Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Alienstar Forum

By the time Feng Ling reached Xiu Yuan Residence, the night was already thinning toward morning.

She wanted to run a test—find out how much food she could actually eat.

So before coming here, she’d gone home, packed a few changes of clothes, grabbed her essential documents, and cleaned out her fridge and cupboards of rice and stored staples.

Following the unit number engraved on the key, she found Su Yu Qing’s apartment and opened the door.

She whistled softly. “Being rich is nice.”

Floor-to-ceiling windows. A crystal chandelier that threw cold light like shattered ice. A cloud-soft sofa. Hardwood floors that looked too expensive to scuff.

Her old cramped place couldn’t fit half this living room.

But the apartment had clearly sat empty for a long time. The air was stale. Dust lay on the furniture like a thin skin.

Feng Ling didn’t care. She cracked the windows, let the cold air pour in, and wandered through the rooms with open curiosity—testing smart appliances, eyeing the high-end kitchen tools like a kid in a toy store.

Huang Fu Miao Miao didn’t get to rest.

Feng Ling found an unused tablet, plugged it in, and pushed it into Huang Fu Miao Miao’s hands. “Put the forum materials into the memo app. If you can’t type fast, use voice input.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao had been dizzy from information overload in the truck. She’d hoped for a break. Instead, she got work.

She swallowed her complaints. This was a chance to earn trust. She bit down and decided she wasn’t sleeping tonight.

At two in the morning, Huang Fu Miao Miao was furiously dumping information into the tablet while Feng Ling washed rice and started a pot.

At three, Huang Fu Miao Miao’s eyelids were heavy while Feng Ling boiled frozen dumplings.

At four, Huang Fu Miao Miao was half-asleep while Feng Ling shoved frozen bao zi into the microwave and boiled a kettle for instant noodles.

At five, the sky began to lighten.

Feng Ling ate until she felt about seventy percent satisfied, then showered. When she came out in a bathrobe, her hair damp and dark against the fabric, she sat beside Huang Fu Miao Miao and asked, “Done?”

“More or less…” Huang Fu Miao Miao said, black circles under her eyes. “There’s too much about ability cards. It’s messy, and it changes based on the main card’s traits. I don’t know how accurate it all is. I tried to organize it…”

Feng Ling took the tablet and skimmed at an alarming speed. There were typos everywhere, but the meaning held.

“Information gaps get people killed,” Feng Ling said lightly, smiling as she read. “If you faked anything—twisted facts, led me into a bad decision—I might die because of it someday.”

“I didn’t!” Huang Fu Miao Miao’s eyes flared wide. Her voice cracked with indignation. “I didn’t fake anything!”

“Relax.” Feng Ling’s smile didn’t shift. “Humans have our own forum too. I’ll compare what you gave me with ours. If I find contradictions, that means you weren’t honest, and I’ll kill you. If you fix things now, I can pretend nothing happened.”

“You go compare!” Huang Fu Miao Miao snapped, anger overpowering fear for a heartbeat. “Even if there are contradictions, your forum’s the one that’s wrong! I didn’t lie!”

Feng Ling tilted her head slightly, amused. “Is that so? Then I’ll read. Go shower.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao stomped into the bathroom, trembling with exhaustion and rage.

Feng Ling returned her attention to the memo. The content was comprehensive enough, but it was a dense wall of text—no categories, no structure, everything jammed together.

So Feng Ling cleaned it up. She broke it into sections, corrected obvious errors, and added headings. Key concepts got highlighted.

Ability cards were products of genetic technology.

Gene fusion brought evolution, and it also brought corruption.

Low-tier ability cards weren’t necessarily weak. High-tier cards weren’t necessarily strong. But the evolution ceiling of a high-tier card was always higher than low-tier and mid-tier cards.

By the time she’d gone through most of it, she switched to the browser and logged into the Alienstar Forum.

Huang Fu Miao Miao came out wrapped in a towel, looking awkward and small. “I don’t have anything to change into.”

“Wear mine,” Feng Ling said without looking up. “Pick something from the suitcase.”

A minute later, Huang Fu Miao Miao padded back in. “Can I wear this?”

Feng Ling finally looked up—and almost laughed.

Huang Fu Miao Miao wore a loose gray T-shirt that hung on her like a sack. With the skull mask still on, the whole look was absurd.

Feng Ling had learned something from the materials: ability cards didn’t just give power. They bent behavior. They pushed their holders toward certain habits, certain tastes, certain impulses.

Huang Fu Miao Miao and her skull mask were proof.

Devil, by nature, loved provocation—scaring people, stirring trouble, playing tricks. Huang Fu Miao Miao was too timid to do much with it. In someone else’s hands, that card might have turned a city into a circus.

Feng Ling wondered, briefly, if she was being influenced too. Otherwise, why would she look at Huang Fu Miao Miao’s pathetic, wronged expression and think: I could raise this one?

She snorted softly to herself. World Mother, huh. “My ability card isn’t some kind of saint, is it?”

“What are you laughing at?” Huang Fu Miao Miao asked, irritation fighting fear. “I’ll wash it. Tomorrow I’ll return it to you.”

“Keep it,” Feng Ling said, eyes back on the screen.

A post title snagged her attention, bold and loud:

“Looking for a partner to take down an aberrant! Card bearers only!”

Feng Ling clicked it.

The poster’s IP was close. The username was Chao Qiang Chao. He claimed he’d found an underground tunnel where many sick and injured aberrants were hiding. He wanted to form a team, wipe them out, and claim a huge reward.

He also claimed his ability card was golden grass—a healing card—and promised he could keep everyone safe.

Feng Ling flicked her eyes to Huang Fu Miao Miao’s memo. “Your categories say insect-type low-tier, animal-type mid-tier, role-type high-tier… There’s nothing about plant-type ability cards. Is that an error, or did you leave it out on purpose?”

Huang Fu Miao Miao’s eyes widened. “Plant-type? There is no plant-type.”

Feng Ling’s smile stayed in place. “Then explain this. Someone’s claiming their ability card is golden grass and it heals fast.”

“That’s impossible!” Huang Fu Miao Miao shot to her feet. “He’s lying! Plant genes fused with the human body cause severe side effects. The only plant-related breakthrough is the human gene tree—and that isn’t a card. It’s used as a tombstone. It can’t talk. It can’t think. It’s just a tree with a human shape. A plant-type ability card can’t exist in the game!”

Feng Ling looked at her, head tilted, eyes bright with a calm that felt dangerous. “Is that so? Too bad. I don’t really have a choice.”

Her voice stayed light. “I have to trust my own kind.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao froze.