Stelle had grown accustomed to people suddenly popping up around her. It wouldn't surprise her if Bailu jumped out of nowhere—or even if Firefly appeared behind her upon turning around, followed by a patch-up explanation that Firefly had secretly tailed them.
Bailu grinned happily: "I'm on vacation! I was out shopping, and when I spotted you guys, I ran right over~"
(At this point, Mok Tok was on the verge of suffocation.)
Stelle asked, thoroughly puzzled: "Vacation? Would the Dragon Masters approve that for you? Since when have they ever listened to a word you say?"
Bailu puffed out her small chest proudly: "It's a special period right now—they have to listen whether they like it or not, or else I won't participate in the Rite of the Hunt or help them advertise and make money!"
This was the most carefree stretch of time Bailu had experienced in centuries.
During this period, the Dragon Masters had temporarily restored her to full personhood, granting her every request without reservation—completely shedding their previous exploitative attitude toward her.
Stelle exclaimed in surprise: "Oh oh oh! So that means you're basically holding the Dragon Masters' weakness right now? They have to do whatever you tell them to?"
"Yep!"
Stelle: "Then shouldn't you go full dark mode and make them pay back all the grievances from the past?!"
Bailu nodded: "Of course—that's exactly what I'm doing. The Dragon Masters are definitely gonna bleed big time this round!"
"I demanded double wages from them, paid vacation during the Rite of the Hunt, and even one day off per week after the Rite ends—plus..."
Everyone: ...
This... that's it?
Shouldn't she just rip up the unfair contract and turn the tables to become the master? Bailu, you...
"In any case, this young lady is absolutely the happiest employee in the world right now!"
Bailu placed her hands on her hips: "Anyway, not to change the subject—I just saw you guys toss aside a Borisin. Could you give it to me? Everyone around me's been raising one lately, and I want one too, but I don't have the money..."
She blinked her clear, wide eyes, looking at Stelle all pitifully.
Clearly, she had mistaken Mok Tok for a Borisin pet that the group had discarded, wanting to pick up a second-hand one to take home.
Stelle felt a bit awkward under her gaze and cleared her throat lightly: "Actually, that Borisin isn't ours—it belongs to a vagrant. If you want it, just take it home. Remember to get the mad wolf vaccine, though—just..."
"Just what?" Bailu asked hurriedly.
"Just... it seems like it's about to die." Stelle pointed at the Mok Tok in Bailu's hand, who had already been strangled lifeless.
Bailu looked down at the Mok Tok in her hand and blinked. Two seconds later, she finally reacted:
"Eh eh eh ahh!!"
"Little Borisin, are you okay? Sorry, sorry—I gripped too hard just now. Can you move a bit?"
"..."
A few seconds later, Bailu curled up on the ground, drawing circles in defeat and mumbling: "I really can't do anything right, can't accomplish a single thing. I should just obediently go sub for shifts in the Shackling Prison like always, waaah..."
Upon hearing the words "Shackling Prison," the Mok Tok lying on the ground suddenly twitched, "coming back to life."
Originally, he had planned to play dead and escape, but this girl had just mentioned the "Shackling Prison"? If that was the case, then he had no choice but to endure the humiliation a bit longer.
"Huh? The little Borisin moved? You didn't actually die?"
Bailu excitedly scooped up Mok Tok, shaking him back and forth like a doll. "You're alive—hahaha, that's great!"
"By the way, Bailu, what you just said about 'going to sub in the Shackling Prison'?" Stelle asked with a strange expression: "What do you mean? You didn't take on a part-time gig during your vacation, did you?"
Bailu nodded: "Yeah! Even though I'm on break, suddenly having all this free time felt too empty, so I had Old Jing help me find a side job. I heard working there comes with three meals a day, and you make a full 200 credits a day!"
She glanced at the time and grinned: "It's about that time anyway, so I won't chat more—off to work! Have fun, everyone, and let's hang out tonight if you're free!"
With that, she stuffed Mok Tok into her pocket and skipped off, humming a little tune.
Stelle: ...
Bailu, you've become a proper employee now— one who knows how to exploit herself.
...
At this very moment, in the passage leading to the Shackling Prison.
The Luofu's Shackling Prison was a jail built underwater, using the natural barrier of the Scalegorge Waterscape as its outer walls. For an ordinary person to escape would be immensely difficult—even just floating up to the surface was a challenge, let alone with the layers upon layers of defensive alerts inside the prison.
Qingque led the three into the Shackling Prison. The nearby guards from the Ten-Lords Commission immediately saluted upon seeing them: three Generals and one former General—the Shackling Prison of the Luofu had rarely welcomed guests of this caliber since its construction.
The interior of the Shackling Prison resembled an inverted tower, descending from top to bottom toward a "tower tip." The deeper one went, the more dangerous the prisoners held there became.
And Hoolay was precisely the death row inmate at the "tip" of this tower.
After walking for about half a system hour, they finally reached the lowest level. Qingque operated on a nearby electronic screen, and a holographic projection appeared before the group.
"Given Hoolay's danger level, we generally use surveillance monitoring. Please take a look."
In the footage, a gigantic Borisin several times larger than normal lay gasping feebly on the ground, motionless like a dead dog.
"This is... Hoolay?"
Seeing this, General Huaiyan asked dubiously: "How did it end up like this? Wasn't it said to be utterly ferocious, with tenacious vitality—unable to be killed even after a millennium of torment, a monster among monsters? How is it now just like a dead dog?"
Qingque cleared her throat and drawled slowly: "Lord Huaiyan, if I may speak bluntly, you really should keep up with the times a bit. While Hoolay's regenerative abilities are terrifying and it can't be destroyed physically, that doesn't mean it's indestructible on the mental front."
"The method developed by the Yaoqing side... is a bit terrifying."
Huaiyan stroked his beard: "Mentally? You mean..."
Qingque pulled out a document and read from it: "On One Hundred Methods to Kill Hoolay," authored by: Yaoqing Research Group, Ruan Mei.
[Based on our decades of research, we have found that Hoolay currently cannot be killed by artificial means.]
[We analyzed Hoolay's cells, and its regenerative capabilities are utterly astonishing. With the technology currently under Xianzhou control, it's impossible to forcibly destroy it through physical means.]
[But Lady Ruan Mei provided us with a new approach: mental death method.]
[This involves philosophical concepts, so we won't delve too deeply. In essence, the death of consciousness is far more thorough than the death of the body.]
[Since physical torment can't kill Hoolay, we can completely use mental torture to break it down, reducing it to a vegetative wolf that only breathes.]
[The following are our research results... Oh right, before viewing the content below, underage Borisin please watch accompanied by parents—Xianzhou people too.]