The next morning, Shireen yawned and walked out of the room and found Dead Leaf helping Costa put on makeup.

"Good morning, Shirin." Gu Ye greeted her while gluing a fake beard on the face of the retired soldier, "Breakfast is in the kitchen, go get it yourself."

"Thanks for letting me know, Dead Leaf, but I'm going to rinse my mouth first." Shireen said, "Uh, what does this smell like? Has something gone bad?"

"Well, the glue this time is made from pig skin." Dead Leaf shrugged, "The good-smelling glue has all been used up."

"But this is too disgusting..."

Shireen walked around in front of the two people and found that the expression on Costa's face remained unchanged, as if he had not smelled anything.

Damn it. If there was a book called "The Veteran's Guide to the Tough Guy," there would be this line in it: No matter how disgusting the smell is, a tough guy will remain calm and his face will remain unchanged.

"Yes, it is indeed a bit disgusting." Dead Leaf patted the fake beard on Costa's face to ensure that they were firmly stuck on his face, "But now that supplies are so scarce, we have to use whatever is available."

After the fake beard was solved, Ku Ye started to help Costa choose a wig. She fumbled in the box for a long time and finally selected a set of straw-colored short curly hair.

"I have a request, Dead Leaf." Shirin said, "I have been hiding down here for a week. The weather seems to be very good today, so I also want to go out for a walk. Do you think you can..."

The two of them turned to her in unison, "Absolutely not." They said in unison.

Shireen frowned, "You two always understand each other very well at times like this."

"This is all for your own good." Dead Leaf said.

"Why? You can go out as long as you put on makeup, why can't I?" Shirin asked unconvinced.

"The reason is very simple." The female elf looked her up and down, "Your hair is too long and the color is too conspicuous. I don't have a suitable wig for you here, and you should save the dye. But if you don't deal with your hair, you

You can't be out there for five minutes without being recognized."

"Why?"

"Because on Shireen Marron's reward order, the only distinguishing feature is your red hair."

"Red hair? So, could I be in danger too?" Moira said and walked out of the kitchen. She was holding a plate in her hand with a piece of pancake spread with maple syrup.

Dead Leaf snorted, "You haven't seen Shireen's reward order. This portrait is really bad. If I were a red-haired girl, the first thing I would do is dye my hair."

"What about the portraits of you two?" Shireen asked curiously.

"Costa's and I's portraits both look very similar to me." Dead Leaf replied.

"How could this happen?" Moira said, "It's so strange."

"I also want to know the reason. Could it be that there is no one in the Adventurer's Guild who has met Shireen?" Gu Ye looked at Costa, who had put on makeup, "Perfect, I can't even recognize you. Continue.

Come down and change your clothes. It's best to wear the loose employee suit from last time. It's the only thing that can hide your long sword."

Jerome, who was wearing an apron, poked his head out of the kitchen, "Ah, sorry... I just took that dress to be washed. I didn't know you were going to use it today."

"Ah ha, that's really unfortunate." Dead Leaf said thoughtfully, "Your long sword is too conspicuous. If you don't have suitable clothes, it's best not to take it out. I can put my fighting

I'll lend you the daggers, you can hide them in your sleeves."

"Thank you for your kindness. But as for the dagger, I also have it myself." Costa rubbed the fake beard on his face and confirmed that it has been glued firmly, "And unless I encounter any accidents, I don't need to use weapons.

"

Shireen crossed her arms and looked at the brand-new Costa. Guye's makeup skills were very good. In addition to the fake beard and wig, he also had some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and his nose looked like it had been broken once. If not,

Seeing the makeup process with her own eyes, she would definitely not recognize it.

"It's amazing, Dead Leaf," Shirin said and clapped her hands, "It's simply amazing."

The female elf buttoned up the makeup box and said, "I know what you want to say - since my makeup skills are so high, why can't I help you think of a solution?"

Shirin nodded obediently, and then looked at the dead leaves expectantly.

"No," Dead Leaf shook his head, "I just told you that the hair problem cannot be solved."

"You can consider cutting your hair short," Costa suggested.

"What?" Shirin defensively put her left hand in front of her chest, "This is absolutely not possible!"

"Then I'm sorry, dear. You just rejected the only feasible plan." Dead Leaf grinned, "Okay, don't waste Costa's time here, he still has a lot of places to run today."

————

After Costa left, the shelter quickly returned to its daily routine. Katie and Jerome began cleaning the shelter, Moira sat under the skylight and studied her notes, and Osprey lit the fire in the conference room.

I thought hard about the map of Yincheng.

Shirin and Dead Leaf went to the warehouse above and continued to practice their ability to control thorns. Due to the soundproof barrier installed by the tuner, they did not need to worry about the noise they made attracting outsiders.

After a week of practice, Shirin's accuracy in using the long whip has greatly improved, and she can even make some delicate movements. For example, she can use the whip to wrap around the weapon in the enemy's hand, or wrap it around the hook above her head as a lever.

point.

Her physical strength is also steadily improving. At the beginning, her mask can only last for three minutes, and then it will disappear on its own, and there will be a "rest period" of up to ten minutes. During this time, regardless of Shirin's

No matter how hard I try, I can't summon the mask. Now, after continuous training, the longest record has reached eleven minutes.

Shireen felt that this time was still not long enough, but Dead Leaf told her that most battles would be decided within five minutes, especially the duel between awakened ones.

"But, what if I have to deal with more than one enemy?" Shireen asked.

"Costa and I will try our best not to put you in that dangerous situation,"

"I know you two will protect me, but unexpected situations are inevitable."

"It makes sense." Dead Leaf said thoughtfully, "But it has only been a month since you awakened, and you are already very good at reaching the level you are now. Most elves need five to ten years of training to master their own abilities.

And this is while receiving guidance from someone with the same ability who has awakened."

"Awakened people with the same ability..." Shireen repeated, "Well, it seems impossible for me to get guidance from an awakened person with the same ability as myself."

"It is very impossible." Dead Leaf said, "Don't forget, almost all adult awakened people go crazy within half a year. I suspect that so far, no adult awakened person has been able to unleash the full potential of his awakening talent... Hmm

, maybe Mr. End is an exception?”

Shirin had no doubt. No matter what method he used, being able to defeat the Sage Protector and take the wizard's body for his own use meant that he had definitely reached a higher level.

After a few more rounds of training, the masks disappeared on their own. They sat on the floor and shared a green apple.

"Withered leaves, have you ever thought about why Mr. Ende didn't go crazy?" Shirin said, handing the apple she had just bitten to the female elf.

Dead Leaf took the apple and took a bite, "Well... I have made some assumptions, but I have never found reliable evidence. Do you have any conjectures of your own?"

Shirin nodded, "I've been thinking that the reason why Mr. Ende didn't go crazy might be because something was supporting him and helping him get through that dangerous period smoothly."

"for example?"

"Such as some strong emotion. You said that Mr. End's goal is revenge. Maybe the desire for revenge overwhelms everything and keeps him awake."

The female elf returned the apple with a thoughtful expression, "I have also thought about this possibility, but after thinking about it for a long time, it is just a possibility. There is no obvious connection between the two things, maybe it is just a coincidence."

Shireen was silent for a moment.

"I have a hunch," she finally said, "if we figure out his past experiences, we might be able to find some clues about his weaknesses. Thomas Ende must have been the identity he stole before he became this person.

, who is he? What should we call him?"

"I'm still used to using the name 'Ende'." Dead Leaf shrugged, "To me, he is Thomas Ende. I don't know, and I don't want to know, his past."

"Why?"

"Because," the female elf raised her head and stared at the glass of the warehouse skylight, "if I knew his past, I don't know if I could hate him as much as I do now... I'm afraid that I would sympathize with him. That would be too disrespectful to Seagull.

Fair enough."

They ate the apple in silence, neither of them wanting to talk about the possible humanity in Thomas Ende. He must be a cold-blooded monster with no heart and no emotions, because only in this way can his actions be reasonable...

…

"I want to try Han Ye's sapphire again." Shirin suddenly said, "She said that the information stored in the gem can explain everything. If that information also includes his past, then we can find more clues.
Chapter completed!