Chapter 22: The Uncontrollable Form and a Desperate Gamble

‘Why had she suddenly transformed into this heart-shaped form, and at such a crucial juncture?’

Gu Qing attempted to revert, only to discover her efforts were futile.

She found herself irrevocably trapped in this peculiar form.

A wave of inner turmoil washing over her, Gu Qing spun around, intent on making a discreet escape.

“Stop right there!”

Qin Lan, with a swift stride, blocked Gu Qing’s path, her expression grave.

“Tian Lanxing, what exactly is going on with you?”

She couldn’t fathom how the other’s appearance and demeanor could undergo such a drastic transformation so suddenly.

A startling conjecture began to form in her mind.

‘Could this pink-haired girl be Tian Lanxing’s true form, prior to her transformation?’

Yet, she appeared far too youthful to be the legendary hero.

“This, this young miss…”

Realizing she had inadvertently misspoken once more, Gu Qing hastily amended her words.

“I… I don’t know what happened, it just… suddenly turned out this way, and I can’t change back.”

A faint blush crept across her cheeks, and her eyes darted away, betraying a distinct air of guilt.

Qin Lan’s brow furrowed even tighter.

‘This young miss?’

She had acutely picked up on that particular form of address.

“What exactly happened to you?” Qin Lan pressed, “I can’t shake the feeling that not only your appearance, but even your personality has shifted.”

“I’m perfectly fine!”

Gu Qing instantly bristled.

“This… I, my affairs are none of your concern!”

She stammered, desperately trying to suppress that cursed verbal tic.

‘What on earth is wrong with me?’

An intense wave of shame washed over her, threatening to drown her entirely.

It felt more unbearable than death itself.

She struggled desperately to maintain her composure, yet her eyes uncontrollably reddened.

A few crystalline tears escaped, tracing paths down the young girl’s cheeks.

Qin Lan froze.

‘What was she seeing?’

Tian Lanxing was actually shedding tears!

In all her memories, the perpetually calm and formidable Tian Lanxing would never, ever cry.

Even seventeen years prior, when confronted with an unfathomable catastrophe and the sacrifice of her dearest friend, she had merely clenched her fists in stoic silence.

Yet now, she was weeping?

Qin Lan’s heart plummeted, a dreadful realization flashing through her mind.

‘Was the person before her truly Tian Lanxing?’

She quickly quashed the notion, however.

When Tian Lanxing had first joined Aegis, she had already passed through the covertly installed stellar energy detector.

Her identity was absolutely beyond doubt.

Observing the girl’s vulnerable state, she had a strong inkling of the situation at hand.

“Tian Lanxing-senpai has encountered a slight mishap, everyone please leave,” Qin Lan announced, her voice regaining its usual calm.

Though the individuals in the conference room were riddled with questions, they promptly obeyed the command.

Soon, only Qin Lan and Gu Qing remained in the room.

Qin Lan walked to the door and double-locked it from the inside.

“Alright, no one else is here now.”

She approached the girl, her voice softening.

“Don’t panic. Just tell me, what exactly happened?”

Relieved of the pressure from onlookers, Gu Qing’s frayed nerves finally slackened a fraction.

As she met Qin Lan’s concerned gaze, the feigned resilience she had desperately clung to crumbled away in that instant.

The girl sniffled, then began to narrate the sequence of events haltingly.

She spoke of the Puppeteer incident, where she had dared to employ the Seed of the Abyss.

Then, how she had attempted to purify Xia Xingyan, who had been corrupted by the Void Abyss, only to suffer a backlash from the Seed of the Abyss herself.

And finally, how her Heart Stone had transformed into a four-sided die, giving rise to this uncontrollable new form.

“This form… it alters my personality. I can’t control it at all.”

The more the girl spoke, the more aggrieved she became, and her tears fell with renewed intensity.

Qin Lan listened, her heart pounding with a mix of awe and dread.

The Seed of the Abyss, the most venomous creation of the Heirs of Dawn, had been turned against its original purpose by her, successfully purifying hundreds of students?

Even more astonishing was the revelation that Tian Lanxing possessed the ability to transform into multiple forms.

The previous “Bai Shiyu” was not a mere disguise at all, but rather one of her inherent forms!

Tian Lanxing, Bai Shiyu, and now this pink-haired girl before her…

Qin Lan’s mind raced, and an audacious hypothesis began to take shape.

If there were three distinct transformation forms, did that also imply she possessed three distinctly different sets of abilities?

While this discovery sparked a surge of excitement within Qin Lan, more pressing matters demanded her immediate attention.

Director Zhou’s incensed face flashed through her mind.

“Tian Lanxing,” Qin Lan’s voice regained its composure as she retrieved a document and a pen from her briefcase, “I know you’re in a distressed state right now, but GSA (TL Note: Global Security Agency) needs to account to the public.”

“I need you to sign this agreement so we can formally announce your return.”

The girl lifted her tear-streaked face, and upon clearly discerning the document, she immediately shook her head.

“No! Absolutely not signing!”

She wore an expression of profound distaste.

“This young miss absolutely refuses to be in the public eye again! It’s utterly vexing!”

Aside from protecting her daughter, all she desired was to lounge in a convenience store, sipping beer. Who would want to be a hero lauded by all?

“You must sign,” Qin Lan stated, her tone unyielding.

“I’ll never sign, not even if you kill me!” The girl stubbornly jutted her chin out, attempting to project an air of defiance. However, coupled with her current appearance, her efforts were utterly unconvincing.

Recalling the girl’s current disposition, a bold, indeed rather ignoble, thought suddenly sparked in Qin Lan’s mind.

She knew that if her counterpart were still the formidable and composed Tian Lanxing, she would never, under any circumstances, dare to attempt such a thing.

Yet now, to appease Director Zhou, for the sake of GSA, and to secure Tian Lanxing’s continued presence, she had to act.

Qin Lan gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and decided to take the plunge.

She leaned in, whispering into the girl’s ear.

“Not signing? That’s also an option.”

“Then I’ll simply open the door and let all those Tian Lanxing admirers outside come in and take a good look.”

At her words, the girl’s body went rigid.

Qin Lan continued, her voice dropping to a demonic whisper.

“Let them see what the legend who saved the world has become.”

“If they discover their idol is someone who gets shy and easily ‘drops little pearls’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term referring to shedding tears easily, often used endearingly or mockingly).”

“What do you think their expressions will be then?”

The girl was utterly startled.

She had never imagined her long-time comrade-in-arms would treat her this way.

This was a blatant threat!

‘Was Qin Lan insane?!’

An indescribable wave of shame and fury instantly shattered her composure.

‘She had once been a man who stood at the pinnacle of combat power; how could she possibly be threatened by a mere woman?’

“You… you’re despicable!” The girl shook with rage.

“One last time,” Qin Lan stated, standing upright, her face utterly devoid of expression. “Will you sign, or will you not?”

The girl glared at her, a stare so intense that if looks could kill, Qin Lan would have been riddled with wounds by now.

She longed to resist, to smash this woman’s head in with a single punch.

Yet, in this form, she couldn’t even utilize her stellar energy, rendering her no different from an ordinary person.

The tense standoff stretched for a full half-minute.

Finally, the girl broke.

She snatched the document and pen, scrawled the three characters “Tian Lanxing” haphazardly onto the signature line, then flung the document at Qin Lan as if it were refuse.

“Just you wait! Signing this document doesn’t mean anything is settled. All of this is merely temporary!”

The girl declared, her voice thick with a nasal sniffle, yet feigning ferocity.

“Once this young miss breaks free from this form, you’ll be in for it!”

It was done.

A great weight lifted from Qin Lan’s heart.

She knew she had gambled correctly.