Chapter Three Hundred and Nineteen [Also... One of Them] From a natural standpoint, I had to kill the little boy, but I couldn’t beat him. The little boy could have killed me on his own but chose not to. Because I might be the "one" that could solve that flaw. However, I didn’t mention the speculation that I might be the "one" to the Son of the Sun. After all, Noah’s Ark, represented by the Son of the Sun, was committed to the eradication of the Mother. What if they thought that I was the unique antidote capable of solving the defect of the Mother... and then pondered, "Should we kill this antidote first?" Where could I go to reason? To argue logically? These people were highly devout, even ready to manifest their beliefs... How could one reason with a bunch of fanatics? What if they couldn’t be reasoned with? Considering his own safety, Chen Nuo decided to keep his mouth shut for now. Nevertheless, the emotions of the old man, the Son of the Sun, were clearly in turmoil. The old man left quickly. Even under the enormous shock, he forgot to pursue the matter of Chen Nuo deceiving him. "I need to go back and speak with some old friends." Those were the words of the Son of the Sun before he left. His trip to Jinling was too severe a blow—the power displayed by his opponent was beyond reach. Watching the old man, on the verge of a faith crisis, leave, Chen Nuo could only wish the old guy well in his mind. As for where the old man went after leaving, halting his vacation, and whom he consulted with, those were internal secrets of the Noah’s Ark Organization, and Chen Nuo did not ask. "I hope his faith is strong enough," sighed Chen Nuo. "So, do we... need to talk?" Chen Nuo looked towards Lu Xixi. At the moment, with the Son of the Sun gone and the Electric General lying unconscious in a room inside, the vast warehouse was left with just the two of them, one male and one female. "We have nothing left to talk about," Lu Xixi’s tone was very cold. He was acutely aware of the scene during the fight when Lu Xixi risked her life to save him, but now was not the time to bring that up. Knowing her proud and prickly nature, bringing it up would not only fail to soften her—it might just earn me a beating. Right now, being 14/17, I’m no match for Lu Xixi. After pondering for a moment, Chen Nuo asked in a low voice, "I haven’t asked you yet, how did you end up in Jinling?" "It’s none of your business." "...Did you come alone?" "It’s none of your business." Fresh chapters posted on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝘯𝘦𝘵 "What are you here in Jinling for..." "It’s none of your business!" "Then how long will you stay?" Lu Xixi was cut off mid-sentence as her mouth was abruptly sealed. Chen Nuo, with audacious courage, wrapped his arm around the woman’s waist and sealed her mouth—using his own. Lu Xixi’s eyes widened in shock, but the familiar breath and touch momentarily dazed her. The emotional volatility of a woman during pregnancy was heightened; caught off-guard, she was overwhelmed by a surge of emotions, murmured softly and, surprisingly, became spellbound, even forgetting to push away this dog of a man. But soon, Lu Xixi had a sudden awakening! This despicable man, he dared to slip his tongue in?! "...FUCK!" Chen Nuo cried out in pain, hurrying back as blood showed on his lips, his hands covering his mouth. "You’re too..." Before he could finish, the Star Sky Empress punched him in the chest. Chen Xiaoguo groaned in pain, staggering backward, then opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. The Star Sky Empress’s expression changed, but she still clenched her teeth, took a deep breath, and said coldly, "If you mess around again, I’ll really kill you." "I won’t, I won’t," Chen Nuo panted, supporting himself on his knees, bending over and gasping for air. "Don’t be angry, I won’t do it again." "I’m not some naive little girl who softens up after being sweet-talked or forcefully kissed! Chen Nuo, you’d better understand the nature of what happened between us. You shamelessly betrayed me! You can’t just smooth things over this way." Chen Nuo sighed and said in a low voice, "I understand. I wronged you." Lu Xixi’s eyes suddenly reddened, but she turned her head away, took a deep breath, forcefully suppressed the emotional turmoil in her heart, and without turning back, said in a low, cold voice, "The injuries you suffered in Brazil, haven’t they healed yet? That punch just now... it shouldn’t have made you spit blood, right?" Her words were still icy, but Chen Nuo detected a hint of concern in them. Chen Xiaoguo intentionally made his breathing sound heavier and said softly, "I’m fine. I might have been hurt during the fight earlier, and your punch just now hit an old injury in my lung." Lu Xixi hesitated for a moment and then said softly, "Then you... better get that checked out properly. Are your injuries that serious? It’s been months since you came back from Brazil, and you still haven’t recovered? In the fight yesterday, the strength you showed was a bit weak; you’ve regressed a lot." Chen Nuo replied softly, "It’s okay. I’ve found a solution, and I should be fully recovered in a few days. Um... about that... I’ve called you many times recently, but you haven’t answered." Lu Xixi looked at Chen Nuo with a complex gaze. "Why... would you still call me? What’s the point? Forget it, don’t say any more. Whatever was between us is over. Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it." Chen Nuo gave a bitter smile and said slowly, "The Son of the Sun left, but you didn’t. You stayed. I thought... you might be willing to talk to me about something." "Don’t even dream about it, you deadbeat scum!" Lu Xixi suddenly burst into a rage, clenching her fists tightly. "I... I stayed to talk to you about something else!" She glared at Chen Nuo, who seemed somewhat pleased, then quickly added, "Don’t get any ideas! I wanted to talk about Seed." When Seed was mentioned, Chen Nuo put aside other thoughts and became serious. "Seed?" "Yes." Lu Xixi nodded. "He... met with me before the big battle yesterday. And it seemed like he came specifically to see me." Chen Nuo’s expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Lu Xixi intently. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, "Did he... tell you anything?" Lu Xixi thought for a moment, then shook her head. "He didn’t say as much to me as he did to you. Our meeting was very short. He must have sensed my presence in this city with some ability. He said I was the strongest human he had ever met, but... he..." However, Lu Xixi shook her head. "Nothing else." The Empress concealed what Seed had said about "continuing to grow stronger will lead to death." For some psychological reason, Lu Xixi didn’t want to tell Chen Nuo that. Even though she didn’t say it, a bad feeling started to creep into Chen Nuo. Seed... had also met Lu Xixi alone? Thinking back to Seed’s special attitude towards me, meeting me alone, having the chance to kill me but not doing so, and even reminding me not to die... Now I’m starting to vaguely understand. If Seed places such high importance on me, it’s very likely because I’m the "one" who can solve the Mother’s flaw. But Seed also met Lu Xixi alone? Could it be... Chen Nuo’s expression changed! He suddenly recalled a detail! Previously, he had delved into a memory fragment in his own consciousness, specifically, the one about Antarctica from his past life. In that memory, he was on a mission to Antarctica in his previous life. Before the team reached Antarctica, they encountered Seed at sea, and he had joined forces with Lu Xixi to fight against it. Seed from his past life was clearly not as powerful as the Seed in this life. Because in the memory fragment of Antarctica, he and Lu Xixi had managed to hold their own against Seed. Even though they were at a disadvantage, they were not defeated as badly as they had been yesterday. And in that memory, Seed from his previous life had said something to his past self. "You, are you also one of the chosen?" Also! One of them! Since Seed said those two words, it meant... I am not the only Chosen One! So... if I am "one," then besides me, there are other people who are also "ones." According to Seed, I and several others might be the ones on whom Seed... or rather, the Mother, had placed their hopes, potential candidates to become "one"?! With this thought in mind, when Chen Nuo looked at Lu Xixi again... The Star Sky Empress! In terms of absolute strength, even Seed thought she was the strongest human it had ever seen. Seed had seen me, and the Son of the Sun, back in Brazil. Out of the three Controllers, Seed didn’t hesitate to consider Lu Xixi the strongest! Although there are other Controllers in this world whom Seed hasn’t encountered. But from my past life memories, even I feel that it’s seemingly impossible to find anyone whose strength could surpass Lu Xixi’s. The title of "strongest human"... while it’s not certain the Star Sky Empress can claim it without a doubt, there’s a ninety percent certainty it’s correct. Then, if one were looking for a potential "one" among humans... The strongest human, the Star Sky Empress, naturally has the greatest possibility! But... being one of the chosen and having the status of "one" also comes with another implication. I remember Seed telling me that I would "die"!! "What are you thinking about?" Lu Xixi frowned. "Is there something else you’re hiding from me?" Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing important. I was just wondering why Seed went to see you. Maybe... just curious." At this point, Chen Nuo shook his head. "Did Vanel ever come looking for you?" "...Yes. Did he tell you?" "Mhm. He said he wanted to invite you to join the mission to Antarctica, as a Mother might exist there too. But you refused. He told me, hoping I would persuade you to join." Chen Nuo looked at Lu Xixi and shook his head. "I refused as well. I don’t want you going to Antarctica." Lu Xixi took a half step closer, looking into Chen Nuo’s eyes up close, and whispered, "Chen Nuo, are you hiding something very important from me?" "Why don’t you want me to go to Antarctica?" "And... there is a very important question that I haven’t asked you since you woke up," Lu Xixi took a deep breath and lowered her voice. "When we were in Japan, I asked you a question about the things you said while holding Shuo Shuo during my mourning period, about this life, your past life..." Chen Nuo looked into Lu Xixi’s eyes. Lu Xixi continued, "At the time you refused to answer my question, you put it off, and I didn’t press you on it. But two months ago, after Brazil, you fell into a coma, and afterward, we all confirmed something about Body Seizing... That is to say, you..." Saying this, Lu Xixi pointed at Chen Nuo’s nose and said in a grave voice, "You are not ’this’ Chen Nuo at all! You are another Chen Nuo, right? So, going back to what you mentioned, about this life, about the past life... all those words! So, Chen Nuo..." Reaching this point, Lu Xixi stared into Chen Nuo’s eyes and asked word by word: "Who are you, really?" In the room, Old Jiang helplessly held a frying pan in front of him as a shield. Song Qiaoyun’s eyes were intense as she clutched a kitchen knife in her right hand and used her left hand to make a finger sword, pointing at Old Jiang and shouting angrily, "Halt, little demon! Give me back my grandpa!" Old Jiang rolled his eyes helplessly. Song Qiaoyun gave a cold laugh. With a flick of the knife in her right hand, she aimed its tip at Old Jiang with incredible precision, cleverly bypassing the frying pan he held and almost grazing his nose. Old Jiang’s gaze tightened, and he slid half a step back, grabbing Song Qiaoyun’s forearm with his left hand and using the bottom of the pan to block the blade with his right hand. CLANG! The blade was deflected. Old Jiang seized the opportunity to close in, grabbing Song Qiaoyun’s shoulder with one hand. His fingers tightened on her upper arm joint, preparing to disarm her. At that moment, Song Qiaoyun’s intense gaze suddenly narrowed! Old Jiang felt a sudden flash of warning in his heart! The instinct of a martial artist led me to exhale lightly, my Inner Breath coursing at full speed... Retreat! A surge of robust and overwhelming power suddenly radiated from Song Qiaoyun’s body, spreading in all directions! Old Jiang’s hand on Song Qiaoyun was shaken off, and the force sent him flying, his body lifted into the air, tumbling backward! While still in midair, Old Jiang adjusted his posture. As his back was about to hit the wall, he hooked his calf and pushed off the wall with the sole of his right foot, using the rebound to dissipate most of the force. Even so, his back slammed hard against the wall, and the frying pan fell to the ground with a CLANG. He looked back into the room. Song Qiaoyun stood there. Around her, the sofa, coffee table, TV cabinet, chest of drawers... After a second of stillness... CRASH! They shattered! The coffee table collapsed into pieces of wood; the sofa fell apart! Even the wall clock fell to the ground, instantly shattering! Enduring the pain, Old Jiang exclaimed, "Qiao Yun!" Only then did Song Qiaoyun seem to regain a trace of sanity. She looked up at Old Jiang before... Her eyes closed, and her body went limp, collapsing. Old Jiang, frantic, ignored his own pain from the impact and rushed to lift his wife from the floor. He first checked her pulse, then quickly sent a stream of his Inner Breath into her, guiding it through her body to examine her own Inner Breath... Old Jiang fumbled in his pocket for a medicine bottle, poured out a pill, and swiftly placed it in Song Qiaoyun’s mouth. He gently massaged her throat to help her swallow it. After doing all this, Old Jiang carried Song Qiaoyun into the room and gently laid her on the bed. A moment later, still checking Song Qiaoyun’s pulse, Old Jiang finally breathed a sigh of relief and let go of his wife’s wrist. Yet looking at the sleeping Song Qiaoyun, Old Jiang frowned deeply. It’s getting worse...