The Truth

Hearing this, Chen Xi immediately immersed herself in an acting state, doing her best to mimic the expression of someone hearing this news for the first time.

"No joke?" She took a bite of the soft-boiled egg.

Lin Yue replied in a low voice: "No."

"I see."

Seeing that Chen Xi believed her without asking further questions, Lin Yue felt a slight stir.

Was her acting really this good?

She had assumed this Prophet identity was just a stopgap measure, since it was riddled with holes no matter how you looked at it.

The big golden retriever's intelligence had finally managed to climb to higher ground for once.

"Trust me that much?"

She propped her cheek on her left hand, secretly observing the other's emotions with a composed expression.

Seeing her like this, Chen Xi smiled slightly, then put down her chopsticks, propping her cheek on her right hand to meet her gaze.

"Of course. If you say so, then it is."

The black-haired girl stared deeply into her eyes, her gaze filled with trust.

Seeing her put on such a display, Lin Yue unconsciously swallowed.

"Did you secretly use Charm on me again?"

Faced with her accusation, Chen Xi rolled her eyes: "What do you think, Miss Lin Yue~"

"Let's drop this. Let's talk business. How strong is that Qianqi Weiming?"

She had died too early; many of her abilities hadn't been tested out.

Lin Yue had lasted longer; she should have noticed something.

Hearing this, the blonde girl went on to explain the Spark Federation's situation and Qianqi Weiming's abilities once more.

Watching Chen Xi's shocked expression upon hearing this information, Lin Yue felt that strange sense of pleasure rise up in her heart again.

Invisible Blade. When her Armored Skeleton launched a slash, the scabbard at its waist would glow with a faint red light.

That was the information she had gleaned before her death.

It was also the reason Chen Xi had been decapitated before she could react.

Because that attack was aimed solely at her, its power and speed far exceeded the strike from the Exchange Meeting.

"A strong ability for a first-kill." Chen Xi mused.

There was also that skeleton named Ah Wu that automatically blocked attacks for her.

Just thinking about it was troublesome. The most fatal part was that Lin Yue had tamed the Butcher.

The other party clearly had a way to track and locate Lin Yue.

She just didn't know if this ability was unique to her, or if all High Priests had it.

If it was the latter, that would be a problem.

Of course, this tracking ability either had a vague sense or required a long time.

Otherwise, Qianqi Weiming wouldn't have taken until the next day to find them.

Thinking this way, the optimal solution was actually to have Lin Yue kill herself quickly now, regressing time to before she tamed the Butcher.

"What do you think?" She handed the choice to Lin Yue.

After all, she should know best what the cost of Regression was, and thus be able to make a decision.

"Me?"

Lin Yue's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Chen Xi to just let her decide directly.

"Let's just run. Take refuge in Chaoyu City. As for Zhu Li..."

Chen Xi picked up the thread: "Try to persuade her to run with us. And ask Zhu Li for some information while we're at it."

After all, she always felt something was off.

Speak of the devil, and he doth appear. Just as the two finished talking, Zhu Li sent a message, just like in the last cycle.

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

At this time, the news of the two resolving the Wu Xin incident had just been exposed.

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

Seeing this message, Zhu Li's finger paused.

[Zhu Li: Okay]

In the afternoon, the blazing sun shone high.

The dessert shop had just opened its doors when it welcomed three customers.

[Are you two okay? I was almost scared to death when I heard the news.]

Fine flames coiled around, shifting into lines of text.

"We're fine."

Not intending to chat with her, Chen Xi cut straight to the point.

"Do you know about the Spark Federation and Evil Flower? Not the Lost Whale incident."

The girl stared at Zhu Li, trying to read something from her face: "The ones discussed in the Advanced Forum."

Zhu Li listened, stunned, and looked at the two of them, quickly using flames to express herself.

[How do you two know about this?!]

She instantly understood why Chen Xi had asked her out.

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

Chen Xi shook her head and replied, "No, I just think there are some things we can lay out openly."

Lin Yue watched them talk, completely unable to chime in, so she silently ate her cake.

[It's not that I don't want to say it, it's that I can't.]

[The Otherwalker Forum is actually a living thing.]

"What?!" Lin Yue, who was eating cake on the side, nearly choked.

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

Zhu Li continued manipulating the flames to reveal the truth.

[The Forum has another name—it's the Skynet that the Spark Federation specifically set up to manage Otherwalkers. You saw that text when you first mastered your Legend, right?]

[That's the sign of being marked by Skynet.]

[It restrains our words and actions, preventing us from revealing information in any form to those who don't know—that is, new Otherwalkers without a Level-2 Account.]

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

No wonder. That explained everything.

The doubts from before all had answers now.

But was this Spark Federation really legitimate?

Chen Xi found it hard to imagine a federation relying on something like this to manage superhumans.

"What did you mean by 'living thing' just now?" she asked further.

[Literally. Skynet is alive. Even if you deliberately don't register an account, as long as you advance to Second Rank, a Level-2 Account will automatically appear in your mind.]

[Once your account reaches Level 2, you can summon the Forum with just your thoughts, no electronic devices needed.]

[But don't worry—aside from tracking and restricting speech, Skynet has never done anything out of line with this mental account.]

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

Chen Xi heard this and gave no response.

Even so, she really couldn't let her guard down.

But one thing was certain—it couldn't peek at the Legend's information panel.

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

This Spark Federation looked more and more off. It simply wasn't a place for people. Here, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive.

Chen Xi had already begun to consider sneaking into another federation. As far as she knew, there were five federations near the Spark Federation alone.

But the method of sneaking away would need careful planning.

Since the Spark Federation was so strict with its Otherwalkers, it would surely guard against escape attempts.

Not to mention Evil Flower interfering...

They were still too weak.

If the two of them had Third Rank strength, they wouldn't have to hide like this.

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

Yes, she wanted to use Zhu Li's strength to help them successfully evacuate Tianhai City.

Because of the uniqueness of her flames, it would be hard to find another Rain Lord's driver anytime soon, so Zhu Li had no choice but to leave with them.

Admittedly, exploiting Zhu Li's goodwill like this was despicable, but she had no other choice.

Compensation would have to wait for the next cycle.

[Huh?]

Zhu Li looked at the two of them blankly.

Chen Xi nudged Lin Yue, who was still buried in her food.

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

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

With Chen Xi's superb acting and cooperation, Zhu Li quickly believed the two of them.

[I see. Still, the ability to foresee the future sounds truly incredible.]

[So, the matter of the Rain Lord—was that also a future you foresaw?]

Lin Yue was still immersed in her role as the Prophet, puffing up with pride. "Yes, having long known the future, I arranged..."

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

Once this girl started acting, she forgot herself. She'd been rambling nonsense just now—if not for Chen Xi covering for her, she'd have been exposed long ago.

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

A faint smile bloomed on Zhu Li's face, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

[Happily.]