"Stop! If you don't stop, I'll shoot!"
The captain spoke with a show of bravado, but the hand holding his gun trembled slightly, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
He had thought himself strong enough, but before this shadow, he felt powerless and afraid.
"You're trembling. You're afraid of me."
The shadow spoke, its voice a mixture of male and female tones. The captain roared, "Bullshit! I'm a proud Courtyard warrior, I'm... urgh!"
Before the captain could finish, a dagger pierced deep into his chest. The captain stared at him wide-eyed as Amo said coldly, "Villains die because they talk too much. You don't even understand something that simple."
Amo thrust hard with his right hand, slashing diagonally upward and to the left from the captain's chest. Blood sprayed as the blade cut through his heart and came out through his shoulder, sending blood flying.
The captain's eyes lost focus, and he fell onto his back. Amo looked at him coldly, his face utterly impassive.
"Amo, you were so decisive."
Xiaohe separated from Amo and looked at his cold expression with a playful grin. Amo's expression softened, and he reached out to ruffle her long pink hair. "There's no need to show enemies mercy, Xiaohe."
Xiaohe stuck out her tongue playfully. "Bleh, bleh, bleh, I know. Let's go back to camp."
Amo nodded and cast another cold glance at the captain's corpse before turning to follow Xiaohe away.
Not long after Amo left, the captain's eyes began to roll eerily. They slowly swelled, then burst.
A bug shaped like a palm crawled out. Its eyes were on top, and its mouth was in the center of its palm.
It stared in the direction Amo and Xiaohe had gone, let out an inexplicable chuckle, and vanished from the spot.
Camp
It was called a camp, but it was actually a settlement. Everyone here had gathered after the Courtyard warriors landed, and there were over fifty thousand people in all.
Amo and Xiaohe were welcomed back by the people of the settlement. After all, those who had stayed behind knew perfectly well what the two had gone out to do.
"Hehe, Amo, we're so popular."
Xiaohe grabbed Amo's arm and hugged it, grinning as she spoke. Amo froze. The girl's soft body was pressed against his arm, and his ears turned red at once.
"Huh? Amo, your ears are red."
Xiaohe grinned, her eyes full of undisguised teasing.
"Ahem, there are so many people around. Mind how this looks."
"Hehe, Amo's embarrassed."
Amo raised his hand and tapped Xiaohe on the head. Xiaohe pretended it hurt and glared at him, puffing out her cheeks.
"All right, all right, let's go home."
It was called a home, but it was really just a tent. It was large enough to hold all kinds of furniture without feeling cramped.
As soon as Xiaohe opened the tent flap, she eagerly threw herself onto the bed in the middle, hugged a pillow, and took a deep breath.
"Ah~~ It smells like Amo. I love it."
Amo pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly, his eyes full of affection. What else could he do? She was his girlfriend, so of course he would dote on her.
"What do you want to eat? We still have plenty of ingredients at home."
Amo held a spatula and wore an apron, looking every bit the househusband. There was no trace of the decisive killer he had been outside.
Hearing this, Xiaohe sat up on the bed with her legs folded to either side and touched a finger to her chin. "Hmm... I don't know. I'll eat whatever you make, Amo."
Just then, someone knocked on the tent flap. Xiaohe got off the bed and opened it a crack. A woman stood outside. She was beautiful, with a perfectly proportioned figure and a gentle smile on her face.
"Why are you standing behind the door, Xiaohe? Won't you invite your big sister in to sit for a while?"
Xiaohe's eyes lit up. "Sister Qingxin, you're here! Come in."
Xiaohe opened the flap and welcomed Qingxin inside. After entering, Qingxin put the eggs she was carrying on the table and looked toward Amo, who was cooking in the kitchen.
Xiaohe looked at Qingxin with some wariness in her eyes. As someone whose true form was the Heart of Nihility, she had felt something was off from the first moment she saw Qingxin. But Qingxin had shown no hostility whatsoever, only kindness.
They had met Qingxin when they first moved into the camp. She had helped them in every way, so Xiaohe had a very good impression of her.
But most importantly, she always felt that Sister Qingxin seemed to have other intentions toward her childhood sweetheart!
Hmph! If Sister Qingxin really has designs on Amo, I'll definitely drive her out, then show her what I can do!
Xianzhou Daiyu
"Ah, ah, achoo!"
"Hmm? Qingxin, what's wrong? Are you sick?"
Qingzhu looked in puzzlement at Qingxin, who was sorting through paperwork beside her. Having received the Blessing of Existence, they were not prone to illness, so if she really had fallen sick, it would be quite unpleasant.
"No, no. It just feels like someone's talking about me?"
Qingxin rubbed her nose. She had a feeling someone somewhere was talking about her. Could it be that little fellow Qi Tianque?
"Mmm~~ Delicious~ Amo's cooking is the best!"
Xiaohe swallowed the meat in her mouth, her face full of enjoyment. Seeing her reaction, Qingxin picked up a piece of meat and put it in her own mouth. Her eyes lit up at once.
"Mmm, it really is delicious."
This was her first time eating Amo's cooking. Before this, the help she had given the two had only been with their daily needs. Though it had been a small kindness, it was a hard-won gesture of goodwill for the two of them, who had just arrived at the camp.
"Hehe, I'm glad you like it, Sister Qingxin. You can come eat with us often from now on. It's only one more pair of chopsticks."
"Really!? Then I won't stand on ceremony, Xiaomo."
"Report. How long until we reach the Ayinai System?"
Qingzhu stood before the star map, planning their deployment. The map showed the positions of all the planets in the Ayinai System.
"Reporting to the Helmsman, we need another sixty system hours to reach the Ayinai System."
"Sixty system hours."
Qingzhu's expression grew serious. "That's too long. Sixty system hours is enough for those rebels to slaughter the entire Ayinai System."
"Pass on my order: full speed ahead! Set the power to maximum. We need to cut the time down to under twenty system hours!"
No sooner had Qingzhu given the order than the alarm aboard Xianzhou Daiyu began to blare.
Qingzhu frowned. The last time she had heard this alarm was a thousand years ago, when the Daiyu crashed. Was it really sounding again now?
"What's going on?"
Qingzhu frowned. What fool who didn't know his own limits would dare block a Xianzhou publicly known to have an Emanator of Existence stationed aboard?
"Helmsman, it's Abundance! The Abominations of Abundance are shouting threats outside the Xianzhou, and many beast ships are slowly surrounding us."
The crew member reported calmly, though his voice carried unmistakable anger and hatred.
"Perfect timing. I didn't come looking for you, but you came looking for me! Xiahou Chan, Wanmeng, Qi Tianque, take forty thousand Manifest Existence Army soldiers aboard Starskiffs and head to the Ayinai System first. I'll stay here and play with them."