Chapter 157: Chapter 157

On an afternoon that was anything but clear, a thick canopy of pale gray cloud veiled the blue sky, wrapping Garde City—this subtropical metropolis—in a long-missed, somber light drained of color.

In a first-year classroom of the middle school division at Lingman Academy, Lianna Renee propped her chin with one hand and twirled her pen with the other. Her gaze drifted aimlessly to the oppressive sky outside the window until the teacher’s voice yanked her back to reality. She stood up, faltering for a beat, glanced at the blackboard, then—in a flash—worked through the problem and gave the correct answer. The teacher praised her in a meaningful tone, and she sat back down.

That little episode was basically a snapshot of Lianna’s classes.

One of the two major test subjects who escaped from the Abyss Base, she didn’t have Zero’s godlike authority, but her mind and body were both beyond ordinary. What took normal middle-schoolers time to learn, she picked up at a touch—no different from a prodigy.

Unfortunately, she had little patience for studying. She daydreamed in class, and the moment she got called on, she still answered perfectly. The teachers couldn’t bring themselves to give her a hard time. If she got it right, they let it slide—call it the honor-student privilege.

When class ended and the bell rang, Lianna packed her bag and stepped out of the room to find a redheaded girl in a sailor uniform waiting for her outside.

“Let’s go, Louisa.” Lianna walked over, a faint smile on her pretty face.

This was the classmate she had rescued from bullies—the one who’d given her two Southern Cross brooches in thanks—and the only friend she’d made at school so far.

Even so, Lianna and Louisa kept a deliberate distance. Lianna knew she wasn’t an ordinary person—

To her surprise, that only made Louisa like her more. Lianna was mysterious and cool; being around her no longer felt like a normal friendship. Louisa practically treated her like an idol, showing up at the classroom door whenever she could, finding excuses to eat lunch together, even trailing her to the restroom—every inch the diehard fan.

“Abella…” Louisa’s voice held hesitation. “Are we really going there?”

Nannali Abella was Lianna’s current alias; correspondingly, her sister’s alias was Ice Rain Abella.

“Don’t worry. If anything dangerous comes up, I’ll protect you,” Lianna said.

The place they were headed next was called “Nanmu Street,” in the old district of Garde—

and the reason they were going dated back five days.

Though she attended Lingman Academy, Louisa’s family wasn’t well-off. They were locals scraping by around the poverty line, and her parents were believers in a local religion called the Greenwild Orthodox Church.

Six days ago, the Greenwild Orthodox Church organized a service that would last about three days. Louisa’s parents went to take part—and then vanished without a trace. No matter what she tried, Louisa couldn’t reach them. When she went to the church, they denied her parents had ever been there.

Worried and on edge, Louisa reported it to the police. Strangely, as she was leaving, a young policewoman quietly called her back and whispered that nothing would come of it. If she wanted the truth, she should go to a certain place and find someone named “Liz.”

Louisa had no idea why the young officer told her this out of the blue. Afraid it might be dangerous, she didn’t dare go alone and told Lianna instead.

That immediately piqued Lianna’s interest.

A monster in human skin, she’d never been a well-behaved little girl. She’d only forced down her impulses because her situation had been dangerous for so long—first not wanting to make trouble for Yvette, then not wanting to trouble her “sister.”

She’d always looked forward to the day she could rely on her own strength to make a splash and become the kind of world-famous hero her sister was.

If she just lived a quiet daily life, wouldn’t this power from the divine molt go to waste?

Now her friend was in trouble, with secrets and layered dangers likely hidden beneath it all. To Lianna—bored out of her mind at school—this looked like the perfect toy. She immediately egged her friend on to take a look and planned to tag along, so that if anything happened, she could step in and put her power to use in the right place.

Of course, being a sensible kid, even with the urge to go adventuring, she wasn’t about to skip telling her sister.

When she watched movies, she hated those side characters who ran off without a word, did something stupid, and dragged everyone into a mess.

So as soon as she learned about Louisa’s problem, she told her sister right away. Once she had her sister’s nod, she decided to go with Louisa and check it out.

Nanmu Street had a long history in the old district.

If places like the Greenvine District showcased how Garde, the world’s healthiest and most livable city, fused technology and green sustainability, then Nanmu Street was one of its most humanistic corners—full of historic buildings from two or three centuries ago, making you feel as if you’d slipped back to the era of carriages and kerosene lamps.

Reaching Nanmu Street, they turned into a quaint alley whose mossy stone walls ran left and right. Lianna spotted a battered old bookshop. She and Louisa went in; the brass bell rang, startling the dozing grandma behind the counter awake.

Looking at the old woman, Lianna asked, “Excuse me, is there someone named Liz here?”

“Who sent you two little girls?” The grandma, only just awake, lifted her eyelids and looked them over with cloudy eyes, then offered a kindly smile.

“O-Officer Beatrice from the Fifth Avenue precinct—” Louisa said haltingly.

“Oh, her.” The old woman nodded knowingly, then turned her eyes to Louisa. “As I recall, she mentioned only a girl named Louisa.”

“That’s me!” Louisa answered at once.

The old woman’s gaze slid back to Lianna, appraising. “And this one?”

“I’m her friend. My name is Nannali,” Lianna said. Compared to Louisa’s nerves, Lianna was the picture of calm, like someone used to rough seas. Her distinctive aura made it hard for the old woman not to take a few extra glances.

Of course, maybe it was just because she was strikingly pretty.

“What a cute girl.” The old woman smiled, then shifted tone. “But I can’t tell you about this. Louisa, I need to speak with you alone—and you must promise not to tell anyone, including your friend.”

Lianna and Louisa exchanged a look. At last, Lianna said, “All right. I don’t need to know. I’ll wait outside.”

A moment later, Louisa followed the woman—Liz—up to a small attic on the third floor. Since the second-floor door was locked, in theory, if the soundproofing was decent, Lianna really shouldn’t be able to hear anything.

But Lianna wasn’t about to be that honest. She slipped to the side of the shop, made sure no one was around, and used the Touch of Shadow to brace herself, clinging to the window of the third-floor attic to eavesdrop on the conversation inside.

In the attic, she heard Liz’s voice: “Louisa, there’s something heavy I need to tell you. I hope you’re prepared.”

“I—I’m ready. Please, go on—”

“Your parents— I’m afraid they’ve— been killed.” The old woman dropped the bombshell.

“W-what do you mean, killed?! W-why?!” Louisa’s voice was full of shock and disbelief.

“Because, on the surface, the Greenwild Orthodox Church is a respectable religious organization. In truth, it’s Lingman Corporation’s black glove—a gang wearing a church’s skin. Many people have disappeared because of the Greenwild Orthodox Church, but with Lingman and the government working in tandem, these cases get covered up as accidents or other crimes and never see the light.”

“I—” Overwhelmed with shock and pain, Louisa’s voice was fragile. “I don’t believe you. How do you even know this?”

“Because I’m with the Countercurrent Resistance. Have you heard of us?”

The Countercurrent Resistance? Lianna blinked. She knew the name—supposedly a global anti-corporate militant group. On paper they should count as terrorists, yet they were popular among ordinary people.

She hadn’t expected to run into a resistance member here. Had they called Louisa in just to… recruit her?

Sure enough, once Louisa had gradually accepted the truth and cried herself hoarse, the old woman comforted her and sighed. “Child, if you want revenge for your parents, you can choose to join us.”

“Join the Resistance?”

“I—I—I can’t give you an answer. I haven’t thought anything through. My head is a mess—”

“Don’t rush, child. We never expected you to decide on the spot. We’re only giving you the possibility.” The old woman spoke gently. “If you join the Resistance, the price is your whole life running for our cause. That isn’t a decision one makes with logic. Think it through, then come find me.”

An hour later, after leaving Nanmu Street and seeing the red-eyed Louisa home, Lianna returned to her place. Over dinner, she immediately recounted every detail to her sister and Firefly.

When she finished, the living room fell into a brief silence, and Yvette didn’t comment. She simply asked, calm, “What do you think?”

“I think— I hope Louisa doesn’t join the Resistance,” Lianna said after a pause. “Once you join, you can never get out. A life like that… it just sounds too painful.” Check latest chapters at NovєlFіre.net

“How do you plan to convince her?” Yvette pressed.

“I can help her get revenge—grab the leader of that religious organization, then let Louisa decide his fate.” Lianna stole a cautious glance at her sister. “I think I might be able to pull it off. May I?”

Yvette nodded. “Then try.”

“Really?” Lianna was stunned. If Zero were here, there’s no way she’d ever get the chance to take a risk . Zero would have beaten her to it, slaughtered everyone in the Greenwild Orthodox Church, and left her with nothing to do.

Her sister was actually willing to give her the chance?

“Really. I won’t interfere,” Yvette said with a nod.

In her view, people had to grow up—especially someone as different as Lianna. Keeping her penned up in a safety zone would harm her mind and body and waste her potential.

And from what Yvette knew, the Countercurrent Resistance really wasn’t worth joining.

The Soulbrain’s leftover troves of data included files on the Resistance. From them, she’d seen that the faction’s upper ranks on the Jadeite Continent had been infiltrated by Lingman to the point of a sieve. Their leaders looked like idealists, but were filthy rich—long since bought.

Rather than relying on the Resistance for revenge, it would be better to go straight for the Greenwild Orthodox Church. The odds of success were higher.

Lianna let out a little cheer. In her excitement, she found herself liking this sister who wore Yvette’s face even more.

Of course, the one she loved most would always be the original Yvette. But she had to admit there were times when this sister made her feel more relaxed and free—something the original Yvette couldn’t give her.

Too bad this sister wouldn’t cling to her the way Yvette did, always stuck to her—what am I thinking?

Memories of the past flickered through her mind. Looking at this identical face with such a different aura, Lianna suddenly felt shy, ducked her head, and focused on her meal.

Meanwhile, from the corner TV—just background white noise—the international news was reporting that President John of the United States of New Eden would soon visit Glenaut. Among the entourage, the CEOs of Black Tower Pharmaceuticals and Lin-trans Biotech seemed to be included.

Yvette glanced at the TV news, a few conjectures sparking at once, and let out a helpless sigh.