“You…”
Ignis retracted her elegant foot from Fan Zhuo’s chest. The killing intent in her eyes slowly faded, replaced by a deeper, slightly confused scrutinizing gaze.
“What kind of messy things… are actually hidden in your soul?”
Fan Zhuo felt the restraints and that soul-freezing chill slowly recede. He immediately greedily gulped in the cold air, his entire body already soaked in cold sweat.
‘I… damn it.’
‘Survived death under Ignis’s foot.’
He didn’t know exactly what had happened during that life-and-death moment, but it was clear that the “tenants” residing in his soul had reached some sort of consensus at the critical second. It was through that “coincidence” that his life had been saved.
“It seems… it would be a bit of a waste to kill you directly.” Ignis took a step back, widening the distance between them again.
The contempt in her eyes had lessened slightly, but that arrogant posture of a ruler looking down on all things as if they were mere straw dogs remained unchanged.
She re-examined the seemingly weak male creature before her.
His soul was like a bizarre kaleidoscope. While he clearly possessed a pure holy light constitution, his interior was mixed with the charm of a demon fox and the life essence of an ancient tree…
There was even… a faint, yet incredibly familiar aura of her own kind.
“An interesting bug.”
A hint of playfulness flashed through her ruby-like eyes. “As a reward for… making me feel a sliver of curiosity, I allow you to crawl back here once every three days.”
‘Damn, is she really that nice?’
This made Fan Zhuo feel that, aside from her bad temper, Ignis might actually be quite—
“However… the reason I summoned you was for you to…”
“Every time you come, you must bring a fruit like the one you ate today.”
Fan Zhuo: “…”
Ignis paused, her lips curving into a cruel arc. “If you don’t… I will peel those messy scents off you along with your soul, piece by piece, to see what exactly is hidden inside.”
After speaking, she didn’t spare Fan Zhuo another glance. She turned and walked back toward her Xuanbing throne with elegant and lazy steps.
Reclining once more, she closed her eyes as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.
Fan Zhuo stood there, dazed for several seconds before he snapped back to reality.
One fruit every three days?
That thing was the condensed life essence of the Mother Tree, a special reward for their “deep exchange.” It was a unique item!
How could it be like common cabbage on the side of the road, available whenever she wanted?
Although he had vaguely seen many similar fruits hanging from the Mother Tree’s canopy during the day… it wasn’t something he could just ask for on a whim!
Did this dragon princess… see him as a subordinate offering tribute?
Fan Zhuo looked at the arrogant and beautiful figure on the throne, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
The way this dragon princess thought really couldn’t be fathomed using common sense.
***
Just then, an invisible force wrapped around him. A split second later, a gentle but irresistible power “threw” him directly out of that world of ice and snow.
When he regained his senses, he was standing once again in the deep, black corridor of the C-01 Prison.
The black door behind him closed silently.
It was as if that vast world of ice and snow, the magnificent Xuanbing throne, and the sovereign Frost dragon princess were all just a vivid hallucination.
But the extreme cold that had nearly frozen him to pieces and the trembling sensation from the depths of his soul reminded him that it was all real.
Fan Zhuo touched his chest and found that he had returned to his body.
Leaning against the cold wall, he let out a long breath of turbid air.
He looked down at his hands.
Though the process had been terrifying, he had… gained another opportunity for “contact”?
However, the price for this contact seemed a bit too high.
He shook his head, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
‘Where is the harem from my fantasies?’
‘This is clearly a survival path on hell difficulty!’ Even if it was the version with the “no censorship mod” installed…
Misfortunes never come alone. Before Fan Zhuo could catch his breath, a series of hurried footsteps and clamoring voices came from the other end of the hallway.
“… He’s just ahead! I saw that assistant, Fan Zhuo, sneaking this way with my own eyes!”
It was Kyle’s voice, full of instigation and malice.
“What’s the rush? Stay calm.” Professor Elsa’s voice remained steady but carried a hint of authority that brooked no argument. “What we need is evidence, not speculation.”
‘Crap!’
Fan Zhuo’s heart sank.
‘These mages aren’t sleeping in the middle of the night? They’re coming for a surprise inspection?’
In his current state—pale-faced, exhausted, and drenched in cold sweat—he looked exactly like someone who had just finished doing something illicit.
‘Was I set up by some 0-08? Why do I get caught everywhere I go?’
Fan Zhuo complained wildly in his mind, but his logic told him this was normal.
He was an “exile” to begin with; his every move was under surveillance by certain people.
And these people from the magic academy were desperate to find a “scandal” in the prison to complete their academic reports.
As a new assistant who had been causing quite a stir lately, he was naturally the perfect breakthrough in their eyes.
He wanted to find a place to hide, but it was already too late.
Professor Elsa, Kyle, the magic student Lily, and the journalist who faithfully recorded everything—a group of four people—appeared at the corner of the corridor.
They saw him.
They saw Fan Zhuo, pale and sweating, leaning against the ominous black archway of the C-01 Prison.
A look of ecstatic triumph immediately surfaced on Kyle’s face. “Aha! Fan Zhuo! I knew something was wrong with you! What are you doing at the entrance of an S-class monster’s cell so late at night?!”
Professor Elsa’s brow furrowed tightly as her sharp gaze moved back and forth between Fan Zhuo and the cell radiating extreme cold.
Lily, meanwhile, raised her energy detector immediately.
On the device, the curve representing energy was fluctuating violently.
Data didn’t lie.
“Assistant Fan Zhuo,” Lily said, adjusting her glasses with the tone of someone discovering a new species, “your body is tainted with a very high concentration of energy information belonging to a powerful individual… Based on the attribute analysis, it’s very close to the aura leaking from inside C-01.”
These words were no different from a direct conviction. He was in trouble—big trouble.
“I…” Fan Zhuo’s brain worked at high speed, trying to concoct a reasonable explanation.
“I what?!” Kyle was aggressive, taking a step forward and nearly pointing at Fan Zhuo’s nose.
“Don’t even think about using your charlatan rhetoric to fool us again! Are you trying to secretly release this dangerous dragon? Just what are your intentions?!”
“Kyle!” Professor Elsa glared at her student, somewhat speechless.
“It wasn’t me…” Kyle started to protest, but after being glared at again, he obediently shut his mouth.
“What do you mean, ‘I’? Aren’t you going to let him finish speaking?” Professor Elsa slowly looked toward Fan Zhuo, a smile appearing on her face. “Assistant Fan Zhuo… please give us a reasonable explanation.”