Section 145: All Caused by the Wine-Red Tear
From that day onward, Ye Zhong's life became incredibly busy. Every day was packed full, as if Madman Guan was trying to find his limits. For the first time, Ye Zhong discovered that a Bio-Fermer's work actually demanded significant physical stamina. If not for his own physical strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person, he would have long since collapsed from exhaustion.
Once again, Ye Zhong brought surprise to Madman Guan. His seemingly quite slender body possessed stamina far beyond the norm, as if he were always full of energy. Moreover, his comprehension was exceptionally high, and he picked up skills extremely quickly. His pair of long, pale hands were incredibly agile, as if born for Bio-Ferming, making Madman Guan quite envious. In order to "torment" Ye Zhong, Madman Guan ended up investing her own time as well, having much less time to drink than before. Often, she completely forgot about drinking altogether. Of course, Ye Zhong wasn't foolish enough to remind her. Gradually, Madman Guan forgot her original intention and taught Ye Zhong with increasing seriousness. Without even realizing it herself, she had begun to regard Ye Zhong as her true student!
One taught vigorously, the other learned diligently. Ye Zhong's progress was extremely rapid!
Ye Zhong could finally breathe a slight sigh of relief, as this phase of learning had finally concluded. Madman Guan specifically gave him a few days off. By now, Ye Zhong was fully capable of handling the preparation of the Enhancement Fluid himself. For a true Bio-Fermer, knowing the formula made it a very simple matter. From Old Man Hei's perspective, Ye Zhong's learning task was already complete.
Enjoying this rare leisure time, Ye Zhong casually carved some small objects with minor bone materials to keep his hands practiced and prevent them from getting rusty—though one shouldn't expect Ye Zhong to have any artistic talent. What he carved turned out to be model mechas. He hadn't brought his specialized engraving knife; he used the dagger Gu Shaoze had given him.
Satisfied, Ye Zhong looked at the piece in his hand, then returned the dagger to his waist pouch. Suddenly, inside the pouch, he saw the Wine-Red Tear he had taken from the little girl. Remembering the various pieces of information Mu had mentioned about this stone, Ye Zhong became very interested.
"Shang, Mu said the Wine-Red Tear changes color when it encounters alcohol, is that true?"
"Hmm, according to the information database, that should be correct! Besides, you can just test it out yourself!" Shang said nonchalantly.
"Right, testing it will tell. Hmm, alcohol... Madman Guan should have plenty here, right?" Would Madman Guan's place lack alcohol? Of course not.
Ye Zhong found Madman Guan leaning against the doorframe, sitting on the floor, holding a wine cup, gazing blankly outside in a daze.
"Can I borrow some of your wine?" Ye Zhong felt it was better to ask directly. Although both were teachers, Ye Zhong couldn't treat Madman Guan the same way he treated Old Man Hei, probably due to the age difference.
"Wine?" Startled by Ye Zhong, Madman Guan turned her head, looking at him with great surprise, seemingly unable to process Ye Zhong's request for wine. When her eyes swept over Ye Zhong's right hand, her pupils suddenly dilated, and her breathing abruptly became heavy!
Does she recognize the Wine-Red Tear? This question flashed through Ye Zhong's mind. His sharp eyes noticed Madman Guan's jade-like hand tremble slightly, a few drops of wine splashing out. Almost simultaneously, Ye Zhong took a small step forward, his right hand shooting out like lightning.
Plop. One of the drops accurately landed on the Wine-Red Tear in Ye Zhong's right hand. In the blink of an eye, the originally unremarkable-looking stone began to blush like it was drunk, a faint rosy glow spreading at a visible speed. Then, the pale red glow spread outwards like ripples. Immediately, this rosy hue covered the entire stone. The teardrop-shaped Wine-Red Tear now resembled a piece of pale red jade, warm and lovely.
The changes didn't stop. The red grew deeper and deeper. Within just a few minutes, the Wine-Red Tear transformed from pale red to an exceptionally bewitching deep crimson. The entire pendant looked like a vivid drop of blood, radiant and enticing.
Ye Zhong, his attention completely focused on the Wine-Red Tear, completely failed to notice Madman Guan's expression changing drastically along with the transformation of the stone in his hand! Madman Guan stared fixedly at the Wine-Red Tear in Ye Zhong's hand, her face filled with disbelief, her expression shifting uncertainly.
Holding the Wine-Red Tear, Ye Zhong felt it come alive, actually emitting warmth, truly like a semi-solidified drop of blood. Ye Zhong couldn't help but marvel inwardly—it really was marvelous! He wondered if this thing had any other wondrous aspects worth anticipating.
At that moment, Ye Zhong caught a faint, delicate fragrance. He froze for a moment; Mu's description of its changes hadn't mentioned any fragrance. Ye Zhong brought the necklace closer to his nose. Hmm, it wasn't the pendant. Uh, it was actually this seemingly very old cord. But the scent was really pleasant, giving a very tranquil feeling.
"Fragrant, isn't it? Don't look down on this unremarkable cord; it's woven from Sky Lantern Grass. It's very sturdy, and when it encounters a little heat, it emits a fragrance that calms the mind and steadies the spirit. It's quite rare!" Madman Guan's voice came softly.
"Sky Lantern Grass?" Ye Zhong looked up, but was taken aback to find Madman Guan's face frighteningly pale, her eyes fixed intently on the necklace in Ye Zhong's hand.
What's wrong with her? The question rose in Ye Zhong's mind. Although he didn't know exactly what was happening, he could see that Madman Guan was not acting normally.
"Sky Lantern Grass is a plant unique to Guanghua Star. There, people believe it represents peace and good fortune, so they like to use it as ornaments. Among the local Bio-Fermers, it's also an excellent material." Madman Guan's faint voice drifted through the room, but her eyes still hadn't left the necklace in Ye Zhong's hand.
Ye Zhong reached out and offered the necklace to Madman Guan.
Madman Guan hesitated, as if struggling. Mist gradually welled up in her eyes, finally overflowing like a filled pool. Tears silently traced down her pale cheeks. Her lips were bloodless from being pressed too tightly. Trembling, she stretched out her right hand, slowly reaching towards the necklace in Ye Zhong's right hand.
When her fingertips touched the teardrop-shaped Wine-Red Tear, the敏锐的 Ye Zhong sensed her body shudder violently. At that moment, Ye Zhong completely understood that this necklace was truly deeply connected to Madman Guan.
Taking the necklace from Ye Zhong, Madman Guan could no longer hold back. Covering her mouth with her left hand, she began to sob softly.
Ye Zhong quietly left.
Back in his room, Ye Zhong was communicating with Shang.
"Shang, do you know what exactly is going on?" Ye Zhong first expressed his confusion; from start to finish, he had been completely in the dark.
"Based on her reaction, this necklace probably has a deep connection to her," Shang's reply was listless.
"Connection?" Ye Zhong still couldn't figure it out.
"Most likely it's related to some relative or something."
"Her relative? How do you know?" Ye Zhong asked, puzzled.
"Ah, you don't even understand such a simple thing? Ah, well, someone like you probably wouldn't spend time watching movies or the like, so it's perfectly normal for you not to understand! But, do you have any other better ideas?" Shang's tone was sarcastic.
"No!" Ye Zhong replied exceptionally bluntly.
"Well, there you have it!"
"Shang, are you sure you're not malfunctioning?" Ye Zhong asked with concern. Accustomed to Shang's chattering, its current quietness felt very unfamiliar to Ye Zhong.
"Malfunction? Me, malfunction? The probability is very small. Even logic errors that are fatal for ordinary optical simulation intelligences aren't completely fatal for me, so you don't need to worry about that, Leaf. As for my current state, it's because Mu and I are trying to recover some of the damaged data. Ninety percent of the optical brain's resources are being used for that," Shang explained.
"Damaged data? Left over from before?" Ye Zhong asked.
"Yes, we found that part of it has a certain possibility of being repaired, so we started trying some methods to restore it. But it seems the effect isn't very good right now!"
"Oh, don't be too hasty!" That was all Ye Zhong could offer as comfort.
Knock, knock. A knocking sound came from the door.
With Ye Zhong's hearing, he had long since detected Madman Guan's footsteps. Her act of knocking surprised him quite a bit; barging in directly seemed more in line with her habits.
He looked up as Madman Guan entered the room. Her eyes were severely swollen and red, tear stains still visible on her face. Madman Guan came straight to the point: "Where did you get this necklace?"
Where did I get it? Ye Zhong was about to speak when he suddenly realized that would reveal his connection with the Guardians. Ye Zhong wisely chose to remain silent. He couldn't trust Madman Guan the way he trusted Old Man Hei and the others.
"Say it quickly!" Seeing Ye Zhong silent, Madman Guan grew anxious.
Ye Zhong remained silent. He understood that silence was the best way to protect himself right now.
A strange light flashed in Madman Guan's eyes, as if something passed through her mind. She let out a soft sigh. "You really won't say?"
Still intending to maintain his silence, Ye Zhong suddenly found the scene before him growing increasingly blurry. Colors swirled before his eyes. Shang's anxious voice seemed to come from a great distance. Ye Zhong even felt somewhat dazed, unsure what was happening. He was just about to call out to Shang when darkness fell before his eyes, and he lost consciousness.
Madman Guan looked at Ye Zhong lying on the floor and sighed softly, "Little Leaf, I didn't want to do this either, but since you won't tell me, I have to find out myself."
Madman Guan immediately closed all the outer doors. Then, ignoring Ye Zhong lying unconscious on the floor, she quickly walked into the innermost room and carefully retrieved several reagent bottles from a corner of the counter.
Madman Guan concentrated fully, her hands moving in a dazzling flurry. If Ye Zhong had been awake, he would surely have marveled at the skill and finesse of her actions. Before long, a vial of pale purple reagent appeared before her.
Holding the reagent bottle carefully, she examined it against the light. Within the pale purple glow, several extremely fine silver bright lines were clearly visible.
"That should be it," Madman Guan murmured to herself.
She quickly walked over to Ye Zhong, squatted down, placed the reagent bottle under his nose, and opened the stopper. A wisp of pale purple mist rose,夹杂着极其细微的银芒星点. The mist coiled like a spirit snake, entering Ye Zhong's nostrils.
A flicker of apology passed through Madman Guan's dazed eyes, quickly replaced by a certain resolve.