“Hmm… we’ve been walking for so long, but why do I feel like you aren’t interested in most of these, Little Qian?”
After taking Qiu Qiqian through almost this entire section, Li Meng noticed that Qiu Qiqian hadn’t shown much excitement or thrill.
She tilted her head and asked the question curiously.
“Hmm? Really?”
“Yes! For example… Number 1198. That’s the one that mimics human appearance and behavior but can never perfectly copy them. The first time I saw that thing, it gave me a real fright.”
“Hmm… maybe… it’s because I’m just braver?”
“Then… what about that statue called Number 907 crouching and crying in the corner? That thing teleports the instant no one is looking at it!”
“Well… it was alright.”
Qiu Qiqian responded with a calm and indifferent air.
After all, she had seen similar things in the fictional works of her original world.
Although they were just stories back then, they had somewhat raised her psychological threshold.
Furthermore, she was a Guiyi herself now.
“Whoa… is Little Qian really that brave? That’s amazing.”
“Hmph~ Of course. Who do you think I am?”
“In that case… oh, it’s almost time for lunch. Let me take you to our canteen.”
“Wait… that guy is…”
While Qiu Qiqian was idling and naturally glancing at a nearby Containment Room, she suddenly noticed a humanoid Guiyi locked inside.
It wore red clerical robes, and its face was a complete void where no features existed.
Qiu Qiqian couldn’t help but frown slightly.
She had an impression of it; she had seen this thing in a photo hanging on the wall of Li Meng’s house.
This Guiyi in the red robes…
Moreover, what was even more puzzling was that one of the walls in this containment room was covered in illegible text written in some kind of red liquid.
The characters were twisted and wild, as if some modern words had been spliced with ancient ones and then forcibly… recreated?
Regardless, it gave off a very unsettling feeling.
However, when she saw it in the photo, it was clearly as tall as a building.
Why was the one here… only the size of a normal person?
“This guy… it’s Number 1263, and also one of the few Guiyi with a specific code name — the Cardinal…”
Seeing Qiu Qiqian looking that way, Li Meng leaned in and explained the entity to her.
“Didn’t you say you defeated it?”
Qiu Qiqian asked, placing her hands on her hips as she looked at Li Meng.
“Yeah, I did indeed defeat it back then. But later, when the Organization members were cleaning up the site, they found this shrunken version of it… Maybe it was because that was the first time I truly used my abilities, and since I was inexperienced, I didn’t completely destroy it?”
“Anyway, after discovering it again, its rank had plummeted to the Baoshou level. Its aggressiveness is also practically nonexistent, so the Organization captured it quite easily.”
“Then… what is that writing on the walls?”
“The researchers haven’t fully figured those out either. They only know that every day, it adds a few new characters to the wall. When it isn’t writing, it just stares at the wall like that all day long.”
‘Based on all the movies and novels I saw before reincarnating, the things this so-called Cardinal is writing on the wall must contain very important information… It’s just… if I can’t read it, there’s nothing I can do.’
“Alright, alright~ We won’t be able to figure it out by looking. Let’s go check out the canteen first.”
“Hey! I told you not to pull me!”
Under Li Meng’s “warm hospitality,” Qiu Qiqian had no power to resist.
She could only follow closely behind Li Meng as the girl ran ahead.
However, they didn’t notice that the second they left the front of the room, the Cardinal, who had been staring at the wall, slowly turned its head.
With its face shrouded in nothingness, it looked toward the spot where they had just been standing…
***
“How is it? Spacious, right?”
Li Meng showed off the place to Qiu Qiqian with confidence.
“Yeah… it really is quite big…”
Qiu Qiqian looked at the canteen, which was nearly the size of a football field, and sighed in genuine admiration.
Moreover… the food inside looked pretty good… Should she expect any less from an official Organization?
It was much better than the dishes she used to see at school.
But… now that she was a Guiyi, did she really still need to eat?
“Hey, Little Qian, look and see if there’s anything you want to eat. It’s my treat.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll take a look…”
Qiu Qiqian walked to the back of the lines and looked at the signs above the various windows, hoping to see some familiar dishes.
Suddenly, a girl’s shout erupted from one of the seats behind her.
“Mo Ling, was there something wrong with how you fought yesterday?”
“Was… was there?”
“This lady could have sliced that Guiyi into pieces directly, but you insisted on using those simulated bombs of yours. You said it was to block its path, but not only did you almost let it escape, you even shredded my clothes! Do you have any idea?”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Hey! What kind of attitude is that! Believe it or not, during the next mission, this lady will…”
Perhaps because one of the girls’ voices was too… forceful?
In any case, the eyes of everyone in the vicinity were drawn toward them, including Qiu Qiqian and Li Meng.
Following the gaze of the crowd, they saw a silver-haired girl with twin-tails standing by a dining table.
She looked quite assertive, wearing a white-collared fur coat that was clearly a bit too oversized for her.
Underneath, she wore a white inner garment that appeared exceptionally tight due to being cinched by a belt, which was enough to emphasize her already somewhat mature breasts.
Meanwhile, the black-haired girl sitting next to her and scrolling through her phone appeared to be the one being scolded.
“Ugh, they’re arguing again.”
Li Meng sighed helplessly, though there was no real blame in her gray eyes.
“You know them?”
“Yeah, of course~ These two are considered the rising stars of late. The one standing is named Yao Xueyue. She was just promoted to Yexun not long ago. The one sitting is Mo Ling. Although she is only a Ming Xun, she just turned 15 recently.”
“Wait… they’re fighting Guiyi at such a young age?”
Qiu Qiqian looked at the two girls, who were at least one head shorter than her, and then turned to look at Li Meng, who also seemed to be a minor.
Her expression instantly became complicated.
‘Is the phenomenon of hiring child labor a bit serious in your Organization?’
“Hmm… is it?”
Li Meng turned her head to meet Qiu Qiqian’s eyes.
Seeing Qiu Qiqian’s strange look, she instinctively shrank back for some reason before turning back around.
“I guess… maybe it is… but the Organization doesn’t force anyone. Usually, Nether Bodies who join the Organization to help eliminate Guiyi either want a high-paying job or simply hate Guiyi. 16 is just the minimum age set by the Organization.”
“Man, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Alright, alright, don’t think about that. Let me tell you something interesting, Little Qian. I am actually their… well… ‘Navigator’!”
“What Navigator? An escort?”
“Something like that. The Association probably saw that they had good talent and, considering my talent is also great and we’re all girls, they let me accompany them on missions when I have time.”
“Talent… is all great?”
Qiu Qiqian sized up the two girls over there and then looked at Li Meng beside her.
This girl’s meaning was… with an age difference of no more than 2 years, one was already a Youxun, while the other two were a Ming Xun and a Yexun respectively…
“Hey, don’t look at me like that~ I’m an outlier! Just an outlier. For their age, being at this level is already very good. But… speaking of which, their team should have another girl named Isana… I wonder where she went.”
“Ah, it’s Miss Li Meng.”
While Qiu Qiqian and Li Meng were talking, a… well… lifeless female voice suddenly came from behind them.
The two turned around at the sound.
They saw a girl with purple hair and a butterfly hairclip holding her dinner.
Those jewel-like purple eyes, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, stared blankly at the two of them.
“Hmm? So Miss Li Meng was here?”
Yao Xueyue, seeing Li Meng, also restrained her previous aggressive aura.
As for the one who had been carelessly playing with her phone, she was so startled she almost dropped it.
“Mi-Mi-Miss Li Meng?! Um… I was listening seriously just now!”
“Whoa… no need to be so nervous~”
Li Meng waved her hand, advising them in a gentle tone.
She then turned her head to look at the purple-haired girl.
“So you went to get food, Isana. I was wondering where you were.”
“Yes. Then… who is this?”
Isana looked at Qiu Qiqian beside Li Meng, her voice still steady and flat.
“Me? I am…”
“She’s Little Qian. She’s my roommate living with me now~”
“Roommate?”
The other three present questioned in unison, though their tones were all different.
Upon hearing this news, Isana sized Qiu Qiqian up from top to bottom.
To be honest, being stared at with those dead-fish eyes made Qiu Qiqian feel a bit… strange.
After watching for a few seconds, Isana placed her meal on the nearest dining table.
Then, she formed a circle with each of her hands.
“Then… do the two of you…”
⭕ ⭕
⭕⭕
(Rubbing) ⭕⭕ (Rubbing)
After Isana brought the two circles together and rubbed them for a few seconds, everyone present except for Li Meng seemed to realize something simultaneously, and their faces instantly turned beet red.
“You-you-you! What kind of gesture are you making, hey!”
“Hmm? I don’t get it… why are all your faces so red?”