Chapter 760 - 282: Amber (Part 2)

Chapter 760: Chapter 282: Amber (Part 2)

"...Only one." Bai Jingxuan slowed her speech, then repeated, "There’s only this one in that whole area."

The crowd gradually understood what Bai Jingxuan was implying.

After a long period of exploration and breakthrough, their current position was actually nearing the border of the barrier. In other words, Bai Jingxuan’s references to "that side," and "a whole area," were roughly equivalent to the extent of half the barrier.

Half the barrier, one Remnant Beast, and according to Bai Jingxuan, the creature was moving in their direction.

Even though Lin Xiaolu might still not have grasped the situation, veterans like Mint and Arrowroot, who had participated in the Food Sacrifice multiple times, would certainly understand.

In this Food Sacrifice, the "Poison King" belonging to the Remnant Beasts had arrived.

With the realization dawning, that distinct magical power fluctuation characteristic of the Remnant Beasts began to become apparent in everyone’s perception.

"Looks like it’ll be a tough fight." Mint turned back, a mouse crawled out from her sleeve, climbed up her arm to her shoulder and looked in the direction of the magical power fluctuation along with her.

"Don’t hold back now." Arrowroot waved a hand, and a swarm of bats suddenly burst out from the shadow beneath her.

Bai Jingxuan said nothing.

Seeing everyone’s demeanor, Lin Xiaolu naturally understood the caliber of enemy they were about to face.

The Emerald Sparrow must be working hard outside, so she absolutely couldn’t lose.

With this thought, she braced herself.

...

...

"Child...what does it mean?"

Outside the examination venue, on the Observation Platform, the Black Cat’s voice trembled.

"Captain...is it really like this?"

Her gaze repeatedly shifted between the Emerald Sparrow and the Queen’s faces, her expression gradually changing from confusion to shock, then to bitterness, and finally into a tremendously complex mixture of a smile, pain, and anger.

"Why?"

Then, she asked this.

Although it was just one word, the Emerald Sparrow could understand what she truly wanted to ask.

Why is this happening?

Why didn’t you tell me before?

Why, with this kind of relationship, did things turn out that way before?

And—why are you only now appearing before me to tell me this, revealing such a painful truth in such a cruel manner?

"There’s no why, the connection between a mother and child never requires a reason."

The Queen rested her chin on the Cornflower’s shoulder, looking at the Black Cat with a somewhat provocative smile, "You seem quite fond of my child? But sorry, in the end, she will still choose to protect me, just because I’m her mother."

The Black Cat was silent.

But even in silence, her widened eyes and pupils narrowed to a slit clearly indicated how shaken she was at that moment.

"However, though I really want to reconnect with my long-lost daughter, in this scene, it’s somewhat obstructive."

The Queen tightened her arm around the Cornflower’s shoulder, "Help me get rid of what’s in the way, my child."

The Cornflower, standing between the two, spoke up.

"Let go of me." Then, she said her first words to the Queen since coming here.

"Hmm? What’s wrong?"

Yet the Queen showed no intention of releasing, "Hasn’t seen mom for so long so feeling shy?"

"...Ah, it really has been too long."

The Cornflower slightly turned back, casting an enigmatic glance at the person behind, "Twenty years gone by, you’ve become quite a smooth talker, Your Majesty. The you in my memory wasn’t like this."

"Is that so? I don’t feel that way, if there’s any difference from before, maybe I’ve reflected a little?"

With a light chuckle, the Queen leaned closer, whispering into the Cornflower’s ear, "Haha, my dear daughter, back then you kept questioning whether I understood ’love’. I’ve thought about it, does this way make you feel ’love’ more?"

Words meant to be tender, yet the Cornflower felt only cold.

Her spine chilled, she instinctively dove forward, breaking free from the Queen’s embrace. She covered her ears, looking at the other with eyes full of disbelief and suspicion.

The Queen retracted her empty hands, merely smiling.

But from that smile, the Cornflower could derive no comfort, only confusion, unable to comprehend.

She remembered that meeting in the Rose Palace twenty years ago, recalled how incomprehensible and emotionally lacking the presence on the throne was.

But what was going on with the person before her now? From the moment they met, lacking boundaries, with an eerily over-familiar intensity of "affection" recounting their "longing," and constantly emphasizing the "mother" identity, the so-called love.

Purely superficial, compared to twenty years ago, the current Queen was assuredly a hundredfold more emotionally expressive. But could she really be the same person I met back then?

What exactly happened over these years to turn someone once as heartless as a machine into this?

Past and present, the only constant on the Queen might be that unsettling sense of otherness. Even if she now displayed emotions, it still failed to offer the slightest sense of warmth; the deliberate, even exaggerated efforts just made it more bizarre.

Words from such a person had no ground to be believed by the Cornflower. She found it hard to convince herself that the current display was merely because of her question twenty years ago about feeling love—such an explanation was simply nonsensical.