Chapter 278: Yang Xiao

The bone-chilling cold wind blew past the base entrance, also chilling Chen Ling’s heart.

Damn it... how could he be here???

Chen Ling had seen this man on the fourth floor of the Aurora Base not long ago; there was no way he could be mistaken.

But shouldn't Lord Aurora still be sleeping in the base? When did he wake up? How did he appear behind him like a ghost in the blink of an eye? Was he coming for him? But how could that be... could it be because he touched the glass? That makes no sense?!

Countless thoughts surged rapidly in Chen Ling’s heart, nearly making his brain smoke. An "ancient person" who was sleeping soundly in a sleep pod suddenly appeared behind him, staring straight at him—this was a plot that only appeared in horror movies!

Chen Ling silently moved his gaze away from the figure opposite, turned naturally, and walked into the distance as if he didn't recognize him.

"Wait."

The man’s voice rang out slowly.

Chen Ling’s footsteps paused. He turned his head back with a blank and shocked expression, looked around, and pointed at himself blankly, "Are you talking to me?"

In the Aurora Base, Chen Ling had touched the sleep pod as "Chen Xin," but now he had changed back to the appearance of "Lin Yan," so he shouldn't be recognized.

"You think I wouldn't recognize you just because you changed your face?" Lord Aurora looked at Chen Ling, who had an innocent face. "Even if you turned to ash, I could still smell the 'World-Ending' aura on you."

This sentence completely shattered Chen Ling’s last bit of luck.

He carried the "World-Ending" calamity, was the enemy of all humanity, and was undoubtedly standing in opposition to Lord Aurora... Now that Lord Aurora had awakened, he, Chen Ling, was the biggest threat to Lord Aurora in this Aurora City!

The shadow of death shrouded Chen Ling’s heart. In those eyes surging like auroras, everything about him seemed to be seen through.

Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, Lord Aurora’s voice rang out again:

"What? Know fear now?"

Chen Ling was stunned for a moment. He looked up at Lord Aurora in confusion, and a trace of imperceptible playfulness flashed in the other’s eyes... he didn't know if it was his imagination.

Chen Ling took a deep breath and spoke carefully:

"Lord Aurora... senior. I didn't mean to disturb your slumber, and I have no hostility toward Aurora City... My appearance here was just an accident. If you mind, I’ll leave now."

As the words fell, he turned and walked into the distance.

"Stop." Lord Aurora called him back again.

Chen Ling: ...

"Come back."

Helplessly, Chen Ling had to walk back to Lord Aurora obediently.

Lord Aurora stared at him for a long time and said slowly, "Take me around."

"...What?"

"I’m not familiar with this era yet; I need a guide."

Chen Ling’s brow furrowed involuntarily. He looked at Lord Aurora in confusion, but in those eyes, he didn't see any murderous intent... only the unknown, as deep and mysterious as an aurora.

"Do we... know each other?" Chen Ling asked subconsciously.

Lord Aurora paused for a moment, "No."

"Then..."

"My time is running out, and you are a 'World-Ending' calamity... I have to keep an eye on you before I die, to prevent you from doing anything detrimental to this city."

Chen Ling was stunned. He pondered this sentence carefully, feeling that something was wrong, but it also seemed very reasonable... So, was he under house arrest?

"Of course, you can also refuse..."

Lord Aurora’s eyes narrowed. The next moment, deep blue electric arcs crackled around him, the aurora in the sky rolled backward, and the aura of a Tier 9 descended suddenly!

"If that’s the case... I can only kill you first to prevent future trouble."

"Wait!" Chen Ling said immediately, "I agree!"

The [Audience Expectation] was still less than 50. If he were killed by Lord Aurora, he would really die... And even if the expectation was high enough to have two lives, it wouldn't be enough to kill in front of Lord Aurora.

Lord Aurora seemed very satisfied with Chen Ling’s reaction. He patted his lab coat, dissipated the electric arcs around him,

"Lead the way."

"...Where do you want to go?"

"Is there a Starbucks? I want an oat latte."

"...Where would there be a Starbucks in this place? There’s only a local Wisteria Cafe nearby, and it tastes terrible..." Chen Ling responded naturally, then suddenly froze in place.

Starbucks... he hadn't heard that brand in a long time in this era.

Chen Ling remembered that Lord Aurora was originally a researcher before the Great Catastrophe, and only chose to sleep voluntarily after the catastrophe occurred... For Lord Aurora, he just woke up to a completely unfamiliar era, just like... just like his own "transmigration" back then?

In Chen Ling’s cognition, Lord Aurora’s aura was so great that he had ignored the fact that he and Lord Aurora were from the same era.

Wait, did his answer just now expose the fact that he had transmigrated??

But looking at Lord Aurora, he didn't seem to react to Chen Ling’s answer, saying casually:

"Whatever, let’s just go to that Wisteria Cafe... I haven't had it in so long, my coffee addiction is acting up."

Chen Ling’s brain was still in a storm, so much so that he was absent-minded while walking. Fortunately, the cafe wasn't too far away, and they arrived at the door after a few steps.

Chen Ling reached out to push the door, but it didn't open. He came back to his senses and looked down, seeing that frost had frozen the gap in the door, making a clicking sound as he pushed.

What was going on? He had only been in the base for six hours, had the temperature outside dropped to this point?

Although Chen Ling was confused, he didn't take it to heart. After all, he hadn't been in Aurora City for long and didn't know how the climate changed here, only thinking it might be a sudden drop in temperature. After pushing hard again, he shook off the frost on the door and entered the cafe.

"Is anyone here?" Chen Ling looked around the room, didn't see any staff or the owner, and asked in surprise.

"I see the 'Open' sign hanging on the door." Lord Aurora raised his eyebrows, "Whatever, let’s order first..."

Immediately after, his hand began to grope around his body.

“……What are you doing?” Chen Ling asked.

“Scanning the QR code to order.” Aurora-kun paused for a moment, then came to his senses. “Right, this era probably doesn’t have things like this… and I don’t have my phone on me.”

“……” Chen Ling said helplessly, “There’s no one in this shop. Let’s go to another one.”

“No need. Just leave the money; I can brew it myself.”

As he spoke, Aurora-kun walked behind the counter, rolled up the sleeves of his white lab coat, and began skillfully selecting coffee beans.

“Senior Aurora-kun, you know how to grind coffee?”

“Back when I was doing experiments, there were no coffee machines in the lab, so we always hand-ground it.” Aurora-kun paused for a moment. “Also, no need to call me Senior Aurora-kun… call me Yang Xiao, or Dr. Yang, either is fine.”