Chapter 355: Impact

During lunch break, the campus bustles with activity.

Most students flock to the cafeteria and the snack stall, while many others relax in the courtyard, garden, or rooftop, enjoying the rare leisure.

A Xing leans against a cherry tree, her golden eyes locked on Tengwan Lixiang and Mashu, who are sharing a bento on a nearby bench.

She has been watching them like this naturally all morning.

Between classes, and even on the way to the snack stall to buy bread, her gaze has continuously, faintly followed the two.

Tengwan Lixiang clearly notices this overly focused stare.

She nibbles the carefully prepared bento from Mashu while keeping a sidelong eye on the ash‑haired girl under the tree, feeling a little creeped out.

(A Xing... what on earth does she want?)

(Protect San Yue Qi? Spy on us? Or both?)

(Being stared at like this forever isn't a solution…)

Tengwan Lixiang puts down her chopsticks, lifts a friendly smile, stands up, and walks toward A Xing.

"A Xing!"

She greets, naturally, "Are you alone here? Want to eat lunch together? Mashu made a lot!"

A Xing watches her approach, does nothing, and says nothing.

Tengwan Lixiang steps in front of her, smile unchanged, lowers her voice a bit: "Um... A Xing, do we have some misunderstanding? You see, Mashu and I are just ordinary transfer students, new here, unfamiliar with everything... If anything makes you uncomfortable, we can talk about it."

She tries to wield her powerful communication skill, honed across countless Singularitys and dealings with all kinds of people (including villains), to first establish a dialogue channel.

A Xing finally reacts.

Calmly, her golden eyes stare at Tengwan Lixiang, and she says in an even tone: "You, what do you think of trash cans?"

Tengwan Lixiang: "... huh?"

The topic turns so abruptly that even the experienced Savior is stunned for a moment.

Trash can? How to look? With eyes?

"Just the kind on the street, green, made of iron."

A Xing adds, seriously, as if discussing a philosophical proposition, "Sometimes there are good things inside."

Tengwan Lixiang's mind races.

Trash can? Metaphor? Test? Or literal meaning?

She answers cautiously: "Well... a trash can is an essential city‑cleaning facility that holds people's discarded items... sometimes it might contain mistakenly thrown valuables?"

"Hmm." A Xing nods, seeming fairly satisfied with the answer.

She suddenly turns, "Follow me."

After speaking, she doesn't wait for Tengwan Lixiang's response, and heads straight to a secluded corner behind the Teaching Building, near the wall.

There, several large sorting trash cans are placed side by side.

Tengwan Lixiang hesitates for a second, but curiosity and the desire to "gather information" win out.

She makes a "wait a moment" gesture toward the distant Mashu, then follows.

"A Xing, why are we here...?"

A Xing is already standing in front of a green iron trash can.

She skillfully lifts the lid, the motion so natural it seems she has done it hundreds of times.

Then, she turns her head, using those gold eyes lacking any sparkle, looks at Tengwan Lixiang, and issues an invitation:

"Want to look together?"

Tengwan Lixiang: "... look for what?"

"I don't know."

A Xing honestly says, "But once found, you'll know. That's the joy of exploration."

After speaking, she actually begins rummaging inside the trash can, her movements professional, expression focused, as if excavating relics at an archaeological site.

Tengwan Lixiang watches the scene, mouth agape.

The Master of Chaldea, who has repaired countless Singularitys of human reason and faced the Demon Pillar and the King of the Anomalous Zone, is now being pulled by a high school girl... to rummage through a trash can?

Yet for some reason, watching A Xing's matter‑of‑fact, even oddly sacred rummaging posture, something deep within Tengwan Lixiang—a switch belonging to "curiosity"—is subtly triggered.

(Trash can... a trash can from another world...)

(Could there be garbage unique to this world inside? Or... hidden clues?)

(Anyway, we have no other leads right now...)

"Um... then I'll look at this one here?"

Tengwan Lixiang hesitantly walks to a neighboring trash can, mimicking A Xing's manner, and carefully lifts the lid.

A few minutes later.

When San Yue Qi and Mashu arrive here carrying purchased drinks and snacks, they see this scene:

In the afternoon sun, the secluded corner, two beautiful girls each guard an open trash can—one expressionless yet moving deftly to rummage, the other furrowing her brows, eyes focused, muttering: "The material of this packaging paper seems a bit special... the wear marks on this empty can..."

San Yue Qi's drink nearly falls to the ground.

"A Xing—!!! Lixiang—!!!"

She lets out a scream, rushes over, "What are you doing!!! Stop it! It's filthy! And Lixiang! How did you both get corrupted by A Xing!!"

She darts to A Xing's side, trying to pull her away from the trash can.

A Xing nimbly darts, evading her hand, and simultaneously pulls a half‑worn, oddly shaped metal component from the trash can, glances at the sunlight, then silently slips it into her school uniform pocket.

"It didn't get ruined."

A Xing calmly corrects, "No, it's a joint exploration."

On the other side, Mashu quickly walks to Tengwan Lixiang's side, seeing a speck of ash on her hand; her violet eyes full of worry and confusion, she asks, "Senior? What are you doing...?"

Tengwan Lixiang finally lifted their head as if waking from a dream, a thoughtful expression still lingering on the face.

"Mashu, you're here. I've found that the internal spatial structure and item distribution probabilities of this world's trash can seem to follow certain patterns, and the degradation state of these waste…" she subconsciously shares her observations.

Mashu: "……"

It's over.

The senior is acting strange.

San Yue Qi is still trying to "educate" A Xing: "Xing! You must not bring a new classmate to do such strange things! It will scare people! And it's so unsanitary!"

A Xing remained unmoved, only glancing at Tengwan Lixiang, who had been half‑persuaded and half‑dragged by Mashu out of the trash can area yet still couldn't help looking this way, and then at the metal component just found.

(… interested in the trash can.)

(Can observe.)

(Temporarily, not an enemy.)

A Xing reached a preliminary conclusion.

Perspective shift.

Heimu lightly tapped the fingertip, and on the floating map of Winterwood City suspended in midair, four bright red Node markers appeared like ominous scars.

"Four Nodes… manpower is still tight."

She murmured softly, her violet‑black eyes scanning the information summary on the Light Screen.

Ailisi Feier and Gui Naifen have already arrived at the underground leyline convergence point of Yuan Cang Shan, and are attempting to purify the first Node; that is good news.

She can remotely control the Insect‑Armor Assassin to handle a Node.

But still lacking manpower.

Need individuals who are sufficiently reliable, sufficiently agile, and can to some extent resist Illusion Realm interference.