Regarding the matter of awakening lightning abilities after transformation

"So, what does Director Cheng need me to do?" Cheng Hao must have his reasons for bringing this up, and Song Shiyan wasn't stupid.

"Su Wanxi...is the leader of your special operations team?"

“Not bad,” Song Shiyan replied expressionlessly.

"...Because of her relatively ambiguous attitude towards Awakened Ones, I hope you can win over the Su family's support through Su Wanxi."

Seeing Song Shiyan's expression grow increasingly stiff, Cheng Hao softened his tone.

"We don't necessarily need to win her over, but we should try our best to ensure that she has a good impression of the Hermit Bureau."

“If that’s all… that’s fine…” Su Wanxi had been working in Lanjiang for nearly five years, and Song Shiyan had never seen her express any dissatisfaction with the Hermit Bureau.

"That's good..." Cheng Hao then took out a stack of documents from his bag.

"Take a look at this." Song Shiyan took the documents, which contained various data on the formation of the rift within China. The date on the first page was from the end of the last century.

As I flipped through the data line by line, I realized that the stack of data didn't go into detail about the location of the incident; it only recorded the intensity and quantity.

Since the beginning of the 21st century in China, the number and intensity of cracks have been decreasing year by year...

A turning point occurred in 2086... the number of cracks suddenly surged that year, and has continued to increase ever since...

Chapter 112, Section 114: Can we soak a little longer?

The file was thin, but it felt incredibly heavy when picked up, and Song Shiyan's facial muscles began to twitch involuntarily.

He was only in charge of repairing the cracks in the Lanjiang area, and his personal data was limited, far from sufficient to draw any conclusions. The data Cheng Hao showed him, however, was based on nationwide big data...

"The number and intensity of cracks have begun to increase year by year..." This year is 2089, and they have entered the fourth year of crack growth.

Taking a sip of tea, Song Shiyan put down the documents and quietly gazed at the young man across the table.

"This data may not be interesting, but it does tell us something about what's going to happen..."

“Mr. Song... I remember your access level should be S-…” Cheng Hao squinted, his fingers gently tugging at his tie.

The cracks grow extremely rapidly. As seen in the data chart on the last page, their growth rate is not linear, but rather an explosive exponential curve.

"Mm," Song Shiyan responded softly.

"If you're interested, you can take a look at what this data will look like by 2091." Cheng Hao slowly pulled out his chair, his eyes revealing neither joy nor sorrow.

"That's all for today. I'll send more relevant data to your email." He gently pushed open the door, as if he were the master of the room.

Song Shiyan remained seated, took a cigarette from the crumpled packaging, tucked it between his fingers, and watched the man leave thoughtfully.

Outside the old house, Cheng Hao opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat, a slight smile playing on his lips.

......

Gu Cheng lay relaxed in the bathtub, only her head and a small part of her smooth and delicate swan neck were exposed.

"Gu Chengyan... if you recover someday, will I just disappear?"

She reached out and pinched the little yellow duck on the water's surface, and a faint blush rose on the girl's delicate cheeks from the water vapor.

"It's up to you." Gu Chengyan's voice became lazy, mirroring Gu Cheng's five senses while she was taking a bath.

"Look at myself?" I poked the little yellow duck's beak twice, and the plastic toy briefly sank to the surface before floating back up.

"If you have a strong will to live... I can't force you to die."

"Is that so..." Gu Cheng's fingers, which were supporting her on the edge of the bathtub, slipped, and she was completely immersed in the water.

"Cough cough..." The girl choked on the water twice while getting up, and felt a burning sensation in her throat.

"You're something else, managing to choke on your own bath..." Gu Chengyan said speechlessly.

It's all because this bathtub is too big; a smaller one would be perfect... Continuing to lie down and soak in the bath, Gu Cheng tilted her head back and squinted her eyes, letting the warm light seep in through the gaps in her eyelids.

"If I hadn't disappeared... could you take a longer bath every night...?" Gu Chengyan's words inspired her. Although she had already decided to relinquish control of her body, it didn't affect her enjoyment of taking a bath.

"Tsk tsk... What a great pursuit..." Sure enough, Gu Chengyan started to make sarcastic remarks to her as usual.

Gu Cheng: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Gu Chengyan: "Comfortable." The two exchanged a question and a reply.

With a gentle sway of her arm, splashing water, Gu Cheng, who had been thinking all night, gradually calmed down. She was now basically in the mindset of a death row inmate. Since she knew that her days were numbered, worrying about gains and losses would only add to her troubles.

"Phew~" With a helpless sigh, the girl began to think about tomorrow's breakfast.

"By the way, Gu Chengyan, I haven't even asked you what you like to eat..." Even if they share the same memories, their ways of thinking may not be the same, and the same applies to their interests and tastes in food.

Seemingly surprised by Gu Cheng's remarks, Gu Chengyan remained silent for a while before saying, "The sandwiches you made for breakfast today look pretty good."

Gu Cheng had just woken up from her dream and had no appetite for breakfast. She lied to Su Wanxi that she had eaten, but in reality, she only made a single serving.

"I'm sorry... I forgot you were here too." Gu Cheng's tone was slightly low. Gu Chengyan and she were connected by senses, and she knew that Gu Chengyan felt hungry and Gu Chengyan must feel the same way.

"...You know that's good enough." Why apologize to me...

"And...don't you feel the water temperature is low?" Realizing his tone was a bit off, Gu Chengyan quickly changed the subject.

"Then I'll add some more hot water!"

......

After taking a bath, I changed into my pajamas and comfortably rested my head on the pillow.

"Goodnight..." After saying goodnight to Gu Chengyan, Gu Cheng placed her phone beside her pillow, tucked her hands into the covers, and closed her eyes...

Wait... Suddenly remembering Su Wanxi's instructions in the car, Gu Cheng quickly sat up straight and turned on her phone screen.

Turn on the bedside lamp, point the phone camera at yourself, and you'll see a girl on the screen with her thin lips slightly pursed and her long eyelashes trembling gently, giving off a rather pitiful look.

Fasten the buttons on your chest, then brush aside the hair that's falling in front of you, make sure you're dressed properly, and lightly touch the record button with your fingertips.

"Ahem... Su Wanxi... It's me." Recording a video but unsure what to say next, Gu Cheng stammered out a few words and ended the recording.

As for demonstrating her abilities... she made a heartless peace sign.

The azure electric light flowed and flickered between the two fingers, making this 40 or 50-year-old photo pose seem less outdated.

Too flashy, it looks a bit like an over-the-top, non-mainstream style with added special effects... Gu Cheng thought to herself as she looked at the sending page.

"Fine, I'll just send it like this..." I clicked send and held my phone in both hands, waiting for the circle to finish spinning.

Sent successfully...

In the villa district in the city center, Su Wanxi changed into a light gauze dress and sat on the sofa.

Her jet-black hair cascaded down her shoulders, glistening with a few water droplets, and her fair, smooth skin looked especially alluring in the misty haze. Her long, alabaster legs were slightly together, and her slender feet wore blue flat sandals.

After showering, instead of going to the music room to play the piano as usual, she sat in the living room with her laptop, drinking sweet coffee and looking up information.

External manifestations of dissociative identity disorder... Treatment methods...

Suddenly, the phone placed to the side made a soft sound. Su Wanxi stretched out her fair arm and lightly touched the screen with her index finger to unlock it.

There were two messages in the notification bar, one from Gu Cheng and the other from Uncle Fan.

"This is a psychiatrist I know. He studied in Libya and has been in China for the past two years... If your friend needs him, I can get him in touch with you right now..."

Gu Cheng's current mental state is unclear, and Su Wanxi is somewhat worried that doing this will upset her...

"Thank you, Uncle, but I don't need it for now... If possible, could you please ask me about an analysis of dissociative identity disorder?"

With a swipe of the finger, you are taken to the chat page with "Orange".

With a soft cough, the girl's slightly shy face appeared on the screen.

Chapter 113, Section 115: Go to bed early

"Um... Su Wanxi... it's me." The lighting on the other end of the video was dim, and judging from the shooting angle, it should be in bed.

Is she getting ready to sleep? Su Wanxi wondered. The girl was only wearing a very thin silk nightgown, and the pure white bra straps on her shoulders could be vaguely seen.

"This should work." Gu Cheng's cheeks were slightly flushed, like a ripe apple in summer. Her fair fingers gently tossed her long hair, revealing clear and bright light brown eyes.

The next second, she placed her palm against her chest, slightly separating her index and middle fingers to make a cute peace sign.

An electric current swirled between her fingers, and the azure light made the girl's profile appear even more delicate and smooth.

Su Wanxi pursed her cherry lips, her delicate, curled eyelashes, glistening with moisture, fluttered slightly. Just as she was about to continue watching, the video abruptly ended.

That's it? So short... This video, including the beginning and end, is no more than ten seconds long.

Su Wanxi exited and clicked again, saving a screenshot of the girl flipping her hair.

Orange: "Su Wanxi, did you see the video?"

A new message popped up with a light swipe of my finger. There was nothing else, just an emoticon: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴.

Su Wanxi still hadn't learned how to use emoticons, so she opted to make a video call directly. Just as Gu Cheng was about to turn off the screen, her phone suddenly vibrated.

The blue-eyed Ragdoll cat has requested a video call from you. Will you accept?

Video call? The girl subconsciously pressed her finger on the green accept button... but didn't release it immediately. Instead, she looked down to check her clothes.

The buttons weren't undone, and the clothes had just been changed... There was nothing dirty on her face...

I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly moved my fingers away, revealing a pair of dark pupils.

"Um...aren't you asleep yet?" Gu Cheng's voice was slightly different from during the day, crisp yet with a hint of husky raspiness from just having taken a bath.

"Yeah, I just finished showering and am sitting on the sofa for a bit." Su Wanxi pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, the smooth, flat glass reflecting a pale blue light.

Looking at the elegant and intellectual beauty on the other side of the screen, Gu Cheng didn't know what to say.

Have you had dinner yet...? This thought flashed through her mind for a moment before she dismissed it.

"I've watched the video, it's barely acceptable." Fortunately, at this moment, Su Wanxi took off her gold-rimmed glasses and took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Too short," she added softly, bringing the coffee can on the coffee table to her lips.

Watching the other person's delicate collarbone rise and fall slightly with the movement, Gu Cheng resisted the urge to poke it through the screen.

“Short…then I’ll make it longer next time.” Su Wanxi hadn’t specified a video length beforehand; Gu Cheng just stopped when she felt it was about right.