Looking at the timid, frail-looking girl apologizing to her, Kalina could scarcely contain the shock in her eyes!
The girl looked a few years younger than her, with an utterly harmless air about her.
She spoke in a soft, gentle voice, as though anything a little louder would frighten her.
And yet... this very girl had effortlessly blocked her A-Rank Life Skill.
Was this the legendary combination of the cutest face and the most formidable strength?
Could a girl she had run into by chance in the Lower City really possess such terrifying strength?!
How was that possible?!
"Mmph! Mmph..."
Kalina tried to speak, only to discover that a slender tentacle had somehow plugged her mouth, leaving her able to make only muffled sounds of protest.
Only then did Lin Luoluo realize what had happened. Seeing Kalina's face flushed bright red, she hurriedly whispered to Bai Chen:
"Xiao Bai, let her go! Don't do that, it's too rude!"
The tentacle around Kalina's mouth loosened first. Then the dozen or so thick tentacles binding her limbs and waist gradually withdrew, retreating behind the throne.
Freed from her bonds, Kalina fell from midair with a thud, landing in a heap.
A few minutes later.
The throne and tentacles Bai Chen had transformed into slowly dissolved, and he turned back into a soft, springy black Slime.
He first carefully lowered Lin Luoluo from midair, setting her down securely on the soft grass beneath a large tree.
Kalina, meanwhile, promptly honored the promise she had made as the loser.
She took the Netherworld Grass out of her storage space and tossed it straight to Lin Luoluo.
"Here. As promised, it's yours."
Lin Luoluo caught it rather clumsily.
The Netherworld Grass was pitch-black from stem to leaf, but the edges of its leaves glowed with a dim blue halo, and it gave off a strange fluctuation of energy.
Before she could examine it closely, Bai Chen came over from her side, opened his gaping maw, and swallowed the Netherworld Grass in one gulp!
Immediately afterward.
Bai Chen took out the Second Tier Demon Crystals he had just obtained from the other two Demons and tossed them into his belly like candy!
Only after finishing all that did he give a satisfied burp, lie down beside Lin Luoluo, and close his eyes to digest and absorb them.
While Bai Chen was digesting.
Kalina and Lin Luoluo, two girls from the Upper City and Lower City respectively, were having a friendly chat.
Kalina sat cross-legged on the ground, unable to resist studying Lin Luoluo curiously.
"Hey, your name's Lin Luoluo? That's such a lovely name."
"Th-thank you." Lin Luoluo nodded.
"I'm from Dawnlight Academy in the Upper City. I came to the Lower City this time to capture an S-Rank space-element Contract Spirit that was summoned during a summoning ceremony but escaped."
"The academy is treating this as a test. I'm not the only one—the academy's other geniuses have come to the Lower City too."
"By the way, you're so strong, you must be from the best Contract Spirit Master academy in the Lower City, right?"
Kalina chattered on.
As she saw it, only the finest institution in the entire Lower City could have raised a genius like this.
Lin Luoluo quietly processed the information Kalina had given her.
A wild S-Rank Contract Spirit had appeared in the Underground City?
Lin Luoluo couldn't help thinking how wonderful it would be if she could capture it for Chuchu to contract.
But she soon realized that Chuchu's mental strength surely couldn't withstand an S-Rank Contract Spirit.
Hearing what Kalina said next, she hurriedly shook her head and answered softly, a little embarrassed:
"No... I dropped out in my second year of high school because I couldn't afford the tuition."
"What?!"
Kalina's hands froze, and she looked up in shock, almost thinking she had misheard.
"D-dropped out? Because of tuition?"
She could hardly believe her ears.
Kalina took a deep breath and tried another line of questioning:
"Then did you join the official Contract Spirit Master Guild?
Or one of the top private guilds in the Lower City? I remember one of our Upper City guilds opened a branch down here to recruit talented newcomers."
Lin Luoluo thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head again.
"No, the official Mining Team here isn't very strong. It's far worse than the private ones.
As for the other Mining Teams... they looked down on me for being a cripple and wouldn't take me either."
"..."
Hearing Lin Luoluo's words, Kalina was already having a hard time keeping her composure.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't get a single word out.
This girl, who had defeated her so easily and was, in her eyes, a genius among geniuses, couldn't even afford to go to school in the Lower City, and not a single team would take her because of her disability?!
To Kalina, who came from a great family and had been showered with resources since childhood, it was utterly absurd!
In the Upper City, any Contract Spirit Master found to have A-Rank talent would be treated like a treasure by the major factions. They would be given the best education and resources from childhood, for fear their talent might be buried.
Yet Lin Luoluo's strength, in Kalina's eyes, was already enough to compete with those top geniuses.
And in the Lower City, talent like that was spurned like garbage?
But then she caught a word in what Lin Luoluo had said.
Cripple?
Kalina's gaze instinctively shifted to Lin Luoluo's legs. Only then did she notice that the girl had been sitting on the grass the whole time and had never stood up.
So that was it...
Now Kalina understood somewhat.
For a Mining Team that frequently had to explore and fight in the wilderness, a member with limited mobility was indeed a burden.
Still, she was sure those people had never seen this girl fight!
What a joke!
When she fought, she didn't need to move at all!
That Contract Spirit called Xiao Bai had transformed into a throne and held her aloft, combining offense and defense into a mobile battle fortress!
And they still looked down on her?
Whoever got her to join their team would have struck gold!
She could defeat Kalina despite the difference in their tiers. Even in the Upper City, where geniuses gathered, someone with that strength would surely be fought over by the top factions!
A thought suddenly flashed through Kalina's mind.
Kalina's eyes lit up at once!
I happen to be planning to form a team of my own for the upcoming National Contract Spirit Master Competition! If I can get Luoluo on my side, won't victory be in the bag?!
Once the idea appeared, she could no longer hold it back.
It was time to act!
Kalina immediately scooted over, wearing what she thought was her friendliest smile.
She put an arm around Lin Luoluo's shoulders, her exceptionally E-cup chest pressing right against Lin Luoluo's little face.
"Hehehe, Xiao Luoluo, since you don't have a team yet, why don't you join mine?"
"Join... your team?"
Kalina's enthusiasm made Lin Luoluo blush a little.
Kalina nodded excitedly, like a puppy that had spotted a meaty bone.
"That's right! My team! I'll tell you, my goal is to win the national competition!
I might be on my own right now, but I have money and resources. As long as you join, I'll cover everything—equipment, potions, training grounds! I guarantee you the best treatment!"
She patted her chest as she solemnly made her promise.
Seeing her so full of enthusiasm, Lin Luoluo was at a loss for a moment.
Lin Luoluo was just about to say something when she saw Kalina's expression suddenly turn strange.
The excitement and enthusiasm rapidly faded from her face, replaced by confusion and pain. Her voice grew quieter and quieter, as though all her strength were being drained away.
"Right, you should really think it o..."
In the end, she didn't even finish her sentence. Her eyes suddenly closed, her body went limp, and she pitched forward.
"Kalina, what's wrong?!"
Startled, Lin Luoluo instinctively reached out, trying to help Kalina back up.
Although they had just been fighting, Kalina's straightforward personality didn't make her dislike her.
While they had been sitting beneath the tree to rest, Kalina had even offered her some snacks to help replenish her strength.
They were a kind of delicacy she had never tasted before, and they made Lin Luoluo feel a friendly kindness.
And now, seeing Kalina suddenly faint like this instantly reminded her of her younger sister Lin Chuchu's illness.
At the sight, she felt worried almost by reflex.