In a certain suburban area of the city.

Two figures walked forward. Their attire was peculiar; although winter had yet to arrive, they were dressed in heavy robes with bright silver cloaks. The fabric was delicate, the lines graceful, and the material soft, each dense fiber shimmering in a profound blue, with the brown furry collar reminiscent of a desert fox, a beautiful and mysterious creature.

Their masks, like purple prism crystals, were smooth, casting a faint glow in the sunlight. Most striking was the wide-brimmed hat they wore, making them look like Law Enforcers.

"Ascetic Code D31, your posture is not standard enough; you should straighten your back a bit more."

A monotonous and steady voice came from under the purple prism mask. He did not look at his companion.

"Ascetic Code D12, you should raise your head upward fifteen degrees, which conforms to the 173rd regulation of the Starry Melody etiquette law regarding the posture one should maintain when facing others."

His companion, without looking at him, calmly rebuffed.

"Ascetic Code D31..."

"Enough, what the hell do you actually want in front of my house!?"

From a simple shack burst out a ragged homeless man, wielding a mop with loose bristles and a foul smell, trying to chase off the two uninvited guests from his doorstep.

"Since morning, you've been standing at my door, speaking unintelligible words; what exactly do you want!" the homeless man roared.

"How vulgar." Ascetic D31 said.

"Indeed, how vulgar." Ascetic D12 nodded, agreeing with his companion's assessment.

This was their first consensus of opinion.

"Get lost, stay away from my home!" the man yelled, "I've hit rock bottom, I owe the company a huge debt, I've lost everything, I'm just a pitiful homeless guy, I'm begging you, just spare me, go away... go away..."

Ascetic D31 pondered for a moment, touched a flower-petal-shaped earring at his ear, which flashed a red light.

The man's various indicators appeared before him, and after a glance, he nodded: "He's received higher education, possessing complete language organization abilities."

"Capable of understanding and appreciating art."

"Then let the god from the stars descend with an aura of art, to cleanse his filthy soul."

"Die in sublime art, consider it an honor, insect."

Listening to the two Ascetics, the man realized danger was upon him, and fear filled his heart.

He lifted his legs to run outside the shack, abandoning everything inside: a few scattered coins, and a loaf of bread missing a corner.

But it was already too late; perhaps from the beginning, he was destined for only one ending.

The two Ascetics each produced a paintbrush in their hands, their movements synchronized, jointly completing a marvelous painting, drawing arcs in the air.

"Ah ah ah!!"

The brush fell, and bloodstains burst from the man's legs, with the blood blooming in vivid colors like paint.

"What a beautiful scene."

"This must be the beauty of pain, precisely because life is weak yet tenacious and unyielding, it can produce such melodious sounds at times like these, presenting such a captivating scene."

The paintbrush drew an arc in the air, lightly brushing and slowly lifting.

The man's limbs emitted crisp sounds, his joints twisting together, with more and more colors splashing out from him, fixed in the air.

"Ah ah ah!!!"

The two Ascetics lost themselves in this creation, the arcs drawn by their brushes growing larger and their movements more exaggerated, like pianists reaching the climax of a piece, leaning back in an impossible angle.

Each stroke of the brush erupted in a variety of colors on the man's body.

The man, despite howling and wailing with all his might, had the syllables from his mouth leaping in the air, turning into one pleasant note after another, composing the melody of life.

"Spare me, I beg you, spare me, spare me..."

The man wept, his limbs increasingly twisted, the luster of life on his skin rapidly fading, becoming dull.

Gradually, he turned into a statue, losing all luster, his entire body only a gloomy gray, standing erect at the spot.

His skin transformed into sculptural plaster, textures replaced by rough grains.

All his paint had drained away.

"Truly a thrilling impromptu creation." Ascetic D31 said.

"What were we here for again?" Ascetic D12 said.

Ascetic D31 glanced at his companion, and shortly after, a heart that was writhing and emitting a faint life aura appeared in his palm.

To be precise, it was a heart fragment.

It curled up, trembling in Ascetic D31's cupped palm, emitting a baby's wailing.

"What a fragile yet unyielding life." Ascetic D12 sighed. "Despite its life force being so weak, it still refuses to abandon the possibility of living."

"What is its name?"

"Heart of Desire. Not long ago, people here called it Alley No.5."

They carefully nurtured the heart in their hands, as if tending to a fragile seedling, planting it in the ground beneath them.

"The world will understand the meaning of asceticism."

"People will understand the meaning of suffering."

"Only through suffering and tragedy, can true art be born."

Ascetic D31 said, a tube of red solvent with a foreboding aura appeared in his hand.

As the red solvent slowly poured onto the ground, seeping into the soil, the already black soil grew even darker.

Bathed in the eerie red solvent, the dull heart began to glow, its feeble beating gradually growing stronger.

The desire for life made it greedily extend its limbs, deeply embedding them into the ground, rooting in the soil.

A snow-white rabbit emerged from the grass, its glass-like eyes filled with curiosity about the world. The soil's pulsating, bright red heart firmly attracted its gaze, luring it closer.

In the next moment, several limbs pierced through its body, twisting it instantly. The limbs, covered in sharp teeth, plunged into its body, thirstily drinking its blood, coiling tighter and tighter. It didn't even have time to make a sound before the whole body was dragged into the soil.

Hearing the daunting chewing sounds from below the soil, two ascetics turned around.

"This is the farewell gift."

"Let's believe this performance won't disappoint us."

The two figures gradually moved away.

Under the soil, the glow of the heart grew brighter and more eerie.

It let out an extremely shrill cry.

Buzz—

Amid the elongating whistle of the train, Xu Xiaoyou sat on a leather seat, watching the city outside the window gradually fade away, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Having gone through so much, she finally was leaving this Nest City after all.

Although using a death escape to bid farewell to Anya was somewhat unethical.

But it didn't really break the promise to return...

Right?

With the substitute's proficiency reaching mastery, the mimicked aura was almost indistinguishable from her own.

"Anya, I'm doing this for your own good too."

Honestly, she was somewhat reluctant to leave Anya, but without doing this, Anya wouldn't be able to grow, forever confined to that pitiful status.

[Character Anya's Affection Plot: Trial of Iron and Blood is in progress.]

Seeing the affection plot finally unlock, Xu Xiaoyou nodded contentedly.

Once the affection plot concludes, Anya should awaken, right?

Just uncertain to what heights she will ultimately grow, and how many attributes will be transferred to me.

[Name: Xu Xiaoyou.]

[Mystery: Unknown.]

[Level: Hazard Class.]

[Profession: Card Maker.]

[Power: 40.]

[Agility: 40.]

[Physicality: 40.]

[Intelligence: 50.]

[Swordswoman Resonance Heart Eye: Mastery]

[Desire Heart Resonance Spiritual Gaze: Proficiency]

After a series of growths and calculating various skill masteries, these were her current attributes, not yet reaching the Two Tier Cleaner's standard set by the association.

Given her current combat abilities, once Spiritual Gaze is activated, she is by no means inferior to a Two Tier Cleaner, even if the opponent possesses mimicry.

Xu Xiaoyou noticed a new passive trait at the bottom of her panel.

[██Trait: You possess a high level of mental endurance. Gain Spirit Resistance of 0.3 (maximum value is 1).]

Indeed, in a strict sense, she was no longer human.

After deep contact between her soul and the Heart of Desire, her essence transformed.

Now she, like those monsters, had become a walking enigma.

A faint sadness rose in Xu Xiaoyou's heart.

Suddenly discovering oneself to be an anomaly is tough for anyone to accept, right?

The air was filled with a sandalwood scent, not too strong, someone had sprayed perfume beforehand.

A round-headed robot came driving from the front of the compartment, cleaning every corner meticulously.

It handed a cup of lemon soda water to Xu Xiaoyou.

Xu Xiaoyou took it, her eyes curving slightly: "Thank you."

"You're welcome~" The robot's chest screen displayed the emoticon (´͈ᵕ`͈).

She surveyed the surroundings; the Heart's Desire train carriage was no different from a regular train, but it had only one carriage, completely sealed on both ends by a wooden door with glass embedded, through which endless void could be seen. The single carriage was floating in the air over the city.

The seats were empty; she was the only passenger in the whole carriage.

It seemed that she was the only one in this Nest City to have received a ticket for this train.

The Celestial Wings Space-Time technology was indeed amazing. That seemingly ordinary ticket was packed with high-tech content. She was clearly in Wilson's apartment a while ago, but after closing her eyes and conveying her thoughts, she was suddenly transported to this carriage in the blink of an eye.

The electronic board at the front of the train displayed her train's number.

—'OE3604'.

"Heart's Desire train is about to depart, expected to officially start in five seconds. Please, all passengers, prepare yourselves."

"Close your eyes and imagine this journey's destination in your heart. The train will arrive at the destination, the land of dreams, in ten seconds."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.