Jiang Nuan’s face was frighteningly pale from overexerting her ability.
Qi Sui took two steps forward and said gently, “Nuannuan, purifying that took too much out of you. You need an ability stabilizer.”
Jiang Nuan nodded and was just about to turn her face away when the corner of her eye caught sight of the needle.
She instinctively held her breath and clenched her fingers.
Lu Shiyan stepped to her side and gently drew her closer, letting her bury her face against his chest.
“Don’t look,” he said in a low voice. “It’ll be over soon.”
“I’m not that delicate,” Jiang Nuan mumbled, her voice muffled by his clothes.
Though she was, admittedly, a little nervous.
Just a little.
The main thing was that Lu Zhaoming was still standing nearby. She had looked so cool just moments ago, walking alone into the core to purify the anomalous energy. And now she was hiding in someone’s arms because of a needle. What kind of impression would that give?
“I know.” Lu Shiyan rested his chin against the top of her head. “But your hand is shaking.”
Jiang Nuan wanted to argue, but when she lowered her head, she found that her fingers had somehow wound tightly into the front of his shirt.
The moment the needle pierced her skin, her shoulders still gave a faint tremor.
She was even more afraid of injections than she was of those snarling, clawed monsters.
Lu Shiyan tightened his arm, holding her a little more securely.
“All done.” Qi Sui swiftly removed the needle and pressed a cotton swab to the puncture. “The medicine will take effect soon.”
Jiang Nuan slowly exhaled and straightened up from Lu Shiyan’s arms.
His chin brushed over the top of her head. After releasing her, Lu Shiyan took half a step back, giving her space again.
Jiang Nuan accepted the cotton swab from Qi Sui and pressed it against the puncture herself.
But the next second, she sensed that something was wrong.
She instinctively lifted her head and looked toward the snake-patterned tree in the distance.
Just now, inside the corridor of roots, she had been able to clearly feel this world breathing, as well as countless memories flowing between the tree roots.
But now, that connection was gradually fading.
It didn’t feel like her perception had weakened simply because she had left the root corridor.
Instead, it felt as though this world was slowly pushing her out.
“Do any of you feel that something’s wrong?” Jiang Ce asked with a frown.
“I feel like…the laws of this world are rejecting us.”
“Rejecting us?” Chen Ping’an’s face went white.
He looked down at his hands, his voice trembling slightly.
“Wh-why do I feel so light? Am I going to die?”
“I haven’t seen my mom and Grandma yet. I can’t die here…”
“You can still talk, so you’re not dying for now,” Ye Que said coldly.
Chen Ping’an sniffed. “But it really feels like my soul is about to leave my body…”
Lu Shiyan had already raised his eyes toward the snake-patterned tree.
His mental power spread outward, while his spatial ability formed a web of perception around them.
Lu Zhaoming and Shen Wu also walked toward the tree almost simultaneously.
Several minutes later, the three of them finished discussing the situation.
Shen Wu spoke. “We should be leaving this world, which has been given physical form by consciousness.”
Qinian froze. “Now? But the energy core of this world is still here. We haven’t destroyed it yet.”
“There’s no need anymore.” Shen Wu looked at the others.
“After Jiang Nuan purified the anomalous energy, this world was no longer being eroded.”
“This world was once completely sealed off because time had stopped.”
“To spread its contamination, the anomalous energy forcibly tore open the boundary of this world. That was how outsiders were able to enter, and how the monsters and anomalous energy continued pouring in through the cracks.”
“Now that the contamination has disappeared, the boundary is repairing itself.”
Jiang Ce frowned. “In other words, the world is sealing itself off again?”
“Yes.” Shen Wu nodded.
Chen Ping’an blinked, seemingly unable to fully process it.
“So…it’s going to send us out?”
“Most likely.” Shen Wu nodded. “It once accepted those who accidentally wandered in. Now, it will send back those who do not belong here.”
Chen Ping’an stood stunned for two seconds before nearly jumping on the spot.
“Wonderful! I knew I wasn’t going to die!”
“I can still go back and see my mom and Grandma!”
Qinian also visibly relaxed.
“That’s good.”
“I was wondering what would happen to the people here if we had to destroy the core… Even if this world was formed from consciousness, it feels too real to simply bring myself to destroy it.”
“Nian Nian couldn’t bear to part with all those fans who adore you.” Qi Sui pushed up his glasses and smiled warmly.
Qinian immediately raised his brows. “I couldn’t!”
Lu Zhaoming took two steps from the front of the snake-patterned tree toward Jiang Nuan.
The base’s lights shone behind him, stretching his shadow long across the ground.
“Jiang Nuan.” Lu Zhaoming stopped in front of her. “Thank you for saving this world.”
Jiang Nuan actually didn’t want to face him.
The dark aura had just dredged up those memories, making it hard to breathe.
She knew Lu Zhaoming had been right. Anyone standing in that position would have made the same choice when faced with one person on one side and tens of billions on the other.
But she had been Number Zero. She had once genuinely regarded Lu Zhaoming as someone she could rely on, almost like a father. When she was afraid, she had even secretly hoped that he would come and take her away.
She couldn’t pretend that nothing had happened.
Jiang Nuan bit her lower lip and forced out a smile that looked less than convincing.
“You’re too kind.”
Lu Zhaoming looked at her, as though he had seen through the distance she was deliberately trying to create.
He fell silent for a moment.
After a while, he said quietly, “I owe you an apology.”
Jiang Nuan’s fingers tightened in her palm.
Without looking at him, she lowered her eyes. “I can’t forgive you on behalf of who I was as a child.”
Lu Zhaoming offered no defense. “I know. That isn’t something I have the right to ask of you.”
“But I’m not going to remain trapped in resentment forever.” Jiang Nuan slowly raised her head. “Number Zero is gone. My name is Jiang Nuan now.”
Lu Zhaoming gazed at her. After a long moment, he nodded softly.
“Good.” It was as if he had finally let go of something. In a low voice, he repeated her name once more. “Jiang Nuan.”
