socalfunplaces Chapter 1357 Xinoning, who acts like a farmer
Chapter 1357 Xinoning, who acts like a farmer
"I think that's all an exaggeration. People are best at exaggerating the severity of things in order to gain sympathy and help from others."
"Haven't you learned your lesson enough from when Ayaka Kamisato tricked you into working for Inazuma?"
When Ayaka Kamisato was mentioned, Shao Yun's tone became more disdainful, clearly not forgetting the feeling of being "morally blackmailed" back then.
"If you cry wolf once, some people will believe you; if you cry wolf twice, some people might still hesitate; but if you cry wolf a third time, no one will take it seriously anymore."
Shao Yun took a half step forward, staring intently into Ying's eyes, emphasizing this undeniable truth.
Ying lowered her hand from her forehead, her eyes still filled with lingering worry.
Meeting Shao Yun's gaze, she softly asked, "But what if... the wolves really are coming this time?"
"If we miss the chance to stop the crisis because of our disbelief, won't everyone suffer in the end? Including our family and our daughter..."
Faced with Ying's worries, Shao Yun showed no sympathy whatsoever, instead saying matter-of-factly, "Then you can only blame those who cried 'wolf'."
“We have repeatedly betrayed other people’s trust. If something really goes wrong, it’s their own ‘sheep’ that will suffer the loss. What does it have to do with us? We don’t need to pay for other people’s unreliability.”
Seeing that Ying wanted to say something more, Shao Yun raised his hand to interrupt her.
He didn't want to waste any more time on the pointless topic of "whether Nordkal will eventually collapse," so he immediately changed the subject and returned to the main point.
"Never mind all that nonsense for now. Anyway, I have a plan! A serious plan!"
He deliberately emphasized the word "PLAN," trying to use it to attract Ying's attention and distract her from her worries about the crisis.
Seeing that Shao Yun had changed the subject, Yingyan knew that dwelling on the crisis in Nordkare was pointless for the time being, so she suppressed her worries and followed his lead, asking:
"what's the plan?"
Shao Yun took Falga's letter back from Ying's hand and explained his plan to Ying in a simple and clear manner.
"Look, it says here that the robot that delivers our messages is named Ineff."
“Ningguang told me before that Nordkale is an autonomous region of Winter. I plan to go and ask Inev about it and find out more about Winter.”
He paused, his gaze falling on Ying's face, and said with barely concealed excitement, "Weren't you just one ice elemental power short? This is like a pillow delivered to someone who's sleepy."
"Winter Solstice is the territory of the Ice God, so there must be clues to obtaining ice elemental power. We might be able to get useful information from Inef."
After listening to Shao Yun's words, Ying crossed her right arm and said weakly, "So, what you mean is..."
Before Ying could finish speaking, Shao Yun smiled sincerely, gently patted Ying's head, and said in a light tone:
"That's roughly the idea. But before that, let's have a family meeting!"
"Just you, me, your brother Kong, and Yuan Shang, the four of us should discuss it carefully and finalize all the details," Shao Yun added, his fingertips gently brushing against Ying's hair.
Then, he withdrew his hand from Ying's head, his eyes becoming exceptionally determined, and began to paint a rosy picture for Ying.
"Once you get your hands on this last piece of ice elemental power, and your brother finishes his business, we'll be completely free!"
"Then I can live however I want, and I won't have to worry about all this messy stuff in Teyvat anymore!"
……
The midday sun in Nata was just right, its warm rays streaming along the canyon and bathing the settlement of the Echoing Sons tribe in a pale gold light.
The area in front of Xinoning's workshop, which had been piled up like a pigsty in the morning, was now clean and tidy.
Scattered parts and various fabrics were all put into storage boxes in the corner, and even the floor was swept clean of any debris.
Xinoning lay sprawled on a recliner by the door, her fluffy cat ears drooping lazily, a furry tail casually draped over the armrest, and a cup of fruit juice in her hand.
She squinted, a satisfied smile on her lips, and sipped her juice, remarking contentedly:
"Oh, life is so comfortable... I don't have to clean my room, and Mavica doesn't bother me. It's like living in paradise."
Not far away, the robot maid Ineff was methodically cleaning the inside and outside of the workshop.
Her right hand suddenly deformed and contracted, eventually transforming into a small vacuum cleaner nozzle. With a low hum, it sucked away all the fine dust and wood chips remaining on the ground.
Even the cracks in the workshop threshold that hadn't been cleaned for a long time were thoroughly cleaned, clearly indicating an intention to make the place spotless.
While Shinonin was leisurely enjoying the fruits of Inev's labor like a farmer who reaps the rewards without sowing,
Shao Yun appeared silently beside the recliner like a ghost, without even making a sound.
Looking at Xining's squinting, sunbathing appearance, he was seized by a mischievous impulse. Suddenly, he leaned close to her ear and shouted, "Hey!"
"Meow--!"
As expected, Xinoning was startled by the sudden shout. It shuddered, its fluffy tail instantly bristled into a fluffy ball, and its cat ears stood up.
She sprang up abruptly, almost like a startled cat, leaping three feet high onto the roof of her workshop, spilling a few drops of her fruit drink onto the armrest of the recliner.
When she turned around, still shaken, and saw that it was Shao Yun who had frightened her, her bristling tail slowly calmed down, but she still complained irritably:
"You scared me to death! Mr. Shao Yun, how could you be so silly? Don't you know cats are easily frightened?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and patted her pounding chest, her cat ears still trembling slightly.
Shao Yun casually draped his arm over the back of the recliner, leaned down to look at her, a forced smile on his face. His gaze swept over Inef, who was diligently cleaning not far away, and he teased:
"You, Xinoning, really know how to enjoy yourself now, acting like a farmer from the south, ordering people around while you sunbathe and drink juice. You're living a pretty comfortable life, aren't you?"
Xinoning raised her hand to tidy up her slightly disheveled hair, which had been messed up by the fright, her cat ears still drooping slightly, and corrected her with a displeased expression:
"What farm owner? I run a workshop, not a farm! How can you get that mixed up?"
She clearly didn't get the sarcasm in Shao Yun's words, and just assumed he had misspoke.
Seeing that she didn't understand the joke, Shao Yun didn't intend to explain further. He nonchalantly raised his chin and changed the subject, reminding her:
"I was just kidding. But seriously, don't try to take this robot for yourself. It's not ownerless."
Upon hearing this, Xinoning immediately retorted, "Of course I wouldn't! Although I often go to the Nata Wilderness to collect unwanted secret source mechanisms, I'm not a bandit who just steals other people's things. This robot clearly has an owner, how could I possibly take it for myself?"
She paused, then added confidently.
"Besides, it was terribly broken before, and I had to put in a lot of effort to fix it. It's only reasonable to have her do some work for me for a few days to offset the repair costs, right?"
(Even though Xinoning only activated the phlogiston core... it's still good to have some momentum even if you're in the wrong~)
At this point, Xinoning's eyes lit up, and she winked at Shao Yun.
"Mr. Shao Yun, you haven't seen it yet! This robot is an all-around expert at housework! It tidies up the house, cleans, and organizes parts, all quickly and well, even cleaner than I can do myself!"
As she talked, she became more and more excited. Suddenly, Xinoning fell into a fantasy and muttered to herself with her head down.
"I really want to exchange technical information with the creator of this robot... If I could build a robot that can do housework using phlogiston technology, would my flowers never wither and die because I forgot to water them?"
She had previously grown several potted plants, but they all withered because she forgot to take care of them.
Shao Yun looked at Xinoning, who was lost in her fantasies with a lovesick expression, shook his head helplessly, took out Falga's letter from his pocket, and waved it lightly in front of her to interrupt her thoughts.
"Forget about your robot. I have something to discuss with this Miss Ineff. Is she in a good condition to have a normal conversation?"
Xinoning was brought back to his senses by the letter. Following Shao Yun's gaze, he looked at Inef, who was diligently cleaning the workshop threshold not far away, and nodded in response:
"That's about right. Her main problem is with her memory module; she can't remember many things, but her language, logic, and communication skills are all fine. Talking to her is effortless."
Upon hearing Xinoning say that Inev's memory module had malfunctioned, Shao Yun couldn't help but feel worried.
If her memory is all messed up, how can we possibly get any information about Zhidong and Nordkalai out of her? Was this trip a complete waste?
But now that things have come to this, we can't just turn around and leave, since we're already here.
Shao Yun gritted his teeth and decided to give it a try, hoping to get some fragmented but useful information out of him.
"Is there something wrong with your memory?" he repeated, his tone tinged with helplessness. "Okay, I understand... Hopefully, I can get some useful information out of you."
After saying that, Shao Yun walked towards Ineff and quietly circled around to her back.
Ineff was clearly equipped with a sensitive sensory device; as soon as Shao Yun approached, the sensor on her back detected the movement.
Her right hand, which was originally in the form of a vacuum cleaner, quickly retracted and deformed, transforming back into a flexible mechanical hand within seconds.
Then Ineff turned around smoothly, looked at Shao Yun expressionlessly, and asked clearly and calmly, "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"