Chapter 30: The Silver-Haired Secret

Lin Ling, however, remained oblivious to the turmoil currently gripping Wu Hang’s heart.

Though reading others’ emotions and memories presented no difficulty for her now, she chose not to. For her friends, family, and loved ones, Lin Ling always opted to respect their privacy.

Subconsciously, a worry gnawed at Lin Ling. What if her standing in their hearts, or their perceptions of her, differed from what she had always believed?

How would others, endowed with an ability like hers, choose to act?

****

Inside the bustling hotpot restaurant, Lin Ling had used her transformation ability to perfectly mimic her original male form. The disguise was so flawless, it was utterly indistinguishable from the real thing.

As soon as Lin Ling stepped through the doors, she spotted her old friend waving her over.

“You old rascal, Wu Hang! Has the sun risen from the west? You’re actually inviting me to hotpot? What do you want from me?”

Lin Ling habitually teased Wu Hang, her tone deliberately provocative, yet this was their unique, long-standing way of communicating.

“Hmph, I’m not that stingy! Weren’t you down with a fever a while ago? This is a celebration of your recovery!” Wu Hang retorted, his own voice laced with his distinctive, mocking sarcasm.

Any unsuspecting onlooker might have assumed the two were on the verge of a brawl.

“What are we eating? Have you ordered yet?”

“Already ordered, you slowpoke! If I waited for you to decide, would I ever get to eat? I’m a very busy man, you know!”

“Huh? Aren’t you on vacation, you punk?”

“No way. The higher-ups sent me here to conduct an investigation.”

“Investigate what?”

“The world-altering phenomena, the Ruohua Mountain incident. In short, it’s about that widely discussed silver-haired maiden, and some related matters.”

Wu Hang deliberately emphasized the words ‘silver-haired maiden’ as he spoke.

Lin Ling was no fool; she immediately noticed the stress on his words. Observing Wu Hang’s gaze and the way his fists clenched – a habit he only displayed when truly serious – Lin Ling, knowing him well, realized he was almost certainly suspecting her connection to the silver-haired girl.

‘But how did he find out? I handled every incident flawlessly. Human technology shouldn’t be capable of tracing me.’

‘Should I play dumb first and see how much he knows?’

‘Or should I just read his memories? Though I’d rather not…’

Wu Hang’s voice broke through Lin Ling’s thoughts. “A-Yu recovered your phone data a few days ago…”

“Oh, now that you mention it, that did happen.”

“There’s a very interesting photo on your phone.”

As he spoke, Wu Hang pulled out his phone and displayed a picture to Lin Ling. He continued, “This silver-haired girl is quite pretty, isn’t she? And this background… did you take it on top of Ruohua Mountain?”

At his words, Lin Ling’s expression instantly froze.

‘….Damn it.’

‘HOLY SHIT,’

‘Oh crap! Thinking about it, he’s right. When I first became the Battle Sovereign, my nominal ‘Mother Goddess’ did take a photo of me. I’m doomed, this is awkward…’

‘My good brother turned into a girl, what now? I heard some advanced civilizations know how to erase memories. Should I ask Bisika for help? Knock Wu Hang out and send him away first. I want to maintain both identities right now, and it’s pretty embarrassing for people to know I’ve become a girl.’

‘What should I do…’

As Lin Ling pondered a solution, Wu Hang spoke again. “Is she your new girlfriend? And she’s wearing your clothes?”

Huh?? Lin Ling was utterly bewildered.

Wu Hang, however, ignored her confusion and continued speaking to himself.

“When Ruohua Mountain’s peak collapsed that day, she was the one who took you to escape, right?”

‘Huh???’

‘What… what is he saying?’

“Sigh, sometimes I really envy your luck with women. I thought with Xi Yue, you’d used up all your luck for a lifetime. But Xi Yue’s only been gone for less than two months, and you’ve already hooked up with another one.”

‘Huh???’

‘Ah, this…’

‘Brother, your imagination is a bit too much…’

‘Ugh, but then again, a normal person would probably think that, right!? After all, who would think their good brother suddenly turned into a girl, and is the same person as the girl who recently shocked the world?’

‘But am I dating myself? That feels a little strange.’

Lin Ling’s internal turmoil grew increasingly complex.

Seeing Lin Ling’s silence, Wu Hang sighed helplessly.

He seemed to take her silence as agreement. Wu Hang observed Lin Ling’s seemingly worried and anxious expression, mistakenly believing she was concerned he might report this matter to his superiors.

So, Wu Hang quickly added,

“Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone. I even told A-Yu she was just a cosplay girl you happened to photograph. And A-Yu also thinks it’s impossible for a scumbag like you to have so much luck with women. But is that girl really an alien?”

‘Phew…’

‘It’s fine as long as he hasn’t told anyone else.’

Hearing this, Lin Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

‘But,’

‘You old rascal, Wu Hang! That’s a bit offensive to say! Hey!’

‘Hmm, but if he thinks that way… In that case, I might as well go along with it.’

“Actually, she’s not my girlfriend, and I don’t even know where she is now. That day, I was just relaxing on Ruohua Mountain’s peak when suddenly the sky changed color, and a beam of white light descended from above…”

….

….The young man (now girl) continued to spin a convincing tale.

After a while, Wu Hang believed Lin Ling’s elaborate story and abandoned any thought of reporting to his superiors. After all, there was no crucial intelligence, and it would only complicate his good brother’s daily life. He didn’t doubt Lin Ling’s words, partly out of trust, and partly because he had studied lie detection; from Lin Ling’s expressions and actions, she appeared to be telling the truth.

What he didn’t know, however, was that for Lin Ling, controlling her expressions, the spirit-mimicking muscles in her face, and her actions was incredibly effortless.

Although she had successfully bluffed Wu Hang and maintained her male identity, Lin Ling felt a pang of conscience. Her earlier excitement for the dinner was gone, and she could only feign happiness as she endured the rest of the meal.

‘Is it really necessary to keep this from my friends?’

Lin Ling asked herself once more.

****

Tianjing, the capital of Huaguo

Watching the hunched old man strolling in the distant garden, Zhang Wu asked the middle-aged woman beside him, doubtfully,

“Aunt! Are you sure that old man can do it? He looks like he’s already got one foot in the grave!”

“I’m not too sure either. He was recommended by Little Wang, but just looking at him, he might as well be getting into a coffin after a plane ride.”

The Zhang family members surrounding Zhang Wu shared similar sentiments. The old man seemed utterly unreliable. Without Colonel Wang’s assurance, they wouldn’t have even allowed him inside.

Given the current situation, however, the Zhang family had no choice; they could only rely on the old man in the courtyard. Weeks ago, Zhang Zhongjun, the Zhang family head, was severely injured during the world-altering phenomena at Ruohua Mountain. It seemed to be because of the silver-haired maiden, and he was now in a deep coma, having not woken up since.

In the preceding weeks, they had consulted countless famous doctors and experts, all of whom were helpless.

They couldn’t even find the cause of his illness. Seeing the old man’s body wasting away day by day, the Zhang family members were heartbroken.

It wasn’t until someone suggested finding the silver-haired maiden to treat the old man. After all, everyone had witnessed the miracles that occurred in Country A, where numerous dying soldiers were ‘unscientifically’ saved by her. Perhaps she could help their patriarch too?

So, they had secretly dispatched people to Cangyang City to investigate, but to their dismay, they consistently found nothing.

Just as everyone was despairing,

Old General Zhang’s former subordinate arrived with a strange old man, who was supposedly capable of locating the elusive silver-haired girl.