-----
-----
"Turns out mech-armor types feel pretty human after all. That's a big discovery," Riku muttered comfortably while wiping Jubi's mouth.
"Strange taste. Not good," Jubi said, staring straight at Riku with a flicker in her eyes. "Let's not overthink it. Okay, hurry and finish washing and come out."
Hearing this, Riku's face turned red and he coughed awkwardly. He hadn't thought much at the time, but now he felt a bit guilty.
"Keep going with the game," Jubi shook her head, determined. "That feeling just now was weird — not in the database. I think after a few more rounds, I'll understand the 'heart' better. That's my conclusion."
"..." Riku covered his face. Was she getting addicted? "Fine, but if we don't get out soon, Korone's going to start overthinking."
"Riku are you giving up?" Jubi asked quietly.
"Huh? No way I'm giving up!" Riku raised his brow, annoyed. A man can never admit defeat — no matter what.
Though Jubi didn't mean it seriously, it still pushed Riku.
"Hmph, Jubi, don't think just because you can calculate you'll always win. Don't underestimate humans!" Riku snorted.
"Game on," Jubi gave a tiny smile even she didn't notice, then quietly made the first move.
"Hey, hey, hey, Jubi, that's cheating! Can't I go first?" Riku twitched his mouth.
"You said don't underestimate humans. So I go first, no problem," Jubi replied quietly.
"Alright then..." Riku sighed and covered his face. Was he about to shoot himself in the foot?
"Why aren't they out yet?" Korone had been waiting outside for hours and finally lost her patience. She raised an eyebrow, looking suspicious. "Could it be they're really doing that kind of thing?"
At that moment, the bathroom door opened and Riku and Jubi finally came out. Riku looked as normal as ever, and Jubi too.
"Hey, Riku, why are you guys only coming out now? Don't tell me..." Korone looked at Riku like he was some kind of animal.
"Don't jump to conclusions, we were just playing a game," Riku said with a light cough, sounding perfectly innocent.
Chess, sure. No problem there. But this chess game was a little special — it nearly drained Riku dry.
"Really? You weren't playing that kind of game, right?" Korone said suspiciously.
"What kind of thoughts do you have? That's so dirty-minded. You can ask Jubi if you don't believe me," Riku said, sounding righteous.
"Jubi and Riku were playing chess," Jubi said slowly, her eyes flashing softly as she followed behind Riku.
"Oh, okay. Seriously, who plays chess while taking a bath?" Korone sighed with relief but then gave them a scolding look.
"Well, we got a little carried away. Next time we'll be more careful," Riku said, rubbing his face.
"I'm kinda beat today. Zhubi and I are gonna rest. We've got stuff to do tomorrow. Kor, you should go get some sleep too."With that, Riku took Zhubi's hand and headed toward his room.
"Mm, good night."Hearing that, Corone nodded.
The night passed quietly. Riku didn't mess around with Zhubi this time and got some proper rest. Saying he wasn't tired would've been a lie. After all, he had an intense "battle" with Fia in the middle of the night, and later fought that Dragonkin Zhu Yue at dusk. Both took a serious toll on him. And just earlier, he almost got drained dry playing games with Zhubi.Yeah, his body and mind were totally exhausted.
The next day, around noon…
After saying goodbye to Corone and the others, Riku got ready to head out.
"Zhubi, can this thing analyze and simulate other powers?"Outside, Riku took out Shangri-La, activated its ability, and asked.
He sounded like he was confirming, not really questioning.
The Mecha species' analysis ability was insanely strong—it could even break down and mimic techniques like Heaven's Strike and Yanlong King's Roar, let alone some relic weapon.
"Yup." Zhubi nodded, a glimmer of data flashing through her eyes. A few seconds later, she nodded again. "All done."
"Nice. Alright then, let's go. Our target—what's left of the Forest Elves' capital."Riku smiled, eyes full of anticipation.
After all, there's a platinum-tier treasure chest waiting for him there.
As soon as he said that, a purple magic circle lit up under both Riku and Zhubi, and they vanished on the spot—teleporting to the closest coordinate point near the ruined Forest Elf capital.
After the spatial jump, Riku and Zhubi began moving quickly. Along the way, they didn't bother hiding their presence or mana signature.
At this point, unless he ran into a swarm of high-tier species, Riku didn't have much to worry about.Even if he did run into something like a Skywing species swarm, it'd still be fine—he'd just teleport out.
Sure, Skywing species also have spatial abilities, and even more flexible ones at that, but if there's no preset coordinate, they can't just teleport wherever they want.
"....."