Having her thoughts seen through, Cameliya's smile only grew brighter, like flowers blooming in spring, giving off a captivating fragrance.
"As expected of the 'Gardener,'" she said softly, her tone full of admiration and praise. Before her words had even finished, Cameliya leapt lightly off the swing like a butterfly.
Her movements were graceful and natural, as if she had merged with the surroundings, stirring up waves of fresh floral scent.
After landing, Cameliya stepped forward lightly and came up to Zane. Her body leaned forward slightly, the distance between them so close they could almost feel each other's breath. Warm air brushed gently across Zane's face, bringing a faint ticklish sensation.
"So, my dear 'Gardener,' why don't you take another guess? What exactly did I come to you for?" Cameliya's voice was low and smooth, like a little fox toying with its prey, sly and charming yet extremely dangerous.
Of course, the most dangerous one wasn't Cameliya, but someone else.
All of a sudden, the hairs on Zane's back stood up. He grabbed Cameliya by the shoulder and, under her surprised gaze, pushed her away from himself.
Sure enough, the next second, a black figure appeared from around the corner, arms crossed.
"Oh my, looks like we've been caught in the act by the destined one." Cameliya frowned slightly, pouting, her face full of unwillingness. Yet a trace of a smile flashed in her eyes.
"As expected, once you find the 'Gardener,' you can find my dear des-ti-ned one."
Rover glanced at Zane, then turned to look at the smiling girl. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out. She had clearly called away the Doctor and Stelle and sent off the Shorekeeper… so where did this Cameliya come from?
'Did she really grow out of the ground?'
"Long time no see. How's it been, playing around on the Black Shores lately?" Cameliya clasped her hands behind her back, walked up beside Rover, leaned close to her ear, and spoke softly. "I heard you helped the Shorekeeper solve a big problem. As expected of you."
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Zane felt like there was a faint citrus scent in the air, something a bit… citrusy in tone.
'Should I even be here?'
Facing Cameliya's teasing, Rover crossed her arms. As long as the other party didn't pester Zane, everything was fine. A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Of course. After all, it was me…" Rover smiled proudly, and there was a hint of teasing in her gaze toward Cameliya. "But you didn't seem to be on the Black Shores at the time."
"Oh my, how perceptive." Cameliya furrowed her brows pitifully and lightly bit her lip. "I had something to take care of back then, so I missed it… what a pity."
Rover didn't think much of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Zane trying to quietly slip away. In two quick steps, she grabbed him by the collar.
"Don't rush off. I need something from you."
Zane struggled a bit, but those slender, delicate hands held onto his collar like iron clamps.
"I'm telling you, Rover, if you, the leader of the Black Shores, can't solve this, how could I possibly handle it?"
"A stray erroneous star chart has escaped containment…"
Zane's mouth twitched. Just earlier, the Black Shores had been turned upside down by so many abnormal data escaping, and now she was telling him another erroneous star chart had run off?
The security at your Aberration Containment Facility could go head-to-head with the Land of Light.
"So… what can I even do?"
"You can capture that erroneous star chart."
"Huh?" A faint crease appeared between Zane's brows. "Me? Go chase an escaped star chart? You might as well pray I can solo the Rover."
Rover's eyes shifted slightly. She thought seriously for a moment, then gave a charming smile.
"If you want to, you can try."
Even though Rover's smile was bright, Zane had no doubt that if he dared to make a move, whether he won or lost, he'd be completely drained.
For the sake of his life, Zane decisively gave up on that idea.
Seeing the change in Zane's expression, Rover could naturally guess what he was thinking and let out a long sigh.
Looks like the fish didn't take the bait today either.
"Alright, I'll just tell you directly. The Tethys System informed me that you obtained part of its authority. Because of that, you can easily track the location of that star chart."
"And then fight the star chart?"
Based on your game's pattern, it always ends with a fight.
"Exactly." Rover snapped her fingers. Before Zane could keep struggling, she grabbed his collar again and dragged him toward the Aberration Containment Facility.
Watching Zane and Rover's figures gradually disappear, Cameliya subconsciously reached out toward them.
But those hands caught nothing, just hanging there alone in midair.
Coming back to her senses, Cameliya looked at her outstretched hands in confusion.
"Strange… why…"
Her vision began to flicker, and the sounds in her ears gradually distorted, eventually turning into a long string of hissing noise.
"This feeling… I've had it before…"
That strange sense of familiarity came quickly and faded just as fast. Soon, the girl's lips curved into a smile once more.
"You two being all lovey-dovey and leaving me out." Cameliya's eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of red light passing through her smiling gaze. "That really makes me jealous."
Walking ahead, Zane suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if something terrifying had its eyes on him.
'Maybe I should just go back to Jinzhou…'
Under Rover's lead, Zane came to the Aberration Containment Facility for the first time in his life.
Unlike the dark, cramped prison he had imagined, this place was covered everywhere with special tiles.
The walls were packed with circular windows like observation ports. Looking through them, one could vaguely see the pitch-black yet strangely colorful darkness on the other side.
At the deepest part of the facility, a peculiar tower stood tall. That thing was probably the gate used to contain abnormalities.
Only now, the gate was flickering with an unsettling red light from top to bottom, abnormal red data clinging to it like mud.
After some simple greetings, Zane heard a recording from when the star chart was contained.
"…Archive record, May. Due to the invasion of residual images, most of the Village's buildings have been destroyed. There are many casualties. A small number of survivors have been relocated…"
"Tethys System assessment: Extremely high danger. The leader of the Black Shores has personally gone…"
"So the situation was serious enough to mobilize Rover?"
Zane frowned, feeling that this erroneous star chart might not be as simple as it seemed.
"…The remains of the village have been covered by highly mutated plants. Deep search and rescue is difficult and requires time…"
"…Deep within an underground cave, discovered… (static) the overclocked Resonator 'Flower Maiden' has been brought back to the Black Shores. Data pending entry…"
"…Rabel detection method results indicate the waveform easily enters an overload frequency band… temporarily stable…"
"In simple terms, Rover brought the 'Flower Maiden' back to the Black Shores…"
But that raised another question. Who was the 'Flower Maiden'?
Zane carefully went through everyone he knew who had interacted with Rover. Among those related to flowers...
Plant-type Resonator Verina, probably didn't know Rover from before, pass.
The crazy woman Cameliya, very likely knew Rover from before, but too insane, and would probably wipe out an entire village, pass.
And then...
The 'Gardener' Zane…
"!"
'Don't tell me I'm actually the 'Flower Maiden'?'