On the vast and empty beach, the sound of approaching footsteps and the subtle rustling of something sliding across the sand were completely unmasked.
Zeng Zhuyue assumed it was just someone else coming over. She remained wholly focused on holding the unconscious Lan Jing in her arms, without looking up.
Until Su Su spoke: “Can I take a look at him?”
Zeng Zhuyue turned her head in surprise.
She saw Su Su standing behind her, along with Xuan Mang, half-upright at a farther distance. After the initial shock passed, she silently nodded.
Su Su crouched down and gently placed her palm on the whale’s head. An invisible white light enveloped the stranded giant whale.
She was examining its internal condition.
Zeng Zhuyue had no idea what she was doing and murmured, “I misspoke that day.”
“What did you say?”
“Jiang Hong was right. The Research Guild is guilty. The Sage deserve to die too…”
Zeng Zhuyue had no more tears left to shed. She gazed blankly into the distance, nearly consumed by regret.
Only when the knife falls upon oneself does one feel the pain.
“I always thought the Research Guild was advancing the evolution of battle pets… Within the guild, Jiang Hong was a radical who opposed it, that hunting dog and his master were neutral, and I… I was the moderate faction, closest to the Research Guild…”
And now?
The Ability User Guild was already gone. The Battle Pet Guild wouldn’t last much longer either.
Zeng Zhuyue’s spirit had been utterly worn down by the blue whale’s near-death state.
Su Su didn’t respond to her words but instead withdrew her hand first.
She had finished examining the blue whale’s condition—its entire body was filled with filth, a massive burden crushing all its organs. If they delayed for even a few more days, it would undoubtedly die from internal rupture.
“Are you not planning to avenge Lan Jing?”
A storm of hatred flashed through Zeng Zhuyue’s eyes. “I will.”
If Lan Jing died, she would storm into the Northern Base and kill as many as she could.
Hearing her whispered words, Su Su shook her head. “If you do that, you’ll only die at their hands too.”
“Then so be it.”
Su Su could see it clearly.
Zeng Zhuyue was a cold-hearted person, but when it came to her companion, she was also the most sentimental.
“Then you still won’t be able to get revenge. The true culprit behind Lan Jing’s suffering is the Sage who hides in the shadows and issues commands. The people you kill might just be accomplices—or even those unaware of the truth.”
Zeng Zhuyue fell silent.
She couldn’t care about such things anymore, nor did she have the power to do anything beyond…
“I can save him.”
At those words, Zeng Zhuyue abruptly lifted her head, staring fixedly at Su Su.
“What did you say?”
“I can save him.”
Zeng Zhuyue abruptly grabbed Su Su’s arm, her shock so intense that she forgot to control her strength. “Are you joking with me?”
Before Su Su could finish speaking, Xuan Mang slithered over first, flicking his tail to pry Zeng Zhuyue’s hand away.
He had been watching closely and had already noticed the red marks appearing on the female’s arm.
“Hiss!!”
The petty half-snake man glared furiously at the culprit.
Zeng Zhuyue quickly apologized, but after apologizing, she still stared at Su Su with an unyielding gaze.
Su Su spoke directly. “My ability can cleanse energy impurities.”
“Your ability… isn’t it a psychic-type?”
Explaining was too troublesome, and Su Su wasn’t planning to go into detail. She let actions speak for themselves instead—an overwhelming white light poured into the whale’s body, expelling the filth that had seeped into every corner.
Seeing this, Zeng Zhuyue clenched her fingers tightly, her emotions swinging between excitement and fear.
She hoped Su Su could truly save Lan Jing.
But she also feared another soul-crushing disappointment.
With this conflicting mindset, time passed—more than half an hour slipped away.
Su Su’s energy had been depleted to only a thin final layer.
When she finally withdrew her hand, the whale, which had been in a deep coma just moments ago, had already awakened. Its rostrum lightly rubbed against Zeng Zhuyue, who was keeping watch by its side.
“He’s okay? He’s really okay?!”
“Not yet. His body accumulated too much filth—it will take another two or three days of cleansing.”
Tears that had long dried up surged forth once more.
It wasn’t until the whale actively slid back into the sea that Zeng Zhuyue fully realized—just how great a secret Su Su was hiding, and just how immense a kindness she had bestowed.
She wiped her eyes and fixed her gaze on Su Su. “You saved Lan Jing. What do you want me to do?”
Do?
Su Su shook her head. She didn’t need Zeng Zhuyue to sacrifice everything in gratitude.
They were already natural allies.
For Ah Xuan’s sake, she also didn’t want them to die.
“Lan Jing will definitely recover. I just hope you won’t forget that hatred, but also don’t recklessly throw your lives away for nothing against the Research Guild.”
Now that her companion had survived, Zeng Zhuyue’s rationality finally returned, and she realized just how foolish her earlier words had been.
“Don’t worry. I won’t forget.”
“That’s good. I’ll come at this time every day to cleanse him again.”
Zeng Zhuyue rummaged through her pockets, wanting to offer something in thanks, but quickly realized—she had nothing worthy to give.
She paused for two seconds before suddenly looking up. “If you want to kill the Sage, Lan Jing and I will give our all to help you.”
Su Su wasn’t surprised that her true goal had been seen through.
She pressed her lips together and turned to reach for the backpack on Xuan Mang’s body.
The latter instinctively lowered himself, adjusting his posture so the black backpack hanging from his single arm was within easy reach of the female.
Under Zeng Zhuyue’s watchful gaze, Su Su pulled out a black metal block from the backpack.
The moment Zeng Zhuyue recognized it, she let out a sharp scream. “Throw it away, now!!!”
Su Su was startled.
She quickly explained, “I found this in Qi Huiling’s vehicle. The thing that harmed Lan Jing that day… it was this, wasn’t it?”
Zeng Zhuyue’s face turned deathly pale. Her gaze flickered with unease, as if she had lost all composure.
“Yes… it’s exactly that.”
Su Su immediately understood.
The Research Guild’s latest invention was a method of compressing all energy impurities into a single mass, sealing it within a special material. At a designated moment, they could detonate it—killing their targets invisibly and silently.
And the source of those impurities… it was very likely the “stored reserves” inside the Energy Disruption.
The Research Guild’s study of energy crystals had already reached an advanced stage.
If they continued their research unchecked…
Su Su now knew exactly what she had to do.
—She needed to find a Tier 7 zombie and let Xuan Mang evolve to Tier 7 first.
When it came to intelligence and strategy, there was no way she could outmatch an evolved Sage.
Then the only option was to crush them with brute force.
—
For now, Su Su decided to stay at the Seaside Base.
Not only did she have to cleanse the impurities from Lan Jing’s body, but she also needed the Sun siblings to help her investigate something.
These two or three days were a necessary stay.
The place Sun Zhixia arranged for her was a small seaside villa.
Pang Cancan even wanted to move in, but before her right foot could step through the door, the venomous insect trailing behind her was sent flying a hundred meters away.
Xuan Mang blocked the entrance, his cold gaze fixed on the human who dared to intrude upon his haven of happiness.
Pang Cancan: “……”
She touched her bangs—cropped so unevenly they looked like a dog’s chewed-up mess—and felt an uncontainable wave of frustration.
“Sister Su Su!!!”
Whoosh—Bang!
A section of a snake tail smashed through the floor tiles at her feet.
Gulp.
Pang Cancan swallowed hard and took a small step back. Suddenly, the idea of living alone seemed pretty good. Once a person turned eighteen, it was only natural to try independent living.
“Hmph.”
She flicked her braid and jogged off to chase after her poor baby that had been sent flying.
Seeing the annoying third wheel finally leave, Xuan Mang locked the door from the inside and eagerly slithered upstairs.
—
Su Su had just finished her bath. She stepped out, drying her hair, and asked in confusion, “I think I just heard Cancan’s voice?”
“Hiss!”
You heard wrong!
“Alright then.”
Seeing that he got away with it, Xuan Mang smoothly slid into the space where the female had just bathed. Without hesitation, he dipped his snake tail into the bucket of warm bathwater that hadn’t been emptied yet.
His tongue flicked out twice, restlessly.
So fragrant.
Ever since he had taken human form, Su Su had refused to help him bathe. At most, she would scrub his tail a little, but they had been rushing around too much, and even that had been rare.
Xuan Mang slid his entire body into the hot water… but on the opposite side.
—
Su Su hugged a set of bedding and stood between two bedroom doors.
Her heart was racing.
She couldn’t help but recall a familiar scene—back when she changed rooms, Xiao Hei had stormed off into the rainy night in anger, leading to their most intense conflict ever.
Now, Su Su found it harder and harder to ignore what Xuan Mang wanted.
N-nothing too extreme would happen, right? Just… just sleeping in the same bed, right?
Su Su’s face flushed red, then turned pale, then red again.
In the end, she still placed the bedding in one room.
Hoo—
It’s fine.
She trusted Ah Xuan.