This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 171 "What do you know about planetary barriers?"

Nie Weiyang decided to stay.

That night, he simply pitched a tent on the observatory.

The city's observatory, though called an observatory, is actually just a small hollowed-out hilltop with a rough structure made of stones and wood. A civilian astronomical telescope is placed on the edge, and there are always at least two astronomers guarding it.

At that moment, Yi Jian was downstairs, chatting with Fu Nian. Meanwhile, Nie Weiyang sat at the entrance of his tent, his back to the astronomer on duty, fiddling with something.

In the past two months, Nie Weiyang, Han Jiangxue, and Yi Jian have had a clear division of labor:
Nie Weiyang decided on the overall direction, commanded the combat phase, attracted external pressure, and applied higher intensity pressure to the target.

Han Jiangxue is responsible for controlling targets, eliminating large groups of enemies, temporarily altering terrain, and carrying out destructive missions with Nie Weiyang.

Yi Jian was responsible for working with Nie Weiyang to target individual elites and BOSSes, scout and attack targets outside the line of sight of others, and socialize with others to extract intelligence.

The three of them spent every day together like this. Some people said that such a trio was amazing. Nie Weiyang looked scary but was actually gentle and reliable. Han Jiangxue looked inhuman but was actually a bit dull. Yi Jian was easy to get along with, but she seemed naive and easy to fool. Moreover, she was too emotional and was the one who shed tears the most easily.

Of course, the person who said this did not realize that Yi Jian, whom he thought was the easiest to fool, had revealed all his secrets in just a few words.

“Nie Weiyang… he was a really good man,” Fu Nian said.

She smiled, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her exquisite face glowing.

"Many people liked him back then, including the teachers, because although he didn't talk much, he was very responsible."

“Once when I was sick, he carried me to the infirmary. In the first year of high school, if anyone in the class had a headache or fever, or fell during PE class, or had something they didn't know but he did, they could tell him and he would help them out—even though we only had PE class in the first year of high school.”

The woman leaned back in her chair, one hand supporting her chin, her gaze distant, reminiscing about the past.

“I liked him, but I didn’t tell him,” she said frankly. “It’s rare for someone not to like a classmate who is genuinely helpful, especially since you’re not even related.”

“Some classmates really like him, even those from other classes—many people want to play with him, but he doesn’t even go to basketball games or internet cafes. He rushes home as soon as school is over, and I don’t know why.” Fu Nian sighed.

"When it comes to relationships, he seems to know everything, but he just doesn't like to think about those things. I've never seen him get involved in things like love, emotions, or the bittersweetness of youth. If I had to say, he's become a part of other people's bittersweet youth."

"If you say anything, he will politely refuse you without leaving any room for negotiation. If you don't say anything but show it, he will politely distance himself from you, giving you no chance to fantasize."

Fu Nian complained, "A friend of mine used to go to see him all the time. Wow, that was practically a blatant hint!"

"Then he asked the person who kept contacting him if he was in a bad mood and wanted to clear his head. He kindly explained three astronomy problems and literary analysis to the person. The person recommended a song about unrequited love to him, but he wouldn't listen. In the end, he drove the person away in anger."

"Tell me more, tell me more. You're my sister." Yi Jian handed over a small bag of desserts, her eyes shining, thinking to herself that she would definitely have a good gossip session with Lao Hantui later.

Of course, he could roughly understand that Nie Weiyang's behavior was likely due to his family's poor financial situation. But he certainly wouldn't reveal this information, after all, Nie Weiyang was one of his own. Even if someone wasn't one of his own, keeping such an important secret was still his duty.

However, his family was poor in high school, but none of his classmates knew. It's likely that Nie Weiyang's teachers kept it a secret, and he probably never applied for poverty assistance himself...

On the rooftop, Nie Weiyang silently covered his forehead.

For the first time, he hated his own hearing for being too acute... Who wants to hear their own gossip!

However, the information Yi Jian brought back today told him that once the matter at the Observatory is resolved, Gushi will probably have to deal with the New Central State Bone Sacrifice Court.

That's good news. Looking at the map, the Sun's condition is very bad right now; it's mentally confused and manic, with a hidden undercurrent of hatred.

As an enemy, Nie Weiyang was actually happy to see things turn out this way.

“You’re here,” came Ping Xingdou’s voice.

He suddenly appeared from the side, looking as if he had just washed up, his hair still damp, and plopped down next to Nie Weiyang.

Nie Weiyang had already sensed his presence through multiple means, so he wasn't surprised. He simply asked directly with a gentle expression, "Is there something you need?"

"It's nothing, I'm just curious about you," Ping Xingdou said.

This person is quite something; he doesn't hold back at all when he speaks.

"Why do you keep your hair long?" he asked. "Won't it be a hassle to wash it at times like this?"

Nie Weiyang tilted his head and touched his hair.

“After I get injured, my hair suddenly grows very fast,” he said. “My injuries heal relatively quickly because my metabolism is very fast at this time. As a result, my hair and nails also grow longer.”

His vampire lineage had made him half-corpse, and his metabolism was relatively slow; his hair grew less than two centimeters a year.

But whenever he is injured, especially seriously or repeatedly in a short period of time, his bodily functions are immediately activated. His own energy supplies and replenishes his metabolism, accelerating his metabolism and quickly recovering from his injuries.

This should have aged him rapidly, but as I said before... his vampire bloodline turned him into a half-corpse.

As long as there is a sufficient supply of blood and energy, such a corpse will not age. This is why, in the last playthrough, when he was in his forties, he still looked like he was in his twenties or thirties.

At that moment, Yi Jian and Fu Nian were talking downstairs, while Ping Xingdou stared at the sky for a while. The stars fell into his eyes, and he fell into the stars' eyes as well.

He organized his thoughts, various doubts rising and falling in his mind. After a long while, he decided to get straight to the point.

“Nie Weiyang, can I ask you something?” Ping Xingdou asked.

"What is it?" Nie Weiyang asked in return.

Ping Xingdou pondered for a moment, then asked, "What do you know about planetary barriers...?"

Nie Weiyang turned his head, his eyes gently gazing at Ping Xingdou.

“Not many,” he said.

Not much... What does "not much" mean? What kind of "not much" is it?
Knowing only a little is not much; knowing the form of existence but not the root cause is also not much; knowing the root cause but not knowing how to control or solve it is also not much.

Ping Xingdou asked questions without hesitation. He stared intently at Nie Weiyang and asked in a hoarse voice, "How much is 'not much'?"

Nie Weiyang smiled.

“Not all,” he said.

(End of this chapter)