Aftermath

"I haven't let you down, Your Highness."

Lin Yue stood there in a daze. It was only when the other girl gently pinched her cheek and she felt the warmth of those fair fingers that she finally came back to her senses.

"We... won?" After saying that, Lin Yue looked around to make sure Wu Xin wouldn't suddenly come back from the dead.

The poor girl had been fooled too many times. She wasn't willing to let her guard down, even now.

Seeing how pitiful and amusing she looked, Chen Xi placed both hands on her shoulders, straightened her head, and said each word clearly.

"That pervert Wu Xin is dead. You don't have to keep looking."

"Ugh, you don't understand." Lin Yue pulled her hands away and continued scrutinizing their surroundings.

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

Only then did Lin Yue finally accept that Wu Xin was dead.

The rain poured down again beneath the night sky, and the wind howled.

She suddenly shrieked and hurled herself into Chen Xi's arms.

"Weren't you dead? How did you suddenly come back to life?" Like a little fawn, Lin Yue affectionately rubbed her cheek against Chen Xi's chest.

"It was just an illusion. If even you saw through it, how could it fool Wu Xin?" Chen Xi made something up.

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

It wasn't that she was weak-hearted, breaking down after just two or three loops. Wu Xin had simply been too much of a freak.

Amid her relief, Lin Yue couldn't help feeling a little useless.

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

Chen Xi tenderly stroked her head.

"How could you be useless? You stepped in at the last minute and helped buy me time, didn't you?"

"You even got the water moving right away. That's already impressive."

"Why does that sound so weird?" Lin Yue looked up and eyed her suspiciously.

It shouldn't have been that hard to control the water.

Three seconds later, she caught Chen Xi's meaning and glared at her, her face bright red. "Don't treat me like a kindergartener!!!"

"But..." Lin Yue suddenly leaned closer and kissed her cheek.

It was like the brief touch of a dragonfly. Before Chen Xi could react, Lin Yue had already pulled away.

"Still, thank you." The blonde girl clasped her hands behind her back, blushing vividly as her dark golden eyes gazed at Chen Xi with tender affection.

The girl's passionate kiss left Chen Xi reeling.

Could it be... that she really liked me?

This couldn't just be one of those three great illusions of life, could it?

After hesitating for a long while, Chen Xi activated her succubus detector again. The next second, a heart-shaped pattern appeared in her eyes.

Detection failed.

Chen Xi swore she'd be a pig if she ever believed Lin Yue again.

Noticing her expression change, Lin Yue leaned close and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Chen Xi shook her head.

"Wait, did you secretly use your charm on me?" Lin Yue thought she'd figured it out.

Chen Xi had done the same thing last time. Everything had been fine, then her expression had suddenly darkened.

"Pervert," she muttered.

"That's a pretty serious accusation. I'm not that desperate."

The two bickered as they left the school.

Before they went, Lin Yue secretly called an express moving truck and had all their belongings hauled away.

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

The black-haired girl, wearing thick-rimmed glasses, sprawled messily across the sofa.

[New: Princess and Knight (Epic)]

[CG Introduction: The Victory That Will Eventually Come]

[CG Enhancement: Oath of Protection]

[Oath of Protection: When near the target 'Lin Yue,' your strength is enhanced. The closer you are to 'Lin Yue,' the greater the enhancement, up to a maximum of 50%.]

[All Wish Power has been consumed for the enhancement]

It was the Siamese Twin talent again.

Still, the numbers weren't bad. As a strength enthusiast, Chen Xi grudgingly approved of the talent.

The only pity was that Wu Xin's Legend hadn't dropped.

But on second thought, although that Legend was powerful, she'd pass if it meant having to master it herself.

Besides, with a Legend ability that bizarre, the conditions for mastering it were probably extreme, too.

For the first time in a while, Chen Xi checked all her information.

[Mastered Legend: Rain Lord (First Rank) Legend Degree: 0%]

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

[Current Wish Power: 0%]

With all her CGs included, she was now basically at the peak of a First Rank Transcendent's strength.

"You're still looking at your status screen? It won't change. Does the Rain Lord have that many words you need to study?" Lin Yue asked curiously as she used shadows to move a wardrobe. She'd officially moved into Chen Xi's home.

Only the Transcendent could see their own status screen, but Lin Yue knew that pose of Chen Xi's all too well.

It was exactly how I look when I check my status screen.

"I like looking at it. So what?" Chen Xi took off her purely ornamental glasses.

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

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

"We'll make time to go to the Countermeasure Bureau."

Lin Yue tried to get out of it with an innocent look. "But we've only just gotten some free time. Let me rest a little~"

Ignoring her plea, Chen Xi said slowly, "Did you forget about Evil Flower? We're going to exchange information."

"On September 20, the day after tomorrow, the Countermeasure Bureau is holding the Tianhai City Anomaly Exchange Conference."

"We can gather information or trade for supernatural items there. Once the authorities hand out our reward, we'll see what's worth buying."

Lin Yue pondered. "Why does that sound like an auction in a cultivation anime..."

"Watch fewer anime." Chen Xi rolled her eyes and opened the message on her phone.

It was from Zhu Li.

[Zhu Li: Are you and Lin Yue all right? That's the first time I've heard of someone like that.]

[Xi: We're fine. We managed to deal with her.]

[Zhu Li: Are you going to join the Countermeasure Bureau? The authorities will probably invite you. With a record like this, you'd likely become a squad leader on your own.]

[Xi: I'll think about it.]

Join the Countermeasure Bureau? Even as a squad leader?

Chen Xi was tempted, but ultimately dismissed the idea.

The Countermeasure Bureau offered generous benefits and high pay, but its people died quickly, too.

Whenever something happened, the Bureau's Transcendent squads were almost always the ones sent in.

As a result, the death rate for Transcendents on Bureau missions was nearly 12%.

In other words, every time they resolved a Legend, one person out of ten died.

Most of those who died were rookie Transcendents who'd joined for the high salary and tried to coast along, but it was still enough to show how dangerous the job was.

That was completely at odds with Chen Xi's philosophy.

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

When Chen Xi didn't reply right away, Zhu Li thoughtfully changed the subject.

[Zhu Li: Let's not talk about that. Can you come have tea with me?]

[Xi: Sure.]

"Lin Yue, let's go." Chen Xi called to Lin Yue, whose head was buried in a pile of odds and ends.

Lin Yue lifted her head, looking bewildered. "Huh? Where are we going? The conference isn't until the day after tomorrow."

"Your big sister Zhu Li invited you for afternoon tea. Want to go?"

"Absolutely!!!"