The World of Bengtieli: They All Have designs on me

She was like a sophisticated machine infected by an unknown virus, trapped in a vicious cycle. For the entire night, that small, warm body remained in this tightly pressed position. And she, quite unexpectedly, acquiesced to it all night long.

[System: Target Lingke's physiological indicators have returned to stability. However, her mental field remains in a state of high-frequency disturbance. Analysis: The target has entered observer hibernation mode; her body is in hibernation, while her subconscious continues to monitor abnormal targets.]

The source of warmth behind her stirred, like a baby cub just waking up, unconsciously snuggling closer to something warmer. Luo Ning's cheek was pressed against the back of her neck, the soft hair tickling her skin.

He woke up.

Lingke remained motionless, even her breathing was extremely soft. She was waiting. Waiting for him to realize how inappropriate his position was, and then to step back on his own. That would be the easiest way, avoiding an unnecessary exchange.

"Good morning, sister."

A muffled, sleepy voice sounded behind her ear.

He didn't back away. He even put one arm around her waist, making him fit even more tightly against the curve of her back.

The "core problem" that had been churning her brain last night has become even more clearly apparent.

[System: Physical contact range expanded. Lingke's heart rate begins to rise slightly.] "Get up if you're awake." Lingke finally spoke, her voice a little hoarse from not speaking all night.

"Hmm..." Luo Ning responded, but showed no intention of moving. Instead, she clung to him even tighter, like a koala, using both hands and feet. "Sister...you're so warm and smell so good..."

Smells good? A question mark flashed through Lingke's mind. She only smelled of her winter clothes and geological samples. Does this kid also have an abnormality in his sensory system?

Just as she was about to forcibly initiate the "physical stripping" procedure, a sharp electronic sound shattered the cave's tranquility.

She was exploring the military communicator in the side pocket of her backpack when it suddenly rang without warning.

Lingke paused. This communicator was in one-way reception mode and could only be activated after the family's high-power signal base station had locked onto her approximate range.

This means she has been found.

Trouble. That was the only word that stayed in her mind.

Returning home meant facing her family's interrogation, writing tens of thousands of words of exploration reports, attending tedious banquets, and dealing with insincere pleasantries. Her gaze fell on the communicator; its flashing red light resembled a death knell. She even had a wild thought: to...

They threw the items directly into the hot spring pool.

Luo Ning was startled by the sound and finally let go of her, curiously peering over: "Sister, what's that?"

Before Ling could answer, the communicator automatically connected after ringing three times. A female voice that she knew all too well, and that she found incredibly irritating, boomed from the loudspeaker like a thunderclap.

"Linke! Linke! Answer me! Can you hear me?!"

It's Shiluwa. Her sister. The woman who always had boundless energy, who always treated trouble as a spice of life. "Received." Ling Ke picked up the communicator and replied succinctly.

“You finally answered! God knows how much trouble I went through to bypass the old man and activate the base station… wait,” Hiluva paused, as if checking some data, “I’ve located your heat source signal, and nearby… there’s another one, a very weak life signal. You’re not alone? Who are you with?”

Ling Ke glanced at Luo Ning, who was staring at her with wide, innocent eyes. "A burden," she said, stating a fact.

"Sister, are they your family?" Luo Ning leaned closer and asked in a low voice. His voice wasn't loud, but it came through the loudspeaker clearly.

Hiluva on the other end of the communication fell silent instantly.

It was the deathly silence before a storm. A full five seconds passed before her voice rang out again, but her tone had completely changed.

Before, there was anxiety; now, there is a mixture of disbelief, coldness, and sharpness.

"That voice...is it Luo Ning?"

Lingke raised an eyebrow. Yet another unexpected variable.

"How could he be with you?!" Shiluwa's voice suddenly rose. "I found him," Lingke replied briefly.

"Found him?!" Silva's voice sounded like it was about to leap out of the communicator and choke her. "He's been missing for almost a week! The entire upper district of Beloberburg has been turned upside down! What...what did you do to him? Is he hurt?"

A series of questions, carrying an undisguised interrogation and...possessiveness.

This made Lingke extremely unhappy. She hated it when people ordered her around or interrogated her in such a matter-of-fact tone.

"Sister, she's so fierce..." Luo Ning was frightened by Xiluwa's tone and subconsciously shrank behind Ling Ke, grabbing the hem of her clothes with her little hands.

This tiny movement triggered a switch that Lingke herself was unaware of.

“He’s fine,” Ling Ke said into the communicator, emphasizing each word. “He’s not injured. He’s not cold either. He’s lively and energetic now.”

She paused, then added something that surprised even herself: "He's in much better shape than when some people lost him." There was another dead silence on the other end of the line.

[System: Target Ling has been detected to exhibit protective tendencies. A conflict has occurred between the logic module and the emotion module.]

“Linco Landau.” Hiluva’s voice was as cold as polar ice. “Do you know what you’re saying? Do you know who he is? A troublesome brat.”

“He…” Hiluva seemed to want to say something, but she held back and changed to a more imposing tone, “Where are you now? Send me your exact coordinates.”

“No need.” Ling Ke refused directly, “End of communication.”

Just as she was about to disconnect, Luo Ning suddenly whispered into the communicator, "Don't worry, Sister Ling Ke... she's very good to me. She even gave me her last dose of nutritional supplements."

[Sizzle—-]

It seems something has been crushed over there in Shiluva's area.

"She gave you... her last words of advice?" Shilu's voice sounded like she was gritting her teeth. "Linke, what exactly do you want? Are you short of money or supplies? What's the point of kidnapping him? The Landau family..."

“Shut up.” Ling Ke interrupted her increasingly outlandish conjecture. “I’ll say it again, he’s fine. I’m not interested in playing guessing games with you.” “You… fine, very fine.” Shilu’s voice was filled with barely suppressed rage. “Ling Ke, you listen to me. I’ve already locked onto him.”

I've located you in the geothermal anomaly zone west of Weeping Rock. Stay there and don't move! I'll bring people over myself. Before we arrive,

"If you dare to harm him even a single hair, or... do anything strange to him, I guarantee your next polar expedition application will be rejected until the day you die."

Communication was unilaterally cut off.

Silence returned to the cave, broken only by the sound of dripping water.

Lingke stood there, clutching the now-silent communicator, her face colder than the snow and ice outside.

Things are spiraling out of control and into the most troublesome direction. Not only has she found a strangely shaped little ghost, but this ghost has also gotten involved with her sister, whom she least wants to deal with.

She turned around and looked at Luo Ning, who was terrified and still clutching her clothes tightly. This trouble was no longer something she could simply get rid of.

[System: New mission issued—Eve of the Storm. Mission objective: Ensure the host and self-defense are secure before reinforcements (or greater trouble) arrive.]

(Biao Lingke's survival and handling of potential trust crises.)

[Luoning: System, has Sister Xiluwa misunderstood something?]

[System: She didn't misunderstand; she precisely imagined the worst-case scenario. Congratulations, host, you have successfully moved from the stage of needing to study...]

The ultimate issue has escalated into a bombshell that ignites family conflicts.

Ling Ke looked down at Luo Ning. "...This is even more troublesome."

Chapter 183 Hiluva's Misunderstanding

The air in the cave seemed to freeze because of the abruptly ended communication. Ling tossed the communicator back into her backpack swiftly and decisively.

She began packing, putting away the scattered first-aid kits, desiccants, and geological hammers one by one, with the efficiency of a machine performing factory settings.

She was clearing her mind with her actions, packing up the emotional disturbances brought by Shiluwa and the cognitive confusion caused by that brat, and then discarding them.

"Sister..." Luo Ning's voice rang out sharply, tinged with unease, "Are you... angry?"

"No." Ling Ke didn't turn her head, folding the adventure jacket she had covered Luo Ning with the night before. She paused for a moment.

The clothes still retained the warmth of the small stove, and a scent... she couldn't quite define, but it was definitely there, belonging to that brat.

trouble.

She stuffed her clothes into her backpack, the sound of the zipper being pulled up being particularly loud in the cave. "That Sister Hiluva..."

“Shut up,” Ling interrupted him. “Save your energy.”

She turned around, her icy blue eyes devoid of emotion, and simply scanned him from head to toe, as if inspecting a piece of equipment. His clothes were neatly dressed, his hair still damp from the steam clinging to his forehead, and his cheeks glowed with a healthy rosy hue in the firelight.

He looks...in pretty good shape.

Ling Ke's gaze didn't linger on his face, but instead fell on his pants.

For some reason, the astonishing touch and temperature of last night uncontrollably surfaced in her mind.

[System: Target Lingke is currently undergoing data backtracking and comparison. The logic module is attempting to build a new model for the anomaly. Warning: Model]

Model creation failed; data conflict.

Just then, a deep, rumbling sound came from outside the cave, growing louder as it approached, carrying with it the brutal force of crushing ice and snow. They've arrived.

Ling Ke straightened up, her previous languid posture vanishing, replaced by a wary alertness. She stepped aside, shielding Luo Ning behind her.

She didn't even realize this subconscious action.

A huge shadow loomed over the cave entrance, where a Landau family-branded "Pioneer" all-terrain snowmobile was parked. Its headlights, like two cold, giant eyes, pierced through the warm, moist air inside the cave.

The car door popped open.

The first to rush down was Hilva. She was wearing a leather jacket that allowed her to move around easily, a stark contrast to her usual lazy demeanor in the machine shop.

There was no smile on her face, and her vacant eyes burned with fire as she walked straight toward the cave.

Bronya followed closely behind her. The heir to the Silver Guard, dressed in a crisp uniform, her expression serious, immediately fixed her gaze on Luo Ning. Only after confirming he was safe and sound did a barely perceptible hint of relaxation appear on her face.

Pella was the last to come down. The intelligence officer, carrying a tactical data tablet, adjusted her glasses and quietly followed behind the two. Her gaze, however, was like a scanner, quickly recording everything around her—the structure of the cave, the extinguished fire, the size of the hot spring, and... the two people in the depths of the cave, their atmosphere subtly tense.

Hiluva stopped abruptly when she saw Lingke and Luoning. The cave was warm and humid, filled with steam.

Her younger sister, Lingke, was standing there. The zipper of her adventure suit wasn't fully zipped up, revealing a pale neck that had a faint pinkish tinge from the heat of the cave.

Her short, silver-gray hair was messier than usual, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks, giving her an air of... just-woke-up, languid charm.

This is completely different from her usual aloof, purely cold "laziness".

And Lonin, who had been missing for a week and whose disappearance had shaken the entire upper district of Belleburg, was standing unharmed behind her, her little hand unconsciously supporting the corner of her adventure suit.

His little face was flushed, and his eyes were somewhat evasive, like a young animal that had done something wrong and was seeking protection.

This scene, like an oil painting brimming with information, shocked the three intruders. "Luo Ning!"

Hiluva broke the silence first, rushing forward and bypassing Ling Ke. She bent down, cupped Luo Ning's face in her hands, and carefully examined him. "How are you? Are you hurt? Did she...did she do anything to you?"

Her voice was urgent, each word like an interrogation, but her gaze went over Luo Ning's head and was fixed on Ling Ke.

Luo Ning was startled and shrank back. "Sister Xiluwa... I, I'm fine. Sister Ling Ke saved me, she even..." "Saved you?" Xiluwa interrupted him, sneered, stood up, and finally looked directly at her sister. "Bringing him alone to this..."

"Out in the middle of nowhere, he ate all the supplies we prepared for him, and this is your idea of ​​rescue?"

Ling Ke looked at her expressionlessly and didn't say anything.

Her silence infuriated Silva more than any rebuttal.

“Silva, Master Linco.” Bronya approached, trying to ease the tension. “The most important thing now is that Lonin is back safe and sound. I think there must be some misunderstanding.”

Pera followed, glanced at the data panel, and said in a straightforward tone, "According to the records, there was a level 2 ice storm in this area last night. The geothermal cave chosen by Master Lingke is the safest shelter within a ten-kilometer radius. From the thermal imaging, Luo Ning's vital signs are very stable, even more active than before he disappeared..."

Her words seemed to be trying to exonerate Ling Ke, yet they also precisely pointed out another point of doubt. Active?

Hiluva's gaze returned to Luo Ning. She took his hand and pulled him to her side, her movements forceful and leaving no room for argument.

“Come with me. This isn’t a place for you.” She pulled Luo Ning around, preparing to get into the car.

Lingke remained standing still, motionless, like an ice sculpture. She looked at Shiluwa's back, at the small figure she was firmly supporting.

For some reason, a feeling of unease, like magma rising from the ground, slowly welled up. That trouble was something she had picked up.

“Sister,” Luo Ning was pulled along, and he looked back at Ling Ke with pleading and reluctance in his eyes, “My things.” His small backpack was still at Ling Ke’s feet.

Hiluva's anger flared up again. She turned around, her voice sharp: "What else do you want to do? What can she give you? She even took your last tube of nutritional paste, and you still..."

Her words caught in her throat as she watched Qing Lingke's actions.

Ling Ke bent down and picked up the small backpack. Instead of throwing it over, she carried it with one hand and walked over step by step.

Her steps were steady, and her icy blue pupils stared directly at Shiluva, containing neither anger nor fear, only a bottomless calm.

This calmness made Shiluwa feel a strange palpitation. Lingke walked up to the two of them and stopped.

She didn't look at Shiluva, but handed the backpack to Luo Ning. "Take it."

Two words: cold and hard.

Luo Ning timidly reached out and took the backpack.

Just then, Shiluva's gaze, like the most precise probe, swept over Luo Ning, who was peeking out from beside Ling Ke. Then, her pupils suddenly contracted.

She saw it.

Luo Ning's pants were children's size issued by the expedition team, and the fabric wasn't very thick. Because of the way she had pulled on them earlier, the fabric was clinging tightly to the fabric.