MCL CH53

Chapter 53: Hot

The ethereal voice faded, but the siren showed no intention of explaining further.

It looked meaningfully in Yan Xingzhou’s direction, and as if having completely lost its memory in a few short seconds, it suddenly smiled: “Speaking of which, although there are many legends about you where we’re from, this is the first time I’ve formally met you. Was that foolish thing, Calamity, defeated by you? Former human Executive Officer, Lin Xi. If I remember correctly, that should be your name, right?”

[Don’t look at his eyes, don’t think about what he’s saying. The best way to communicate with this guy is not to listen to a single ghost word.]
[Damn it, he’s the stupid one! His whole family is stupid! If it had been him back then, he probably wouldn’t even know how he died without a complete corpse… Ahem, I mean, although I’m also without a complete corpse, at least I’m not completely dead.]
[In any case, I’m much stronger than this ambitious but incompetent race!]

“It seems you really dislike these sirens.”

Lin Xi replied silently in his mind, but his eyes, since some unknown point, had started to lose focus. “I don’t really want to pay attention to this guy’s words either, but it doesn’t seem to be an easy task.”

[Bewitchment is the siren race’s strongest ability! Listen to me, you’d better think about something else right now to divert your attention. Once you get caught up in His words, it will probably be difficult later on.]

It was unclear whether it was out of perception or just a coincidence, but along with the voice in his mind, the siren’s slow, soft chuckle also emerged: “If I’m not mistaken, that useless thing, Calamity, should be cursing me wildly right now. The King of contaminants who has completely lost even his physical body is truly our greatest shame. And now he’s trying to survive through the humble trick of symbiosis. How embarrassing.”

[…………Damn it! I’ll %&@%￥#& you!]

“…”

Lin Xi heard a long string of incomprehensible language in his mind. He could vaguely feel that the mocked King of contaminants was probably cursing very filthily.

“Oh, he must be cursing even more fiercely now.” It had to be said, even though He couldn’t hear the inner voice like Lin Xi, the siren race’s ability to perceive people’s hearts perfectly matched Calamity’s every move. His exquisitely beautiful face, as he smiled, was beautiful beyond mortal description. “But there is one thing that does surprise me. Calamity, it seems this former Executive Officer, who is no longer human, is very aware of your existence. Can he really tolerate this precarious symbiotic relationship, knowing that you are coveting control of his body at any time? Is this a sign that he is ready to welcome a second death at any moment, or is he overconfident, believing that it is absolutely impossible for you to take control of this body?”

Lin Xi finally chose to speak: “That’s none of your business.”

The siren chuckled softly: “Of course, I don’t need to worry about it, but it seems someone is very concerned about this matter. Right, Mr. Human behind me?”

For a rare moment, Lin Xi fell silent.

From the very beginning, with every word the siren spoke, he could feel the gaze behind him growing deeper. Although since his “return,” Yan Xingzhou had undoubtedly prepared for the worst, when the truth was gradually torn open layer by layer and thrown before him, many things were still inevitably hard to accept.

Lin Xi didn’t turn to look at Yan Xingzhou’s expression. His face remained smiling, without much emotional fluctuation. With a sudden raise of his hand, a ball of fire shot out without any warning: “I’ve already said, none of this is your concern.”

The siren seemed to have been prepared and instantly erected a water wall. However, the next second, as if sensing something, its expression suddenly froze, and its empty eyes widened slightly.

All the water walls evaporated into gushing steam upon contact with the fireball, and the straight-flying flame instantly scorched the green vines and leaves.

The siren tried hard to extinguish the spreading fire. Its ethereal voice, for the first time, sounded a little flustered and exasperated: “You don’t seem like someone who only solves problems through force, Executive Officer. It seems you really mind the fact that you have become a contaminant.”

Continuous flashes of fire exploded around them, and the boiling water surface was swallowed by the flames, creating layers of whirlpools.

Water-type contaminants were indeed the nemesis of fire-attribute coded ability users, but that was only for ordinary ability users.

Lin Xi’s X-code ability, [Devour], was enough for his flames to incinerate everything.

His pupils also became unpredictable with the sky full of firelight: “You’re wrong.”

Whether human or contaminant, he never cared. The only thing he minded was—

Yan Xingzhou’s voice came from behind: “What does it mean to become a contaminant?”

Lin Xi let out a silent, soft laugh and finally turned to look, meeting Yan Xingzhou’s gaze steadily.

He slowly opened his hands, showing Yan Xingzhou his current body: “It’s the literal meaning. After we get back, I’m willing to set aside more time for you to study it properly.”

“…”

A flicker of emotion passed through the depths of Yan Xingzhou’s eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, “We’ll talk when we get back.”

Lin Xi smiled again. This time, it was unclear whether he was laughing at the slightly awkward atmosphere, or at Yan Xingzhou’s ability to maintain a proper attitude even at a time like this.

He was about to say something more when his peripheral vision caught something. His usually unhurried tone suddenly rose several notches: “Be careful—!”

In a flash, his body’s instinct had already made him reach out to Yan Xingzhou.

The siren’s gloating voice was in his ears: “I said I would definitely give you the best meeting gift.”

The words were still echoing when the water surface behind them suddenly surged and rushed towards them.

If it were under normal circumstances, the two of them would absolutely not have discovered the abnormality only at this moment.

The seemingly calm conversation with the siren was filled with invisible bewitchment. With their emotions unknowingly drawn in, it was completely too late to react.

Just as Lin Xi’s hand was about to grab Yan Xingzhou’s shoulder, he was instead pulled into Yan Xingzhou’s arms, tightly protected.

All the movements were entirely from his own instincts. A wall materialized from [Materialize] shot up from the ground, just barely blocking the rushing water blades in the nick of time.

From Lin Xi’s angle, looking up, he saw a spray of water bursting in all directions.

But he frowned slightly.

Everything had happened too suddenly, and it had ended too suddenly.

Combined with what the siren had said, it seemed a little too easily resolved.

—”You know, there’s a kind of thing called ‘charm water’?”

Those words were still vivid in his ears.

Wait, charm water.

Vaguely realizing something, Lin Xi suddenly looked down and saw Yan Xingzhou’s half-soaked clothes.

As the siren’s song rang in his ears, the water stains that had soaked into the clothes seemed to be summoned, gradually becoming active, like crystal clear water droplets condensing on a lotus leaf. They leaped and touched Yan Xingzhou’s body, silently merging into his skin as if instantly digested, leaving no trace behind.

The walls erected around them, like shattered glass, subsequently broke into pieces.

The expression on Lin Xi’s face went blank for a moment. Feeling the man in front of him suddenly lose his balance, he hurriedly reached out and caught him in his arms, “Yan Xingzhou?!”

“Our siren race’s special charm water. Believe me, you will like my gift.”

The sky full of flames could not be extinguished in this water world for a long time. In this flickering light, the siren’s smile also took on a strange distortion, its words long and drawn out, “En—joy it.”

Lin Xi no longer listened to the bewitchment in his ears. All his attention was on the man in front of him: “Yan Xingzhou?”

Under a wave of overwhelming dizziness, Yan Xingzhou shook his head forcefully. With Lin Xi’s support, he tried to stand up, but felt as if countless strange things were constantly drilling into him from his nerves. He fell back down amidst flashes of white light exploding before his eyes.

He couldn’t respond to Lin Xi. The heat that instantly rose all over his body seemed to be constantly drilling into every cell. All the ability waves in his body also gradually began to clamor, a torrent of scorching heat sweeping through him silently.

All his consciousness seemed to become chaotic at this moment. Only the distant, ethereal song echoed in his ears.

Like a guide, like an instigator, like a bewitchment.

When all his senses became blurred, Yan Xingzhou seemed to clearly feel Lin Xi’s presence. He reached out and hugged him tightly, burying his face in Lin Xi’s neck, almost greedily inhaling the man’s familiar scent.

His overly hot breath was like a boiling flame, leaving a surprisingly scorching warmth on his skin. Or to be more precise, Yan Xingzhou’s whole body, in just a few short seconds, was already covered in a distinct thin layer of sweat.

But the next second, he seemed to have briefly found a trace of rationality. He suddenly pushed Lin Xi away. With short breaths, he finally squeezed out hoarse words: “…Don’t come near me. It’s the water… there’s something wrong with the water…”

Lin Xi, almost without hesitation, stepped forward to support Yan Xingzhou. As if he hadn’t heard the warning, he let the man lean gently against him, constantly stroking his temples, which were already soaked with sweat in an instant, to soothe him.

If not for the ice-cold expression on his usually gentle, smiling face, his tone would have undoubtedly been extremely gentle: “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Don’t think about anything else right now, Yan Xingzhou. As long as you’re okay, I’ll be okay.”

It’s unknown whether he understood the meaning behind Lin Xi’s words, but Yan Xingzhou let out a low groan.

His clothes clung tightly to his body. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether it was from the surrounding blue water or from the thin sweat constantly seeping out in the heat.

Under Lin Xi’s constant soothing, Yan Xingzhou’s breathing, however, became more and more rapid.

A restrained, low, hoarse voice was squeezed out from his dry throat: “…Hot… so hot…”

Support me on Ko-fi