"Seriously, Myau-chan, what am I supposed to say to you?"
It was a new week. Monday brought clear, cloudless skies—a perfect day to head out to sea.
The deep blue ocean carried a salty, damp breeze. Sitting on the deck of the high-speed hydrofoil, Yan Huan crossed his arms and glanced at Myau-chan beside him.
"ow?!"
Myau-chan's eyes widened as he pointed at himself with a soft paw pad.
"Yes, I'm talking about you,"
Yan Huan reached out and pinched the black cat's ear, speaking in an exasperated tone.
"Couldn't you just fly for a little bit? Did you really have to go all the way south from Tokyo, past Yokohama, and fly over a hundred kiloters to Izu Oshima?"
That was right. After waking up this morning and wandering around the area with An Le, Yan Huan finally realized that the island they had spent the night on was actually a sowhat niche tourist destination called Izu Oshima.
Although they could take a high-speed hydrofoil back to Tokyo, the journey still took nearly two hours.
He had no idea how Myau-chan had managed to fly so fast last night, making it so Yan Huan did not even notice they had traveled such a massive distance.
Faced with Yan Huan's interrogation, Myau-chan opened his mouth and puffed up his cheeks indignantly.
"Although I really was just focused on flying straight ahead at the ti, if I hadn't flown so far, would you and An Le have been able to communicate so deeply, ow?!"
"..."
Yan Huan's face darkened at the question. He imdiately clamped a hand over the cat's head.
He pinned Myau-chan down, ignoring how the cat hugged his arm and wildly kicked at him with its hind legs.
"ow-ow! Let
go, ow!"
"Let's go. Ti to head back and find An Le."
"ow?"
Ignoring Myau-chan, Yan Huan turned and walked into the cabin.
"Last night, an extrely rare natural marvel appeared in the skies above Sakura Country. A teor shower lasting for a full twenty minutes not only featured a massive number of shooting stars, but they were also entirely pink, creating a spectacular sight."
"Currently, astronomical experts remain unsure of the cause of last night's teor shower. They can only confirm that the teors pose no threat to the safety of Earth..."
There were not many passengers on this ferry. Inside the gently swaying cabin, the sound of the news broadcast echoed through the air.
Yan Huan looked at the television mounted on the cabin wall, then shifted his gaze to the girl sitting obediently in front of it, her head raised as she watched intently.
"Whoosh..."
The cabin windows were open, allowing bright sunlight and swift ocean breezes to slip through the gaps. The light illuminated her side profile, while the wind gently lifted the strands of black hair gathered over her shoulder.
Her bright and sparkling eyes, focused purely on the television, shimred with the starlight of that pink teor shower. Her fair skin flushed with healthy vitality, the fine peach fuzz illuminated clearly in the light.
Yan Huan quietly took a seat behind her, yet the young girl remained completely oblivious, still completely absorbed in the pink teors on the screen.
It seed that the teor shower held extraordinary significance for her, making her unable to resist reminiscing about it.
"..."
Yan Huan leaned in a bit closer, originally just wanting to see the television from her perspective.
But just by drawing slightly nearer, he caught a faint, delicate fragrance drifting from the girl's hair and neck. He inevitably shifted his gaze, looking at the young woman sitting re inches away.
Sniff, sniff.
He took a gentle sniff and realized the scent really was not his imagination.
There was a wonderful scent clinging to An Le.
It was sowhat similar to a milk cake displayed in a bakery window...
A very sweet and fragrant sll.
However, the air between them was a tangible thing. Even a single breath was bound to be felt.
Feeling a slight tickle against her neck, An Le turned her head to look, her gaze locking perfectly with Yan Huan's.
"..."
The two exchanged a glance. Yan Huan was just about to acknowledge his perverted behavior and awkwardly apologize.
But looking at the face so incredibly close to hers, An Le seed to be completely stunned silly.
In the next second, as if her soul had been stolen away by the handso face before her, she stared blankly with a slightly flushed face and leaned in, wanting to kiss his lips.
"Sorry, An Le, I..."
However, the mont Yan Huan spoke, his voice acted like a soul-summoning bell, instantly throwing her stolen spirit right back into her body.
"Ah!"
Realizing exactly what she had been about to do, An Le's face flushed a brilliant, thorough crimson. She instantly slapped her hands over her mouth and scooted back, speaking with equal embarrassnt.
"Sorry, Xiao Huan, I..."
Both of them speaking at the exact sa ti made Myau-chan, who was sitting off to the side, shoot them a deadpan, half-lidded stare.
'Good grief, each one is more lustful than the other, huh?'
Yan Huan let out a helpless smile. Unbothered, he simply stood up and took a seat next to her.
"How are you doing? Is your body okay? Are there any spots where you still lack sensation?"
"No, everything is completely fine, Xiao Huan."
Hearing this, An Le stretched out her fingers and limbs.
Perhaps because she had grown so accustod to being stripped of her senses, having them suddenly restored all at once last night made her feel sowhat...
Overly sensitive?
Who knew what she was imagining, but An Le's complexion grew slightly flushed again.
But she quickly turned her head back to him, returning to the main topic.
"Xiao Huan, you ntioned earlier that you also have a superpower... Did that miraculous dicine that restored my body co from there?"
"Yeah, exactly."
Yan Huan rubbed his chin, still trying to figure out the best way to explain things to An Le.
But after thinking it over, he figured it was better to just let the main authority handle the explanation.
And so, he spoke abruptly into the empty space beside him.
"Myau-chan, why don't you explain it to An Le."
"Myau-chan?"
An Le blinked, just about to voice her confusion, when an adorable black cat miraculously materialized right before her eyes in the very next second.
He sat gracefully in front of An Le, his deeply divine erald eyes staring directly at her.
When he spoke, his voice sounded as though it echoed from an ancient, primordial void.
"Greetings, An Le."
"H-Hello..."
"I am a deity of this world. You may call
Myau-chan."
"A deity?!"
An Le's eyes widened. She stared at the black cat in front of her, temporarily too frightened to speak.
Inevitably, images flashed through her mind—that terrifyingly wicked Guanyin statue, those towering, apocalyptic tentacles that seed capable of destroying the world...
That entity was the Divine Lord that Little Finger so deeply revered.
And the little kitten right in front of her...
Was actually a deity too?!
You really couldn't judge a book... oh, no, a cat by its cover...
"Divine Lord, it... it is an honor to et you."
After saying that, An Le could not help but purse her lips, naturally adopting a highly respectful tone.
Myau-chan lifted his head, imnsely pleased by this, and casually waved his paw pads.
"No need for such formalities, no need for formalities, ow. Hehehe..."
'Wipe that smug laugh off your face!'
Behind him, Yan Huan's face was utterly black.
He raised his fist and delivered a solid rap right to Myau-chan's head, nearly knocking the cat's face into an exaggerated emoji expression.
"Thwack!"
"ow!"
This gave An Le a massive fright. She looked at Yan Huan in utter astonishnt.
"X-Xiao Huan... is it really okay for you to treat a Divine Lord like that?"
"Heh, it's fine. Spend two days with him and you'll understand. Anyone who doesn't want to beat the crap out of him is a divine person themselves."
"Eh? Eh?"
This thoroughly infuriated Myau-chan.
'Curse you, Yan Huan! How dare you ruin my grand reputation?!'
"Alright, since An Le is already aware and the Modifier hasn't exploded yet, hurry up and explain our current situation to her."
Before Myau-chan could even turn around to unleash his furious kitty punches, Yan Huan grabbed him by the scruff of his neck with one hand and turned him to face An Le again.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
'Fine, I'll just have to settle the score with this guy later, ow!'
Thinking this, Myau-chan forced himself to look a bit more serious and began explaining their current predicant.
In truth, relying on her natural talent, An Le had already guessed the general situation with about eighty or ninety percent accuracy. Myau-chan only needed to point out a few fundantal truths.
After listening to the explanation, An Le could not help but purse her lips, speaking with deep concern.
"So that's how it is. Is that the true purpose behind Little Finger and the rest?"
"Little Finger?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan revealed a thoughtful expression.
This was the first ti he had heard the true na of a Modifier Avatar.
Thinking about it now, Myau-chan had ntioned previously that the invading Modifiers had smashed five massive holes in reality—which directly corresponded to the five fingers of a hand.
"Mhm, Little Finger is the avatar of my superpow... oh, I an, my Modifier. It's a white snake."
Hearing An Le say this, Yan Huan narrowed his eyes and asked,
"And what about right now? Is it still around?"
"Eh? It seems... it's not. Also, it looks like I can't activate my Modifier's abilities anymore either..."
An Le tried to call out to it, but there was absolutely no response from within.
Could it be because of the Crab dicine?
Did resetting the Modifier's progress also end up entirely obliterating its avatar?
Yan Huan thought about it for a mont before suddenly smacking his forehead.
"I get it. Last night, I slipped the Silence Ring onto your finger. The ring's effect lasts for 24 hours, so right now it's still silenced. Naturally, it can't manifest!"
At the ntion of this, Myau-chan's eyes instantly lit up. He looked at An Le.
"That's right, ow! An Le, if you take the ring off first, you can bring it out, ow!"
"..."
However, after Myau-chan's suggestion, An Le made no move to do anything of the sort.
She rely gripped the ring resting on her finger, staring flatly at Myau-chan as her cheeks began to puff out bit by bit.
'Eh?'
'Why do I feel...'
'...a sudden urge to shudder with fear, ow?'
Myau-chan blinked, looking at the intense sense of oppression slowly rising off of An Le.
It seed that his casual suggestion for her to take the ring off had made An Le quite unhappy.
Terrified, Myau-chan's body stiffened slightly. He subconsciously backed away several steps, diving to hide in Yan Huan's embrace.
But wherever he ran, An Le's intense gaze tracked him perfectly, making his guilty conscience flare up even more.
"..."
"Let
see. Maybe I can temporarily suspend its effects,"
Seeing the awkward standoff, Yan Huan finally spoke up.
He stared at the ring and, sure enough, he could still feel his connection to it.
Because the ring was his own item, sothing he could summon at any mont with a re thought, it certainly would not just switch owners right now.
Thus, that sensation felt like an invisible thread, tightly binding Yan Huan and An Le together.
"Hum..."
With a simple shift in Yan Huan's mind, the ring's luster dimd slightly.
The next second, An Le blinked and gasped in surprise.
"I think I can use Pleasure Manipulation again, but Superconductor and my tentacles still aren't working..."
"Yeah, that's because the Crab dicine wiped your Modifier's progress back to zero. It's a good thing you don't have to use it. You don't want to go back to feeling completely numb like before, do you?"
"...Mhm!" An Le blinked. Her slightly flushed face adopted a remarkably resolute expression as she nodded firmly, leaving Yan Huan staring at her in mild bewildernt.
With that settled, An Le began attempting to call out to the slumbering Little Finger within her body.
"Little Finger... Little Finger?"
Shortly after she spoke, a white cobra, tightly curled up into a ball, slowly began to manifest its form in response to An Le's call.
The Modifier Avatar had appeared!
Yan Huan and Myau-chan's expressions turned dead serious, completely ready for a fierce battle.
However, as An Le gently shook its body, it finally snapped its eyes open the very next second...
!!
Here it cos!!
"D-Divine Lord! P-Please don't kill ! I have rits! I did a good job! I don't want to die, wu wu wu... Please don't kill , I'm begging you... Wu wu wu! Don't treat
like a disposable tool, I'll do anything you want, I just don't want to die, ahhh!!!"
Yet, the instant it opened its eyes, it displayed an expression of extre terror, as though it had suffered so unfathomable agony the mont that otherworldly deity had descended.
It seed stuck in the exact second right before it had lost consciousness. Its form twisted and its expression was locked in absolute dread. It only cared about burying its snake head deep into its own coils, acting very much like a frightened ostrich.
Before it, a fully prepared Yan Huan and Myau-chan could only stare with wide eyes, watching the utterly pathetic Little Finger scream and cry while nestled in the arms of a helpless-looking An Le.
After several seconds passed, Yan Huan finally gasped in shock and said,
"Myau-chan, why does it feel like this thing is even more useless than you are?"
"ow?!"
This remark nearly turned Myau-chan's face entirely black with rage... although his face was technically already black to begin with.
To prove his prowess, he valiantly leaped over to Little Finger, lightly smacking the snake's head with his paw pads.
"Stop crying, ow! Hurry up and get up, we have questions for you!"
"W-Whose voice is that?"
Little Finger blankly raised its head. What entered its vision was the slender face of a black cat.
Hiss...
'It looks a bit familiar...'
Back at the hospital that one ti, it recalled chasing after a black cat just like this.
"I-It's you?"
"It's this Divine Lord, ow!"
"..."
Little Finger stared at the black cat strutting arrogantly in front of it. In the very next second, its expression imdiately turned vicious. It threw open its bloodthirsty maw and lunged forward to bite the cat.
"ow?!"
Seeing this, Myau-chan completely lost his color in pure panic. He frantically turned tail and dove straight for Yan Huan's embrace.
Little Finger, entirely consud by rage and having completely abandoned all restraint, continued its desperate lunge right toward Yan Huan.
Yet, at that exact mont, a ruthless iron hand violently seized it right by the heart—its literal Achilles' heel.
"Gah!"
Little Finger's slender body was instantly squeezed into a rigid, vertical line. As it was hoisted into the air, it twisted its head to look at the dark, nacing aura pouring off of An Le beside it, finally forcing out a painfully awkward smile.
"Heh... c-can we call a truce?"
"..."
"So... the descent of the Divine Lord... it was already stopped by Yan Huan and you, the native god..."
Following a brief session of physical pacification, Little Finger sat quietly in the arms of An Le—who had returned to her sunny, cheerful self—looking completely thoroughly deflated.
It lowered its head blankly, looking sowhat like a hollow shell of its forr self.
Mainly because it was genuinely feeling quite desperate.
For one thing, the descent of the Divine Lord had already subjected it to the excruciating agony of imminent death.
It had originally thought that upon completing its mission, it would receive a grand reward from the Divine Lord.
Or rather, even if it died being used as a re tool, it should have felt incredibly honored...
But that intense pain and terror made it hesitate.
Not only that, but now it had been simultaneously captured by a native god, its Host, and that Child of Fortune.
It terrified the snake to think they might be plotting to obliterate its soul and completely assimilate it right on the spot!
Advancing ant death, retreating ant death...
It truly was a hopeless situation.
At this mont, Little Finger sat like an immobile statue, entirely devoid of life.
Little did it know, Yan Huan and Myau-chan were currently holding a telepathic conversation right in front of it.
'Myau-chan, is there a way to temporarily preserve An Le's Modifier while entirely erasing this thing?'
Yan Huan scrutinized the small snake, a distinct killing intent rising in his eyes.
'Having sothing like this whispering malicious nonsense into An Le's mind every day is dangerous. Even if it's currently powerless, if it decides to pull a massive stunt at a critical mont, we'll be in deep trouble.'
'There should be a way, ow, but I don't know it right now...'
'...Do you want to try being even more useless?'
Myau-chan gave him an innocent look and replied,
'I can embed my consciousness into a Modifier to beco an avatar, but that's only because I created your Modifier. I know exactly how it works and how it's built. I don't understand An Le's Modifier at all. I need ti to study it first.'
'...'
'In other words, we have to keep playing along with it for now?'
'Still, seeing how terrified it is...'
With this in mind, Yan Huan adopted a fierce-looking expression and cast a aningful glance at An Le.
Despite not exchanging a single word, An Le seed to catch the signal instantly, guessing Yan Huan's intentions without missing a beat.
Good cop, bad cop.
"Little Finger, you..."
In the next second, Yan Huan spoke through gritted teeth.
However, before he could even finish his sentence, the white snake shuddered violently. It instantly snapped its head up and shrieked in panic,
"D-Don't make An Le abandon ! I'm still useful! I know intel on the others! P-Please don't kill !! I don't want to die... wu wu wu..."
"..."
It seed this idiot still did not realize that fully resolving the Modifiers required the Hosts to abandon them willingly.
All it knew was that An Le could end its life with a single word. Stripped of all ans of resistance, it simply surrendered in the most pathetic way possible.
'Great, just grab a seat next to Myau-chan. You two belong at the sa table.'
"You know intel on the other Modifiers?"
Yan Huan, however, was highly intrigued by that specific part of its rambling.
"It's true! Absolutely true! An Le can vouch for ! So you see, earlier when she was whipping those other Hosts around like spinning tops, that was all thanks to !"
An Le nodded in affirmation, but imdiately added a caveat,
"However, Little Finger knows absolutely nothing about Bai Yi's Modifier."
"Right, right, I forgot. I don't know anything about Naless Finger's abilities..."
Naless Finger?
In Yan Huan's mind, the scattered puzzle pieces regarding the various Modifier Hosts were steadily coming together.
With this thought, he smoothly capitalized on the mont,
"...Fine, I'll admit you have so use, so we'll keep you around for now. But if I find out you're causing trouble from the shadows or talking nonsense to An Le, you're instantly dead. Got it?"
'Wait, you don't seriously think An Le exploding earlier was entirely my fault, do you?'
Hearing this, Little Finger felt more terribly wronged than a falsely accused martyr.
Never mind right now—even back then, did it ever dare to spout nonsense in front of An Le?
'This girl was like a terrifying phantom!'
'Damn it, she could figure out and guess literally everything, and loved initiating a self-destruct sequence the mont things didn't go her way...'
'Did it even dare to breathe a word?'
Little Finger turned its head and glanced at An Le. She self-consciously pursed her lips and spoke softly,
"From now on, I want to help Xiao Huan resolve the other Modifiers... If you assist , Little Finger, maybe we can... let you stick around?"
As she spoke, she cautiously peeked over at Yan Huan.
Yan Huan gave a slight shake of his head, while Myau-chan materialized at exactly the right ti, looking at Little Finger.
"With my divine assistance, it just might be possible, ow."
Even initially hearing this, Little Finger was extrely skeptical.
When Myau-chan showed his face, Little Finger's disbelief only multiplied.
It let out a faint scoff, eyeing the black cat while quietly grumbling,
"Give it a rest, stop painting empty promises... When my Divine Lord fought you before, He straight-up said you were a complete piece of trash who couldn't do anything..."
"What did you just say, ow?! I'll beat you to death, you hear ?!"
Seeing this, Yan Huan imdiately grabbed hold of Myau-chan, who looked completely ready to brawl.
"Beep!"
"We will be arriving in Tokyo shortly~"
At that exact mont, a pleasant broadcast voice echoed through the cabin.
Yan Huan and An Le both turned to look out the window, watching the cityscape of Tokyo drawing steadily closer.
Little Finger and Myau-chan vanished in an instant, leaving just the two humans alone in the cabin.
"Xiao Huan, if we can't let them know about the Modifiers, do we need to co up with an excuse for what happened at the Skytree yesterday?"
Drawing her gaze back, An Le nervously rubbed her fingers together. Recalling how she had dangled everyone in midair with her tentacles yesterday made her feel incredibly awkward.
An Le knew that keeping the Modifiers a secret was not a joke.
Yesterday, when she found out that Xiao Huan had known about her using her superpower the entire ti, she had nearly self-destructed on the spot.
And that was while the Silence Ring had still been in effect.
Fortunately, because they had opened up their hearts to one another, and then done that, An Le's inner turmoil had slowly cald down.
As for the others, well, there was no telling how they might react.
"...Yeah, leave that to . Besides, we aren't completely alone in this. We have another ally here in Tokyo—soone who isn't a Host, but is incredibly capable."
"Another... ally?"
An Le paused in slight surprise, then almost imperceptibly began puffing out her cheeks again.
Because she instantly realized that this so-called ally was highly likely to be a woman.
This thoroughly shattered her lovely fantasy of her and Xiao Huan fighting side-by-side as an exclusive duo, leaving her a bit disappointed.
However...
Recalling the intense sweetness they shared last night, she could not suppress the genuine happiness welling up inside her.
But amidst her joy, sothing else occurred to her, and she spoke with remarkable maturity,
"Then after we disembark, I'll go et up with everyone from Far Moon Academy first. Otherwise, it'll be too hard to explain our absence last night... Anyway, we're all taking a flight back to Linn tomorrow."
"...Okay."
Yan Huan watched An Le's side profile, clearly sensing the hidden motive buried beneath her desire to resolve the Modifiers.
"An Le, you actually just don't want to see Spencer right now, do you?"
"..."
An Le blinked, glancing sideways at Yan Huan.
Then, looking distinctly embarrassed, she tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear and whispered softly,
"N-No, not at all."
A lie.
She absolutely did not want to face Spencer.
And yet, just last night, she had explicitly stated that she did not want to break off her friendship with her...
Since she had already said as much, Yan Huan naturally was not going to press the issue.
He was just silently wondering to himself if there was any real possibility of the two reconciling.
Trying to patch things up between two girls whose relationship had completely fractured because of him?
"..."
Well, regardless of how it played out, everyone was heading back to Linn tomorrow.
They could worry about all that after they returned.
Sowhere in Akihabara, Tokyo.
Ye Shiyu groggily opened her eyes. Staring up at the dim ceiling before her, her pupils suddenly contracted.
She sat straight up in a flash, frantically patting around in a panicked and helpless search for her mobile phone.
"Smack."
Finally grabbing her phone, she unlocked it and stared at the screen. Seeing the "Hypnosis APP" still present on the display, she clutched the device tightly to her chest and breathed a massive sigh of relief.
Thank goodness...
It was still there.
"Nn... Yan... Yan Huan, kiss
again... nn..."
At that mont, the lodious sound of sleep-talking drifted into her ears, causing Ye Shiyu to frown deeply. She shot a dark, thoroughly unamused glare at Bai Yi, who was currently sleeping soundly beside her.
On the other side lay Spencer, who was also sleeping just as soundly.
As she began piecing together the events of the previous night in her head, she shoved Bai Yi away in profound disgust.
Right at that very second, a chi rang out from her phone.
"Ding~"
Ye Shiyu looked down, seeing a new ssage pop up on the screen from Sakuramiya Hitomi.
"Where are you guys? The President has already returned~"
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