The seawater parted naturally around them. Everyone stood inside a peculiar elliptical bubble supported by foam and currents, and the bubble surged forward at an incredible speed. Shaqila and Soma took turns swimming around outside the bubble to maintain the stability of the spell. This experience was different from the time Nangong May had dragged Hao Ren into the deep sea. The only thing they had in common was that both were equally novel and fascinating.
"Roll" stared wide-eyed at the scene in amazement. With her limited understanding, she could not find anything that could explain the phenomenon. She ran back and forth across the "ground" woven from foam and currents. Whenever she saw shadows streaking past outside—fish swimming in the shallows or long strings of bubbles—she excitedly pounced at them, only to be bounced back by the watery wall every time.
Vivian grabbed Cat Girl and made her calm down a little, while Hassu curiously examined this strange "aberrant": "What is she?"
"A cat that gained sentience," Hao Ren said with a shrug. "By your standards, she's an aberrant too, but a month ago she was just an ordinary house cat. I'm curious—would such a harmless creature become one of your hunting targets simply because she took human form?"
Tutanin rubbed the bridge of his nose and exchanged a glance with Hassu. "No reaction from the hunting instinct?" "None from me either."
Hao Ren did not notice what the two were muttering about. He only noticed that Tutanin and Hassu had kept three meters away from them the entire time, and even tried to turn their faces away while speaking with his group. He felt that such wariness and rejection were completely unnecessary under their current truce. "You two don't have to stay that far away, you know. And