Chapter 980: The Last Voice

After a long silence, Hongxiu spoke again:"…This isn't a token of love; it's just a sacrificial artifact I found."

"A sacrificial artifact?"

"Inside is a tongue that keeps muttering things I don't understand, and it's a very long monologue... Anyway, it has nothing to do with me."

"It has nothing to do with you?" Chen Ling immediately countered. "Where did you find it? If it has nothing to do with you, why didn't you throw it away? An artifact of unknown origin is never a good sign."

"I..."

Chen Ling knew that to help Hongxiu break free from her current role as "The Knight," he would have to take drastic measures. The more intense the sense of dissonance, the more doubt it would sow in her heart. With no one in the Boundless Realm able to steal these doubts from her now, it was the perfect time for Hongxiu to break free from control.

Hongxiu clutched the pendant in her palm, a flicker of confusion crossing her eyes.

"Miss Hongxiu, I've done some investigation recently, and the clothes you're wearing now appear to be the uniform of an enforcer from the Aurora Realm... Think carefully, have you ever been to the Aurora Realm?"

"No," Hongxiu immediately shook her head. "I've never been to the Aurora Realm."

"That's strange then..."

"Perhaps the styles are just similar; that doesn't prove anything."

Chen Ling looked at her deeply. For some reason, the moment Hongxiu met his gaze, she instinctively looked away... as if she were avoiding something.

"Miss Hongxiu, you've actually realized something was wrong for a while now, haven't you?" Chen Ling said slowly. "I can understand how you feel... confusion, fear. Everything you once believed in is being shaken by various details; you're starting to doubt who you are, to doubt your very existence... You're afraid to think too deeply because even you don't know where the final answer will lead... I'm all too familiar with that feeling."

"...I don't know what you're talking about." Hongxiu took a deep breath. "The Boundless Realm is where I grew up. I've put so much effort into protecting it... This is my mission."

A flicker of sympathy crossed Chen Ling's eyes. He understood Hongxiu's feelings all too well. It was like how he had risked his life to reverse the era and reunite with his family; even if Shen Nan questioned him, Chen Ling would instinctively deny it. In Hongxiu's current view, protecting the Boundless Realm was her life's pursuit, and she had already sacrificed too much for it to easily abandon her beliefs.

But now, Chen Ling had no choice but to challenge everything Hongxiu held true. After all, they truly had no time left.

"No, this isn't your mission. What you carry is far more important than you realize!" Chen Ling stated adamantly. "The King of Silver stole your true life!"

*Click—*

As his last words were spoken, the car's engine let out a low hum and then died. The vehicle stalled right at the intersection in front of the church, left isolated and still. A dead silence filled the car, broken only by the soft patter of raindrops on the windows.

Chen Ling's final statement had completely torn off his disguise and pushed everything towards an irreversible path. If Hongxiu chose to believe him, that would be ideal; but if she chose to remain as "The Knight" and revealed his words, Chen Ling would immediately find himself in an inescapable predicament. Chen Ling was gambling; he was betting that after revealing his identity, Hongxiu would ultimately side with him.

Hongxiu sat silently in the passenger seat. After a long moment, she looked at the church looming in the rain outside, her voice a little hoarse: "We're here... Let's get out."

With that, without waiting for Chen Ling to react, Hongxiu slammed the car door shut and walked into the rain without looking back.

She offered no reaction and no answer to Chen Ling. She simply left, as if she hadn't heard his last words... Fortunately, Hongxiu's reaction didn't suggest she intended to expose Chen Ling.

Chen Ling watched her retreating back and let out a long sigh. He knew Hongxiu needed to be alone to process things, just as he had needed to recently. Regardless, this gamble of his revelation had not led to the worst outcome.

Chen Ling didn't linger. He parked the car directly in front of the church entrance and went inside.

In the dim light, Hongxiu slowly locked her room door. She stood still for a long time before slowly taking off her clothes, one by one. She seemed to have lost all her strength as she lay on the bed, her eyes staring up at the dark, oppressive ceiling, her thoughts unknown.

She took off the metal pendant from her neck, twisted it open from the middle, little by little...Finally, a section of scarlet tongue was exposed to the air.

At the same time, the tongue began to twitch and speak, an emotionless voice echoing in the room.

"...Experiment record number 35,821.""We sampled the Aurora Lord's hair, extracted cell nucleus samples, and transplanted them into enucleated oocytes from another volunteer of the same blood type. Considering previous failures, this experiment was conducted in a completely de-staticized environment...""After 3 hours and 16 minutes of observation, cell death was confirmed. Experiment 35,821 is deemed a failure."

"...Experiment record number 35,822.""A magnetic field simulation experiment was performed on the Aurora Lord's hair, recording all data of the Aurora Lord's natural magnetic field for artificial recreation...""Recreation failed. Reason: The Boundless Lord's magnetic field fluctuation frequency was too rapid."

"...Experiment 35,823..."

The emotionless voice continuously reported, like a mere recorder. Its fixed tempo and monotone filled the room, lulling one into an involuntary drowsiness.

Hongxiu's lips were tightly pursed. For some time now, she had listened to the voice from this tongue every day. She didn't know why she did it, as she couldn't understand anything it said. As Hongxiu herself had stated, these things had nothing to do with her. Tens of thousands of experiment records, filled with incomprehensible terminology and endless failures... But Hongxiu still listened. Every night, the voice accompanied her to sleep. Perhaps the experiments were too hypnotic, but every night she slept soundly. Hongxiu even wondered if it might be a sacrificial artifact specifically designed for hypnosis.

As one experiment record after another was reported, Hongxiu's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Even though her mind was troubled that day, the hypnotic narration quickly lulled her into sleep.

"...Experiment record number 35,902...""...Experiment record number 35,949...""...Experiment record number 35,997..."

Hongxiu breathed evenly, already deep in slumber. When the thirty-six thousandth experiment record concluded, the tongue fell silent... It was as if the experiments had ended there.

After an unknown period, a voice emerged from the tongue once more. It was the same voice, but this time, it was no longer emotionless; instead, it held a hint of tenderness... It was as if a man had deliberately spoken into the artifact, looking into Hongxiu's eyes, to record this final message.

"...Hongxiu, I love you."