Inside her stronghold in the Lower District, Seele finished her day's patrol and collapsed onto her bed, exhausted.
But she immediately sprang up—a hunter's instinct made her sense an unfamiliar presence in the room.
She quickly pinpointed the target: a delicate doll wearing a witchs hat, placed on her pillow.
"Who did this?"
She muttered coldly to herself, her weapon already clutched in her hand.
Her upbringing in the underground world made her extremely wary of any foreign object intruding into her territory.
She meticulously examined the doll, searching for possible listening devices or poison, but found nothing.
This unknown only made her more uneasy.
She frowned in thought, "A prank by the Wildfire members? They don't have this kind of taste."
Seele's first reaction was to destroy this potential threat, but when her gaze met the doll's purplish-black eyes, she felt a strange resonance—a power hidden in the darkness.
"Hmph, no matter who sent you,"
She tossed the doll into a box in the corner, but couldn't help but glance at it before falling asleep. "Tomorrow, I'll have the boss check it out."
[Astral Express - Corridor]
Baiheng stood outside the door, her snowy fox ears trembling slightly from nervousness.
She took a deep breath, trying to encourage herself: "It's okay, Baiheng, just saying hello... Miss A-Xing doesn't seem approachable, but she's a companion after all..."
She raised her hand and gently knocked on the door.
"A-Xing? Are you there? It's Baiheng..."
Inside the door, there was silence, no response.
"Asleep? Or not here?"
Baiheng hesitated for a moment, then tentatively pressed the open button beside the door.
Due to the authority granted by Madam Herta, the door slid open silently.
Then, Baiheng froze at the doorway, her azure eyes wide with shock.
How was this a bedroom?
This was clearly a mobile combat training ground!
The space that should have held a bed and furniture was cleared, replaced by various complex exercise machines gleaming with cold light—gravity regulators hummed lowly, tension ring metal chains were taut as bows, and reaction training balls wildly bounced within an invisible force field.
And at the center of it all was A-Xing.
Her gray hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to her forehead and cheeks, and her golden eyes were now hollow and lifeless, fixed only on the constantly incoming training targets.
She was bare-chested, her chest bound only by bandages, wearing simple training shorts on her lower body. Her entire body's muscle lines were taut, and every inch of her skin was flushed red from extreme exertion.
"Hah!"
With a short, sharp shout, she slammed her fist into a heavy alloy target.
"Bang!" A dull thud echoed through the carriage, and a fist print visibly dented the target.
Sweat splattered with her violent movements, like shattered diamonds under the carriage's cold light.
Her movements were swift as lightning, yet possessed a programmed precision, as if she wasn't exercising, but executing some kind of killing command.
Each punch caused the muscles of her back to ripple like a leopard, and each kick carried a piercing whistle that tore through the air.
Baiheng watched with a pounding heart, instinctively covering her mouth.
She had once been the Xianzhou's ace pilot, experienced in warfare, and had seen powerful Cloud Knights, but had never witnessed such... a training method purely for destruction.
This wasn't like cultivation; it was more like a mad ritual to engrave combat instincts into one's bones.
She stood at the doorway, unable to advance or retreat, completely awestruck by this wild sight.
Finally, she quietly swallowed, deciding not to disturb her overly "diligent" companion, and carefully prepared to close the door and leave.
Turning around, she bumped into a shadow.
"M-Master!" Baiheng was so startled her fox ears stood up, and her Tail bristled.
Unbeknownst to her, Madam Herta had silently appeared behind her.
Those purplish-black, lifeless eyes were now also looking through the door crack at A-Xing, who was drenched in sweat.
Even the well-informed Black Herta's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
She knew this clone inherited the combat experience of the Elysian Realm, but she hadn't expected such an intense level of self-improvement... This training intensity would probably make the original Xing silent and Kalpas give a thumbs up.
"She... is always like this?"
Black Herta's voice was still steady, but a subtle hint of speechlessness could be heard upon closer listening.
"I, I don't know, I just arrived..."
Baiheng quickly waved her hands, "I saw she didn't respond, so I opened the door to check, and then..."
She swallowed, not finishing her sentence.
Black Herta withdrew her gaze and focused on Baiheng.
"Cyrene, how have you been lately?" She changed the subject.
At the mention of Cyrene, Baiheng's expression relaxed a bit, her fox ears swaying slightly: "Cyrene is doing great! I brought her many books, and snacks from the Xianzhou Luofu; she seems much happier than before! It's just... sometimes she still stares into the distance, as if thinking about many things."
Black Herta nodded slightly, said nothing more, and gestured for Baiheng to leave.
After the white figure disappeared down the corridor, she turned and walked silently towards the core area of the System Space.
[System Space - Lower Platform]
Cyrene was curled up on a soft, thick carpet, which Baiheng had somehow found from a boutique in the Xianzhou Luofu, its edges adorned with cute pom-poms.
Scattered around her were a dozen books, ranging from Xianzhou legendary tales to interstellar geographic atlases, a diverse collection. On the small low table beside her sat a half-eaten tapir bun roll and a steaming cup of Immortal Happy Tea.
Warm lighting (which Baiheng had insisted on installing) dispelled the original coldness and gloom of the space, making it look more like a cozy reading nook than a cage.
Black Herta stood in the shadows of the upper platform, leaning against the railing, silently looking down.
Her long, gray-white hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her purplish-black eyes took in the sight of the young girl quietly reading.
Cyrene occasionally picked up a pastry to nibble on, or her lips would curl slightly at an interesting passage in a book, but deep within her azure eyes, there was always a lingering trace of bewilderment.
(It seems Baiheng is taking good care of her.)
Black Herta thought to herself.
But this was not enough.
She knew this tranquility was merely an illusion.
Cyrene's core was still "imprisoned"; only by gaining her true "recognition" could she be completely liberated from it.
It was time to face it.
She took a deep breath, seemingly having made up her mind.
Her high heels clacked on the metal stairs, producing a clear, rhythmic sound that broke the silence of the space.
Cyrene was startled by the sudden sound and looked up from her book.
When she saw who it was, her slender body instantly tensed, and the book in her hand slipped onto the carpet with a soft "thud."
A flicker of panic crossed her azure eyes, and complex emotions surged within them—fear, gratitude, confusion.
Black Herta descended the stairs and stopped at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from Cyrene.
This distance neither pressured Cyrene nor compromised the necessary dignity.
She chose not to stand, but instead elegantly sat suspended in the air, her skirt spreading out like a night flower, as if an invisible throne supported her.
Just then, a line of text, visible only to Black Herta and shimmering with joyful luster, abruptly appeared in her vision:
[Oh-ho-ho, aren't these our star-crossed lovers? One looking eagerly from above, one trembling uneasily below, truly... how amusing! — Aha's message]
Black Herta's mouth twitched uncontrollably. A flash of embarrassment instantly crossed her mind, recalling the dozen times she had acted out absurd, illogical "star-crossed lovers" scenarios in front of Aha to "rescue" Cyrene, only to realize in the end that her performance was completely off the mark.
That was the blackest of black histories. She silently gave a mental middle finger to the Aeon of Elation, Aha, who was enjoying the show from who knows where, telling him to go eat a big serving of his star-crossed lovers. She forcefully suppressed the surging embarrassment, her gaze refocusing on the petite, pink-haired girl before her.
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