If source energy technology and related knowledge were taken into account, this library situated within the Subglacial City of Antarctica was quite possibly the world's most precious and magnificent temple of learning.
Yet in a place so sacred that countless people would yearn to visit, Liu Shiheng and Alice had treated it as a rendezvous spot for their flirtatious, unconsummated romance for an entire year.
Over the past year, they had come here frequently.
Each time, Alice would wander barefoot through the rows of bookshelves until she found something she cared to read again, then sit down and read in quiet solitude.
As for Young Master Shiheng, aside from a few secular pin-up magazines he had painstakingly unearthed, he had hardly read a single book with any seriousness. Compared to science and culture, he was far more keen on searching for Alice throughout this vast, tranquil "city."
Making no sound, never calling her name, he would simply wander row after row of bookshelves, searching slowly—repeating the process time and again, from missing her, missing her, missing her... to the simple joy when he finally found her.
Most of the time, even after finding her, Liu Shiheng would not disturb her reading. He would just pick a quiet spot not far away and sit down.
Then, the one reading read her books, and the one watching watched his person.
This was not the kind of relationship the young master was used to, but he handled it surprisingly well.
Perhaps because of a peculiar feeling, Liu Shiheng often felt that the Alice inside the library was slightly different from the Alice outside.
As for where exactly the difference lay, he had never quite figured it out.
In truth, Young Master Shiheng's intuition had always been right. By the earlier agreement among the "three," whenever Alice was reading in the library, she was allowed to be completely undisturbed.
Today, Nikola had violated that agreement...
It had been driven away and dared not return a second time. Naturally, Ne would not show up either. Both of them knew full well that under the present circumstances, if they dared barge in again...
Miss Alice, driven by genuine fury compounded by a maiden's mortified embarrassment, might very well make an impulsive move to drag them all down into death together.
*Perhaps I am destined to die very soon anyway... Thank you. My brief and pathetic life was made a little better in the end because I met you.*
While Young Master Shiheng still stood dazed and hesitant, Alice looked at him, murmuring these thoughts in her heart.
She truly would be facing life and death very soon. When Han Qingyu and his party arrived here in the near future, whether Nikola got his way or they emerged victorious, the probability of Alice dying was infinitely close to one hundred percent.
As for Young Master Shiheng...
*Perhaps you will die then, too. Your situation... I'm sorry, but I probably won't be able to protect you anymore. We're the same—our lives are so fragile.*
Thinking this, Alice felt a sudden ache in her heart. She did not know whether it was for her own helpless fate, or for the Young Master Shiheng standing before her, who always seemed so cheerful, reckless, and blind to mortal danger.
She lifted her other hand, her graceful fingertips lightly brushing across Liu Shiheng's cheek. *Young Master Shiheng must have been a very popular man in his former world, wasn't he?*
Alice continued thinking in silence, her fingertips slowly trailing back, her palm tracing the line of his cheek and jaw... resting against his skin as it slipped behind his neck.
"I remember Young Master Shiheng always bragging about how capable he is, right?" She gave a teasing, playful smile, gently applying force with her hand to draw him toward her...
The unique illumination of the Subglacial City made the vast library look as though it were built entirely beneath boundless, crystal-clear water, refracted by shimmering sunlight.
Here, there was hardly even a speck of dust.
Two fragile lives embraced tightly within this desperate, isolated "city."
"...Don't use source energy, Alice!"
"You're not wearing a device? Even without a device, I can't take that!"
"You can't tense up like that either, it'll snap..."
"What the hell are you looking at?! I'm talking about my back!"
...
Trapped.
Young Master Shiheng limped, limped, and limped on his way back to his quarters.
*And that was just her first time! If she gets into it later and really lets loose...*
Never in his wildest dreams did Liu Shiheng expect Alice to be inexperienced. In everyday life, she carried herself with such alluring charm, seductive poise, and effortless banter.
A knockout's inexperience? And the damn woman's combat strength is higher than mine by at least a hundred times!
Alice was strong. She had told Liu Shiheng that herself just now.
As for how strong she was exactly, she had not said, and Young Master Shiheng had no way of judging.
*Judging by the sheer force that nearly snapped my spine when she slipped up, she's probably at least top-tier... Fine, none of that matters. What matters is that after standing so firm and unyielding—even busting out a shoulder throw—I still fell into the trap in the end.*
Even though Alice had not brought up making Young Master Shiheng betray his friends again before they parted; even though, had she asked, Liu Shiheng would not have done it anyway...
Yet just now, the moment he turned around and walked out of the library, Young Master Shiheng realized that he truly had fallen into a trap.
The consequence of taking the bait was that, for the first time in his life, this playboy young master found himself uncontrollably ready to take responsibility for a woman.
Considering the current state of the world, the situation in the Subglacial City, the upheaval looming ahead, and his own pitiful strength... Liu Shiheng realized that in the end, the only thing he could offer to take responsibility was probably his life.
*Sure enough, you can talk loose, but you can't sleep loose! I actually had the nerve to take Ne's female secretary to bed! Seriously, if I die for this, I won't have died wronged.*
Ending his lamentations there, Young Master Shiheng felt he was already badass and reckless enough. Little did he know just what an earth-shattering feat he had pulled off today!
Navigating through the labyrinth of layered glass chambers, Liu Shiheng returned to his residence, only to find Ye Jian lounging on the sofa, drinking out of sheer boredom.
"Damn you, Ye Jian, stealing my liquor again!"
The underground city had run out of alcohol a long time ago, and even Liu Shiheng had little left in his stash.
"Haha, here, take it back, take it back."
Ye Jian laughed and tossed the flask over.
Liu Shiheng caught it as he stepped through the door and chugged several mouthfuls until the flask was empty. Sitting down on the sofa, he remained silent for about ten seconds before calling out in an affectionate, heartfelt tone, "Brother Ye."
"Something up?" Ye Jian turned to ask.
The two knew each other far too well. The moment the words "Brother Ye" resurfaced, Ye Jian knew Liu Shiheng definitely had a favor to ask.
Because he had been living so comfortably down here, Young Master Shiheng had not addressed him like that in a long time.
"Alice said just now that Qingzi and the guys are coming here soon. Ne said so too."
"Yes, they're coming soon." Although news from the outside world had been cut off for a full year, his judgment did not rely on outside information. Ye Jian looked up at the ceiling and said, "Because the thing up above is almost finished. Azure has to come. And they'll definitely come too."
That thing above the glacier, Ye Jian had said, seemed to be the ruins of a Great Spike signal transmission site—a massive one. After the Zenith War, the remnants of the Great Spikes from the twenty-seven cities had all gathered here to turtle up in defense, and they had begun constructing a super traction field upon those ruins.
The traction field was taking shape rapidly, nearing completion.
"In that case, time really is running out. Qingzi and the guys probably have no idea that while they're fighting for their lives against the Great Spikes, Snow Lotus and Ne are waiting for them down here," Liu Shiheng said with a hint of worry.
"Stop worrying about other people and tell me your own business," Ye Jian said, looking at him.
"Well. I slept with Ne's secretary... I mean, Alice." After saying this, Liu Shiheng glanced at Ye Jian—just a single glance before quickly looking away.
"..." Ye Jian froze on the spot.
In truth, Ye Jian did not know much about Alice either, but one thing was clear to him: Alice held a very high actual status in Snow Lotus, because she had always stayed closest to Ne, and Ne trusted her almost completely.
"So Ne found out?! Does he want to kill you?!" Ye Jian asked, then leaned back unloyally. "I won't be able to help you there."
"Not yet, no," Liu Shiheng said after a moment of thought. "Brother Ye, remember what we agreed on before? If anything happens to the underground city, when you make your exit, I'd like you to help get Alice out. She isn't truly happy staying with Ne, and she hasn't properly seen the outside world yet..."
"Weren't you supposed to be saved first?!" Ye Jian recalled that in their previous arrangement, Young Master Shiheng had priority, and depending on the opportunity, he might bring Alice along.
"If both of us can be saved, that's obviously best." Liu Shiheng paused, then said, "But if—and I mean if—you can only save one, Brother Ye, take Alice with you."
"And what about you?"
"Me..." Liu Shiheng wanted to say, *I'll just die; with my level of strength, I'll definitely go fast.* But thinking better of it, he could not bear to let go so easily. Changing his tune, he said, "I'll figure out a way to slip away myself. You know me, I've always had nine lives."
*When they storm in, the first thing I'll do is find a way to run to Qingzi. That's my only chance; it all depends on whether I can make it to him...* Liu Shiheng thought to himself.
"All right," Ye Jian said.
"...Yeah," Liu Shiheng murmured.
"I'm not making any guarantees, though. I'll have my own business to attend to when the time comes. We'll see if there's enough time."
"Huh?!" Liu Shiheng's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you going to do? For that matter, will you help Qingzi and the others kill Ne together when the time comes? You're an undercover agent, after all."
"Undercover my ass!" Ye Jian ground his teeth and cursed. "Stop lumping me in with Azure and those death-seeking bastards in Stream Vanguard..."
*Death-seeking bastards?* Liu Shiheng concentrated and racked his memory. "I remember now. I recall you saying, Brother Ye, that you believe Azure's resistance can never succeed."
"Yeah, and?"
"You still think that even after the Zenith War?"
"I still think so."
"Humanity won!"
"They only beat an advance force, what fucking good is that? Do you know what lies behind the Great Spikes?" After answering, Ye Jian paused, speaking with rare solemnity. "Do you know? The only way humanity could possibly win is to create a special circumstance and stand with Ne. So regardless of what side I'm on, it's all the same—I don't want to kill Ne at all. I will even do my best to protect him."
"What if he suddenly wants to kill you?"
"Then I still won't try to kill him."
"...Fine. But standing with Ne? Is that even possible?"
"Not very likely. Truth be told, virtually impossible."
"Then why do you still think like that?"
"I have to think that way. As long as I think about it, there's hope; if I don't, it's a guaranteed dead end."
"Have you lost your mind, Brother Ye? Something that's clearly impossible, yet you insist on doing it, even going so far as to betray Azure and join Snow Lotus for it... Speaking of which, over all these years, haven't you felt lonely? Haven't you ever doubted, even once in a while, that maybe you were wrong? After all, in this entire world, who else would think like you?"
"There is someone. Chen Buer."
"Chen... what?!"
"If the old man didn't think that way, Ne would have died thirty years ago."
Chapter 764