“Penguins are the animals we’re most connected to in transport.”
The foreman, who was directing the workers to dismantle the abandoned zoo’s facilities, heard his daughter’s question.
He thought for a long while and finally came up with a word:
“It should be Penguin,”
He wasn’t just making things up. A few days ago, the workers cleaning up the abandoned zoo had found a science book that introduced many animals from the Spirit Age. That’s where he learned this.
“Yes, Penguins live on the southern continent, the southernmost land of our planet.”
“That’s in terms of geography and transportation, right?”
The foreman smiled and shook his head, “It’s not just a matter of geography.”
As he spoke, he jumped down and pulled up a map on his phone to explain to his daughter.
With the entire southern hemisphere nearly completely desertified, it’s almost impossible to reach the South Pole. To the east is the primitive and wild Amazon Plain, to the west is the savage and untamed Nonclean District. And the deadliest route in the middle: first crossing the storm-ridden Indian Subcontinent, then passing through Shen God’s Land and Rong Daliya Old Continent, and finally traversing the Gate of Hell.
No matter which path you take, there’s always a long stretch across the open sea.
“So, it seems humanity will never see Penguins again,” the foreman said with a sigh, “All we can do is look at the records left from the Spirit Age to see what they used to look like.”
He led his daughter into the site’s office, found the science book, and flipped to the page about Wolfdog, pointing for her to see:
“This one, isn’t it cute? So chubby, like it’s wearing several layers of clothes.”
Marching, howling, and singing in chorus.
Just then, a figure stepped into the room with the waddling, dense steps of a Penguin, as if every step pressed on the hearts of everyone present.
Swina looked grim, and Bill didn’t even try to hide his nervousness. The two quickly retreated behind Wang Li.
“Lord Penguin, your subordinate has failed you.”
Wang Li ignored them, her gaze resting on the girl sitting by the window.
“You don’t seem surprised at all. So you’ve long realized who I am,” she asked. “Be honest, how did you figure it out?”
Xu Chuyao wiped a cold sweat, not wanting to reply.
Blood night had fallen, the blade rested on the Seer’s neck, and now questions of prophecy had become mere amusements.
Wang Li saw the girl’s lack of cooperation and let out a breath: “Forget it, let’s talk about something old. I have a bone to pick with you.”
Xu Chuyao bared her little tiger teeth and spoke: “Wen Fang?”
“Yes. She actually dared to offend me and insulted my favorite thing,” Wang Li said coldly. “How could I let her off with just a little lesson?”
It had to be said, Wen Fang was pretty sharp. She immediately recognized that getup was a cosplay of some animal, though her words weren’t very friendly.
Xu Chuyao was briefly enlightened: “It was you who personally set her up.”
“That’s right,” Wang Li admitted quickly.
Just think about it—after years of being suppressed in officialdom, Wen Fang, who had spent half a lifetime unable to spread her wings, suddenly received an invitation from the Supreme Society. She finally made up her mind to join and do some errands for them, thinking she could finally thrive—only to find that her enemy was the one in charge.
First, give her a sliver of hope, then mercilessly smash it all away. That’s true destruction.
“Unfortunately, my perfect plan was ruined by you… So you’re really such a stickler for justice,” Wang Li fingered the hem of her Soul Seal garment, staring straight at the girl. “No help for it. To make sure you suffer a little less in the future, I’ll just have to do it myself.”
Yu Jing clenched her hands, whispered, “Find a way to get them out of here,” and then unleashed a wave of fire in the enemy’s direction.
She must protect Xu Chuyao and Wang Zha and get them safely back to school. They were all her hope.
“Careful, don’t—”
Xu Chuyao’s words were cut short as she grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and squeezed out a word:
“Hold—on!”
The fire wave spanned several meters, the ice crystal no bigger than a fingertip, yet when the two met, it was the fire that was suppressed.
Yu Jing was thrown back over ten meters, crashing hard into the ruins outside the airport. Her heart was engulfed by waves of helplessness.
So this is Fourth Rank—just a single level difference on paper, yet it’s like a chasm; not even worthy to stand as an opponent.
Even without a mirror, Yu Jing could tell how disheveled she looked. All her things had been thrown out, her phone lay several meters away, its screen cracked with deep gashes—definitely useless now. The rest of her belongings were scattered everywhere. The sand-filled handkerchief was right in front of her.
She reached for it, but a cold wind blew, plastering the sand to her face.
The next moment, she was frozen solid.
: Yu Jing |
Originally, Cheng Qin was supposed to protect the girls and help them escape. But upon seeing this scene, he immediately ran back without a word, raising his iron fists toward the woman on the third level. But he was intercepted by Swina and Bill halfway there.
“She’s yours to deal with now,” Wang Li said lightly. “I’m going to have a little fun with that little genius.”
Easily taking out three Three-Stage Spirit Power Users was not her style—playing with her prey was her true delight, just as she had done with Wen Fang.
Yu Jing was frozen amidst the ruins, like a crystalline, flawless ice sculpture, dust obscuring her features, like a veil across memories.
She seemed to see her companions again, and the Team Captain who waved at her with a smile.
“Fenghua, what are you dawdling for? We’re supposed to leave.”
“Yes, everyone’s been waiting for you a long time.”
Suddenly, she remembered: today was the day before they set off on their mission, an escort task. As one of the three top Three Defense Spirit Power Users in the team, she had taken responsibility for the notification.
But… something was wrong.
“What is it?”
“I… feel like there’s something I haven’t finished,” she muttered, rubbing her neck, feeling something tickling her there, but she couldn’t remember what.
“Something? What haven’t you done?”
Her companions approached and surrounded her.
“I can’t really remember, it seems… yes, it’s another escort mission.”
Everyone suddenly burst into laughter.
“Fenghua, you haven’t even finished the squad’s mission, and you’re out here taking side jobs?”
“Exactly, exactly! Finish the squad mission first, then do whatever you want. We’ll help you then!”
“It’s dangerous for you alone. What if you run into a powerful enemy…”
Her heart suddenly tightened at those words.
“All right, all right, stop teasing Fenghua. Move aside.”
The Team Captain pushed the others away and led her outside, the two of them walking together.
“Don’t listen to them, but Fenghua, about this squad mission—aren’t you willing to go?”
Xu Chuyao hadn’t gone far, and even if she was exhausted, with Shen Ning she could still move. But after just a few steps from the airport, she froze.
“We can’t escape.”
That woman, dressed in three layers of plant fiber like a fat penguin, was swaggering along behind them. She would sometimes take a casual step and suddenly slide forward as if skating, her speed matching the two girls stride for stride.
Seeing Xu Chuyao stop, Wang Li also came to a halt.
“Go on, why aren’t you running? Are you tired? Or do you want me to give you a break?”
Xu Chuyao bit her little tiger teeth, not wanting to speak. She realized now—Wang Li was treating her as a stand-in for Wen Fang, playing cat-and-mouse.
She didn’t answer Wang Li, instead turning to her girlfriend and whispering,
“Shen Ning, do you have any tricks left? Use whatever you can, or we’ll die here today.”
In the face of desperation, she thought of the protagonist. Surely fate would let them break through, not just die together here.
Shen Ning knew how serious things were. After a few deep breaths, she whispered, “Maybe, but I need to stall for time. Let her fight a bit, don’t let her get suspicious.”
Xu Chuyao’s eyes lit up—good, she really had a plan.
“All right, I’ll try to buy time. You get ready.”
“Okay.”
Wang Li wasn’t in a hurry, just waiting for them to finish their whispering. Only when they finally wrapped it up and she was about to speak did a wind blade slash over from the white-haired girl.
At that level of attack, Wang Li deflected it with ease. The wind blade struck something unyielding in the air, dissipating without a trace, leaving only a few ice shards drifting down.
Wang Li was displeased and was just about to teach the girl a lesson when Xu Chuyao suddenly said:
“Actually, I only recently figured out your identity. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had Director Ju tell you the research facility’s location. Isn’t that basically giving myself away?”
At last, she spoke.
Wang Li’s mood lifted: “Not bad, when I heard about the Rongjun poem incident, I really was surprised—especially when I realized you were the source of the news.”
Before she could finish, a powerful wind arrow shot over, seemingly stronger than before. But she only glanced at it, flicking her wrist to send out an ice crystal, causing it to shatter the wind arrow mid-air.
“I was suspicious. After piecing together various bits of information, I was sure it was you who had plans for the Equator Defense Line. What exactly do you want? Why do you want to break through the defense line? Are you trying to let those things in from the other side into human territory?”
Xu Chuyao’s voice once again drew Wang Li’s full attention.
“Worry? Why should I worry? Those things are interesting. I just want to see what happens. Before, they were always blocked by the defense line and no one was allowed to look. What a pity.”
Wang Li recalled the science book her grandfather had shown her as a child, full of all kinds of animals, not a single one with a human shape, all so bizarre.
Such beautiful memories.
By contrast, Shen Ning, who had been persistently harassing her with attacks, was like a buzzing mosquito. Sometimes Wang Li wanted to swat her, but in the end, she wasn’t really annoyed and didn’t bother too much.
Whirr! Crack! Snap!
Wind blades kept shattering in mid-air, sometimes with even greater force, but it made little difference to Wang Li.
Xu Chuyao just kept talking, barely pausing for breath.
“The reason the defense line keeps them outside is because they’re dangerous. If mutant beasts break into Equator City, a lot of people will get hurt.”
“Wouldn’t that be just perfect?”
“What?”
Wang Li’s words shocked Xu Chuyao.
Perfect?
“Have you ever seen an animal show? No, of course you haven’t,” Wang Li said, her expression suddenly lively. “Animal shows are fascinating, but since it’s a show, you need props.”
What better way to showcase their wild, predatory nature than by setting real prey before them?
As for the prey? Naturally, that would be ordinary people and weaker Spirit Power Users. It would never be the Four-Rank powerhouses at the very top.
Xu Chuyao didn’t bother trying to lecture her on morality—it was useless. She simply asked, “I still don’t get it. How are you going to break through the Equator Defense Line? Your subordinates alone aren’t enough, even together they couldn’t do it.”
It wasn’t that she looked down on Swina and the others, or even their organization… Okay, maybe a bit. But regardless, the Equator Defense Line in southern Indonesia had always managed to hold the north of Italy—there was some real strength there.
Wang Li casually flicked an arrow, a playful smile on her lips: “You’re so smart, can’t you guess who?”
Xu Chuyao’s heart leapt, her thoughts racing.
She’s hinting at a ‘who’—a certain individual. Someone who has that power and could be used by her…
Monroe.