MORIC - Chapter 139
Chapter 139: Secondary Differentiation
Chi Yueshan's pen and notebook weren't held tightly, and they fell to the ground the moment Xi Zhoumeng whisked her away.
She didn't even have time to scream. The mountain wind and driving rain assaulted her face, and a watery mist blurred her vision. When the rain fell from above, it even carried the scent of blood.
Chi Yueshan looked up blankly, her gaze falling on Xi Zhoumeng's tightly clenched jaw. Blood was dripping from her lips, mixing with the falling rain, and rolling down her chin to splash onto Chi Yueshan's face.
Chi Yueshan was speechless for a long time because she saw Xi Zhoumeng's unusual appearance.
How did this person suddenly grow ears? Were they earmuffs?
The surrounding scenery was receding rapidly. At the same time, thunder boomed, and lightning struck somewhere unknown. Trees crashed to the ground, and in the distance, the colossal structures of the mecha training base collapsed.
Birds flapped their wings in panic, and insects swarmed out. It was clearly afternoon, yet it felt like the dead of night.
Even Chi Yueshan could smell the unusual scent of danger.
Was the Zerg Tide coming?
"Don't look at me."
A hand covered her eyes. "At least, don't look right now."
Xi Zhoumeng's hand was very cold. The obsidian strand, missing one bead, no longer looked like a necklace. Xi Zhoumeng had snatched it up a moment ago and haphazardly wrapped it around her fingers, making it look like a finger chain.
It made her skin feel even colder.
Her vision went dark, but Chi Yueshan didn't resist. She just obediently wrapped her arms around Xi Zhoumeng's neck. Even though it was a critical moment, she felt no fear at all. Instead, a thought bloomed in her mind: No matter what, I'll go with her. She smiled and asked, "Are you eloping with me?"
Xi Zhoumeng seemed to freeze for a moment. She hadn't expected Chi Yueshan to have such romantic, girlish notions.
"The world is ending, and you're thinking about eloping?"
Xi Zhoumeng's voice was hoarse. The Zerg Queen's invasion hadn't succeeded as planned, but the ancient bloodline suppression had thrown its consciousness into a frenzy, triggering the genetic defect in Xi Zhoumeng's body from years ago. A strange sensation swept through her, even making her throat itch.
Chi Yueshan's eyelashes fluttered against Xi Zhoumeng's palm. At this moment, Xi Zhoumeng's mind was in turmoil. A strange desire, wrapped in intense ferocity, was fighting against that cold, chilling consciousness.
She had indeed made the right bet. In terms of consciousness, this lifetime's Zerg Queen was no match for her.
After all, the Magnetic Star Meteorite was in her hands. This object, which had once sustained a planet's life by devouring her power, could now amplify Xi Zhoumeng's already high spiritual power in this world.
But there was still one variable: this damned secondary gender.
Xi Zhoumeng had never had any particular pursuit of carnal desire before. Even when she was in a relationship, no matter how intimate, she would never take that final step.
She always felt something was missing. Why do I like her?
What does she want from me?
If she knew everything about me, would she still love me?
Maybe she would, because 'everything about me' includes my appearance and my wealth.
What about other things? Is it possible that I was born to be loved?
Why does Chi Yueshan love me?
She truly didn't care about money. She could even describe someone with Wen Xinghuo's looks as devastatingly gorgeous.
So why does she like me?
I don't know.
At this moment, not even the cold rain could extinguish the desire in Xi Zhoumeng that felt very much like wanting to devour Chi Yueshan.
Her uncontrollable tail was now swaying in the downpour. If Chi Yueshan's eyes weren't covered, she would probably understand why humans from centuries ago were so fond of fluffy canines.
Because a tail is instinctual. How could it be separated from consciousness?
Chi Yueshan didn't ask where they were going. She clung to Xi Zhoumeng's neck, the rain soaking both their clothes. Their body heat seemed to grow more intense because of their drenched bodies.
"Eloping to another planet sounds nice. I don't even have an interstellar visa; I've never traveled anywhere."
"Even after finding out who my Alpha mother is, I've never been to Planet M-13 to see her… even a cenotaph would be fine."
Her voice sounded muffled in the torrential rain, yet it reached Xi Zhoumeng's ears with perfect clarity.
There were no clear records of what exactly the God's Arbiter of the ZR-Galaxy's capital planet was.
Even with technological advancements, even with artificial intelligence replacing labor, this inheritance lacked a clear lineage.
The citizens' textbooks only mentioned the primeval wilderness, a campfire era before civilization had emerged.
But there were also speculations that that era possessed technology more advanced than the present.
The natural succession of the capital planet's royal family within a century relied on generation after generation. However, if a God's Arbiter who could activate the Magnetic Star Meteorite appeared, the designated heir would have to abdicate.
Xi Zhoumeng's mother, who was nominally her sister, had also once longed to step into that secret chamber.
She wanted to know what power lay within that could bring a planet back from the dead.
But she didn't know how much pain Xi Zhoumeng had to endure.
She was born sensitive to pain. Her food, clothing, and expenses were all extravagant and lavish—this was her compensation.
Many times, Xi Zhoumeng no longer wanted to live. She went from having many questions to having none, able to stare at the closed door without a ripple of emotion.
But later, she thought, Why not live? I haven't yet experienced what it means to be ordinary.
An ordinary life.
An ordinary family, an ordinary meeting of minds.
The queen, whose heart she had pierced with a single stab, never apologized to Xi Zhoumeng even in her dying moments.
She remained seated with impeccable grace, wearing a compassionate smile—
"I know you are a good child."
"You wouldn't… you wouldn't have the heart to let your people perish."
The born God's Arbiter, whom she had watched grow up, stood on the step below, yet still exuded an air of casual condescension.
The harmony between her body and soul prevented her from revealing the God's Arbiter's primitive form, but her pupils had become vertical slits, incomparably cold.
The other woman looked at Xi Zhoumeng as if gazing upon the most perfect work of art.
"You are the heaven-sent savior."
Xi Zhoumeng kept smiling. It was the kind of smile she had perfected since childhood.
A little less, and it would be a smile that didn't reach the eyes; a little more, and it would be radiant.
Empty and desolate, yet noble and awe-inspiring.
"Aren't you worried about the next century? I certainly won't be having any children."
The people of the capital planet had no idea that the royal city high above had long been washed in blood, that even the statues in the millennia-old buildings were stained with it.
The fragrance of flowers had turned into the thick stench of blood.
The former queen, pierced through the heart by a sword, shared several resemblances in her profile with Xi Zhoumeng.
She also looked very young. Even though many knew of Xi Zhoumeng's origins, seeing the queen and Xi Zhoumeng appear together at palace banquets would still give them the impression that the two were indeed mother and daughter.
"Is that something to worry about?"
The other woman gave a smile familiar to Xi Zhoumeng. It was the same look of gratification she would show every time the Magnetic Star Meteorite drained Xi Zhoumeng's power, from her childhood to her adolescence.
"This world is vast."
"You have read the consciousness of the past God's Arbiters within the Magnetic Star Meteorite. You know they were not lonely for their entire lives."
Xi Zhoumeng let out a cold laugh. "Is this your blessing for me?"
The other woman nodded. The ZR-Galaxy was the hegemon of the interstellar world she came from. If the capital planet exploded, all other star systems would be affected.
It might revert to its original state.
"Haven't you always wanted to leave this place?"
The ground was littered with the scattered corpses of their kin. No one had anticipated that the heir would do such a thing.
But Xi Zhoumeng was too strong. Even the royal guards couldn't harm her in the slightest.
In her world, the God's Arbiter surpassed all other powers.
Xi Zhoumeng shook her head. "It's not that I want to leave."
She lightly drew the slender blade. Its scabbard was encrusted with jewels, perfectly matching her own temperament.
No wealth could overshadow her aura, and no flower could be more fragrant than she.
Royalty were human too. Warm blood stained the jewels, and speckles of it splattered across Xi Zhoumeng's jade-like face.
She paid it no mind and, with one strike, severed the queen's head.
The delicate body slowly collapsed. Xi Zhoumeng tossed aside the long sword, shedding the etiquette that had been carved into her very bones over the years, and practically skipped down the steps.
She laughed with glee. The magnificent hall, both empty and full of people, was so silent that only her sorrowful cry could be heard.
She thought: It was you who didn't want me to leave.
This couldn't even be considered a coup. The royal power seemed to have changed hands, yet it also seemed not to have. The new master of the palace had no intention of lingering.
The attendants tactfully handled everything and watched as Xi Zhoumeng left the royal palace, known as the Garden in the Sky.
Yet, they always felt that this new monarch would not simply disappear into the bustling mortal world.
The day Xi Zhoumeng left the royal palace, it also rained heavily.
No matter how advanced technology became, humans still had the habit of seeking shelter from the rain. Xi Zhoumeng stood in the central square of the capital city, holding an umbrella.
She looked at the ancient, spire-topped castle, and beside it, a jarringly massive LED screen scrolled through the news.
"The succession ceremony for the new monarch of the ZR Royal Family has been suspended. All future proceedings will be simplified."
"Interstellar tourism is booming this year, leading to a sharp increase in personnel providing visa services…"
"The film adaptation of the famous IP 【Mecha Star River】 will begin ticket sales soon…"
Xi Zhoumeng didn't have an umbrella. She stood by a streetside café, gazing out at her kingdom in the downpour.
Nearby, girls in school uniforms were huddled together, chatting.
"Didn't they used to broadcast it live when a new monarch took the throne? Why not this time?"
"I thought we'd be just the right age to see it. My mom said it's super luxurious. It must be awesome to be a princess, right?"
"Maybe the new monarch is socially anxious. The last one was named Jiao, this one is Zhou. Sounds better than the last one, hahaha."
"Oh, right, speaking of which, have you read that really popular novel recently? The female lead got flamed for not being feminine enough and shot to number one in subscriptions…"
"The dark-skinned female lead? I read a little… Everyone likes to see beautiful girls being affectionate with each other, so it's understandable, I guess…"
Xi Zhoumeng stood there for a short while, and her ears started to hurt from listening.
She had never thought people could talk so much. After all, the people in the royal city were like mutes every day.
It was rather cute.
In a few words, the young girls shared a webpage, a book title, and some kind of forum post.
These were all things Xi Zhoumeng had never encountered before. She found it novel and glanced in their direction.
One of the little girls met her gaze and suddenly started to stammer.
"It's… it's this… this one…"
"This what?"
The other one also looked up, and both of them stared at Xi Zhoumeng.
Xi Zhoumeng smiled at them.
She was well aware of her own face. Her godmother had always praised her beauty, and she was always the most striking one in photos among all the royal family members.
Even with a scandal, she could make the "ugly" in "ugly scandal" ambiguous.
However, her real face had been reported on in the Lower World. After all, her biological mother loved socializing and lavish clothes; how could the matter of her having a child not be exposed?
Xi Zhoumeng had altered her face before coming out.
At this moment, she tilted her head and asked, "Is there something on my face?"
Did I change it too much?
She had no idea that the delicate skin she had been nurtured with for so many years was special enough on its own.
Snow-white skin and red lips were common in novels, but in reality, they mostly relied on filters and makeup.
Who else was like her, visibly bare-faced, aloof when not smiling, and bewitching when she did?
The two little girls shook their heads in unison.
Xi Zhoumeng was about to say something else when a wave of dizziness hit her. She gritted her teeth, turned, and walked away.
The planet's citizens knew nothing, only that the cycle of seasons and years was the rule of the planet.
But they didn't know that the rules were man-made.
Xi Zhoumeng had nearly exhausted her lifeblood, and her physical body was rapidly decaying. Only when the Magnetic Star Meteorite had absorbed everything from her could she truly die.
Unless… unless a new God's Arbiter appeared and killed her.
But that was almost impossible.
What was so good about being a God's Arbiter anyway?
Just a tool to inherit the throne for a few years. The one who had it easiest was the ordinary queen who succeeded the God's Arbiter.
But Xi Zhoumeng refused to let anyone have their way, and there would be no next successor.
As it happened, it was Valentine's Day in the capital city center, and there were exaggerated advertisements everywhere, inside and out.
The LED screens were all filled with grand dates featuring chocolates and lipsticks.
There were also lovers kissing and embracing on the streets without a care in the world.
Xi Zhoumeng stood by the roadside holding a new umbrella, inevitably enveloped by such a lively atmosphere.
She was not yet twenty years old; how could she not long to be loved?
But the moment this thought emerged, she shook her head with self-deprecation.
"Forget it."
"How could it be possible."
Now, it was another torrential downpour. Time seemed to have changed, yet it hadn't. Xi Zhoumeng was still twenty years old.
She held Chi Yueshan, listening to her chatter on and on in this situation, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"A heaven-sent savior."
"Can that be exchanged for a heaven-sent treasure?"
Holding Chi Yueshan, she ducked into the dense forest, avoiding the Zerg radiation that was spreading faster than the Zerg themselves, and stumbled into a dry cave.
Chi Yueshan was carefully placed to one side, but Xi Zhoumeng still refused to release the hand covering her eyes.
Chi Yueshan could no longer feel the wind and rain.
She let out a "Hey!" and said, "What's wrong? Where is this? Are you feeling better? I feel like your body is burning up."
"You're still in a lot of pain, aren't you? It's making me feel really uncomfortable too."
When she spoke to Xi Zhoumeng, her tone was actually very coquettish.
Xi Zhoumeng was too embarrassed to point it out, afraid that Chi Yueshan would fly into a rage from shame and bite her.
"Chi Yueshan."
Xi Zhoumeng called out her name.
Chi Yueshan reached out to touch Xi Zhoumeng and found that she was kneeling on one knee.
"What's wrong?"
They actually almost always called each other by their full names.
But a single name could usually convey many different emotions.
At this moment, Xi Zhoumeng's solemnity made Chi Yueshan panic.
"You're not in trouble, are you?"
"I felt something was wrong just now. Didn't you say you'd be fine?"
"Damn it, I knew I couldn't trust you on this. Have you ever considered that everyone would be worr—"
Chi Yueshan was really annoying, and super long-winded.
But for Xi Zhoumeng, who had been lonely for many, many years, this long-windedness was just the thing to make her feel a sense of liveliness.
Chi Yueshan was kissed squarely on the lips, and her hand, which had been clutching Xi Zhoumeng's collar, softened a little.
She tried to push her away, but Xi Zhoumeng pulled back slightly, only to kiss away the wetness on her face.
"Don't call me a monster."
Chi Yueshan hummed and hawed, reaching up to pinch the extra fluffy ears on top of Xi Zhoumeng's head. She was very curious, but her words were still stubborn: "You were already a siren to begin with."
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