Chapter 256: Chapter 256: The Nonexistent Woman

Ximen Swordsman returned rather late, with only a few catches. When he passed by Lin Shen’s door, Lin Shen greeted him.

But he ignored Lin Shen and closed the door of his stone house as soon as he got inside.

The dark night descended suddenly, and because there was nowhere to charge, although Lin Shen possessed a flashlight, he was reluctant to use it.

The two chatted in the dark, planning for the future.

Although the environment on Giant Ring Star was harsh, the Ascension resources here were much better than on their home planet, and Lin Miao’s idea was to Ascend as soon as possible.

Her Base Mutation rate had long reached one hundred percent, lacking only an Ascension Egg to directly Ascend.

Lin Shen thought of the Mutated Pterosaur Egg on Ring Mountain Planet, too many things had happened recently, and he hadn’t had time to bring it back.

If his sister wanted to Ascend, that Mutated Pterosaur Egg could be used.

The problem now was that the Ascension Egg needed some processing before it could be used by the average Mutator.

One could also directly consume the liquid inside the Ascension Egg, but that was far too risky, it was best to process it before use.

It was uncertain if there was anyone here who could make an oral solution from the Ascension Egg, and even if there was, Lin Shen wouldn’t trust an outsider with the Mutated Ascension Egg.

“Leaving home brings many difficulties,” Lin Shen decided with his sister to take it slow, to understand the situation here before considering bringing back the Mutated Ascension Egg.

His sister’s health was still not good, and she easily grew tired, falling asleep after a short while.

Lin Shen sat on a stone to rest. Not long after, he heard the faint humming sound coming from next door again.

“That woman has sneaked into Old Yu’s house again. With Old Yu being so greedy, how could he not have noticed her?” Lin Shen was somewhat puzzled.

But since it was someone else’s business, he didn’t bother to meddle and continued to close his eyes and rest.

“When my sister gets better, during the long nights, I can take her to Realm King Planet. The nights here are just too long for a normal person to sleep through.” The nights on Giant Ring Star, apart from being especially dark, didn’t seem any different to Lin Shen.

The woman seemed to be in a good mood, humming an unclear song over and over, with the same melody each time.

Listening to it for too long inevitably became annoying, and Lin Shen wanted to tell her to stop singing, but then thought better of it.

In the middle of the night, if he called out like that, wouldn’t everyone hear? Old Yu would also discover that the woman was squatting in his house.

Fortunately, after the woman sang for a while longer, the sound stopped, and the faint light coming through the wall also disappeared.

Lin Shen continued to practice the Immortality Scripture, and the night passed easily.

Come dawn, Lin Shen left his room first thing to speak with the woman next door, asking her not to sing at night anymore.

When Lin Shen came out, no one else from this row of stone houses had yet appeared.

But when he reached the neighboring stone house, he found its door open. Glancing inside, he saw no one there.

“Strange, I came out as soon as it got light, how could that woman have been quicker than me? That doesn’t make sense.” Lin Shen frowned slightly.

“Little Brother Lin, why are you up so early?” Old Yu, who lived in the first room of the row, came out and was mildly surprised to see Lin Shen up so early.

“Old Yu, was anyone staying in this room last night?” Lin Shen asked with a frown, turning towards Old Yu.

“No, there are only so many of us here, with set rooms for everyone. It’s just the three of you newcomers; there’s nobody else.” Yu seemed to have thought of something, looked around, then pulled Lin Shen to one side, his eyes staring into Lin Shen’s as he lowered his voice and asked, “What exactly do you mean?”

“Didn’t I tell you last time that I heard a woman singing in the next room? Last night, I heard it again,” Lin Shen said.

Yu’s face turned very ugly: “Lin, you can’t just spout nonsense like that…”

“I really heard it,” Lin Shen affirmed with certainty. He couldn’t have misheard; on the first day, he had even seen that woman.

Seeing how certain Lin Shen was, Yu’s expression shifted uncertainly for a long while before finally gritting his teeth and saying, “Lin, it’s enough that you and I know this matter; absolutely do not go spreading it around.”

“Why not?” Lin Shen was puzzled.

“Just don’t ask, and don’t tell. I’ll waive the rent for your room. And, whatever you do, don’t even think about going to the stone house next door at night, not even stepping outside,” Yu seemed afraid that Lin Shen would continue to ask and quickly left.

A short while later, Yu took a large lock out from his own room and locked the door to the stone house next to Lin Shen’s.

No matter what Lin Shen asked him thereafter, he refused to say anything more.

Soon, more people began to emerge, with most heading straight out to hunt.

Ximen Swordsman was looking much better than the day before, at least stable enough not to sway while riding on the Grey Crystal Triangular Sheep.

After exchanging glances, Lin Shen smiled and greeted him, but Ximen Swordsman simply turned his face away and left the village without looking back.

Lin Shen didn’t mind and went to ask Yu for information again.

At first, Yu was somewhat annoyed, but once he realized Lin Shen wasn’t asking about the woman, he immediately put on a smile.

“One piece of Heavenly Currency for a piece of news,” Yu said with a grin.

Lin Shen asked about Ascension and Ascension Eggs, and Yu provided clear explanations.

Humans here lacked the equipment to turn Ascension Eggs into oral liquids.

Most humans would choose to leave Giant Ring Star, seeking Ascension on another planet.

If one insisted on ascending on Giant Ring Star, they would have to enlist the help of Celestials or the advanced species living in the Star Belt.

Lin Shen had no choice but to put aside the thought of helping his elder sister ascend for the time being. He dared not show the Mutated Ascension Egg to the Celestials or those advanced species—it would be like handing over a hefty gold nugget for thieves to handle.

The humans here rarely interacted with each other, even showing a degree of coldness.

Apart from Yu, everyone seemed to be avoiding interaction as much as possible. During the day, the village was entirely deserted.

Yu said that most people who came to Giant Ring Star had no choice, compelled by desperate reasons. After all, who would come to such a godforsaken place?

After packing his things, Lin Shen planned to explore farther afield. If he found nothing new, he was ready to find a secluded place to teleport to Realm King Planet.

Before he could even leave the village gate, he saw a bright light flying in the sky.

“Could that be Tian Xun?” Lin Shen frowned. Before, he had thought about taking advantage of Tian Xun, but he no longer had that intention; at least, he did not have the capability now.

Sure enough, the flying object landed in front of Lin Shen. After the canopy opened, a pixelated figure was revealed.

“Get in.” Tian Xun opened the door to the passenger side and gestured for Lin Shen to hop in.