Chapter 124: Part．15［My child, enjoy a brief moment of tranquility before the busyness］

Part．15［My child, enjoy a brief moment of tranquility before the busyness］

"Who are you? You are... what?"

The naked girl raised her head to ask the tall figure in yellow robes, but only endless silence answered.

As she danced, her consciousness sank into the depths of her own heart, but here it was no longer that single missing crystal.

Now she stood on a place like a water surface; a slight step forward would send out ripples from where she stepped.

Beneath her feet, a transparent barrier separated her from the huge crystal representing herself.

But....

The girl looked ahead; a tall figure stood about several dozen steps away, its shape indistinct, feeling like an elongated capital A, covered in some kind of fabric.

Wu Mei instinctively covered her vital parts.

But the next second, a tight-fitting garment covered her body. Familiar color, familiar feel, yet something she had never remembered. She didn't understand why she felt familiar.

The girl clenched her fist, feeling she should still have a weapon; she felt a little afraid, within her inner world.

"Don't be afraid.... come here, come to... my front...." It made a motion of extending a "hand," yet looking at Wu Mei's back made her hair stand on end.

A smooth tentacle extended from under the robe, beckoning her. However, the girl's thoughts at that moment were only of danger and staying away.

Wu Mei stepped back two steps.

Seeing the lure ineffective, it... no, Wu Mei's intuition told her it should be called 'He'.

He retracted the extended tentacle, then pulled out an ancient-looking book from under the robe; although it wasn't large compared to his form, when the book floated before the girl's eyes it was already taller than her.

Looking at this book, alarm bells rang in the girl's heart, for on the cover she once again saw the yellow twisted pattern made of three curved lines she had seen in her dreams.

She resisted by reaching out, hoping to have a weapon in her hand to protect herself, yet here even the ordinary crystals she could usually command gave no response.

"No, don't open it! I don't want to see!!!"

Wu Mei burst out shouting in her heart. Although she didn't understand what this meant, nor why she felt this way, anyone capable of doing this in her inner world was definitely not something easy to deal with but fundamentally impossible to face.

"....."

Her words seemed to have taken effect; in her pupils, constricted extreme by fear, the tall figure took the book back, then, as if floating, came motionlessly to stand before her.

Afterward, in Wu Mei's eyes full of disbelief, it changed into an appearance similar to her own but with a yellow headscarf covering the whole head, skin deathly pale and pupils not human.

".... like... this, my child, is facing like this better?"

He seemed to be adapting to human language, from stumbling to gradually fluent, speaking these words.

"I don't know you, get out of my inner world!"

The girl's intuition warned ever more as the other approached.

"It's fine.... my child, I mean you no harm. I just want... to watch some plays, and you are merely the chosen protagonist. I believe you can do it." He retreated benevolently; Wu Mei noticed his legs had never made any walking motion.

"I am not a puppet, nor am I a performing clown!"

Her brows furrowed with anger as she stood up.

"Even if shattered like this, it remains thus..... my child, this is good. Though you may resent me, anger is fine too; haven't you realized who made you become what you are now?"

His words carried no emotion, like an untrained ordinary person reading a script.

"....."

The girl said nothing, merely clenched her fists, preparing for battle.

She stared fixedly at his expressionless face.

"There are some different changes on your body; this is good, I look forward to meeting again. My child, if you wish, defeating me is also part of a great work; I will wait and watch you."

Having said that, his body began to show cracks,

"No matter what you choose, this universe will become more diverse because of your existence; I look forward to your story, child."

Then, before Wu Mei could react, it shattered, turning into fading points of light and a floating irregular crystal.

No need to look; Wu Mei confirmed solely through her unique connection that the floating irregular crystal before her was also one of her fragments.

One conversation, and that is a fragment.....

"What exactly is He?" the girl, slightly regaining her composure, stared blankly at that crystal fragment.

Although instinct kept urging her to let that fragment return, Wu Mei, now tinged with shadow, hesitated, controlling the fragment to orbit and keep a certain distance from her main body.

Being able to provoke such a vague reaction from me.... must be treated with caution.

Thinking, a clear snowflake fell from the sky; seeing faint images flickering on it, the girl instinctively reached out and caught it.

"!!!"

Suddenly, that snowflake vanished at Wu Mei's fingertips; simultaneously, various images flashed before her eyes—she saw the black void of space, the brilliance between stars, and then it instantly disappeared.

That was fragmented information.

At the same time she came to that conclusion in her heart, the girl sensed and lifted her head; countless 'snowflakes' fell from above her head, like the common weather of Siberia, giving her a feeling of returning to the scene shortly after she first arrived at school.

She understood that only now, at this moment, did the ritual truly take effect.

Thus, Wu Mei closed her eyes, exerting all she could to guide the flood of that information; she wanted to know more.

The storm engulfed her.....

Long Siwu ultimately caused no major trouble; the next morning's sunrise normally poured its endless light in.

Everything seemed unchanged, except for the worried Bai Ling Wu Mei, the teacher who had stayed up all night with combat ability, and Long Siwu laughing brightly as if he'd won the lottery.

However, no matter how one ignores the changes that have already occurred, they cannot alter the changes themselves.

"Mikaila, Aiersuya, Abudula, Sailina, Yalishanda, Delake, Menger, Hu Yue,.... over a hundred people, Long Siwu, how am I supposed to explain this to the school and the bureau?!"

Wu Mei angrily flung the printed paper in her hand; these were the students affected by this ritual, who through that ancient shaman's ritual now had a faint but indelible connection with Wu Mei.

Each affected student was found to have some tissue crystallized as the external manifestation of that connection.

According to the report from the campus hospital, simple cutting and various mild or severe separation rituals cannot sever this connection.

And according to Long Siwu's words, their relationship with Wu Mei now is like hers with those dragon descendants who have accepted her bloodline.

In other words, Wu Mei has gained a following.

If that's the case, then it's fine; after all, students with that connection invariably show stronger psychic potential and better development of their innate talents.

But the problem is, these students come from many places.

Other countries can be settled via diplomacy for now, but it's hard to explain those mysterious creature clans that genuinely sent out their outstanding youth out of friendliness.

Their views mostly follow their tradition, and being able to communicate properly is because the Soviet Union's strength lets them normally regard humans.

But if some clans act irrationally because of this event, wiping them out would consume considerable resources.

Although we can do that, it's unfortunately the case that, due to various interstellar-level rumors and various omens on Earth, it's already certain that the world will undergo some changes, and relevant personnel are basically monitoring all kinds of dangerous mysteries as a precaution,

"What should we do!! How should we do!! Long Siwu!!!"

Open-mouth closed-eye female Wu Mei. jpg

"Just leave it be~." She said it indifferently.

"What is this?" The paper the girl clenched is wrinkled.

"It's exactly what it means; the school's decision has already come down. For me, it's basically a severe warning; for you, you'll probably get an overseas assignment, to stay away from here for a while. Basically, after a few months, it'll be about the same. The students here who have connections with you will later be secretly recorded and watched over by Mi Na and me. Slowly think of a way to solve it; well, at least you must conceal this change."

Long Siwu pried open Wu Mei's fingers and took over that list.

Her expression showed no particular concern.

"Never mind, I'd still like to stay here a bit longer, but since I have to go, I can only leave. Where will I be sent? Can I choose?"

The girl twisted her body to turn the chair around, then more lazily put her feet on the newly added low table.

After the dormitory suffered a second blast, Long Siwu's little demons renovated this place into wooden flooring; the underfloor heating was originally buried in the walls, and they used certain special materials as filler to ensure that even after raising part of the floor, heat conduction remained effective.

Basically, after entering, one can easily take off one's shoes, then sit beside the low table to eat snacks and drink tea, or normally sit at one's own bed desk.

It has a slight Han dynasty feel (laugh~).

Wu Mei isn't unwilling to resolve it; if she wants, perhaps spending more time researching her nature could easily achieve it.

But, but this world has no 'buts'. In that ritual, to obtain as much information as possible, Wu Mei crammed all the fragments she could touch into her mind like swallowing dates whole.

Over these days, she's basically not idle; when alone, she 'decompresses' those fragment information, organizes and categorizes them, then shares with Long Siwu a large segment that might contain detailed information for joint analysis.

Wu Mei, who glanced at a part of it, said she felt idle but couldn't relax.

Want to learn some self-defense skills for a possible future? No problem; you could even stay on Earth for fifty or sixty years waiting for human civilization to develop on its own.

But if you just want to be a pure shut-in for those fifty or sixty years, then when the time comes you'll either be crushed to death by the sheer volume of enemies from other river systems, or destroyed by humanity's own creations, or captured by some unknown entity you've previously interacted with.

Well.... Regarding that yellow-robed entity, Wu Mei also has a few clues.

As the saying goes, between life and death one sees a flashing replay; the pressure Wu Mei endured then also let her, after enduring it, recall some memories hidden in a corner.

"Lord of the Yellow Robe."

She also had a title in mind that she didn't actually voice.

Oneself, having become His work, oneself, is thus a role on stage.

However, what puzzles Wu Mei is that her power source is a magical girl; at the very least, she shouldn't be involved with the Cthulhu System.

But her dreams repeatedly hint at that connection, and also inexplicably give her aversion and hatred toward those beings....

"Little sister...?"

She recalled the girl who called her sister in the dream; perhaps if she sees her, she could find the answer.

However, she currently only knows that she might have a sister who exists in memory but leaves no impression, appearing at some unknown time.

This just....

Wu Mei closed her eyes and shook her head; she still couldn't deduce the full picture, seeming to know a lot but lacking crucial information.

Gurgle gurgle....

Annoyed, she picked up the pear soup with rock sugar that Long Siwu had boiled and cooled, and drank it all.

Then she put on a helmet and began to tinker with the portable computer brought out from Mo Lin's eyeglass world.

After testing today's project, Mi Na, who had just returned, said: "ALong, why did you put an empty pot on the table?"

Long Siwu: "Huh?"

School shooting range.

Bang! Click. Ding~

Bang! Click.....

"Ah... 265 points. So-so."

Handsomely ejecting the last eggshell bullet from the chamber, the girl flicked her Mosin-Nagant and casually leaned it aside.

"Your grades are excellent. At your age, I think if you lived twenty years ago you'd definitely have several medals! Hahaha, but in this era, you'd better join the human division of the campus shooting competition."

The shooting range's duty teacher stroked his beard and laughed.

The number of six magazines, according to the ten-ring scoring system, means that almost every bullet hit the eight or nine ring position.

Moreover, it's still the three-meter range's iron sights.

However, the girl at least politely smiled, then sat in the resting spot in a daze.

She has 'grown' again.

After wandering out for a while, she on a whim tried a physical check; the results showed her current baseline strength already surpasses that of an ordinary person, and a pure exertion of muscular force could now rival those named contenders in professional boxing matches.

But Wu Mei is only twelve years old!

According to the school doctor's records, she has already stepped onto the threshold between humanity and superhumanity; a little further progress and she could apply to raise her danger level in the Administration Bureau.

After returning the training gun, Wu Mei walked slowly out of campus.

Since she has to leave again for a while, she might as well take a bit of time before departing to look at the changes in this small town.

At the end of 1975, this world ultimately still differs greatly from the girl's original world.

Those fragments once found only in history books are here vivid scenes.

She walked down the street, looking at a roadside pancake stall cart that seemed similar to those of a few decades later, and using loose change she had been carrying in her pocket for who knows how long, she bought a hot beef-filled pancake and ate it while walking.

She saw that even the roadside vending machines sold pre-cut, plated meal sets.

Beside them were also hot drink vending machines and ordinary snack vending machines.

They accepted not only coins and bills, but also identity cards for direct purchase.

Curious, she paused to watch the purchasing process, then Wu Ming turned and entered the bus shelter to wait for the loop district bus.

The times posted on the bus stop sign had also been updated; compared to when she first arrived, the now-covered loop line serving the five nearest districts ran every ten minutes, while the greater loop around the town ran every thirty‑five minutes.

She still remembered that when she used to go out with her roommates, she could only wait for the greater loop on the hour.

Not long after, the bus she was waiting for arrived.

The situation on the bus hadn't changed much; one still needed physical cash to buy a ticket, and there was still a conductor aboard.

There were many more unfamiliar faces on the bus. Well, to be precise, there were many more human‑like and non‑human beings.

Just in the time it took to walk from the door to an empty seat and sit down, Wu Ming saw a creature classified as a psychic being rather than a demon—an erm… an apparently aged … Northeast Tiger—honestly take off its "shoes" and place all four paws on the seat, sitting squat.

Even on its head was coiled a sleek, glossy little sable!

"Let me see what else…"

Two seats behind sat a white‑haired man bent over a book; from the window's reflection, Wu Ming guessed he was likely a fellow member of the New Blood Clan who had played piano at the previous evening's gathering.

Near the exit door on the other side sat an Arab who kept his head wrapped in a scarf even in winter.

He seemed to have just arrived here and wasn't yet accustomed, appearing to be heading to their district.

After a quick glance at the mixed crowd in the car, Wu Ming went straight to the back row and took the window seat with no neighbor beside her.

She stared blankly at the scenery flashing past outside.

"What else do you need to grow?"

She posed the question to the butterfly that had come out with her.

"The greater the predetermined change, the better." The butterfly's ethereal voice echoed in Wu Ming's mind; it seemed to have grown a bit.

The girl pressed her lips together; his words meant that Wu Ming now had another reason to embark on world travel.

"With the information you know and my current power, I can locate spacetime divergence anomalies—places where our universe's regions have undergone slight changes and come into being. The areas contained therein are insufficient to form a self‑sufficient world, like an immature seed. Such places are also excellent nourishment for me. Entering them, effecting change, doing what you ought to do, I will be able to grow."

The butterfly spoke again.

"Huff~, obviously designed to be a mighty being able to roam freely through time and space, yet to fill my stomach I must rely on external force. Were your early stages all this weak?"

Wu Ming pretended to fuss with her hair, but actually poked the butterfly perched on her ear with the pad of her finger.

"We have no concept of lifespan; even ordinary waiting can foster growth, but I need to forge a deep bond with you, and I must grow quickly to fulfill our pact, so I will actively seek nourishment."

"Still can't tell where we first met?"

The girl probed.

"On your path of unification, you will remember; when you do, it will be the time to face our pact. I long for change, so I have fragmented myself to this moment, to find you and be with you."

The butterfly spoke in riddles again.

"Pact, fate, every day it's just this—so annoying. I want to eat something fatty and fragrant to comfort myself. Why must I live so complicatedly?"

She complained, and as her eyes glanced over a passing German sausage stand, she muttered.

The ears of the big orange cat in the front row twitched.

After about twenty‑plus stops, the girl reached her destination.

【I was playing in the mud in the Northeast~~~~~】

Looking at a restaurant inside the South Asian district, a 'San Ge' style BGM immediately began playing in Wu Ming's mind.

Well, she was just getting bored sitting there, so Wu Ming simply got off at this stop following her taste instinct.

It must be said that the videos she used to watch showed only clean, hygienic native Indian food, which, although colorful, gave a hard‑to‑swallow feeling.

But after refining the method and improving the environment, the Indians' talent for blending spices became evident in the food.

"One pot of your house's classic milk tea, less sugar. This green curry stewed chicken, this beef red curry, medium spicy. Two sweet‑milk balls, the sweet water with rose. A normal portion of rice, and then three—no, four flatbreads."

After ordering a bunch of items from the menu, Wu Ming stirred her soda while watching the other diners await her food.