CHAPTER 455: CHAPTER 452 [DO YOU KNOW HER?]

Chapter 452: Do You Know Her?

"...According to the latest report from NHK, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred at 4:25 AM local time in the RB sea area, with an epicenter 30 kilometers deep. No tsunami was triggered..."

In the morning, Chen Nuo was queuing up to buy fried dough sticks at the entrance of his residential complex when he overheard this news from a radio held by an old man out for a morning walk.

Chen Nuo sighed.

Hearing his sigh, the old man turned and chuckled at Chen Nuo, "Young man, do you also find it a pity?"

"Huh?" Chen Nuo was taken aback.

"It’s a pity," the old man said, wiping his nose. "The earthquake was too small. Why not just wipe out those little devils?"

Chen Nuo looked at the old man, couldn’t help but smile, and said nothing.

When it was the old man’s turn, he cheerfully bought a few fried dough sticks and left.

Chen Nuo then looked at the vendor. "Six fried dough sticks and four bags of soy..."

Before he could finish, there was a sudden screech as a minibus sped up and halted sharply by the roadside. The door hadn’t even opened when a head poked out of the window and yelled at Chen Nuo, "Senior Brother! We’re here!"

Chen Nuo looked...

Well, alright, Zhu Dazhi.

Inside the minibus, everyone from the previous evening was there; not a single one was missing.

Chen Nuo sighed again and glanced at the vendor frying dough sticks. "...However many you have in that pot, I’ll take them all... And some soy milk. Hmm, on second thought, just give me a whole case of soy milk."

Before dawn, Chen Nuo had already reassured everyone over the phone, but they had all still hurried over.

The minibus was now parked by the road outside Chen Nuo’s residential complex.

Inside the vehicle, the group was eating fried dough sticks and drinking soy milk.

"...Anyway, everything’s fine now, and it’s safe. Once we finish breakfast, everyone can go their separate ways and head home," Chen Nuo first said with a smile to Brother Lei. "Brother Lei, you’ve just gotten married. Didn’t I tell you to go home first?"

"I wouldn’t feel at ease without seeing you," Brother Lei said, stuffing the remaining half of his dough stick into his mouth. "I’ll head back in a bit."

"Hurry up then. Your wife must be frantic by now."

Then Chen Nuo gave instructions to the others.

Zhang Linsheng didn’t say much, and Zhu Dazhi wasn’t suspicious or inquisitive.

Chen Nuo specifically asked Zhang Linsheng to take Zhu Dazhi home and, importantly, to explain things to Zhu Dazhi’s girlfriend. After all, she was just an ordinary girl who had been dragged into such a complicated mess.

Boss Guo and his wife were people of the jianghu. Boss Guo simply nodded at Chen Nuo. "We’ll be at the noodle shop for the next few days. If you need anything, come find me there."

The others were easy to deal with. After speaking with them, it was time to face the three girls.

Chen Nuo looked at Li Yingwan, her expression complex.

Niveer and Xicheng Xun both hid their thoughts well; nothing much could be inferred from their faces.

"You..."

"Oppa!" Li Yingwan looked very anxious. "You can’t just send us away like this!"

Chen Nuo sighed inwardly.

Alright...

As soon as Li Yingwan called out "Oppa," he understood.

It wasn’t Firefly anymore; it was Li Yingwan. Firefly from his past life would never call me "Oppa."

"Aren’t you going to explain what happened last night?" Niveer asked, squinting at Chen Nuo.

After thinking, Chen Nuo replied, "If you insist on an explanation, all I can say is... it’s similar in nature to what happened at Mount Everest. You know I’m not an ordinary person. This time, someone involved you all just to deal with me. I genuinely feel bad about it, but rest assured, something like this shouldn’t happen again."

Xicheng Xun, who had also seen her fair share of trouble, remained composed and asked in a low voice, "Ah Xiu... that adversary of yours? Have you dealt with him?"

Chen Nuo smiled, leaned over to turn on the radio in the minibus, flicked through a few stations, and tuned into one broadcasting the news.

The anchor was delivering a news bulletin, one item of which concerned the earthquake in the Sea of Japan...

"Someone helped me deal with it. Anyway, that person won’t be appearing for a while. Even if they do, it won’t involve you anymore."

"I don’t care about being involved. If I can help you, I’m willing. What I’m asking is about this adversary..." Xicheng Xun wanted to press further, but Chen Nuo had already shaken his head. "It’s not someone you can handle, and really, it has been dealt with."

Everyone knew Chen Nuo wasn’t an ordinary person and that he had secrets. Seeing his insistence on not elaborating, they stopped asking.

After they finished their dough sticks and soy milk, Brother Lei was the first to hop out of the vehicle and leave.

He hailed a cab. Before getting in, he whispered to Chen Nuo, "I called Keke; everything is fine."

Chen Nuo nodded. "Mhm, thanks, Brother Lei."

Brother Lei patted Chen Nuo on the shoulder and then got into the taxi.

Next to leave were Zhang Linsheng, Zhu Dazhi, and Xiao Yu.

Chen Nuo made a point of apologizing to Xiao Yu. "I’m truly sorry about this. My affairs are too complicated, and I’m not sure how to explain them properly. But... I can assure you that Zhu Dazhi is a reliable person. And I can also guarantee that my issues will never involve Zhu Dazhi in the future. So, please rest assured on that point."

Xiao Yu was very curious about this young man named Chen Nuo, but she knew it wasn’t the right time or place to ask too many questions. She pursed her lips and said, "I... I’m actually fine. I wasn’t hurt or anything. Besides... an experience like this is quite novel, actually."

After a pause, as if remembering something, she quickly added, "And don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret. I understand!"

Chen Nuo nodded solemnly once more. "I’m really sorry!"

He watched the three of them get into a taxi and leave, then saw off Boss Guo and his wife.

The three girls were still looking at him with expectant eyes.

"Alright, you should head back too," Chen Nuo said, lifting the half-full bag of dough sticks in his hand. "I need to go home. My whole family hasn’t had breakfast yet; they’re waiting for me."

Seeing Li Yingwan was about to say something, Chen Nuo quickly interjected, "Okay, hurry back. I really can’t explain anything to you right now. How about this? Let’s take a breather. You all go back first. When I have some free time, I’ll come find you and explain everything then."

Although Li Yingwan was somewhat reluctant, her nature was to be completely obedient to Chen Nuo, so she could only suppress her many questions and nod.

"Then it’s settled, Chen Nuo!" Niveer took a deep breath. "This whole thing is too strange! The three of us have all lost our memories of last night! But it’s not like that for the others! So... no matter what, you have to explain things clearly to us. You can’t lie to us this time."

Chen Nuo nodded.

Xicheng Xun, being the most decisive among them, didn’t need further explanation from Chen Nuo and simply nodded.

After seeing the three girls off in their car, the relaxed expression gradually faded from Chen Nuo’s face, and his eyes grew somber.

Last night’s encounter... The truth is, the one most shocked by all this was me! Seventeen rebirths and transmigrations, huh? Damn...

Carrying the fried dough sticks, Chen Nuo returned home, his face betraying nothing, as if nothing had happened.

During the daytime, Lu Xixi remained in her usual dazed, lost-in-thought state. Meanwhile, from the opposite room, Ou Xiuhua, after getting up, brought Xiao Yezi and Little Candy over for breakfast.

Chen Nuo acted as normal as ever, joking and laughing with everyone during the meal. Afterward, Ou Xiuhua took Xiao Yezi to school. Before they left, Chen Nuo hugged his sister.

Then, after breakfast, Yu Naitang took Lu Xixi out... mainly for a walk in the hills in the suburbs.

Yu Naitang had always done this, believing it might aid Lu Xixi’s recovery.

Although Chen Nuo already knew Lu Xixi’s true situation, he didn’t point this out.

The only slight surprise today was that the Gray Cat had disappeared to who knows where.

"Aren’t you coming with us?" Yu Naitang frowned at Chen Nuo.

"I’m staying home to watch the kid," Chen Nuo smiled. "You go with your teacher. I have something to do at home this morning."

"...You seem a bit strange," Yu Naitang frowned.

However, she didn’t ask further, changed her shoes, and left with Lu Xixi.

As Lu Xixi was leaving, Chen Nuo glanced at her.

He knew that although Lu Xixi appeared to be mentally absent, her conscious mind was always present in the Consciousness Space, able to observe the outside world.

Although he had a million things to say, Chen Nuo held them back, simply smiled, and saw the two of them out.

After everyone had left, Chen Nuo pulled over the cradle and changed his daughter’s diaper.

Then he checked the time, warmed up some milk, and fed her.

Holding the baby, he strolled back and forth in the room for a while. Seeing that she was gradually getting sleepy, he placed his daughter back in the cradle and tucked her in with a blanket.

After finishing these tasks, Chen Nuo wheeled the cradle into the bedroom, then returned to the living room, stepped out onto the balcony, and took out a cigarette.

He had smoked half of the first cigarette when a voice came from behind him.

"Why do you humans always enjoy doing things that harm your own bodies?"

Chen Nuo turned around and looked at Seed, his expression very calm. "Ah, you’re here. Sit down. The water’s boiling in the kitchen; I’ll make you some tea."

The tea was ordinary Rain Flower Tea.

But offering Seed tea definitely meant adding milk and sugar.

There wasn’t any fresh milk at home, but there was milk powder!

Infant formula, no less!

He scooped two large spoonfuls of milk powder into the cup and added two spoonfuls of sugar.

This concoction... well, I definitely wouldn’t drink it like this.

But when Seed took his cup and sipped it, he nodded. "It has a unique taste, but it’s not sweet enough."

Chen Nuo sighed. "Even though this body you’re using is young and has a good metabolism, if you keep eating so many sweets, you’ll eventually get diabetes."

Seed just smiled and didn’t speak.

Chen Nuo eyed Seed up and down. "Finished teaching that guy a lesson?"

"Mhm."

At that moment, Seed’s clothes were dirty and torn. His curly hair also looked greasy.

Crucially, his hair was slightly damp, and there were traces of salt crust along his hairline—clearly, he had been soaked in seawater, which had then dried.

"We had a fight at sea. He suffered quite a bit."

"And then? You didn’t finish him off?" Chen Nuo asked with a deliberate smile.

"Couldn’t kill him," Seed shook his head. "If I had really tried to kill him, he would have fought to the death, and I would have paid a certain price."

"And then Kamisou Ichiro just reaped the benefits, right?"

"That’s how it is," Seed nodded.

However, at this point, Seed looked at Chen Nuo with a strange gaze. "Shouldn’t you be worried?"

"Hm?"

"You should be worried that I might actually kill him," Seed said slowly. "After all, if he dies, your woman will die too."

Chen Nuo frowned.

"He must have told you about the connection between a Seed and its Chosen One, right?" Seed took a leisurely sip of Chen Nuo’s homemade milk tea before continuing, "What else did he tell you?"

"Quite a bit," Chen Nuo admitted openly. "He mentioned several established modes of competition for you Seeds."

"Boring and ridiculous rules, that’s all," Seed shrugged. "But since the rules were made, I will follow them."

"Because you don’t yet have the power to flip the table and kill everyone, right?"

"You got it. Too bad there’s no reward," Seed laughed with a hint of recklessness.

"How much of a power increase can this amplifier give you?" Chen Nuo asked.

Seed thought for a moment, his answer much more serious this time. "A lot! You’re excellent, Chen Nuo. You’ve been a tremendous help to me."

After finishing his milk tea, Seed stood up and stretched lazily.

"Chen Nuo, what did he want with you?"

"To deal with you, of course," Chen Nuo shook his head. "I’m your Chosen One; dealing with me is dealing with you. What else could it be? If I weren’t your Chosen One, what grudge could there be between him and me?"

Seed gazed at Chen Nuo, watching him quietly for a few seconds, then shook his head. "You’re not telling the truth."

However, he seemed not to care at all, waving his hand dismissively. "It doesn’t matter. Knowing him as I do, he probably tried to mislead you somehow. I just want to remind you, that guy is actually very dangerous. He has always been the Seed I like the least among those I know. Moreover, when I saw him this time, I felt he was very different from how I remember him."

"Hmm?" Chen Nuo paid close attention. "What do you mean?"

"I’ve known him for a very long time, you should understand that," Seed smiled, then seemed lost in thought. "I’ve forgotten exactly how long. In human terms, it’s been a very long time. Then, I found that Mother in South America, and to assimilate it, I went into hibernation. So, actually, it’s been a very, very long time since I last saw him. The last time I met him was before you humans had even learned to use tools."

Right, Chen Nuo sighed inwardly. I almost forgot, this guy... he’s the "God" who indirectly caused human evolution. Well, calling him God isn’t accurate. Destroying the Mother and releasing its energy, leading to a great evolution of species... that’s more like Prometheus, who stole fire for humanity.

"He’s really a bit off. It’s clearly still him, but my impression of him feels both familiar and strange," Seed said, looking at Chen Nuo, a warning tone in his voice. "Chen Nuo! I know your type very well; you’ll definitely try to pull some tricks. Maybe he’s misleading you, or maybe you’re misleading him. You might even try to secretly strike some kind of deal with him. You don’t have to deny it. I’m not going to press you on these things; as I said, it doesn’t matter. I just want to remind you, that guy is very dangerous! If you try to make a deal with him or have any designs on him, it would be an extremely dangerous move!"

Chen Nuo’s expression was calm, showing no sign of his thoughts being exposed. He smiled faintly. "Thanks for the reminder, but I just want to live my life peacefully. If possible, I wish I’d never met you or known anything about the war between you Seeds."

Seed pursed his lips, then laughed. "Alright, let’s stop talking about these headaches. Shall we discuss something more cheerful?"

Chen Nuo shook his head. "Nothing happy ever comes from meeting you."

"I heard you have a daughter. Let me see her."

"..." Chen Nuo frowned.

In the end, Seed did get to see his daughter.

Not only did Seed see her, but he also asked to hold her.

Even though the other party was a Seed—and the strongest one at that—as a father, Chen Nuo unceremoniously insisted he take a bath first!

The guy was filthy. Who knew what kind of fight he’d had with The Fourth Seed? He had probably fought from the sky down to the sea, been drenched in seawater, and an unpleasant odor lingered after it had dried.

So, Seed readily took a bath at Chen Nuo’s place and even changed into clean clothes—Chen Nuo’s clothes were a bit large on him, but it didn’t matter.

Finally, Chen Nuo’s daughter was picked up by Seed, who examined her carefully.

While holding the child, a genuinely happy smile appeared on Seed’s face. He even reached out to gently pat the baby’s cheek.

"Indeed... no matter the species, the young are always cute," Seed sighed, then turned to Chen Nuo with a look of disdain. "It’s a pity they become so tiresome once they grow up."

Chen Nuo: "..."

Seed glanced at the child reluctantly before putting her back in the cradle. Then, after a moment’s thought, he reached out and gently tapped the child’s forehead, right between her eyebrows.

Chen Nuo’s expression changed. He frowned and demanded, "What are you doing!"

He sensed a trace of power fluctuating from Seed’s fingertip.

"Relax, it’s not spiritual power, nor is it any kind of mark," Seed smiled. "I gave her a little pure Life Force Element to make her healthier and more vibrant. Even as a Controller, you can’t do this. I’m different... by human standards, I am a God, right?"

Seed glanced at the child with a hint of pity. "Alright, alright, let’s go out. No more looking! If I keep looking, I’m afraid I might really make a move."

"Make a move?"

Seed nodded, speaking seriously. "If I look any longer, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist killing you and making your daughter my Chosen One instead. Chen Nuo... did you know your daughter’s talent surpasses yours?"

Talent... surpasses mine?

Chen Nuo was stunned.

The Fourth Seed was very clear: my talent and Lu Xixi’s are among the finest he’s ever seen in humans.

"Don’t believe it?" Seed shook his head, muttering regretfully to himself, "What a pity... Could it be that when top-tier humans mate, their offspring can have enhanced talent...? I’ve never experimented with this method before... Hmm... perhaps that old octopus tried it. He’s always conducting all sorts of bizarre experiments."

Turning to Chen Nuo, Seed said, "Let your daughter grow up a bit... If you decide you want her to become an Ability User, remember to notify me first. She has such great talent and immense potential. Let me guide her. However... never mind, better not tell me. I’m afraid by then I really won’t be able to resist killing you and making the switch."

After saying this, Seed smiled at Chen Nuo, and then...

The guy actually left!

Before disappearing, Seed added one last sentence.

"Oh, by the way, that bit of Life Force Element I left for the child will have a few minor side effects for a while, but don’t worry. They will gradually disappear in a few days once her body rebalances."

"Huh? What did you say? What side effects!? Be clear!"

Unfortunately, there was no answer. Seed had disappeared.

But soon, Chen Nuo found out what the side effect was!

In less than an hour, his daughter was wailing from hunger!

Chen Nuo had no choice but to feed her again, and to his surprise, he found that his daughter’s appetite had suddenly doubled!

Not only had her appetite increased...

The frequency of her bowel movements had also increased!

An hour later, after grudgingly changing his daughter’s diaper again, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but curse Seed.

「Iceland.」

On the balcony, Yun He staggered out of a spatial rift, swayed, and collapsed against the railing.

After steadying himself, he frowned and looked down at his shoulder.

His left arm was gone, severed at the root!

An entire left arm was completely missing.

The wound at the stump was sealed by some unknown power, so no blood flowed out.

Yun He took a deep breath, walked into the room, and quickly tore off his clothes.

His exposed body was also faintly covered with crack-like scars, resembling fractured porcelain.

Quite a temper, indeed.

Yun He shook his head. Then, squinting, his right hand slowly moved to his left shoulder. Bit by bit, his left arm began to regrow!

As his left arm slowly regenerated, the faint cracks on his body also faded and disappeared... but Yun He’s face grew increasingly pale! From the energy fluctuations, his aura also seemed to have suddenly dimmed significantly!

After letting out a long breath, Yun He turned around and suddenly froze!

At the doorway, Bai Jing stood staring at him in astonishment!

"You... Corot, you..."

Yun He frowned, then sighed. "You saw... Yes. I’m severely injured. My sensing power lapsed for a moment, so I didn’t detect your arrival."

Bai Jing’s expression was one of utter shock, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Your left arm... your body... You... you regrew an arm?!" Bai Jing was so stunned she could barely speak. Because she knew very well that even the most powerful human experts, Controllers, were absolutely incapable of regenerating a severed limb! This was not an ability humans could possess!

Yun He slowly walked over to stand before Bai Jing, looking her up and down. His tone was sincere as he said, "I’m truly sorry... I genuinely didn’t expect you to see this. It was my carelessness just now; my sensing power lapsed. I’m severely injured, and my mental state was a bit unstable, which is why you witnessed such a scene... So... I’m truly sorry!"

"S-sorry?" Bai Jing was flustered. "No! Corot! How did you do that?! And why are you apologizing to me?"

"Because... since you’ve seen it, I don’t intend to hide it any longer. So... I can only kill you. My apologies!"

With that, Yun He casually pointed, his finger tapping Bai Jing’s forehead!

The shocked expression had not yet faded from Bai Jing’s face when, with a soft POP, she instantly turned into a cloud of blood mist...

「In the hotel.」

The three girls were gathered together.

"So, we really can’t remember anything at all? Can’t you recall even a little bit?" Niveer asked.

Li Yingwan was silent, holding her head as she racked her brains.

Xicheng Xun said thoughtfully, "Brother Lei said that last night, the three of us suddenly became very powerful. Especially you, Li Yingwan; you even fought Zhang Linsheng."

Then, she looked at Li Yingwan. "Since when did you become so strong? Zhang Linsheng’s skills might not be top-tier, but he has also entered the ranks of Ability Users."

Li Yingwan glared. "How would I know!!"

Just then, the hotel room telephone suddenly rang.

Niveer waved dismissively and picked up the phone from the table.

"Hello? Ah... a visitor? A girl? What’s her name? Xiao Yu?"

After a moment of surprise, Niveer quickly said, "Okay, please send her up!"

After hanging up, Niveer looked at the other two girls with a puzzled expression.

"That girl, Xiao Yu, is here to see us. She’s Mr. Zhu Dazhi’s girlfriend. Do any of you... know her?"