Jerry understood clearly that after their intense exertions just now, he was utterly drenched in sweat, and Yevenko had somehow gotten hungry again.
Who gets hungry again immediately after a meal?
At this moment, he genuinely felt like giving up.
I just can't raise this child anymore.
Jerry pondered gloomily. A thought bubble popped above his head, showing scenes rapidly switching from one to another.
For the moment, he couldn't figure out where else to take Yevenko to fill his belly.
Even Yevenko himself hadn't expected to get hungry again so quickly. Though compared to his previous ravenous hunger, this time was actually tolerable.
No wonder Tuffy in Tom and Jerry was always eating—if he wasn't eating, he was on the way to eat more.
Well, time to make it up to the Xianzhou Luofu by doing them a favor. While he was at it, he could earn some [Exploration Value] by paying Hoolay a "friendly" visit.
Seeing Jerry frozen in place, Yevenko waddled over on his short little legs, hoisted Jerry up, and stuffed him into his diaper.
Inside, Jerry was awkwardly positioned back-to-back with Yevenko. Ignoring Jerry's protest, Yevenko sped up his little steps and headed deeper into the mouse hole.
---
At the deepest level of the Shackling Prison.
A girl with short, jet-black hair stood expressionlessly, her delicate face devoid of any emotion. Her cherry-red pupils were calm as still water, cold and dignified. From her slender, ivory-white toes, pristine white stockings rose along perfectly sculpted thighs, reaching all the way up to her well-rounded hips.
She was one of the Ten-Lords Commission's judges aboard the Xianzhou Luofu—
—Xueyi.
She was no longer flesh and blood, but a creation of exquisite mechanical craftsmanship.
Today, her task was to oversee Hoolay's transfer.
Xueyi advanced with precise, almost rigid steps. Behind her, Jiaoqiu and Moze followed closely.
Turning a corner, they arrived at an open area.
Before them loomed a dreadful gate emanating eerie green light, radiating bone-chilling coldness.
Xueyi calmly explained:
"The creature imprisoned behind this gate is Hoolay—the greatest enemy of the Foxians."
Almost as if in confirmation, a horrifying roar reverberated through the cavern, echoing through the Shackling Prison.
"GRAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
Xueyi, unaffected by the agonized screams, continued:
"By tradition, Yaoqing envoys arrive on the Luofu once every century to verify Hoolay's imprisonment and status."
"Though the Ten-Lords Commission has sentenced him to eternal punishment under the Blade Tree, enduring endless agony day after day, I understand well—the Yaoqing envoys most desire seeing him dead."
"Unfortunately, for seven hundred years, they've left disappointed every time. He's a beast that cannot be killed."
Listening intently, Jiaoqiu's golden eyes slowly opened, filled with contemplation.
According to his analysis, Feixiao's lifespan was rapidly diminishing due to Moonmadness. Hoolay, infamous as the most virulent toxin, might ironically hold the cure.
It was worth an attempt, for Feixiao's sake.
Just then, a panicked female voice suddenly broke in:
"Lady Xueyi, terrible news! The welcoming banquet we prepared for the Yaoqing envoy...was completely devoured by two mice!!"
Xueyi turned calmly, observing Huohuo rushing over. Her expression remained unchanged, though a faint flicker of confusion appeared briefly in her eyes.
"Hm?"
"Was it perhaps the mouse recently rumored aboard the Luofu? Did your tail not stop those two mice?"
She indicated Huohuo's tail, which promptly emerged, floating defensively beside the girl as it protested:
"Of course I tried to stop them! I fought them tooth and nail, exerting all my ancient power! I was evenly matched against two foes simultaneously, locked in a fierce battle—but tragically, I fell at the last second."
Ignoring the tail's boasting, Xueyi gazed directly at Huohuo.
Huohuo nervously whispered the truth, "After Master Tail appeared, those mice roared at him once each…and he fainted immediately."
The tail froze, abruptly ending its boasts, quickly returning to its proper place behind Huohuo.
Xueyi nodded understandingly.
"I've heard the rumors of that mouse's extraordinary abilities, though I hadn't expected even a Yaoshi would be powerless."
"No matter. It's merely some food. We'll simply prepare another banquet—"
But before she could finish, an arrogant laughter echoed through the hall.
"Hehehehehe... Another banquet?"
"You won't get that chance. You'll all be buried at the bottom of this Shackling Prison."
Startled, everyone spun around. Huohuo jumped in fright, hiding behind Xueyi, discovering with horror they were now surrounded by Foxians, Borisin, and Cloud Knights closing in from all sides.
Leading them was a Foxian Cloud Knight without a helmet.
Xueyi swiftly drew her weapon, stepping forward. Although her expression remained stoic, deadly intent flashed vividly in her cherry-red eyes.
"Who are you?!"
The Foxian Knight's eyes glowed ghostly green as he answered leisurely, "A humble Interrogator of the Hound Pack—you may call me Modo."
Seeing the Borisin among the crowd, Xueyi immediately understood their dire situation. As Modo revealed his affiliation, she desperately tried contacting support, yet received no response.
The Shackling Prison had already fallen.
Determination surged within Xueyi's eyes. Without hesitation, she launched forward, swiftly slashing at an approaching Borisin, calling loudly:
"We must never allow these abominations near Hoolay!"
Modo quickly shouted orders: "Attack! Kill them all!"
Foxians and Cloud Knights alike morphed grotesquely into ferocious Borisin werewolves, fiercely clashing with Xueyi and her companions.
The fierce battle soon grew chaotic.
Though Xueyi, Moze, and Jiaoqiu quickly incapacitated their foes, the Borisin's regenerative ability prevented swift kills. With countless prisoners swarming, even as they defeated many, two Borisin inevitably broke through toward the gate imprisoning Hoolay.
"Damn it! Stop them now!!"
Xueyi urgently shouted, kicking a Borisin aside and rushing toward the gate. Moze swiftly followed through the shadows, but their progress slowed from constant interference.
Just as they reached the gate, the two Borisin dashed inside.
The next instant—
Boom—!
Two mangled, bloody corpses flew violently from within, nearly crashing into Xueyi and Moze, who dodged aside and stared into the darkness behind the gate.
Two massive, clawed paws gripped the gate's edges. With a light push, the sturdy door cracked like brittle glass before crumbling to dust.
Jiaoqiu urgently signaled Moze, whispering: "Go, quickly!"
Moze immediately vanished into the shadows, speeding away. None present could match Hoolay. He had to warn others immediately.
But unlike Moze, Xueyi remained. She stared intently at the enormous figure stepping out—towering four or five times the size of ordinary Borisin. Hoolay radiated terrifying power.
But Xueyi knew this was his weakest moment, right after breaking free.
Summoning all her mechanical body's strength, she propelled herself forward with explosive force—
BOOM—!
A crater exploded beneath her feet as she shot toward Hoolay's throat.
Yet Hoolay was faster.
His paw casually swung down, crushing her into the ground. Her mechanical body cracked apart, sparking violently.
Huohuo screamed in horror, rushing toward her.
"Lady Xueyi, please don't die!"
Her tail quickly appeared again, scolding fiercely:
"Idiot! Did you forget Xueyi's a mechanical body? Just replace it later! Worry about yourself—!"
But then Hoolay approached, his heavy footsteps echoing ominously. Kneeling down, he faced Huohuo and her tail.
"My first meal after freedom—my own kin. Such a tragedy."
"Yaoshi and a Foxian…an amusing pair."
"You shall be my second meal."
His enormous paw descended ominously.
Huohuo screamed desperately: "NOOOO—!!!"
Just then—
Crunch...
From a nearby mouse hole, Yevenko emerged calmly, Jerry still riding in his diaper. Completely focused on the map Jerry drew, Yevenko didn't notice the chaos around him.
He wandered obliviously between Hoolay and Huohuo, puzzled when Jerry poked him repeatedly from behind. Annoyed, he pulled Jerry from his diaper, then realized he'd been holding the map upside-down.
Correcting it, Yevenko climbed casually onto Hoolay's foot, then upwards, finally stopping atop Hoolay's nose. Spotting two large eyes beneath a mask, Yevenko yanked Hoolay's eyelids down, mistaking them for curtains.
Seeing the "curtains" reopen, Yevenko stared in confusion at the two glaring "suns" behind them—then abruptly realized he was standing on Hoolay's face!
Gulping nervously, he quickly rolled the map into a needle, stabbed Hoolay's eye, and bolted.
"ROAAAR—!"
Hoolay recoiled, clutching his eye furiously.
"Damned mouse!"
He tried crushing Yevenko, but the little mouse dove into Hoolay's fur, swimming leisurely across his body, switching between freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke without a care in the world.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hoolay kept furiously pounding his own right arm, but every time his palm fell, Yevenko darted back into his fur, avoiding all damage.
Yet, how could this be?!
Hoolay's own right arm was already bruised from his strikes. The mouse had merely hidden in his fur—how could it remain completely unharmed? This was beyond absurd!
On the ground, Modo's eyes grew deeper with a ghostly green glow after spotting Yevenko and Jerry. He unconsciously took a cautious step backward.
Meanwhile, Hoolay abruptly slammed his left arm onto the ground.
Boom—!
The violent impact forced Yevenko out, flinging him from Hoolay's fur.
Hoolay's right paw swiftly snapped shut, gripping Yevenko tightly.
"Got you now!"
Desperately, Yevenko pulled a tiny firecracker from his diaper and threw it weakly at Hoolay.
But the throw seemed laughably slow to Hoolay. With mocking ease, he caught the miniature explosive, sniffing its faint gunpowder scent dismissively.
"Ridiculous. Do you really think this tiny firecracker can harm—"
Before he finished, the firecracker exploded violently.
KABOOOOM—!!!
The deafening blast echoed like thunder through the depths of the Shackling Prison, reverberating endlessly.
Knocked back heavily, Hoolay stumbled, his entire left arm shredded and dripping fresh blood onto the floor.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Yevenko had already escaped, sprinting rapidly away on his stubby legs.
Nearby, Jiaoqiu, Huohuo, and Xueyi continued struggling against the Borisin. Although badly damaged from Hoolay's earlier strike, Xueyi's mechanical body remained just functional enough to keep fighting.
Jerry leaned casually against the wall, propping up his face with one paw, watching Yevenko proudly.
A little mouse has to grow up sometime. Jerry knew he had to let go, let Yevenko learn to survive on his own—definitely not because he couldn't afford to feed him anymore.
Of course, if real danger arose, he'd rush to save Yevenko immediately.
Meanwhile, despite Hoolay's wounds regenerating, the pain was still excruciatingly real.
Even worse than the pain was the humiliation—the absolute disgrace of being wounded by a mouse, driving his rage to a maddening peak. His eyes glowed blood-red with fury.
"You damned rodent!"
"I'll chew you into pieces!"
Watching Yevenko scurrying around, Hoolay thundered forward, quickly overtaking him, and unleashed a vicious punch straight down.
SMASH—!
The ground shook violently from the strike.
Yet when Hoolay lifted his fist, Yevenko had simply flattened into a pancake-like shape before instantly popping back to normal, casually sprinting away again.
Hoolay: "?"
After a direct punch from me, he's perfectly fine—no blood, nothing at all? What kind of creature is this mouse?!
A flicker of doubt crossed Hoolay's eyes, but he persisted, continuing his furious pursuit.
BOOM—! BOOM—! BOOM—!
Each thunderous blow turned Yevenko into a mouse pancake, only for him to spring back unharmed. Slowly, step by step, Hoolay forced Yevenko into a corner.
Hoolay refused to believe his strength was insufficient. If this rodent wasn't injured yet, it merely meant he hadn't reached its breaking point.
Now cornered, unable to escape, was the perfect time to deliver his strongest strike.
Bloodlust surged in Hoolay's eyes, Moonmadness agitating his veins. His physical and mental strength reached their peak, muscles swelling visibly.
With absolute determination, Hoolay unleashed his mightiest blow yet, aiming to see the mouse finally reduced to bloody paste.
Seeing the terrifying paw approaching, Yevenko hurriedly spun around, back facing Hoolay, curled defensively into a ball with his tiny bottom sticking out, instinctively shielding himself.
KABOOOOOM—!!!
The colossal strike sent shockwaves reverberating through the Shackling Prison, collapsing nearby ground, momentarily lifting the fighters off their feet.
Retracting his claw, Hoolay's pupils shrank in disbelief.
Before him was an inexplicable sight.
The little mouse hadn't even flattened this time—he simply covered his backside, utterly unharmed. Stranger yet, the surrounding walls and floor near the mouse were perfectly untouched and pristine.
An eerie chill spread through Hoolay's heart.
But suddenly—
BAM—!
A brown mouse came barreling in from behind, slamming into his foot, toppling his massive body head over heels. Scrambling back up, Hoolay saw the brown mouse angrily pull down the small grey mouse's diaper, exposing a bright red, glowing butt.
On that little red butt, Hoolay saw an incredibly tiny, scaled-down imprint of his own paw.
Did that powerful attack only leave such a minor injury on this mouse?
At least, he thought, this creature seemed to lack significant offensive capability—even the explosive had only done minor damage.
But Hoolay's relief vanished quickly.
Seeing Yevenko's injured backside, Jerry suddenly grew furiously enraged. His body instantly bulged with muscle, eyes burning fiercely with anger as he glared straight at Hoolay.
Then Jerry opened his mouth wide—
"ROAAAAAAAR—!!!"
An earth-shattering roar exploded forth, unleashing a hurricane-force gust toward Hoolay!