Free Web NovelIt had to be said, Shen Baiwei’s “performance” was extremely well-executed. Lu Yibei believed that if it were her, she couldn’t have done better than Shen Baiwei.
However, this act had a fatal flaw: at the “ending,” she didn’t spare the expense to hire more extras.
It was as if an exciting, high-energy suspense action film suddenly told the audience at the end that the past hundred-plus minutes they watched were ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) nothing more than a chuunibyou teenager’s dream, truly making one want to shout, “Geneva, refund!”
If one or two pursuers, or scouts secretly following, had appeared on their way from the market back to Daimu Courtyard, Lu Yibei would have hardly doubted Shen Baiwei. Unfortunately, Shen Baiwei seemed to have overlooked this, which led to Lu Yibei’s initial suspicion.
And once that initial suspicion arose in her mind, like a vigorous seed planted in fertile, moist soil, it quickly took root, sprouted, and extended countless branches.
Why was Shen Baiwei being pursued? Did she have some conflict of interest with someone?
But, when Miracle Order members have conflicts of interest with others, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t they usually charge forward impulsively?
Why was Shen Baiwei fleeing? Is it possible that she isn't a true Miracle Order member?
...
Some things just can't stand up to scrutiny. As various thoughts surged in her mind, the more Lu Yibei thought, the more something felt off.
It was like someone borrowed 1,500 yuan, repaid 500 the first time, and 550 the second time.
So she decided to charm Shen Baiwei, to dig deeper into Shen Baiwei’s dirty little secrets.
You thought that when I suddenly attacked you just now, then returned and used Chatterbox Girl’s tactics on Xiao Hua, I was just confusing Xiao Hua?
Wrong! ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
You and Xiao Hua are both my targets for confusion!
As Lu Yibei thought, she played with the glasses in her hand, looking up at Shen Baiwei, who was gradually falling into a charmed state, a hint of slyness flashing in her eyes.
Succeeded? I didn't expect an A-level Spirit Ability User to be charmed so easily.
You're no good, sis! You still dare to approach me? Isn't this just giving yourself away?
Lu Yibei thought, then asked, “So...”
“What is your purpose in approaching me?”
Regardless of whether there’s a purpose, ask first.
Anyway, someone in a deeply charmed state won't lie.
————
Hearing Disaster’s question, the dazed Shen Baiwei subconsciously knew she shouldn't answer, yet she spoke completely uncontrollably.
“Because... I want to stop you from touching the past.”
Stop me from touching the past? Lu Yibei was startled, her eyes trembling slightly.
Does she mean that I changed Xia Lianqing’s fate and tried to help Xia Lianqing and those armored soldiers?
But speaking of which, isn’t she a bit too compliant? I feel like I’ve seen this kind of plot somewhere before... probably in some hypnosis-themed book?
“Why?” Lu Yibei collected her thoughts and continued to ask, “There must be a reason, right? Also, I’m curious, how did you know I touched the past?”
“Because of my authority...” Shen Baiwei answered truthfully, “Your actions have had a huge impact on my Spirit Mark. If I let you mess around, I will be injured, or even die.”
As she spoke, her eyes were vacant, her face expressionless, like a puppet without self-awareness, acting only to the rhythm of its manipulator’s bell.
But in fact, when Shen Baiwei subconsciously answered, her remaining consciousness had long since boiled over, constantly shouting, roaring, and tearing at her nerves, trying to pull her consciousness back on track.
Stop, stop now!
Shen Baiwei, what exactly are you doing?
If you say any more, all your secrets will be exposed to Disaster!
However, her efforts were futile. When Disaster asked the next question, she still couldn’t control herself and obediently answered.
“Your authority? What is that?”
“The Serpent of the Years...” Shen Baiwei didn’t want to answer, but she still did.
Although Lu Yibei was very familiar with the feeling of not being able to control her own mouth, this was her first time experiencing it in her life, and the experience was extremely poor.
The feeling was very strange, as if she was watching from a bystander's perspective as some heinous villain wantonly manipulated her body, and her body cooperated to the maximum extent, yet she was powerless.
Damn the Witch Seed! So, there’s a reason why the Holy Church’s paladins are openly hunting Witch Breed in the areas under the Holy Church’s jurisdiction.
However, the Eclipse Society’s records also show that the Holy Church’s action was because a certain Witch Breed charmed their High Priest, making their High Priest treat a household lawnmower as a little boy and play with it all night...
Wait! What are you doing, Shen Baiwei? Snap out of it, is this the time to be thinking about these inexplicable things? Shen Baiwei shouted to herself in her mind.
The Serpent of the Years? What the hell is that, why haven’t I heard of it? A long worm? Lu Yibei thought, then asked the most crucial question, “So, what is the specific ability of your authority?”
She initially guessed that Shen Baiwei prevented her from touching the past because she was worried about things like the grandmother paradox, but Shen Baiwei’s answer exceeded her expectations.
This was the first time she had encountered an authority controlled by a urban legend or Psychic that was related to the past.
She became extremely interested in Shen Baiwei’s Spirit Mark authority.
“The specific ability of my authority is...”
Mid-sentence, Shen Baiwei froze.
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She suddenly felt an invisible hand gripping her throat, preventing her from continuing to speak.
No, perhaps those hands were real, and they were tightening, the intense feeling of suffocation causing her immense pain.
For a moment, Shen Baiwei even felt that there were three of her existing at this very moment.
One was being charmed by Disaster, answering questions; one was watching “Shen Baiwei” being charmed, raging in helpless fury; and another, invisible her, was trying to kill the “Shen Baiwei” of this moment...
In a daze, she seemed to hallucinate, seeing a group of people in white protective suits appear before her.
Their faces were blurry, as if shrouded in a thick mist.
One of them walked towards her, pulled out a pocket watch from his coat pocket, and slowly lowered it in front of her, saying coldly, “Now, look at this pocket watch containing the authority of a Witch Seed. When I count to three, activate your Spirit Mark authority and record this moment.”
“One, two, three...”
As the person’s voice fell, the pocket watch, with an alluring, bare-chested female figure carved on its casing, slowly swayed back and forth before her eyes.
As the pocket watch swayed, her attention was completely drawn to it, sinking deeper and deeper, until she felt the whole world consisted only of her and the woman on the pocket watch’s casing.
Faintly, human voices began to rise, then gradually became clear.
They said, “Seems like it failed? She didn’t activate her Spirit Mark authority?”
“Let’s try again! If we can’t even record the innate abilities of a Witch Seed, how can we deal with that man?”
For some reason, upon hearing those people say they wanted to try again, Shen Baiwei suddenly felt a tremor originating from the depths of her soul.
“So this time, do we need to apply some external stimulation to her?”
“Of course! A history that isn’t painful enough won’t be remembered, will it?”
“Night erosion, or corrupted divine blood?”
“Let’s try something new! I remember that Group Two produced a batch of inactivated X Tai Sui somatic cells a while ago, right? Let’s try those?”
“Okay!” Someone responded, and immediately after, Shen Baiwei saw a figure in a white protective suit approaching her with a syringe, injecting the slowly wriggling dark green substance from the syringe into her body...
Pain, sudden and intense, as if it would destroy her flesh and soul together.
————
Lu Yibei was engrossed in manipulating Shen Baiwei’s “body,” eagerly awaiting Shen Baiwei’s answer.
Noticing Shen Baiwei’s voice abruptly stop, she slightly furrowed her brows, looked up at Shen Baiwei, preparing to increase the charm’s intensity, but then suddenly froze at the sight before her.
As if enduring immense pain, Shen Baiwei’s features were almost twisted into a knot, her body curled up, her hands clutching her knees, twitching uncontrollably.
At some point, the surroundings had become utterly silent, even the sounds of breathing and heartbeats had vanished.
A strange chill quietly spread, but Lu Yibei didn't notice it until she saw the white mist emanating from her mouth and nose.
Immediately after, an uncomfortable, high-pitched shriek suddenly erupted, piercing her eardrums, and her eyes began to burn with pain.
The scene in her vision violently shook, becoming extremely blurry, and illusory, chaotic black lines rapidly spread in all directions, quickly filling her sight.
It felt like only an instant had passed, yet also like millions of years had gone by. When Lu Yibei regained her senses, the entire world seemed to consist only of her and Shen Baiwei.
In her vision, Shen Baiwei sat on the chair directly in front of her, her head tilted, her figure gaunt, her eyes vacant. In her sunken eye sockets, tiny dark green tentacles wriggled, and a chillingly eerie smile hung on the corner of her mouth.
It was as if... she had been completely broken.
The next moment, a chaotic tide of darkness swept over, and her consciousness, like an extinguished flame, fell into silence.
In her stupor, she heard a strange sound, like the hands of a clock turning.
“Tick-tock... tick-tock...”
Accompanied by that maddeningly monotonous sound, Lu Yibei felt as if something was being stripped from her body, then thrown backward by a strange force.
But, what was behind her?
————
It was like a high-intensity light suddenly switched on in a pitch-black room, and light suddenly appeared before her eyes.
It was a bit dazzling.
“Name?”
When Lu Yibei regained her senses, she heard this voice.
For a moment, she even suspected if she had been captured by some inexplicable organization again, and then naturally entered the interrogation process.
She subconsciously wanted to answer, but after a brief Stunned, she noticed the short-haired girl with glasses sitting opposite her, and she suddenly realized that the questioning voice was her own.
But... why do I feel like I’ve already asked this question?
Lu Yibei looked at the girl in front of her, frowning.
She suddenly had a very strange feeling.
This scene before her, it felt familiar...
