!Lesbians!?

After settling Bronya in, Zhang Xiu took Yaoshi by the hand and left the hotel to stroll through the streets like a pair of newlyweds.

Along the way, Zhang Xiu also picked up some information that the game had never shown him.

First, the people here wore numb expressions, eking out stiff, lifeless existences on this land like the corporate slaves of his previous life.

There were even some discreet, shady businesses, including but not limited to casinos, though most lay on the outskirts.

"Husband, the mortals here look distraught. I imagine they fret over food and water."

"Oh? What do you intend to do, then?" Zhang Xiu looked at his wife with interest.

"Naturally, I shall sow miracles and bestow sustenance." Yaoshi was about to act when Zhang Xiu clasped her slender, jade-like hand.

"Have you ever considered that giving endlessly might not benefit them, but could even harm them?"

Yaoshi's smile faded. "I understand your concerns, husband. Yet the blessings I bestow are inexhaustible;

people need not risk their lives to make a living. They need only take what they require, and they may enter the land of their dreams."

"Yaoshi, that's exactly what worries me. Human greed won't diminish just because resources are infinite. They might even control those weaker than themselves simply to show off."

"Imagine a paradise where people receive something equal to the effort they put in, where no one can take it away, and no one dies because of it;

do you think a paradise like that can be achieved simply by bestowing blessings?"

"...Indeed. But how should we proceed? Must we strip mortals of their evil thoughts?" Yaoshi frowned for the first time.

Seeing that she was willing to listen to him, Zhang Xiu could not help letting out a heavy breath.

Thank goodness Yaoshi made so many specific changes so she could become a good wife...

When they first met, Zhang Xiu had asked Yaoshi to become his wife. As a result, more humanity had emerged within her, along with a sense of morality that could accommodate him.

"But if we did that, how would they resist invaders with ill intentions? People have to want to love from the bottom of their hearts."

At his words, a smile returned to Yaoshi's face. "Your words are most wise, husband."

"All right... Let's go..." Just as Zhang Xiu was about to take Yaoshi to find Svarog, she suddenly leaned against his back.

As he turned around, moist lips landed on his face.

"Ah...?" In disbelief, Zhang Xiu raised his slightly trembling left hand and touched the spot Yaoshi had kissed.

"My love for you grows with each passing day, husband~"

Watching Yaoshi tease him like an ordinary girl, Zhang Xiu felt his heart pound fiercely. Having never been in a relationship before, he became so excited that his words tangled together. Impulse drove him to pull Yaoshi into his arms and kiss her cheek as well.

"Zhang Xiu, Yaoshi... Wow~!" Stelle, who had come looking for the two of them, gaped at the sight.

Her appearance startled Zhang Xiu too, but he did not let go of Yaoshi. "Ah, uh, Stelle, did Dan Heng need me for something?"

"Sampo came to see us just now. He said he'd take us to meet the leader of an organization in the Underworld. Then he noticed Bronya was missing, so he took March 7th and Dan Heng to look for her and asked me to tell you."

"But I sent you a message. Didn't you read it?"

"Oh, right, I wasn't paying much attention. Sorry. That means the plot's moving along. Let's go look for them too." With that, Zhang Xiu took Yaoshi's hand again and, under her amused gaze, ran in a direction he recalled from memory.

"The plot's moving along?" Stelle scratched the back of her head, not quite understanding what Zhang Xiu meant, but followed him anyway.

By the time Zhang Xiu and the others arrived, March 7th and Dan Heng were already there, and a vagrant had leveled his gun at Bronya.

A gunshot rang out. Her eyes widened, her teeth clenched, and she instinctively stepped backward.

But a moment later, a flash of steel shattered the bullet flying toward her, and a blue figure emerged from that flash.

Her figure flickered, and the instant she landed, she spoke coldly. "You dare start a fight on our turf..."

Seele swung the scythe in her right hand and straightened up, shouting, "Want to go a few more rounds?"

"Oh no! It's Seele! Let's get out of here!"

When the vagrants saw that it was Seele, they hurriedly fled. One even tripped and fell in his panic.

"Hmph... Scum who bully the weak and cower before the strong!" Seele snorted disdainfully and put away her scythe.

"Heh-heh, Miss Seele. Whew, thank goodness you stepped in when you did. Much obliged~" With the danger past, Sampo relaxed. "Those vagrants actually dared to resort to violence on Wildfire's turf-"

Before Sampo could finish, Seele cut him off sharply. "Shut it, Sampo. You've definitely got a hand in this. Do you have to stir up trouble at a time like this?"

Sampo dared not argue and could only nod repeatedly. Seeing this, Seele turned her attention to Bronya. "I heard a Silvermane Guard came down to the Underworld... Was that you?"

Oh, oh! The little couple's first-meeting argument~! Is it coming?

Zhang Xiu excitedly looked back and forth between the two women.

Sure enough, Bronya's words, "You kidnapped me and brought me underground. What exactly are you after?" instantly ignited the conflict.

The years of oppression and suffering in the Underworld, coupled with the Overworld's indifference, left Seele unwilling to show Bronya any courtesy. After a battle of verbal thrusts and parries, she spoke to her in a tone that was practically an order:

"Anyway, you're coming with me. Chief Oleg wants to see you. Sounds like he has plenty of questions."

Hearing that Seele intended to take Bronya to meet the leader, Sampo hurriedly chimed in. "What a coincidence, Miss Seele! We have business with the chief too! Why don't we tag along?"

"Who wants you tagging along?" Seele glared at him, then turned her attention to Zhang Xiu and the others. "...Who are these people?"

Stelle was about to introduce herself when Zhang Xiu stopped her with a pat on the shoulder.

He stepped in front of Dan Heng and introduced him with a calm expression. "This is Dan Heng, known throughout the land as Cold Dragon Young."

Next came March 7th. "This is March 7th, Cold Pink Dragon Young."

"Hey, that nickname is seriously tasteless." March 7th puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.

"As for me..." Zhang Xiu lowered his head and drew a deep breath...

"A Nameless of the Astral Express! Yaoshi's husband! The Galaxy Greatsword Hero! Zhang Xiu!"

He struck an embarrassing pose, but Stelle's face lit up at the sight, and she immediately struck a pose of her own.

"Also a Nameless of the Astral Express! The Galaxy Bat Hero who roams the universe! Stelle!!"

"I am a Nameless of the Astral Express, wife to Zhang Xiu, the Aeon of [Abundance], Yaoshi."

Yaoshi flashed a peace sign and stood behind Zhang Xiu.

Their antics made Dan Heng and March 7th slap their foreheads. When Seele shot them a look that asked, "You know them?" they nodded painfully...

"...Astral Express? Nameless? Never heard of them. But if you want to meet the chief, come find me at the entrance to the Great Mine."

With that, Seele roughly took Bronya's hand and led her away.

"I bet Seele's the top," Zhang Xiu whispered into Yaoshi's ear.

"The top?" Yaoshi looked utterly puzzled, unable to make sense of her husband's words.

"Ahem. All right, everyone, let's follow them. If we want to understand what's going on in the Underworld, this Wildfire organization could be a big help."