This was the first time Bai Ci had ever sensed such pure, mocking derision from Shen Tan.
Aside from her two main modes—playing mute or cheerfully introducing her perfumes—it was rare to see Shen Tan in a sarcastic mood.
“Do you even know what love is?”
she asked in return. Her tone was airy, yet carried a condescending scrutiny, as if she were looking at an ignorant, self-deceiving joke.
Pricked by her attitude, Sang Lan's tone turned sharply impatient as he shot back directly.
“Of course I do! At least more than someone with a broken brain like you. I love Ci-mei'er, plain and simple.”
The words alone weren't enough to end the confrontation.
Yet, the moment they were uttered, the curtain fell on their standoff.
Shen Tan didn't reply. She simply stood there quietly, silently observing Sang Lan beside Bai Ci through her hazy veil.
Her gaze was slow and meticulous, as if she were peering through his flesh to examine the mutated soul within, or perhaps seriously weighing the truth of his words. The silence was eerie and oppressive.
A few seconds later, she spoke slowly, putting a final seal on their confrontation.
“It seems your brain is broken too. You can't even recognize who you are.”
After those words, Bai Ci had no idea how to smooth things over.
All three of them fell into silence.
Fortunately, this oppressive silence didn't last long.
Before long, the team leader's voice drifted over from nearby: “Everyone get in position for the rehearsal. Head to your stations and double-check your workflow.”
Hearing this, the three of them composed themselves and dispersed to focus on the rehearsal.
Holding her cue cards, Bai Ci pretended to look down and familiarize herself with the rehearsal script, but she was actually multitasking, opening her Rain's Message panel to take a look.
She didn't really expect to see anything new. Since the original Sang Lan was dead, she assumed there wouldn't be any changes on the panel.
At most, would his status change from "Deceased" to "Decaying"?
However, Shen Tan's remark about him not even recognizing who he was had caught Bai Ci's attention.
What if? What if Sang Lan had somehow won a resurrection match?
When she opened the Rain's Message panel and did a quick scan, she was stunned.
What was this?
An angel will love you in my stead?
Rain's Message NPC: Sang Lan II
Appearance: Male body with feminine features
Identity: Wedding Photographer / Yilan Star Devouring Evolutionary Species (semi-juvenile)
Relationship with Player: Lover / Strongly identifies with the lover identity, using the player as an anchor for its self-identity
Due to an accident involving the interstellar spaceship carrying it, it crashed on Earth and was forced to complete its incubation here. The process was interrupted by external forces, resulting in incomplete incubation and inherent defects. Its body has been completely replaced with a human form, and it fully accepts and identifies with Sang Lan's human identity.
Stats: Physicality 12, Spirit 2, Agility 10
Special Skill: Hymn of Life (Reshaped through replication and fusion, reborn through constant iteration, endless and everlasting.)
Status: Healthy, emotional module defect, reverse assimilation
Wow. This was a massive info dump. Bai Ci's brain momentarily lagged.
First of all, the thing replacing people in this village wasn't some supernatural entity, but a sci-fi one.
It was a Devouring Evolutionary Species from Yilan Star.
In short, an alien.
As for the one replacing Sang Lan, whoever interrupted its incubation process had done a real number on it, leaving it incompletely incubated. It was still basically a half-grown baby.
With a Spirit stat of only 2—while Sang Lan's was a full four times that—how could it defend itself?
Lo and behold, it had been reverse-assimilated by Sang Lan's memories and emotions.
To what extent did this Sang Lan II identify with his persona?
To the point where the Rain's Message panel had bound to it without a hitch, recognizing the legitimacy of his identity as "II".
The last person to run three accounts like this was Fu Liu.
But he actually had mental issues; his three accounts represented three entirely different mental states.
Before Bai Ci could fully process and digest this massive info dump, a sudden clamor from her surroundings snapped her thoughts back to reality.
“Fire! The apiary is on fire!”
“Hurry! Go put it out! If the honey jars in the apiary burn down, we're finished!”
The Red Church wasn't far from the apiary on the back mountain, so the thick black smoke billowing into the sky, laced with crimson flames, was completely visible from where they stood.
Aside from the wedding planning team and Shen Tan, there were also several villagers hired to help with the rehearsal at the Red Church.
Now, before their very eyes, the entire apiary area on the back mountain was engulfed in a raging fire.
The villagers panicked instantly. Forgetting all about the ceremony rehearsal, their faces filled with anxiety as they clamored to put out the fire.
Tossing aside whatever tools they held, they scrambled and raced toward the back mountain.
The rehearsal scene at the Red Church instantly dissolved into chaos.
Wang Dong reacted quickly, having already positioned himself beside the team leader.
Seeing the situation, he asked for instructions: “Team leader, should we continue the rehearsal? Should we go over and help put out the fire?”
The team leader looked at the soaring flames in the distance, his expression grave. After a brief pause, he said immediately, “Go. The more hands, the better. Try your best to help salvage the supplies.”
With that, the members of the wedding team also set off, following the crowd toward the back mountain to help fight the fire.
Everyone hurried along with tense expressions.
Everyone except Shen Tan.
She remained sitting quietly in her spot, perched on one of the plastic chairs lined up in the open space, not saying a word, not moving an inch.
Her head was bowed, the veil covering her face and hiding all emotion. Her aura was incredibly peaceful, as if whatever happened had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Walking along with the crowd, Bai Ci felt a strange sensation stir in her heart. Her steps faltered, and she found herself turning back to look.
Just then, a cool mountain breeze swept through, fluttering the loose, flowing white dress Shen Tan wore.
The loose fabric billowed in the wind, only to fall back down a moment later.
In that brief instant, Bai Ci clearly caught a glimpse of the outline beneath the dress.
Hidden under the wide hem of the skirt was something with a very structured, bulky shape—definitely not the form of a young girl's body.
What was it?
Before Bai Ci could think any further, the crowd pushed her forward. She had no choice but to suppress her doubts and quicken her pace to keep up, heading toward the fire on the back mountain.
The fire at the back mountain apiary was far more intense than expected. The dry vegetation and wooden beams caught fire instantly. Waves of heat rolled over them, and the thick smoke stung their eyes.
Some villagers fetched water from nearby, while others risked their lives rushing into the flames to salvage supplies. Everyone was frantically busy, and no one had the time to pay attention to what these outsiders were doing.
Rate on N.U.
