Chapter 65: Who Is Su Bai?

Su Ling looked at her surroundings in a state of confusion.

It was a massive imperial palace, vast and empty, filled with a deathly silence.

She wandered aimlessly through the hall, and for some reason, the place felt strangely familiar.

The cavernous space didn’t even produce an echo; it was so quiet that Su Ling couldn’t help but shiver.

Finally, she saw it up ahead: a massive Frozen Throne towering in the distance.

Seated upon that throne was a white-haired woman who looked incredibly exhausted.

The woman sat with her eyes closed, her snowy tresses falling over her shoulders.

Her ice-covered fingertips lightly gripped the frozen armrest of the throne, her knuckles pale.

Her brow was slightly furrowed, and a lingering weariness was etched into her cold features.

Yet, a heavy, regal pressure radiated from her body like a freezing wind from a dark abyss, causing Su Ling to feel a bone-chilling weight.

“Empress, K666 and B323… they have sacrificed themselves.”

Before the throne, a woman dressed like a nun spoke with a pious expression, reporting to the figure above.

“…”

The woman on the throne, addressed as the Empress, pursed her lips slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

They were cherry-colored pupils, filled with an extreme indifference.

Su Ling was stunned. ‘Why does she look so much like me?’

“They were all good children.”

“Empress, your subordinate is incompetent. I have yet to find a clue regarding that person.”

The nun’s eyes cracked open slightly, filled with deep apology.

“I do not blame you. With the protection of the Insect Hive, it is difficult to find her.”

The Empress sighed softly.

‘Insect Hive? What is that?’ Su Ling tilted her head.

At the same time, she realized that the two people before her didn’t seem to see her.

‘Is this a dream?’

Su Ling thought, her courage growing slightly.

She stepped behind the nun and slowly reached out.

As expected, her hand passed right through the woman’s body.

Seeing this, Su Ling let out a little giggle.

‘It really is a dream.’

Since it was a dream…

Su Ling walked up to the Empress on the throne.

Looking at the woman’s features, which were almost identical to her own, she was momentarily dazed.

If Su Yao was a gentle, maternal figure, then the woman before her was an Empress who looked down on all living things with total disregard.

In her eyes, Su Ling couldn’t see a single ripple of emotion, as if everything in the world were merely her subjects.

“However, since the Ez Gathering Order has not yet been issued, it means she has not completely awakened.”

“**[The Confusion]**, **[Humiliation]**, **[Constraints]**, **[Dead End]**… As long as she does not completely break through these Four Calamities, we still have time.”

The Empress’s tone revealed a hint of urgency.

“The Empress does not doubt, the Empress does not yield, the Empress does not rely, and the Empress does not give up. My Empress, you are our only ruler. You have already done everything required of an Empress.”

The nun’s devout voice echoed through the hall.

“But the Insect Hive did not choose me.”

The atmosphere instantly plummeted to the freezing point.

“Empress…”

“A007, do you regret it?”

“Empress, I have never regretted it. The false Empress abandoned us; it was you who turned the tide. You are our only Empress.”

A007 looked up, her face full of adoration and fanatical loyalty.

This was the person who had saved them.

Even without the Insect Hive, the woman before her remained their only ruler.

However, the Empress did not speak.

She stared straight ahead, and Su Ling suddenly felt her skin crawl.

‘Is she looking at me?’

This absurd thought popped into Su Ling’s mind.

“A007, I am giving you an order that you are not permitted to refuse.”

“Please speak.”

“From the moment the Ez Gathering Order is issued… kill me.”

The Empress withdrew her gaze, her voice so cold it felt as though the temperature in the hall had dropped even further.

“Empress!”

“It is an order.”

“If she successfully breaks the Four Calamities, becomes the true Empress, and issues the Ez Gathering Order, then you will take my head to welcome your true ruler.”

She spoke so calmly and simply, as if she were discussing a trivial, everyday matter.

“But my Empress, I — “

“Withdraw.”

A007 wanted to say more, but the Empress dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

A007 looked despairingly at the Empress, who had closed her eyes to rest, and a single, crystal tear slowly rolled down the corner of her eye.

She slowly backed away, leaving only one person sitting upon the throne in the vast palace.

Su Ling stood before her, her gaze complicated.

She didn’t know why, but she felt a strange sense of intimacy toward this person.

Yet, she quickly fell back into a state of endless confusion.

Moreover, the words “The Empress does not doubt, the Empress does not yield, the Empress does not rely, and the Empress does not give up” seemed to stir something within her.

Involuntarily, she remembered a dream she had once before.

**[The Confusion]**…

*Drip!*

Suddenly, a crisp sound reached her ears.

Su Ling looked at the person before her in shock.

A clear tear track ran down that exquisite face.

The Empress was crying.

Whether it was for her subjects or for something else, she was weeping.

“Let them go…”

The Empress slowly opened her eyes.

That feeling returned to Su Ling.

‘Is she talking to me? Can she feel my presence? Is this… not a dream?’

“I know you are there.”

The Empress’s cherry eyes were filled with compassion, stubbornness, and unyielding will.

But there was no confusion.

She had always known what she was doing, and she knew what her end would be.

“Are you talking to me?”

Su Ling looked at the Empress’s crying face and felt an inexplicable ache in her heart.

She slowly reached out to touch the Empress’s cheek.

An eerie scene occurred.

Su Ling actually felt a cold, soft sensation.

Clearly, the other woman felt it too.

Both of them froze, neither expecting such a development.

“Heh, are you laughing at me?”

The Empress let out a cold laugh.

She rose angrily, her cherry eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty red light.

An oppressive pressure filled the entire hall, and Su Ling could even faintly hear the low sound of vibrating wings.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that,” Su Ling said hurriedly.

But the other woman clearly didn’t hear her.

The surrounding scene began to shatter, and everything before her eyes cracked like a broken mirror.

“Hey, wait!”

Su Ling panicked.

She had too many questions.

The Insect Hive, the Four Calamities, the gathering order… her heart was filled with doubts.

But it was too late.

Su Ling could clearly feel her consciousness returning to the waking world.

At the final moment, she could only see those eyes filled with rage and resentment.

“I do not need your pity!”

“You abandoned us! You are not fit to be our Empress!”

“If the Insect Hive will not recognize me, then I shall construct a new one!”

“This is a duel between you and me! the children are innocent!”

“Listen well, and remember my name! Su Bai! My name is Su Bai!”

—

Su Ling snapped her eyes open and sat upright, gasping for breath.

It was too real.

The dream was far too real.

She clutched her head, her expression pained.

‘Su Bai, Su Bai… who exactly are you? Who are you to me?’

Su Ling couldn’t figure out if it was just a dream or if she had truly witnessed a scene occurring somewhere else.

She curled up on the bed, holding her head, and it took a long while before she managed to recover.

She checked the time and realized it was already the next day.

Her memories from before she blacked out gradually returned.

She had exhausted herself during the final exam yesterday and fainted.

She hadn’t expected to sleep until the following day.

“Whew!”

Su Ling exhaled a long breath.

She temporarily pushed the dream to the back of her mind.

After all, it was just a dream.

Yesterday, she had truly scored over 300 points.

Hehe, college was a sure thing now.

Su Ling sat on the bed with a silly grin.

Before this, who would have thought she could make it to college?

Getting into college meant she could try her luck in the Upper City.

At the very least, there was more hope there than in the Lower City.

Su Ling had already planned out their future life.

She would attend college while Su Yao learned a craft, and the mother and daughter would live a simple, peaceful life in a rented apartment in the Upper City.

Then, maybe they could even wait for Miao Miao to come home…

Su Ling’s eyes dimmed significantly.

‘Miao Miao… where are you?’

“Ling Ling? Are you awake?”

The bedroom door opened, and Su Yao walked in, looking worried.

“Yeah,” Su Ling nodded.

She then noticed quite a few people in the living room.

Mo Ran, Mo Tong, and her homeroom teacher, Gao Fei, were all there.

Seated beside them was an unexpected figure: Shao Hua.

Su Ling was stunned.

Shao Hua poked her head out from behind Su Yao, her face beaming with a smile.

Not just her, but everyone in the living room was radiating joy.

“Miss Su Ling, do you remember me? I’ve brought you some wonderful news.”

“Su Ling, a Great Witch gave you a recommendation letter! This is amazing! We can go to the Witch Academy together!”

Mo Ran rushed into the room and hugged Su Ling, shouting with excitement.

It was as if she were the one who had received the letter.

“Huh?”

Su Ling blinked, completely dazed.