Campaigning is not just a process of presenting one’s ideals; it’s also a display of a Sentinel’s strength.
The petals of the Cosmic Rose drifted endlessly in midair, rising and falling like waves, stirring up a most romantic sea of roses at the venue.
The people of the Sentinel world once again witnessed the breathtaking beauty of the Cosmic Rose.
During the pauses in Yin Que’s speech, the audience kept shouting his name.
“Yin Que!”
“Yin Que!”
Ning Li was facing the people’s fervor for the former Commander for the first time—not through words or commemorative days, but truly, face to face, experiencing this feverish worship for their ‘white moonlight.’
After the speech, Yin Que took Ning Li back to the lounge.
As soon as they arrived, two women entered.
One was Qi Sigu’s wife.
The other was Qi Sigu’s stepmother—Yin Que’s mother.
Although both women were visibly exhausted, their makeup and attire remained impeccable, as if ready to attend a banquet at any moment.
Their elegance clashed sharply with the crude, makeshift lounge.
Upon suddenly meeting again, no one spoke.
Ning Li sat on the sofa, casually browsing the news on Yin Que’s wristband.
Yin Que had given her one just like his, but she was too lazy to fuss with it and preferred using his—it was convenient.
Yin Que’s mother, despite her age, looked very young—radiant, pampered, with the bearing of someone used to a life of privilege.
She frowned, “How long have you been back? Why haven’t you come home?”
Yin Que was silent for a moment.
In the five years since his death, he had gained a little brother who was nearly four years old—which meant not long after his accident, his mother had a new child.
Just as he had expected, his mother had always looked after herself and lived the life she wanted.
Not hearing his reply, Yin Que’s mother rubbed her temples in frustration.
“Is there any way to turn things around for little Qi? After all, I’m just his stepmother. If his spirit form is stripped from him, it’ll affect me too…”
“No.”
This time Yin Que answered, his voice calm.
He wasn’t sure if his mother or Xi Dian knew about the Experiment Qi Sigu was conducting, but whether they did or not, it didn’t change that Qi Sigu would eventually face judgment.
The result of that judgment would be the loss of his spirit form, turning him into an ordinary person.
“Can’t you think about me for once? How am I supposed to stay in that house now?”
Though Sentinels usually took great pains to treat their Guides with courtesy—and Qi Rixiu had always behaved the perfect gentleman, treating Yin Que’s mother with particular consideration—now that Qi Sigu was in trouble, how could Qi Rixiu truly not hold it against her?
Caught between Yin Que and Qi Rixiu, her days ahead would clearly be far from easy.
She’d never suffered before, but now she would have to bear the consequences of her own son’s actions.
Since last night, she hadn’t seen her youngest son.
She didn’t know where Qi Rixiu had taken him, but it was obvious he no longer wanted her to have contact with her child.
All these changes made her deeply uneasy.
To this, Yin Que could have given many answers, but in the end, he chose silence.
Seeing he still didn’t speak, the ice in Yin Que’s mother’s eyes began to crack.
Her voice was full of anger.
“You really won’t give an inch, will you?”
“You were brothers for so many years. Don’t you care about your old friendship at all?”
“Yin Que, answer me!”
Yin Que had no intention of letting the conversation escalate.
He remained restrained and composed the entire time.
Unfortunately, this still failed to win his mother’s understanding.
She stared at Yin Que coldly.
Her lips, painted maple-leaf red, spat out words like shards of ice:
“Yin Que, as your mother, I’m very disappointed in you.”
With that, she picked up her handbag and left without so much as a backward glance at Ning Li.
“If you ever need anything, you can come to me.”
If she couldn’t stay at the Qi house, he would at least make sure her later years were taken care of.
But clearly, that wasn’t the answer Yin Que’s mother wanted.
So when she heard these words, she just paused for a moment and then, still burning with anger, walked away.
After Yin Que’s mother left, Xi Dian didn’t leave immediately.
Her gentle face wore a hint of sorrow—was it nostalgia, or regret?
She seemed as if she wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to begin.
She wanted to ask why it was him who survived.
Why it hadn’t happened earlier—why, after five years and everything settled, did he return?
Why did she end up marrying Qi Sigu, becoming his sister-in-law?
But she couldn’t speak.
Not a single word.
After hesitating for a moment, she chose to preserve her dignity, got up, and offered Yin Que a faint smile.
Unlike Yin Que’s mother, she glanced at Ning Li several times before leaving.
Finally, she couldn’t resist asking, “May I ask, who is this?”
“My girlfriend.”
Still as forthright as ever.
A wave of sourness flooded Xi Dian’s heart.
What frustrated her even more than her own failure was that someone else had succeeded.
She had always thought Yin Que would grow old alone—in fact, when he died back then, she’d felt relieved.
Because if she couldn’t have him, she didn’t want anyone else to have him either.
If she couldn’t have him, she didn’t want anyone else to get him.
Everyone the same.
That was fair.
But some people just weren’t the same.
She realized her expression froze the moment she heard his answer, and a tide of grief almost drowned her.
It felt like she might suffocate in that emotion at any moment.
She scrutinized Ning Li.
What was so special about her?
She wasn’t as pretty, didn’t have as much social grace, lacked a powerful family background or her own network—yet she, of all people, had won Yin Que.
Xi Dian left in disarray, her steps unsteady.
She couldn’t believe she’d lost to such a plain, socially inept Guide.
She needed time to process this.
On the bright side, perhaps before long they’d break up.
She’d be single again.
There would still be a chance.
After Xi Dian left, Ning Li finally took her eyes off the wristband.
Yin Que sat down beside her, elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlaced, his face giving nothing away.
Ning Li pulled him down, making him lie on her lap, then ran her fingers through his hair like petting a puppy.
It was Yin Que’s first time in such a position, and his whole body felt a little stiff.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought you might be a bit upset. So I’m comforting you.”
Yin Que chuckled.
“Not upset. Maybe I once felt that way, but after being disappointed so many times, I’m used to it. Fang has many important things in her life: love, career, dignity, the admiration of others… so many. As her son, I never ranked very high.”
He buried his head against Ning Li’s belly, feeling her softness and warmth.
Fang couldn’t make him sad.
But Ning Li could.
She could make him very, very sad.
Lines of text flashed through his mind.
Even though a week had passed, he still remembered the shock, helplessness, and despair he’d felt when he first saw that Document from Liuguang.
Before deciding to run for Commander, he’d accidentally seen that Document on Qi Sigu’s wristband.
At first, he’d only looked at it because it seemed related to the Experiment, but what he found was Ning Li’s greatest secret.
Liuguang wrote in the Document:
[If, one day, a unique spirit form and a unique Skill appear, don’t panic and don’t doubt. That is scientific progress.]
[Such a thing is likely to happen in a few hundred years. All our current efforts are aimed at reaching that day as soon as possible.]
[Maybe decades, maybe a hundred, maybe two hundred years—a unique spirit form has a 99.9% probability of appearing. To be honest, if not for scientific rigor, I’d say 100%.]
[Currently, hybrid abnormals can’t retain human reason, but this hurdle will be overcome sooner or later. It’s a pity that newborn babies can’t fuse with abnormals—the minimum age required is at least twelve. Below that age, fusion is bound to fail.]
[At twelve, a child already has their own worldview, not as easy to influence as a baby. That’ll probably cause some trouble. But any problem can be solved, so it’s not a big deal.]
[Honestly, I look forward to the emergence of spirit forms never seen before. What kind of Skills will they awaken? What powers will they have? Will they bring unexpected surprises?]
[The pity is that I am too old. I won’t live to see that day.]
[But if it really arrives, it will be fascinating. Because everything is random. There’s no fixed outcome, and when the time comes, it’ll be like opening a blind box.]
[Will the world be turned upside down?]
[What direction will the Sentinel world take?]
[I am truly looking forward to it.]
For several minutes after reading those words, Yin Que’s mind thundered.
His vision went black, hands bracing against the desk, his heart hurting so much it felt ready to explode.
He understood everything at last.
Why she was so averse to the Tribunal.
Why she hated this world.
Why she didn’t care how the world developed.
Why her spirit form, Xiao Hei, was so unique.
It was all because—
She was an experiment subject.
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