Under the overcast sky, two youths stood in the barren wilderness.

One was expressionless, the other had a complex expression.

In front of them was a patched‑up little sedan, behind them a mountain of parts, and in the distance an unknown journey.

"Get in," Ying Duo said with unparalleled nonchalance.

Luo Jinyou was startled for a moment, "Now?"

"Now."

Ying Duo opened the door, sat in the driver's seat, and then began figuring out how to start the engine.

Luo Jinyou watched him fumble for a long while without getting the car to start, and couldn't help speaking:

"...... You don't know how to drive?"

Ying Duo didn't even turn his head.

"Can."

"Then why—"

"Because it's a memory."

Ying Duo's righteous confidence left Luo Jinyou speechless.

He watched Ying Duo sit in the driver's seat, earnestly studying the buttons and pedals, his expression as calmly as always.

Then he sighed, walked around to the passenger side, opened that door and sat down.

"Never mind, then take your time recalling."

As soon as the words fell, Luo Jinyou's movement suddenly halted.

The scene outside the car window was off.

Just before he got in, the outside was a gray, desolate wasteland, but now those rocks and dust have completely vanished.

In its place stood a city.

A city he had never seen before.

Skyscrapers rose everywhere, their glass curtain walls reflecting the blinding sunlight.

People hurried along the streets, each holding a glowing thin tablet, heads down, focused on them.

The traffic lights changed colors in a regular rhythm, there were no Rune circuits visible to the naked eye, and cars powered solely by mechanical engines streamed endlessly along the road.