Xyrin Empire
Chapter 517

Chapter 517: 517

In the central area of Shadow City, at the medical center.

A girl in a light yellow dress lay quietly in a medical cabin, similar to a sleeping princess. The normally fierce or sly smile had faded from her delicate face, leaving only tranquility and soft beauty. A few playful strands of hair rested on her cheeks, adding a touch of liveliness to her slightly pale face. It was an unfamiliar sight for such a Miss, and looking at the girl in front of me, I felt like she was a completely different person.

"This girl, when she’s quiet, she’s actually pretty."

There was no one around, so naturally I was just muttering to myself.

Lin Xue had been lying here for one night and was still deep asleep. Her stubbornness had exceeded my expectations, and I hadn’t anticipated things would get so complicated.

Her eyes had been scorched blind by herself.

Of course, we cured her in about two minutes.

Got you scared, huh?

The real issue wasn’t her physical injuries. Although the scene of her blood and tears had made me break out in a cold sweat, as she herself had said, it was just a "minor injury" caused by an overflow of energy. What truly needed a slow recovery was her out-of-control prediction ability.

Allowing the fragile human spirit to recklessly delve into the chaotic future scenes, using a singular perspective to discern one true moment from the endless flows of history, this concept was abstract enough to make one’s head spin. Under normal circumstances, the extraction of future facts was automatically completed by her abilities, but...

What if the function used to filter such massive information is currently crashed?

That was the situation with Lin Xue. Due to overusing her powers to peek into the truth from a million years ago and foreseeing the future of a "Magic Cube" she completely couldn’t comprehend, the part of her predictive ability responsible for selecting facets of the future had been forced to shut down. However, her "eyes" uncontrollably kept working, a massive amount of information bombarding the girl’s spiritual world. If an ordinary person experienced all this, not to mention whether such immense brain activity could instantaneously fry the brain, even if one had the physical condition to handle such data, one would instantly become lost in the intricate scenes of the future, never able to separate reality from illusion, forever trapped in a series of distorted illusions.

Of course, Lin Xue wasn’t so unlucky. Her spiritual power was strong enough to combat this level of misinformation, and in order to minimize the damage she suffered, we had managed to place her into a deep sleep. We also used the medical cabin’s energy to suppress her mental activity as much as possible—this wasn’t an easy task. A Leader-level Apostle’s spiritual power was immense, and, considering Lin Xue could penetrate the future just with her spiritual power and specialized in using skills from the Mysterious system, even a foldable medical cabin had very limited effects when facing Lin Xue’s spiritual power. Just one night had passed, and the effects of the medical cabin were almost nil.

This is why I am here early in the morning, in the empty medical center, to suppress Lin Xue’s rampaging spiritual power. We had two options: one was to gather a massive amount of energy to form a suppressive pressure field to forcefully suppress her power from the outside; the second was to use my abilities to intervene with her spiritual power to achieve a diversion. Anyone with a mind higher than zero could figure out which method was safer.

"You really are a headache."

Helplessly gazing at the unresponsive Miss who was soundly asleep, I shrugged my shoulders, and just as I began to stretch my somewhat stiff body,

"I should really make Bubbles play fewer games. If only she would take a bit more effort in redesigning these special human facilities," I grumbled, looking around at the cold machinery.

As a place that Leader-level Apostles could use (although most of the time the mighty Imperial Leaders didn’t need this stuff), the room didn’t have a large circle of hospital beds like a normal medical center, but only had one medical cabin placed in the center, providing the care of an intensive care unit. Despite ample space and considerate services, the cold metallic tones still felt a bit uncomfortable, especially after I casually glanced back at Lin Xue laying in the medical cabin. Hmm...

I’ve never agreed more strongly that this new style medical cabin designed by Taville really looked like a damn coffin!

Especially when there was a Sleeping Beauty inside...

"Wood, why do you have such a weird expression on your face?"

Suddenly, without any warning, Lin Xue sat up in the medical cabin and spoke to me with a stern face.

"Whoa!" Just as my mind was still oscillating between caskets and morgues, and zombie princess stuff, seeing Lin Xue with a stern face sitting up from the "coffin" gave me quite the thrill.

"Um... *cough* woke up yet?" If Lin Xue knew what I was thinking just now, she’d definitely go berserk on Taville. She’s had a long-standing grudge against these coffin devices and her connection with them—oh, looking at her complexion now, she doesn’t seem to be recovered.

"Ah, still a bit of a headache."

Prophet Lin frowned, rubbing his temples, "Wood, that magic cube..."

"Taville has already paused its violent decryption." It seems Miss is not quite awake yet. Her memory of what she experienced yesterday must be blur.

"Yeah, my mind is still a bit muddled, can’t remember much about yesterday," sitting in the medical cabin, Lin Xue swung her gloomy little face back and forth, "Wood, I want orange juice!"

I didn’t get up immediately; instead, I looked at Lin Xue with a strange expression. I’ve felt that something was off since the conversation started but couldn’t pinpoint what... Well, let my poor mortal brain play ostrich then.

I gave up analyzing any abnormalities in the trouble-filled Miss’s words and behavior, and got up to pour her a drink.

Lin Xue liked orange juice, but not the freshly squeezed kind from expensive oranges, which didn’t fit her Miss status at all. She had a soft spot for the six-yuan big buckets from the supermarket. Knowing she’d ask for it once she woke up, I was prepared, but before I could get up, Lin Xue suddenly muttered, "No ice, of course! It changes the taste! Stupid Wood!"

My movement froze mid-air—

That’s it, the discordance I’ve been feeling!

Lin Xue had always been half a beat fast!

When she spoke to me, she was always responding to the questions I originally planned to ask. Of course, since she already answered them, I didn’t need to ask, and because those were the questions I intended to ask anyway, I didn’t notice anything odd at first. That was the source of the discordance. Could it be that... Lin Xue’s spirit world...

Noticing my still gaze, Lin Xue couldn’t help feeling a bit creeped out, but before I could share my discovery, a realization crossed her face, then she slapped her forehead, "Uh-oh, Wood, I... what I’m seeing now is overlapping with reality a minute from now!"

I watched Lin Banxian, who was fretting in vexation, with a bittersweet smile. Though I couldn’t empathize with the symptom of reality and the future constantly merging in her perception, I still felt sympathy. Maybe this condition could stump even Bubbles; should it be called Superhuman Disease? Prophet Phenomenon Syndrome?

Lin Xue, exasperated, grabbed her hair, helpless against my suppressing smile, then suddenly displayed a sad and troubled expression, "Uh, Wood, what should I do, will I ever recover? Will I have to always see this double-vision world?"

"Stop overthinking," seeing Lin Xue suddenly look so saddened, I knew it wasn’t the time for jokes, and immediately brought the orange juice to her, "Bubbles has calculated that your spiritual power should be able to..."

"Ha ha! Watch Miss make a fool of herself! Now see Miss’s Heavenly Pegasus Starlight Bursting Fist!"

I slapped Lin Xue on the head, "Maybe I’ll be sitting there in a minute, but for now, you better get used to aiming in the double vision, reckless girl!"

Miss Lin Xue, who swung a punch aimlessly and almost fell, turned crimson when I teased her. She then snatched the orange juice from my hands—this time aiming accurately—gulped it down with vigor.

"Hmph! That was... that was just a demonstration! How could Miss make a mistake! Hey, what’s that look on your face," Lin Xue looked towards my direction, berating a "one-minute later Wood" that was no longer there, "Stupid Wood... Ah! I’m in despair, this double-vision world is too much!"

"See what happens when you mess around," feeling like I had seen enough comedy, I decided it was time to wrap it up, placed a hand on Miss Lin’s head, and immediately released an even stronger suppression of spiritual power, "How about now, girl, feeling better?"

"Ah, the double vision is gone!" Lin Xue immediately exclaimed in surprise, then frowned, "But my spiritual power seems to be frozen."

Somehow, Prophet Lin’s temperament now reminds me of a child. Could it be a side-effect?

I wickedly speculate but couldn’t help ruffling Lin Xue’s head, instantly turning her soft, long hair into a bird’s nest.

At that moment, Miss Xue realized that her lifetime rival was patting her head as one would with a child. A wave of anger swept across her face, and she quickly swatted away my "paws."

"Hey! Don’t get cocky in front of me... Uh, the double vision is happening again..."

Right after pushing my hand away, Miss Xue, who immediately fell into a crisis of double vision, let out a cry and then grabbed my hand again, pressing it onto her head. "Help me focus!"

Why does every interaction with Lin Xue always spiraled toward a bizarre direction?

Holding this frustrating thought in mind, I still obediently boosted my ability once more and suppressed the spiritual power that Lin Xue couldn’t shut off herself. Luckily, she was in a weakened state of resurrection; normally, blocking the eyes of a Prophet is not that simple—I’ve never even beaten her playing Fight the Landlord.

Of course, there was no need for head-patting this time; I just wanted to tease her before.

"Miss Xue, can you tell me now, what exactly did you see in that Magic Cube?"

"All I can say is what I’ve already told you," Lin Xue said, combing her tangled hair with an ivory comb that came from who-knows-where. "It’s something extremely dangerous, containing data from when the Empire was asleep and also one of the reasons for the Empire’s slumber. I peeked into its past, but the only conclusion I reached is that it was created by Xyrin People themselves. I also made a prediction about its future and discovered the catastrophic consequences that might arise from forcibly decoding it... It might not be a second slumber for the surviving Apostles, but the danger is no less significant."

Lin Xue did not disclose any additional information, but I could tell that she was holding back.

"I can’t say more," the girl whispered while combing her hair. "The future is shifting, revealing too much about it would only blur everything, eventually evolving into a fog I can’t see through."

"That’s okay, this way, the burden you bear must be greater."

This exclamation was not just polite talk, but heartfelt.

Strictly speaking, Lin Xue might be the one among us who knew everything the best. Though she can’t see all of the future, she could see countless perils in it—why do I keep thinking my future is filled with dangers, damn it!

But Lin Xue couldn’t share any of it with anyone.

The future must not be overly disclosed, not even to one more person. In such a predicament, Lin Xue had to bear it all alone, constantly walking a dangerous line, trying to give us metaphors with as little information as possible, revealing as many secrets as she could without saying an extra word. Although, most of the time, my average understanding drove Miss Xue crazy, I could still feel some of the pressure she endured.

"Pressure or no pressure, it’s a piece of cake," Lin Xue said nonchalantly, casting a sidelong glance at me, "but your dense spirit is the real source of my stress usually."

I shrugged innocently, almost immune to the sudden venomous tongue from Miss Xue.

"By the way, girl, I remember... when you called me in front of the Magic Cube Core earlier, you used the name Ah Jun, right?"

Suddenly recalling this, I couldn’t help but scratch my head and asked to confirm whether it was just my auditory hallucination.

"Of course it was your hallucination," Lin Xue huffed without caring, "Miss here would never fall into the clutches of a guy like you."

For the second time, the words that Lin Xue slipped out were instantly censored.

However, even though she was so firm, was that fleeting blush on the face of Miss Xue in front of me an illusion?

"Idiot, sluggish, clueless, blockhead, stubborn..."

While I was dazed, Lin Xue suddenly started mumbling under her breath, a stream of venomous remarks flowing out of the Prophet’s mouth unfiltered.

"So, girl, I didn’t bother you, did I?"

"Go away, I’m reciting the periodic table here!"

How come the basic elements of some unfortunate world need a bunch of idiots to constitute them!

Of course, Lin Xue couldn’t hear the complaints in my head; she just suddenly sighed and showed a look of resignation on her face, "Oh well, who am I to talk... I’m an idiot too... Wood, come here!"

"What for?" I approached, somewhat bewildered. Although Miss’s haughtiness was just a habit of saying one thing while thinking another, ignoring her would definitely lead to endless trouble for me.

"Just stand there and don’t move!" Lin Xue had a strange smile on her face but a crafty glimmer in her eyes that I couldn’t decipher. Under my puzzled gaze, Miss suddenly took a breath, and then, those lively eyes quickly loomed large before my own.

"Chu!"

A sudden coolness touched my lips, but at the same time, my mind went blank.

System overload, system overload! My brain has overloaded!

What just happened? Nothing happened, right?

Okay, okay, face the reality, face the reality. That was...

A kiss? Or rather, was I just forcefully kissed by Prophet Lin?

Ultraman and the little monsters shaking hands in peace? The Prototype and the Apostles building a future together? Zhong Kui and Killian joining forces to establish a harmonious Eden, Little Tiantian and Brother Zhuzi finally making peace over drinks?

Can someone explain to me what’s going on!

It felt as if shocked by electricity, my entire body sprang backward, and then I tumbled over the chair with a loud crash. When I got up, I saw Lin Xue still touching her lips with her index finger, mumbling to herself, "It seems that was all it was. I had too many fantasies before..."

But your cheeks are glowing red.

I didn’t manage to dodge it just now. In fact, with my rich combat experience, I should have immediately realized when Lin Xue suddenly brought her face closer. But the violent conflict between "possible" and "impossible" left my brain empty, and by the time I realized, all that was left was a cold sensation lingering on my lips.

"Ah Wood, your expression is so funny!"

"Hey, isn’t this the time to discuss this?" I couldn’t help but firmly press down on Lin Xue’s head, not knowing whether I was angry or happy, "What was that just now?"

Although I tried to appear indifferent, as soon as I finished speaking, Miss’s face turned even redder. To tell the truth, since I’d known her, I’d never seen Miss behave so much like a girl—okay, now I’m really attacking her personally.

"Um, about that," Lin Xue suddenly frowned, tapping her temple with her index finger, "I might still be a bit groggy. What happened just now?"

Playing dumb?

It naturally raised my suspicion, but I must admit, Lin Xue’s bewildered expression looked genuinely real. Moreover, was it really possible for the Miss, usually almost an arch-enemy, to impulsively come up and kiss me?

Thinking about that, I almost found myself believing Lin Xue’s explanation... as if!

Seeing my face clearly doubt her, probing tirelessly, Miss’s earlier resolve and courage seemed to have vanished into thin air. Her cheeks were still flushed as she began to laugh it off, trying to divert my attention, "Wood, there’s something else I need to tell you..." (To be continued. For future updates, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)