Chapter 148

Ye Zheng looked around. She was standing on the shore of Amber Lake. The lake surface was calm, without a single ripple, and there was no sign of any boats. Only the wind occasionally blew through the forest, rustling the leaves and branches.

She suddenly thought of something and reached into her bosom, taking out a pocket watch. The time showed exactly 10:15.

Ye Zheng, who had been busy fighting earlier, hadn’t paid attention to the time. She only remembered that they had left the rest area at 9 o’clock, then reached the lake, tangled with the vortex, shared a boat with the Cloud Soarers team, and finally killed Wen Xiaoxing. Roughly an hour had passed.

Now it was 10:15. Time didn’t seem to have gone backward. Ye Zheng even wondered whether she had lost a segment of her memory, for example, after killing Wen Xiaoxing, the boat had been damaged in an accident and she and the others had been washed ashore.

“Ye Zheng, why are you here?”

A familiar voice sounded behind her. Ye Zheng turned her head and saw Pei Xi, who had suddenly appeared, looking at her in confusion.

Ye Zheng narrowed her eyes slightly and examined Pei Xi’s dark blue coat. Why had he changed his clothes?

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Kyle—”

Under the warm sunlight, a nearly transparent water thread refracted a blinding light. Pei Xi’s blue pupils contracted sharply. In the next instant, his hand clutched his slashed throat as blood flowed out from between his fingers.

“No… you’re not Ye Zheng…”

He coughed up blood and glared at her with anger and disbelief.

“Hmm? It seems the ‘Ye Zheng’ of this world treats you quite well.”

The blood-stained water thread dissolved into Ye Zheng’s palm. She stared curiously at the black-haired, blue-eyed boy. Although she really wanted to ask what had happened in this world, she needed to return to her original world as quickly as possible.

The way this world’s Pei Xi looked at her was natural and full of concern. His temperament was also brighter, as if he had a good relationship with her. Combined with his different clothing and the confusion in his voice, Ye Zheng immediately judged that something was wrong with this place.

“Rewind time to one minute ago, Pei Xi. That’s your only way to survive.”

Ye Zheng stepped forward. Her gaze toward him carried a coaxing, persuasive quality. However, the black-haired, blue-eyed boy looked at her as if he had seen a monster. He kept retreating until he accidentally fell backward onto the ground.

No matter what kind of strange place this was, as long as she killed Pei Xi, it would trigger his time regression and send her back to the moment before she killed Wen Xiaoxing.

Ye Zheng guessed that the activation condition for Wen Xiaoxing’s ability was his own death. This time, she would not rashly kill Wen Xiaoxing again.

Wen Xiaoxing had claimed that Wen Jian had spent a considerable price to maintain him, this monster. It seemed that this time Wen Jian had really gone all out to eliminate her as a threat. An ability that could control space and time was simply even more exaggerated than Pei Xi, the protagonist.

Ye Zheng quietly watched Pei Xi, who was lying on the ground. Her black eyes suppressed her emotions.

“Re… rewind!”

Pei Xi’s face twitched. From his blood-filled throat came the indistinct words “rewind.” Ye Zheng gave him an encouraging smile. Just as she waited for the regression, a white light once again robbed her of her vision!

Ye Zheng suddenly lost all perception. Even her body became so light that it felt weightless, as if every sense had been stripped away in that instant.

The sound of wind rushed past her ears. The unique fresh scent of decaying dead leaves mixed with soil lingered at the tip of her nose. Ye Zheng’s eyelids twitched once, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

“Saintess, where are your teammates?”

A familiar voice sounded behind her. Ye Zheng paused for a moment, then slowly turned her head. Her cold, sharp face softened the instant she turned. She showed an expression of surprise as she looked at the newcomer, her tone carrying a trace of uncertain vulnerability.

“Wu Shu? Have you seen them? I accidentally got separated.”

Wu Shu, wearing a tight-fitting black long dress, raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms. “I haven’t seen Pei Xi or the others. Shouldn’t your Cloud Soarers team be on the opposite side of the lake?”

Ye Zheng’s eyes darkened. Just like the previous world, in this world the “Ye Zheng” was also a member of the Cloud Soarers team.

She quickly glanced at the skin exposed at Wu Shu’s waist. In other words, everything was the same as the original plot.

“Why are you here?”

Wu Shu asked sharply.

“…Ah, we encountered an attack on the lake.”

Ye Zheng answered absent-mindedly. She took out her pocket watch and looked at it. The time had reached 10:20.

Time was continuously moving forward, and at the same time, she had once again been sent to a different world.

『You accepted the existence of world lines quite quickly.』

“I thought you hadn’t followed me.”

Ye Zheng was somewhat surprised. When she had killed Pei Xi in the previous world, the system had issued no warning and deducted no action points. She had even thought that the system would no longer exist after she switched worlds.

『……I will always be here. No matter which world line you are sent to, it makes little difference to me.』

『Ye Zheng, I will try my best to stay with you.』

Ye Zheng frowned imperceptibly. The system’s attitude felt a little strange. Perhaps she simply wasn’t used to such overly sentimental words yet.

“Never mind.” Wu Shu looked at Ye Zheng for a moment and said, “You should follow us for now. As a healer, it’s better if you don’t wander around alone.”

Wu Shu, dressed in a black dress, looked at the Saintess who radiated a harmless, innocent aura and decided to temporarily take her in. Although the sudden appearance of the other party here was quite strange.

The Cloud Soarers team captain, Pei Xi, was an upright person who didn’t play dirty tricks. Saintess Ye Zheng had a gentle personality and her ability was non-offensive. Wu Shu wasn’t worried that this was some kind of scheme. Besides, she was usually the one who schemed against others, not the other way around.

Ye Zheng obediently followed behind Wu Shu. Until she figured out the nature of 【Fate Singularity】, she decided not to act rashly. She would first observe what kind of world this was.

She turned her head and glanced at the several boys behind her. They were Wu Shu’s teammates and were secretly sizing her up. When they saw her turn around, they started making noisy, teasing comments in moderate voices. Some of them even blushed.

Ye Zheng stopped walking, tilted her head in apparent confusion, and fixed her pitch-black eyes straight on them. The piercing, bone-chilling coldness in her gaze made them freeze in place instantly, as if they had been thrown into an icy wasteland. Their rosy faces turned deathly pale in an instant.

Wu Shu, who was walking ahead, seemed to sense something and turned back to look at Ye Zheng. “What’s wrong?”

Ye Zheng slowly turned around and walked side by side with her again. “Nothing. Their pace is too slow and would only drag you down.”

From the attitude of Wu Shu’s team, Ye Zheng could tell that in this world, Saintess Ye Zheng was probably treated as nothing more than a mascot for the Church. In her own world, these people would never have dared to show such frivolous behavior.

“Are you feeling cold? I’ll have them bring you another coat.”

Wu Shu offered kindly. When her own interests and goals weren’t being threatened, she was always very friendly, generous, and helpful — even though this friendly mask was also worn for the sake of achieving her objectives.

“No need, I…”

Before she could finish, a cold gust of wind suddenly blew past. Ye Zheng realized that it really was a bit chilly. She looked down at herself and froze.

She was wearing a thin white long dress. The long sleeves were made of semi-transparent white gauze, and over it she had a short jacket. This jacket was the one she had been wearing all along. Her pocket watch, gun, and some small items were all stored in the inner pockets.

In the previous world, her clothing hadn’t changed. But in this third world, it seemed even less friendly toward her.

Seeing that Ye Zheng seemed lost in thought, Wu Shu thought for a moment and suddenly realized. “Sorry, you’re the Saintess, you shouldn’t… Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any extra clothes myself.”

Ye Zheng temporarily pulled herself out of her thoughts. She glanced at Wu Shu’s outfit, which was even thinner than hers. This was the outfit Wu Shu had worn when she first appeared. Later, after she made the Crown Prince wear the same style, Wu Shu had immediately thrown it away in disgust.

In this world, both “Ye Zheng” and “Wu Shu” seemed to be nothing more than tools in the original plot.

Ye Zheng felt that after she killed Wen Xiaoxing, she should have entered the original plot line. But why, after Pei Xi used his time regression ability, had she jumped to a third world line?

…There was still too little information. She would have to observe more.

She let out a long breath, then turned to Wu Shu and gave her a smile. “I’m wearing more than you are. Don’t worry about me.”

“My body is much stronger than yours, you…”

Wu Shu wanted to say something more, but Ye Zheng took hold of her slightly cold hand.

Feeling the lingering warmth of Ye Zheng’s palm, Wu Shu’s hand reacted as though it had been lightly scalded. Ye Zheng’s grip had been firmer and steadier than she’d expected. Just as Wu Shu was about to instinctively pull away and struggle free, Ye Zheng released her hand first.

A faint trace of emptiness and confusion flickered through Wu Shu’s eyes. She couldn’t quite understand where this strange feeling was coming from. Then, without warning, a jacket was gently draped over her shoulders.

Ye Zheng looked at Wu Shu now wearing the jacket and gave a small, satisfied nod of approval. Wu Shu’s sleeveless, high-necked, tight-fitting top made even her feel cold just by looking at it.

Without any hesitation, Ye Zheng suddenly slipped her hand into the jacket now resting on Wu Shu. Before Wu Shu could even react, she was startled by the unexpected movement. The Saintess calmly pulled a gun out from inside the jacket.

“The jacket’s yours now.”

As for the small, useful items, of course she still needed to keep those with her.

Ye Zheng hung the pocket watch neatly around her neck and held the gun firmly in her right hand. She blinked once, then reached in again and took out a mirror from the jacket as well. This was the same mirror the black shadow had left behind on the door of the rest area.

Wu Shu adjusted the jacket around her shoulders, pulling it slightly tighter. It felt strange. She hadn’t felt cold at all while wearing short sleeves earlier, but after putting on this jacket, she suddenly became aware of the surrounding temperature. The wind was indeed chilly, yet the lingering warmth trapped within the jacket’s lining was enough to keep her comfortably warm.

For a brief moment, she found herself unexpectedly unwilling to refuse this seemingly useless “gift” from Ye Zheng. It really was strange.

“Thank you… Ye Zheng.”

Wu Shu, who was usually so skilled at socializing and choosing her words, suddenly didn’t know what to say in this moment. When she met Ye Zheng’s smiling eyes, she felt as though there was no need to add anything more.

Wu Shu’s smile softened and became more genuine. This version of Ye Zheng was actually quite interesting. Why hadn’t she noticed before that the Church’s little Saintess had such a side to her?

“Let’s go. If we delay any longer, I’m afraid your Cloud Soarers team might end up winning the championship.”

Wu Shu half-jokingly slung her arm around Ye Zheng’s shoulders. Ye Zheng, however, suddenly turned her head and leaned in close to her ear.

“Wu Shu, do you want to win? I can help you.”

Seeing the sudden shift in Wu Shu’s expression, a clear mix of doubt and shock, Ye Zheng’s smile only grew softer and more gentle.

Even if this world seemed to be unfolding along the original plotline, Wu Shu was still Wu Shu. She possessed both ambition and the capability to act on it.

Her fingers brushed lightly against the hidden pocket sewn into her white dress. A dress like this shouldn’t have pockets, yet the “Ye Zheng” of this world was just like her, she enjoyed making small, practical modifications to her clothing for convenience.

This world appeared to be progressing according to the original storyline, but was the “Ye Zheng” here truly nothing more than the hollow, beautiful, tool-like character described in that original narrative?

Ye Zheng felt that perhaps the “Ye Zheng” of this world simply lacked a system and the action points that could’ve helped her break free from that invisible control.

Wu Shu stared at Ye Zheng for a long moment, slowly pulling herself back from her initial shock. The kindest and most gentle member of the Cloud Soarers team was actually willing to betray her own teammates just to help her? Was this really Ye Zheng? Or was she some kind of shape-shifting aberrant creature, or perhaps an ability user in disguise?

Ye Zheng wasn’t surprised by Wu Shu’s reaction at all. In this world, “Ye Zheng” had always been part of the Cloud Soarers team and likely had no personal interactions with Wu Shu before, so it was only natural that she wouldn’t believe her so easily.

Still, she had no idea how long she would remain in this world. It would be wiser to secure an ally here as well, just in case some unforeseen crisis arose.

Since she and Wu Shu had already formed a cooperation and made a promise in the original world, then in every world, Ye Zheng would keep that promise and help Wu Shu win all the way to the end.

“Try trusting me, Wu Shu.”

Ye Zheng gave her a playful wink and said nothing further, leaving Wu Shu the space and time to think it through. She believed that the Wu Shu in any world would make the most rational and correct choice.

In a lightened mood, she casually glanced around at the surrounding environment. Yet the instant her gaze landed on a white figure slowly emerging from the depths of the forest, her dark pupils shrank sharply.

“Ye Zheng, I really can trust you—”

After thinking intensely for quite a long time, Wu Shu finally lifted her eyes to look at the girl standing beside her. Her expression hardened with resolve. Yet Ye Zheng was staring past her, her face filled with shock.

Wu Shu abruptly turned around, following Ye Zheng’s line of sight, her expression sharpening with vigilance as she assumed danger was silently approaching them.

But the moment she clearly saw the figure walking toward them from not far away, Wu Shu was so stunned that her mouth dropped open.

“…Ye Zheng?”

Wu Shu turned her head back. The smiling Saintess who had been standing beside her had already vanished. Her pupils quivered violently as she clutched the jacket draped over her body tightly.

✧✧✧✧✧

When the blinding white light once again stripped away all her senses, Ye Zheng moved from shock and surprise back into calm. After catching the faint fishy scent of the lake water, she slowly opened her eyes once more.

This time, she had returned to the lakeside again.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze to the pocket watch in her hand. It read 10:50. Another half hour had slipped by.

She glanced around her surroundings. This time, there didn’t seem to be anyone familiar nearby. She simply sat down on the ground and lowered her head, staring at the damp, muddy earth.

Why had she been sent into another world again?

Ye Zheng decided she should first sort through everything that had happened up to this point.

Her finger traced a line across the muddy ground.

Ye Zheng sketched out a timeline and briefly marked the key events that had occurred during each world line jump beside the corresponding time points.

Sometime between 10:00 and 10:15, she had killed Wen Xiaoxing in the main world and then jumped to the second world, where she encountered Pei Xi.

At 10:15, she killed the Pei Xi of the second world.

At 10:20, she jumped into the third world, met Wu Shu… and then saw the “Ye Zheng” of that third world.

At 10:50, she arrived in the third world.

Summarizing the possible factors that could’ve triggered the world line jumps: killing Wen Xiaoxing, killing Pei Xi, seeing another version of herself…

Ye Zheng felt a faint ache form in her head. If she considered the first two points, the trigger for jumping might’ve been the killing of key characters. However, she hadn’t harmed anyone in the third world just now.

Before the white light had appeared, she had seen another version of herself. Ye Zheng had originally believed that her consciousness had transferred into the “Ye Zheng” of each world, but she hadn’t expected them to exist independently.

That was right. The black shadow she had seen outside the rest area had indeed been another “Ye Zheng.”

Two Ye Zhengs could exist within the same world line at the same time.

But Ye Zheng’s intuition told her it would be best not to approach another version of herself recklessly. Something irreversible might occur.

Could it be that the meeting of two Ye Zhengs had triggered yet another jump?

Ye Zheng’s finger hesitated as it traced circles along the ground. Although she had seen that “Ye Zheng,” the other “Ye Zheng” wouldn’t have noticed her from that angle.

Her finger suddenly came to a stop. Ye Zheng recalled that right before the jump, Wu Shu seemed to have said something to her?

At that moment, because she had seen another version of herself, she’d been so shocked that she stood there dazed for quite a while, and so she hadn’t noticed what Wu Shu was saying…

Thinking about it now, it seemed the white light had only appeared after Wu Shu spoke!

“Ye Zheng, I really can trust you…”

Ye Zheng recalled Wu Shu’s words from that time. Her tone had clearly shown that she’d already thought it through and was about to agree to cooperate with her.

Killing Wen Xiaoxing, killing Pei Xi, and Wu Shu agreeing to cooperate what exactly was the connection between these three points?

Ye Zheng pressed her lips tightly together. The usually composed and unhurried Saintess rarely felt this kind of irritation.

It was simply too unlucky. Every single time things were about to undergo a decisive change, every time she thought victory was already within her grasp, the world line would suddenly jump like this!

Wait, change, turning point, jump… Ye Zheng first showed a flicker of disbelief, then let out a cold laugh. She stood up from the ground and looked down at the timeline drawn across the muddy earth.

It was Wen Xiaoxing using 【Fate Singularity】 to stop her. Every time she was about to break free from her predicament and become a threat to him, the world line would automatically jump.

In the second world, her clothing had still been normal, but by the third world, her clothes had already begun to change to match the original plot.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze. She was still wearing the white dress from the previous world, and this time her boots had turned into delicate leather shoes.

Every time she tried to defy fate, 【Fate Singularity】 would force her into an even worse world!

Even after figuring out the reason behind the world jumps, Ye Zheng’s expression didn’t relax in the slightest. She took a deep breath, her face filled with confusion.

“What am I supposed to do?”

Ye Zheng asked herself.

✧✧✧✧✧

“Wen Xiaoxing, where’s Ye Zheng? Wasn’t she just with you a moment ago?”

The vortex had already vanished, and the boat had stabilized. Pei Xi ran to the bow, only to find Wen Xiaoxing standing alone by the railing.

The brown-haired boy tilted his head, revealing a puzzled expression.

“Ye Zheng? Who’s Ye Zheng?”

Pei Xi frowned at first. He opened his mouth to question him, but realized he didn’t know what to say. Then a trace of confusion flickered across his face, and his blue eyes froze.

That’s right. Who was Ye Zheng?

Seeing the confusion on Pei Xi’s face, Wen Xiaoxing turned his head away and covered his mouth with his hand, laughing silently until his shoulders trembled.

【Fate Singularity】 had already pulled Ye Zheng out of this world. Every trace she’d left behind here would slowly disappear.

Since Ye Zheng no longer existed, the fact that he had been killed by her naturally no longer counted.

After laughing to his heart’s content, Wen Xiaoxing noticed that Pei Xi was still muttering Ye Zheng’s name. He walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

“Stop thinking about it. Just from the name, she sounds like some annoying background character. There’s no need to care about her at all.”

“But… but…”

“Pei Xi, let’s hurry and track down that big fish. We can’t let it get away.”

Wen Xiaoxing draped his arm over Pei Xi’s shoulders, and the two of them headed to the deck to join the others.

Aside from him, everyone in this world would gradually forget Ye Zheng.

As for Ye Zheng, who was drifting across other world lines, she’d continue wandering endlessly until she encountered another version of herself, and at that point, annihilation would occur.

If fate were an ocean, then every time Ye Zheng tried to rise to the surface, 【Fate Singularity】 would mercilessly push her back down. This was the most exquisite ending Wen Xiaoxing had designed for her.

The harder Ye Zheng struggled to break free from her predicament, the farther she’d drift from the main world. She would never be able to reach a successful fate!

✧✧✧✧✧

“What the hell kind of plot setting is this?!”

After skimming through the new plot, Fang Jue, who’d been staying up late doing coloring work, instantly lost all trace of sleepiness. She was so agitated she nearly flipped her desk.

“This Wen Xiaoxing and this ability are completely unreasonable!”

She immediately put down her pen, picked up her phone, and was about to question that man. After thinking it through, she decided to send a message to Editor Sister Lin instead.

Although 『Throne of the Aberrant Realm』 was mainly a shonen manga centered on ability-based battles, its power system had always been fairly grounded and easy to follow. Wen Xiaoxing’s ability, however, stood out sharply as an anomaly, feeling unnaturally overpowered and completely out of place.

Moreover, his assigned mission target wasn’t the protagonist Pei Xi, but the villain Ye Zheng. Did the old uncle and the company truly intend to remove Ye Zheng from the board at this point?

Had they lost their minds?

Even though Fang Jue wasn’t the main artist, as the colorist assistant she’d invested almost as much time, effort, and emotional attachment into the characters as the old uncle himself.

Fang Jue was so furious that the tone of her message to the editor came across as extremely harsh. It was only after she sent it that she realized just how rude it sounded. She was just about to retract it when the other side replied.

【I also think they’ve lost their minds.】

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Authors Note  

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I’ll do my best to update more frequently and write Zhengzheng’s escape and counterattack as soon as I can.