"This thing is ridiculously troublesome... Mm—ugh! Why does this world have this stuff too?" Jiu Ming scratched his head under Tree Loli's puzzled gaze. Seeing her confusion, he gave a light cough. "Ahem, don't worry. I have a way to deal with this thing. Wait for me."
As he spoke, Jiu Ming vanished from the spot, leaving behind Tree Loli, who silently stared at the gray sphere. The black aberration kept absorbing the black sludge it produced, growing larger and larger. And no matter what she did, she could not destroy it. Fire, crushing water pressure, freezing, even powerful impacts—at most, they could stop it from moving for a while. Yet its process of converting whatever it touched, whether matter or energy, into black sludge never ceased.
"Let me tell you, the earlier you find this stuff, the better. Once it grows into a full-blown disaster, it'll be an absolute nightmare. Come, come, let me sell you a targeted antibiotic—Hairball!" Jiu Ming placed one of the Hairballs he had brought onto Tree Loli's head.
Jiu Ming had originally wanted to bring out a whole row of Hairballs, but considering the quantity... he had only brought a few. What if he ended up producing another huge swarm? How would he carry them back?
Watching the Hairball lying on the gray sphere and sucking at it like it was drinking juice, Jiu Ming pinched his chin and wondered why this thing had appeared here as well. "Hey! Panel-kun, could it be that I still have the potential for 'auspiciousness exempts me from harm'?"
[If that's what you think, then that's how it is.]
What did it mean, that's how it is!? Jiu Ming's eyebrows twitched twice. The Hairballs, which kept splitting as they fed, also sped up their eating. But