Chapter 493: Sweetheart!

Hua Jian Lei placed Mei Weisi's Aberrant Species Core on the bar counter, the amber crystal looking like a block of solidified honey under the lights.

He pulled a very small, very thin knife from his pocket, the tip lightly tapping the Core's surface—without force, just a touch—and many fine cracks appeared on the surface, spreading outward from the point of contact.

Then Hua Jian Lei sheathed the knife, watching the cracks widen bit by bit, watching amber light seep from the fissures, the light coalescing above the bar into a sphere.

The light sphere was small, about a fist's diameter, and at its center something seemed to move, like a wing.

Very small, translucent, dragonfly‑like wings.

The wings fluttered gently in the air at a rapid rate, like a candle flame about to be blown out.

A humanoid gradually formed from the light sphere, with a head, a body, antennae on the head, and bee wings on its back, each wing vein clearly visible.

There were too many elements in this scene, and Ying Duo posed a soul‑question to Hua Jian Lei:

"All the guardian sweethearts are here; do you want to transform right here?"

Hua Jian Lei's mouth twitched; if the amber were an egg, that just‑now scene did indeed look a bit like one.

Before he could refute Ying Duo, Mei Weisi's consciousness was already gradually clearing, and her gaze swept the bar.

From the rows of empty bottles on the bar to the leg‑broken chairs in the corner.

She lingered a few seconds in this especially dilapidated setting, as if just awakened from a deep slumber, her mind still foggy.

Her gaze lingered especially long on the surrounding surroundings.

Then Mei Weisi looked at Hua Jian Lei with a graceful, sympathetic tone, "I never expected you usually live in a place like this."

I recall that whenever Mei Weisi and Hua Jian Lei met, Hua Jian Lei always wore gentlemanly, courteous attire, and with his face and flawless manners, even if he told others he wasn't noble, no one would believe it.

But Hua Jian Lei truly is a freeloader.

Now the Hua Jian Lei before her seemed far more genuine than usual; though lacking the lavish clothing, this simple, loose garb added a touch of decadent beauty, more like a flower blooming from sin.

Seeing Hua Jian Lei's face could lift Mei Weisi's mood considerably.

"This isn't a residence," Hua Jian Lei shrugged helplessly, "just a temporary base."

In fact, before now Hua Jian Lei rarely, let alone lived here; the place was mainly used by Entropy Increase for occasional meet‑ups to exchange information.

Hua Jian Lei spends most of his time gathering intel everywhere; with his looks, finding a comfortable spot to stay a night isn't hard.

Mainly because the raid team also arrived at Heavenly Dome City, Entropy Increase's joint operations increased, requiring more meet‑ups, and he was soon reduced to a regularly refreshed NPC at this bar.

Then Mei Weisi glanced at the people present, and when she saw Ying Duo and Luo Jinyou, she couldn't help a self‑deprecating smile.

"No wonder Fang Zhiyan values you so much; you're both Undead."

At this point, Mei Weisi began to feel fortunate she chose to become an Aberrant Species.

After becoming an Aberrant Species, at least she wouldn't be inexplicably swapped out by someone from another world, dying without cause.

Ying Duo knew Mei Weisi also misidentified Luo Jinyou as Undead, but he didn't correct her.

"Not starting yet?"

Mei Weisi merely let out a light laugh, looking at Ying Duo and Luo Jinyou, the two teenage boys, her eyes clouded with darkness.

"One of the chief culprits that caused my death is right before me; won't you let me complain a bit more?"

She seemed to have no desire to engage Ying Duo further, but continuing the conversation was only out of respect for Hua Jian Lei's face.

Indeed, in front of Fang Zhiyan, the indulgence toward him was all pretended.

Yang Yixie was not surprised at all.

"Such a lovely queen bee lady, could you honor the deal you made earlier?"

Faced with Hua Jian Lei's flowery words, Mei Weisi looked quite receptive.

Hua Jian Lei could always guess what she wanted to hear most.

So she still preferred interacting with someone like Hua Jian Lei, even if it was just an act—she liked it, that's all.

"Have you decided? Now 'watch', or wait for later?"

"Of course, now."

Mei Weisi nodded; because the Aberrant Species Core contained only a fragment of her soul, her own memories were a bit incomplete, but it didn't matter much.

"Let me first tell you what I saw after death, shall I?"

"It should be a massive Rune device, its surface covered with dark‑blue Rune circuits, Engraving upon it; although I'm not well‑versed in this field, it doesn't seem like something humans could create."

After death, where does the soul go?

No matter the world, this question is repeatedly raised, yet in this world where souls are proven to truly exist, an answer can be found.

Mei Weisi possessed a strong curiosity; when she realized she was on a dead‑end path, she had many thoughts.

Like stories from the Old World, find a Rune device, transfer one's consciousness onto it, wait for a destined person to awaken it, under the pretense of granting a wish, forcibly possess another's body?

These ideas sound ethereal, yet if one's proficiency with the Consciousness Law reaches a certain level, they can indeed be realized.

However, venturing into the realm of the Undead for an adventure is precisely the classic trope of adventure novels.

Mei Weisi's identity and name were seized by her; although she doesn't mind seizing them again, an ordinary body simply cannot bear her soul.

Driven by this curiosity and adventurous spirit, Mei Weisi made her current choice and obtained the answer she sought.

One Rune device.

Is this the destination of people's souls after death?

It doesn't seem so unacceptable.

Yang Yixie had already begun to think in another direction; after all, this world itself is a game, so could the Rune device Mei Weisi mentioned possibly be part of the game's core?

Or a key component of the game?

Mei Weisi didn't know how far Yang Yixie's thoughts had strayed, but she kept on recounting her bizarre post‑death experiences.

She even specifically asked Hua Jian Lei to take paper and pen to record it; of course, if it could be adapted into a novel and published under Mei Weisi's name, that would be even better.

Mei Weisi quite wanted to use this method to scare her readers; just the thought was amusing.

"The afterlife is a void, as long as the location of that device is the soul's final resting place."

And the souls that are cast out only have the fate of gradually fading away in the void.