"What? You want to come out with us?" Li Xiaoya and Zhang Hong exclaimed in unison, their faces full of disbelief.
"Yes! I suddenly realized I've stayed in this place so long that I'm getting a little sick of it," the Mechanism Beast King said cautiously.
"Uh, what will happen to this place if you leave? Besides, we still have plenty of things to do, and with the way you look, you're bound to attract attention outside," Li Xiaoya said, sounding somewhat reluctant. Inwardly, however, he was delighted. This fellow might be a little dim, but his mastery of mechanical puppetry was so exquisite that he would surely be a great help.
"Well, I have my own way of handling that. Don't you worry," the Mechanism Beast King said confidently.
"Oh? What way?" Li Xiaoya asked with a smile.
"Watch!" Suddenly, a humming came from the Mechanism Beast King. Red radiance flashed through the crystal, then immediately subsided. The crystal sealing the Mechanism Beast King shrank dramatically until it was only the size of a little fingernail. The red light vanished as well, leaving it looking like an ordinary gemstone.
"Oh, I never imagined you had a trick like that! But where will you go once you're outside?" Li Xiaoya asked in surprise.
"Well... uh, I haven't decided yet," the Mechanism Beast King answered after a moment's hesitation. Then he paused and said with a laugh, "For now, I'll just stay with you two. We can talk about it once I've decided!"
"Hey, stop deciding everything yourself! Did I agree to that?" Li Xiaoya said in an odd tone, looking thoroughly reluctant.
"Uh, don't be like that! We've known each other so long, surely we count as friends?" the Mechanism Beast King said with easy familiarity.
"What do you mean,