I Am Extraordinary Alone
Chapter 275 - 273: Hiding from the World

Chapter 275: Chapter 273: Hiding from the World

The crackling of firewood in the cabin’s fireplace echoed, and its orange glow illuminated the interior.

The room was unlit, the outside chill whistled through the windows nonstop, and dusk was approaching. The snow was pure white, with temperatures nearing negative 10 degrees Celsius.

This was Yin Country’s northern border, on the main peak of the Silver White Mountain Range, the Peak of Immortals.

The wooden cabin was situated near the peak, only accessible by a narrow trail that just allowed for foot traffic.

Zhao Ling, clad in a thick down jacket and a winter hat, with goggles and a scarf protecting her cheeks, trudged up the mountain path alone.

Passing by the remains of a dilapidated temple, she pulled out her thermos, unscrewed the lid, and a stream of warmth wafted out.

She lowered her scarf, took a sip, and continued on her way.

After nightfall, the mountains were eerily silent and pitch-black, but she moved with ease, having already found this secluded cabin.

The cabin had two floors; at first glance, it appeared to be an abandoned hunter’s cabin, but the surroundings were equipped with pheromone recognition devices. Underground lay concealed automated defense turrets, and the surrounding forest was installed with military-grade multi-spectrum monitors, closely watching over any movement outside the cabin.

Zhao Ling stood in front of the cabin for 2 seconds when, through her earpiece, she received an authentication pass message, and only then did she confidently twist open the door and walk inside.

The wooden door swung open, bringing in the cold wind and snowflakes from the outside while a warm current greeted her from within.

The temperature inside was consistently maintained at 25 degrees Celsius. As soon as Zhao Ling entered, she felt overwhelmingly hot.

She looked inside the house and through the beaded curtains saw an untouched meal on the dining table; Fujiwara Makoto was leaning back in his chair, reading a book.

When Fujiwara Makoto saw Zhao Ling arrive, he put down his tablet and promptly got up to greet her.

"You’ve had a tough journey, Zhao Ling-sama!" Fujiwara Makoto approached quickly with a slight bow.

Zhao Ling closed the door behind her, removed her hat, scarf, and goggles, shook out her bound hair, and exhaled deeply.

At this moment, Fujiwara Makoto hurried back to the dining room, took a cup from the cupboard, and prepared a hot cup of coffee for her.

Zhao Ling walked over to the fireplace and sat on the couch, accepting the coffee from Fujiwara Makoto.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

Fujiwara Makoto shook his head.

It had been six months since Wei Tianyang blocked the nuclear bomb.

From the moment he fell asleep in Zhao Ling’s arms, he had not woken up again.

For Wei Tianyang’s protection, Zhao Ling, before heading to the airport, asked Fujiwara Makoto to stay with Wei Tianyang, splitting them into three to proceed separately.

She departed from Libitelli via a military aircraft dispatched by Venerable Xu, while Makoto and Wei Tianyang were secretly evacuated through other means by the Inner Guard.

Owing to the absence of Wei Tianyang and the Witch project, Steijie and Helena Mina had even personally called to inquire.

Understandably, their queries were all deflected by Zhao Ling under the pretext of being inconvenient to disclose.

After Wei Tianyang blocked the nuclear bomb, the situation got complicated.

He could absorb other people’s superpowers, which meant he had already transcended the scope of the Superpower Special Department.

If previously Wei Tianyang showed off his power and won favorable treatment from various countries, then now...this trait he displayed would only bring him deadly harm.

No nation would allow such a person to exist, not even Yin Country.

Because he was too powerful and hard to control, with parents long deceased and no relatives, he had no weaknesses.

The only two people he could be said to have an emotional connection with, one was the Emperor of Yin Country, the other, under the Emperor’s protection, was completely impossible to leverage.

Over the past three years, he hadn’t been swayed by money, power, riches, or beauty, acting solely by his own volition.

Libitelli’s action had magnified all his flaws. He was already strong, able to absorb other people’s abilities... plus, facing four on one, he killed four Trinity members and could obliterate a city of a million people in an instant...

Nearly everyone in the know couldn’t help but think: This child is so terrifying, he must not be allowed to remain!

What would happen if they let him continue to grow?

A stubborn man in possession of extreme violence, pursuing some greater, indefinable meaning in his heart.

The nobles felt a real pressure.

In fact, three years ago, not counting Zhao Ling, Steijie, and Helena Mina, there were those in the know who suggested, through euphemistic means, to kill Wei Tianyang.

This kind of talk had always existed.

After Libitelli’s action, Ress had even openly discussed the matter at the United Council.

Zhao Ling had anticipated this situation and from that day, hid him away.

Wei Tianyang fell into a deep sleep, weak and defenseless. If he had been awake, perhaps those discussing his fate would have some apprehension, but now, with six months passed, everyone was asking Zhao Ling where Wei Tianyang was, some even suspecting something had happened to him.

The voices suggesting they should get rid of Wei Tianyang grew louder, almost to the point of coercion. Even after Zhao Ling returned to the country, Venerable Xu and Venerable Qin had hinted at it too.

Zhao Ling sat on the sofa, lost in thought. This wooden house atop the peak was originally her own escape route.

On the day she failed against Lingxian Sect and had to abandon the throne to hide in the mountains, she would have brought a few trusted allies here.

But now, Wei Tianyang had become her escape plan. She couldn’t let anything happen to him.

As long as he could wake up, Lingxian Sect would be of no worry.

Moreover, Zhao Ling still had control over Fujiwara Makoto, the Superpower user who existed outside of the Black Medicine system.

During the autumn season, at an altitude of over 3000 meters, this small cabin was above the snow line, so cold it felt like winter. After a few sips of coffee, Zhao Ling’s cheeks regained some color.

Fujiwara Makoto, hesitant to speak, had been accompanying Wei Tianyang for these six months, but he was laying in a room upstairs, locked with a pheromone seal, and she could only move around on the ground floor.

Fortunately, there were no worries about food or clothing here. Mountain villagers would regularly deliver food, water, and daily necessities. A separate encrypted satellite provided internet and communications frequency bands. For the six months the two of them had been here, it was less an isolation from the world and more a retreat.

"I had someone look into your parents, as you requested. Brace yourself," Zhao Ling said, knowing what Makoto cared most about. She had asked for this favor when she came to assist, and it was the least Zhao Ling could do to help.

"Tell me. I can handle it." Fujiwara Makoto nodded.

"Since you were enrolled in the Witch project, all traces of your existence in Churi Country have been erased," Zhao Ling explained.

"So... my parents..." Fujiwara Makoto lowered her head.

"Your house had a fire. The entire family, including you, perished in the blaze. Officially it was declared an accident due to a gas pipeline, and to Churi Country, you died two and a half years ago," Zhao Ling continued.

Staring into the fireplace, tears slid down Fujiwara Makoto’s cheeks. She tried to compose herself but couldn’t stop crying, covering her face with her hands and crouching on the ground.

"Chiharu... Chiharu had been deceiving me... When she was sending me to Libitelli, she showed me messages from my parents... She even regularly arranged video calls with my family... She took care to prepare a wig and school uniform for me... all of it was a lie..." Makoto sobbed.

Zhao Ling sighed, bent down, embraced her, and gently patted her back.

In today’s world, where AI technology is thriving, novelists, artists, singers... even films and video games make extensive use of image and sound generation technology.

After being trained with language corpora, graphics, and big data, creating video calls with Fujiwara Makoto’s parents wasn’t hard, enabling daily-level interactions. Makoto probably had been speaking to an AI in video calls all along.

"Stay with me until we figure out what to do next. I may not become your mother, but at least I won’t turn into someone like Hasegawa Chiharu," Zhao Ling said softly.