GRMFBS CH312

After declaring his righteous and solemn determination, Gu Jiancheng was promptly kicked out of the room.

In the living room, Zhan Yan was staring at that melon entry in utter bewilderment.

What did that mean? Did he want to get married, get divorced, and then get married all over again?

What was Xiao Gu thinking?

Just as he was about to keep scrolling through the melon logs, he saw Gu Jiancheng being kicked out.

The two stared at each other blankly.

Gu Jiancheng cleared his throat lightly. Just now, he hadn’t merely expressed his desire to get married, but had also voiced his hypothesis that “more physical contact might accelerate recovery.” Although the others hadn’t endorsed his conjecture, Gu Jiancheng still edged over, perfectly justified in his intent to keep being clingy: “Yan Yan…”

Zhan Yan: “What did you all talk about?”

Gu Jiancheng sat down pressed right against him: “Nothing much.”

Xingxing hurriedly retracted his tail resting on the sofa, letting out an aggrieved “meow-yowl” at Gu Jiancheng, who had nearly sat on his tail.

Not telling the truth, are we? Zhan Yan readied his melon logs.

Gu Jiancheng perfunctorily stroked Xingxing’s little head: “I just brought up my intention to get married to show I’m serious. Even though circumstances are limited right now, we can hold a small one first, and make it up with a grand one later.”

Zhan Yan: “Huh?”

Gu Jiancheng’s eyes sparkled, whispering softly to him: “Can we secretly hold a little ceremony first, pretty please?”

Even though Yan Yan’s family hadn’t agreed just now, they hadn’t voiced any objections either.

He could totally take that as tacit approval!

Adding a ceremony made it so much safer~

Zhan Yan: “…Isn’t this moving a bit too fast?”

Under Gu Jiancheng’s persistent wheedling and pestering, Zhan Yan completely forgot to check the melon logs.

It was just a small ceremony anyway, and wouldn’t hurt anything…

Just as Zhan Yan was on the verge of relenting, the door opened again.

Zhan Suiru caught the eyes of her brother and Gu Jiancheng.

Heh, without even asking, she could already guess that Gu Jiancheng had definitely been trying to coax her brother into doing something just now—most likely getting married.

“Yan Yan, come along; sister’s taking you to custom-make a set of magical artifacts,” Zhan Suiru prepared to haul her brother away in broad daylight.

She had discussed it with their parents: they would have Yang Ran craft a set of magical artifacts for her brother, arming him from head to toe so he would be much safer.

Gu Jiancheng: “I’m coming too.”

Zhan Suiru: …What are you coming for?

“I brought the studio back with me.”

It was hanging right around her neck.

The studio was somewhat large, so they first had to shove the sofa, coffee table, and other furniture to the side.

Xingxing scampered and pounced around them, watching to see what these strange humans were up to.

Zhan Suiru covered his eyes: “Xingxing, watch me do magic for you.”

She opened the studio in the living room.

Because space was limited, her studio didn’t fully expand; only the chamber containing the workbench opened up.

When she released her hands, Xingxing’s pupils dilated into wide circles.

What is this? How did something so massive pop up with a swoosh?

It looked as if a whole new room had materialized out of thin air inside the living room.

Zhan Yan followed his sister inside. Gu Jiancheng held his hand, attempting to follow behind.

Zhan Suiru: “Space is too tight; it can’t fit too many people.”

Gu Jiancheng: “I don’t take up space.”

Zhan Suiru: “Even Mom and Dad didn’t come in.”

Gu Jiancheng: …

Their eyes locked in a silent duel for a moment before Gu Jiancheng conceded.

Scooping up Xingxing, who was trying to slip through the crack of the door, he retreated outside with the cat.

Xingxing: Meow meow meow???

Inside the studio, Yang Ran beamed and greeted Zhan Yan.

Zhan Yan: Tsk, sister really is brilliant; she carries Yang Ran around with her every single day and nobody knows!

If Xiao Gu found out, wouldn’t he be sick with envy?

What Yang Ran custom-made for Zhan Yan wasn’t primarily protective gear, but a weapon. He genuinely lacked no protective measures, but had nothing he could actively wield.

About fifteen minutes later, Yang Ran brought the item out.

Zhan Yan was shocked: “That fast?”

Was the real Artisan’s crafting prowess truly this formidable? He still remembered that back when his sister acted as the Artisan, she often got stuck to the point of venting crazily on the forum.

Yang Ran felt very embarrassed: “Not that fast; I made this a long time ago and just adjusted it according to your condition just now.”

Long ago, right after he regained consciousness, he had started brainstorming how to outfit Sister Suisui’s entire family with defensive gear; only later did he discover everyone else’s secret identities, leaving only the combat-inept younger brother for him to assist.

So whenever he had free time, he would tinker and refine it, quietly scoring massive points.

The object looked like a wrist brace on the outside, and like Zhan Suiru’s heavy motorcycle, was operated via spiritual energy.

Yang Ran handed Zhan Yan a super-long user manual.

However, the item packed considerable power, so inside the studio, they could only test its basic functions.

When Zhan Yan walked out wearing the bracer, he saw his parents and Xiao Gu sitting face-to-face, talking about who-knew-what.

Xiao Gu’s back was turned to him, obscuring his expression, but his parents looked quite grave, and even Xingxing acting cute in their arms proved useless.

Yikes! Need to divert attention for Xiao Gu.

“Look at my new bracer!” Zhan Yan chattered away non-stop. “Yang Ran made it for me; it took him several months. Too bad I can’t test it out here.”

He scored some favorability points for Yang Ran while he was at it. One good turn deserved another; his sister would have to speak up for him in return.

Gu Jiancheng indicated they could test it out inside the Sea of Shadows!

Zhan Yan: …

I’m trying to divert attention for you, don’t you know?!

Oh, right, he almost forgot—Xiao Gu had always been bold, having just told his parents he wanted to get married twice.

Zhan Yan: “I’ll try it later. Dad, isn’t the movie you voiced about to hit theaters?”

Their family had always kept this tradition of going together to watch every film their father acted in. Earlier, his dad had voiced an AI character, and promotions seemed to have started already.

Ji Yueming looked at him with a warm smile: “Sure. All seven of us will go watch it together when the time comes.”

Seven?

Zhan Yan counted everyone in his head, his eyes widening in pleasant surprise.

Zhan Yunkai: “We have matters to attend to, so we’ll be heading out first. Gather information in moderation; don’t overtax your mind. Potions can only replenish spiritual energy, not your mental state.”

Zhan Yan understood this. He had experienced it firsthand back when his sister pushed him so hard he could only sleep four hours a day. During that period, he didn’t even want to use his brain during daylight hours.

Seeing him so ecstatic he looked ready to wag a tail, the couple could hardly bear to watch.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, did Yan Yan forget that Deep Shadow still had a shadow avatar outside? If they wanted to talk to Gu Jiancheng in private, they didn’t need to do it at home at all.

Besides, given Deep Shadow’s brazen attitude, what didn’t he dare say? He didn’t need Yan Yan covering for him either.

If the two of them wanted to secretly hold a little ceremony, let them.

Doing it quietly without drawing Infinite’s attention was plenty fine too.

Once the others left, Gu Jiancheng brought Zhan Yan into the Sea of Shadows.

Zhan Yan had been curious about his Sea of Shadows for a long time. Come to think of it, he had never seen what Xiao Gu looked like in his “Deep Shadow” persona.

He had seen what everyone else in the family looked like in their secret identities, but when Xiao Gu rushed over in a hurry last time, he was still wearing his cattle ranch work clothes.

Though he looked very handsome then too, Zhan Yan still wanted to unlock the new card art.

As the shadows unfolded, Zhan Yan felt his vision dim slightly, and immediately afterward, the surroundings transformed.

The ground beneath their feet turned pure black, carpeted with an enormous, snow-white plush rug. On the rug sat a coffee table, a fabric sofa, soft cushions, a snack and beverage rack, a gaming console, and even a vase of fresh flowers.

Across the vast, boundless Sea of Shadows, beneath the immense and profound night sky, there abruptly appeared this cozy, comfortable little haven that looked like it belonged inside a dollhouse.

Zhan Yan blinked in bewilderment.

This was rather different from the big-boss aura he had expected to see.

Gu Jiancheng pulled him down onto the sofa: “How is it? I started setting this up a long time ago.”

What if Rong Sui had a studio? He had a portable dimension too! It was even better than that studio—no need to tidy up a room to make space beforehand; one could just step right inside!

Zhan Yan couldn’t help laughing: “A long time ago? How long?”

Gu Jiancheng buried his face in his neck, his voice muffled: “Right after I discovered my sequelae were cured.”

Zhan Yan only felt his heart submerge into warm water, scalding with a sweet ache.

The little star at the firmament shed a limpid glow.

Gu Jiancheng lifted his head, his eyes burning with gentle fire: “Yan Yan, I want to be with you forever and ever. Will you marry me?”

The stars were reflected within Zhan Yan’s eyes. He curved his eyes into a smile: “Okay.”

Having just seen everyone off at the door and rolled around in the courtyard, Xingxing wondered: Meow meow meow?

How come I’m the only one left at home again all of a sudden?

…

Familiarizing with weapons, devouring EXP packs to level up, checking anomaly intel…

Clearing anomalies, setting traps with the Soul-Intoxicating Incense, tracking down the will of Infinite…

Zhan Yan discovered that his leveling progress had stalled.

The “Spirits” tab was stuck at the very final segment; no matter how many new information tags he took in, it refused to budge forward.

The “Domain” tab wasn’t stuck, but the newly appeared little star wouldn’t light up.

Zhan Yan guessed that the “Domain” tab was likely tied to the “Spirits” tab. Previously, every upgrade in the “Domain” tab had occurred after lighting up a star in the “Spirits” tab. If the “Spirits” tab didn’t advance, the “Domain” tab couldn’t unlock even if it reached the requirements.

The “Anomalies” tab was still slowly creeping upward, though abnormally slowly.

He just couldn’t understand why the “Spirits” tab was stuck.

After discussing it, the others unanimously agreed that this was likely tied to Bai Ze’s soul trauma.

Zhan Jinli: “Is Deep Shadow not cutting it?”

Zhan Suiru: “Should they deepen the connection?”

Zhan Jinli: “How do they deepen it?”

Candle Dragon: “Get married.”

Zhan Jinli: “…”

Zhan Suiru: “Things have reached this point; repairing younger brother’s soul is obviously what matters most.”

And so, they pulled Deep Shadow into another group chat.

A neighbor came over to deliver homegrown cherry tomatoes, and Zhan Yan went to fetch them, instructing Gu Jiancheng to dish out the cooled cat food for Xingxing. As Gu Jiancheng served the food, he multi-tasked by showing off in the small group chat.

Gu Jiancheng: [We already held the ceremony.]

Zhan Jinli: [?]

[When?!]

Zhan Suiru: [How did you marry?]

Gu Jiancheng briefly described it.

Zhan Suiru: […What kind of marriage do you call that? At most that’s just a proposal.]

[Do it again.]

[Wait until Mom and Dad return.]

The layout for the Soul-Intoxicating Incense was complete. Both the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance were busy handling it, leaving Chongming Demon King and Tianshi momentarily unable to step away.

Yet Gu Jiancheng harbored an ominous premonition.

[Could there be another reason?]

Candle Dragon: [I think there’s another possibility.]

[A soul forms a complete ‘one’ on its own.]

Zhan Jinli explained this concept to his sister and Deep Shadow, the two outsiders.

Simply put, in this world, a living being’s soul formed complete wholeness, which was “one.”

If this soul suffered trauma and dropped to “0.8,” under certain conditions, it could heal back to “0.9,” and return to “one.”

However, if the soul was fractured into “0.7” and “0.3,” the two soul fragments could only recover by merging into one; the “0.7” fragment would not independently heal into “0.8,” “0.9,” and then back to “one.” This was because the soul was fundamentally whole—it was already “one,” and the severed portion still existed out there.

Like Wan Yan’s former state: a portion was damaged, while another portion had fractured off.

Over twenty-six years he healed the damaged portion, and the retrieved divine abilities were the parts he recovered.

Zhan Yan’s soul being stuck and unable to recover might be just like Wan Yan’s, with a portion of his soul lost somewhere else.

Zhan Suiru: [Where would his soul be lost?]

Candle Dragon: [He destroyed his own divine abilities at the core of Infinite back then.]

Gu Jiancheng: [Infinite.]

…

Zhan Yan saw off the neighbor and carried the basin into the kitchen to wash the tomatoes.

Multi-tasking, he dragged “Infinite” into the “Anomalies” tab, watching with satisfaction as it filled the final sliver to maximum.

Hmph, he knew it. After Xiao Gu explained so much Infinite lore to him, this hardest information tag that frequently blocked him had finally been collected.

He knew that what was holding back the “Anomalies” tab had to be this!

The “Anomalies” tab slowly climbed across the final threshold.

With this taken care of, only the “Spirits” tab remained to be solved.

He casually tapped on the fifth little star in the “Anomalies” tab.

“Tracing back”? What kind of function was that?

“Xiao Gu, come eat some toma…”

Holding the washed tomatoes, Zhan Yan casually tapped the new function again to check the detailed description.

Tracing back missing fragments…

His vision suddenly blurred.

Before he could make out what was in front of him, blaring alarm sirens shrieked in his ears. The minimap flooded his entire vision, and the entire map flashed crimson red.

In the group chat:

Candle Dragon: [Don’t let him go looking for it.]

To locate Infinite’s core back then, Bai Ze had used himself as bait, deliberately waiting until Infinite absorbed his divine abilities into the core before destroying them. If fragments of his divine abilities were scattered outside when he destroyed them back then… then the most likely place for them to end up was in Infinite’s grasp!

Gu Jiancheng had no attention left to read the group messages. His pupils contracted violently as he lunged toward the kitchen.

Tomatoes scattered all over the floor.