[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-solflare-the-painter-s-secret":3,"chapter-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-242":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Solflare: The Painter's Secret",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1322970,1757,"Chapter 242: Smile for Tartarus","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-242",242,"\u003Cp>The blue wave on the glass wall cast a cool glow across Leon’s face in room 616 of the Bulwark Hall when the early morning sun stretched across the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside his bed, a gleaming spark glittered from the silver-black war suit, hung on a metal bar frame, as if waiting to be touched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good morning, Leon Storm.\" Gia’s voice echoed from the walls of the room when Leon jolted awake and yawned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Morning Gia,\" he said while brushing the back of his palm across his eyes. \"What is the synchronization percentage now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clicking sound echoed while the blue waves slowly transformed into a flowing message on the glass wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Synchronization level is at seventy-two percent.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Seventy-two percent?\" Leon asked with a shocked voice and a pale face. \"It should have gone higher. What am I doing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon swung himself off the bed, then rushed for a quick bath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Leon walked out with water dripping from his hair, Gia’s voice rose again. \"Your body hasn’t recovered fully; please don’t strain it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph,\" Leon shook his head as he shifted his gaze to the moving blue waves. \"I will strain it till there is nothing to strain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leon, where are you going?\" Gia asked the moment Leon wore his training jam suit and began stretching his shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m just going for a walk; that’s all,\" he said and smiled at the blue waves. \"Thanks for caring, Gia.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint laugh echoed from Gia as if it were now able to feel human emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need to thank me. Say it to Lon,\" it paused for a second, then continued. \"Say it to Hei Yung. He’s the right person to be thanked.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why did it stop?\" Leon said in his head and threw a confused expression at the blue wave. \"Gia.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, Leon Storm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why did you pause and change the word without completing it?\" he asked with a slow nod, while stroking his chin with his left index finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did I pause?\" Gia asked in a more sarcastic tone, then giggled. \"Maybe. I don’t know. I sometimes forget my lines.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lon,\" Leon mentioned the unfinished word, then lifted a widened eye to Gia’s blue waves. \"Longwei.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression died the moment he finally remembered the word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leon, are you not going for your walk anymore?\" Gia asked after Leon had stood in his position for more than two minutes without a single word or blinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He snapped his head once, then exhaled once. \"I’ve changed my mind.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Changed your mind? Why?\" Gia asked, then flickered her blue waves once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing, I just need to see someone first,\" Leon said and walked toward the wall the war suit was hung at.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised the right sleeve up and began watching the golden outline of the rose flower on the wrist of the suit, then smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clicking sound echoed as the door’s alarm echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leon, Hei Yung is at the door,\" Gia said, then showed a live feed of a blue-haired man standing with one arm behind his back. \"Should we let him in?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why ask me this? Let him in,\" Leon said, then smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hei Yung smiled when he entered the room and saw the synchronization level printed at the center of the glass wall. \"Seventy-two percent, wow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shifted his gaze to Leon, then walked toward him. \"I guess the synchronization will be faster than I expected.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon smiled and tried to relay the joy in it, but Longwei’s memory caused his smile to falter. \"I’m trying.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Trying? Is that the word you use for something I used a full year to reach?\" Hei Yung asked and threw a surprised gaze at Leon. \"That is extremely good, if you don’t know that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned, then took in a deep breath before relaxing on Leon’s couch. \"Leon, are you ready yet?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ready?\" Leon said to himself, then turned and watched Hei Yung with an investigative stare. \"Ready for what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hei Yung’s expression shifted to wild stillness while slowly nodding his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir, you’re scaring me with that look on your face,\" Leon said and giggled before moving close to Hei Yung.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Leon sat beside Hei Yung, Hei Yung looked at him once, then stood up. He placed both hands at his back, then walked toward the glass wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Am I in trouble or what?\" Leon said in his head while shifting glances from Hei Yung to his closed door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hei Yung looked at the birds flying peacefully in the sky, then closed his eyes with a sharp exhale. When he cracked his eyes open, he turned slightly, then smiled at Leon once, then shifted his gaze back to the glass wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How is it like living in a place full of love, peace, and warmth?\" Hei Yung asked, then positioned his hand to gesture for Leon to near him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed a hand on Leon’s shoulder, then pointed for him to also watch the two birds flying in the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon gave Hei Yung a side eye before smiling when he looked at the birds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you want peace to remain or want it to scramble?\" Hei Yung asked in a cold tone, then shifted his full attention to Leon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir,\" Leon giggled, but his eyes didn’t. \"Is there something I need to know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hei Yung looked straight into Leon’s eyes, then blinked once. \"You’re being redeployed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Redeployed to where, Sir?\" Leon asked with an unemotional look on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tartarus.\" Hei Yung said the name in a voice and with a face that wanted to see fear, but instead saw a smile in Leon’s eyes. \"They want you to go back there and neutralize every last one of the Varkhaza’s eggs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tartarus,\" Leon said in his mind while he inhaled deeply, as if welcoming his soul to the land before his foot even touched it for the second time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled Hei Yung’s arm from his shoulder, then moved to his bed. \"When should I start packing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question hit Hei Yung like a blast he wasn’t ready to see take place. His eyebrow raised while a faint smile tore across his lips before his expression hitched. \"Leon, this would be harder than the last mission.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hei Yung, I’m ready for anything,\" Leon said in a voice that caused all of Hei Yung’s warnings to trail down his stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Andrew didn’t just leave a son behind; he left someone to better live his legacy,\" Hei Yung said in his head as he smiled countless times, before moving closer to Leon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed a hand on Leon’s shoulder, then shook his head once. \"Your dad would be proud of the man you’re becoming.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1117,"2026-06-05T19:15:29.583Z",1,"novelbin.me","05732e27e80a8412c185ae11fad9e19c0f4ec2f0b9aa539e03347fb4fffc7cbe","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-243","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-241",272,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsolflare-the-painter-s-secret-cover.jpg"]