"Hehehehe... I'll be waiting..."
Duke Inferno let out a final sound, then fell silent.
The space distorted, and several figures fell from the sky.
Stelle noticed Asta falling toward her, quickly reached out to catch her, and stepped out of the drop zone to avoid being hit.
Looking closely, she realized that everyone who had fallen, including all of Herta's puppets, had now safely returned to the ground.
Clearly, this was all Qi Zhimu's doing.
"Asta? Asta?"
"She's fine, just temporarily unconscious."
Just as Qi Zhimu was about to wake Asta, he noticed a faint, eerie light appearing behind him, while footsteps approached from another direction.
"...Ms. Ruan Mei?"
Qi Zhimu was somewhat surprised to see her here.
Ruan Mei stepped forward slowly, her gaze feigning calm as it swept over Qi Zhimu, then turned toward the eerie blue flame that had manifested not far away.
"My apologies."
The sudden apology left both Qi Zhimu and Stelle dumbfounded.
Ruan Mei reached out her fair arm toward the eerie blue flame, emitting an attractive force to retrieve it.
Looking back at Qi Zhimu, a faint trace of guilt appeared on her cheeks.
"The Duke Inferno you dispersed earlier secretly stole this phase flame from me, using its abilities to come and go as it pleased within the Space Station."
"Strictly speaking, it was my negligence that led to this commotion; otherwise, the Ifrit you spoke of would have found it very difficult to orchestrate such a situation."
Ruan Mei's words were not a lie.
Because her mind had been filled with thoughts of Qi Zhimu lately, she hadn't properly contained the phase flame, allowing Duke Inferno to seize the opportunity.
Qi Zhimu detected no trace of falsehood in her words and offered no comment, simply shaking his head gently before pinching a spot on Asta's neck.
The latter slowly regained consciousness.
Finding herself in Stelle's arms, she blinked dazedly for a few moments before finally coming to her senses.
"Don't worry, Asta, it's over."
After listening to Stelle's quick summary, Asta gave Qi Zhimu a grateful look and immediately began contacting Arlan, telling him to send people to collect the staff members who had been missing for some time.
While waiting, Qi Zhimu looked up at the surveillance ID for this area and asked Asta to extract the relevant footage to create a video.
Except for the fact that only Qi Zhimu's back could be seen, the entire process of the Duke Inferno dissipating and the missing persons appearing was crystal clear.
He had Asta arrange for someone to post the video in the group chat; once it spread, Duke Inferno's plot to undermine morale would be thwarted.
Once this was done, the Security Department staff arrived one after another, taking away the missing persons who were on the verge of collapse from extreme fright.
Fortunately, none were in life-threatening danger.
As for the puppets, it didn't matter where they were left; Herta would handle them when she returned.
"You go back with Asta first; I still have things to do."
"Are you going to slaughter Duke Inferno? Can you take me along?" Stelle's eyes lit up.
"It's not convenient to take you." Qi Zhimu smiled and declined.
"That's a pity..."
Stelle spread her hands in regret, then bid him farewell.
Soon, only the two of them remained.
"I have other important matters to attend to. Goodbye, Ms. Ruan Mei."
Qi Zhimu glanced at the graceful beauty standing quietly to the side, donned a polite, professional smile, and started to walk away.
"Wait a moment... A... Mr. Zhimu." Ruan Mei instinctively called out to stop him.
"Yes?" Qi Zhimu paused.
"Could I... take a look at the weapon you used to attack the Duke Inferno earlier?"
Recalling the scene she had seen moments ago, Ruan Mei's pupils trembled slightly.
She was both excited and disbelieving.
But she could not show these emotions, she could not...
Qi Zhimu found it inexplicable, but since it wasn't an unreasonable request, he casually took out the a type of chinese lute he was accustomed to using as a club or shield and tossed it toward Ruan Mei.
Seeing Qi Zhimu's action, which showed absolutely no care for the item, Ruan Mei felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if something were gnawing at it.
Catching the a type of chinese lute and examining it closely, she confirmed the marks she had left on it with her own hands, and her eyes uncontrollably turned red.
Fearing that Qi Zhimu might see, she fought back her tears, not looking up for a long time, and pretended to continue examining it.
So... A'Mu didn't only have gifts from Black Swan and Jingliu.
It's just that their gifts were meant to be ornaments, while hers, as his teacher...
...was a handy weapon that A'Mu used to strike at will...
Even though she knew her student didn't remember the true origin of these items, such a difference in treatment still made her feel suffocated.
Back then, A'Mu had cherished and protected it so dearly.
By reviewing his memories, she knew that even after hundreds of years, he had kept the a type of chinese lute she had given him in pristine condition.
Compared to that time, the contrast was unbearable.
It's okay, it's okay... at least it's useful to A'Mu.
Ruan Mei comforted herself.
Looking on the bright side, it could provide help to A'Mu, which, for all intents and purposes, meant it had accompanied A'Mu for thousands of years.
Could Black Swan do that?
Could Jingliu do that?
The items they gave were merely vases for display and decoration, with no practical utility at all.
After deep self-hypnosis, Ruan Mei finally lifted her chin and plucked a melody.
A tranquil, gentle, and poetic string melody rang out, quietly stirring a feeling in Qi Zhimu's heart that he couldn't trace.
What a strange feeling.
Seeing that Qi Zhimu still had no particular reaction, Ruan Mei finally lost her rhythm, plucking a harsh, jarring note.
"My apologies..."
She walked forward and returned the a type of chinese lute to Qi Zhimu.
Qi Zhimu took it and blurted out.
"This melody seems to have an untold past, you... look somewhat sad."
Not only had the melody changed, shifting from tranquil and gentle to sorrowful, but with Ruan Mei's eyes red and tears threatening to spill, anyone could tell there was a story behind it.
It would have been better if Qi Zhimu hadn't said anything; as soon as he did, clear tears rolled down from Ruan Mei's eyes.
She couldn't control her emotions and wanted to embrace Qi Zhimu.
However, Qi Zhimu instinctively took half a step back.
Ruan Mei froze on the spot, her expression gradually becoming hollow.
"...Ms. Ruan Mei?"
Qi Zhimu's gaze grew increasingly strange; he felt that the genius before him was very odd.
She definitely just wanted to hug him, right?
...People whose inner depths are soaked in sorrow often need an embrace; he understood that.
But their relationship didn't seem to be close enough for that.
"I've lost my composure. My apologies..." Ruan Mei wiped the corners of her eyes, her voice sounding very off.
In such a short time, this was the third time she had said "my apologies."
"Mr. Zhimu reminds me of my... student. The melody I just played was the first one he learned from me thousands of years ago..."
"It is a pity that fate plays tricks on people; his arduous life..."
Ruan Mei did not continue.
"My condolences."
Qi Zhimu could only say those two words, not feeling he was in any position to say anything else.
What he thought in his heart was: So the 'Ruan' in Ruan Mei's name is because she also knows how to play the a type of chinese lute...
Today's preview redemption code is as follows: Stelle Happy Third Anniversary. This is the redemption code. Remember to redeem it.
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