Ability × Oceanarium

Outside the prison, in the reception room, Zhu Li and Chen Xi were killing time playing Go-Moku.

At the heavy sound of the electronic door closing, they both turned to look to the left.

The excited Lin Yue strode at the front, with the Countermeasure Bureau personnel following behind Qiu Ye.

"Did it work?" Chen Xi rose to greet her.

Though she'd figured Lin Yue wouldn't have said that without a good reason, she still couldn't help worrying.

Lin Yue clasped her hands together. "I've done my best."

Since the Shadow Dweller and the Butcher were highly compatible, she hadn't encountered much resistance while taking control of it.

Once they'd finished talking, Qiu Ye chimed in at the right moment. "You two, please register the abilities you gained after taking control of the Butcher."

The headquarters already had information on the Butcher, but the abilities gained varied from person to person. There was a chance Lin Yue's Butcher had a new ability.

Curious, Lin Yue gave an honest report. "Enhanced strength, greatly improved recovery, and... I can see the weak points in the human body."

"And basic mastery of the Chainsaw Cleaver," Qiu Ye added, filling in the last detail.

"The Butcher you took control of has a full set of abilities. It's one of the best among this Legend type."

As for the Butcher's domain ability, that wouldn't awaken until Second Rank.

"That's all. You two can go."

After all, they hadn't found any new abilities, so this had just been a formality.

As soon as the test was over, Lin Yue could barely contain herself.

"From now on, I'm a veteran Transcendent who's taken control of two Legends."

She crossed her arms smugly. "Chen Xi, how about calling me 'senior'?"

"Senior Lin Yue." Chen Xi watched her expressionlessly and tilted her head. "Satisfied?"

"..." Lin Yue hadn't expected her to actually say it. Her expression froze in an instant.

She stammered a little. "I'm satisfied. Let's go."

Halfway out, Lin Yue suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the red-haired girl still sitting in her seat. "Zhu Li, what about you?"

"You two go ahead." Zhu Li's phone voice provided the response.

"Huh? Since when did Zhu Li learn text-to-speech?" Luo Li exclaimed from the corner.

Lu Shaoqi, standing beside her, gave her a rap on the head.

"You make Senior Zhu Li sound like some primitive who doesn't know how to use a phone. She just doesn't want to use it, not that she can't."

"Ow!" Luo Li rubbed the spot she'd been hit. "Shaoqi, I think the Legend has affected your mind. You've developed a serious violent streak."

Lu Shaoqi rolled her eyes and ignored her nonsense.

Zhu Li covered her mouth and chuckled. The others had clearly gotten used to their usual banter and went about their own business.

"We're off." After saying goodbye to Qiu Ye, Lin Yue and Chen Xi left the Countermeasure Bureau.

Chen Shuo watched them go, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

He really wanted to ask Lin Yue how she'd dealt with the curse. After all, his family had a Legend relic from the Evil Flower organization hidden away.

But he and the two women weren't even casual acquaintances, so he found it hard to bring himself to ask.

"What's wrong, Shuo?" Qiu Ye, sitting in a chair and playing on his phone, caught the movement from the corner of his eye.

"...Nothing." Chen Shuo's gaze darted away.

Qiu Ye suddenly thought of something, blinking. "Oh, right. Isn't your sister's birthday coming up in a few days? How about we all go buy her a cake or something?"

Luo Li, who'd been play-fighting with Lu Shaoqi, perked up at that. "Captain, how do you even remember his sister's birthday so clearly?"

Luo Li gave him a teasing look. "Actually, this legally adult loli could be persuaded to step in for her, provided you give me some Federation points..."

Before she could finish, Lu Shaoqi gave her another beating at Qiu Ye's pointed look.

"The captain is just looking out for a teammate. You make him sound like some perverted boss," she said sternly.

Qiu Ye put a hand to his forehead, looking helpless. "Why does it feel like the more I explain, the worse it gets?"

Meanwhile, the midday sun blazed over the pedestrian street.

Lin Yue and Chen Xi were strolling around, enjoying their hard-won leisure time.

To avoid hassle and unwanted attention, they were both wearing sunglasses and baseball caps.

"Cotton candy?"

Every time they passed a snack shop, Lin Yue would chime in with clockwork regularity.

Chen Xi rejected her without even looking. "It's too sweet. No."

"Iced tea?"

"It'll make me thirsty."

"Ice cream?"

"That's fine."

Five minutes later, the two of them stood outside the Oceanarium with rainbow ice cream bars in hand.

"This is my first time at a place like this."

Lin Yue surveyed the bustling queue and sighed.

Chen Xi licked her quickly melting ice cream. "You like it? Then we can come more often."

"More often... Right." Lin Yue smiled brightly. "From now on, I'll come once a day."

Just imagining it was enough to drain Chen Xi of all her energy.

"Then spare me. You get tired of a place like this after two or three visits."

Lin Yue laughed and lightly punched her in the back. "Could you at least pretend to be happy about it when you're with me?"

"Stop messing around. It's our turn."

They handed their reserved tickets to the staff member at the entrance.

As soon as they went inside, the enormous tank by the entrance blocked their view. Its deep blue lights tinted the ends of their hair a brilliant blue, and Chen Xi could already smell the dampness unique to the ocean.

Schools of colorful fish swam about. In unison, they drew close to the glass and swept past Chen Xi.

It was as if a painted scroll had unfurled, with a dazzling array of colors gathering behind Chen Xi and swirling currents taking shape in layers.

"So beautiful..." Lin Yue was so stunned by the enchanting scene that she lost her voice.

The others seemed to notice, too. They all looked over curiously, and some had even taken out their phones to snap pictures.

After a brief moment of confusion, Chen Xi glanced at the school of fish pressed close to the glass on her left.

It was Rain Lord's doing.

The sea creatures had sensed the familiar, affectionate aura and instinctively drawn close.

Realizing this, Chen Xi took Lin Yue by the arm and headed into the middle of the crowd.

When Chen Xi suddenly took her left hand, Lin Yue didn't know what to make of it, but she didn't pull away. "What's up?"

"Dummy, if we stay here any longer, we'll end up on the local news." Chen Xi lowered the brim of her cap and quickened her pace.

"I've already thought of a headline: Mysterious Woman in Tianhai City Visits Oceanarium, Surrounded by Thousands of Fish."

"Is it really that bad?"

Lin Yue smacked her lips. "Then come watch a movie with me afterward."

"Let's get out first. I'll agree to anything you say."

In her hurry to leave, Chen Xi stopped paying attention to their physical contact and held on tightly to Lin Yue's left arm as she weaved through the crowd.

The blonde girl's face flushed, but she let Chen Xi lead her along.

"Something's not right..."

Even after they'd moved away from the glass, Chen Xi could still smell a strong fishy odor.

Noticing that some of the visitors were still looking her way, Chen Xi sensed trouble.

Only when the glare of reflected light caught her eye did she glance at the back of the middle-aged man they'd just passed—and finally understand the source of her unease.

Fish scales were sprouting wildly across everyone's backs.