Ling Yun slowly walked over, opened his arms, and tightly embraced the soft, fragrant body. For a moment, his mind was hazy and dreamlike, as if in a fog, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion. But deep in his heart was a profound joy and satisfaction, a burst of happiness and joy that made Ling Yun want to dance. It seemed that everything else was unimportant, including everything from last night, which was receding from him at the speed of light, including his supernatural abilities. Now, Ling Yun was like a shy boy in the throes of first love. Apart from tightly embracing the girl in his arms and smelling the faint yet intoxicating fragrance emanating from her body, he could do nothing else.
Gu Xiaorou's slender hands gently caressed Ling Yun's strong back. Countless times she had dreamed of having such a broad and strong back against her. Now her dream had come true; it was the boy she so deeply longed for. The girl's heart was captivated.
Ling Yun released his hands, cupped Gu Xiaorou's stunningly beautiful face, lowered his head and kissed her. Although he had never experienced it before, he had seen it before and had seen it in movies and TV shows. Even if Ling Yun was still a novice in dating, he knew what to do next. Besides, he had already acted out something like this with Li Lingling in Breaking Illusion, so Ling Yun was not without experience.
However, he couldn't tell this to the girl in his arms who seemed a bit jealous, otherwise he might suffer some punishment. Although Gu Xiaorou asked him several times afterwards what the illusion was about, Ling Yun always vaguely covered it up. Based on her impression of his honest nature, Gu Xiaorou didn't ask again.
The girl panicked and wanted to avoid it. Although she was excited and even a little expectant, she inevitably felt some fear and a desire to avoid it when it actually happened. This was completely different from a purely platonic relationship between a man and a woman. Gu Xiaorou could be indifferent to Ling Yun's naked body and had no aversion to relationships between men and women. This was simply because she had seen too much in her years of chasing and counter-chasing, and had long since become accustomed to and numb to it. Indifference and strength were deeply rooted in her heart, and she naturally no longer had the sensitivity and vulnerability of a naive girl.
However, Ling Yun's appearance unearthed Gu Xiaorou's deeply buried and fragile heart. At this moment, Gu Xiaorou was even more shy than a girl experiencing her first love. Her delicate body trembled incessantly, and her mind was blank. Only the faint yet pleasant masculine scent emanating from Ling Yun made her infatuated and irresistibly intoxicated. Her extraordinary abilities were now completely useless. The two embraced and pushed each other away, like two clueless young people.
A moment later, Gu Xiaorou finally couldn't shake off Ling Yun's pursuit. Or rather, the girl was just hesitant. When she saw Ling Yun foolishly approaching, she was about to laugh at him when, as soon as she opened her mouth, Ling Yun kissed her soft cherry lips. His hands tightly gripped Gu Xiaorou's supple waist, and he held her in his arms.
Gu Xiaorou struggled for less than a second before succumbing to Ling Yun's gentle kiss. The girl quickly let go of herself and responded to her beloved man's passionate kiss with a slightly awkward but excited demeanor. The two intertwined and entwined, and the golden sunlight shone in from the bright French windows of the balcony, casting a touching silhouette on the shiny floor.
An overwhelming sense of excitement surged through Ling Yun's mind. He suddenly swept Gu Xiaorou into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Looking at the beauty in his arms, Ling Yun kept trying to justify himself: "This is normal, this is normal..."
The girl cried out in surprise, immediately realizing what Ling Yun was trying to do. She struggled to break free from his embrace, but for some reason, Ling Yun's strength suddenly became extraordinary, while the girl suddenly felt weak all over, unable to muster any strength at all. She was filled with a mixture of joy, shyness, and a little annoyance, and said with a wry smile, "You rascal, what are you trying to do? Put me down right now! Don't do this in broad daylight..."
Ling Yun ignored her advice, walked to the bedside in the bedroom, threw the girl heavily onto the bed, and pounced on her.
With a snap, Ling Yun buried his face in the pile of blankets, his open mouth making intimate contact with his pillow. Although it was soft, it was nothing like the feeling of a stunningly beautiful woman...
A faint smile rang out in the empty air: "You went too far today... I haven't even interrogated you yet, but... let's talk about it another day, I have class later, I'm leaving."
"Sigh..." Ling Yun angrily threw his pillow on the floor, then pulled down the neatly folded quilt with both hands, covered his head, and sighed heavily. For the first time, he felt an overwhelming hatred for why people with superpowers had to possess supernatural abilities.
"I can't live like this anymore..." the boy lamented in his heart, clenching his fists and pounding them heavily on the bed.
Chapter 152 Showing Off One's Edge
The autumn air is crisp and clear; late autumn in Beijing is comfortable and cool. A bus full of people is slowly making its way through the bustling streets.
"Mommy, look! That uncle put his hand into Auntie's bag!" A little girl, only six or seven years old, sitting in the back row suddenly pointed, her clear voice immediately drawing the attention of the drowsy passengers. Dozens of eyes were instantly fixed on the direction the little girl was pointing.
Sitting behind the little girl were an ordinary-looking boy and an elfin-like girl, idly gazing at the bustling street scene outside the window. Hearing the little girl's call, they couldn't help but turn their attention back to the place where everyone was focused.
A young man, around thirty years old, was seen reaching into the handbag of a woman standing in front of him. Because the young woman shouted suddenly, his hand was still inside and he hadn't had time to pull it out. It was all clearly seen by everyone.
Thief! Everyone frowned in disgust, their gazes towards the young man filled with contempt and loathing. Passengers standing near him scurried to the sides as if they'd seen a ghost, avoiding him at all costs. Passengers at a distance also paled, frantically checking their pockets and bags for safety.
The woman whose bag was stolen glared angrily at the young thief, but remained silent. She simply pulled her handbag back, checked it, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that nothing was missing. She quickly moved aside, showing no intention of pursuing the matter further, seemingly wanting to let it go.
Although the other passengers also loathed the thief, no one spoke up. They remained indifferent, thinking it was none of their business. Since nothing was stolen, or it wasn't them who had lost anything, no one would be foolish enough to risk provoking the thief and act as a hero.
The young woman sitting next to the little girl was clearly her mother. She looked nervous and angrily scolded her daughter in a low voice: "I told you not to talk nonsense, but you just wouldn't listen! You keep saying such rubbish."
The little girl was a bit indignant and wanted to say something more, but seeing her mother's anger, she was also a little scared. She pouted and looked aggrieved, but dared not utter another word.
The driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the bus to a stop. As the airlock door opened, the driver's gruff voice rang out: "Hey you, have some self-awareness. If no one's going to bother you, just get off the bus. You're not welcome here."
A tense atmosphere filled the air. Under everyone's watchful eyes, even the thick-skinned young man couldn't help but blush with embarrassment. As a seasoned professional, when had he ever been so humiliated, especially by a young girl? Enraged, the young man glared venomously at the girl who had caused him such embarrassment, then suddenly strode quickly towards the seat behind her.
Everyone stirred. Seeing the young man's resentful expression, everyone knew the thief had ill intentions, yet no one dared to step forward to stop him. The young woman stood up nervously, scooped up the little girl, and pointed at the young man, her voice trembling, "You... what do you want to do?"
The young man slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers pressed together, gleaming in the sunlight—three sharp blades were hidden between them. He smiled sinisterly: "Your daughter's got a sharp tongue. So many people saw it but didn't dare say a word, only she dared to yell that she caused me to lose control. If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll cause big trouble sooner or later. I'm just helping you discipline your child; you should thank me."
The young woman glared angrily at the shameless thief, her courage to protect her child far outweighing her fear: "If you dare touch a single hair on my child's head, I'll fight you to the death."
"Heh, you thought all these people would come to your aid, huh? You bitch, I could kill you and your daughter right here today, and no one would dare utter a sound. You believe me?" The young man sneered, raising his hand to slash at the woman's face. The sharp blade was about to slice through her cheek, and in the blink of an eye, blood splattered everywhere, a horrific scene of disfigurement unfolded. The passengers all turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight.
They are not unkind, nor lacking in compassion; it's just that long-term numbness and indifference have become a habit, ingrained in their very bones. They dare not and are unwilling to confront the violence that is so close at hand, even if the violence could strike them the next moment.
A long, agonizing scream rang out, startling the passengers. The scream didn't come from the young woman or girl, but from the thief. His face was contorted in agony; three deep, long, horrifying knife wounds had appeared on his right cheek, blood gushing from them, staining half his face and shoulder red.
Everyone was stunned, exchanging bewildered glances. The young woman holding the little girl was especially astonished, clearly not understanding what had just happened. How could the thief, who had lunged at her with his claws outstretched, suddenly injure her? Did he have masochism? Did he feel uncomfortable unless he cut himself a few times?
At this moment, the ordinary-looking boy in the seat behind the young woman suddenly stood up and said with a mocking smile, "Everyone saw it, right? This guy probably felt that no one was holding him accountable for his crimes, so he couldn't live with his conscience and used a razor blade to slash his face to atone for his sins. He's really sincere."
With a whoosh, the passengers burst into laughter. Even the young woman couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. The beautiful girl next to the boy couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle. She was very pretty. As everyone looked at the boy, they couldn't help but look at the girl. Many people thought that the boy and the girl were a couple.
The boy walked up to the young man, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Brother, I really admire you. You have the courage to hurt yourself. Can you tell me what you were thinking when you hurt yourself?"
"Fuck you!" The young man was in excruciating pain and had no idea what had happened. Hearing the mocking words, he was instantly enraged and, without thinking, punched the boy in the face.
Before the fist could even land on the boy's face, the young man suddenly cried out in pain again, immediately pulling his fist back and jumping up in agony, clutching his other cheek, which was uninjured. It turned out that just as he swung his fist, everything went black, and an unexpected force struck his other cheek, instantly smashing it open and shattering all his teeth. With a loud groan, he coughed up blood and blood onto the bus floor.
A cold glint flashed in the boy's eyes as he sneered, "Looks like you've gotten addicted to self-harm, bro. Alright, stop making a fool of yourself here. The car still needs to move, so get out." He lashed out with a kick, striking the young man squarely in the waist. The kick was so powerful that the large young man lost his balance and tumbled out of the car. The thief was unlucky; as he rolled out of the car, he landed headfirst, crashing heavily onto the hard concrete road, instantly losing consciousness.
The young man pulled the beautiful girl up with one hand, and then, under the stunned gazes of the crowd, he walked out of the car as if no one else was there. Before leaving, he didn't forget to call out, "Driver, drive on, everything's alright here." Ignoring the thief who had fainted on the ground, he and the girl drove off with a flourish.
Years later, the elegant silhouettes of this couple, seemingly like a match made in heaven, remained in the memories of all the passengers on the bus.
"Lingyun, I never thought riding the bus could be so much fun! I definitely need to ride the bus more often in the future, and when I see someone like that, I'll step in and teach him a lesson. Didn't you see the way everyone on the bus looked at you with such admiration? It almost gave me goosebumps. I've never seen anyone admire you like that. But those passengers were really something. They clearly saw the thief stealing, but no one dared to say anything. Even the woman who was robbed didn't seem to dare to make a sound. It's really puzzling. If it weren't for you, wouldn't he have stolen the stuff?" After the two had gone some distance, the girl said to Lingyun with a giggle.
Ling Yun glanced at the girl and smiled slightly: "Xia Zhen, girls like you who were born into high-class families, with chauffeured cars everywhere you go, will naturally find taking the bus a novelty. I've been taking the bus to and from school since I was a child, and I'm used to it. These kinds of thieves have actually existed for a long time, but we're all just ordinary people. Although everyone has a certain sense of justice, we're all afraid of retaliation from thieves. So even if the victim isn't robbed of much money, they won't make a big fuss. We can't conclude that they're all in cahoots with the thieves, or that they can't distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. It's just that they don't have the ability to punish thieves like we do, and they're not afraid of retaliation."
Xia Zhen nodded thoughtfully, seemingly feeling she had grasped something. If Ling Yun hadn't shown her these principles firsthand today, even with her intelligence and exceptional talent, she wouldn't have been able to understand them. Those with supernatural abilities often immerse themselves in everyday life and various professions after reaching a certain level of cultivation, aiming to understand more common philosophies and break through their cultivation bottlenecks to enter a new realm. This is akin to the Buddhist concept of "entering the world," where one must both immerse oneself and be able to clearly detach oneself to gain a higher level of understanding and worldview.
She looked up at the sun, squinted, and said, "It's getting late, we should speed things up. If we use supernatural abilities to get there, we'll probably be at the superpower headquarters by now. It's your first time at headquarters, so it's best not to be late."
Ling Yun nodded: "I know, you lead the way, that way we can go faster."
Xia Zhen nodded, turned around and became invisible. She leaped off the ground, and Ling Yun immediately followed suit, also becoming invisible, and quickly pursued Xia Zhen.
Chapter 153 Superpower Headquarters
"This is the headquarters for superpowered individuals?" Ling Yun looked at the colossal, garden-like complex of buildings before him with disbelief. In his mind, the legendary headquarters for superpowered individuals should be located in the suburbs or underground, like a drug cartel's underground processing plant—at least a mysterious place unknown to the world, somewhat like a highly secretive underground base like Area 51 in the United States. Inside, the facilities would be complete, with everything one could need, and groups of superpowered individuals would be training intensely...