The subtle stir caused by the "mad remix" incident was like a pebble tossed into the lake of the heart, its ripples lingering long afterward.
Castorice really seemed to have developed a keen interest in this Earth specialty. Under Luo Li's repeated insistence that "this is just entertainment, it isn't real" and his close supervision, she began cautiously exploring the other videos the platform recommended.
Soon, she taught herself to use the search function and zeroed in on the keywords-"Li Dog," "Yuan Ge," and "so bad it goes with rice."
And so, after ending his streams, Luo Li would often find Castorice curled up in a corner of the sofa, holding the tablet and watching with rapt interest.
On the screen might be a compilation of him edited into various monsters getting beaten up, a collection of "cursed moments" featuring his appetite-inducing Yuan Ge plays, or even clips of him getting so tilted by chat's teasing that he raged helplessly at the camera.
Whenever this happened, an expression of intense concentration would appear on Castorice's usually cool, somewhat distant face, even... carrying a faint hint of amusement.
She watched very seriously, her purple eyes unblinking. Occasionally, when a particularly "brilliant" clip came up-such as Luo Li confidently swearing he would carry the whole team only to drop dead the next second, or his awkward, tearless misery when his teammates hurled abuse at him-the corners of her lips would rise uncontrollably into a very slight but unmistakable curve.
Once, Luo Li could not resist leaning over and happened to see a video in which network lag had left both his Yuan Ge puppet and main body stuck in mad-remix spasms. Paired with the tragic background music of "Snowflakes drift~ The north wind howls~," the entertainment value was off the charts.
Castorice was so engrossed that she did not even notice Luo Li approaching.
Looking at her absorbed profile, Luo Li could not help asking sourly, "...Is watching me make a fool of myself really that fun?"
Only then did Castorice notice him. She jerked her head up like a startled little rabbit, her cheeks slightly flushed, and tried to turn off the video in a fluster, only for Luo Li to hold her hand down.
"It's fine. Go ahead and watch."
Luo Li sighed and sat down beside her in resignation. "My embarrassing history in this department could probably circle Jiangcheng three times anyway."
Castorice stole a glance up at him. Seeing that he really did not seem to mind, she said softly, "You aren't... making a fool of yourself."
She paused, seemingly struggling to find the words, and a strange light flickered in her purple eyes.
"I just think... the way you are on that 'internet,' Luo Li, is very different... from how you are here. It's interesting... the contrast is huge."
She seemed unable to find a more precise word, but her use of "contrast" made Luo Li's heart skip.
So she liked seeing the contrast between him online and in real life? Especially when he got tilted and embarrassed himself?
What kind of weird fetish was that?!
Luo Li's mouth twitched. He felt that his image in this otherworldly saintess's mind might already be racing headlong in some irretrievable direction.
[Ding! Target "Castorice" has experienced novelty and pleasure from observing the host's gap moe between his online and real-life personas, gaining a more rounded understanding of the host. Affection +1. Current affection: 81%!]
Fine, at least her affection was still going up.
That was the only consolation Luo Li could offer himself.
Just as Luo Li gradually adjusted to the possibility that Castorice saw him as a "funny guy," another headache-inducing "little fellow" began acting up.
The Spirit of Remembrance he had named "Xiao Hong" began buzzing in his mind again after sleeping in his mental space for several days.
"(´•ω•̥`) Master~ Master~ I'm so hungry~ My energy's almost bottomed out~"
Xiao Hong wheedled in a babyish voice, deliberately drawing out the ends of its words.
"If you're hungry, go absorb the free-floating energy in the air yourself!"
Luo Li answered irritably in his mind.
He had checked the system instructions. Spirits of Remembrance could indeed maintain their basic existence by absorbing the faint emotional energy and memory fragments dispersed in the environment, but the process was very inefficient.
"( p′︵‵.) The energy in the air is so thin... it isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth... I want 'richer,' 'fresher' Remembrance Energy~ Preferably the kind with a little... blood to it!"
Xiao Hong's voice brimmed with longing.
Luo Li's heart tightened. "Don't even think about it! Drink my blood? Or find living people to feed on? Not a chance!"
"(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) Waaaah... Master, you're so cruel! I'm not asking for much! One drop! Just one drop, pretty please~ Or... or we could go outside and find some 'ingredients'~"
"Outside? What ingredients?"
"(★ ω ★) Those bad guys who give off memories of 'decay,' 'chaos,' and 'brutality' all over! Their blood must be full of 'thrilling' Remembrance Energy! Drinking it would definitely feel amazing!"
Xiao Hong bounced twice in excitement inside his mental space.
Luo Li instantly understood what it meant-vampires.
His scalp prickled, and he refused sternly without a second thought. "No! Absolutely not!"
He was a shut-in streamer getting by on a C-rank ability. He could barely avoid vampires fast enough, so how could he possibly go diving into their nests?!
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is outside?! Haven't you seen the digital map Longxia's authorities update every day?
"Those red areas are all confirmed or suspected vampire nests and danger zones!
"Unauthorized personnel are strictly forbidden from approaching! Anyone who breaks that rule does so at their own risk!"
Luo Li tried to frighten this Memory Spirit, which had no idea of its own limits, with rules and regulations.
"(〃＞＿＜;〃) But... but I'm really hungry... I feel like I'll dissipate if I don't eat something 'substantial' soon... Master, can you bear to watch your adorable Memory Spirit disappear just like that?"
Xiao Hong began playing pitiful, its voice taking on a sobbing note and the red glow on the surface of its sphere dimming somewhat.
"Yes!"
Luo Li was hardhearted.
Compared with his own precious life, this Memory Spirit, which was currently damn useless apart from acting cute and serving as a flash drive, could dissipate for all he cared!
"(;´д｀)ゞ Master, you're an idiot! A coward! A useless shut-in!"
Seeing that playing the victim did not work, Xiao Hong began hurling personal insults in frustration.
"Say whatever you want!"
Luo Li remained unmoved and even felt a little tempted to haul it out of his mental space and give it a beating.
Just as the human and spirit were fiercely arguing in his mind, with Luo Li determined never to compromise, a cool voice cut in. "Luo Li, what are you two... arguing about?"
Luo Li snapped back to himself, only then realizing that the emotional fluctuations from his mental exchange with the Memory Spirit seemed to have been too strong and had caught Castorice's attention beside him.
She was putting down the tablet, looking in puzzlement at his shifting expression.
"Nothing!"
Luo Li denied it instinctively. He certainly did not want Castorice to know he had a dangerous element inside him clamoring to drink blood all day.
But Xiao Hong clearly thought otherwise.
"(☆▽☆) Ah! It's the pretty big sister!"
As though it had found a savior, it immediately directed a mental fluctuation filled with intense yearning and grievance primarily toward Castorice-it seemed to sense instinctively that this big sister, who carried the aura of the River of Souls, might be easier to talk to than its cowardly master.
Castorice frowned slightly. She clearly sensed a faint but urgent mental appeal, mixed with fragments of information such as "hungry," "drink blood," "vampires," and "danger."
She looked at Luo Li, a question in her purple eyes. "Is it... hungry? Does it want... to go out and forage?"
Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Luo Li had no choice but to steel himself and briefly explain Xiao Hong's circumstances and its "death-seeking" request, emphasizing at the end, "I already refused! It's too dangerous! We absolutely cannot go!"
Castorice listened quietly, her gaze lingering for a moment on Luo Li's face, which was filled with resistance. Then she seemed to sense the red sphere still whining in his mental space.
She rose gently and walked to the window, looking out at the city shrouded in Blood-Erosion Clouds, as though covered in a thin veil of dark red.
"In that direction,"
She raised a hand and pointed toward a distant area marked light red on the digital map (indicating recent reports of low-rank vampire activity).
"There is an unpleasant aura of... death and chaos, but... it isn't powerful."
She turned to Luo Li, her tone calm and natural, as though speaking of something utterly trivial:
"If it really needs it, I'll go with you."
Luo Li froze.
Looking into Castorice's tranquil purple eyes, he suddenly realized he had made a habitual mistake.
He had been assessing danger from his own perspective as a "useless shut-in," forgetting that the seemingly frail girl beside him was the Battlefield Saintess from Amphoreus, who wielded authority over death and could communicate with Titans.
Even without her curse of death at a touch, her dark purple scythe, which had never revealed itself in this world, and the death dragon Pollux lurking deep in the River of Souls both meant she possessed enough power to crush ordinary vampires.
Going alone would be serving himself up on a platter.
Taking Castorice along... might just turn it into a picnic with a little neighborhood cleanup on the side?
Xiao Hong instantly cheered in his mental space. "(★ゝ∀・☆)ノ Yay! Long live pretty big sister! Master, say yes! Say yes!"
Looking at Castorice's calm, "I've got you covered" gaze, then sensing the Memory Spirit's air of "if you don't agree, I'll make a fuss until you develop a split personality," Luo Li struggled inwardly for a moment before finally... shamefully finding himself tempted.
With Castorice here, it seemed... he really didn't need to be that scared?
Besides, if he could settle Xiao Hong's food problem along the way, he would enjoy considerably more peace and quiet afterward.
"...All right."
Luo Li took a deep breath and made his decision.
"But everything goes by my orders! We'll only look around the outskirts and find the lowest-level vampires on their own. If anything looks wrong, we retreat immediately!"
"(≧∇≦)ﾉ Hooray! Master, you're the best!"
Xiao Hong spun in circles excitedly in his mental space.
Castorice nodded gently as well. "Mm."
She walked to Luo Li's side. At some point, the ornate dark purple scythe, wreathed in the faint chill of the River of Souls, had silently appeared in her hand.
An eerie light gleamed along the scythe's edge. Patterns of butterflies and flowers flickered in the shadows, blending with her present composure and radiating an imposing, inviolable air.
Watching Castorice hold the scythe, as though she had instantly switched from a naive girl into combat mode, Luo Li swallowed. The little fear he felt at having to face vampires was strangely replaced by an immense sense of security.
With her here, it seemed... there really was nothing to fear.
"Let's go."
Castorice spoke softly, a trace of barely perceptible... anticipation flashing through her purple eyes?