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Chen Qing... do you also not recognize me?

From a distance, Ziyue felt a sense of despair rising inside her for the first time, even reminiscent of the despair she once felt in the underground laboratory in Yundu, where she was secretly manipulated by the upper echelons to undergo various experiments.

Now, no one could see her; everyone treated that person as her, no one could hear her voice, nor see her situation.

She initially thought that when she saw Chen Qing rushing over, he could do something, yet even he... could he be just like everyone else?

Stay calm, Ziyue, you must remain calm, you cannot despair...

Realizing her growing sense of powerlessness, Ziyue suddenly bit her tongue fiercely, quickly realizing that it was that monster’s emotional manipulation at work.

The adversary could control negative emotions, and once she allowed even a slight negative emotion to arise, the other could infinitely amplify it.

If she continued to despair like this, it might not even require others to take action; she might just end her own life here.

Thinking this, Ziyue, who had bitten her tongue, endured the pain, trying her best to keep her body upright rather than succumbing to fatigue and lying on the ground. Her condition was very poor, and if she couldn’t mentally sustain herself, she might silently die right here.

She didn’t want to die like this; she had undergone so many hardships and still had things she wanted to do. How could she fall here?

A flicker of determination passed through her eyes; the incredibly weak her forcefully stood up....

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"What happened?"

Chen Qing, very sensitively, saw a hint of surprise in the other’s eyes and pretended to ask with concern.

Deep inside, Chen Qing couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy, but it was just for a moment, and he immediately suppressed it.

Only Ziyue could stir up this person’s emotions at a time like this.

This being, apart from imitating others, had another vile ability—it could regulate emotions.

It could infinitely magnify a person’s joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, which if utilized well, could make a person lose their sanity instantly, even becoming a slave to their emotions at critical moments.

At this moment, Ziyue must be in utter despair, severely injured, having endured such pain, and just when she finally gained the respect of the Four Holy Army, a strange monster had swooped in and stolen her thunder.

The fact that she was unseen and unheard by anyone, Chen Qing could imagine how crushing that despair must be.

Most crucially, as soon as a hint of despair arose in her heart, this monster could help infinitely amplify it, leading to a mental breakdown.

Chen Qing dared not think of Ziyue’s current situation, but... she had still come through!

He was still unsure whether it was the Blood Demon Clan’s Princess or the annoying data director from back then inside Ziyue’s body, but regardless... whoever it was, her willpower was probably of a superhuman level. Having such a teammate was indeed reliable...

"It’s nothing... just some pain." Ziyue across from him smiled, her blood-covered face smiling grotesquely, giving Chen Qing the feeling as if she might pounce on him and tear him apart at any moment.

Chen Qing showed no outward reaction, he knew the other was doubting and testing him. The other could control emotions; if his emotions fluctuated too much, he would quickly be recognized by the other, who already knew of its existence. Even now, Chen Qing did not know why he was unaffected.

Like how the Thousand-Faced Fox could not alter his memories back then, the Demon Statue before him couldn’t treat him the same way it did with others.

The others couldn’t even remember the Demon Statue’s existence, but Chen Qing did. The other was testing this, which was why it said the phrase, ’Only the two of us remember.’

Chen Qing hadn’t said he didn’t remember because he was certain the other was unsure; he was also testing the other, whether it had used its powers on a Reincarnator.

If it had never used them on a Reincarnator, then it couldn’t be sure if a Reincarnator would remember it or not, of course, this was also a gamble.

Now it seemed, the other hadn’t used them and was continuously testing him, clearly unsure if Chen Qing had already seen through its identity.

If that was the case, then he needed to maintain this advantage in the shadows. To do so, Chen Qing knew he must not exhibit any significant emotional fluctuations, or he would risk exposure at any time.

Thinking this, he still expressed his concern: "It’s okay, although painful, the member of Siao Family didn’t intend to kill you. You only suffered superficial injuries and recovery will be quick, just endure it a bit."

Upon hearing this, the other party slightly frowned, but just nodded.

The guy in front of him showed no significant emotional fluctuation, making it really hard to discern truth from falsehood.

"What should we do next? We can’t delay too long; the situation with the Guard Commander is critical. If we don’t send reinforcements in time, the hard-earned public support might dissipate."

"We can use defending the Central Hall as a reason to retain all soldiers as much as possible, and let the Priest decide whether to support the others, to buy some time."

"That’s a reluctantly feasible solution." The other party slightly rolled their eyes at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing curled his lips; the way this guy rolled his eyes was exactly like Ziyue, truly terrifying...

How could he find any flaws?

The so-called flaws aren’t just determined by claiming the other person is an impostor— that’s subjective thinking. If a mere doubt could eliminate the other’s abilities, those abilities would be rather useless.

Chen Qing knew that to counter this ability, solid evidence was needed, proving with examples that this person isn’t Ziyue, causing an emotional breakdown to defeat the ability.

The more people see it as a fake, the more significantly its emotions will collapse—this is the only way to confront White Drawing.

Of course... the best approach would be for Ziyue to come out from the Paint World, but Chen Qing couldn’t fully rely on that. Finding flaws in the Paint World can be harder than dealing with people, as humans are the hardest to mimic and thus have the most flaws.

Even so, Chen Qing still couldn’t spot a single flaw till now.

"I have something to ask you."

Chen Qing took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and decided to throw something dramatic to force the other party to reveal a flaw, maintaining a reasonably inconspicuous performance was a tough task, yet there was one topic in particular that was fitting to bring up.

"What do you want to ask?" the other party asked while scrutinizing Chen Qing.

"Do you think... are you the Blood Demon’s Princess or the annoying woman I once knew?"

Ziyue: "....."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only the other party was stunned, but Ziyue observing them at a short distance, and even some soldiers eavesdropping quietly,

The space around them seemed to halt abruptly, turning eerily quiet.

If there’s a sensitive topic, it had to be this. Even though Ziyue had previously performed well, the loyalty of the Four Holy Army still hinged upon her noble bloodline. If she is no longer Princess Ziyue but a Reincarnator, no matter what she does, she won’t gain the Four Holy Army’s allegiance.

For Chen Qing, the situation was opposite; no matter how close their relationship, if Ziyue turned out to be a Blood Demon rather than the person Chen Qing knew, would Chen Qing still confide in her as he did?

This was an exceedingly sensitive topic, something ideally unspoken at this time.

Why does he bring this up now?

Does he want to break ties with Ziyue?

White Drawing was puzzled with countless doubts fluttering through her mind, even considering that Chen Qing may know her identity and deliberately launched this topic to search for her flaws.

"Is this... important to you?" White Drawing asked cautiously.

"Very important...." Chen Qing began with a smile: "You don’t need to be too nervous; I just want to know the truth, who has been confiding in me all these days, whether it’s the person I once knew or something else. Regardless of the outcome, it won’t affect our alliance..."

"If that’s the case, why ask?"

"In terms of power and interests, there’s no need to ask, and we should even avoid asking, but that person and I share a close relationship..." Chen Qing earnestly said: "I must... at least know the truth!"