Jing Liu raised her hand and unleashed a sword qi, splitting the ice-sculpted boss in his seat and the wall behind him in two.
The safe behind the wall was also violently cut open, but strangely, the items inside were completely undamaged.
It was as if she had killed all the employees in the factory in an instant, yet left only one person alive.
Not too many, not too few, just right.
The sole audience member lay prostrate on the ground, The Brain completely blank.
Jing Liu lightly flicked her sword tip, taking the black USB drive and a few gold bars from the safe, then threw the remaining gems, cash, and other wealth in front of Zhang Lixin.
“This is a reward for a good child.”
“Thank you for your generosity!”
Zhang Lixin kowtowed several times with loud thuds.
“…Jing Liu, is my name. There’s no need to elaborate on my past identity; now I am merely a wandering swordswoman. If anyone asks you, just tell them the truth.”
Leaving these words, the mysterious white-haired swordswoman glanced in one direction through her black veil, then silently vanished.
After quite a while longer, the person kneeling on the ground slowly, shakily raised her head, looking at the room which was now completely covered in frost and had become an ice chamber, with no one else but herself. Only then did she collapse to the ground, exhausted.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling—
The phone on the boss’s desk suddenly rang.
Zhang Lixin looked at it with a blank expression; the phone kept ringing, as if the person on the other end wouldn’t stop calling unless she answered.
She reached for the phone and tapped to answer.
On the other end of the line was a young man: “Hello~ Hello, Ms. Zhang, my surname is Wu, you can call me Mr. Wu. It was I who placed that assassination order with Boss Shen not long ago.”
“….”
Zhang Lixin didn’t know what to say. Should she be angry? Was she worthy of being angry at someone who could provoke such an existence?
Since she couldn't afford to offend either side, it was better to simply shut up and remain silent.
“This might be a bit presumptuous, but would it be convenient to disclose some information about that lady, who is as valiant and graceful as an ancient swordswoman?”
“That adult called herself Jing Liu, and she is a wandering swordswoman.”
“…And then?”
“That’s all.”
“Did she tell you what her relationship is with the lovely little Gu Yu?”
“No.”
“Oh dear, this makes things difficult,” Mr. Wu said, troubled.
I should gather intelligence for that adult.
Zhang Lixin thought for a moment and pressed, “Why are you bothering a child?”
“A child? Heh heh… It’s fine to tell you. That little girl is involved in an accident, and an important person is very concerned about it, so they ordered a small fry like me to investigate the situation.
But a small fry’s life is still a life; I’m also afraid of dying an unclear Death, so I hired a few local small fries to help scout the way.
How about it? Are you satisfied with this answer?”
Mr. Wu’s voice carried a smile, as if he was pleased with his own cleverness.
As a result, the small fries encountered an ancient megalodon, and all but one small fish died.
Although the small fry hiding on the other side of the city failed the mission, he had already obtained enough intelligence to report.
Ta-da~ That’s how it is.
“Don’t be so sad. Look on the bright side: your boss is dead, you automatically become the boss. Your husband is dead, saving you from being cuckolded every day.
They are all dead, and all the wealth belongs to you alone. Getting promoted, getting rich, and your husband dying—the three great joys of life, all in one go. How beautiful is that~”
After a few heartless words of comfort, Mr. Wu hung up the phone.
“….”
…
“Ugh…!!!”
Back in a safe place, Gu Yu reverted to her original appearance.
She knelt on the ground, feeling as if all her internal organs were churning. She retched frantically but couldn’t throw anything up.
Golden rice stalk patterns crawled up and covered her arm, not content with just one arm, but beginning to greedily climb onto her collarbone.
This was the Bountiful Blessing.
Gu Yu felt an itching sensation on her forehead, like countless small insects crawling.
“Ah…”
Clang—
A blood-stained alloy piece rolled onto the ground; it was the artificial frontal bone the doctor had implanted for her.
“So itchy… Itchy to the bone… This isn’t good, The Brain is growing…”
Gu Yu forcefully resisted the urge to scratch, pulled out a fruit knife from the table, and plunged it directly into her palm before pulling it out.
Blood gushed out, but soon, the bleeding abruptly stopped.
Flesh buds wriggled on the grotesque wound, and in a blink of an eye, it was completely healed.
If not for the blood still on the knife, she would have almost thought her self-harm just now was a scene imagined by her own Brain.
She touched her forehead; it felt smooth and new, as if it had never suffered any fatal blow.
“My Bountiful Blessing… I’ve been marinated by Jing Liu Grandma.”
However, the drain on her energy was simply too great.
Gu Yu felt her eyelids were now as heavy as a thousand pounds, and her consciousness was hazy.
Locking the doors and windows, drawing the curtains, and carefully checking to make sure nothing was overlooked, Gu Yu collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep, unconscious sleep.
…
In a daze, Gu Yu “saw” a panel.
Level: 2
Transformation Template: 1 / 2
Energy: 0.12 / 120
Status: Bountiful Blessing (Permanent), Weakness (Triggers when Energy is below 10 points)
Is this… a system?
Why doesn't it make a sound? It's completely silent.
Gu Yu’s ability was to sculpt; the material used was not important, what was important was after it became a “likeness.”
There were two forms of sculpting.
The first type was like Jing Liu, where after intermittently paying a huge price to create a finished product, touching it would cause an effect similar to template overlay.
She became Jing Liu, possessing Jing Liu’s power, Jing Liu’s appearance, and even her personality was influenced by Jing Liu.
One person, one sword, wiped out a vicious assassin group.
But the cost of doing so was also immense; Gu Yu, upon reverting from her transformation, was gushing blood and had shattered internal organs.
…If not for a portion of the Bountiful Blessing on Jing Liu remaining on her, the incredible power of Bountiful Blessing would have quickly repaired her bodily injuries, and Gu Yu would probably have died on the spot.
At this moment, the Jing Liu sculpture was covered by a thin layer of ice, with fine cracks beneath the ice. Compared to yesterday, it seemed to have partially self-repaired.
It seemed she couldn't use it again for a short time; the sculpture itself needed a cooldown period.
She bought an incense altar and respectfully placed the Jing Liu sculpture on it, offering apples, bananas, and fried chicken as tributes, then lit three good sticks of incense.
“Thank you, Jing Liu Grandma, for saving my dog’s life! Your devoted follower vows to offer a balanced diet of meat and vegetables before your altar for life—”
Jing Liu sculpture: …
After a brief moment of silliness, Gu Yu continued to develop her abilities.
She tried creating sculptures of great gods from ancient myths, such as Goddess Nuwa and the Three Pure Ones, but the feeling of energy depletion did not appear.
Was it because there was no unified appearance or story for these mythological figures?
Gu Yu then sculpted great historical figures and celebrities from a hundred years ago, for whom photos and videos existed.