"Mmm... that was a good sleep..."
At eight in the morning, Firefly stretched comfortably before sitting up from the hotel bed. Sensing that Cipher's body remained asleep, Firefly chose not to disturb her. After all, Cipher stayed up later than Firefly last night, so a late start was perfectly justifiable.
Firefly stood up and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. Once finished, she went downstairs for breakfast. The meal resembled Western cuisine from her previous life; in fact, Firefly couldn't discern much difference at all.
During the meal, Cipher also began to rouse.
"Nyaa~"
The waking Cipher performed an identical stretch, her face full of bliss.
Having two bodies is truly a strange sensation. One body wakes up while the other is still in a dream. I can force the other body to wake, but I wouldn't get to experience the pleasure of waking up naturally like this.
Leaving the bed and entering the living room, she spotted Lu Zhaoran preparing breakfast.
"Xiao Ran, good morning. By the way, are Xiao Lin and Xiao Wei awake? It has been nearly a day."
"Big Sister Cipher, morning!" Hearing Cipher's voice, Lu Zhaoran waved a greeting. "They're awake, but their condition isn't great. Do you want to check on them?"
"Not great? I'll go take a look. I might be able to treat them."
Hearing they were unwell, Cipher immediately thought of using Hyacine's ability to heal them. She questioned Lu Zhaoran urgently. Seeing Cipher's concern, Lu Zhaoran abandoned her breakfast prep. Setting the food down, she turned toward the second floor.
"Then follow me. Luo Lin and Lin Wei are upstairs."
Following Lu Zhaoran to the second floor, they opened a door to find two girls looking mentally exhausted.
"Sister Cipher... Sister Zhaoran..."
Seeing the door open, Luo Lin looked up and recognized them immediately. Lin Wei also looked up, her mouth hovering open as if to speak, but she remained silent and lowered her head again.
"Xiao Lin, Xiao Wei, how are you feeling?"
"My head is so dizzy... while I was asleep, I seemed to dream of so many things..."
At this, Luo Lin squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her head, her expression twisting in pain.
"White... such a bright white light... there were piercing noises everywhere..."
Her voice was weak, punctuated by pained gasps. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Cold metal... can't move... that woman... No! That's not right! Blue... a giant rift... a blue rift..."
Luo Lin snapped her eyes open. Her gaze was filled with terror as she shook her head frantically, repeating the phrase "blue rift" like a mantra.
Seeing this, Cipher quickly utilized her divine power of trickery to obtain Hyacine's healing ability. A [Rainbow Light] enveloped Luo Lin, and the girl's expression gradually began to relax.
After several minutes, Luo Lin's composure returned. She panted slightly and spoke with exhaustion. "Sorry, Sister Cipher, Sister Zhaoran. I caused trouble... I don't know why... those images were so painful... I couldn't control my body or my emotions."
"It's alright." Cipher shook her head and withdrew the [Rainbow Light]. "Don't try to remember anymore. This is likely a self-protection mechanism set by your brain."
"Okay... I understand."
Luo Lin nodded. She pulled out her terminal and stared blankly at the illuminated screen.
Seeing Luo Lin had stabilized, Cipher intended to check on Lin Wei. However, as she turned, the cat ears atop her head twitched. She caught a faint, whispered mutter.
"A giant blue rift... Could it be the Spirit Tide incident? No... that's impossible..."
Spirit Tide?
Hearing the keyword, Cipher stole a glance at Lu Zhaoran from the corner of her eye.
Xiao Ran seems to know some insider details, though she sounds like she can't believe it herself.
Forget it, I'll ask later.
Cipher withdrew her gaze and looked back at Lin Wei. "Xiao Wei, are you feeling any discomfort?"
"Just a bit dizzy... I'm much better now. Thank you for your concern, Sister Cipher."
"Fine, but I'll treat you as well, just to be safe."
Since Lin Wei claimed to be fine, Cipher didn't press further. After bestowing a pulse of [Rainbow Light], she turned to Lu Zhaoran.
"Their condition should be stable for now. Let's head out."
Lu Zhaoran nodded and followed Cipher out of the room. Before closing the door, Lu Zhaoran called out to the two inside, "Food is on the living room table. Come down and eat if you're hungry."
The moment they stepped out, before Cipher could even ask, Lu Zhaoran spoke first.
"Big Sister Cipher, you want to ask about the Spirit Tide, right?"
"How did you know?" Cipher blinked, asking reflexively.
"What I said just now wasn't just for myself. I intentionally kept my voice low so Luo Lin and the others wouldn't hear, but I knew you definitely could. Combined with the fact that you seem unfamiliar with many things here, I guessed you hadn't heard of the Spirit Tide."
"Mm... you guessed right. I really don't know what the Spirit Tide is." Cipher didn't mind Lu Zhaoran's small scheme; there was no need to overthink it. "So, what is it? And why do you think it's impossible?"
Facing the question, Lu Zhaoran took a deep breath and explained slowly.
"The Spirit Tide was a sudden, bizarre event. Back then, a massive rift appeared out of thin air within the city, causing massive civilian casualties. It was as if the earth had been hacked open. The rift was bottomless and constantly spewed an unknown, deep blue energy. As that energy dissipated from the rift, it caused mutations in many humans and animals."
"In humans, the mutation manifested as a strange energy within the body. People learned to control this energy to achieve various powerful or strange feats."
"Some became indestructible, some could control elements like gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, and others could even tear through space using this power."
"As for animals, most underwent beneficial mutations, such as increased size, greater strength, and tougher skin or shells."
"Abilities and mutant beasts?" Cipher said the words instinctively.
"Exactly." Lu Zhaoran nodded. "That event, known as the 'Spirit Tide,' is the source of all supernatural abilities and mutant beasts. Curiously, that giant rift only lasted for a single day before vanishing abruptly, but the influence of the mutations remained forever."
"You mean the giant blue rift in Luo Lin's memory is the Spirit Tide incident?"
Combining the information, Cipher speculated, "Could Luo Lin have been near the incident when it occurred?!"
"That is my theory as well." Lu Zhaoran agreed, but her brow furrowed again. "But that leads to an extremely contradictory point."
"What do you mean?" Cipher didn't understand.
"Because..." Lu Zhaoran paused, as if she found her own conclusion unbelievable. "It has been over a hundred years since the Spirit Tide incident... If Luo Lin was a witness to the outbreak..."
"Wouldn't that prove she has lived for over a century?"