Regarding the matter of awakening lightning abilities after transformation

"It's not me, it's us."

The woman's voice had barely faded from his mind when Jiang Xuewei suddenly stopped and asked softly, "Did you find anything?"

She noticed that Gu Cheng's breathing was short, rapid, and extremely uneven, and the latter bit her lower lip but did not choose to hide it.

"I heard the same sound when I scanned it that night."

Gu Cheng vigorously flexed her wrist, her knuckles making a cracking sound as they collided. Jiang Xuewei turned her head and glanced at her a few times, her expression complex.

After a long pause, she made a decision: "If we're not feeling well, we'll retreat for now and come back tomorrow."

Unexpectedly, Gu Cheng did not agree, but shook her head to indicate that she could.

"Let's continue." The girl vaguely sensed that this murmur was the key to Jiang Xuewei's exploration of the ruins. Retreating would only prolong their time underground, thus encountering more dangers.

"Can't you hear me?" Gu Cheng asked her.

Jiang Xuewei adjusted her glasses, her fingertip pressed firmly against the trigger: "No, not at all."

The voice Gu Cheng described could only be heard by herself. The woman frowned and began to consider various possibilities.

It could be a special effect of dual abilities, or the signal could be transmitted through an electromagnetic field, allowing Gu Cheng, as an electromagnetically-related awakened individual, to receive this unique signal.

Or perhaps... because she was modified by a descendant...

They proceeded in silence and soon arrived at the top of the spire. Unlike the other floors, which were covered with oil paintings, this place was more like a living room.

A bed, a square table, a stone bookshelf... Gu Cheng shone her flashlight inside, revealing ordinary furniture everywhere.

"Click".

A crisp cracking sound suddenly came from inside the room. Jiang Xuewei and Gu Cheng turned their heads instantly, and two beams of light shone directly at the source of the sound.

It was a pale, emaciated skeleton sitting on a stone chair, its clothes tattered, with only strips of cloth left to cover its body.

Jiang Xuewei first gestured to Gu Cheng to indicate that it was safe, then bent down to examine the body closely. Although the deceased's clothes were worn, they were made of luxurious materials, and the chest and cuffs were adorned with various jewels, making them appear to be quite expensive.

With the help of gloves, the woman stretched out her arm and touched the right side of the skull through the fabric with her fingertips.

There was no dust, the black tactical gloves were spotless, and the joints between the bones of the deceased were as clear as jade.

"Sister Xuewei, come and take a look quickly."

Compared to Jiang Xuewei, Gu Cheng was noticeably more restrained. She stood at a bookshelf not far away and called out quietly, as if she had discovered something.

Jiang Xuewei stood up and headed in that direction, her brows furrowing even deeper.

"What did you find?"

"Is this... perhaps...?"

Jiang Xuewei took the item from Gu Cheng and squinted at it, quickly breaking out in a cold sweat.

The metal part in her hand was only about two finger joints long and half a fingernail thick, with English labels in the center.

Kingston (HXS3)

Gu Cheng then picked up a packaging box and a larger metal block from the bookshelf.

Kingston 512GB ultra-large capacity, silver slider design, high-efficiency transmission.

USB flash drive and external hard drive—this was not the kind of discovery one would expect from an ancient ruin. The girl felt her blood rushing and an unnamed chill spreading from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

The next second, she heard a low explosion behind her. The pale skeleton that had been sitting on the stone chair trembled violently, and countless fleshy buds sprouted from the skeleton, overlapping each other.

Its eyes emitted a flowing dark brown fluorescence, which was quickly covered by a transparent film. In less than half a breath, two vivid and lively eyeballs appeared in the original empty space.

It is still alive; it is awakening.

"You've barged in without the host's permission. Are you guests or enemies?"

Chapter 253, Section 258: Ying Qiuhuai

Putting aside the first love filter, Su Wanxi's looks were the best Gu Cheng had ever seen. She was prettier than most celebrities without makeup, so much so that after seeing her so many times during their cohabitation, everyone else seemed ordinary to her.

But now she couldn't help but wonder if the stunningly beautiful woman before her was the Creator's proudest creation.

Her skin was as white as snow, her teeth were white and her eyes were bright. Her smooth, silky black hair was draped over her shoulders. She had a high nose bridge, delicate lips, and her features were so exquisite that they seemed otherworldly.

Just half a minute ago it was nothing but a skeleton, but now it has become a stunning beauty that countless ancient emperors sought to win a smile from.

"Put it down."

The woman raised her arm and pointed at Jiang Xuewei, her voice calm and steady, her delicate body partially visible beneath her tattered robes.

Gu Cheng had neither the time nor the interest to appreciate it. She gripped the pistol tightly, her palms slightly sweaty.

"You're the 'Ying' who helped the residents of the ruins?" Jiang Xuewei's gaze deepened as she looked at the woman in front of her. She noticed that the woman's chest was unusually flat, lacking the soft curves that a woman should have.

"I told you to put your things down."

It stood up, like a snow wolf that had just woken up, its tone leaving no room for doubt. Then the ground began to tremble, and the ouroboros, depicted in the murals and reliefs, emerged from the ground, climbing and coiling around it, completely binding the spire.

There was nowhere to escape; all the arched windows were firmly covered by glossy black snake scales.

Gu Cheng glanced at Jiang Xuewei, then quickly put the computer hard drive back on the bookshelf and retreated to the corner.

“We mean no harm,” the girl explained softly, raising her left hand while her right fingertip rested firmly on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.

Having lived for thousands of years, Ying Qiuhuai was no fool. He knew exactly how lethal the fire stick in the other party's hand was. Although the gun could not cause him any real harm, everything in this room was his treasure. If it were destroyed by stray bullets, even several lives wouldn't be enough to compensate for it.

The two sides faced each other from a distance of ten meters. Ying Qiuhuai was very patient. He walked barefoot to the wall and lit a long lamp.

A bright red flame suddenly rose up. Jiang Xuewei's expression remained unchanged, while Gu Cheng squinted slightly, trying to mitigate the impact of the intense light.

"Mr. Ying, may we talk?"

Jiang Xuewei didn't understand why the other party hadn't made a move, but since things had already developed to this point, it wouldn't hurt to sit down and talk.

Mr. Ying? Gu Cheng then noticed that the other man's chest was flat and his unclothed abdomen was also empty, with no primary sexual characteristics at all.

"Let's talk...you must have gathered a lot of information about me along the way." Her stunningly beautiful face was as cold as ice, and her voice was androgynous.

Jiang Xuewei pursed her lips and replied, "Yes, about your background and various deeds."

With her spiritual vision activated, Gu Cheng saw that Ying Qiuhuai was surrounded by an inescapable black mist. Not daring to make any rash moves, she quietly moved a little closer to Jiang Xuewei.

"Are all these bookshelves your collection?" The woman turned her head, feigning nonchalance.

Besides the hard drive they had just examined, the shelf also held all sorts of odds and ends, including bamboo slips, porcelain, imperial crowns and books, as well as old rag dolls and blackened ashtrays. Jiang Xuewei even found a piece of cheap lipstick that hadn't been used up on it.

Ying Qiuhuai's lips curled slightly upwards, a hidden light gleaming in her eyes: "Not a collection... those are all mine..."

"You didn't come here to visit my bedroom."

Jiang Xuewei was certainly not there as a guest; she wanted to find out whether the information An Zhishui had obtained was accurate.

......

More than 80 years ago, China's high technology was just starting out, and the database was being built in full swing. Ying Qiuhuai was the first account to access the system. As one of the founders of the Hermit Bureau, he had the highest access to the database.

Last April, the Hermit Bureau disbanded, and the database was naturally taken over by the military. The highest level of access was not revoked, and the Mimic Ghost recently discovered traces of access to the account.

"Little Weiwei, this account must be someone else's..."

An Zhishui's speculation is not without reason. Who would believe that a spirit that has been dead for a long time could suddenly come back to life?

Jiang Xuewei initially thought the same thing, until she came into contact with the underground ruins of Beidu and a legend that was little known even to the upper echelons of China.

The ouroboros, symbolizing an endless cycle of death and rebirth, is the master of life and death. The fact that the underground ruins of Kyoto have remained undisturbed for decades is partly due to the fact that the leaders followed the "agreement".

The ouroboros is not only circulated among the upper echelons of Chinese society, but it is even described in the Raven Church. The omniscient and omnipotent God calls it a sign of the coming of the end times, and it is the tail-swallowing Jemungad that entangles the sails of the ark.

Jiang Xuewei didn't know how much time had passed, but her calves felt numb from standing, and her palms felt like they were being pricked with needles. Now was not the time to relax, so she tried to take a deep breath, and tiny beads of sweat hung on her forehead.

Ying Qiuhuai glanced at Jiang Xuewei, then at the girl on his left, his brows gradually furrowing.

"What's your name?"

He asked Gu Cheng, who paused for a moment and did not answer immediately.

"Was I not accurate enough...?" Ying Qiuhuai muttered to herself.

"What are your names?" he asked again.

Chapter 254, Section 259: What if the world were destroyed?

Gu Cheng noticed that Ying Qiuhuai's eyes seemed somewhat unusual; her pupils were not round, but rather long, thin vertical lines.

"My name is Gu Cheng, and this is Jiang Xuewei," the girl answered truthfully, harboring a sliver of hope.

Gu Chengyan's ability to dissolve walls and create shadows through the voids is their only way to escape the spire. She doesn't want even her last trump card to be revealed by the other side.

Ying Qiuhuai lowered his gaze, his eyes extremely cold. Gu Cheng felt as if she were being stared at by a venomous snake, about to be swallowed whole.

"Why bother with petty tricks? I sense more than one soul in you."

"What's her name? Is it the same as yours?"

As Ying Qiuhuai slowly walked towards them, Jiang Xuewei slid the muzzle of her gun from his calf all the way to his left chest, her fingertip firmly on the trigger.

"Mr. Ying, we just have a question we'd like to ask you."

"Arrogant and rude, is this how you ask for guidance?"

Ying Qiuhuai's tone was unfriendly, and Gu Cheng subconsciously wanted to pick up the hard drive as a threat, but Gu Chengyan advised her not to do so.

“If a conflict occurs, I, you, and Jiang Xuewei will all die within a second.”

Gu Cheng knew that the stunningly beautiful woman in front of her was incredibly powerful, but she never expected that even the usually arrogant Gu Chengyan would make such a statement.

Tell her my name.

"Gu Chengyan." Hearing Gu Cheng speak, Ying Qiuhuai stopped in his tracks, chewing over the three simple words. After a few minutes, the corners of his lips turned up slightly, and a dark golden light flowed in his eyes.

......

Ying Qiuhuai's awakening was not accidental. He had long ago planned the lifespan of his previous life, and regardless of natural disasters or man-made calamities, the process of returning would only be brought forward, not delayed.

The year is 2091, which is nothing out of the ordinary for most people, but it presents a different picture for a very few: this cursed year means that there is less than a year left until the end of the world.