"Qilin, Let's Play"

"Pay attention. Here, Su Bai said 'you'... plural.

"In other words, Xiao Xue's words, as relayed by Su Bai, referred to Qilin, everyone watching the livestream, and even those who would only get a diary later on.

"If you still have questions about 'Resonators,' you can ask Su Bai directly once his soul has recovered a little.

"Clearly, Xiao Xue just couldn't be bothered to explain any further.

"After passing along this message, Su Bai suddenly paused, a look of realization crossing his face.

"Xiao Xue... Did you just say something about me again?"

"Nope," Xiao Xue replied lightly and innocently. "You're so smart. How could I say something about you right in front of you?"

"Mm, that's true." Su Bai nodded, looking thoroughly convinced.

Across from him, Qilin couldn't help smiling helplessly and indulgently at the sight.

Judging by his reaction... that system called Xiao Xue had probably fooled him again.

Qilin quietly sensed the various messages carried to her by the "wind," and gradually began to understand.

Meanwhile, Su Bai was having an especially "one-sided" conversation with Xiao Xue.

"Once Qilin's done sensing, fight her—to help her get used to her abilities, and to show your prospective 'External Brains' the value of a 'Resonator.'"

Su Bai looked puzzled.

"Why should I fight Qilin? Qilin's a good person, and she makes delicious food."

Xiao Xue swallowed her frustration and silently repeated to herself:

"Don't get angry, don't get angry... Don't argue with an idiot. This is my own fault for causing trouble..."

She let out a long breath—if a ball of light could breathe—before speaking again.

"I'm not asking you to 'fight' Qilin. I'm asking you to 'play' with her—to spar. Understand?"

Su Bai's face immediately lit up with realization.

"Oh, so that's what you mean! No problem!"

When Qilin came back to her senses, she found Su Bai staring at her with shining eyes, looking just like a child who'd found a playmate.

"Qilin," he said eagerly, "let's 'play'!"

"...Play?" Qilin didn't understand at first.

"Mm! The kind where you hit me and I hit you, but nobody gets hurt!"

Qilin: "..."

She thought she understood.

In the livestream, Hexi sat up straight.

"A spar?" A researcher's sharp interest flashed in her eyes. "Perfect. Let's see how this 'Resonator' fights, and how it differs from a Super Soldier."

Keisha gave a slight nod, her gaze just as focused.

Actual combat was always the best way to test an ability.

In the extradimensional space, Qilin took a deep breath.

She was curious, too.

Just what could this power she'd only just acquired do?

"Okay." She nodded, taking up the ready stance she'd learned during police academy training. "Let's... give it a try."

The instant she finished speaking, Su Bai's figure suddenly vanished.

No—not vanished.

He'd moved so fast that, to an ordinary person, it looked almost like teleportation.

Qilin didn't even have time to be surprised. Her instincts reacted first.

Instead of trying to track Su Bai's location, she closed her eyes and entrusted her senses entirely to the "wind."

—Three meters to the left and behind her.

The wind carried the faint disturbance to her.

Qilin took half a step to the front right, swinging her right hand toward her side and back.

A concentrated gust shot out like an invisible whip, meeting the hand Su Bai had thrust out from that direction.

The air gave a soft crack.

Su Bai's figure appeared. He blinked, seeming a little surprised.

"Qilin's amazing."

"You were going easy on me, weren't you?" Qilin smiled helplessly, though a genuine thrill was rising in her heart.

Her reaction just now hadn't relied on sight or experience at all. It had come from the "information" carried to her by the wind.

This way of fighting... was unlike anything she'd ever seen.

"Again!" she said, taking the initiative.

For the next few minutes, the air rushed through the extradimensional space as their figures crossed and clashed.

Qilin never opened her eyes.

Like a blind person listening to ripples beneath deep water, she relied on every faint disturbance carried by the wind to judge Su Bai's position, speed, and even intent.

As for Su Bai...

The instant he decided to move, the instant he decided how to attack, his body would chart the best route for him, and the method would then guide him into action.

It was as if everything came naturally to him.

Still, Su Bai had no intention of hurting Qilin.

So his attacks weren't particularly fierce.

They were more like a teacher guiding her movements.

And Qilin, too, sensed the warnings carried by the "wind" during their spar and reacted swiftly.

At the same time, she used her wind abilities with growing confidence.

In the livestream, Hexi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"It's not energy projection... nor is she using dark energy to drive it."

Her speech quickened, as if she were recording observations. "She's manipulating the environment itself—the flow of air, changes in pressure, temperature gradients... All these 'frequencies' have become mediums through which she can sense and intervene."

Keisha watched Qilin fighting with her eyes closed on the screen. Then she spoke.

"If the 'wind' can be used this way, then underwater, in a forest, in a desert... or even in a vacuum, could there be corresponding 'frequencies' to resonate with?"

Hexi froze, then her eyes lit up with astonishment.

"You mean a Resonator's power could be highly adaptable to different environments?"

"More than that." Keisha shook her head slightly. "I'm wondering, if everything in the universe has a frequency... then perhaps the limits of 'Resonance' go far beyond controlling natural elements."

They both fell silent.

If things really were as they suspected... then this so-called Resonator might be far more "overpowered" than they'd imagined.

As for Rui Mengmeng...

"Wow, that's amazing."

Inside the extradimensional space, Su Bai suddenly stopped.

He tilted his head as if he'd heard an instruction, then said to Qilin:

"Xiao Xue says... that's enough."

Only then did Qilin stop moving. She breathed lightly, the feather-shaped glow around her hair not yet completely faded.

"Thank you, Su Bai." Qilin spoke earnestly.

"Hehe, you're welcome~" Su Bai smiled, his eyes crinkling. He was as pure as candy warmed by the sun. "Qilin makes yummy food for me, so I have to help Qilin, too."

His smile was clear and bright, utterly without guile.

The longer Qilin looked at him, the warmer her cheeks grew.

...Mm, making that expression with such a handsome face was just unfair.