Chapter 189.2 – We Are V587 (4)

◎ Is Ten Carats Enough? ◎

To be accurate, Song Ke only remembered herself as an experimental subject and her childhood memories. Everything after the apocalypse was increasingly messy and blurry, with a complete blank about the events that occurred afterward.

Zhuang Qingyan nodded, “I informed the others from V587. They’ll be back soon. Maybe then you’ll remember something.”

Song Ke crouched in the corner of the sofa, creating a distance between them, her eyes filled with skepticism, “How can I be sure you’re not lying to me?”

“Your language ability has recovered.” Zhuang Qingyan tapped his fingertips, calmly analyzing, “The manifestation of the Phoenix gene is ‘rebirth.’ As long as there are residual cells, one can infinitely regenerate using them as a medium. However, your two triggers had no external guidance, resulting in aftereffects.”

“The first rebirth was during the Loak incident, damaging your language center. This is the second time.” He shifted forward, kneeling on one knee on the sofa, his long fingers threading through Song Ke’s hair. “Albinism is a hereditary disease. From a broad perspective, this type of genetic mutation cannot be cured.”

“Previously, whether it was the Hook Snake, Wildcat, or Chameleon gene, you couldn’t transform back voluntarily; you needed radiation stimulation. But now, you can control all genes, indicating that the fusion level has exceeded the threshold, losing the characteristics of a human.”

“You’ve been to Ferrara, wanting to activate the awakener certificate, but without biological information, this path was simply impassable. So, you had no other choice but to use special means to infiltrate the Northern Base.”

Throughout the Alliance, no one understood the Fire Seed project and LAK0017 better than Zhuang Qingyan. With just a few words, he deduced the truth.

Impressive, he got it all right.

Song Ke stared at him in astonishment.

Zhuang Qingyan calmly continued forward, their noses almost touching, “But this is very dangerous. All genes are in high-speed operation, the DNA chain constantly changing, causing a disturbance in your magnetic field. Over time, the part of consciousness belonging to humans gradually diminishes, and you’ll forget everything.”

“Tomorrow, let’s conduct a full-body examination to see if there’s any way to restore you to normal.”

“Oh,” Song Ke nodded quietly, discreetly distancing herself from him.

Zhuang Qingyan noticed her subtle movement, smiled with restraint, and held her hand, rubbing it until he felt the ring on Song Ke’s ring finger. His smile vanished instantly.

“What’s this?” He held it up expressionlessly, his tone icy. “Where did this ring come from?”

Activating the “Omniscient and Omnipotent” ability, scouring every corner of memory, Zhuang Qingyan quickly recalled the glimpse in Sin City, regret and anger simultaneously surging, “Given to you by Jorik? Did he propose to you, and you agreed?”

“Not even a decent diamond, and you consider this worth showing off?”

“Why did you go to Sin City for him? How long did you stay, and why didn’t you contact me?”

The man, overwhelmed by jealousy and clouded judgment, completely lost his sanity. His voice carried a hoarse tone with gritted teeth.

“It’s not…” Song Ke tried to explain, but the spiritual power in the ring was too weak. Zhuang Qingyan, stubbornly, didn’t perceive it as a spatial item.

“Take it off,” Zhuang Qingyan was firm, not allowing any refusal. “I’ll buy you a bigger one. Is ten carats enough?”

“Are you crazy?!” Song Ke was speechless, kicking him in the abdomen. Zhuang Qingyan grunted and raised his eyes, the depths of which were terrifying.

He reached over to remove Song Ke’s ring. The two wrestled on the sofa, the situation intense and unrestrained.

Ding ding—

Just then, the apartment door opened.

Three people rushed into the foyer urgently and froze in place.

They saw Song Ke with disheveled clothes, an oversized T-shirt slipping off her shoulder, her lips slightly swollen and reddened from rough kissing. Zhuang Qingyan’s shirt was in disarray, buttons broken, and several scratches on his thin abdominal muscles were particularly prominent. He was pressed onto the sofa, with a strange woman straddling him. His workout pants awkwardly revealed an embarrassing shape, and the two were in a ambiguous position, closely pressed together.

Two and three, everyone looked each other, and the atmosphere solidified for a few seconds.

Thump! The food that Xu Xing held dropped, and his eyes widened in astonishment.

“Oh, oh.” Lu Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow, a hint of playfulness flashing in his eyes.

Xu Xing… Comrade Xu Xiaoxing directly broke down, “You – shameless!! Where’s my sister!! How can you mess around with someone else?!”

The slender teenager, furious, erupted with awakened energy. Dozens of ice blades shot towards the two. No matter what, he was an A3-level awakener. With a burst of awakened ability, the temperature in the living room, along with the foyer, plummeted. The floor, along with Lu Xiaoyu’s wheelchair, was instantly covered in thick frost.

Song Ke flipped over and got up. Her fingertips moved slightly, and a dazzling golden shield appeared out of thin air, blocking Xu Xing’s attacks.

Just as she was about to lament why all the kids she encountered were not quite normal, with Xiao Bao always wanting to gnaw on her arm, and this one always resorting to violence, she noticed the opposing teenager’s expression becoming blank.

Xu Xing’s eyes quickly filled with tears, and he sobbed twice. Like a runaway wild horse, he rushed over, “Sister—!!”

Song Ke was shocked, “!”

She flipped over the sofa with a backflip, landing lightly on the other side. Xu Xing watched helplessly as he missed his target, unable to stop in time, and crashed into the sofa corner. His head bumped into Zhuang Qingyan, who looked up in annoyance, rubbing his bright red nose.

With teary eyes, Xu Xing said, “Sister, you don’t love me anymore. You never used to avoid me before!”

Zhuang Qingyan slapped him on the head, stood up, nonchalantly buttoned up two buttons, “Enough already. You were 1.3 meters tall before, and now you’re 1.6 meters tall. Don’t you know how big you are?”

“Hmph.” Xu Xing suppressed his resentment, leaning his elbow on his knee, supporting his chin, sulking alone.

Fang Zhixu touched his chin, circled around Song Ke, and commented, “Captain, you’ve changed too. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Song Ke has lost some memories. Introduce yourselves,” Zhuang Qingyan explained the situation in a few words and gestured to Song Ke, “You were looking for V587, right? They are all members.”

Xu Xing eagerly raised his hand, “I’m Xu Xing. Sister, I’m the first one who met you, and we’re the closest.”

The highly skilled young man in the eyes of outsiders was still a child who didn’t grow up and knew how to act cute in front of Song Ke. With a slight pout at the corner of his mouth, Xu Xing was still upset about not being able to hold Song Ke just now.

Song Ke couldn’t resist and patted his curly hair, feeling a pleasant touch, “Good boy.”

“Fang Zhixu, you can call me Old Fang. We met in Tongwan. At that time, I was desperate for death, and you saved me and helped me avenge my wife.” Fang Zhixu spoke about the past, including the assassination in Mu City, and his wife Ayao.

Song Ke listened quietly, patting his shoulder when he finished.

Fang Zhixu touched the glass bottle around his neck and smiled, “I’m doing well now. Ayao and Tiantian will surely be satisfied.”

Next was the silver-haired, ice-blue-eyed young man. Song Ke’s gaze lingered for a second on his missing legs, and her eyes looked somewhat dim.

Lu Xiaoyu calmly let her scrutinize him, “Although being a tree is quite good, thanks for bringing me out of the Death Prison.”

Song Ke gazed at him silently, and behind Lu Xiaoyu were six mechanical arms, each with a different color, one of which emitted a cold silver light.

A light bulb lit up in her head, and the next actions were purely instinctive. Song Ke took out the box of rhenium blocks from the ring, carefully opened it, and the bright light illuminated everyone’s faces.

She pushed it solemnly in front of Lu Xiaoyu, “Although I don’t remember why I need to find it, my intuition tells me that it should be for you.”

Lu Xiaoyu was first surprised, then fell into silence, and finally revealed a somewhat awkward but sincere smile, “Thank you, Captain.”

He turned proudly, like a child who got a beloved gift, eager to show it to the whole world, “Rhenium blocks—enough to transform all the mechanical arms. Did you see that? Fourteen days?”

Zhuang Qingyan lightly sneered, a rare moment without a retort.

“Why does only he have a gift!” Xu Xing complained, drawing circles with his fingers, and his grudge notebook started rearranging.

“You’re so rich; shouldn’t you give your sister a gift?” Fang Zhixu educated him.

“Oh, right! Sister, what do you want? I’ll buy it for you!”

“Quick, go wash the vegetables. I’ll cook tonight.”

“What? I already took commissions today. Do I have to wash vegetables too?”

While the apartment was bustling with noise, Song Ke’s heart gradually settled into reality. This indescribable feeling persisted since she woke up in District F177. For nearly a month of wandering, loneliness surrounded her at every moment. It wasn’t until now that Song Ke truly found a sense of belonging. She was sure that she was the captain of V587, and these people were important to her.

Leaning against the bar, Zhuang Qingyan quietly watched her. A faint smile adorned his young and handsome face, and the lingering melancholy finally dispersed with the wind.

This unfamiliar face merged with the deep-seated figure in Song Ke’s memory, becoming the same person.

—The person she was looking for.

Song Ke thought of something and cleared her throat to speak, “Actually, there’s one more thing.”

As soon as the captain spoke, the other four immediately quieted down, all looking at her.

Song Ke earnestly asked, “Who is Su Cha…?”