Chapter 270

Chen Ce.

"No, I just woke up..." Kai'Sa rubbed her not-so-sleepy eyes, then sat up from the rickety bed. "Hmm... you really came back."

"Of course, I said I would come back." Chen Ce smiled slightly, "It's just that some things took a while, which is why it's a bit late... I hope I haven't disturbed your rest."

"No..." Kai'Sa forced another yawn, then pointed to the other side of the room. "You can sleep over there, it's cleaner there... I don't know why it's cleaner there, maybe the wind just blew the sand away."

"Okay, thank you." Chen Ce sat on the bed board, which had obviously been cleaned—it was covered in yellow sand this morning.

"There's no need to be so polite, but you might not sleep well tonight—there are clean hotels in town, yet you insisted on coming back here... I really don't understand you."

Kai'Sa wore an expression that seemed to convey helplessness, confusion, and indifference, as if she wouldn't be emotionally affected by whether the other person returned or not.

After a moment, she asked again, "What happened to you in the city? Was it dangerous?"

"It wasn't dangerous, it just took me a little longer to find what I was looking for." Chen Ce smiled and took something out of the bag.

"What are you looking for?"

"Candy."

"Um?"

"These are candies I bought for you." Chen Ce held out a hand, revealing a delicate candy in his palm. "These seem to be hard to find in Shurima. I searched all over Uzeris before finding a Noxus shop that sells them."

"..." Kai'Sa fell silent, and didn't take the candy she hadn't eaten in a long time.

Firstly, she was surprised that the other person had wasted so much time on something like this... Candy isn't a necessity, why spend so much effort and time searching all over the city?

Secondly... such things are very precious luxuries for her - they are expensive and don't fill her stomach, and in Shurima only wealthy merchants would buy them for their children.

The last time she ate one was when her father brought one back from a trip when she was a child.

The reason Chen Ce only had one candy left to eat was because she had been reluctant to eat it.

"Buying this kind of thing is such a waste of money, you might as well buy more dry food... I really don't understand you." The girl shook her head seemingly helplessly, but the joy in her eyes was undeniable.

"Being pragmatic is good, but life sometimes needs a little sweetness too," Chen Ce smiled.

But just as Kai'Sa was about to take the candy from his hand, he grabbed it again and pulled his arm back.

Kai'Sa tilted her head in confusion.

Chen Ce then smiled and took out his other hand.

"I have one candy hidden in one of my hands and three candies hidden in the other. Can you guess which hand has the three candies? If you guess right, you can have them all."

"..." Kai'Sa isn't blind; she clearly saw Chen Ce take his left hand, which was holding a piece of candy, back.

But after hesitating for a moment, she pointed to the other person's left hand.

There are three in this hand.

That answer was obviously wrong, and she was well aware of that.

It wasn't that she was deliberately being foolish, it's just... she didn't want to take all of Chen Ce's candy.

Such a valuable thing... She gave Chen Ce one before, so it's enough to take one back now. She can't be greedy.

It's not that she's being "petty" or anything, it's just... she wanted Chen Ce to get some candy too.

"Hmm..." Chen Ce looked at his left hand, which was showing that he only had one candy.

Then he laughed and said, "Congratulations, you guessed right!"

"...Huh?" Kai'Sa stared blankly as the other person opened their left hand.

There was clearly only one candy inside.

Chen Ce simply continued smiling, handing all four candies from his hands to the other person, and then said:

I owe you two, I'll give them to you next time.

"..." Kai'Sa paused for a moment.

Her beautiful eyes, which had seen countless monsters, actually opened to light the moment she saw the candy...

A flutter of excitement surfaced.

Chapter 115 Void Bugs: I'll slide tackle

When the scorching desert sun shone on his face, Chen Ce was forced to open his eyes.

Then, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a flawless, beautiful face.

It's Kai'Sa, of course.

"Huh? You're awake?" Seeing that the other person had opened her eyes, Kai'Sa took half a step back—only now could Chen Ce see her upper body completely.

Just now, the distance between them was less than thirty centimeters.

Kai'Sa was practically lying face down next to the bed.

"Hmm..." Even someone as thick-skinned as Chen Ce felt a little embarrassed by such sudden close contact. "You got up so early?"

"No, I didn't sleep last night," Kai'Sa replied.

"Um?"

"I don't need sleep, and I can't fall asleep."

"So you spent the whole night last night..."

"I'll be right next to you, keeping watch."

"..." Chen Ce felt embarrassed and a little... scared at the thought of the beautiful girl in front of him staring at him by the bed all night.

I always have this feeling that my kidneys are about to be chopped off...

"I didn't know you didn't need sleep... So you don't need to close your eyes and rest either?"

"Generally, yes, but I want to ensure your complete safety." Kai'Sa's reply remained calm, as if it were a matter of course. "You are my employer, of course I want to be by your side 24/7."

"Uh... there's no need to be so meticulous..."

Did I make you uncomfortable?

"It's not exactly... but raising it is such a hassle, isn't it?"

"It's no trouble at all. Lying in bed in a daze and squatting next to you watching me are the same thing to me."

"Well... okay..."

Chen Ce looked embarrassed as he sat up in bed and finished washing up under the girl's gaze.

The other party really did watch them the whole time.

He didn't say a word, nor did he make any move.

"Ahem... Um... Miss Kai'Sa, don't you need to wash up?"

"Washing up? No need. My second skin can remove all dirt." Kai'Sa pinched her smooth, fair skin, then glanced at the precious bottle of purified water beside her. "I won't waste this valuable water."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ce carefully examined the girl in front of him.

Needless to say, her skin was incredibly supple, without a single blemish on her face. Her bright eyes and white teeth made her even more beautiful than a noblewoman who takes care of her skin every day... Well, this "second skin" is really convenient.

"Where are we going today?" Kai'Sa asked again. "How am I supposed to complete my protection mission today?"

"Hmm...that's two questions," Chen Ce replied. "First, today we're going to find the Void's Nest; second, you don't need to protect me today, but rather...my supplies."

"What?"

"I will venture underground alone, while you will stay outside and guard our belongings to prevent them from being stolen."

"Underground? The lair of those monsters?" Upon hearing this, Kai'Sa immediately shook her head. "You'll die if you go down alone. The dangers there are far beyond your imagination... Although I want to stop you, since you're my employer... at least let me come along."

"No, Miss Kai'Sa." Chen Ce smiled confidently again, and then patted the girl's small hand, which was covered by Void shell, under her puzzled gaze.

"You can always trust the explorers of Ionia."

When Chen Ce first Shurima, it took him several days to find the Void creatures.

Icathia has been defunct for centuries, and thanks to the efforts of Empress Setaka and the Ascended, the Void Rifts there have been minimized. Although Void creatures still occasionally appear, their numbers have become extremely small.

Naturally, there aren't as many Void creature nests in the Shurima desert.

They lurk beneath the yellow sand, hidden in the shadows... They will emerge from the ground at the most opportune moment, devouring passersby and goods, and then using their distorted and twisted power to transform them into their own kind.

While crossing the desert, one may be attacked by them, but actively seeking them out is not an easy task either.

It was somewhat lucky that Chen Ce found it after spending several days on it.

If you're unlucky, you might wander around the desert for ten days or half a month and still not find it.

This is where the role of the "bodyguard" comes into play— Kai'Sa's second skin—that living Void carapace, which is itself a Void creature and is naturally extremely sensitive to its own kind.

Kai'Sa can pinpoint the exact location of Void creature's lair that others struggle to find, all in just half a day.

After another half day, we finally saw the entrance to the abyss, buried beneath the quicksand.

"Can we enter the lair of the Void creatures by going down from here?" Chen Ce used his longsword to push aside some quicksand and peered down from a short distance.

The entrance to the quicksand is extremely small, and the flow rate is not particularly fast, just like most quicksand we usually see.

Aside from its cannibalistic nature, it doesn't seem to have anything particularly special about it.

But Kai'Sa's judgment was correct. "Yes, about a hundred meters underground... a Void creature's nest, one of the smaller ones."

"Small? That's a real shame..."

"What's there to regret? I specifically found this small nest—for your safety."

"Oh, I mean, small ones are cute too. Miss Kai'Sa has good taste—it's a pity the entrance is too small; this time, I'll really have to go in alone."

"Smooth talker..." Kai'Sa rolled her eyes at him. "If you really want me to go in with you, it's not like we can't take turns."

"Haha, then our supplies up here are going to be stolen." Chen Ce grabbed some food and water and pretended to jump into the quicksand.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you..." Kai'Sa shook her head helplessly, then looked worried. "Are you sure you don't want me to go down with you? Those monsters are very dangerous."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I have my own methods."

"But what if..."

"Unless something goes wrong, I'll come up regularly to replenish my food supplies and let you know I'm safe."

"...If you don't come up after six hours, I'll come down to find you." Kai'Sa's tone became somewhat firm. "Whether you agree or not, you have to agree to this condition."

"Okay, okay, I promise you." Chen Ce smiled. "Miss Kai'Sa is so kind to me, worrying about me so much."

"Don't overthink it, it's just because of our employment relationship—I have to make sure you're safe." Kai'Sa's words were a bit cold, but she really wasn't good at lying—she would instinctively avoid the other person's gaze whenever she said something against her conscience.

Chen Ce stopped "teasing" the seemingly cold but actually passionate girl, grabbed some necessities, and jumped into the quicksand.

These "traps," which can be deadly in the desert, can sometimes be "gateways" to another world.

As the yellow sand rose above his head, Chen Ce first felt a strong sense of oppression and suffocation, followed by a feeling of weightlessness, almost like freefalling.

He couldn't tell how high or how long he had fallen; all he knew was that the clothes on his back were almost torn to shreds by the sand.

As the ground beneath their feet became solid, a nauseating stench immediately wafted from the surrounding darkness—like the saliva of those monsters, or their corpses and long-dried, corrosive blood.

"A disturbing feeling..."

Chen Ce tightened his tattered clothes, and for a moment the chill down his spine made him think he was in the Howling Abyss of Freljord.

The surroundings were pitch black, Seraph's Blade almost spontaneously ignited with bright, holy flames.

Chen Ce gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, using the holy sword as a torch to slowly move forward in this eerie underground cave.

As he ventured deeper, the stench in the air grew more pronounced, and the silence in the darkness was broken by a strange scraping sound.

Creak... creak...

It sounded like a giant spider walking on a glass floor.

Then, the sound of the object rubbing together gradually evolved into the roar of a monster... one after another, emanating from its throat, which seemed to be brimming with liquid...

It's chilling.

Chen Ce gradually stopped walking, and the Seraph's Blade in his hand gradually lost its light.

He used demonic power to glimpse a twisted shadow in the endless, deep darkness... It opened its terrifying maw, greedily devouring everything in its sight.