novelsite Chapter 117 Granddaughter?
Chapter 117 Granddaughter?
"That depends on whether your world depends on comics or becomes self-reliant," the system said casually.
Jiang Xingni became alert.
But the collapse of the world—even if it's just a fictional world collapsing—is enough to completely negate the moment of clarity that Jiang Xingni is forcing himself to maintain.
In the final moments before her consciousness faded, she could only hear a barely audible sentence from the system's voice.
[Comic ends...World shuts down...]
Jiang Xingni suddenly realized what those words meant.
If this world were dependent on comics, even though comics could not depict every aspect of this world, it would still exist because of comics.
So, after the comic ends, will this world, as Jiang Xingni hopes, break free from the control of the three-dimensional world, or will it simply be like a story ending, with nothing left afterward?
Jiang Xingni dared not gamble on that one in ten thousand chance.
Then, Jiang Xingni could feel his consciousness sinking.
Darkness had engulfed her.
*
Beyond the illusion.
Xiao Jiming had several cards between his fingers.
The card has turned pure black—symbolizing that the monster sealed within it has been used and is now in a state of flux.
Ji Shanqing's condition wasn't exactly good either.
The once composed young girl was now tattered and mangled from the attack.
After his skin cracked open, what flowed out was not human blood, but a black, misty substance, similar to Zhao Henshan's.
"You can't kill me," Ji Shanqing said softly with a smile. "A dead person cannot die again."
"Besides, didn't you promise to kill Zhao Henshan for me?"
Although she had a smile on her face, there was not a trace of genuine sincerity in her dark pupils.
Instead, his dark eyes made him appear even more gloomy.
When questioned by her, Xiao Jiming simply shrugged calmly. He raised his hand and made a gesture, then casually leaped upwards.
The black mist silently melted away the spot where Xiao Jiming stood.
His jump, however, was perfectly timed, precisely avoiding the crack that could have caused harm.
With a firm, resounding step, the young man leaned against the wall on the third-floor windowsill and threw out the next card.
The black card with the thorn pattern on it faded the moment it flew out, and layers of thorns and spiked vines suddenly burst forth from the ground.
Then, the card, which was originally in mid-air, suddenly turned and flew back to Xiao Jiming's fingertip.
However, the exquisite patterns originally drawn on the cards have long since disappeared without a trace.
Only an empty, pure black background remains.
The vines that broke through the soil shot towards Ji Shanqing with lightning speed.
However, Ji Shanqing merely revealed a gentle smile that could be described as "provocative".
"Don't you know I grew up in the mountains?" she asked gently.
Ji Shanqing has spent most of her time in school since she was a child.
However, due to poverty, she would go up the mountain to help whenever she had free time after school.
And now, this experience is helping Ji Shanqing deal with the vines that want to entangle her.
She didn't struggle in vain; instead, her entire body became ethereal the instant the vines pierced through it.
The girl, who originally had a human form, turned into a semi-transparent, black mist.
Xiao Jiming could clearly feel the difference in touch.
It's probably a difference between entering something—though not the human body, but not pure air either—and simply having an empty hole punched in.
Xiao Jiming remained in the same position as before, his smile unchanged.
"Yes, that's what I promised you," Xiao Jiming said casually. "I also know you wanted to kill me after I finished doing all this."
Then his smile widened.
"I don't care whether you want to kill me or not, I never intended to keep you alive anyway. But who told you to set your sights on the stars?"
Xiao Jiming was initially a little guilty when he said those words.
But then he remembered what Jiang Xingni had told him.
It was just asking a friend for help.
So, at this point, using Jiang Xingni's name as an excuse won't make Jiang Xingni angry.
Xiao Jiming felt guilty for less than a second before he thought it was perfectly justified.
—Anyway, it was Jiang Xingni who said it first, that friends can do this, right?
As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the badge on Ji Shanqing's chest.
He lacked the Eye of Truth, so he couldn't see the black shadow, which seemed to come from nowhere, gradually growing stronger and slowly merging into the "model student."
Ji Shanqing, of course, couldn't see it either.
However, as the one chosen by the badge, Ji Shanqing was at least perceptive enough to fully notice the changes in the badge.
The smile on her face dimmed slightly, replaced by confusion and resentment.
"—Stars, they're calling each other so intimately, aren't they?" she murmured to herself.
"Why would so many people be willing to sacrifice themselves for her?" Ji Shanqing asked, not expecting to get any answer to her question.
She simply wanted to ask a question.
Xiao Jiming narrowed his eyes.
"Oh." Xiao Jiming didn't even need to think before saying this; it came out naturally. "Because she deserves it."
"You have no idea what she means to me. After all, we come from the same place and are kindred spirits in some ways."
"...The same kind?" Ji Shanqing stared at Xiao Jiming. "But when you said it, it wasn't the truth, nor was it a complete lie."
She could discern some truth and some falsehood in Xiao Jiming's words.
But she is still too young.
Ji Shanqing's experience and the people she had met were insufficient for her to judge what Xiao Jiming was really feeling when he said those words.
She could only tell that Xiao Jiming's words were half true and half false, but Ji Shanqing couldn't understand which part was true and which part was false.
Xiao Jiming, who was manipulating the vines to remove the badge, suddenly paused.
Half true, half false...?
He still thought that what he said was a complete lie.
And it was this brief pause, lasting less than a second.
Ji Shanqing had already protected the badge on her chest and glared angrily at Xiao Jiming.
The fog surged in once more, and the last legacy of Zhao Henshan's death successfully followed the black shadow into the badge, becoming Ji Shanqing's power.
The black fog was thicker than usual, pushing in from all directions.
Xiao Jiming's smile faded slightly, replaced by a solemn expression.
And just then...
They heard a sound.
Grandma Ji's voice.
"granddaughter--"