Chapter 47

Chapter 47: She Would Grow Strong

Zhou Zhou’s outstretched hand locked in midair. He didn’t dare move.

What Feng Ling had just said was pure nightmare fuel. He would rather hear, “Or you’ll die,” than hear her calmly promise she could “give birth” to him.

“I’m just saying—” Zhou Zhou sucked in a breath, eyes wide as he glared at her. “Don’t tell me you’ve already turned into a polluted entity. Because what kind of cursed skill is that?!”

Feng Ling’s brows pinched. She flicked her wrist again. Two ability cards flashed like slivers of silver, snapping back to her arm in an instant and hardening into bracelets around her wrist.

“This is an advanced ability of Mother Nest,” she said. “It’s called nest-building.”

She spoke like she was explaining the weather. Like she hadn’t just threatened to hatch him.

“I’m still figuring out the details,” she continued, “but I’ve confirmed one thing. Once nest-building is complete, the nest can convert flesh and blood into new life. The more energy it stores, the stronger the lifeform it produces.”

She glanced at Zhou Zhou.

Then, with the same calm hand, she stirred the wonton soup in her bowl.

“I don’t want what I raise to have terrible physical stats,” she added. “So I’m trying to stockpile as much energy as possible.”

Zhou Zhou: “…”

Why did you have to look at me?

Are you hinting at me right now?

Ding—the doorbell rang.

Huang Fu Miao Miao moved before anyone else could react. She went to the door, rose onto her toes, and peered through the peephole.

After confirming the person outside wasn’t an aberrant, she flashed Feng Ling a “safe” gesture, opened the door, and took the food from the delivery runner.

Feng Ling had ordered so much that the runner made multiple trips before it was all inside.

And eating all of it would take time.

Feng Ling dug in without wasting a second, but part of her attention stayed anchored to the nests.

When she used nest-building, it required ability cards. She’d deliberately chosen one spider ability card that seemed highly compatible with Mother Nest, and one bird ability card that seemed completely incompatible.

She’d done it on purpose—she wanted to see whether compatibility affected the success rate of nurturing life.

She still hadn’t proven anything, but she’d found a different problem.

The nest built from the unknown bird ability card was nearly full.

The nest built from the spider ability card was only a little past halfway.

Why?

Was it because compatibility affected absorption speed?

Or because the spider ability card was a high-tier card, so it needed more energy?

She was still chewing on that when Zhou Zhou spoke up.

“Other than nest-building,” he asked, “what else can your ability cards do? Can you heal a teammate?”

Feng Ling snapped back to the present. She looked at him once—flat, unreadable—then lowered her head and kept eating.

“My ability cards’ genes mutated. I don’t have any healing-type abilities.”

“Tsk.” Zhou Zhou clicked his tongue, half impressed, half unsettled. “The Research Institute is going to be all over you. That’s a completely unknown evolution path.”

He wanted to toss out another joke, but it died in his throat.

An unknown evolution path also meant unknown risk. If Feng Ling kept digesting ability cards, the chance of something going wrong could be worse for her than for anyone else.

“You should join the Inspection Bureau,” he said finally. “Let those old men and women at the Research Institute figure out a way to keep you alive.”

He hesitated, then admitted, “I didn’t want you joining before. But now? This is dangerous.”

Feng Ling picked up her soup bowl, took a few slow sips, then tore open the fried chicken leg rice box.

“Why didn’t you want me to join?” she asked, like it was idle curiosity. “Bad benefits?”

Zhou Zhou grimaced. “It’s annoying. You have to file reports for everything. Weekly meetings. And…” He paused, flicked a glance toward the living room where the three special assault team members were, then leaned closer and dropped his voice. “And I’m from Qing Jiang.”

Feng Ling blinked. “…What?”

Zhou Zhou shot her an offended look. “You seriously don’t get it? I’m a local. I’m not about to leave my hometown behind. ‘For the greater good’? I don’t give a damn about that crap. I just know this—if they transfer me out, Qing Jiang City gets thinner on manpower. And if you join the Inspection Bureau, they’ll transfer you too.”

“But if your superior orders it,” Feng Ling said, “you can only comply.”

“They won’t transfer me.” Zhou Zhou’s mouth curled into something smug. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a flat stainless steel flask. “I’ve got this.”

Feng Ling tilted her head, studying it like it might start talking. “What’s that supposed to do?”

“The trick is,” Zhou Zhou said, wearing the tone of a veteran passing down sacred wisdom, “don’t be too well-behaved.”

He gave a soft, self-satisfied laugh. “I’ve had five drunk driving accidents and three incidents of public property damage. If they’re going to transfer people, they’ll transfer the inspectors with shining records first. Me? I’m safe.”

Feng Ling laughed despite herself.

She’d pegged Zhou Zhou as muscle over brains. Turns out his head was full of crooked little survival routes.

“Feng Ling…” Zhou Zhou put the flask away. The joke drained off his face as he looked at her seriously. “Will you go back to your hometown one day?”

Feng Ling thought for a beat. “…Probably not.”

She didn’t have many good memories there.

“Good.” Zhou Zhou’s grin came back, wide and bright. “Then stay in Qing Jiang with me.”

Feng Ling arched a brow. “I’m a hidden Boss. Your Su probably can’t wait to kick me out of Qing Jiang City.”

Zhou Zhou showed his tiger teeth. “Then get strong. Strong enough that no aberrant dares come to Qing Jiang.”

Feng Ling smiled, picked up the chicken leg, and tore into it with real force.

She would get strong.

Strong enough that no one would ever look at her like an easy target again.

…

Early the next morning, Feng Ling went to Qing Jiang No. 1 Bridge as planned.

There were sightseeing walkways on both sides. She, Huang Fu Miao Miao, Zhou Zhou, and the three special assault team members walked from one end to the other.

Then back again.

Twice.

It was like the clues stopped breathing here.

From the bridge, Feng Ling could see the Ferris wheel in the distance. But she still couldn’t make sense of “snake month” or “heavenly fire.”

It was already late May. The bridge offered no shade. As time dragged on, the heat climbed higher and higher.

Zhou Zhou was soaked through, sweat shining on his forehead. “Qing Jiang’s great in every way except it’s too damn hot… It’s only May and it’s at least 34 degrees today… I’m about to get heatstroke.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao nodded weakly, already too sunblasted to waste effort on words.

Feng Ling stared at the Ferris wheel, irritation tightening behind her eyes.

Why had the trail gone dead?

She found the top-hat frog. Then she found the lone white bird. By that pattern, finding the white bird should have led to the next line’s clue.

So why couldn’t she see anything about snake month or heavenly fire?

She paced the bridge, turning the riddle over and over until it scraped.

Then something clicked.

Was it because she hadn’t solved “drooling kiss”?

Yes.

That had to be it.

She’d only found the “white bird” when the “top-hat frog” “charged into the clouds”—meaning the cabin reached the Ferris wheel’s highest point.

So the next clue would only appear when the frog “drooled and kissed” the white bird—when their positions aligned in the right way.

Feng Ling’s face went cold. She scanned the river, eyes cutting through glare.

She spotted a cross-river ferry.

“Come on,” she said. “We’re going to the pier.”