Chapter 405 - 268: Earthquake Beast (Part 2)

’Damn it.’

Selena’s fists clenched.

’That brat, why would he hang up on me like that?’

’If he comes out of this unscathed, I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave that way.’

Lost in thought, the group reached the lakeshore, only to stop in their tracks.

"..."

Shao Ya stared at Shen Chuqing, who was standing opposite her.

Shen Chuqing stared back, pressing her lips together lightly.

"You weren’t with Su Zhi?" Shao Ya mumbled. "Aren’t you his teammate?"

Shen Chuqing answered truthfully, "Su Zhi told us to go on ahead. By the time we realized what was happening, he had already gone to Fuguang Lake by himself."

Shao Ya snorted softly. "And here I thought you two were close. Guess your relationship is just so-so after all."

Shen Chuqing raised an eyebrow at first, then subconsciously pursed her lips.

After a moment, a playful glint appeared in the girl’s eyes, and her smile turned mischievous. "You’re right, our relationship is just so-so. We just sparred together, ate a meal together, and slept in the same hotel room together."

"!!!" Shao Ya’s eyes went wide.

Behind Shen Chuqing, Gou Yu whispered pleadingly, "Don’t say any more, please..."

The girl glared at the pile of rubble by Fuguang Lake, a murderous look flashing in her azure eyes. Her bright white hair floated around her, as if she could no longer contain the killing intent overflowing from her body.

Then, she stomped over to the pile of rubble, squatted down, and started digging furiously with her bare hands.

The expression on her face was one of gritted teeth, as if she wanted to eat someone alive.

Xiaoyue didn’t dare make a sound and quietly went to her side to help dig.

Shao Ya said expressionlessly, "Don’t just use your claws. You have plenty of Skills."

"..." ’You’re really not afraid of causing a bigger collapse, are you...’ Xiaoyue thought.

"What’s there to be afraid of? If it collapses, it collapses!" The girl wrinkled her nose, puffed out her cheeks, and looked absolutely ferocious, as if she were about to devour someone.

Selena couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

’At this rate, even if Su Zhi is fine, he probably won’t dare to come up now...’

Chopper approached Shao Ya from behind and whispered in her ear, "Um, maybe we should let the rescue team handle this? They’re all here already, after all."

Shao Ya said nothing, just nodded to the team members to express her thanks, then sensibly stepped aside.

The Alliance Members hurried onto the rubble pile and began to dig, trying their best to dig a little... slower.

The girl sat on a nearby patch of open ground, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them. Her azure eyes were fixed on the rescue site, and her bright white hair, like satin, enveloped her body.

Shen Chuqing sat down beside her and handed her a drink.

Shao Ya said nothing, simply taking it and gulping down a large mouthful. GLUG GLUG GLUG.

"You look like you’re about to die of anger, but you’re still worried about him."

Shen Chuqing smiled faintly, her gaze also turning to the spot buried under the rubble. "Don’t worry, he’s a simple guy. I’m actually a little envious of you."

A small smile touched Shao Ya’s lips, but she quickly puffed up her cheeks again, her mouth forming a downward-curving arc. "I’m still angry."

"What is it this time?" Shen Chuqing raised an eyebrow, then quickly added, "Don’t tell me, let me guess!"

Shao Ya crossed her arms and said nothing.

Shen Chuqing said leisurely, "It’s because he’s too much of a coward, right? He still hasn’t made a move."

"Hmph."

"Does ’hmph’ mean I guessed right?"

Shao Ya fell silent, her lips pouted as she turned her head to the side.

"See? I’m the one who gets you. I even know what color underwear you wear every day. What the hell does Su Zhi know?"

Shen Chuqing laughed, playfully pinching Shao Ya’s chin. "If you ask me, it’s not just him who’s a coward; you are too. If he won’t be direct, you can be."

"Meow," Xiaoyue chimed in.

Shao Ya snorted and opened her mouth to bite. Shen Chuqing skillfully pulled her hand back, her grin growing even more impish.

"Hit a nerve? Getting flustered? I’m telling you, who can you possibly win over by being such a coward? You’d even let a cooked duck fly away. If it were me, I’d have him locked down in two days."

But Shao Ya just revealed a triumphant smile and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "But on his birthday, I..."

Shen Chuqing’s eyes widened.

Shao Ya leaned in closer. "And on the night the selection tournament ended, I also... to him..."

Shen Chuqing was thunderstruck.

Shao Ya gave a faint smile. "You think you could do the same?"

"Per-pervert!" Shen Chuqing, now beet red, scrambled to her feet and walked away.

Shao Ya clapped her hands and laughed heartily. "You loser, Ah Qing! Running away with your tail between your legs!"

’It hadn’t been in vain, her acting for so long. Luring the enemy in deep, then striking with a heavy blow—she had finally broken through the defenses of her childhood rival.’

’So satisfying~’

Seeing Shen Chuqing turn back and flip her the bird, the girl’s mood improved considerably. She took a small sip of the drink she’d been given.

’Not bad, this is delicious.’

’I’ll have Su Zhi try some later!’

Shen Chuqing was outside the cordon, seeming to ask Chopper something. Seeing this, Shao Ya also ran over to Chopper, drink in hand, and asked impatiently, "How much longer will it take?"

Chopper’s expression was grave.

"...The team’s Pet Beasts can’t sense Su Zhi or his Pet Beast. And the Celestial Eye can’t pick up his phone signal either."

The girl froze on the spot.

·

"ACHOO!"

"Sir, have you caught a chill? Are you alright?"

"I’m fine, I’m fine. You go on ahead."

’Someone must be thinking about me...’ Su Zhi rubbed his nose, sighing as he watched the sun setting in the distance.

He was now basically certain that this place was some kind of Secret Realm or Alternate Space. However, unlike a Death Secret Realm like the Land of Flash Gold, this Secret Realm was teeming with life, and even had people living in it.

But logically speaking, Secret Realms usually have relatively obvious entrances and exits.

Yet along the way, even with his three Treasures keeping a constant lookout, Su Zhi hadn’t found any passages or hidden doors leading out.

’A place you can enter but can’t leave? Seriously?’

’I wonder how the flow of time here compares to the outside world? If a day outside is a year in here, that would be fine. But if the flow is the same, or even faster outside, then I’m in big trouble...’

"Sir, we’re almost there! Look, that’s Jinshi Village!" Reaching the edge of a forest, Wang Baichuan excitedly pointed toward the faint outline of a village in the distance.

Wang Yichuan let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we were quick. Please rest assured, Sir. Once we get there, we’ll be safe."

"Good, good." Su Zhi nodded repeatedly, having already accepted the fact that they wouldn’t stop calling him "Sir."

Although he was anxious to return, he hadn’t forgotten to look out for himself first. Along the way, he had chatted with the grandfather and grandson as much as possible, getting a general grasp of the situation here.

Jinshi Village was a village nestled in a mountain valley. It wasn’t very large, with only a few dozen households. There were no Beastmasters here, but the villagers raised quite a few free-range Yu Dian Dogs—practically every family had one. They were just mutts, after all.

There were three or four other villages like Jinshi Village, and a small town on the plains outside the valley. The people from the various villages would go to the town for market days, maintaining sporadic contact that way.

The town’s facilities were more complete than the villages’; besides a market, there was also a private school, but it lacked any administrative body.

According to the history of the Classical Era, an administrative district of this size should have at least one Tier Five Beastmaster stationed there, equipped with attendants and bailiffs.

Zhou Shengfa often joked that if their Old Ban were to travel back to ancient times, he would at least be a County Magistrate, and there was actually a historical basis for that.

But the situation here was complicated...

According to Wang Yichuan, there was indeed a Beastmaster in town. He’d heard that this person had also come from the outside originally, but by the time he was born, the man had already been stationed there for many years and was no different from a local.

This Beastmaster didn’t act like a Manager or a bureaucrat and didn’t interfere in the lives of the common people. Instead, he lived as a hermit near the town. The residents rarely saw him unless he was dealing with the "Earthquake Beast."

Su Zhi asked curiously, "Speaking of which, you all seem very wary of that Exotic Beast called the ’Earthquake Beast.’ Could you tell me more about it?"

The grandfather and grandson had been rushing the whole way, constantly mentioning the "Earthquake Beast" with such fear that Su Zhi hadn’t found a single opportunity to ask about it.

Hearing Su Zhi’s question, Wang Yichuan let out a long sigh.

"Sigh, Sir, there’s so much you don’t know..."

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