The scent of burnt herbs, scorched steel, and faint plum resin clung to the walls as the lab doors sealed shut behind them.
Fan Yumei rubbed her temples as Maxius zipped past her head—again—leaving a blur of glowing feathers in his wake. Lufei trotted calmly at her side, crystalline hooves clicking on the smooth floor with the same rhythm as her steady breath. Mystic floated overhead, silent and observant now, reclining lazily on her cloud cushion, occasionally flipping upside down just to see the world from another angle.
"So your two soul beasts can go through evolution," Master Sun suddenly spoke.
"Evolution, huh." Fan Yumei murmured, arms crossed as she scanned the hall. "Maxius and Lufei really think you're ready?"
She didn't speak like she doubted them. But her voice carried weight.
Even now, her thoughts buzzed louder than her words.
If I push them forward without prepping their bodies, we could lose everything we've built. Just one mistake…
She clenched her fist. The qi signature from the orb Mystic had swallowed was still pulsing inside her system. Maxius had barely stopped whining about training. Lufei was humming with soul energy she hadn't revealed before—like something internal was sharpening.
"Let's get one thing clear," Fan Yumei said aloud, pulling her training gloves tighter across her wrists. "No one's evolving today."
The test data confirmed it: both Maxius and Lufei were teetering on the boundary line of evolution. But she wasn't reckless. Not yet.
Not until they'd endured heat, frost, pressure, venom, spatial bends, weight shifts, high-atmosphere turbulence, and synchronized formation rounds. Every variable. Every condition. Until their nerves sang with pain, and their bones echoed back.
And of course, she needed money for proper resources.
Fan Yumei exhaled through her nose, then smirked.
"Last door on the left," Master Sun said, tapping his console. "You wanted evolution testing? You'll get it."
She stepped toward the direction—then paused. Because he didn't follow.
"You're a Beast Healer, girl," Master Sun said, voice lowering. "You should already be able to see their paths. You don't need these machines. Just haven't tried yet."
Fan Yumei looked at him sideways. "I've never…"
"Close your eyes. Reach out. Feel their core. Their will. Their readiness. The answers are already bonded to you. Stop relying on tech. Trust your own instincts."
She was silent.
Then she looked at Lufei, who met her gaze without blinking. At Maxius, who fidgeted but nodded once. At Mystic, who said nothing but shifted higher on her cloud cushion.
Her hand rose to her chest. She inhaled.
"…I'll try," she said. "But not here."
Master Sun grinned. "Good answer."
He turned on his heel.
"Come on. Let's get you back upstairs."
⸻
They retraced their steps. The elevator hissed open, and they stepped through the biometric scanner into the corridor. The cool corridor floor gave way to warm tile and filtered sunlight as they stepped back into the villa proper.
Back on the upper level, daylight streamed through the ceiling glass, highlighting the polished floor and long hallway. The smell of plum resin and scorched steel lingered faintly behind the sealed lab doors.
Outside the windows, Federation hovercraft drifted past overhead, engines humming like low chimes.
Mystic drifted silently behind her, curling in her cloud as if still absorbing something no one else could see. Lufei trotted at her side, hooves clicking softly. Maxius flitted near the window, tail feathers swishing in every direction.
Fan Yumei tightened her gloves and rolled her shoulders once.
She tapped her comm-link.
[BigLilSis_meimei]: All of you better be in full gear. Weights. Armor. Bring your beasts.
[BigLilSis_meimei]: I've got extras if you try to slack.
Almost immediately, Jin Minhe responded.
[Zhoa_min_Zhao]: Everyone's here. Fully equipped. Jin had to be bribed with candy.
[Feed_hehe]: Lies. I came willingly. With honor.
[Zhou_dont_know]: Lufei's glare says otherwise.
Fan Yumei snorted. She looked over at Master Sun.
"I need to head out. Time to collect the squad."
He nodded. "Don't forget what I said."
"I won't," she replied, already stepping toward the exit.
⸻
Outside the house, wind brushed lightly through the open courtyard. The villa's security field shimmered faintly in the daylight, and above them, Federation hovercraft drifted by like silent guardians.
Mystic floated in place, her cloud cushion dissipating as her body expanded—growing longer, wider, sleeker. Lightning traced the tips of her fins as she shifted to full form, glimmering like mist across her white, silky skin.
Fan Yumei didn't hesitate. She stepped up onto the cloud-steps leading to Mystic's back, boots clicking softly against the smooth, warm surface. Her fingers reached into her space bracelet, pulling out a tightly bound scroll etched with spatial runes and anchored ink.
"Lufei. Maxius," she called.
Lufei leapt up without hesitation, crystalline hooves touching down just behind her. Maxius swooped up in a loop, feather tips sparking as he landed on Fan Yumei's shoulder, his qi orb still clutched in one talon.
Fan Yumei held the scroll high.
"Let's go," she murmured. "Straight to the dormitory."
Mystic released a low hum. The clouds wrapped around them like a nest of warmth and sound.
Fan Yumei tore the teleportation scroll cleanly down the middle.
The scroll shattered into brilliant arcs of silver-blue light.
In an instant, the air warped. Space folded.
And they were gone.
⸻
They reappeared outside the dormitory plaza. Jin Minhe, Liang Chenwu, Zhou Qian, Kai Shi, and Min Zhao were already there—standing in formation, fully geared in black-and-red light armor, each strapped with weights.
"About time," Liang Chenwu said, stretching his shoulders.
"Where's the fire?" Kai Shi yawned.
"Wild Zone warmups," Fan Yumei announced as she stepped down from Mystic's back. "You'll be grateful later. Or unconscious. Either one."
Zhou Qian coughed. "Captain, are you in a mood today or…"
"I'm always in a great mood," she said, smiling flatly.
"Let's move."
⸻
Everyone followed.
Min Zhao leapt on next, followed by Jin Minhe and Zhou Qian. Liang Chenwu tossed his gear into a storage panel and landed with a thud. Kai Shi, grumbling, took the rear seat.
Once they were all secured, Fan Yumei gave Mystic the mental command.
The Leviathan lifted.
Wind swirled beneath them as they rose above the campus zone, passed over the hover lanes, and streaked westward—toward the distant range where the Federation Wild Zone shimmered beneath layers of living fog.
⸻
Mystic descended smoothly over the plateau behind Fan Yumei's dome house—a self-sustaining, reinforced structure built into the slope of a river-fed valley. A few highland trees dotted the landscape, but the Wild Zone forest, dense and ancient, loomed just a few yards beyond it.
Fan Yumei dismounted first. "Stretch and form lines. Ten minutes."
She glanced over her shoulder.
"Follow me into the Wild Zone when you're done. Stay sharp. This is where the real work begins."
Her team groaned, but not one of them hesitated.
⸻
From her dome house, they crossed the short footpath toward the Wild Zone. Rune-beacons blinked along the old stone markers lining the entrance, warning all Federation personnel of unstable spatial weather.
"This section's stable," Fan Yumei said, a smile tugging on her lips, brushing her fingers along a warded post. "It's been cleared recently. Good terrain for pressure drills."
They moved as a unit.
The forest swallowed them.
⸻
"Alright," Fan Yumei called, stopping in a wide glade. "Mobility drills. Impact resistance. Formation echo. Then blindfold dodge."
Everyone groaned.
Fan Yumei smiled darkly.
"Let's begin."
Soul beasts emerged beside them, and the forest came alive with qi.