Consciousness slowly returned to her body.
Hearing came back first.
The dressing room was terrifyingly quiet, with nothing but two overlapping breaths breaking the silence.
Jiang Nuan’s eyes flew open.
Moonlight still poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, enveloping her. Nothing had changed, yet somehow everything had.
Almost instinctively, she turned her head toward the other end of the sofa.
A few strands of moonlight fell across Shen Wu’s hair. His face, usually marked by a cool detachment, now carried an entirely different air.
Shen Wu leaned toward her.
Those pale eyes, normally filled with reason, were now frighteningly heated.
One hand locked around the back of her neck, while the other gripped her wrist tightly, leaving her no chance to retreat.
His lips came down hard over hers.
This was no tentative kiss. It was an act of plunder that had continued from the mental realm.
His lips were cool at first, but the breaths they exchanged were hot enough to leave her entire body numb.
Only when she was nearly unable to breathe and could barely remain upright by clinging to his arm did Shen Wu finally pull back a little.
Breathing faintly ragged, he lowered his head and gently wiped away the moisture at the corner of her lips with his thumb.
Shen Wu’s pale eyes were astonishingly bright, filled with an almost ravenous satisfaction.
“Your power river can do this because it accepts energy that originally didn’t belong to it, then converts it for its own use.”
He had finally begun answering her original question about her ability, but his slightly hoarse voice made the words sound unbearably suggestive.
“For example… mine.”
He lowered his head, the tip of his nose nearly brushing hers, and murmured softly, “It likes me very much, doesn’t it?”
Jiang Nuan’s lashes trembled violently. The scorching sensation of his lips still lingered on hers, which even throbbed faintly with pain.
Like him? This was far more than liking!
The rational little person in her mind had completely lost it. It had flipped over the table and was pointing at her mental realm, cursing furiously.
This was bringing a wolf into the house! A traitor! An inside man!
And yet, Shen Wu’s words were also like a key, unlocking the greatest question that had troubled her all along.
So the purification from before, the flow and return of that energy, and even today’s deep mental fusion… could all substantially increase the strength of her ability.
At the same time, her power had naturally seeped into that cold, lifeless world of his, soothing its desolation.
Wait…
This two-way cycle, this explosive increase in energy that required extreme physical or mental intimacy to achieve—
The only regrettable part was that this mental fusion couldn’t reduce her mutation level. At least, not for now.
Why did this setup sound so familiar?
Her SSS-rank purification ability, after being unraveled layer by layer, had finally revealed its true identity…
The dual-cultivation technique of some Hehuan Sect?!
What kind of godforsaken apocalypse novel had she ended up in?
Unfortunately, this despairing inner monologue couldn’t suppress the other violent storm raging in her heart.
Everything that had happened in the mental realm just now was like a grand, chaotic fireworks display, its embers still burning.
That had not been a simple mental examination.
It had been an unreserved invasion and fusion.
The barren darkness, along with the cold desire in his mental power—desire so intense it had nearly swallowed her whole—continued to haunt her mind.
What terrified her most was that her mental power had betrayed her reason.
Or perhaps it had simply followed a more honest instinct.
It had welcomed him.
Jiang Nuan was horrified to discover that when he had lost control and kissed her just now, the very first thought to flash through her mind had been:
So even this man, who was always in complete control and watched everything from the sidelines with cold indifference, could lose control like this.
Shen Wu gently rested his forehead against hers.
Their heated breaths mingled, trapping her firmly within this tiny space.
Jiang Nuan could feel the river of light inside her body surging wildly. Because of their fusion just now, her energy was so full that it nearly spilled over.
“Your ability is very active right now. It’s even somewhat beyond your control.”
He finally spoke again. His voice had regained some of its usual composure, but the hand resting against the back of her neck still hadn’t loosened.
“That’s normal after a sudden surge in energy. You need time to adapt and learn how to control it.”
“…Then how am I supposed to tame it?” Jiang Nuan looked up, meeting his unfathomable gaze.
Shen Wu smiled.
Jiang Nuan rarely saw him smile like that.
It was a pleasure that seemed to seep from his very bones after achieving exactly what he wanted.
She had never known that Shen Wu’s smile could be so… lethal.
“I’ll teach you.” His fingers slowly brushed over her cheek. “Using… our way.”
*
Bang!
The dressing-room door was thrown open from the outside.
A gust of cold air swept in.
“We figured out what’s going on with the painting.”
Jiang Ce’s voice rang out first.
Immediately afterward, another tall, dark figure strode inside.
It was Qinian.
The moment he entered, his eyes locked onto the two people by the floor-to-ceiling window.
They were far too close.
Shen Wu’s hand was still resting against Jiang Nuan’s cheek. Her lips were unnaturally swollen and red, and the corners of her eyes still glistened with the tears brought on by instinctive physical reaction.
The air was thick with an indescribable, cloying intimacy.
The corners of Qinian’s eyes lowered, and the sparks in his gaze seemed capable of burning straight through the air.
He let out a cold laugh and strode over.
Then he forced his way onto the sofa and dropped himself between Shen Wu and Jiang Nuan.
With his shoulder, he shoved Shen Wu aside.
“Manager Shen, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Qinian tugged irritably at his collar, hiding Jiang Nuan completely behind him.
“Discussing methods for advancing one’s ability,” Shen Wu replied, entirely unbothered by being shoved aside. “What’s the matter? Is a topic of this level already beyond you?”
“You—”
Qinian gritted his teeth in anger. But when he turned to Jiang Nuan, his expression changed in an instant, becoming aggrieved and pitiful.
“Nuannuan, you’re really just going to sit there and watch? I’m jealous. The kind of jealous that can’t be soothed.”
His searing breath brushed against her ear, making Jiang Nuan’s entire body jolt.
This man… was far too good at flirting.
Jiang Ce stopped in the doorway for several seconds without moving.
His tall figure nearly blocked out all the light from the entrance. The smile he habitually wore froze soundlessly when he took in the scene on the sofa.
Something sank, swallowed beneath an unfathomably deep shadow.
By the time Qinian had noisily squeezed onto the sofa and Jiang Nuan had turned her gaze away, he had already started walking again.
Jiang Ce sat down in the single-seat sofa opposite them.
His tall body pressed the cushion down slightly, creating an imposing sense of pressure.
His gaze paused on Jiang Nuan’s slightly swollen red lips. A dark current of emotion flashed through his eyes, restrained with tremendous effort.
Then he unfolded the black cloth he had been holding all along.
“Now, let’s talk about this painting.”
Jiang Ce’s voice drew everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand.
He spread the painting out on the low table.
Jiang Nuan leaned forward curiously. What kind of painting could contain abnormal energy that might serve as a clue?
She looked over.
The background of the painting was an extreme mixture of dark red and pure black. It depicted Qinian onstage.
It must have been a moment from one of his concerts. He was dressed in black performance attire, holding a microphone in one hand as he looked out at the audience with a wild, uninhibited gaze. The artist’s technique was exquisite, capturing even the lazy hint of a smile at the corner of his eyes with perfect precision.
But what concerned Jiang Nuan most was the strange energy emanating faintly from the painting.
“This painting...” Jiang Nuan frowned. “It makes me feel very uncomfortable.”
“Your ability is rejecting it,” Shen Wu said calmly. “There’s a high concentration of anomalous energy left in the painting. Ordinary people might be eroded by it without even realizing it. Only high-ranked ability users have sufficiently sensitive perception to notice.”
“That’s right. And this anomalous energy is different from the energy we’ve encountered inside this restricted zone, so it could become a clue.” Jiang Ce nodded and raised his wrist to activate his terminal.
“Qinian and I just investigated the people on the gift list.”
An image was projected before them.
It showed a young girl with an innocent, youthful smile. Her hair was cut short to her ears, and she wore an ordinary T-shirt and jeans.
This girl...
“It’s her?!” Jiang Nuan blurted out.
Qinian turned to look at her. “You know her?”
Jiang Nuan nodded, disbelief written across her face. “She was sitting next to me at the concert today.”
She remembered very clearly.
Throughout the entire concert, the girl had watched Qinian onstage with rapt attention, her gaze filled with admiration and affection.
No matter how she looked at it, the girl didn’t seem like someone who would be connected to anomalous energy.
“Zhou Mengmeng, twenty-one, college student.” Jiang Ce brought up the girl’s basic profile. “She’s one of Qinian’s devoted fans and attends almost every performance and fan-signing event.”
Qinian lounged against the sofa, propping his chin up with one hand. “I remember her. She comes to every signing event and often gives me paintings. She really is talented, but...” His gaze fell on the painting. “None of her previous paintings had anomalous energy.”
“So,” Shen Wu continued in a cool, level voice, “either she only came into contact with an anomalous energy source recently, or there’s something wrong with her herself.”
The girl looked like nothing more than an avid fan. She also lacked the aura Jiang Nuan had sensed from the monsters she had encountered.
But in this restricted zone, where everything was steeped in strangeness, they could not judge someone’s involvement based on appearances alone.
“This is the first potentially direct clue we’ve found since entering this restricted zone a year ago.”
Shen Wu pressed his fingers to his temple.
“We can’t alert her. Tomorrow, I’ll contact her and invite her to meet privately under the pretext of a special reward for core fans. We’ll test the waters first.”
It was an extremely prudent proposal, and everyone nodded in agreement.
This was a crucial step toward finding the core of the restricted zone and shattering this false world.
Just then, Jiang Ce glanced down at his terminal. His composed expression changed instantly.
A sharp edge entered his normally gentle eyes, and every muscle in his body tightened.
“What is it?” Jiang Nuan asked.
Jiang Ce abruptly rose to his feet, his tall frame radiating an overwhelming pressure.
“Ye Que just sent an emergency set of coordinates.”
“He found a lead on Qi Sui.”
Qinian, who had been lounging lazily on the sofa, sprang upright at once. The casualness vanished completely from his eyes.
“Where’s my brother?!”
“At an underground black market—an area that has been sealed off after an anomalous-energy outbreak.” Jiang Ce rapidly checked his gear as he spoke, his words coming fast. “Ye Que didn’t wait for us. He’s already gone in alone.”
Jiang Nuan’s heart lurched.
That reckless, death-defying idiot, Ye Que!
“We leave immediately.” Shen Wu was already on his feet. He turned to Jiang Nuan. “You—”
“I’m coming with you.” Jiang Nuan cut him off before he could finish.
She knew what Shen Wu intended to say.
It was too dangerous. Stay behind.
But she couldn’t.
Qi Sui and Ye Que were both members of Team Zero. They were her... companions.
Besides, after the battle at the barbecue restaurant, and after truly feeling the evolution of her ability just now, she understood that she was no longer someone who could only passively accept protection.
Shen Wu looked at her, his pale eyes unfathomable.
A few seconds later, he suddenly reached out. His fingers slipped through her hair and drew her closer before he pressed a firm kiss to her forehead.
“Stay close to me. Don’t leave my sight,” he said in a low voice.
Qinian immediately caught her other hand, threading his fingers through hers. “And you’re not allowed to leave my sight either.”
Jiang Ce stepped behind her and rested his broad hand on her shoulder. The steady strength of it was reassuring.
“I’ll protect you.”
Surrounded by the three of them, Jiang Nuan felt an indescribable emotion rise in her chest.
Nervousness—and the fluttering sensation of being cherished.
“Let’s go.”
Shen Wu turned first and strode toward the door.
Jiang Nuan followed after him. She had no idea what awaited them next.
But she knew that this night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
