"Stop crying. It doesn't suit you," Lin Yue murmured. She turned over, still lying on the same side as Chen Xi. "Can I lean against you?"
Chen Xi had returned to her usual self. "Of course," she replied softly.
With permission granted, Lin Yue relaxed and curled up limply in her arms.
She squeezed her eyes shut, savoring this hard-won moment of tenderness.
So warm...
"When I was little, I used to lean against my mother just like this," Lin Yue murmured, her expression wistful.
"Later, Dad had an accident. Mom was in such a hurry to drive to where he was that she got into a car crash too."
"After that, I had nothing left."
Chen Xi held her even tighter. They were so close that they could feel each other's hearts beating.
"Don't you still have me?"
"Yeah. At least I still have you..."
The girl lost herself in the moment and gradually drifted off to sleep.
Behind her, Chen Xi gazed at her back in silence.
At first, she had approached Lin Yue just to save her own skin. How had she ended up getting more and more attached?
She'd originally planned to betray Lin Yue in one of the loops to improve the CG quality, but now she thought better of it.
Lin Yue had already come to see her as her only anchor in the loop. If Chen Xi caused trouble now, who knew what might happen?
She opened the Panel Info to check the notification from earlier.
[New: White Lie (Rare)] [CG Description: Some truths are better left unspoken] [CG Bonus: Mask] [Mask: Your acting ability has greatly improved] [Use Wish Power to enhance this CG?]
Chen Xi naturally chose to keep her Wish Power.
After an astonishing four consecutive losses, she had finally generated a new CG.
It wasn't a combat bonus, but improved acting was a very useful blessing too.
At least from now on, she'd be able to control her emotional performances with ease.
Feeling Lin Yue's faint breathing, Chen Xi soon fell into a deep sleep as well.
What if an enemy attacked during the night?
That wasn't much of a problem. After the two of them harnessed their Legends, they might sleep deeply, but they'd wake up at once if anyone came near.
The next day, Zhu Li, who hadn't slept, woke them early.
"Once we've eaten, we'll take the bus straight into Linxi City. Since no one from Evil Flower came near us last night, the tracking ability probably belongs to Qianqi Weiming alone."
"It's impossible for Evil Flower to post a Transcendent with sensory abilities at every checkpoint. We just need to enter through Caihua Street, and we'll be able to take a ship to Huaijiang Port without trouble."
Chen Xi took a bite of bread as she laid out her plan.
"Going by the time in the prophecy, Qianqi Weiming should have reached Tianhai City by now and be preparing to attack the Exchange Meeting."
"Our job is to buy time until Zhu Li reaches her peak, then fight Qianqi Weiming."
At that, Lin Yue glanced at Zhu Li, only to find her expression still calm.
She bit down hard on her bread and silently continued listening to Chen Xi's plan.
Noticing her worried gaze, Zhu Li responded with a flame.
[Little Yue, don't worry about me. I've been used to this for a long time. If anything, I'm already content that I get to travel with you both during the last few days of my life.]
"I know, Zhu Li. You don't have to comfort me," Lin Yue said quietly.
"Finished eating? Let's go."
Chen Xi used flowing water to wash the crumbs off their hands. Zhu Li simply set the remaining traces ablaze, burning them clean away.
After disguising themselves, the three drove to a bus stop and casually abandoned the sports car in the bushes.
They waited for the bus like ordinary citizens.
The bus stop was quiet in the early morning, and even more so in such a remote area. Only four people were waiting at the large station.
Everything was perfect—if not for the black-haired woman on the far right, who had been staring at them the whole time.
She had long, wavy black hair and wore a thick trench coat despite the scorching summer heat.
Holding a bag of freshly bought vegetables, she stared at the three of them without bothering to hide it.
In a voice only the three of them could hear, Lin Yue whispered, "Why does she keep looking at us? Is she a creep?"
Chen Xi quietly moved closer to Zhu Li and Lin Yue. "She's Zhang Peiluo, a Second Rank priest of Evil Flower. I've seen her photo on the forum. Get ready to fight."
Amid the tense atmosphere, Zhang Peiluo spoke.
"You're Transcendents, aren't you?" Seeing how wary they were, she continued, "Don't worry. I won't attack."
"Caihua Street will be more heavily guarded after tonight. Both High Priests are in the southern part of Linxi City right now, so if you're going to run, you'd better hurry."
Her expressionless face made it impossible to tell whether she was telling the truth.
"Why should we believe you?" Chen Xi asked, still on guard.
Bus 477, bound for the southern part of Linxi City, pulled up. Zhang Peiluo slowly boarded, leaving them with only two things to say.
"Thank you for killing Wu Xin. Zhang Ruojun is my younger sister."
"The Spark Federation isn't any good either. Be very careful."
The bus drove away, leaving the three of them standing there in confusion.
Chen Xi frowned. "What do you think?"
Lin Yue shook her head. "There's too little information. I can't tell..."
Zhu Li, more experienced than the other two, put their doubts to rest.
[We can trust her. Zhang Ruojun really is her younger sister. I know a little about Zhang Peiluo. She's more or less a good person.]
[Besides, if both High Priests are in the south, we can always fight our way through if we have to.]
"Let's go with Zhu Li's plan," Chen Xi decided.
Unless they ran into a Third Rank High Priest head-on, the three of them were practically unstoppable in Linxi City.
At last, the bus to Caihua Street arrived. The three of them got on and slipped into Linxi City without a hitch.
Inside Linxi City, they kept changing their mode of transport to avoid the routes patrolled by Evil Flower's guards.
Night fell, and the three finally reached Linxi Port.
"The next ship leaves at ten tonight," Chen Xi said, checking the latest information on her phone.
Her level-two access to the forum had been granted, so she no longer needed to use Zhu Li's account.
"Something's happened in Tianhai City."
Lin Yue was browsing the latest posts in the Deep Discussion Forum.
"We've opened up a big lead. Even if Qianqi Weiming starts tracking us tomorrow morning, it'll take until the afternoon to catch up."
"And by then, we'll be at sea."
The sea was her domain.
What's more, that day would also be Zhu Li's last. Her power would naturally be at its peak.
They had no chance of winning, but they still had to use the opportunity to test their opponent's true strength.
"Zhu Li, why aren't you saying anything? Is there a problem with the plan?" Chen Xi asked, looking at the girl who had been silent ever since they started.
Zhu Li gave a slight shake of her head and took out the stickers she hadn't used in a long time.
[I can no longer control flames with precision.]
Lin Yue was about to say something when the presence of a Chosen One suddenly appeared in her perception.
"There's a Transcendent within five hundred meters who chose the Tree Spirit, and they're heading toward us. There are even three of them?!" Her voice was hurried.
Wasn't it supposed to be two a year? How had she encountered them on her second day—and three at once, no less?
Chen Xi's expression grew grave. "I sense them too."
"Besides you, there are four Transcendents who chose the Snow Deer."
Realizing the other group seemed to have formed a team just like theirs, the girl hurriedly asked, "Are they off to the right?"
Lin Yue closed her eyes and sensed them. "They were, but they suddenly headed left."
"Looks like they've mistaken us for easy prey."
Chen Xi's eyes turned cold. She'd been fretting over how to raise her Legend Degree, and here came someone bringing her a pillow just as she was getting sleepy.
Before you continue