Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Luckily, we've already got two. Should we think that way?

Xiangzi lowered his head and used his black card to open the passage at the same time as He Mu.

A chilly breeze wafted out from deep within the hospital.

Everything was dirty and dilapidated, as if someone had fought and struggled here. But Xiangzi didn't linger on the surroundings. She looked up at Mu, as if trying to see something in Mu's eyes.

She values ​​harmony more than the environment.

Mu knew a lot, far more than Xiangzi could imagine. It wasn't just about gathering information; Mu had planned out exactly what he should do and when he should do it all along the way. Thanks to Mu, Xiangzi hadn't encountered any obstacles along the way.

This is normal, since Mu has stayed here the longest. Miaomeng knows a lot too, there's nothing wrong with that, so don't doubt yourself too much.

Xiangzi kept telling himself that.

"Xiang." Mu seemed to sense Xiangzi's doubt. "Everything I said is true."

“I know.” Xiangzi shook his head. “I’m not doubting you.”

The dizziness was getting stronger, like I was lacking oxygen. It could also be that I really was lacking oxygen, after all, the underwater environment... isn't very good, and there was also the mental influence released by the city lord, which felt quite impactful; calling it pollution would be more accurate.

"I am," she said, rubbing her head, "I am doubting myself."

She has done too many irreversible things.

She was afraid that this time, she too...

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 807 How to Balance the Water Pump

To all personnel in the healthcare system:

The automatic balancing pump in the drainage system appears to still be faulty, causing flooding in the lower levels. Since the maintenance department is currently focused on reinforcing the defensive structure on the east side, the drainage system pressure will temporarily need to be manually balanced in the pump control room.

Xiangzi stood in front of a control panel, sweating profusely, holding a note.

The lower floors of the hospital are severely flooded and cannot be drained.

According to the information on the note, the hospital actually persisted for a period of time after the incident, and a defensive net was left on the east side, the side facing the port, to block the monsters.

However, it seems that in the end it was disintegrated from within.

They probably don't know that the source of the mental pollution is something sealed behind the hospital, carrying out the order to guard this place, and eventually rotting away from the inside, turning into walking corpses like wandering monsters.

Calling this place a hospital is an understatement; it would be more accurate to describe it as a fortress with hospital functions.

“There’s an ID card on the lower level, but it’s not only flooded but also electrified, so we need to drain the water before we can go down…” Xiangzi swallowed hard, wiping the sweat from his brow. “But how do we drain it…”

According to Mu's intelligence, a person with an ID card is trapped on the lower level. He's probably either drowned or electrocuted. It's fortunate that he died beforehand, otherwise he would have become a zombie like the others.

What's giving Xiangzi the biggest headache right now is the water tanks in front of her. The three tanks, A, B, and C, have progressively smaller capacities. Pressing the buttons labeled with letters will drain water into the corresponding tank. Right now, all the water is concentrated in tank A, and she has no idea how much water she needs to balance in the three tanks.

Xiangzi rubbed his throbbing head and sighed.

The environment was simply too oppressive. As she ventured deeper into the underwater city, the invisible spiritual influence seemed to intensify. Coupled with the enclosed space and lack of air circulation, all these factors combined made her body increasingly uncomfortable.

It's as if your body is becoming less and less your own.

It's not that she can't solve these math problems, it's just that in this environment, she's already frustrated just reading the questions, let alone...

Roar--

boom!

Xiangzi casually raised his gun and shredded the limbs of the monster that had just gotten up behind him. The monster, which had just gotten up, collapsed back down.

Finally, he fired a few more shots, tearing the surrounding tissue apart until it broke, before Xiangzi stopped.

"Ah, I knew it."

...Not to mention, these monsters, over time, can absorb nearby remains and rise again.

Although it's very slow, taking several minutes to respawn, the fact that it's unkillable is already quite terrifying.

She had never stayed in one place for a long time before, so whether or not they would revive didn't matter to Xiangzi. But now, in order to find the ID card, she had to stay in the hospital for quite some time. Every time she passed the same intersection, she had to carefully observe whether the monsters she had just killed would get up again.

However, there is a way to solve this problem once and for all.

Xiangzi looked at the body he had smashed twice, gritted his teeth, and finally used his precious magic to recreate a flare, lit it, and threw it onto the monster's corpse.

Soon, a burnt smell filled my nostrils.

If the body tissues are completely burned, it will not be able to revive. However, the pungent and potentially toxic fumes will further intensify the body's discomfort.

Xiangzi didn't really want to do that, but he had no choice. Burning the body would indeed save him a lot of trouble.

This is the taste...

She covered her mouth and nose and coughed violently a few times.

The effects of the magic seemed to be suppressed more and more severely. At this level, there was no difference between myself and an ordinary person.

Its resistance to dense smoke and various harmful substances is also weakening.

I'm lamenting that there's only a tiny bit of the Rubik's Cube left, but I have to use it sparingly. Mu said that the safety door is guarded, and after opening the safety door, I might face a fierce battle.

Hopefully, locking the supercausality in the box will really end all of this. Delete should be more reliable this time, right?

Xiangzi squatted beside the corpse, waiting until the flame of the flare burned the body to a complete char and slowly went out before he released his hand from his mouth and nose.

The air was filled with an unpleasant smell.

At least the annoying things won't come up again.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiangzi searched around the neighborhood again and finally found a work notebook in a very hidden corner, which contained instructions on how to restart the water pump.

When draining water, ensure that the water volume in tanks A and B is the same, and that tank C is completely emptied. The water level in the tanks can be seen on the control panel.

When water tank A is full, the following is the method to balance the water level:

Fill water tank B completely, then fill water tank C with only the water from tank B. Transfer the water from tank C back to water tank A. Then, pour the remaining water from tank B into water tank C. Next, fill water tank B with only the water from tank A. Then, fill water tank C again with only the water from tank B. Finally, transfer the water from water tank C back to water tank A. If you make a mistake, pour everything back into water tank A and start over.

The handwriting was a mess, but Xiangzi had already spotted the most crucial word: "Balance tanks A and B".

"Turns out all you need to do is balance A and B. I thought all three had to be balanced. I've been thinking about this for ages..."

Xiangzi suppressed his anger and, following the instructions, balanced the water pressure in tanks A and B before pressing the button to start the water pump.

The rumbling sound caused the entire hospital to vibrate.

Xiangzi walked out of the water pump control room and saw that the waterline, which had completely submerged the lower level, was indeed dropping. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She went down and wandered around the lower level, eventually finding a corpse wearing a white coat, its body completely soaked and decaying.

A blue ID card was found inside the man's shirt.

"Alright, now I can go back to find Mu." Xiangzi put away the ID card, turned around and climbed back up the emergency staircase to the next floor. "I wonder if things are going well with Mu."

When she went up to the floor where the security door was located, Mu was already waiting for her in the lobby.

“I have two.” She took out a tan ID card and a green ID card and handed them to Xiangzi.

“I have two too.” Xiangzi took the ID card. “That makes four.”

She placed the four ID cards into their corresponding slots according to their colors, turned around, leaned against the wall, and slowly sat down.

"Xiang, are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Xiangzi said weakly. "It's just that I'm a little tired."

The dizziness and headache were seriously affecting her ability to move around, and if she continued to push herself, something bad would probably happen.

She looked up at Mu.

"Anyway, there's only one left. I should be fine after taking a short rest."

"Yeah." Mu nodded.

“Well…” Xiangzi patted the empty seat next to him, “Can we chat together? It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve spent time alone with you like this.”

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 808 Where is Harmony?

Miaomeng walked ahead of Hailing and stretched.

"Phew, finally we're at the hospital. Although I thought to myself last time I came, this place doesn't look like a hospital at all. What kind of hospital has a vault connected to the back and hardly any patients?" Miao Meng smirked. "Could it be some kind of place that conducts human experiments...?"

“It’s probably pointless to say all this now,” Hailing said. “Whether they were conducting human experiments or not, there shouldn’t be any other living people left in this city.”

"Really not?" The golden ID card fluttered between Miao Meng's fingers. "Mu Zi should still be alive. I wonder if Xiang Zi has reunited with her."

“Then there’s only one—” Hai Ling said, then suddenly covered her forehead, “Ouch…the impact is getting bigger and bigger.”

"You mean those strange noises?"

"Don't you feel uncomfortable?" Hailing smirked, "especially when your magic is being suppressed."

“I’m used to pain,” Miao Meng shrugged. “But it’s true, the deeper you go, the stronger the discomfort becomes, and the weaker the magic becomes.”

She shook her head and kicked the corpse on the ground.

"Hey, why does this thing smell burnt?" Miao Meng frowned, squatted down, and poked the corpse with her cane. "It looks like it was burned to death not long ago."

"It's Xiangzi. We should be meeting her soon." Hailing quickened her pace, passed Miaomeng, and continued walking forward.

I glanced at the hospital's floor plan when I passed by. If I'm not mistaken, the security door in the center of the hospital should be nearby. Just two more turns, and if nothing unexpected happens, Xiangzi should be there... Hai Ling suddenly stopped, her pupils shrinking to their smallest size.

She saw Xiangzi, and at the same time, she also saw the person sitting next to Xiangzi—

=====================

Inside the cold room, water seeped from the ceiling, and bloodstains, resembling scribbles, remained on the floor. Xiangzi and Mu sat side by side, their backs against the massive iron gate.

Xiangzi hugged his knees with both hands, his chin resting on his forearms.

Mu closed one eye and curled up next to Xiangzi.

“For me, it feels like just yesterday that thirty years have passed,” Xiangzi said. “I’m really sorry for being absent for so long.”

To be honest, of all the people she knows, the one she least knows how to face is Mu. She'd been preoccupied with important matters, and only now did she finally have a chance to have a proper chat with Mu.

Mu's hand covered the back of her hand; it was cool, smooth, and slightly damp.

Mu didn't say anything, he just patted Xiangzi's hand.

“These past thirty years have been very difficult for you,” Xiangzi said.

“Things have become much more stable since we got the shelter,” Mu said. “After things stabilized, many people got tired and didn’t want to keep getting entangled in supercausality. In the end, it was just a few of us and Del who were left researching this stuff.”

“Is that so…” Xiangzi lowered his head. “You did this… for me?”

"Yeah." Mu nodded.

“Actually, you don’t have to work so hard for me.” Xiangzi hugged his knees. “I think it’s not bad to try to live for yourself.”

They always revolve around her, and she feels unworthy of them.

“We all have the right to give up,” Mu said softly, “but we chose to persevere, and that was our own choice.”

"Why? Why is everyone willing to do this for me..." Xiangzi lowered his head. "It's the same with Deng and Chuhua... So many people have disappeared from this world because of me."

"Because everyone likes Xiang." Mu said naturally, repeating what Chu Hua had told her back then.

“But I think I’m actually quite annoying,” Xiangzi said softly. “Always self-righteous, always hesitant, always holding power but unable to solve problems, always… wanting to shirk responsibility at the most crucial moment.”

She bit her lip.

"How could anyone like someone like me?"

“I just like it, I like it for no reason,” Mu said. “If it were Chu Hua, she would definitely say that.”

She paused.

“But I am not Chu Hua.” Mu raised her head and looked at Xiangzi. “I have my own reasons, reasons to do this even if it costs me my life.”

"..." Xiangzi looked away. "I don't want you to risk your life for me. If you really intend to do that, I will stop you with all my might."

"Don't do this, Xiang." Mu's eyes turned bitter. "What I want to do is my choice."

Moreover, this wasn't the first time she'd done it.

“I want to stop you, and that’s my choice.” Xiangzi turned his head and looked at Mu seriously. “In the past, I missed too many opportunities to stop you, forcing you to fall into the abyss with me, little by little.”

She took a deep breath.

"I won't make that mistake again."