Chapter 1148: 物归原主的U盘

Chapter 1148: The USB Drive Returned to Its OwnerAuthor: Sānjiǔ YīnyùWord Count: 1325

Rustle, rustle—

As the dim sunlight dipped below the horizon, two figures ascended the trunk of the Mother Tree, step by step.

"Chen Ling, what's going on? Why so secretive...?" Zhao Yi, draped in a wanderer's windbreaker, followed Chen Ling through the gloom. By now, they had left the Integration Faction's living quarters, out of sight of everyone.

As Chen Ling climbed, his gaze swept the surroundings, as if searching for something.

"I'm looking for something."

"What are you looking for? Do we need to get others to help?"

"No, I have to find this myself."

"Are we even keeping this from Teacher Ye?"

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes, don't let Teacher Ye know we're looking for this... at least not yet."

"Oh..."

Though puzzled, Zhao Yi chose to trust Chen Ling.

Chen Ling continued to climb the Mother Tree's trunk, his shadow cast upon the dry bark, slowly fading into the deepening twilight.

He suddenly asked:

"Zhao Yi, what kind of person do you think Teacher Ye is?"

"Teacher Ye? He's a very good person," Zhao Yi replied without hesitation. "He's knowledgeable, kind-hearted, and he personally saved almost everyone in the Integration Faction from the brink of death..."

"Has he left recently, in the past few days?" Chen Ling pointed to the trunk below them. "I mean, has he come to the canopy or other places..."

Zhao Yi thought carefully. "No... Hardly anyone comes here usually, unless it's to collect fallen leaves at a set time each day. Teacher Ye himself never collects them; he spends most of his time in his office and laboratory."

Chen Ling nodded, lost in thought.

Chen Ling had been puzzled before: how could the Thought Disaster carve an imprint on the tree trunk without leaving the Storm Island, especially when ordinary disasters couldn't approach the Mother Tree? And it was precisely on the path taken by students who collected fallen leaves in shifts every day.

Chen Ling had come a long way from Frost Street, experiencing too many things. He never easily trusted anyone... not even Teacher Ye, who was currently teaching him to slay malevolent forces.

After all, in his mind, Teacher Ye was the most likely and most capable person to do it.

Because of this suspicion, Chen Ling hadn't told Teacher Ye about his investigation findings, nor had he alerted anyone else. He only brought Zhao Yi, since among the entire Integration Faction, Zhao Yi was the one Chen Ling knew best.

"Found it..."

Following Xiao Tao and others' descriptions, Chen Ling quickly located the imprint.

A chaotic tangle of lines was scrawled on the tree trunk, though its color seemed to have faded considerably, making it hard to discern without a close look.

Chen Ling merely glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, intentionally avoiding a close look. He turned to Zhao Yi and instructed:

"Watch me closely in a moment. If I lose consciousness and start wandering, stop me immediately. Use any method necessary to restrain me, got it?"

"No problem!"

Although the matter with the Thought Disaster had been resolved, Chen Ling decided to play it safe. What if even he was confused by the imprint and wandered deep into the Grey Realm, unsure when he would regain his senses?

Chen Ling fixed his gaze on the imprint, and sure enough, a slight dizziness welled up. But as Chen Ling consciously activated "Drawing Vermilion," the dizziness quickly vanished...

He stared at the imprint with his naked eyes, as if to engrave it completely into his memory. This way, if he needed to ask someone about it, he could simply use the "Yesterday Revolver" to implant this memory into their mind.

"Does its power weaken with time...?" Chen Ling felt the power draining from the imprint and reached out to touch it directly.

As Chen Ling transformed his palm into a disaster-like form and vigorously scraped the imprint, the tangled lines quickly disintegrated and vanished. After about a minute, there was no trace left.

Chen Ling stood up, clapped his hands. "Done."

"That fast?" Zhao Yi had been ready to beat Chen Ling up, and hearing that it was over so quickly, his expression was a little disappointed. "...What now?"

Chen Ling waved his hand dismissively. "Let's go back and eat!"

"Brother Sun, what is your lion head made of? It's so beautiful!"

"Brother Sun, can I touch it?"

"Sister Jiang, how do you take care of your hair? It's so silky smooth!"

"Idiot! That's Brother Jiang!!"

"Brother Jiang, why are you wrapped in so many bandages? Are you hiding a powerful secret weapon?"

"Brother Sun, how did you and Brother Chen Ling meet?"

In the Integration Faction's dining hall, a dense crowd of figures surrounded one of the tables. The boys and girls scrutinized "King Chen Ling's friends," their eyes filled with curiosity.

Jiang Xiaohua, holding a rice ladle, was visibly uncomfortable under so many watchful eyes. He was practically shrinking beneath the table, as if he might dig a hole with his ladle and disappear into it.

Sun Bumian, on the other hand, generously allowed the children to touch the fur on the lion dance headpiece. His face was beaming with smiles, seemingly delighted by the children's affection for the lion.

"How is it? Feels nice, right? I made it myself!"

"Not only that, its eyes can move... There's a small mechanism in here, I'll let you feel it..."

"Want to learn lion dancing? I'll teach you!"

As the atmosphere buzzed with excitement, Chen Ling approached, carrying his meal tray with a strange expression.

"Oh, come on, how can our guests eat like this? Everyone, disperse, disperse!" Zhao Yi shooed the boys and girls away. Once most of them had left, he also sat down with his own meal tray.

"Red Heart, what kind of spell have you cast on these kids?" Sun Bumian asked, unable to resist, seeing Chen Ling finally arrive.

"Don't ask me, ask him," Chen Ling said, pointing to Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi sheepishly scratched his head and quietly recounted what had happened. After listening, Sun Bumian looked at Chen Ling with a nuanced expression.

"By the way, where's my brother Jian Moguo?" Zhao Yi asked, puzzled.

"Teacher Ye is giving him special tutoring; it's not over yet, don't worry about him," Sun Bumian replied indistinctly, eating heartily. "Honestly, the food here at your Integration Faction is much better than I expected... With all the trouble on the road, I haven't had a good meal in a long time."

Sun Bumian's philosophy in life was simply to eat well, drink well, and have fun. Ever since losing all his possessions, he had barely had a full meal, and occasionally after eating, he'd have to stay and work to pay off his debts. In the Grey Realm, it was even worse; he couldn't even get a decent meal.

This time, eating the free and delicious food at the Integration Faction, Sun Bumian was so touched that tears almost welled up in his eyes.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Sun Bumian seemed to remember something, pulled a USB drive from his pocket, and handed it to Chen Ling.

"This is from Spade 8; he asked me to give it to you. It's probably yours, left behind in the Limitless Realm... He picked it up for you on his way."