Chapter 318: Cracked Ice (Part 2/2)
Translator: Strivon
Luo Nan raised his head in amazement. He didn't really understand.
Xue Lei continued speaking, "The gym master will need to rest for some time after moving his gym. He won't need me to help him for the time being. I joined my current school society in name only; there's no point in me going. You should simply give Brother Ping a call and transfer me over. We can look out for each other, okay?"
Luo Nan absentmindedly said, "Of course it's good to be looked out for."
Currently, the right to the ownership of Gear was in the middle of a bidding war. Whether it would fall to the hands of the Mystic Arts Research Society or the Construction Society, Luo Nan was a single force. If he could have a trustworthy friend help him…. Hold on. This wasn't a situation of looking out for one another.
Luo Nan finally understood Xue Lei's thoughts. Xue Lei wanted to act as his bodyguard. Luo Nan was willing to admit that with Xue Lei guarding nearby, his weak body would be compensated for. If he had paired Xue Lei with his mental attacks and other techniques from the beginning, today's situation would have gone smoothly without a hitch.
However, Luo Nan understood something clearly. Future troubles were coming, and they wouldn't be on the same level as today's!
"It isn't just the two of us, Leister. There are many factors here. There are your parents, and my aunt's family…."
Luo Nan spoke softly and gravely. He talked and talked, breaking off in the end.
The resurgence of worked up emotions made it unavoidable for Luo Nan's myriad of thoughts to become chaotic. They were like weeds flourishing in his mind. Frankly speaking, the schemes that Headquarters' investigation team employed truly shocked him.
Forceful abduction. Hostage taking. Arson. This group of people had no compunctions at all. They were capable of doing anything.
And this was only Headquarters. Luo Nan didn't forget that there was Quantum Corporation, and especially Yan Yongbo, who had been eyeing Gear all this time for whatever purpose.
The Order of Justice seemed to have withdrawn for the time being, but the situation with Headquarters was a matter of great importance, looking at how active they are. They couldn't possibly stick their heads in the sand like ostriches.
There was more. Various powers remained uncountable by Luo Nan. From the madness that came from making the Human-Faced Arachnid, Luo Nan could see that there were far too many greedy people in this world. One of them could pop out at any time.
How could just he and Xue Lei handle this?
All right, there was also the Xia City branch of the Society. But looking at today's circumstances, they were limited no matter how he asked for help. Though He Yueyin and the others had done their best to support him, there still remained gaps in coverage. They couldn't immediately appear before him. It would be even worse for his family, whose priority levels would likely be lower than his.
Luo Nan didn't know how to formulate his concerns to Xue Lei for a time. It was in this moment that Tian Si had walked out from the fitting room, having finished changing clothes.
Now wasn't a good time to be picky about clothes. Tian Si just chose the closest brand named clothes and casually paired them up.
It was probably because she was very cold from being dropped inside the pool, so she wore a wool coat with a velvet jacket. She covered her upper body very tightly.
Her lower body was wrapped in a pleated long skirt, and it hung to her ankles. She was also wearing a pair of oxford high-heels, which she bought on the way. She was already sweating a bit, standing in a warm and cozy shopping mall. Her moist long hair was draped behind her back, and her cheeks flushed red. She looked like she had just taken a bath.
Tian Si nudged her way step by step before Luo Nan just like this. Her eyes looked downcast as she whispered, "I made you wait a while."
Luo Nan didn't say anything. The topic of the Order Club that Xue Lei wanted to talk about wasn't something that could be straightened out with idle chatter. Luo Nan closed his notebook and stood up.
"Let's go then."
"Mr. Luo." Zhou Hu returned just now, having gone outside to do some errands. He delivered a newly opened pair of brown sunglasses to Luo Nan. "Your eyes…. Let's first hide them."
Xue Lei understood in a flash. "Those veins are seeped with uncanniness. You should hide them for now."
No wonder He Yueyin had chosen Zhou Hu as a bodyguard; he was really quite attentive and thorough. Luo Nan gave a word of thanks as he accepted and put on the sunglasses. He first headed toward the elevators, while Xue Lei and the others followed him. Behind them, inside the crystal pillar, the devil ray noiselessly spiraled, following them down.
The original plan had Luo Nan be directly admitted to the hospital upon arrival for examination. However, the matter with the devil ray was brought up in the call with Xie Junping just now. Luo Nan wanted to go to the party venue and see the specifics surrounding the situation.
Zhou Hu, who followed by his side, had no objection toward this.
The group of people quickly returned to the 88th floor. According to the party's schedule, the warming up time should have ended, and the actually party should be officially starting. However, Luo Nan and the others arrived to see that the area surrounding the crystal pillar was clearly a bit chaotic. The buzzing of commotion never stopped.
Luo Nan contacted Xie Junping once more, and Xie Junping informed him, "A skylight has been opened in the crystal pillar. Never has such a thing happened since the building was completed. Many activities have been postponed for the sake of safety. Yao Four has lost face and is cursing quite a bit—hold on a sec."
Xie Junping and Hu Huaying were still in conversation with Yao Feng; they couldn't slip away for a time. Luo Nan looked around him. As fortune would have it, the elevator they took placed them right where they first encountered Yao Feng, as well as the sofa corner with that He Donglou.
Not a trace of the troublesome characters could be seen in this moment. Only a few strangers sat there in idle chatter.
The sofa corner was quite spacious and wide. It was fine for resting and discussion. Luo Nan notified Xie Junping, and he led Xie Junping and the others over. He intended to rest there and wait for Xie Junping to meet up with them.
Luo Nan and the others took a left turn, but there was a group of people on the right who saw them come out of the elevator. Someone immediately shouted bizarrely, "By thunder and fire! How ferociously intense! They changed their clothes. What do you think went down?"
"Two of them went, and there are four who came back! Wow!"
"You can't judge a book by its cover…."
Listening to his friends be noisy and seeing them mostly point at Tian Si, Ju Maoxun's expression turned uglier and uglier.
Their group had lost their drive after being frightened by the sunglasses man with black teeth. They ran out of the 124th floor in extreme humiliation. They just barely recovered some energy and went back up. But the next elevator contained a white-collared worker with a face full of blood. His head was smashed so hard that it turned flat, and the man sank into a deep coma. This gave them another shock. They didn't know what was going on upstairs.
Then the police intervened, and the group of people helplessly returned back to the party. The party activities hit a setback as well. It could be said that nothing went smoothly for them. In the middle of their gloom, they suddenly saw Tian Si and Luo Nan return, but they returned with a hell of an appearance.
Ju Maoxun began grinding his teeth.
The friends next to him were quite familiar with him. They saw wisps of blood appear in Ju Maoxun's eyes. Ju Maoxun had donned the appearance of The Butcher. They shut their mouths one by one.
It wasn't odd, thinking about it. There was a relationship. Clothes had been changed. Was Ju Maoxun rivaling someone for the affection of a lady? Or was he putting on the lush green hat of a cuckold?
Ju Maoxun stared at the backs of these people. He didn't make a move. Another commotion today would cause him to lose more face. After today, however, the situation would be different.
"We're going!" Ju Maoxun forcefully suppressed his tone, turned around, and left. A good 90% of the sharp thoughts he had stabbed his mind repeatedly. He could only wait for an opportunity to reveal itself before he could vent them out.
Zhou Hu and Xue Lei, who had merged into the flow of people, turned to glance when Ju Maoxun had just turned around. They were keen, and such a malevolent gaze could not escape their senses.
Zhou Hu even moved to Luo Nan's ear to ask, "That person…."
Luo Nan shook his head. As long as Ju Maoxun and his gang didn't immediately rush up to come to blows, he wouldn't spare them even the idlest of feelings. They arrived by the sofa corner with a few steps, and Luo Nan felt no need to be polite. He sat down first without any indication.
His back pressed against the soft sofa. With this support, the feeling of pain became like steam vapor. It instantly enveloped his entire body, evaporating all the energy in his body.
He subconsciously let out a sigh. He was a bit exhausted.
"Nanster?" Xue Lei didn't sit. He stooped to look at the color of Luo Nan's face. He felt a little concerned.
Luo Nan lifted his eyelids and looked at Xue Lei's furrowed face. He laughed involuntarily. "The mind comes before energy, and energy comes before strength, when it comes to the importance of consumption and loss. It seems that today I've met the minimum requirements."
These were the words that Xue Lei had admonished him with back when he had just learned the technique of cultivating in the eyes orifice.
Luo Nan had implemented these words into reality when faced with the enemy today. He didn't exhaust too much of his physical strength, but the comprehension and application of order frames, gears, coupling, and similar concepts exhausted his mental energy.
Then there was also the fact that he went to save his mother's work. His impatient heart and surging emotions also wore away at his mind. In a safe environment, his accumulated feelings of exhaustion exploded. He really wanted to lie down and sleep it off.
Xue Lei was likely the person who could understand Luo Nan's state the most. He urged Luo Nan, "How about you sleep a bit? The wear to your mind has harmed your mental energy, which is forcefully holding up a bottomless pit."
"Well, first I need to ask a few things to get a clear understanding of them. Sister He should be almost here."
Luo Nan suddenly remembered that there was an outsider by his side. He forcefully opened his eyes and swiveled them to face Tian Si. "Senior Sister Tian, I am sorry about today. I let you suffer a calamity with the pool and the ray. However, the situation has passed. The following time frame should be very safe. If Senior Sister, you—"
An aura arrived behind his back before he could clearly formulate his thoughts. Then long, snow-white legs swung across the sofa from behind to lithely leap over the back of the sofa. A slender figure suddenly appeared in this fashion.
She wore a simple T-shirt and paired it with jean shorts. The autumn flavor was very strong in this full-body summer outfit. It was also capricious. The only person that Luo Nan was familiar with who could dress up like this was Zhang Yingying.
"Whatcha lookin’ at!? I rushed over from the coast. Sorry I'm not wearing a diving suit! Of course, if you had died, I would have changed to a formal suit to collect your body."
Zhang Yingying sat near Luo Nan, staring at him with her gaze and not letting go. She sized him up carefully, trying to assess if he was missing some part of him.
Luo Nan was nearly at the point where he couldn't open his eyes. He didn't really acknowledge her, except with a grunt.
If it was any normal day, Zhang Yingying would have long since jumped up in anger. But today, she just coldly snorted back. She extended an arm to touch Luo Nan's forehead. Her fingertips streaked down, and she measured the pulse over his carotid artery for his heart rate.
These series of actions weren't that weird. But Luo Nan's expression spelled awkwardness no matter how one looked at it. After Zhang Yingying looked him up and down a few times, she finally asked, "What are you wearing glasses for?"
She pulled them straight off as she spoke.
Luo Nan glanced at her and saw her expression turn stiff. Her gaze seemed to turn slightly sluggish.
"Am I that ugly?" Luo Nan took back his sunglasses, but he suddenly felt that something was off. This was because his heart lantern of the eyes orifice had subconsciously illuminated her in an instant.
On the night at Frost River Reality, Zhang Yingying's Life Sketch was more or less clear to Luo Nan. The natural illumination from the heart lantern right now made the Life Sketch completely lucid.
However, this transparency seemed to give rise to adverse effects. The sharp energy akin to a glowing water-cloud belt within Zhang Yingying rang with a cry. The sharp energy covered her foundation anew.