Aftermath

"I have fulfilled my commission, Your Highness."

Lin Yue stood rooted to the spot with a vacant gaze, only snapping out of her trance when the other girl gently pinched her cheek, the warmth from those fair fingers grounding her.

"We... won?" After saying this, Lin Yue looked around in every direction, terrified that Wu Xin might suddenly pull a fake-death stunt again.

The child had truly been traumatized by the schemes, unable to let her guard down even at a moment like this.

Seeing her pitiful yet amusing expression, Chen Xi placed both hands on her shoulders, straightened her head, and said every word with deliberate clarity.

"That pervert Wu Xin is dead, you don't need to look anymore."

"Hey, you don't understand." Lin Yue brushed her hands away and continued to scrutinize her surroundings with meticulous care.

She waited cautiously for the domain to dissipate, until the collapsed school building finally reappeared before her eyes.

Lin Yue finally accepted the reality of Wu Xin's death.

A torrential downpour began to fall once more from the night sky, accompanied by howling winds.

She suddenly let out a shriek and threw herself into Chen Xi's arms like a bear.

"Didn't you die? How did you suddenly come back to life?" Lin Yue rubbed against Chen Xi's chest affectionately, like a young fawn.

"Just a sleight of hand. If I couldn't even fool you, how could I have fooled Wu Xin?" Chen Xi spouted nonsense.

"It's really over." Tears welled up in the blonde girl's eyes.

It wasn't that she was fragile or that her emotions had collapsed after only two or three cycles; it was simply that Wu Xin was too much of a pervert.

Amidst the pleasant surprise, Lin Yue couldn't help but feel a sense of self-reproach:

"I feel so useless. I had already mastered the Butcher..." Her voice was muffled against Chen Xi's chest.

Chen Xi stroked her head with a gentle gaze:

"How could you be? Didn't you step up at the last second to help me buy time?"

"Being able to get the water flowing at the very first moment is already quite impressive."

"Why does that sound so strange?" Lin Yue lifted her head, staring at her with suspicion.

Logically speaking, controlling water flow shouldn't have been that difficult.

Three seconds later, having grasped Chen Xi's implication, she glared at the latter with a flushed face: "Don't treat me like a kindergartner!!!"

"However..." Lin Yue suddenly leaned in close and pressed a light kiss to her cheek.

It was like a dragonfly skimming the water; before Chen Xi could even react, Lin Yue had already pulled away.

"Still, thank you." The blonde girl clasped her hands behind her back, looking fresh and vibrant, her black-gold eyes gazing at her with deep affection.

The young girl's warm kiss sent a jolt through Chen Xi's heart.

Could it be... that she actually likes me?

It couldn't be one of the three great illusions of life, could it?

After hesitating repeatedly, Chen Xi activated her Succubus detection once more. The next second, a heart-shaped pattern manifested in the depths of her eyes.

Detection failed.

Chen Xi swore that if she ever believed Lin Yue again, she was a pig.

Seeing her expression shift, Lin Yue leaned in close and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Chen Xi shook her head.

"Wait a minute, did you secretly use Charm on me?" Lin Yue felt she had uncovered the truth.

It was the same last time; Chen Xi would be fine, and then her expression would suddenly darken.

"Pervert," she muttered under her breath.

"That is a very serious accusation. I'm not that desperate."

The two bickered as they left the school.

Before leaving, Lin Yue even secretly called an express delivery truck to haul all their belongings away.

The next day, at Chen Xi's home, the typhoon had already dissipated.

The black-haired girl wore thick-rimmed glasses, sprawled haphazardly across the sofa.

[New Addition: Princess and Knight (Epic)]

[CG Introduction: The Victory That Will Eventually Come]

[CG Buff: Oath of Protection]

[Oath of Protection: When near the target 'Lin Yue', strength is amplified. The closer you are to 'Lin Yue', the higher the amplification, with a maximum cap of 50%]

[All Wish Power has been consumed for the buff]

It was still the Siamese Twin talent.

However, the stats were decent enough, and as someone who prioritized power, Chen Xi reluctantly acknowledged this talent.

The only pity was that the Legend of Wu Xin did not drop.

However, thinking about it carefully, although this Legend was powerful, if she really had to harness it, she would rather pass.

Moreover, such a perverted Legendary ability likely had extreme requirements for harnessing it.

Chen Xi checked her full status for the first time in a long while.

[Harnessed Legend: Rain Lord (Tier 1) Legend Degree: 0%]

[Clumsy Performance of a Naive Succubus, Nameless Female Corpse, Survive, Spark Gifted to You, Princess and Knight]

[Current Wish Power: 0%]

Including all her CGs, her current strength was basically at the peak of a Tier 1 Anomaly.

"Are you still staring at your panel? The information isn't going to change; is there that much text in Rain Lord for you to analyze?"

Lin Yue, who was moving a wardrobe with shadows beside her, asked curiously. She had already officially moved into Chen Xi's home.

Although an Anomaly's panel could only be seen by oneself, Lin Yue was all too familiar with the posture Chen Xi was lying in.

Isn't this exactly what I look like when I'm checking my own panel?

"I like looking at it, is that a problem?" Chen Xi took off her pretentious glasses.

"I've already told Qiu Ye and the others about the Wu Xin matter. Those past headless cases might finally come to light."

"Once Wu Xin's existence is confirmed, the authorities might even give us a bounty."

"We'll find time to head to the Countermeasure Bureau then."

Lin Yue tried to act cute to get her way: "But we just got some free time, let me rest for a bit~"

Ignoring her plea, Chen Xi said slowly: "Have you forgotten about the Evil Flower? We are going there to exchange intelligence."

"September 20th, which is the day after tomorrow, the Countermeasure Bureau will be hosting the Tianhai City Anomaly Exchange Conference."

"We can gather information or trade for extraordinary items at the conference. Once the official rewards are issued, we'll see what we can buy."

Lin Yue looked thoughtful: "Why does that sound like an auction in a cultivation anime..."

"Watch less anime." Rolling her eyes at her, Chen Xi opened her phone to a received message.

It was from Zhu Li.

[Zhu Li: Are you and Lin Yue alright? That was the first time I'd ever heard of such a character.]

[Xi: We're fine, we barely managed to take care of them.]

[Zhu Li: Are you going to join the Countermeasure Bureau? The authorities will likely invite you. With a track record like this, you should be able to become a squad leader independently.]

[Xi: I'll consider it.]

Join the Countermeasure Bureau? And as a squad leader?

Chen Xi was somewhat tempted, but ultimately dismissed the thought.

Although the Countermeasure Bureau offered generous benefits and high pay, the mortality rate was just as high.

Whenever something happened, it was usually the Anomaly squads of the Countermeasure Bureau that were sent to the front lines.

This resulted in a casualty rate for Countermeasure Bureau Anomalies of nearly 12% per mission.

In other words, for every Legend resolved, one out of every ten people would die.

Although those who died were mostly rookie Anomalies who came for the high pay and to slack off, it was enough to show the risks of the position.

This was completely contrary to Chen Xi's philosophy.

After all, as long as she lived long enough, she could trigger more CGs.

Seeing that she didn't reply immediately, Zhu Li considerately changed the subject.

[Zhu Li: Let's not talk about that. Can you come join me for a cup of tea?]

[Xi: Sure.]

"Lin Yue, let's go." Chen Xi called out to Lin Yue, who had her head buried in a pile of clutter.

Lin Yue looked up, looking bewildered: "Ah, where are we going now? Isn't the Exchange Conference the day after tomorrow?"

"Your sister Zhu Li is inviting you for afternoon tea, are you going or not?"

"Going!!!"