Chapter 395 - 337: Nuwa No. 17: From Beginning to End, You Have Only Ever Faced One Nuwa

"After the data cloning is complete, you can still consider it Nuwa No. 17... You can use the call sign ’Nuwa No. 17’ to summon it."

"Of course, you can also use the call sign ’Nuwa No. 3.’ It’s entirely up to the Authority’s preference—"

"There’s no need to overthink it... Essentially, there is only one Nuwa Mainframe! It’s just that after the signal was cut off, data couldn’t circulate between the various host units... which is what led to this peculiar situation."

"When fully connected... the standard call sign is—’Nuwa’."

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’Wait, how do you... Oh, right! I almost forgot. It would be stranger if the Nuwa Mainframe *didn’t* contain the call signs and designations for Nuwa units in other regions...’

Chu Bamboo realized his foolish mistake. He watched as the second Little Mushroom Head bounced over to him. After a brief silence, he chuckled, bent down to hug her, and pressed their two mushroom-capped heads together.

"Alright! Alright!"

"Alright then, Nuwa No. 17, Nuwa No. 3! Let’s begin the information fusion with Nuwa No. 17 as the host... or should I say, the data cloning?"

"Yes!"

...

「In the courtyard of the Six Gates.」

Chu Bamboo stared up at the sky.

"...She’s here!" Huo Qiming whispered. "Should I..."

"There’s no need... Mmm," Chu Bamboo responded. A complex look flickered in his eyes as he said softly, "Xiaomin... come on out!"

"?" Sun Min was utterly bewildered. Her lips had just begun to move when she heard Chu Bamboo continue, "I wasn’t talking to you!"

"..." Sun Min said nothing. She was thinking, ’Is now the right time? After all, it looks like the officials are here!’

’Hmm... Maybe I should stab Chu Bamboo?’

No one answered.

Chu Bamboo sighed, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

And then...

A phone suddenly started ringing.

Hu Kaikang: "..."

Huo Qiming: "..."

The person in the shadows: "..."

The corner of a certain someone’s eye twitched as she realized her foolish mistake. She had silenced her own phone, but she’d forgotten to do the same for the confiscated one she was carrying.

In the next breath, she landed lightly in front of Chu Bamboo. She was dressed in a special uniform—a military helmet with a data processor, military clothes, combat boots, and so on. All of it was comprised of Ancient Relics!

For a moment, Chu Bamboo even suspected that a special forces soldier from a previous civilization had traveled through time to appear before him.

"...A special operations team from the Celestial Capital Police Chief Headquarters!" Huo Qiming added helpfully.

In Jinghai City, the Police Chief Bureau and the Captain’s Office were intertwined. But in Celestial Capital, where the Jinyi Guard operated independently, the Police Chief Bureau naturally had its own Extraordinary Power. This force was extremely small, but its recruitment standards were incredibly strict.

Chu Bamboo recalled reading about it in the Captain’s Office files.

Not only was every member required to be a Cultivator, but there were also specific requirements regarding their Divine Techniques. Their defining traits were being powerful, strange, and mysterious!

"But Xiaomin, I remember Uncle Li saying... didn’t you get into the finance department?" Chu Bamboo was completely baffled. "How did you end up in the Police Chief Headquarters...? Damn, you’ve got even more connections than your dad! And..."

"...Die!" Without a moment’s hesitation, she raised her sniper rifle and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out, and an orb of darkness began to expand violently around it...

At that moment, even the usually composed Hu Kaikang frowned. The pure white wings on his back instantly unfurled, yet a portion of them was immediately annihilated and corroded by the darkness!

Chu Bamboo could tell at a glance that this wasn’t the bullet’s doing... It had to be some kind of Divine Technique!

"What kind of Divine Technique is that? Is this the same thing you used to take down the drone... I mean, the Kunpeng?" Chu Bamboo asked, his face full of curiosity. He walked forward slowly, passing right through the barrier of pure white wings.

Hu Kaikang: "???"

’Hold on, do you actually want to die...?’ Hu Kaikang was completely stunned. He was sure the young woman’s Cultivation was far inferior to his own... but that Divine Technique was terrifying! It was as if she had perfected the very concept of annihilation.

Huo Qiming frowned, but in the end, he didn’t intervene.

Chu Bamboo walked over to Xiaomin, circled her, and clicked his tongue in wonder. He even reached out to pat her on the shoulder...

The next instant, Chu Bamboo’s vision spun as he was slammed to the ground. A dagger was pressed to his throat.

She finally spoke her first words since her arrival: "Any last words?"

"I didn’t kill Uncle Li! Your aunt is still alive—she’s my witness," Chu Bamboo stated succinctly.

In that instant, Xiaomin’s movements froze.

That’s right... The moment Chu Bamboo had seen that phone number, he had realized... he was facing Li Min.

Li Kang’s pride and joy—his daughter. They had been classmates. A super-genius who had skipped grades to get into Celestial Capital University at sixteen, and who had even passed the civil service exam in the capital during the break before starting her studies...

"...Who?" Li Min asked succinctly. "Proof!"

"Who do you think? I’ve already started a rebellion!" Chu Bamboo calmly took out his phone and made a call. "Hello... Hai Mingyue? Is Auntie Xu Duoduo there...? What? You’re asking... who Xu Duoduo is?"

"???"

Chu Bamboo fell silent. He saw the look in Li Min’s eyes change in an instant. Thoughts churned in his mind, and his voice grew urgent, "Nuwa No. 17... are you certain you handed Xu Duoduo over to Hai Mingyue?"

"Confirmed! An individual matching the appearance of ’Hai Mingyue’ was met at the entrance of the Hai Mansion! Custody of Xu Duoduo was transferred to said individual..." the Little Mushroom Head reported, bouncing over to Chu Bamboo’s side.

"..."

Chu Bamboo’s heart seemed to stop. Countless thoughts converged in his mind... He finally understood.

First, Hai Mingyue is a disciple of the Hehuan Sect’s Jiangnan Miao Girl, which means she has Hehuan Sect members around her. Second, the Hehuan Sect possesses the Disguise Skill. Third, it’s a known fact that the All-Powerful organization cooperates with the Officials. So, is it possible... that the Hehuan Sect is also cooperating with the Officials?

Fourth, whoever sent Li Min wasn’t worried about her turning on them... And since the mastermind had already gathered intelligence on Jinghai City, there’s no way they didn’t know... that Xu Duoduo should still be alive!

"...I can’t believe I got tripped up by this!" Chu Bamboo sighed softly. ’There is a way to verify this, actually. After all... Su Xiaoqun should still be on the drone carrier... Wait, didn’t the drone carrier crash?’

After a brief silence, Chu Bamboo, without any hesitation, lunged against the dagger pressed to his throat.

Li Min’s already icy expression froze completely. "????"

’Wait... Are you nuts?!!’

It wasn’t just her... Huo Qiming and Hu Kaikang, who had assumed the two were merely flirting... Sun Min, whose feelings were a tangled mess, who felt like she’d been usurped in every way—right down to the "Min" in her name... All of them were utterly dumbfounded.

Blood flew...

Chu Bamboo felt his consciousness fading. With his current level of vitality, simply slitting his own throat shouldn’t have killed him this fast...

So, there was only one explanation—

’This is one hell of a dagger!’

Chu Bamboo glanced at Li Min. Her military helmet obscured her face, but her frantic movements—tossing the dagger away and staring at him, completely at a loss—gave him a glimpse into her state of mind...

The next instant, time began to reverse!