The Snow Gorillas exchanged uncertain glances. Titan and Nala looked down at the skull in their hands, their expressions unreadable, almost as if they were trying to hear the imaginary whispers of their forr owner.
deia, of course, saw this as the perfect opportunity to turn up the theatrics.
She let out a deep, dramatic sigh and placed a hand over her chest. "I understand. You need ti to process this sacred ssage," she said solemnly, nodding like a wise old oracle.
Then, with the act of a true perforr, she gently patted the skull. "Cornelius, dear, please be patient with them. After all, accepting one’s fate is never easy."
At this point, Lucian had to physically press a fist to his mouth to keep himself from bursting into laughter.
The gorillas, however, were taking this far too seriously. Titan turned to Nala, and the two of them let out a series of deep, thoughtful grunts, almost like they were having a secret discussion about the aning of life.
Finally, after a long pause, Titan and Nala knelt before deia. One by one, the rest of the Snow Gorillas followed suit.
They didn’t say a word, but deia knew exactly what this ant.
They had made their decision.
They were staying in Red Canyon.
And more importantly, they weren’t staying out of guilt or obligation.
They had chosen this of their own free will.
Note that. She didn’t force anyone to follow her.
Lucian raised an eyebrow, sohow feeling a little proud of her. After all, she had just convinced an entirely different species to see her as their leader.
deia smiled, tilting her chin up like a queen welcoming her new royal guards. "Good choice," she said. "You won’t regret it."
According to the system, the Snow Gorillas could eat fruits and vegetables, but for years, they had only survived on insects since they couldn’t find anything else.
Honestly, deia wanted to give them so vegetables as a welco gift, but since her crops weren’t ready for harvest yet, they’d have to wait a little longer.
"Well, since you’re officially part of my base now, would you like a more comfortable place to sleep?" deia asked, tilting her head as she glanced at the rough, uneven rock walls surrounding them. "Or ... do you actually like sleeping here?"
Titan let out a low growl before standing up and pointing toward a more open section of the canyon wall, one that received more sunlight compared to their current dark and cramped spot.
"That one?" deia followed his gaze and nodded. "Alright. I’ll ask my husband to fix it up for you."
Since the Snow Gorillas preferred sleeping against stone walls and were now part of her hidden defense system, it made sense to let them sleep in the rocky cliffs.
Which ant ... Lucian would have to carve out small caves along the canyon walls to make them proper resting spaces.
The location was actually strategic, it wasn’t far from where they planned to build the second watchtower, which would serve as a security checkpoint before entering deeper into Red Star Alliance territory.
However, since this spot was so close to the watchtower, deia knew she’d have to introduce the Snow Gorillas to her people first.
Because the last thing she needed was one of her soldiers mistaking them for wild beasts and shooting them on sight.
"For now, it’s best if you stay here," deia told them. "Once I’ve introduced you to my people, then you’ll be free to roam around Red Canyon as you please."
The Snow Gorillas didn’t seem to mind at all and simply nodded in response. Surprisingly, they were almost too easy to deal with, so much so that deia found herself thinking, ’Am I talking to actual gorillas or just a bunch of very hairy, oversized humans?’
In fact, for so reason, she felt like it was easier to talk to them than the people in her own base.
Well, animals were better than humans anyway.
Lucian glanced at her. "When do you plan to introduce them to everyone?"
deia lazily kicked a small rock down the path. "I don’t have much ti, so maybe ... after we get back from our mission to find those old scientists?"
The mont she said it, the system chid in.
[New Mission Unlocked: Find the Old Scientists and Bring Them to the Red Star Alliance Base.]
deia froze. Did the system just steal my idea and turn it into a mission?
Seriously?! Was the system running out of creativity or what?!
No, wait—that wasn’t even the real issue here. What really mattered was where the hell was her level-up announcent?!
Her experience points should have long surpassed the required amount, so why hadn’t the system notified her yet?!
"Hey, why are you lagging?" deia abruptly stopped walking, forcing Lucian to do the sa.
Lucian, already used to her weird conversations with the system, didn’t even bother asking. He simply crossed his arms and waited in silence.
[The system apologizes for the delay, Host.]
[A new update was just installed, and it will take approximately two days for the system to fully adjust.]
deia narrowed her eyes. "New update?" she continued, "You still sound just as annoying as ever, so what exactly changed?"
The system went quiet for a brief mont before finally responding.
[The authority has removed the locked access for detecting other people’s systems.]
[The data is too large, so the system needs ti to process all the new information.]
deia frowned. Why would the authorities suddenly give her system access to detect other systems?
She had always suspected that there were others like her—people with their own systems, but as long as their paths never crossed, it didn’t really matter.
Now, though? Now her system could actively detect them?
That sounded like a problem waiting to happen.
And knowing the Watchers, those sadistic entertainnt-loving freaks, they probably did this on purpose just to throw more chaos her way.
deia clicked her tongue in frustration. Great. Just great.
It looked like she needed to level up as soon as possible to secure her safety—and the safety of those around her.
Her gaze shifted toward Lucian, and suddenly, a thought hit her. ’... Could Lucian have a system too?’
She had always thought there was more to him than just being incredibly strong.
But if he really did have a system, wouldn’t he have told her by now?
[The system can’t detect it yet, Host.]
[Please wait a mont until the system fully syncs with the new update.]
deia had never brought this up before, but she had noticed sothing strange—
Her system always seed to struggle when it ca to Lucian. It couldn’t access his abilities properly. It couldn’t see the illusions he experienced when the panther had ssed with their minds.
And even though she never confronted him about it, deep down, she still wondered why. Why did her system treat his illusions as classified information?
Why couldn’t it even detect them?
Was there sothing different about Lucian? Sothing that made him unreadable?
"The system is updating," deia finally told him. "It said that after the update, it’ll be able to detect other people’s systems."
If he had one, wouldn’t he look even a little concerned?
She waited.
Waited for so sign of hesitation—for even the slightest flicker of worry to cross his face.
But Lucian? He was as calm as ever. If anything, he looked like he was worried about sothing else entirely.
"That’s actually great," he mused, "but doesn’t that also an you’ll be running into people like that soon?" He glanced at her, his voice casual but firm. "That’s ... not really great, is it?"
Lucian leaned in slightly. "I an, people who have a system on their side are basically walking cheat codes." He continued, "They’re not exactly easy to take down."
deia nodded. "They’re not. That’s why... I guess it’s ti for to step up my ga." She smiled. "Once we get back, do you want to co with to the forest? I need to kill so monsters."
Lucian didn’t even hesitate. "Of course. You don’t even have to ask."
Honestly, who cared if he had a system or not?
As long as he stayed by her side as her strong, kind, and adorably gentle future husband nothing else mattered.
As soon as they returned to the base, deia wasted no ti. She called for a eting with the high-grade hunters, the strongest warriors in the Red Star Alliance.
She hadn’t officially introduced the Snow Gorillas to the entire base yet, but these hunters? They needed to know first.
After all, they were the ones fighting on the front lines. It was only right that they learned about the new hidden weapons in their territory.
"So now we’re working with a bunch of monkeys?" Tian asked, crossing his arms.
He didn’t look thrilled. In fact, he looked very much against the idea. "They’re mutated animals," he added, his voice flat.
deia arched a brow. "And you’re a mutated human. What’s your point?"
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