186. The Ruins Library About to Open
Whether the emotional changes brought about by the Seed of Light were a blessing or a curse for Xiling, he himself couldn't say for sure. But at least one "authority figure" had given a clear assessment.
Kiana: "Very smooth."
If the former Xiling was a cold, hard, and unromantic block of wood, then now... well, he was still essentially a block of wood, but had become like pine wood soaked in oil—ready to ignite at any moment!
Morning light streamed through the gaps in the curtains onto the figures embracing on the bed. One of the figures fluttered her eyelashes and groggily opened his eyes.
Xiling glanced at the bright daylight outside the window, his voice hoarse from just waking up: "Is it already noon?"
He stirred, immediately feeling the tight grip around his waist. His gaze fell on Kiana, still sleeping soundly in his arms, her arms wrapped around him, and he patted her back helplessly.
"Kiana, it's time to get up."
"Hmm…" Kiana responded vaguely, her eyes still closed. Her breathing was steady, and she didn't loosen her grip on his arms, even pulling closer to him. Clearly, she had no intention of getting up.
Looking at this stubborn woman, Xiling silently rolled his eyes.
The next second—Kiana felt herself being lifted up in his arms! Wearing only a loose men's white shirt, she was led into the bathroom by Xiling.
The weightlessness from her dangling feet made Kiana barely open her sleepy eyes. She looked around groggily, then leaned her head heavily back against Xiling's shoulder.
"Good morning, Xiling…" Her voice was slurred, heavy with sleepiness.
"It's noon now," said Xiling as he put her down. The touch of her feet on the cool tile floor made her slightly more awake.
He squeezed out the toothpaste and placed the toothbrush in her hand.
"Your toothbrush."
"I don't want to move it by myself?" Kiana drawled, her voice dripping with coquettishness.
She didn't take the toothbrush, but instead tilted her head slightly, opened her mouth towards Xiling, and uttered a muffled request: "Ah..."
Xiling rolled his eyes again at her antics. He dutifully picked up the toothbrush and began to serve this little omega.
Only after he wrung out a warm towel and meticulously wiped the water droplets and remaining foam from her face did Kiana fully regain her senses.
"Thank you for your hard work," she said, a bright smile spreading across her face. The next second, she lunged forward, her legs expertly wrapping around Xiling's waist, clinging tightly to his chest like a lively koala.
Xiling supported her legs with his hands, his tone tinged with exasperation: "Alright, stop fooling around. I have work to do today, I have to go."
"What are you doing?" Kiana blinked curiously.
"Collecting the remaining Seeds of Light." Xiling carried her back to the bedroom, placed her on the bed, and walked to her wardrobe. He opened the door, his gaze sweeping over the neatly arranged clothes, and picked out a set of underwear and trousers.
Xiling picked up the clothes and walked to the bedside, unfolding the top. He gestured for Kiana to raise her arms and, while helping her dress, he explained, "The original plan was for me to first corrupt the Seed of Light. Once it was completely corrupted, I would try to forcibly gather all the scattered Seeds of Light in the entire city at once."
Kiana obediently raised her arms, letting the clothes cover her head. Then she naturally lifted her legs slightly, and Xiling smoothly pulled up her trousers.
"But now I realize I might have underestimated it."
Xiling adjusted her waistband and continued, "Forcibly gathering all of them at once is too risky; it could easily get out of control. So, I plan to change my strategy—using the power of the library, letting the invitations guide me to collect them gradually."
"Okay, stand up and see." Xiling straightened her clothes. Kiana didn't get up immediately. Instead, she pointed to two pairs of pure white stockings peeking out of the wardrobe drawer: "And what about those?"
"...In this heat, you're still wearing these?"
"Because..." Kiana's lips curled into a sly smile, her beautiful eyes blinking at Xiling. "Someone really likes these."
"Nonsense!" Xiling immediately retorted.
"I think... they're just so-so."
"Oh?" Kiana drawled, her smile growing even more mischievous.
"Last night... that's not what someone said."
"Absolutely." Xiling picked up the stockings, knelt down, and helped her put them on, gently smoothing the lace edges.
Finally, he tied her hair into a neat, tidy ponytail. Only then did Kiana jump off the bed, satisfied, and spin around in a circle: "Alright! Let's go!"
"Uh..." Kiana instinctively shrank back, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Going to work? Would she be able to sneak back? Would Sister Lemuen catch her red-handed and make her work overtime until she was exhausted?
Even worse, what if Sister Lemuen saw her with Xiling...wouldn't she be angry?
"I have a feeling," Xiling glanced at her, with an all-knowing knowing look, "that you're having some crazy thoughts going through your head. Unfortunately, there's no proof yet."
After a quick tidying up, the two stepped onto the streets in the early morning.
Kiana's residence was actually in the same district as Lemuen and the others, but due to the mountain of work at the Silver Church, Lemuen and the others practically lived in their office, and Kiana had become a permanent resident as well.
After buying some food at a breakfast shop on the street corner and slightly concealing their faces, Xiling led Kiana into the magnificent Silver Church.
Sunlight streamed through the towering stained glass windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
The Silver Church's functions today far exceeded those of its former role as a cleanup association.
It handles almost everything from maintaining order and allocating resources to resolving neighborhood disputes and repairing facilities—every single cog in the massive machine of The City.
Fortunately, the church is a large organization with ample manpower, managing these mundane tasks with relative ease. It was more than enough.
Not to mention the tangible, intangible deterrent of the "Fire Moth," which silenced the vast majority of citizens, preventing them from easily causing trouble.
Of course, madmen and desperados were never absent. However, these individuals usually only caused a ruckus for a few minutes before being precisely located and swiftly subdued, like insects caught in a spider's web.
The former World Wings exercised "absolute control" over their "nest," with surveillance covering virtually every corner; nothing that happened within the nest escaped their eyes, though they usually chose to ignore it.
However, times have changed. With the Silver Church taking over power, people truly realized that their every move had never truly escaped their watchful eyes.
Xiling gently knocked on the door and only opened it after hearing Dan Heng's invitation.
"Good afternoon, Dan Heng. Have you eaten?" Xiling shook the lunchbox in his hand.
Dan Heng then realized it was already noon and shook his head.
"I guess everyone hasn't eaten yet. Tianyi is probably starving."
"I'll go tell everyone!" Kiana said, then strode towards the other offices.
Soon, the group gathered together.
Xiling shook his head and sighed, "Seeing you all so busy, I feel like a lazy dog."
"It's alright." Dan Heng swallowed a mouthful of food, his tone calm.
"This is the most stressful transition period; the workload is gradually decreasing."
"And the new trainees are starting to take over," Lemuen added, her voice tinged with relief.
"It'll only get easier from here on out."
"How are you feeling now?" Elaina asked.
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious." Xiling smiled easily, then turned his gaze to Angela, who was quietly eating beside them.
"Angela, I plan to activate the library's invitation today. As the former librarian, do you have any advice?"
Angela paused slightly. She looked up, her gaze complex as she looked at the person before her—a being to whom she felt gratitude yet also an indescribable mix of emotions.
Finally, she simply sighed softly: "The invitation itself… will guide you." She paused.
"Also… do you intend to do that?"
—Kill people, turning them into books for the library's collection.
This was the path she had once been determined to follow at any cost, but now it was no longer connected to her…
Xiling smiled: "That depends on who we encounter them."
Lunchtime passed quickly, soon replaced by a hectic work schedule.
Under Lemuen's meaningful gaze, Kiana lowered her head guiltily, like a little animal that had done something wrong, and quickly followed Xiling out of the heavy doors of the Silver Church.
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In a research lab, the Tarnished examined these so-called singularity technologies, and a certain difference appeared in his eyes.
"It's less like technology and more like alchemy, some even very much like magic, but definitely not like technology."
"Only what is traceable and logically self-governing can be called technology. What is inexplicable, like a miracle… that's called magic, or… a miracle."
The Tarnished walked out of the oppressive laboratory.
"This stuff… I'm afraid we won't be able to extract much useful information from it anytime soon," he muttered, his hunger growing stronger:
"Let's eat first."
The outskirts.
Beyond the city, a desolate and lifeless countryside.
Kevin walked alone across the scorched brown earth. Behind him stretched a scene of destruction for kilometers—the grotesque, enormous, and nauseating corpses of monsters lay scattered like a scroll of hell. The earth was cracked, the smoke of battle still lingered, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of sulfur mixed with ozone.
"The monsters in this godforsaken place... There are far too many." Kevin looked around.
"The very structure of this world exudes an indescribable eeriness."
"How did the leaders of that time... manage to build a city in this godforsaken place?"
To gain a deeper understanding of this unfamiliar world, he left the city and ventured into the suburbs.
What he saw and heard were countless, varied, and primal malice-infused mutants. These so-called threats were no different from roadside dust to him.
Weak? A casual slash.
Seemingly ferocious and monstrous? Still just a slash.
Enormous as mountains, enough to instill despair in ordinary people? Just a slash away.
"I've been flying at high speed for almost a day, it feels like I've circled half of this planet..." Kevin stopped, surveying the lifeless, scorched earth.
"Forget it, let's go back." With a thought, he decided to activate the chat group's teleportation function to return to the city.
But just then, he seemed to feel an intense gaze.
And that gaze came from—the starry sky.
Kevin looked up.
His gaze pierced through the celestial curtain, reaching the starry sky, where he saw reality.
"Come down if you dare!"
Kevin gave the indescribable thing the middle finger.
Unfortunately, the other party ignored him.
Even when Kevin once blew out the other party's eye, it remained indifferent.
The other party silently stared at him, as if determined to forever spy on Kevin.
Without a response, Kevin ignored it and used the chat group time-travel system to return to the city.