“If something terrible happens in a moment…”
“Run. Don’t look back.”
The gentle, clear voice fell, and Chu Shiye’s heart sank into an abyss.
He instinctively reached out, trying to grab the person in front of him, but his fingertips only grazed the edge of a sleeve, as fleeting as the wings of an uncatchable butterfly.
Ji Mian leapt down the stairs. Midair, his ice-blue, sharp eyes locked with the black wolf’s menacing beast-like gaze.
Mental Suppression!
The black wolf’s massive body stiffened. Its dilated pupils reflected countless fluttering blue light particles, dreamlike and surreal. For a brief moment, it hesitated.
—And in the next instant, pale blue light gathered at Ji Mian’s slender fingers, condensing into a blade. Like a thunderbolt tearing through the long night, it pierced the black wolf’s pupil.
Blood splattered, and the wolf let out a heart-wrenching howl.
Ji Mian landed gracefully, his face splashed with warm blood.
“Oh, I forgot to mention,” he said casually, wiping away the bloodstains. Turning his gaze toward Chu Shiye, his ice-blue eyes sparkled with a faint smile in the darkness.
“That only has a ten percent chance of success.”
Chu Shiye: “…”
The searing pain brought the black wolf out of its momentary stupor. Its left eye now bore a deep, bone-exposing gash from the blade.
Enraged, the black wolf roared again.
The sound waves rippled outward, carrying a pressure so intense it could render everyone unconscious. Yet Ji Mian remained unfazed.
“Is that the only trick you know?”
He raised his finger. A light-winged goddess butterfly landed gently, its wings quivering. The trail of its movement shimmered like a starry river.
The black wolf hesitated again, its mind faltering. At that moment, the cold gleam of a blade broke through its daze.
The wolf’s screams pierced the air.
Chu Shiye’s gaze followed Ji Mian’s every move. Despite the excruciating pain in his head, he remained focused, unable to look away.
For the first time, Su Lan displayed his full power in front of him.
The Light Goddess butterfly danced, scattering a sea of light. The intertwining silvery-blue glow resembled an ethereal dream, seductive and mesmerizing.
Even Chu Shiye, standing outside the battle, felt his mind sway slightly when he looked at the radiant ocean, as if he might lose control and be drawn into it.
A dream to entice and captivate. A power to pierce the body and distort the mind.
The black wolf had no chance to resist. It couldn’t even attempt to fight back. Each time it regained consciousness from the pain, it would immediately plunge back into the dreamlike illusion.
The wolf was like a drowning beast, its massive body swallowed by an endless sea. Each desperate attempt to surface for air brought only a fleeting gasp before it sank again, struggling in vain.
There was no escape. No relief.
This once-mighty A-leveled beast would drown in despair, consumed by this beautiful yet icy mental sea.
Chu Shiye saw it all.
“A terrifying ability,” he thought, pressing his hand against his throbbing temple.
Su Lan didn’t seem like an auxiliary-type user.
He felt more like… an all-powerful mental-type ability user.
Chu Shiye’s eyes reflected the vast blue sea of light, his gaze fixed entirely on Ji Mian. Nothing else in the world could enter his vision.
Like a moth drawn to light, he unconsciously stepped forward.
In stark contrast to the raging and despairing black wolf, Ji Mian remained calm and composed throughout the battle.
Among ability users and beasts of the same rank, there were differences: lower-tier, mid-tier, and peak-tier. This detailed classification only applied to A-level and above, whether for ability users or beasts.
For B-level and below, the differences weren’t as pronounced. But above A-level, each tier was a chasm, an insurmountable gap.
This black wolf was a lower-tier A-level beast.
Compared to what Ji Mian had faced before, it was insignificant.
His ice-blue eyes were as cold and sharp as a stormy sea before a tempest.
Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Chu Shiye instinctively tried to rush over, but the sea of light gently but firmly blocked him.
Mental energy surpassing its limit.
Severe mental overload.
Mental energy exhaustion beyond capacity.
If a mental energy monitor were present, it would undoubtedly be blaring alarms at this moment.
Yet Ji Mian’s expression remained indifferent. Blood stained his pale lips, but his eyes burned with an intensified cold blue light.
Step by step, he approached the dying black wolf.
Placing a foot on the wolf’s head, he raised his hand. The silvery-blue light swirling around his fingers transformed into a sharp blade, which he brought down decisively.
The black wolf’s final cries of agony faded into silence. Its lifeblood flowed coldly onto the ground, leaving behind nothing but a still corpse.
The light dissipated from Ji Mian’s fingertips as he closed his eyes briefly.
He heard hurried footsteps approaching and turned around—
At that moment, the “dead” black wolf suddenly lifted its head, baring its sharp fangs!
It still had a final breath!
With that last bit of life, it lunged, intent on dragging Ji Mian to the grave with it.
Its razor-sharp fangs, capable of easily piercing flesh, rushed toward him, bringing with them a foul, hot stench. The attack was so swift it left no time to react—
But before Ji Mian could fully turn, his arm was grabbed.
His body lost balance, pulled into someone’s embrace, held tightly in a protective grasp.
A short blade emerged from its sheath, its cold gleam slicing through the darkness, and plunged into the black wolf’s remaining eye.
The blade drove deep, piercing into the wolf’s skull.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The black wolf fell, its final breath unclaimed, its body convulsing before collapsing to the ground.
Chu Shiye pulled out the bloodstained blade with a blank expression. The blade rose and fell, over and over again.
Only when he was certain the black wolf had completely lost its life, leaving no possibility of pretense, did he stop.
Without a word, he turned to Ji Mian.
Letting the blade fall from his hand, Chu Shiye gripped Ji Mian’s shoulders tightly.
He had been so close—just a moment more, and this person could have…
The black wolf’s dying fangs had grazed Chu Shiye’s arm, leaving a deep, bloodied gash that stained his clothes red. Yet he seemed utterly unaware of the pain, his eyes fixed intently on Ji Mian’s figure, his voice trembling faintly at the edges.
“You said earlier that the success rate was only ten percent.”
Perhaps because Chu Shiye’s expression was so different from usual—intense, frightening—Ji Mian was momentarily stunned.
After a brief pause, Ji Mian smiled faintly. “Yes, and you were that ten percent.”
No matter what happened, he knew Chu Shiye would always be behind him.
Chu Shiye: “…”
Ji Mian reached out and patted his head without saying much, then began to heal him.
The black wolf’s fangs were razor-sharp. The mere graze against Chu Shiye’s arm had left a wound so deep it exposed bone.
Ji Mian hadn’t expected the injury to be this severe. His brows furrowed tightly as he cupped the soft glow of light in his palm, carefully pressing it to Chu Shiye’s arm.
In just two or three blinks, the wound healed without a sound, leaving no trace of a scar.
Still uneasy, Ji Mian inspected it several times before asking, “Does it still hurt?”
Chu Shiye didn’t answer.
The Light Goddess butterfly landed on Ji Mian’s shoulder, lightly lifting its delicate antennae before hopping onto Chu Shiye’s shoulder.
Ji Mian: “It says thank you.”
Chu Shiye remained silent.
His gaze was locked onto Ji Mian’s face, unwavering, as if the world had shrunk to just this one person. Everything else was meaningless, unable to capture even a fragment of his attention.
Ji Mian: … Is he stunned from the pain?
Ji Mian waved his hand in front of Chu Shiye’s face.
The moment he moved, Chu Shiye swiftly caught his hand.
His grip was tight, refusing to let go.
Ji Mian wiggled his fingers slightly.
Chu Shiye’s grip only tightened further.
Ji Mian: … Well, alright then. Suit yourself.
The goddess butterfly hopped onto Chu Shiye’s head, flapped its wings twice, and then gracefully fluttered back to Ji Mian’s side.
The black wolf was dead, and soon after, the others in the group began to slowly regain consciousness.
The first to wake was Black Snake. Despite having suffered the most severe injuries, his mental state seemed surprisingly intact when he opened his eyes.
Using the wall for support, he stood and scanned the area.
When his gaze landed on the stiff corpse of the black wolf, his pupils contracted visibly.
As Black Snake’s gaze fell on the two unscathed individuals sitting calmly not far from the black wolf’s corpse, his pupils contracted further.
Realizing that Chu Shiye was resolutely refusing to let go of his hand, Ji Mian led him to a corner to rest.
Ignoring Black Snake’s scrutiny, Ji Mian instead focused on Chu Shiye.
This Alpha, ever since earlier, had been staring at him without blinking.
Silent and sulky, like an unhappy rock.
Ji Mian opened his mouth to say something, but just then, a cry of pain erupted from nearby.
Heisen, who had just regained consciousness, yelled: “Ow! It hurts! Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
—That was thanks to the black wolf stepping on him during the battle.
Next to him, Berg weakly called out: “Is there anyone, anyone who can help… heal me?”
At this moment, they all instinctively thought of one person and desperately sent pleading glances in his direction.
The pale, beautiful young man sitting nearby—who just moments ago had been smiling softly at Chu Shiye—turned toward them, his dark eyes now glazed with frost.
His icy gaze seemed to say: Still alive, aren’t you? What do you need healing for?
Heisen and Berg: “…”
Suddenly, a shriek came from where Fu Zeren was sitting.
Fu Zeren, trembling as he pointed at the fallen black wolf, stammered: “Th-that… that…”
It was only then that Heisen and Berg noticed the massive corpse nearby. Their slow-moving brains finally caught up, and their faces twisted in shock.
Wait, what happened?!
How are we still alive?!
What just happened?!
Fu Zeren, shaking uncontrollably, had completely lost his composure: “That… that was…”
Ji Mian, his tone indifferent, said: “That was a B-level beast.”
Fu Zeren: “Wh-who…”
Ji Mian: “Chu Shiye and I killed it together.”
Fu Zeren: “…”
For a moment, he was completely at a loss, unable to process the reality of the situation.
But one thing was clear—everyone’s gaze toward Ji Mian and Chu Shiye had changed.
No matter what had happened in between, the end result was undeniable: the black wolf, which had easily defeated Black Snake, was now dead.
Although no one could be completely sure if the wolf was truly B-leveled… who would dare to question it now?
After all, it wasn’t them who had killed the wolf—it was these two.
Chu Shiye, despite being an E-leveled ability user, had defeated a C-level opponent like Berg before.
And that man, “Su Lan,” who came from another planet with an unknown background, possessed incredibly powerful healing abilities…
Berg, trembling as he got to his feet, stammered: “Wh-what… what type are you?”
Ji Mian: “Healing type.”
Berg: “…”
Berg’s face twisted through a series of expressions before he finally forced out a bright smile: “Healing types are amazing! Truly the best of the three categories!”
Heisen: “Yes, yes! I’ve always said healing types are incredible! I’ve admired them since I was a kid!”
Ji Mian ignored their flattery and stood up.
Chu Shiye, still holding his hand, stood with him.
Ji Mian walked toward Fu Zeren, step by step. Fu Zeren, horrified, shrank back: “Wh-what are you doing?”
Ji Mian, bending slightly, his eyes curving slyly: “Mr. Fu, you mentioned earlier—how should we divide the gray crystals?”
Fu Zeren: “…”
Hours later, the group finally emerged from the mine, greeted by the light of day.
The familiar barren landscape stretched out before them, and the weary ability users collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted.
It felt like a lifetime had passed. They had never found the scenery, which they had long since grown accustomed to, so beautiful and precious.
A few meters away, Ji Mian picked up a bag of gray crystals and handed it to Chu Shiye.
Ji Mian: “Here, sell it.”
Chu Shiye looked at him, and after a few seconds, said: “This is yours.”
Ji Mian, grinning: “Makes no difference. We’ve got money now.”
Chu Shiye paused, his eyes reflecting Ji Mian’s figure clearly: “Yes. We’ve got money now.”
Ji Mian started walking ahead.
Chu Shiye, still holding his hand, followed him closely.
Ji Mian stopped.
Chu Shiye, still holding his hand, stopped too.
Ji Mian lowered his gaze to their joined hands.
Chu Shiye also looked down.
But he didn’t let go.
Ji Mian: …Hmm.
Ji Mian: “Why do you follow me everywhere I go?”
Chu Shiye didn’t answer.
Ji Mian: “Aren’t AO relationships supposed to avoid too much physical contact?”
Chu Shiye: “…”
Ignoring the remark, he tightened his grip.
Ji Mian: “That hurts a little.”
Chu Shiye, startled: “!”
He immediately loosened his grip, but a second later, instinct held him back.
He was afraid.
Afraid that if he let go, Su Lan would walk far away from him, into danger, like earlier.
He couldn’t let Su Lan leave.
With a sullen expression, Chu Shiye thought it over, his gaze heavy and his emotions conflicted.
In the end, he held Ji Mian’s arm tightly, staring at him gloomily.
He refused to let go.
Ji Mian: “…”
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Aww. So 😍