Heh, Not Heh

# Chapter 21: Hehe, No Hehe

Earth, downstairs from Qilin's home.

Qilin seemed to sense something and looked up—

Azhui descended slowly from the sky, holding Su Bai's hand.

Unlike watching through a livestream screen, this was the first time she had seen a real angel in person.

Qilin's gaze couldn't help but linger on Azhui for a moment:

Pure white wings, armor shimmering with faint light, that kind of unearthly, awe-inspiring aura...

Everything was different from what she had imagined, yet even more breathtaking.

Finally, their feet touched the ground.

Su Bai immediately waved at Qilin happily:

"Qilin!"

Qilin snapped back to reality and walked forward with a smile.

"Back?"

Su Bai nodded vigorously, eyes sparkling:

"Mm, back!"

Qilin extended her hand, palm up, her tone gentle:

"Come on, I promised you—a snack feast."

Hearing this, Su Bai's eyes lit up instantly.

Without hesitation, he placed his hand in Qilin's and nodded firmly:

"Mm!"

Qilin smiled slightly, then turned to Azhui beside her:

"And this angel miss... would you like to join us?"

The corners of Azhui's lips lifted slightly as she replied softly:

"Mm, thank you for the invitation, Miss Qilin. Just call me Azhui."

The night was already deep, but the lights of Snack Street blazed even brighter.

The aroma of food mingled with the sounds of people, steaming up the unique warmth and vitality of the mortal world.

With one hand held by Qilin, Su Bai's other hand was already pointing impatiently at the grilled squid stall not far away:

"Qilin! That one!"

"I know, I know." Qilin laughed in response, but first turned to look at Azhui beside her.

"Azhui, any dietary restrictions? Or anything special you'd like to eat?"

Azhui gently shook her head and smiled:

"No need to go out of your way for me, Qilin. I've stayed on Earth for a long time; I'm quite familiar with it."

Hearing Azhui say this, Qilin didn't press further and let Su Bai eagerly pull her along, weaving between the various snack stalls.

Compared to the relaxed and carefree pair—

"My King... the vanguard squad... has lost signal." A Taotie soldier knelt on one knee, his voice tense as he reported to Shi Yan.

"Oh?" A flicker of surprise crossed Shi Yan's eyes. "Did they encounter resistance at the target planet, Earth?"

Based on the intelligence they had gathered, Earth was merely an ordinary pre-nuclear civilization, supposedly incapable of possessing the ability to eliminate a vanguard squad.

"No..." The soldier's voice dropped even lower. "They lost contact... near the exit of the Great Worm Bridge by Pluto."

"Hm?" Shi Yan's mechanical pupils suddenly flared.

This meant the vanguard squad hadn't even begun their probing of Earth before being eliminated?

"Was any footage or data transmitted back?" Shi Yan asked in a deep voice.

The soldier shook his head: "No... none. The signal was cut off completely in an instant. No useful information was sent back."

Shi Yan was silent for a moment, a vague sense of foreboding quietly rising within him.

He waved his hand, signaling the soldier to withdraw.

In the empty hall, Shi Yan's respectful voice rang out:

"My God."

A hooded phantom silently materialized before him.

"Shi Yan, what is it?"

Cal's voice was indifferent and steady, betraying no emotion.

Shi Yan dared not delay for a moment and immediately reported the news he had just received.

"My god, the vanguard squad we dispatched to the Milky Way... has lost contact."

"They were completely annihilated near the Great Worm Bridge on Pluto, without transmitting any useful intelligence back..."

"And judging by the instantaneous nature of the signal loss, I suspect... they were likely eliminated in a single moment."

After hearing Shi Yan's account, Cal seemed to stir with a flicker of interest.

"Oh? In a single moment..." he murmured softly. "In the known universe, beings with such power... are few."

Shi Yan remained silent, not daring to interject.

He thought the same.

Yet he couldn't fathom the motive behind the attacker's move.

Angels? Those self-proclaimed guardians of justice—why would they launch a sudden assault?

Lieyang? They had no ties with the Taotie; why would they interfere?

Demons? Those fiends were busy evading the Angels' purge—why would they show themselves?

Shi Yan waited in stillness.

After Cal finished speaking, he directly activated the "Great Clock" to begin deduction.

Soon, fragments of the vanguard squad's final moments were retrieved.

But...

"Oh? Angels..." Cal's voice carried a hint of surprise. "That's... rather unexpected."

Hearing this, Shi Yan's confusion deepened.

It really was the Angels who struck?!

But this completely defied their usual code of conduct.

By their conventions, the Angels only intervened in conflicts after the Taotie invaded a planet and that planet accepted the protection of the "Justice Order."

"Hm?"

Before Shi Yan could dwell further, Cal's slightly puzzled voice rang out again.

"Interesting..."

As if he had discovered something worth investigating, he issued a command to the Great Clock:

"Increase computational power."

[Increasing computational power...]

[Beginning analysis...]

[Analysis progress 1%...1.01%...1.001%...]

"Stop."

[Stopping analysis of target.]

"Shi Yan."

"My god." Shi Yan immediately bowed with reverence.

"No need to rush. Proceed with the original plan as scheduled." Cal's voice remained calm. "I'll have Snow go over to assist you."

"Lord Snow?" A flicker of shock passed through Shi Yan's eyes, quickly replaced by irrepressible excitement.

"Yes, my god! Your most faithful disciple will surely offer you more deaths!"

Cal gave an almost imperceptible nod, then cut off the communication.

The projection faded, and the hall fell back into silence.

Only Shi Yan remained, his eyes blazing with fervent light.

The Angels were formidable, yes—

But in his heart, the God of Death, Cal, was the supreme being of the known universe.

With Lord Snow personally taking action, this operation... was bound to succeed.

Academy of Death Songs.

After the communication ended, Cal's gaze remained fixed on the deduction image before him.

More precisely, on the figure beside Angel Zhui in the image—

A silhouette that, no matter how he analyzed it, remained perpetually blurred.

Even with the full computational power of the Great Clock, he could not pierce that veil of mist to see the target's true appearance.

The recording was brief:

Angel Zhui led that blurred figure to the Taotie vanguard fleet's hiding spot. Then, the figure seemed to do something.

After that, the entire vanguard fleet fell into a state of "stasis."

Yes—not only was the target itself impossible to parse, but even the methods the other party had employed, all Cal could obtain was a blurry image filled with noise and devoid of meaning.

"An existence even the Great Clock cannot parse..."

"And entangled with angels..."

Cal murmured to herself, the shadow beneath her hood deepening as her gaze turned profound:

"Angels... that really is unwelcome news."