Why did you provoke me?

Yu Meng carefully sensed it; this was the third time she had absorbed this alien, and she felt her physical abilities were improving. The previous times she had been unconscious, but this time she clearly knew she was conscious; she could hear and understand what others were saying. This was a significant improvement.

"Fourth Sister, what is this? It feels so good. Is there more? I want more." Niannian touched her head, and she felt that her head didn't hurt anymore. The throbbing pain that used to come in waves had lessened a lot.

Liu Wei also looked at Yu Meng with hopeful eyes; he wanted it too.

Yu Meng shook her head. "There's only one alien parasitizing your body."

Liu Wei opened the bag he was carrying. "Sir, take a look at these things and see if anything is useful."

Yu Meng didn't stand on ceremony and led the people to the table, where they all sat down.

"Judging from the things you've collected, you've run into Xiao Wen."

Liu Wei's eyes lit up. His junior officer seemed to have a rather unusual way of thinking. Just from a few boxes, he could tell that he and Xiao Wen had met.

Yu Meng handed the box containing the umbrella-shaped alien to Niannian. "This is the second type of umbrella-shaped alien; it can also peel off its skin. Moreover, it can form a symbiotic relationship with the withered branch alien."

Niannian peeled off the oddly shaped dough from the umbrella, and a faint fragrance wafted over. Yu Meng hurriedly put it back into the box.

"Fourth sister, I think I saw Mom. She told me to live well." Tears welled up in Niannian's eyes. "I miss them a little."

Yu Meng took the umbrella-shaped dough and quickly shaped it into a bead. "This dough has hallucinogenic properties; what you see is all fake. Besides, you're living a good life now, aren't you? You're eating diligently every day and practicing your lines every day."

Liu Wei watched this scene with curiosity, not understanding why the little one suddenly started crying.

Yu Meng handed the umbrella-shaped dough, shaped like a bead, to Liu Wei. "If the Jingchuan base won't let you in, you can give this bead to Nangong Tianshou and say it's your temporary residence permit."

Liu Wei waved his hand. "If that's really the case, I'll leave the base. Then I'll come here and do odd jobs for you."

Yu Meng disagreed, "You are natural warriors on the alien battlefield. How can I lock you up in this rear? Wouldn't that bury your talent? And it would be unfair to all the suffering you endured while parasitizing the aliens at the base all these years? But based on my understanding of Nangong Tianshou, he shouldn't make things difficult for you."

Liu Wei finally accepted the box. "Sir, from now on, I'll focus on acquiring the withered branch aliens, okay?"

Yu Meng nodded. "If you don't make it to me in time, you can go to Qingyuan; she'll help you." She paused for a moment, then continued, "The umbrella-shaped alien's body has a strong attraction to the withered branch alien. You need to be careful when using it on the alien battlefield, otherwise I'm afraid you'll be surrounded by the withered branch aliens, and that would be dangerous."

Liu Wei memorized Yu Meng's words. These were her teachings to Nian Nian, and also her admonitions to him: never be greedy on the alien battlefield, or you will face utter destruction.

Yu Meng asked Zhao Changjiu to take Liu Wei to a hotel in the town to rest for a few days, and that he didn't need to come back to say goodbye when he left. Liu Wei naturally agreed.

Yu Meng led Niannian upstairs to her room. "Niannian, remember what I'm about to say, but don't tell anyone easily, not even your mother."

Niannian agreed.

"What I just taught you is something only people with exceptional talent like us can access. It's dangerous, but its uses are vast. It's just that people don't understand it very well yet. Do you think it's easy to peel off their masks?"

Niannian nodded, "I think it's easy."

"That's because our lineage has a rather unique method for peeling off the skin. In fact, many bone-drawing masters can't peel off the skin of the aliens. What my elder sister taught us earlier was just one method, and as you saw, many people couldn't learn it. But I didn't teach you just now, and you already know how to peel off the skin of those two aliens, right?"

Niannian nodded, "When I touch them, I know how to peel off their crusts."

"That's what makes our method special. If I'm not mistaken, many people will come to us to learn this technique. You know our parents are just ordinary people. If they force themselves on us, we won't be able to resist."

Niannian seemed to understand. "Fourth Sister, are we going to do something?"

Yu Meng smiled. "We're definitely going to do something, but right now your strength needs to be improved quickly. I need help, or more precisely, I need to join forces with you to protect this family."

For the first time, a serious expression appeared on Niannian's little face. "I will never allow anyone to destroy this home."

Yu Meng nodded, "That's what I think too."

In the days that followed, Yu Meng and Niannian were inseparable.

To avoid being disturbed, the two even returned to their old house in the countryside. Sister Xiu went with them to take care of them and also studied with Yu Meng.

The countryside is a spacious and less crowded place, which allows Yu Meng and Niannian to act with impunity.

To practice the power of her lines, Niannian actually spent every day by the river.

When Sister Xiu first saw that the lines could actually be used to kill fish, she was stunned. "Little sister, can I practice this?"

Yu Meng nodded, "Big sister can do it too. It's just a little difficult for you to practice, but as long as you can persevere, it shouldn't be a problem."

Niannian was improving at an astonishing pace. She used a line to pull the fish she had killed upstream in the river. Then she did the same thing, pulling a live fish. She was practicing the resilience of her lines. As she practiced like this, one day Niannian's lines suddenly forked.

Ning Jing stared in disbelief at her forked lines, completely bewildered. Yu Meng, however, looked at the forked lines and a smile appeared in her eyes.

"Niannian, congratulations on officially joining the ranks of Bone Painters. Once you can pull an alien out of your mind, you'll be a true Bone Painter."

In the small town, Aunt Yu stared blankly at the buckets of fish. "Dali, do you think those two kids scooped all the fish out of the river?"

"It's alright. Once Xiao Niannian masters this skill, we probably won't have so many fish anymore," Dali said calmly. Back when she was practicing, she had plenty of fish too, just not nearly as many as this.

Aunt Yu sighed. "I hope we won't have so many birds in our house in the future."

Dali blinked. That's not necessarily true.

One day, Sister Xiu suddenly realized that she could no longer understand or comprehend what Yu Meng was teaching Niannian.

But Niannian studied even harder, and there was clearly something called ambition in her big eyes.

Sister Xiu didn't know whether she should stop it. She had also privately asked Yu Meng what they were trying to do.

Yu Meng and Niannian gave the same answer: they wanted to make their home better. They wanted a home where they could feel warmth when they were sad, upset, or hurt.

Sister Xiu had a feeling that something was about to happen, but she couldn't quite grasp that inspiration.