The Truth

When she heard that, Chen Xi immediately slipped into her role, doing her best to imitate someone hearing the news for the first time.

"You're not joking?" She took a bite of her soft-boiled egg.

Lin Yue replied softly, "I'm not."

"I see."

When Chen Xi believed her without asking anything, Lin Yue felt a little moved.

Was her acting really that good?

She'd already accepted that the Prophet identity was just a temporary measure. After all, it was full of holes no matter how you looked at it.

The golden retriever's intelligence had finally reached new heights for once.

"You trust me that much?"

Resting her chin on her left hand, she secretly studied the other girl's reaction, her expression unchanged.

Seeing her like that, Chen Xi smiled faintly, then set down her chopsticks and rested her chin on her right hand, meeting her gaze.

"Of course. If you say it's true, then it's true."

The black-haired girl gazed deeply at her, her eyes full of trust.

At that, Lin Yue swallowed nervously.

"Did you secretly use your charm on me again?"

Chen Xi rolled her eyes at the accusation. "What do you think, Miss Lin Yue?"

"Enough of that. Let's talk business. How strong is Qianqi Weiming?"

She'd died too early to test out many of her abilities.

Lin Yue had lasted a little longer, so she might have learned something.

At that, the blonde girl once again explained the Spark Federation's situation and Qianqi Weiming's abilities.

Watching Chen Xi's astonished expression as she took it all in, Lin Yue felt that inexplicable sense of pleasure well up inside her again.

The Invisible Blade. When the other party's Armored Skeleton launched a slash, the scabbard at its waist glowed a dim red.

That was what she'd figured out just before she died.

It was also why Chen Xi had been beheaded before she could react.

Because the attack had targeted only her, it had been far more powerful and faster than the one at the Exchange Meeting.

"That's a powerful ability for catching people off guard," Chen Xi mused.

And there was that skeleton named Ah Wu, which automatically blocked attacks for her.

It was a headache just to think about. Worst of all, Lin Yue had taken control of the Butcher.

The other party clearly had some way to track Lin Yue's location.

The only question was whether that ability was unique to her or shared by all High Priests.

If it was the latter, they'd be in trouble.

Of course, the tracking ability either had to be imprecise or require a long time to work.

Otherwise, Qianqi Weiming wouldn't have found them only the next day.

Thinking about it, the best solution was for Lin Yue to kill herself right now, turning back time to before she'd taken control of the Butcher.

"What do you think we should do?" She left the decision to Lin Yue.

After all, Lin Yue herself should know best what the cost of Regression was, so she was the one who could make the call.

"Me?"

Lin Yue's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Chen Xi to hand the decision straight to her.

"We should run. Head to Chaoyu City and lay low. As for Zhu Li..."

Chen Xi picked up where she left off. "We should try to convince her to come with us. We can ask Zhu Li for information while we're at it."

She still felt like something was off.

Speak of the devil, and she appears. Just after the two finished talking, Zhu Li sent a message, just as she had in the previous loop.

[Zhu Li: Are you and Lin Yue okay?]

At this time, news of the two of them dealing with Wu Xin had just broken.

[Xi: We're fine. Want to meet up at the dessert shop this afternoon?]

Zhu Li's fingers paused when she saw the message.

[Zhu Li: Sure.]

The afternoon sun blazed overhead.

The dessert shop had only just opened when three customers arrived.

[Are you two okay? I was so scared when I heard the news.]

Faint flames curled through the air, shifting into lines of text.

"We're fine."

With no intention of making small talk, Chen Xi got straight to the point.

"Do you know about the Spark Federation and Evil Flower? I don't mean the thing with Lost Whale."

The girl stared at Zhu Li, trying to read her expression. "I mean the things they've been discussing on the Advanced Forum."

Zhu Li stared at the two of them in astonishment, then hurriedly shaped the flames into words.

[How did you find out about this?!]

She suddenly understood why Chen Xi had asked her to meet.

[You thought I'd lied to you?] The red-haired girl's expression relaxed.

Chen Xi shook her head. "No. I just thought we could be honest with each other about some things."

Lin Yue watched the two of them talk, unable to get a word in, so she quietly ate her cake.

[It's not that I don't want to tell you. I can't.]

[The Otherwalker Forum is actually a living thing.]

"What?!" Lin Yue, who'd been eating cake beside them, nearly choked.

"Calm down." Chen Xi poured her a drink.

Zhu Li continued manipulating the flames, revealing the truth.

[The forum has another name: Skynet, which the Spark Federation specifically established to manage Transcendents. When you first took control of a Legend, you saw that message, right?]

[That was a sign that Skynet had marked you.]

[It constrains what we say and do. We can't reveal information in any form to those who don't know about it—in other words, new Transcendents without a Level-2 Account.]

[Now that you've learned the truth through some unknown means, I can talk about it with you.]

That explained it. All her earlier doubts had finally been answered.

But was the Spark Federation really legitimate?

Chen Xi could hardly imagine a federation relying on something like this to manage the supernatural.

"What did you mean when you said it was a living thing?" she asked.

[Just what I said. Skynet is a living thing. Even if you deliberately avoid registering an account, once you reach Second Rank, you'll automatically get a Level-2 Account in your mind.]

[Once your account reaches Level 2, you can summon the forum with a thought, without needing an electronic device.]

[But don't worry. Aside from tracking and restricting what we can say, Skynet has never used the account in our minds to do anything out of line.]

[And the higher your Rank, the weaker Skynet's control over you.]

Chen Xi listened without comment.

That was what Zhu Li said, but she still couldn't put her mind at ease.

However, one thing was certain: it couldn't spy on the information panels of Legends.

Otherwise, she and Lin Yue would have been taken away long ago.

The more Chen Xi learned about the Spark Federation, the more suspicious it seemed. It was hardly a place fit for people to live. At this rate, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive here.

Chen Xi had already begun thinking about sneaking into another Federation. As far as she knew, there were no fewer than five Federations near the Spark Federation.

But they'd have to take their time figuring out how to sneak across.

If the Spark Federation controlled its Transcendents this strictly, it would surely keep a close watch on anyone trying to escape.

Not to mention Evil Flower meddling in the way...

They were still too weak.

If the two of them were Third Rank, they wouldn't have to keep hiding and running like this.

Chen Xi suddenly spoke. "Zhu Li, can you come with us?"

That's right. She wanted to use Zhu Li's strength to help them get out of Tianhai City.

Because of her fire, it would be hard to find another person who'd taken control of the Rain Lord anytime soon. Zhu Li could only leave with them.

Admittedly, taking advantage of Zhu Li's kindness like this was despicable, but she really had no other choice.

She'd have to make it up to her in a later loop.

[Huh?]

Zhu Li stared at the two of them, bewildered.

Chen Xi nudged Lin Yue with her elbow. Lin Yue was still bent over her cake.

Then, under Zhu Li's shocked gaze, Lin Yue wiped the cream from her mouth and began acting out the exact same scene again.

"I can foresee the future. Three days from now..."

With Chen Xi's superb acting and support, Zhu Li soon believed them.

[So that's how it is. But the ability to foresee the future really does sound incredible.]

[So the matter with the Rain Lord was also a future you foresaw?]

Still immersed in her Prophet persona, Lin Yue boasted, "Yes. I, who knew the future long ago, arranged..."

Chen Xi lightly punched her shoulder and impatiently called out, "Get to the point!"

Whenever this girl started acting, she got carried away. She'd been rambling nonsense the whole time, and if Chen Xi hadn't backed her up, they would have been exposed ages ago.

Interrupted, the blonde girl awkwardly scratched her hair. "Zhu Li, are you willing to help us?"

A faint smile blossomed on Zhu Li's face, her lips curving upward.

[Gladly.]