The sound of "Ora" grew fainter. On the path Himeko had taken, the ground was covered in viscous monster blood. Stelle watched as a Mara-Struck was punched through its body with a single blow, only to have its head obliterated by the follow-up strike. This strength and speed… it was too invincible.
Was that charge just now something a normal human could even do? She cracked the ground open! Had she achieved physical transcendence or something?!
No wonder Himeko was the Navigator…
Stelle and March hurriedly followed. When they caught up to Himeko, her battle was already over. She pulled out a handkerchief, calmly wiping her hands with a gentle smile. "Don't worry. With me here, no one can hurt you."
Himeko stood amidst a pile of monster limbs, not a single speck of filth on her body. The smile on her face formed a stark contrast with the gruesome scene at her feet.
Stelle swallowed hard. Too… too strong.
—"Stay away from me! Old Jing, help meeee!"
At that moment, a piercing scream rang out nearby, filled with shock, fear, and despair…
Himeko froze for a second and said, "Wait here. I'll be right back."
The next second, she vanished from the spot, leaving the two girls staring at each other in confusion.
On the other side.
Atop a mountain of containers, two figures—a man and a woman—were hiding. Below them, a horde of Abundance abominations, resembling zombies, circled and roared incessantly, locking the two in a tense standoff.
"It's over, it's all over, www…"
A black-stockinged girl with orange-red hair crouched on the ground, clutching her head in a pose of complete surrender, muttering to herself, "Wahhh, it's the first day of class, and I'm already going to die at the hands of these things. My life is just too unlucky. No one watches my streams, I can't make any money to eat, and now I'm going to lose my life."
Beside her stood a young man with white hair and golden eyes, remarkably calm. He patted her shoulder and said optimistically, "Don't be so pessimistic, Little Guinaifen. These monsters can't climb up here anyway. We'll be fine."
"Fine, my foot!" Guinaifen collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "Old Jing, haven't you seen zombie movies? This is exactly like those! It won't take long before these monsters pile up more and more. Once there are enough of them, they'll start stacking up to reach us, and then we're completely done for!"
"Wahhh, I don't want to be bitten to death. If I have to die, I'd rather stuff myself to death, wahhh…"
"Sigh, be a bit more optimistic. Even if these monsters do climb up, I'll be here to die with you, right?" Jing Yuan comforted her.
"Optimistic, my foot! You've lived for almost a thousand years—you're old enough to be my great-great-great-great-grandfather! I'm only twenty!" Guinaifen said, her face full of indignation. "Oh, vast heavens, why are you so cruel to me!"
Jing Yuan thought for a moment. "That's true, but living a long time isn't always a good thing, you know? Long-life species have their own troubles."
But Guinaifen wasn't in the mood to listen to him. Seeing the monsters gathering in greater numbers, she suddenly gritted her teeth, stood up, and pointed at Jing Yuan. "Do you know how long I've been putting up with you?!"
"Huh?" Jing Yuan looked utterly confused. "What did I do?"
"'What did I do?'" Guinaifen snapped. "Do you know that the reason we can barely afford to eat on the Xianzhou is mostly because of you?!"
"You could clearly make a living off your looks, but instead, you make me do absurd performances to earn money?!"
"W-Well, you can't blame me for that, can you? Relying on looks to make a living will eventually run dry. Besides, a hundred credits a day is enough for us to eat, right?"
"You have the nerve to say that! I can only afford to mooch off Yanqing's good meals every day, but you? Three dishes and a soup every meal! When you're out of money, you borrow, and then you go eat again. You owe me 6,521 credits—pay me back now!"
Jing Yuan awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Uh… we're about to die here. Do we really need to talk about debts?"
"No way! You have to pay me back! I'm about to die—if my bank account's empty when I go, that's just too lonely!"
Jing Yuan pulled out his phone, sheepishly checking his balance. "Uh… I'm really sorry, but this month… I'm broke again."
"Is that so? …You're forcing my hand, Old Jing."
Guinaifen put her hands on her hips. "Give me your phone for a sec."
"Okay."
After fiddling with it for a bit, Guinaifen turned the screen toward Jing Yuan. "Blink once."
Jing Yuan obediently complied.
"Done." Guinaifen handed the phone back to Jing Yuan. "Now you've got money. Transfer it to me!"
A question mark slowly appeared above Jing Yuan's head. Got money? What does that mean?
Jing Yuan checked his balance and his eyes widened. "Wait, where did this 150,000 come from?"
"Who cares where it came from? Hurry up and pay me back, pay me back, pay me back, pay me back!!"
"Hold on! This loan has an 8.6% interest rate! How am I supposed to pay that back?!" Jing Yuan, for once, showed a hint of panic, frantically searching for the repayment page.
"You're about to die—who cares about interest? Shouldn't you just spend it all?!" Guinaifen shook Jing Yuan vigorously. "Old Jing, are you still half-asleep?!"
Jing Yuan protested, "Who says we're definitely going to die? What if someone comes to save us?!"
Guinaifen punched Jing Yuan in the waist, exasperated. "Always dreaming! Why don't you just become the 'Dozing General'?! You can have anything in your dreams!"
With that, Guinaifen ignored him, proceeding to fleece several loan platforms. A few minutes later, the monsters below were less than two meters away, but her bank account had finally reached seven figures.
"Ahh~ Thank goodness. Before I die, I can see such a big balance. I'm satisfied," Guinaifen sighed, murmuring to herself.
Whoosh—
At that moment, a faint sound of something cutting through the air echoed around them. Jing Yuan's heart stirred, his golden eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. Almost instinctively, he stepped in front of Guinaifen, who was still lost in her own world, his sharp gaze locking onto the red figure speeding toward them.
—Not an Abundance abomination.
Bang!
Himeko landed heavily on the container, leaving a deep footprint in its surface. "You two, don't worry. I'll get you out of here."
Guinaifen: ?
"W-Who are you?" Guinaifen asked, dazed. "And how did you just whoosh down from the sky like that?"
"Oh, I heard someone calling for help and got a bit impatient, so I rushed over," Himeko said with a smile.
Hearing that the stranger was here to help, Guinaifen blinked. "But there are so many monsters… Can we really escape?"
Himeko glanced down below. "No problem. Leave it to me."
With that, amidst a chorus of "Ora" sounds, the monsters below began to diminish at a visible rate.
Guinaifen and Jing Yuan exchanged a glance, let out a simultaneous "Hehe," and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.