Chapter 47: The (Fake) Chat Genius Cen Xiangyun
“…”
Luo Ling slowly opened her eyes. After a moment of disorientation, she realized she was being carried on Linna’s back, her face buried in the blonde’s wavy hair.
“A ghost!”
A scream rang out, startling Luo Ling. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar veiled woman.
“Hmm?”
Luo Ling frowned slightly. Linna seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and quickly put Luo Ling down, simultaneously sending the details of her encounter with Mao Ke into Luo Ling’s mind.
Instantly, Luo Ling’s impression of Mao Ke became somewhat… comical, her gaze slightly strange.
Of course, comical as she might be, Mao Ke’s strength was undeniable, as evidenced by her easily seeing through Linna’s disguise.
Therefore, Luo Ling composed herself, stabilizing her consciousness to avoid revealing any flaws before Mao Ke.
However…
Luo Ling felt a strange sensation on her right index finger. She raised it and sniffed slightly, a faint, unusual fragrance lingering, a scent she had never encountered before.
She glanced suspiciously at Linna, who was standing straight as a ramrod beside her, but only saw a slight blush on Linna’s profile, no other unusual expression.
“Ahem…”
Mao Ke, seemingly realizing her own gaffe, coughed repeatedly to cover her embarrassment.
She hadn’t expected this black-haired girl to suddenly appear alive and kicking, especially with such a strong Doomsday aura, a level she herself could only achieve by deliberately releasing her Doomsday ability.
But soon, a hint of excitement surged in Mao Ke’s heart.
She thought she was just casually recruiting a promising newcomer, but unexpectedly, this newcomer came with a bonus: a peerless genius with unparalleled talent, born to be a Doomsday Messenger.
However, Mao Ke suppressed her excitement, her expression turning serious as she introduced herself, “Hello, I am Mao Ke, one of the Messengers of the Doomsday followers. It’s a pleasure to meet you two… Although the way we met might not be very pleasant. How should I address this little sister…?”
More than just unpleasant…
Linna rolled her eyes. She had been hiding perfectly well, but this woman dragged her out, and she ended up here in a daze.
Now, she probably couldn’t return to Great Xia Imperial City for the time being. The Xuanyuan clan was most likely searching for them.
Needless to say, even the unconscious Luo Ling on Linna’s back was on the wanted list.
“Cen Xiangyun,” Luo Ling answered almost without thinking.
Linna’s eyes widened, and she turned to look at Luo Ling, seemingly shocked by her answer.
How could Miss Luo Ling use someone else’s name so casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world?
Wait…
Could she have used her name before, causing trouble everywhere?
The reason Luo Ling used Cen Xiangyun’s name wasn’t due to careful consideration. She simply didn’t want to use her real name.
Although the name Luo Ling wasn’t particularly noticeable during the Victoria Incident, since it was only at the very last moment that the Company headquarters connected her to the White Witch, it… still appeared.
Cen Xiangyun was different, practically a nobody.
More importantly, when Mao Ke asked, this was the first name that popped into Luo Ling’s head, so she just answered.
“Miss Cen… is it? Hehe.” Mao Ke said softly, a polite smile under her veil. “Have you heard of us—the Doomsday Messengers?”
During her self-introduction, she carefully observed the girl’s micro-expressions, but didn’t see the reaction she expected.
Facing a Doomsday Messenger, people were usually either terrified like ordinary people, hateful like the Xuanyuan clan, or wary like the higher-ups of other factions. It was rare to see… this seemingly confused expression.
The existence of the Doomsday path was a tacit secret, but the Doomsday Messengers still had some notoriety. They were usually grouped with Taboo Godchosen, like Naraku’s or Guixu’s Godchosen, basically beings to be avoided.
Linna’s instinctive reaction upon hearing the name was wariness, which piqued Mao Ke’s interest.
But she didn’t expect this little sister to react this way.
Could it be… that she didn’t know about the Doomsday Messengers?
“Yes, I’ve heard of you.”
Luo Ling answered frankly.
“Oh?” Mao Ke’s gaze deepened. This was intriguing. “Since you know… I thought you would have a stronger reaction.”
“What kind of reaction should I have?” Luo Ling’s expression remained indifferent, the puppet body concealing all her emotions.
“Surprise, fear, or perhaps vigilance and wariness… but it feels a bit strange for me to say these things.” Mao Ke clicked her tongue. “Miss Cen’s reaction is a first for me. However, I’m very pleased. Are you interested in joining us? You have great potential.”
“Okay.” Luo Ling nodded.
Linna, standing beside her, was dumbfounded. Even Mao Ke was stunned by Luo Ling’s answer.
Wasn’t she supposed to hesitate a little?
Like, get to know each other first?
Mao Ke had been holding back, planning to extend an olive branch first as a sign of sincerity, and then, when the other party hesitated, further explain the Doomsday Messengers and gradually learn about this little sister she had just met.
But as soon as her olive branch sprouted a bud, the other party swallowed it whole, roots and all. This reaction was truly unexpected.
Linna was even more confused. She could see Mao Ke’s intentions. That was how Mao Ke had communicated with her during their previous conversation.
However, Linna had been cautious. Since Luo Ling hadn’t returned yet, she didn’t dare make any decisions on her own, so she kept a straight face towards Mao Ke, her answers short and concise, basically only revealing her name.
Now, as soon as Luo Ling returned, she was so straightforward…
“This…”
Mao Ke hesitated, a hint of suspicion appearing in her mind.
Could she be a spy, trying to infiltrate the Doomsday Messengers?
That didn’t seem right either…
What kind of unprofessional spy would be so straightforward as to arouse suspicion?
On the other hand, what dispelled her doubts even more was the extremely strong Doomsday aura on Luo Ling. She would even believe that Luo Ling was born from Doomsday itself.
In this case, the idea of a spy seemed rather weak…
“Wait, let me… process this…”
Mao Ke rubbed her temples, wondering where the problem was.
“Master Mao Ke, didn’t you want me to join the Doomsday Messengers?” Luo Ling asked.
Mao Ke nodded.
“I also want to join you,” Luo Ling continued, “So I agreed.”
Hearing Luo Ling’s answer, Mao Ke hesitated again.
That was what she said, but why did it still feel strange…
“Then, why do you want to join us?” Mao Ke composed herself and asked.
“Because you invited me.” Luo Ling blinked, her expression seemingly innocent and naive.
“……”
This reasoning seemed… sound.
So, what was the problem?
Mao Ke felt a throbbing pain in her temples.
“Why don’t you ask why you invited me?” Luo Ling reminded her.
“Right, why did we invite you?” Mao Ke slapped her forehead, then reacted and said through gritted teeth, “No, that’s… forget it. The reason we invited you is because you have the aura of Doomsday.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” Luo Ling nodded again.
Mao Ke felt she couldn’t continue this conversation and looked at Linna for help.
She could roughly tell that Linna was Miss Cen’s guard or something, and really wanted to ask Linna if Miss Cen had always been such a conversationalist.
Linna also had a strange expression. She knew Luo Ling was good at conversations, but she didn’t expect her to be this good, bringing the conversation to a dead end in just a few sentences.
“My lady’s meaning is that she has no objections.” Linna smoothly took over the conversation and continued, “I think… Master Mao Ke, you want to know more about us, right?”
“Yes, yes, yes…”
Mao Ke nodded repeatedly, relieved to finally encounter a normal person.
“We’re from Victoria,” Linna said directly. “A while ago, for some reason, Victoria underwent an unprecedented change, and then my lady became like this.”
This was the explanation Luo Ling had prepared and discussed with Linna beforehand.
“Oh?”
Hearing this, Mao Ke instantly became interested.
She was well aware of the recent changes in Victoria. The chain reaction triggered by those changes hadn’t even been fully processed by the Doomsday Messengers yet.
She didn’t expect this upheaval to create some special individuals…
Presumably, the Doomsday aura on these two came from direct exposure to the Angel of Demise Authority released by the deceased Messenger-to-be.
Although it was extremely rare for people to gain Doomsday abilities after being attacked by Doomsday, it wasn’t unprecedented. For example, the hateful Xuanyuan Linglong was a case in point, so this explanation wasn’t flawed.
Moreover, according to the Doomsday Messengers’ intelligence network, there was indeed no record of these two, increasing the credibility of their words.
Although it was difficult to verify the situation in Victoria now, it didn’t matter. The factions there were still preoccupied with their own affairs, let alone colluding with forces from Great Xia Imperial City or Valhalla.
At least the possibility of them being spies with ulterior motives could be temporarily ruled out.
Mao Ke gradually relaxed, wondering if their future recruitment efforts should focus on Victoria, to see if they could find more people like these two who awakened due to the Angel of Demise’s attack.
The Doomsday Messengers had suffered heavy losses recently, not just the three Messengers who died inexplicably, but also many Relay Horses and Carrier Pigeons.
Even their leader, Zi Ke, had to issue a silence order. The last time this happened was after their defeat in the war against the Xuanyuan clan and other forces.
But Mao Ke quickly snapped out of her thoughts, a polite smile returning to her lips.
“I have no further questions. The Doomsday Messengers welcome you two to join us. However… before officially joining, we still need to conduct a small test. Of course, the probability of you passing is very high. It’s just to see how compatible you are with Doomsday.”
“Okay.”
Luo Ling nodded slightly and then closed her eyes.
Linna immediately reached out and held her, then looked up at Mao Ke apologetically.
“Excuse me, my lady has been like this since the last incident, occasionally falling into a deep sleep, rarely awake.”
“I understand.”
Mao Ke nodded. With such a strong Doomsday aura, it was a miracle she was still alive. A minor side effect like occasional sleep wasn’t surprising.
Moreover, hearing this explanation, Mao Ke’s last bit of hesitation disappeared.
“Let’s not delay any further. Let’s return to the branch station. This is just a temporary foothold I created. We can’t stay long.” Mao Ke said. At the same time, this territory showed signs of collapsing.
“You created this temporarily?”
Linna was surprised. She looked around, her assessment of Mao Ke’s strength increasing.
Although this older sister seemed a bit unreliable, she was… quite strong?
As for Luo Ling’s “coma,” this was an excuse Linna came up with on the spot. The real reason was that Luo Ling, just like last time, was suddenly distracted by other matters and had to temporarily abandon this side.
Thinking of this, Linna couldn’t help but sigh, but then a playful smile appeared on her face.
“Miss Luo Ling seemed to have noticed just now… but she doesn’t seem to mind?”
No objection meant consent.
Yes, that was it.
……
Meanwhile, at the edge of all the origin points’ Boundaries…
Luo Ling, in her White Witch form, suddenly opened her eyes. She rushed over after receiving Elsa’s message, forced to temporarily abandon her consciousness on Linna’s side.
Luo Ling knew that the discussion about the Doomsday Messengers was almost over, and Linna could handle the rest. She could confidently leave everything to Miss Knight.
If it wasn’t an emergency, Elsa wouldn’t have called her back. This side was more important.
Luo Ling’s main body was currently in Twilight Victoria, dealing with Iris. The one at the Xuanyuan residence was the Black Kite avatar, and the one with Linna was the Doomsday puppet.
The idiom “unable to be in multiple places at once” perfectly described Luo Ling’s current situation.
When Luo Ling’s consciousness arrived in her White Witch avatar, she found herself being held in Elsa’s arms in a clumsy princess carry. Opening her eyes, she saw Elsa’s slightly chubby, cute face, her small brows furrowed tightly.
“What’s wrong, Elsa?” Luo Ling asked.
“Miss White, it seems… there’s a problem.” Seeing Luo Ling finally wake up, Elsa breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, “Look, the protective power… is being consumed so quickly!”
Luo Ling slid down from Elsa’s arms, stood up slightly, and looked up at the demonic phantom above.
Compared to what she had left behind, it was incredibly weak.
“That’s not right. According to my calculations, it should last for at least a month…”
Luo Ling’s expression turned serious. After a brief investigation, she discovered that the surrounding Doomsday storm was intensifying at an unnatural rate, causing the phantom to weaken.
Elsa didn’t want to trouble Luo Ling, so she minimized the protective range, just enough for her to stand in, to reduce consumption.
After learning the reason, Luo Ling sighed and said, “Elsa, next time you encounter this situation, just tell me directly.”
Elsa lowered her head, as if knowing she had done something wrong, and replied softly, “Yes… I understand…”
Luo Ling’s expression softened, and she reached out to rub Elsa’s hair, continuing, “I’m not blaming you, it’s just… to me, nothing is more important than your safety.”
“Yes, yes!”
Elsa’s face lit up upon hearing this, but then she seemed to think of something and shrank her head slightly.
Luo Ling calmed herself, observed the surroundings, and reached a rather grim conclusion.
“I’m afraid… it’s the Fairy’s doing.”
As a practitioner of the “This Life” path of “Other Shore,” although the Fairy’s abilities were still unclear, she should possess methods of anti-tracking.
Although she might not have discovered Luo Ling’s presence, even a slight suspicion, with her cautious nature, would lead her to take countermeasures.
This place was remote, and besides the Doomsday Messengers and Luo Ling, probably no other being could reach it, but the Fairy still took precautions, somehow intensifying the Doomsday storm to prevent being tracked.
“But it’s useless. For me, it just means channeling more power.”
Luo Ling could be said to be the least afraid of Doomsday in the entire world. If her main body came here, she wouldn’t even need any protective measures. Stepping into the Doomsday storm would feel like returning home.
However, with Elsa present, some protective measures were necessary.
But it wasn’t a problem.
The Savior Witch Authority was specifically designed to counter Doomsday.
“It just consumes a bit more. I have plenty of inspiration. I can play along with her.”
Luo Ling immediately channeled new inspiration from her main body, strengthening the protective field.
However, from the Fairy’s actions, Luo Ling vaguely realized something.
“Even knowing the risk of being discovered, she would rather strengthen her defenses than leave?”
Either she was cornered, or she had other plans.
In any case, it was time to hurry and catch up to the Fairy.
“Let’s go, Elsa,” Luo Ling said softly, taking Elsa’s small hand.
“Yes, yes!”
Elsa nodded seriously, as if using all her strength.
