Chapter 472: Mei Weis: I think I can get back to writing novels

Someone is monitoring this battle.

From start to finish.

Mei Weis drew out the short baton she had just slipped back into her skirt's leather sheath; her eyes shifted from human pupils to amber-gold compound eyes, countless tiny facets splitting every corner of the factory into countless tiny fragments.

The temperature suddenly dropped, as if the other side also knew that, while Mei Weis tried to find the person hiding in the dark, others had nowhere to hide.

Mei Weis's breath instantly condensed into white mist in the air; she lifted her hand, tucked the hair messed up by the cold wind behind her ear, gave a light laugh, and looked more enthusiastic than when she had dealt with the painted-browed bird earlier.

"I heard that in the Old World there's a festival that opens the ghost gate, letting the dead have a chance to return to the living world—could it be today?"

She neatly re-coiled her disheveled hair, and icy mist was already pouring in from every entrance of the factory.

The gauze-like mist quickly enveloped the entire factory; the mist was white, with a very faint blue tint.

In the mist, footsteps sounded slowly approaching; Mei Weis lowered her hand from her hair, gripped the baton, and the light at its tip shifted from dark yellow to amber gold, matching the color of her pupils.

"There are too many acquaintances today," Mei Weis sighed lightly, still in her usual nonchalant tone, "When I get back I'll try writing a supernatural mystery novel, maybe titled *Factory Manhunt*? What do you think?"

The person in the icy mist also gave a light chuckle at the words; the icy mist parted before her like a curtain drawn open down the middle, revealing the person behind the curtain.

Light brown hair hung loosely at the back of her head, her eyes pure white like fresh snow, pupils filled with ice cracks.

She wore a light gray long coat, black short boots on her feet with thick soles that made almost no sound on the gravel.

"That title, I doubt anyone would read it."

She seemed to have just awakened from a long sleep, chatting with Mei Weis while still not forgetting to yawn.

Mei Weis stared fixedly at the person before her, as if time had especially favored her; years had left no trace on her, and she was no different from how she was before Mei Weis killed her.

"Min Xingyao."

Mei Weis looked at the person before her, as if she had finally taken off her mask at a long masquerade ball.

"How did you end up here? Could it be—you've also become an Aberrant Species coming to settle a score with me?"

Min Xingyao shook her head, utterly certain.

"I will never become such a twisted creature."

To the Church, Aberrant Species are absolute enemies.

"Perhaps I came to find you just to ask a single question."

Mei Weis tilted her head, the shadow of Min Xingyao reflected in her golden compound eyes, "Go ahead."

"Was it you who poisoned Chen Xiaoyu?"

Min Xingyao cannot use this body for too long; if she does, her power will impose too great a burden on Min Tianyou's body, which is likely to collapse as a result.

As said at the beginning, their purpose in coming here is only twofold.

To kill Mei Weis, and to take away the antidote that cures Chen Xiaoyu.

They've finished their task, but Chen Xiaoyu's matter still has a lot left; out of regard for their former classmates, she should quickly rally people to get to work.

"It's me," Mei Weis replied directly.

She doesn't need to leave the Dome's territory to go to Tianmian; she only needs to prepare the toxin, and worker bees will naturally finish everything for her.

"Antidote?"

Mei Weis shook her head, "No antidote."

Min Xingyao's finger paused; she wasn't surprised by Mei Weis's answer, "Then I'll have to get it myself."

The temperature dropped again, as if all heat were sucked away in an instant.

A thin layer of frost formed on Mei Weis's eyelashes; her wings could barely withstand this extreme cold.

The ice under Min Xingyao's feet was rapidly spreading; water froze anything it touched instantly, the ice spreading in all directions, turning the factory floor into a huge mirror that could reflect a person's silhouette.

Mei Weis lowered her gaze to the ice beneath her feet, her reflection appearing on its surface.

Purple long hair, amber-gold compound eyes, a deep purple dress torn in several places—on the ice she looked like a flower about to wilt.

"Is this really okay?"

Mei Weis could feel that Min Xingyao, by some unknown means, now possessed power far greater than she had in life.

But this is Heavenly Dome City, the Dome's territory.

Does Min Xingyao dare to openly and grandly fight her without worrying that headquarters will notice?

Although she had indeed been weakened and slightly injured by the painted-browed bird, as long as she buys some time, reinforcements from the Dome will arrive on their own.

"No need for you to worry about that."

Min Xingyao knew Mei Weis was just trying to stall, so without further talk she launched straight into action.

Her hair floated up in the icy mist, fine ice beads condensing between the strands, her fingertips gathering a white cold light.

Mei Weis stepped back; her body instinctively reacted to this level of aberrant art, just as when you encounter a beast in the wild, your body reacts before your mind does.

Ice blades shot from Min Xingyao's fingertips, spinning through the air toward Mei Weis, their edges sharp enough to slice the air itself.

————————————————

Mei Weis's location had been suddenly sent to Bai Mu Yun's communicator; she had sent no other messages, and when Bai Mu Yun proactively asked her, he only received a reply that the other party could not receive signals.

This is the inconvenience of the Dome's communicator; although it seems to have advanced the Dome's technology, it is actually prone to interference and thus unusable.

When Bai Mu Yun rushed here, he sensed something was wrong from afar.

Everything his eyes saw looked normal, but coincidentally he was also skilled in illusionary arts, able to feel the energy covering the factory from several hundred meters away.

It was a large-scale illusion, obviously meant to conceal everything happening inside the factory.

Has Mei Weis run into trouble? Is it related to that bird?

Bai Mu Yun still remembered his pointless trip earlier; despite having agreed on a location, when he arrived he saw only a butler-like figure earnestly declaring his loyalty.

What good is that?

Not being able to see the mastermind behind all this would be bad enough, but it also made him waste all that time for nothing.

This layer of illusion is ingeniously set up, completely sealing off inside from outside; if it weren't for his also being skilled in illusionary arts and being close enough, he probably wouldn't have detected the problem.

Bai Mu Yun took out the communicator and glanced at it; the screen still showed only the message he had sent not long ago.

He tried again to edit and send a message, but indeed he still could not receive anything.

It seems Mei Weis is inside here.