"An Qingyu... how could it be you?" Lin Qiye frowned and asked when he saw the familiar face.
He had seen that face with his mental perception when they first started fighting, and to be honest, this result really surprised him.
In his memory, after the Nanda snake demon incident, An Qingyu, this genius, should have forgotten all memories related to "mystery" and returned to normal school life.
How did he manage to avoid having his memories erased, and how did he gradually become a ghost of Cangnan City?
An Qingyu smiled. "Surprised?"
He turned and strode deeper into the sewers. "Come with me. You're the first guest here in over a year."
Lin Qiye hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand to dismiss Mu Mu and followed after him.
"What exactly happened after the Nanda snake demon incident?" Lin Qiye couldn't help but ask.
An Qingyu sighed, a look of reminiscence in his eyes, and calmly began, "That day, after you left, I secretly hid in the sewers with the head of the Nanda snake demon in my arms, and then..."
An Qingyu briefly recounted to Lin Qiye how he awakened, how he evaded the Night Watchers' search, and how he hid in the sewer system to create his own underground laboratory.
"Your Forbidden Ruins can replicate 'mysterious' abilities?" Lin Qiye asked in surprise after hearing this.
"It's different." An Qingyu shook his head. "The essence of my Forbidden Ruins is 'analysis.' Through extensive dissection and experimentation, I analyze the principles behind the existence of certain 'mysterious' characteristics, such as the snake species of the Nanda Snake Demon, the regeneration of lizards, the combat instincts and mental attacks of killers, and the freezing power of frost vines..."
"It is fundamentally different from traditional replication. From obtaining a corpse to analyzing a certain ability, a lot of time is required. The more special the ability, the longer it takes. However, the advantage is that after I fully understand how they work, I can improve and enhance them myself."
"Besides dissecting the 'mysterious,' this ability can also be used to 'analyze' other things. For example, I only need to glance at the structure of a precision instrument to use it skillfully. I can also clearly perceive the structural state of the human body, and so on."
After speaking, An Qingyu turned to look at Lin Qiye, a gray glint appearing in his eyes.
"For example, your current physical condition is nothing short of a miracle compared to a normal human being. However, you are also shrouded in a strange power that I cannot analyze at the moment."
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
He's still under the buff of [Starry Night Dancer], and the power of the Goddess of the Night is something An Qingyu, in his current state, obviously can't analyze.
"So, have you ever looked into what your forbidden zone is?" Lin Qiye couldn't help but ask.
A forbidden ruin like this, capable of analyzing everything and even achieving the ability to copy, would definitely be at the ultra-high-risk level in the forbidden ruin sequence, and should be considered quite famous.
"I've looked into it, but... it seems there's no Forbidden Ruins of my own among the existing Forbidden Ruins sequences. The only similar one is [Eye of True Sight] at sequence 315, but it's only similar; its functions are completely different."
Lin Qiye was taken aback. "So, this is a completely new forbidden ruin, unlike anything we've ever seen before?"
"That should be it." An Qingyu nodded. "My Forbidden Ruins are not in the Forbidden Ruins sequence, and no one has possessed them before. I named it... [The Only Correct Solution]!"
"...Why does this name sound so strange?"
"This is a science and engineering student, pursuing truth."
"Alright." Lin Qiye breathed a sigh of relief. In any case, he was finally not the one who came up with the worst name.
"And what about these rats?"
"I'm in control of everything." An Qingyu nodded. "I extracted an ability similar to a 'snake species' from the Nanda snake demon. However, this ability is very complex, and the analysis is not yet complete. At first, it could only be used on rats, but now it can be applied to all non-human creatures. However, considering that rats have the best concealment, I haven't developed it for other species."
"I named this ability 'Fish Species'."
"...A good name." Lin Qiye's lips twitched slightly.
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at an underground cavern. Seeing the specimens, instruments, and experimental tables filling the entire space, Lin Qiye's eyes showed shock.
"You've set up a large laboratory here?"
"That's right. All the equipment was discarded by hospitals and laboratories on the surface. However, their structure is not complicated. I modified them slightly, and they can still be used, even more effectively than the most advanced equipment."
When the topic of experiments came up, An Qingyu's eyes lit up with excitement once again.
Lin Qiye walked to the four formalin specimens, looked at the "mysterious" corpses preserved within them, and slowly spoke:
"These... are the corpses you stole?"
"First of all, I disagree with your use of the word 'steal,' perhaps 'borrow' would be more accurate. It was merely a necessary means I used to approach the truth," An Qingyu said earnestly.
"Secondly, only three were 'borrowed'; the last killer was a trophy I personally killed. In the beginning, apart from the 'fish,' I had no combat ability, so I could only 'borrow' lizard corpses as well. However, I at least left half of the corpses for the Night Watch."
"After gaining 'Super Regeneration', my survivability only improved, but I still lacked offensive power. So I had to use the same method to 'borrow' the corpse of the Frost Vines. Only after gaining the ability to freeze did I truly possess combat power."
"Then, I took matters into my own hands and killed the Demon."
"In a sense, I'm risking my life for the Night's Watch, then giving them the credit and rewards, leaving myself with only half a 'mysterious' corpse."
"This is a true win-win situation."
Lin Qiye gave him a deep look and sighed.
"While what you said makes sense, you should know that any civilian superhuman who is not part of the Night's Watch poses a risk of disrupting social order, and the Night's Watch will not allow you to continue your activities."
"Once caught, you only have two choices: either be forcibly recruited into the Night's Watch or be imprisoned in Zhaijie Institute."
An Qingyu adjusted her glasses, looked intently into Lin Qiye's eyes, and slowly began to speak:
"Now that you've got me... even though you know I won't harm society, you still want to hand me over, right?"
Lin Qiye was taken aback. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I just don't understand, given that you possess such a unique Forbidden Ruins, why are you unwilling to join the Night Watchers?"