Love, Gun, Cupid

Lin Jiade parted ways with the ice cave. An hour and ten minutes later, he handed in his paper early. When he came out, he saw the ice cave leaning on the railing, looking idly at the playground below, where a few familiar figures were playing football.

"They dare to play football in winter while living on campus, they're really brave," Lin Jiade remarked.

"Your information is outdated. The boys' dormitory now has a shower room and coin-operated washing machines with dryers. The previous troubles can't stop their passion for football."

Lin Jiade's foot moved on the ground: "Uh, I'm getting a craving for football, wanna play for a bit?"

Ice Cave pointed to her feet. Lin Jiade saw that she was wearing heels and sighed regretfully, "Let's go back."

"You can go kick it, I'll just watch."

Lin Jiade was delighted. He sat on a nearby bench in the ice hole and watched him. On the ice, Lin Jiade finally showed the passion, joy, arrogance and naivety that should be present at his age. At other times, however, he was like a bitter melon that had been ripened too early—bitter in just the right amount, but the bitterness itself was unpleasant.

She suddenly remembered that when Hehuan and Lin Jiade first crossed paths last year, it seemed that Hehuan came to the stadium to watch Lin Jiade play football. At that time, he and others teased him, saying that the beautiful senior had taken a liking to him.

Several months have passed. The confident and cheerful senior student has locked herself in a prison made of rooms, while she has moved from the field to the sidelines, from looking at Lin Jiade's back to looking at Lin Jiade's profile.

Mu Xiu wasn't on the ice rink, but in the overlapping vision of reality and memories within the ice cave, he was still there. Now, she could almost calmly examine this presence, as if looking at a familiar and dear friend.

"Goodbye," she said softly.

She waved to the phantom in her eyes with a gentle smile, while the people on the field looked at each other, wondering who this beautiful girl who had stirred their emotions was greeting.

Lin Jiade thought the ice hole was calling him, so he stopped the ball, kicked it to his teammate, and said, "Sorry, I have to go now."

"Wait, so it's someone you know?" my good friend said.

She is someone we all know, but only I know her situation, and she only shows dependence on me.

With a hint of pride, Lin Jiade nodded and walked towards the ice cave. The ice cave did not see Lin Jiade immediately. In its eyes, the setting sun was falling and Mu Xiu's phantom was dissipating, becoming almost transparent. At this moment, Lin Jiade suddenly entered the ice cave's field of vision.

“Let’s go,” Lin Jiade said.

"okay."

She stood up from the ice cave, patted her skirt, and looked at the stadium one last time. She saw those familiar people and that familiar scenery. Mu Xiu's illusion had completely dissipated. The reborn her was eager to try and ready to take the stage in her life.

Chapter 56 Contact (Bonus Chapter)

Lin Jiade and Bingdong took the bus home. Bingdong rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window at the scenery, saying, "Even at times like this, I feel uneasy as if I'm living in an illusion."

"Because you still remember your past self and consider it real?"

"Pretty much, because after nightfall, my ex-girlfriend would start to get handsy with me."

"?!"

"I told you before, she treated me as a substitute for her brother, and compensated for all her emotional deficiencies through desire. So, I have almost no memory of the night, because I was already in a daze at that time."

So, to live like a normal girl, without being manipulated, is a blissful thing that feels almost unreal.

So, Lin Jiade, I hope that besides using me, you can also be a little gentler with me.

Just then, the car reached its destination. Lin Jiade looked up and said, "You've got one thing wrong."

"Ok?"

"These are not peaceful times."

Looking up from the ice cave, she saw that there was only one person left in the car, and that person stood up. Her magical girl attire and the magic wand in her hand made her body tense.

"Rosa? She's Henrietta's confidante, she's come to see us..."

Before Bingdong could finish speaking, Lin Jiade could already see golden mist seeping into the car window. In a few more seconds, the bus would be enveloped by Rosa's holy land magic.

The cramped interior of the car wasn't suitable for Lin Jiade to use his celestial weapon, so he pulled out a revolver and aimed it at Rosa, intending to counter her with a thunder spell if she cast another spell.

"and many more."

Rosa popped her head out. She looked to be in her early twenties, dressed like a housewife, and had a haggard face. Because her looks, figure, and aura were all so ordinary, Lin Jiade automatically forgot about her appearance.

Sensing the killing intent emanating from Lin Jiade, Rosa raised her hand: "Wait, I'm just a messenger. Captain Henrietta wants to speak with Ms. Korobochka."

"That's strange. Your captain has a way to contact my wife, and she was the one who refused to contact you before. If there's anything, you can just contact my wife directly."

“Because this is not a respectable matter,” Rosa replied, “and it involves our mutual interests. I’m sorry, this is a very important matter, and I dare not let anyone else know.”

"What exactly is it?" Lin Jiade asked.

Rosa remained silent. Lin Jiade called Jianlan, who readily agreed. After hanging up, Lin Jiade asked, "She agreed? Time and place?"

"The timing will be based on your side. As for the location, the captain hopes to hold it at West Ham Hospital, which is a well-known neutral location in Fuxing City."

Normally, Lin Jiade would have agreed, but West Ham Hospital housed the Midas Touch he had captured, with riot police on the outside, a Special Tactics and Rescue Service team stationed inside, and spider-shaped mechs being used as artillery emplacements—

This thing is like a toy to top-tier superhumans, but even high-tier superhumans have a certain chance of being defeated by it. With the protection of accompanying infantry, dealing with mid-level and lower-level superhumans is as smooth as a two-dimensional game developer harvesting players' money.

“That place is extremely sensitive and extremely turbulent; I don’t think it’s a good choice,” Lin Jiade said.

"I took a walk around the perimeter and saw that it was heavily guarded, all by Ms. Korobochka's people. That's why we chose to hold the meeting there to show our sincerity."

"Does that mean we should keep things under our absolute control?"

Rosa nodded. Lin Jiade thought for a moment and then called Jianlan. Jianlan wanted to investigate. After Lin Jiade conveyed his message, Rosa said, "I will follow you until you come up with a result."

“I don’t really like stalkers,” Lin Jiade said.

Rosa took off the pendant from her neck and tossed it over. Ice Cave reached out and caught it. Rosa continued, "If there's any progress, contact me with this."

Lin Jiade was speechless: "Why don't you just give me your phone number?"

“Public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters. I don’t want this to interfere with my private life.” Rosa glanced at the time. “Goodbye, I have to pick up my child.”

She dispelled the spell, and the passengers in the car reappeared, looking dazed and half-asleep as they got off. The ice cave murmured, "This is Rosa's personal ability; she was already a superhuman before joining the Guardians."

"Then why would she give up a good life to go to that miserable organization?"

"The new blood of the Guardians is added in this way: First, the Holy Land selects someone active within the city of Fuxing according to its own will and pulls her into the Holy Land."

The Holy Land will manifest as a goddess wearing a bronze shield and spear, and then ask the new blood all sorts of questions. It is said that each person will be asked more than thirty questions, and the questions will never be repeated.

If a new bloodline doesn't suit the Holy Land's taste, it will send her back and erase her memories; if she does, the Holy Land will ask for her opinion. If she disagrees, it will proceed with the repatriation process; if she agrees, the Holy Land will infuse her with power, turning her into a guardian who will then be taught by a senior.

When Rosa was still a superhuman, her body became increasingly thin due to practicing a reverse cultivation method…

Lin Jiade recalled the information he had learned about the ice cave: "And the guardians of the holy land will become increasingly fat after the age of 25..."

"Hmm, Rosa is someone who cares more about herself and life than about power and justice. If she didn't have the reverse cultivation technique, she would probably refuse this arduous task."

Lin Jiade walked and talked with the ice cave. When they arrived at the elevator, Lin Jiade suddenly stared straight at the ice cave.

“You are now a guardian of the Holy Land, which means that in five years or so…” Lin Jiade hesitated for a moment, “I say, do you want to learn a magic spell that can help you lose weight in advance?”

Ice Cave gently kicked Lin Jiade's calf again but did not pull back, so her over-the-knee socks rubbed lightly against his pants.

"Don't think such terrible things! Besides, will your opinion of me change if I get fat?"

Lin Jiade nodded: "Yes! Don't be angry yet. If I turn into an ugly man, you'll probably turn around and run away when you see me."

The person in the ice cave was dumbfounded: "You don't actually think you're that handsome, do you?"

Her surprised expression seemed genuine; Lin Jiade heard the sound of pride shattering. After opening the door, he went straight to Jasmine and hugged her tightly. Jasmine's mother, holding her eldest son, had a helpless expression on her face.

"What I'm trying to say is that what attracts me to you isn't your looks, so why don't you just listen to the rest?"

Looking at the scene before her, Bing Dong felt a pang of sadness. A chill ran down her spine as she felt a coldness spreading through her. She turned around and saw Teacher Yang looking down in a panic, then turning and leaving to return to her ward.

Ice Cave thought to himself: Was that aura emanating from Teacher Yang just now? He seemed like a monster.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Spells (Two Chapters Combined)

Teacher Yang was in a gloomy mood. Today, she came to Lin Jiade's house through the "door" and then went out to move around in the neighborhood. The prisoner, who had been imprisoned for a long time, felt the joy of freedom.

In winter, adults choose to stay indoors in warmth, while children brave the cold to play outside. The elderly sit in chairs, enjoying the last rays of the day's sunshine, and the children's shrill laughter sounds wonderful to them.

Teacher Yang stared blankly at the children. She disliked children because she had heard from experienced women that pregnancy was uncomfortable and inconvenient in many ways, and that it could easily leave pigmentation. Childbirth was painful, and there was postpartum depression. In addition, she had to do rehabilitation every day to make her loose body firm again.

This is not the end of suffering, but rather the beginning: every child is a tormentor to their parents before they are old enough to understand, and before they are weaned, their torment is doubled.

Teacher Yang often sees friends on WeChat Moments complaining that their little darlings are hungry and noisy in the middle of the night, and that they have to get up to feed their little darlings before they can sleep, even though they have to work during the day.

At that time, while gloating over her friends who had just become mothers, Ms. Yang was also finding reasons for not getting married to cover up the inferiority complex caused by the ugly scar on her chest.

But recently, she has been thinking about marriage again, and naturally, she has also considered having children. Her gaze towards them has become slightly more friendly.

When Ms. Yang imagines her unborn child calling her "Mom," doing all the housework, and giving her pocket money every month, happiness spreads through her heart.

It's hard to say whether her desire for a child stemmed from the primal instinct to bring life into the world, or from a desire to find another arduous task in her life. But there's no doubt that Ms. Yang wanted a child.

Wanting a child naturally means wanting to have a child with someone you like. Teacher Yang sat on the swing, and amidst the astonished gazes of the children beside her, she grinned foolishly at her imagined child.

Lin Jiade's appearance shattered Teacher Yang's illusion. Teacher Yang stood up, took a step forward, and found that there was someone else with him... It was the ice cave, where she and Lin Jiade were chatting and laughing.

Neither of them noticed her as they walked past her. Loneliness welled up in Ms. Yang's heart. At first, she could comfort herself that it was just an accident. But when she took the elevator to Lin Jiade's floor and saw him hug Jasmine tightly without turning back for a second, loneliness turned into jealousy.

She knew that Jasmine was one of Lin Jiade's girlfriends, and she had no reason to be jealous, but jealousy itself is irrational.

With a dark mood, she returned to her room and collapsed onto the bed. Hehuan asked in surprise, "Is it dinnertime now?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well."

Where does it hurt?

Teacher Yang made up a story: "Stomach."

"Okay, I'll bring you some food. You should rest now."

"Bitch!"

Teacher Yang sensed Hehuan's perfunctory attitude. Everyone... everyone treated her like an outsider, simply because she had no power and was insignificant. Just like when heroes appear in a story, who cares about the opinions of passersby?

"Bitch!"

This curse was directed at herself. She knew perfectly well that she shouldn't like Lin Jiade, yet she still indulged in unfounded fantasies. When these fantasies clashed with reality, they ended up hurting her.

"The reason for all of this is that you have misjudged yourself."

Yang Xuemeng's own voice rang out. She looked up and saw a black cat with a bow tied around its tail standing at the head of the bed, its shadow falling on Teacher Yang's arm.

Just as Teacher Yang was about to yell, the black cat calmly said, "When I am destroyed, you will also lose the person you love."

I don't believe you!

"Is it hard for you to understand? The person you like chose to place you here because you were threatened by me."

If I am eliminated, then you will lose your threat, and they will erase your memory and send you back home, just like in the old world full of mirrors.

The person you love saves you, then lets you forget, pretending nothing happened. Because he despises you, with arrogant pity, he strips you, powerless, from his side, knowing you're a nuisance in his life.