As an older man, Zhong Wanhong rarely felt embarrassed like younger people did. Yet at that moment, gazing at Lingsha's beaming smile, he felt a flush of awkwardness so intense it made his scalp tingle. He desperately wished he could use his stiff, aged toes to claw out a storage closet right then and there.
Trying to sell Earth's high-tech products to someone from a Cosmic Civilization? he thought. It's like a monkey trying to teach humans a better way to peel bananas—utterly pointless.
Fortunately, Lingsha quickly changed the subject, sparing Zhong Wanhong further embarrassment. "This world has some herbs This Lady urgently needs," she said. "Elysia just informed me that we can travel freely between worlds, so I'll trouble you to handle the mundane affairs in your world."
Lingsha's demeanor and tone were remarkably endearing, making it impossible not to feel goodwill toward her.
The matter was swiftly settled, but even after they parted, Zhong Wanhong remained puzzled: Why would a Cosmic Civilization produce someone as seemingly steeped in ancient tradition as Lingsha?
Meanwhile, Elysia and Hui, the beast-eared girl, had nearly finished their conversation. Of course, Elysia hadn't come solely to cuddle Hui; she had serious business to discuss as well.
Though Hui was currently nestled in Elysia's arms, there was no reason why cuddling and serious discussions couldn't coexist!
Elysia wasted no time in revealing that she and her group were from another world. She then requested a plot of land near the Dark-Haired Beast-Eared Girl Tribe, promising to station rotating personnel there. During this period, they could engage in trade.
Elysia's group would offer advanced technology to improve the tribe's living standards in exchange for common herbs from this world.
Hui naturally saw no reason to refuse. Even without the trade agreement, given the tribe's exceptionally high initial goodwill toward humans, Elysia could have simply asked for the herbs outright. After all, these plants were abundant and of little value.
But Elysia had no intention of taking advantage of these adorable beast-eared girls.
As their conversation progressed, Hui, naturally curious, quickly became fascinated by Elysia's world. Her large, endearing eyes blinked as she asked, "Can I come visit your world too?!"
Elysia wasn't surprised at all that Hui, who had once followed her into the Seventh Laboratory out of curiosity, would ask to visit her world. After a moment's thought, she replied, "Sure, you can come, but you have to stick to me like glue once we're there, understand?"
After all, these Beast-Eared Girls weren't just gullible; they would believe anything you told them. If someone with malicious intent were to manipulate them, the consequences could be disastrous.
And just like that, Elysia gained an adorable Beast-Eared Girl as her new sidekick.
Meanwhile, back in the Main World, Lü Heng and the others had returned to the clearing where they had set up the Dimensional Rift device. Li found a relatively flat and clean spot and laid Ikezawa down.
Notably, the incessant clicking of camera shutters filled the air as Lü Heng relentlessly snapped photos with his smartphone, amassing a wealth of blackmail material. He was already plotting how to tease Ikezawa with these embarrassing pictures later.
As for Invincible Bro, he was contemplating whether to use this opportunity to give the two of them a little "nudge."
When friends see a shy couple who clearly like each other but haven't confessed their feelings, they can't help but wish they'd hurry up and get together. Invincible Bro was definitely feeling that way when he remarked, "Ikezawa doesn't look good at all."
"Huh?" Li panicked, her ears perking up in alarm. Not being a medical professional, she blurted out, "Where's Sister Lingsha?! I need to find her right away to help Ikezawa!"
"No need," Invincible Bro reassured her. "Actually, I know a method. Have you ever heard of CPR?"
"What's that?" Li asked.
Invincible Bro proceeded to explain the basics of CPR and how to perform it on someone.
"If I do CPR, will he wake up?" Li asked.
"I can't guarantee that," Invincible Bro replied, "but I'm certain it will at least stabilize his condition."
Lü Heng, who was standing nearby, was dumbfounded. His jaw dropped as he silently watched Invincible Bro's actions, thinking, Is this really how it's done?!
Li tentatively placed her hands on Ikezawa's chest. Invincible Bro nodded encouragingly. "Yes, exactly like that. Gentle compressions, then..."
Before Invincible Bro could finish speaking, a sharp crack echoed through the air. Ikezawa, who had been unconscious, suddenly shot upright like a boiled shrimp curling into a tight arc. His eyes bulged, and his face contorted into a grotesque grimace.
Invincible Bro's eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock. Though the palm strike hadn't landed on him, he wasn't blind or deaf. He could tell it must have been excruciatingly painful.
"Hiss—!" Another bizarre sound, similar to before, escaped Ikezawa's throat as he gasped for air and abruptly regained consciousness. The first words he spat out were: "Heh heh, Elysia! I saw Elysia with my own eyes!"
His second reaction was to clutch his chest, sucking in sharp breaths. "Ugh... Did a truck just run me over? My ribs feel like they're broken... This hurts like hell!"
Regardless of the process, Ikezawa had undeniably woken up. Witnessing this, Li's tail wagged excitedly. She turned to Invincible Bro, whose lips were still trembling. "It actually worked?!"
Ikezawa looked utterly bewildered. "What worked?"
Li immediately replied, "CPR! You fainted earlier, and I was so worried. Invincible Bro taught me how to do it, and I saved you!"
Ikezawa froze, one hand still pressed against his chest while the other slowly rose to touch his lips. "CPR... mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?!"
Li nodded enthusiastically. "Now I know how to save people! If you ever faint again, I'll use the same method to revive you!"
Faced with such good fortune, Ikezawa had no reason to refuse. He even began to chuckle foolishly, completely unaware that Invincible Bro's CPR lesson had only covered the chest compressions—the actual breathing part hadn't been mentioned at all.
It was all about brute force, with absolutely no breathing involved.
If a real emergency ever arose, Li's CPR technique might just send Ikezawa to the afterlife instead of saving him.