Book 5: Chapter 44:1: Another World Merger, Part 1
Cecilia, who should have been with Siegfried, sat by the Honkai reactor with Theresa beside her.
Chen Heng noticed that Sirin’s expression instantly changed when she saw Cecilia, a complex emotion filling her eyes.
At this point, Cecilia noticed Sirin too. Since her conversation had been primarily with Chen Heng, she hadn’t paid much attention to Sirin, given Chen Heng’s martial prowess and the fascinating remnants of the last century’s civilization.
“Squad Leader, he bullied me,” Shigure Kira blurted out, darting toward Cecilia as soon as she arrived. She was like a child running to complain to their parent.
“You just got out of the infirmary, and you are already so restless,” Cecilia responded, drawing Shigure Kira into a comforting embrace.
“Squad Leader, that person threatened me and even electrocuted me,” Shigure Kira said, pointing to Chen Heng.
“Alright, alright. Stop being mischievous. Aren’t you fine now? It’s already great that you only suffered superficial injuries after getting electrocuted so much. All you need is rest. What if he unleashes a powerful lightning strike on you if you continue to offend him? I can’t defeat him.”
Although Shigure Kira was no match for Chen Heng, she tried to keep her chin up. Unfortunately, she cowered whenever she glimpsed the spark leaping between Chen Heng’s fingers.
After a while, Chen Heng finally received the news he had been waiting for. “Mister Chen Heng, the materials from Anti-Entropy and Schicksal have arrived; they’re 20 kilometers to the east. Could you please go pick them up?”
“There’s no need for so much trouble. Just tell them to come in. I have already removed the lightning zone.” Actually, Chen Heng removed the lightning zone a few hours ago. However, he had kept three lightning dragons for appearances and to deter raids by Schicksal or Anti-Entropy. He did that because he had been short on Will Energy earlier.
Just moments earlier, Chen Heng withdrew the three remaining lightning dragons. Maintaining the lightning dragons would continue to drain not just his Will Energy but also his Spiritual Energy.
“Really? Okay, I will inform them to transport the materials to Babylon Labs,” said Professor Einstein as she scrutinized Chen Heng before pulling out her communicator to contact the Anti-Entropy and Schicksal troops stationed outside the lightning zone.
Einstein suspected that Chen Heng was utterly drained from sustaining the stormy area. However, she held back her certainty, as Welt was still in the infirmary, recovering from his injuries. Right now, Anti-Entropy did not have many combat forces in Babylon Labs.
What if Chen Heng feigned weakness only to attack when least expected? To avoid further blackmail for resources, they decided to drop the matter.
Half an hour later, Doctor Tesla informed Chen Heng the materials were already outside Babylon Labs. Chen Heng glanced at Sirin, then spatial jumped without hesitation to receive the resources at Babylon Labs’s ground floor.
Upon securing all the materials from Anti-Entropy and Schicksal, Chen Heng returned to find Sirin immersed in a conversation with Cecilia; Sirin’s face betrayed complicated emotions.
He was puzzled by Cecilia’s surprisingly pleasant demeanor toward Sirin, quite unlike her usual intimidating stance toward him.
When Chen Heng reappeared, Sirin immediately rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around him.
“Can we leave now, Elder Brother?” Although Sirin seemed pleased to converse with Cecilia, Chen Heng was the one she wanted to engage with the most.
“Of course, let’s go.”
“Every mountain stream eventually meets again. Perhaps we might meet again in the future.” Having bid farewell to everyone from Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, Chen Heng began walking ahead, hand in hand with Sirin.
To the astonishment of the onlookers, they disappeared into a deep-purplish-black hole tall enough for a person to walk through and wide enough for two people to stand side by side.
As for the rubbish generated from Chen Heng and Sirin’s consumption of snacks and drinks, he left it to the Schicksal personnel to clean up, confident they would not mind.
Chen Heng and Sirin found themselves back in their original room when they reappeared in their world because they had departed from there. Luo Li and Mo Qingtong had not checked out. Instead, they had extended the booking for the hotel room for a week, ensuring a smooth return for the two.
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“So, Sirin is now part of the same association as Ah Heng?” Mo Qingtong inquired thoughtfully, stroking her chin.
“Yes, envious, aren’t you? But you can’t be,” Sirin responded, her grip on Chen Heng’s arm unyielding. For some reason, she had been holding his arm since they returned.
Chen Heng attributed her clinginess to a lack of security. He, therefore, allowed Sirin to remain in his embrace.
“…” Mo Qingtong and Luo Li studied Sirin with puzzled expressions. They noticed a minor change—no, not minor at all, a significant change—in her character, her words now carrying a sharp edge.
The two even felt that her gaze on them had changed. Her actions were also no longer as gentle as before.
“Don’t mind her. Sirin only gained some strength all of a sudden, so her ego puffed up a little. Just give her some time to adjust. Furthermore, quite a lot of things happened in the process. She needs to relax.”
“Uh-huh. Alright.” Although Luo Li agreed, she seemed to look at Sirin with some hostility.
Because of the unforeseen incident, the group lost their desire to continue sightseeing. They promptly booked the earliest available flight home.
As it was before the college entrance exams, students were not on vacation yet, no matter their grade. This made the tourist areas particularly desolate, which allowed the group to easily secure tickets for the trip home.
Chen Heng needed to point out that carrying the world consciousness was exceptionally inconvenient. Others could not see the world consciousness, making it impossible for Chen Heng and his friends to use check-in services. Moreover, a typical box could not contain the world consciousness—it was like trying to box the moon’s reflection in the water.
This forced Chen Heng to carry the world consciousness personally through the last leg of the flight.
Still, carrying the world consciousness, which looked like Sirin, was akin to carrying a large pillow. Chen Heng found it more bearable, like having a travel pillow with him.
Upon landing, two cars picked up Chen Heng and the others. After half an hour of a bumpy ride, they finally arrived home. Both Mo Qingtong and Raven decided to go to Chen Heng’s house instead of returning to their separate dwelling.
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