Chapter 39: Chapter 039 A Leaf
Shen Xingyan, carrying the Giant Rat, returned Home not long after, and Shen Xingying had already come back from school.
At this moment, she was a bit flustered; after returning Home as usual, she didn't see her brother.
She was initially quite puzzled, as Shen Xingyan hadn't gone out since his Awakening, but this time when she came back, she saw her brother's room door open, with no trace of him inside.
This made Shen Xingying, who had developed a habit, suddenly feel very unaccustomed, followed by a wave of overthinking; after all, in this world, her brother was her only relative, and her concern made her momentarily flustered.
Fortunately, her emotions didn't last long, as Shen Xingyan returned, which also calmed her panicked mind.
"Brother, where did you go? You weren't here when I came back," Shen Xingying said, seeing her brother's figure, delighted but unable to stop complaining.
Before, they used to go to and from school together, but since Shen Xingyan's Awakening, she had been going between school and Home alone. It would be a lie to say she didn't feel lonely; no matter how good her relationships with her classmates were, they couldn't compare to Shen Xingyan, her own family.
However, before Shen Xingyan could answer, Shen Xingying noticed the black monster her brother was carrying. Frightened, she instinctively took a few steps back, then asked with some uncertainty and surprise:
"Brother, brother, this… what is this you're carrying? It looks very much like the Giant Rat in the monster data?"
Shen Xingying pointed at the Giant Rat her brother was carrying, speaking with a slight stutter.
At this time, the Giant Rat in Shen Xingyan's hand had been smashed beyond clear recognition, but Shen Xingying could still vaguely identify it through some clues.
It must be said that the base protected children like Shen Xingyan very well. In this place surrounded by Disasters, they were able to grow up in a safe environment for more than ten years without coming into contact with these Extraterritorial World creatures.
So, it was also Shen Xingying's first time seeing such an exotic beast, and while she was surprised, she also couldn't help but feel curious.
"You're right, it's a Giant Rat. Don't worry, it was dealt with on the way," Shen Xingyan said, feeling relieved to see his sister safely at Home.
After all, if there was one, there could be two, and given his sister's abilities, there was a possibility of her getting injured if she wasn't on guard.
While answering his sister's question, he took out the dissection tools, preparing to dissect it according to the school's tutorial and see what that abnormal bulge was.
He thought with some unease, "It seems I'll have to accompany my sister to and from school from now on, at least until we can move closer to the school, just in case."
Shen Xingying watched her brother's actions, and her curiosity was greatly piqued. The instinctive fear she felt earlier dissipated, and she leaned in to observe carefully.
Seeing his sister's curious expression, Shen Xingyan smiled and explained the key points of dissecting Disasters to her. Although these were covered in school courses, it was his first time doing it himself, so he was still a bit clumsy.
When Shen Xingyan completely cut open the Giant Rat's belly, its contents were fully displayed in both their fields of vision.
"Brother, there's something in this Giant Rat's belly!" After adapting to the initial discomfort of the dissection, Shen Xingying returned to her normal state. At this moment, seeing the leaf emitting an unusual luster in the Giant Rat's belly, she excitedly cried out.
Unlike Shen Xingying's excitement, Shen Xingyan frowned. Upon seeing this object, he instinctively felt something was wrong, and he unconsciously maintained a certain vigilance towards this unknown object.
He firmly clamped it with pliers, just about to take a closer look at what it was.
But after this leaf separated from the Giant Rat's body, it suddenly seemed to come alive. Caught off guard, Shen Xingyan saw it begin to shake violently, and its force grew stronger and stronger, seemingly about to break free and fly away.
Suddenly experiencing such a change, although Shen Xingyan was somewhat at a loss, his steady nature prevented him from directly grabbing it. His own safety was always his top priority.
"This… why is it moving!" Shen Xingying was also shocked by this anomaly and wanted to go up and help control it.
But Shen Xingyan refused, telling her to stand aside for safety.
Just as he was at a loss, his star origin card appeared with a "whoosh" sound, flashing beside the leaf.
The violently shaking leaf seemed to sense the presence of the star origin card and crashed into it. Shen Xingyan watched with wide eyes as this somewhat peculiar leaf integrated into his star origin card in a very short time.
Afterward, the star origin card seemed fine, returning to Shen Xingyan's hand, lying quietly, and the scene returned to its previous calm.
This sudden change, however, frightened the siblings. This perplexing phenomenon left them both stunned.
It's important to know that the star origin card is naturally generated when each person Awakens, and its essential composition remains an unsolved mystery.
It is only known that this item will always follow the Awakened, and others cannot impose any restrictions on it.
Even if the star origin card is thrown to an unknown place, when the Awakened thinks of it, it will automatically appear in their hand, which is quite miraculous, not to mention that its functions can only be instinctively used by the Awakened themselves.
The importance of the star origin card is self-evident. Besides being a bridge connecting the Star Origin World, it has many functions, though some require money to activate.
Now, the star origin card had actually actively absorbed the leaf from just now, which was inexplicably strange.
Shen Xingyan quickly checked his star origin card. He saw a small and exquisite leaf pattern appear in the bottom right corner of the card's front.
"It seems this is the leaf the star origin card absorbed just now," Shen Xingyan guessed.
Shen Xingying, seeing her brother's expression at this time, also leaned in, wanting to see what was going on, but in her eyes, the star origin card was just a dark blur; she couldn't see anything.
Shen Xingyan hesitated for a moment, then slowly placed the star origin card on his forehead to check its contents.
However, the new content in the star origin card made Shen Xingyan open his mouth in surprise.
"How can there be something like this in a tiny Giant Rat's body?" This was Shen Xingyan's thought at that moment.