Chapter 447: Mutation

Chapter 447: Chapter 446: Mutation

Yu Zhizhi was worried about Dracula’s injuries and wanted to check on him again.

The two of them went into the room together.

The Hamster’s first reaction was to look at the young Cat Clan man before him. He saw that the young man was continuing their previous conversation, seemingly not paying much mind to Miss Rabbit’s actions.

‘He’s so composed!’

The Hamster thought to himself that if it were him, he’d be dead from jealousy by now. He might have said something unpleasant, earning his wife’s disdain and allowing the newcomer to get the upper hand.

He really needed to learn a thing or two from this Mr. Cat.

Zero noticed the Hamster’s enthusiasm. A faint smile touched his lips as he chatted with him about various matters in Sun Ridge.

After entering the room, Yu Zhizhi checked Dracula’s injuries. They were much better compared to yesterday. However, he was unwilling to let her examine his wings.

Yu Zhizhi slowly withdrew the Healing Light.

She had a premonition that Dracula was about to leave.

After hesitating for a long moment, Yu Zhizhi asked in a small voice, “Um… could I get your contact information?”

Yu Zhizhi could write letters to the Underground City.

But that would be too slow.

‘If I had Dracula’s contact information, I could try to communicate with him when I have time. Maybe after a while, we’d get to know each other better.’

Fearing Dracula would refuse, Yu Zhizhi continued, “I’d also like to talk to Little Moon occasionally, and there might be other things it would be convenient to ask you about.”

Dracula was silent for a moment. He held out his hand. Just as Yu Zhizhi was feeling confused, he took the Rabbit Clan female’s hand and, in her warm palm, used a faint wisp of Spiritual Energy to leave his contact information.

As the man before her wrote, a faint tickle spread across her palm.

Yu Zhizhi watched his fingertip, each stroke gentle yet deliberate.

After leaving his contact information, Dracula left.

Yu Zhizhi slowly clenched her fist. ‘No matter how you look at it, Dracula being willing to have a private way to contact me is a very good sign!’

‘Once I’m back in my territory, I have to find a way to “cultivate our relationship.”‘

‘First we’re strangers, then we’re friends, right?’

Just as Yu Zhizhi’s mind was filled with thoughts of Dracula, Zero arrived at the room. The young Cat Clan man stood at the door and knocked gently.

Yu Zhizhi turned her head, and a smile spread across her face when she saw Zero.

Zero said, “The Second has left.”

Yu Zhizhi nodded. “Mm.”

The young Cat Clan man leaned against the doorframe. “Once we find the Fourth Envoy, we’ll leave Sun Ridge together, too.”

Yu Zhizhi’s eyes suddenly lit up—

‘Zero still remembers Little Octopus!’

‘He knows I couldn’t stop worrying…’

‘*Sniffle*! Zero is just the best!’

Yu Zhizhi nodded repeatedly. “Zero, will you come back to my territory with me?”

The young Cat Clan man looked at her.

‘An informal invitation like this…’

‘It’s just an ordinary invitation.’

The smile on the young Cat Clan man’s face didn’t change. “I was the one who brought you here. I have to make sure you return safely to the Sky Star Territory.”

Yu Zhizhi was delighted that Zero had agreed.

The meal was ready.

A female squirrel enthusiastically invited them over.

Zero went over first. In the room, Yu Zhizhi changed into a new outfit: a light brown, long dress with a cinched waist. It was a common style in Sun Ridge, one that wouldn’t draw too much attention on the street.

During the meal, the Hamster was still lamenting how Mr. Hei Yi had left so suddenly, wishing they could have convinced him to stay a few more days.

Yu Zhizhi took a bite of a soft, creamy bread roll. A small smile played on her lips as she watched Zero and the Hamster chat idly.

‘That’s just how Zero is,’ she thought. ‘He can get along and chat with anyone.’

Sun Ridge was gloomy all year round, the air constantly thick with the stench of blood. Several regions were in a perpetual state of war. But today, a rare sliver of sunlight broke through, and the puddles on the ground quickly evaporated.

The talisman, having returned from its excursion, materialized and floated above the young Cat Clan man’s shoulder.

Zero asked, “Did you find Si Hao?”

The talisman gurgled, spitting out two dark green bubbles. “Found him, but… I can’t be too sure…”

It had followed the small path, heading north the entire way.

Finally, near Sun Ridge’s coastal area, it found a suspicious individual.

The talisman couldn’t be certain if it was the Divine Hall Alliance’s Fourth Envoy; it just felt that their auras were somewhat similar.

Zero understood what the talisman was getting at.

He took out a Silver Coin.

The coin was emitting a faint red glow.

The talisman recognized it at a glance. “That’s the Divination Coin used for Si Hao’s reading!”

When the Fourth Envoy joined the Divine Hall Alliance, Zero had performed a divination for him and received a very interesting answer.

Zero was sitting atop the cellar when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, his gaze falling upon the Rabbit Clan female shucking corn with the squirrel. His eyes paused for a moment before he stood up and walked toward her. “I’ve found Si Hao.”

His tone was one of absolute certainty.

The talisman was flabbergasted—

‘So it really is him!’

‘Zero must have sensed something through this Divination Coin. Each coin changes, to a greater or lesser extent, with the fortunes of the one being divined. Perhaps because of this, Zero had seen certain images within Miss Rabbit’s own Divination Coin.’

From the past.

Or the future.

Yu Zhizhi quickly stood up, placing the ear of corn in her hands onto a rack. “Where is he?”

“Come with me,” Zero said in a gentle tone.

Yu Zhizhi said her goodbyes to the female squirrel.

She fell into step beside Zero, and the two of them walked off into the distance.

The female squirrel watched their retreating figures. ‘Mr. Cat and Miss Rabbit look so good together,’ she thought. ‘But the way they interact isn’t much like lovers. It’s a bit of a shame, really.’

“You should probably prepare yourself.”

Zero took a white mask of the Divine Hall from within his robes and put it on.

Yu Zhizhi was incredibly familiar with that mask.

‘—Is he going to use his identity as a temple messenger?’

Yu Zhizhi realized that even in Sun Ridge, people from the Divine Hall could move freely through certain areas.

It was just that sometimes, missions required them to hide their identities.

Now that the mission was over, Zero was likely wearing the white mask that symbolized the Divine Hall for the sake of convenience.

The young Cat Clan man’s words made Yu Zhizhi quite concerned. “Prepare for what?”

Her face turned pale. ‘Don’t tell me something happened to Little Octopus!’

Sensing the shift in the little rabbit’s aura, Zero reassured her, “He’s still alive. He’s just… very different from how he used to be.”

“What happened to him?” Yu Zhizhi’s heart slowly clenched.

“He’s mutated.”

Beneath the white mask, Zero’s eyes slowly lifted to look at the brilliant sun on the horizon, half-obscured by dark clouds.

The Fourth Envoy had mutated, just as the prophecy foretold.

What Zero couldn’t determine now was whether this was the natural progression of the envoy’s own destiny, or if it was because he had come to Sun Ridge and been caught in the rain.

‘Was it a benign mutation, or a malignant one?’

‘Controllable, or uncontrollable?’

The information he had was insufficient.

Hearing the word “mutated,” Yu Zhizhi’s fingers trembled. In Sun Ridge, mutated Beastmen seemed to be everywhere, but most of them were failed mutations, their appearances and temperaments twisted into something terrifying.