With the conclusion of the Continent-wide Elite Soul Master Soul Fighting Tournament, Shrek and its members safely returned to the academy after a fierce battle.
Sea God Pavilion, in a room.
A delicate vase sat on the bedside table, its flowers vibrant and glistening. A drop of dew slid down a petal and landed on the black Slime.
As if guided by something, the Slime slowly extended a thin strip and tapped Meng Hongchen's forehead.
The rhythmic tapping, seemingly regular, carried waves of energy, awakening her spirit.
After being in a coma for several days, Meng Hongchen finally showed some signs of life.
Meng Hongchen gently moved her jade-like fingers, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and after a while, she slowly opened her eyes.
The gentle sunlight shone on her, Meng Hongchen, holding her forehead, struggled to sit up.
She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings with a blank expression, memories of the finals flooding her mind.
In a daze, Ma Xiaotao's words during the competition clearly entered her ears, and then she fainted.
I woke up here.
Meng Hongchen looked around in confusion. The room layout here was neither that of a hotel nor that of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy she was familiar with.
The surroundings were quiet; there was no sound even outside the room, except for the occasional chirping of birds outside the window.
Meng Hongchen murmured to herself, "Here? Where am I? Why am I here?"
After asking himself three questions, Meng Hongchen tried to recall the events again, but still couldn't find a clue.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Meng Hongchen touched her body and found that her clothes were still on, then breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon her relaxed heart tensed up again. Her hands touched her coat pockets, and the rough, hard feeling under her fingertips startled her.
Her hands trembled slightly, but finally, as if she had made up her mind, she slowly reached into her pocket.
It felt icy cold to the touch, and its hardness startled her, but she still mustered her courage and held it in her hand.
"Ah!"
Then, her pretty face flushed slightly, she shouted, and took the thing directly out of her pocket.
At this moment, Shrek City.
Jiang Nannan was standing by the grilled fish stall, waiting for her fish to be grilled, when she suddenly slapped her forehead and remembered that she had put that thing in Meng Hongchen's pocket.
"Oh no, I've forgotten my things!"
Hearing this, the owner of the grilled fish restaurant nearby quickly asked, "Miss, do you still want your grilled fish?"
Jiang Nannan answered without hesitation, "Of course, and please add extra cumin, boss!"
She looked in the direction of the Sea God Pavilion, but in the end, she gave up on going back. Anyway, Meng Hongchen would be a member of the Garden sooner or later, so it didn't matter.
After thinking about all this, Jiang Nannan looked at the grilled fish on the stall, which was emitting a fragrant aroma.
Meng Hongchen stared blankly at the broken sword hilt in her hand, completely bewildered.
"This?... How could ' Hongchen ' be here? It shouldn't be here; shouldn't it be with Yuhao?"
No one answered her question, and she couldn't help but fall into self-doubt. Could it be that she had been liking the wrong person all these days?
"No! Something's wrong!"
Meng Hongchen got off the bed in agitation, her right hand gripping the sword hilt tightly.
She then noticed a sound Soul Tool and a clump of black substance on her bedside table.
This black substance looked all too familiar to her; she had seen it before at the Dou Ling Festival.
At that time, Shadow's body surface was covered in this kind of substance, and the sword in his hand seemed to have been formed from it.
Meng Hongchen looked at the hilt of her sword again, and a guess formed in her mind. After confirming her answer to some extent, she happily put away the broken sword.
Meng Hongchen reached out and poked the Slime. It felt very soft, and the Slime even extended tentacles to respond to her.
"What a strange thing."
After playing for a while, Meng Hongchen became bolder and reached out to grab the Slime in her hand, giving it a squeeze without any hesitation.
Then, she turned her attention to the sound Soul Tool on the side.
The long, narrow Soul Tool was immediately activated as Soul Power was injected into it.
Ma Xiaotao's clear voice immediately came from within.
The Soul Tool didn't contain many words, only telling her that she was currently at Shrek and why she had come here.
Only the last sentence from the Soul Tool left her completely bewildered.
Meng Hongchen listened carefully several more times, but still only half understood.
"The night will eventually fall, the Deity will eventually arrive, question your true heart, enter the Garden... lurking in the Shadow? The hunter of Shadow?"
After some thought, Meng Hongchen came to a conclusion: Could this be the Shadow organization? The organization Huo Yuhao belonged to?
This is interesting; it seems I've been caught up in some big secret.
Just as Meng Hongchen was thinking this, a clear, ethereal voice suddenly came from above her head.
"Now that you're awake, come to the top floor and tell me your answer."
The sound lingered, seemingly echoing only within the room.
Although the voice was soft, it clearly reached her ears, as if it were speaking directly to her soul.
Meng Hongchen was somewhat shocked. Even her grandfather, Jing Hongchen, Level 9 Soul Engineer, couldn't have done something like this.
It seems the person behind this is incredibly powerful.
Although Meng Hongchen had doubts, the voice was so compelling that she couldn't bring herself to resist, and she held the Slime and the Soul Tool in her arms.
Unconsciously, she began to feel a faint sense of anticipation for the person behind this.
Meng Hongchen reached out and opened the door, immediately seeing two figures in black robes standing in the doorway.
Their curvaceous figures make it easy to tell they are women, but for some reason, they all try to hide their appearance.
Moreover, the robes they wore were made of the exact same material as the Slime in their hands.
It seems they are also among those so-called Garden dwellers.
"Hey, newbie, stop spacing out. Lord 'You' has been waiting for you for ages," said the man on the right side of the doorway.
The girl on the left of the door also said, "0926, okay, let's go up first. Come with us quickly, and don't talk nonsense, don't ask why, along the way."
"I know, 0927, but you should at least distinguish between seniors and juniors, okay?"
The girl on the right waved to Meng Hongchen, and the two then walked ahead.
Meng Hongchen was filled with doubt, but she still quickened her pace and followed.
The two men's cold words and their unique code names only fueled Meng Hongchen's curiosity.
What kind of organization is this, and what is its relationship with Huo Yuhao?