Ark Heroine Development Plan

"Xiao Nian Nian, do you think it's better to go to a place with snowy scenery, or to a place where you can watch plays everywhere?"

"Then I'm definitely going to see a play." Nian answered as a matter of course.

Guan Yueli narrowed his eyes, stared at the map of Terra continent that was also hanging in the room, and threw the dart out casually.

Nian turned around and looked in the direction of the voice, with a look of slight surprise.

"confirmed?"

"Well... not necessarily."

She said to herself:

"It would be nice if I could also clone myself."

Chapter 151 - I wish you a happy new year

When Chen opened his eyes, he saw a very familiar ceiling.

This is the room specially prepared for Guan Yueli in the Dongguo Courtyard.

"I remember……"

The girl frowned in distress. The thorough feeling of powerlessness throughout her body made her extremely uncomfortable and uneasy.

"Xingxiong arrived, and then, I... succeeded?"

When Chen used the incomplete Life-Burning Technique to ignite her life in exchange for strength, her mind was already somewhat unstable. Even just listening to the voice coming from the intercom was a little difficult for her.

Obviously, Chen is unable to control this power - at least not now.

"Should I be thankful that I didn't crush the intercom in a fit of anger..."

Chen stared at the ceiling and curled her lips. She had never expected any support, but that person would always stand in front of her at the most critical moment.

For example, now——

"Xiao Chen?"

Hoshiguma's surprised voice echoed along with the sound of the shoji door being opened.

"Are you awake? How do you feel now?"

The tall woman walked quickly to Chen's bedside, knelt down, and held her almost powerless hand: "Are you feeling uncomfortable? Ah, I'll call Miss Qingdeng for you first, please wait a moment--"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xingxiong was about to stand up and call for help, but was stopped by Chen - the latter moved his fingers with all his strength.

"I'm fine." Chen's voice was a little weak, but at least he had some confidence. "What happened after that day?"

Xingxiong stared at Chen Hao for a while, then replied unhappily:

"What else could it be? Nothing happened. The concert went on as planned. The commander of the security task force reported you for being AWOL, and I gave you a beating. That's all."

"..." Chen looked at Xingxiong hesitantly, "Are you okay?"

"What can happen to me?"

Xingxiong laughed angrily: "That guy is not even worthy of carrying my shoes. When I was fighting an international terrorist organization alone, he was still fawning over people in the Human Resources Department. If I slapped him, he would put his other cheek closer to me to calm me down."

"...He really came over?"

"No, I punched him and he fainted. He lay in bed for the whole day."

"..."

Xingxiong and Guanyueli are really alike, or rather, Xingxiong really has some of Guanyueli's characteristics - they are natural sisters. Chen thought so.

"It's someone..." Xingxiong stretched out his tone, "who has done something great again."

Chen hadn't reacted yet: "...Huh?"

"That thing you killed." Xingxiong looked at Chen, who seemed still a little confused, wanting to be angry but unable to. He sighed helplessly, "According to the intelligence department's analysis of the surveillance, it is the most dangerous of all the monsters handled by the [Deep Sea] Task Force - no doubt about it. We must at least dispatch our three most elite teams simultaneously, adopt the most perfect tactics, and achieve the most perfect coordination in actual combat to ensure its complete annihilation."

"And this doesn't even take into account casualties and property damage."

The emerald-haired woman gently stroked Chen's forehead: "You've done something remarkable again, Xiao Chen."

"Is it...remarkable?"

Chen looked at the ceiling, feeling nothing real.

She didn't care whether she was doing something great or not. In fact, before doing it, she never thought about how great or remarkable such a thing was.

She just felt that this thing had to be done, that's all, and she would do it even if it meant burning everything.

"Congratulations, you've been promoted again. If you keep going like this, I think in a few years you might be promoted above me."

Xingxiong sighed, "By then, I guess I'll have to call you Old Chen. Calling you Little Chen all the time doesn't feel right."

"Uh, ah, thank you... um!"

Miss Chen Huijie had just instinctively responded to Xingxiong when she was punched on the forehead.

It hurts a lot. I used so much force.

"Do you think I'm happy?"

Xing Xiong retracted his fist and glared at Chen, "Do you know what you're doing, Chen Huijie? Burning Life is a forbidden technique of the Killing Life Style. Since my sister established the Killing Life Style, there are only a handful of people who can master it perfectly. Even my senior sister... the woman closest to my sister, she can't guarantee that she can control the Burning Life to the fullest extent."

"And you... you don't have the physique of a ghost, nor do you know how to truly wield this power. Furthermore, you're trying to use your immature life force to control a power you can't control in the first place... The vitality you've consumed has at least multiplied several times!"

"Can't you just wait for me for a while! Others are not worthy of your trust, so am I not worthy of your trust? Ah!"

Xingxiong, who was becoming more and more excited, almost shouted these words in the end. She stared at Chen, and the anger was so obvious on her usually friendly and amiable face.

"……Feel sorry."

Chen replied quietly, "I think it might be too late to wait. Chi Xiao gave me a very strong warning."

After another period of silence, Chen raised his head and looked at Xingxiong, and said softly:

"Someone has to do this. If it were you, wouldn't your choice be the same as mine, Xingxiong?"

"If you knew there was a threat that could threaten the lives of the people of Longmen at any time, right where you could rush to, would you gamble it wouldn't suddenly injure anyone and then wait for reinforcements to arrive at your destination?"

Chen gave a forced smile: "No way? You should be able to run faster than me."

Xingxiong didn't say anything.

"That feeling is actually quite good," Chen muttered to himself. "Since returning to Longmen, I've been through so much. How many of them have I truly solved on my own? None, almost none."

"I leveraged Guanyue's influence and strength to achieve many accomplishments that others consider remarkable. But what does that have to do with me? Ultimately... if it weren't for Guanyue, I, on my own at that time, could have changed nothing, and no one could have saved me."

"This time, only... this time."

The girl who sacrificed sixty years of her life, yet no one knew the true price she paid, said calmly:

"I am satisfied because I have protected what I should protect, through my own strength and... sacrifice."

"Although..." Chen chuckled, "most of this power also comes from Guanyue, but compared to the powers she gave me in the past, I can still barely keep my composure and say that this is something I earned through my own hard work."

Xingxiong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly opened his mouth and asked, "Don't you regret it at all?"

Chen Saran smiled and said, "You've already been promoted, what are you regretting?"

"what about now?"

Xingxiong took out a round mirror from the bedside table and handed it to Chen.

"..."

Chen opened her mouth and closed it involuntarily. She pursed her lips and stared at herself in the mirror without saying a word.

a long time.

"Do you regret it?" Xingxiong asked again.

"Ah...how should I put it?"

Chen Huijie looked at the unfamiliar face in the mirror, closed her eyes, and moved her lips slightly.

"I'm not that ugly even when I'm old."

Xingxiong stared at her for a long time and said softly, "Are you very sad?"

"More or less... a little bit." Chen sighed softly, "I haven't been in a relationship yet."

"I thought you'd act a little more desperate."

"Desperate...?" Chen opened his eyes, a puzzled expression on his face. "Not really. I don't know why. Maybe I feel... it's not a big deal."

There was no trace of resentment or regret in her tone.

From the beginning to the end, Chen Huijie never thought that her choice was wrong. She had no regrets and her attitude was so matter-of-fact.

Just as the sun should burn brightly in the sky.

"...boring."

Xingxiong suddenly said this.

"what?"

"I say, it's boring." The emerald-haired woman, who had learned bad habits from someone else, flicked Chen's forehead lightly. "Xiao Chen's reaction is really boring. I wanted to record something."

Chen's face darkened. "You're saying something with a hidden meaning... Are you kidding me again? Is there something wrong with that mirror?"

Obviously, after being tormented by Guan Yueli enough times, Chen has learned to identify traps on his own.

"Not really." Xingxiong reached out and touched Chen's dull, gray, dry hair. "You really burned away sixty years of your lifespan. And those were the sixty years when you were at the peak of your lifespan and most energetic. That's why you've aged so obviously."

"...Sixty years?" Even Chen, who had already accepted reality, was a little confused. "Are the side effects...this severe?"

"That's your problem. I've already said it before, not everyone can master the Burning Life of the Killing Style. Who told you to risk your life like this?" Xingxiong criticized Chen mercilessly again, "If it weren't for Sister, your life would be ruined!"

Chen was stunned.

"Guan Yue...Guan Yue again, can she help me?"

"Lifespan and the like, in the final analysis, is all about the power of life."

Xingxiong held his chin with one hand, looking at Chen's expression, and wanted to laugh: "Restoring your lifespan is as easy as pie for me."

"But..." Chen asked in disbelief, "That's a lifespan! Sixty years!"

Lifespan... This is the desperate nightmare that has haunted so many people.

The supreme being above all others, the wealthy tycoon, the warrior with unparalleled martial power... no matter who they are, power, wealth, or even strength, no matter what they possess or what they represent, as long as they are human beings... they will never escape the shackles of life.

Lifespan is an equal judgment hanging on the necks of all living beings. Its judgment has nothing to do with good and evil, status, etc. It only brings the end and judgment according to the predetermined time.

Extending life, extending life. For those who stand at the top, let alone a year of life, even a month, a week, or even a day, they are willing to pay an infinite price in exchange for the extension of life - because for transactions with "lifespan" as the trading commodity, there is no such thing as "inequality". No matter what the weight is, it cannot be more important than the two words on the other end of the scale.

And sixty years... what does sixty years mean to a person? It is a brand new, complete, and magnificent life.

But for Guan Yueli, this is just... a piece of cake?

Xingxiong just smiled and said nothing.

"...It seems I still haven't truly realized how powerful Guan Yue is."

Chen's expression was a little complicated: "No, then why am I still like this?"

"because……"

Swish-!

The shoji door was opened again, and a woman in a cherry-colored kimono walked in carelessly. She interrupted Xingxiong and said proudly:

"Because I did it on purpose!"

"Sister said that we need to teach you a lesson, Xiao Chen." Xingxiong explained, "That way she'll feel better."

Chen's eyelids twitched. "Isn't the purpose of learning a lesson generally to prevent people from making the same mistake next time?"

"So will you make the same mistake again next time?" Guan Yueli asked back.

Chen stopped talking.

"So, you see how well I know you, Xiao Chen."

Guan Yueli folded his arms proudly across his chest. "You're a tough guy, so if you dare to do it once, you'll do it until you die. So why should I teach you a lesson? Seeing you looking scared makes me feel better."