"Lord Fuli..."
This time, when Castorice looked up at Fuli, the emotion swirling in her eyes was vastly different from before.
Even after she had made it explicitly clear that she wasn't going to just casually throw herself at him for being the only person who could touch her safely, the young man in front of her didn't show the slightest hint of disappointment or calculation.
Instead, he generously pulled out an impossibly precious item like the Energy Conversion Ring and just handed it to her.
Obviously, he only had one goal in mind:
To allow his death-cursed companion to finally experience what it was like to interact with the world like a normal person—to freely touch, shake hands, and even hug others... even if that 'other' person wasn't him.
Castorice finally realized that Fuli truly, genuinely did not covet her body.
He never once considered using the psychological leverage of "I am the only one who can touch you, the only one you can embrace" to emotionally kidnap her and take advantage of her vulnerability.
Instead, he sincerely hoped she could break free from her shackles and live a better life.
This pure, unadulterated kindness, devoid of any ulterior motives, was undeniably a rare and deeply moving quality. Like a stone dropped into a tranquil lake, it sent ripples spreading endlessly across the girl's long-silent heart.
To be fair, Castorice had indeed said earlier that she wasn't some sexually repressed damsel desperate to give herself away.
But honestly? That was at least partially her just being stubborn.
If she truly, entirely didn't care, then why, after realizing Fuli was immune to her death-touch, did she keep 'accidentally' inching closer to him over and over again?
Hilarious. She was just too shy to admit it.
It was just a massive shame that Mei, in all her profound foresight, had specifically hard-coded the ring to only activate when worn on the left ring finger.
She had intended to use the restriction to permanently stake her claim on her boy, but unfortunately, it completely backfired. She had tried to secure the kingdom, but ended up giving away the groom and the army, accidentally handing the perfect romantic setup to another woman and artificially creating yet another rival for herself.
What? Why 'another'?
Because it definitely wasn't the first time she had done this.
(Illustration: Raiden Mei)
But then again, Fuli wasn't exactly a completely principled goody-two-shoes either.
How could he casually give away a highly specialized A-Rank artifact for nothing?
"Well, since we've tested it and it works perfectly, you can give the ring back to me now, Cassie."
He put on a serious face, sticking his hand out expectantly to tease his cute companion.
Mhm, I'll just poke the bear a bit to collect some interest.
Castorice: ???
"N-No!"
Like a violently startled deer, the girl practically teleported backward. She instantly hid her left hand behind her back, firmly shielding it with her body.
Her normally ethereal, transcendent face puffed up, and her amethyst eyes went perfectly round as she glared at Fuli indignantly. She looked exactly like a massive, aggrieved, purple-haired hamster desperately protecting her favorite sunflower seed from a playground bully.
Cassie is just too cute.
Fuli smugly put away his phone, having secretly snapped a photo.
Next time he ate a meal, he was going to print the photo out and put it next to his plate. It was easily worth at least three extra bowls of rice.
However, Castorice quickly realized Fuli was just intentionally teasing her.
A faint blush dusted her cheeks. She stomped her foot, displaying a rare moment of girlish petulance:
"Lord Fuli! You're mean!"
She even subconsciously balled her hands into tiny fists, posturing as if she wanted to lightly pummel his chest.
But eventually, rational restraint won out. She calmed down, turned around, and let a stream of black, necrotic Dead Sea water drip from her fingertips, completely dissolving the corpse of the Borisin squad leader to cover up her momentary loss of composure.
"Let us continue on our way, Lord Fuli."
Having completely sorted out her emotions, the girl returned to her usual ethereal coolness—though the lingering flush on her ears betrayed that her heart was far from calm.
Fuli also knew the principle of 'not pushing a joke too far'. And so, the lone man and woman resumed their trek to find their missing teammates.
Time slipped quietly away beneath the crunching of their footsteps on the sand, and the setting sun slowly sank below the horizon.
The veil of night descended like a massive velvet curtain, slowly blanketing the desolate world.
"It's nighttime."
Standing on a quiet, sandy beach, Fuli looked up at the first stars piercing the night sky, then turned his gaze toward the Zero Red Butterfly as it fluttered its wings and flew steadily toward the dark, endless ocean.
Honestly, the butterfly's appearance and function always vaguely reminded him of a certain supernatural horror game Bronya had highly recommended to him.
But the fact that the butterfly was flying straight ahead meant that Hyacine and the others were likely on the completely opposite shore of this massive sea.
As for why a World Bubble contained an ocean this vast? Because the presence of an Ether Anchor actively caused planets to terraform into environments highly conducive to the proliferation of life.
Besides, the surface area of this planet was at least the size of an entire province back in Shenzhou; it was perfectly reasonable for a massive body of water to exist.
"A night march. And across the ocean, no less. It's going to be pretty dangerous."
Fuli retracted his gaze, looking at his companion standing quietly beside him. "It doesn't bother me, but what do you think, Cassie?"
"I can manage, Lord Fuli."
After walking side-by-side with him for hours, chatting casually, and experiencing naturally occurring, casual physical contact, the girl—who was finally tasting the joy of normal human interaction for the very first time—had long since forgotten her earlier awkwardness.
Honestly, despite her cool, composed exterior, deep down she was actually thoroughly enjoying this youthful, flirtatious banter.
"Alright then."
Like Doraemon pulling a gadget from his four-dimensional pocket, Fuli reached into his spatial storage and pulled out a massive, multi-million-dollar luxury yacht, dropping it into the shallows with a heavy SPLASH.
Naturally, this was something Kallen had aggressively shoved into his inventory while packing his supplies, claiming it was 'just in case.'
Regardless of whatever degenerate, chaotic scenarios the Kaslana matriarch had been cooking up in her head when she packed it, you had to admit—it was definitely coming in handy right now!
Or... maybe not.
Staring at the massive vessel gleaming with expensive opulence under the moonlight, Castorice's beautiful brows furrowed.
"Lord Fuli, we are likely heading directly toward the enemy's main stronghold," she said seriously, her tone laced with obvious concern. "The enemy has undoubtedly stationed heavy patrols and defensive cordons along the coastline. A mechanical construct like this yacht—which is massively conspicuous, generates immense engine noise, and leaves a highly visible wake in the water—would essentially be a giant floating bullseye."
The enemies are on the other side of the sea!
Fuli realized she was absolutely right.
"Then do you have any ideas, Cassie?"
He obediently stored the yacht back into his inventory and asked for her advice.
"I do, Lord Fuli. I do."
Castorice raised her slender finger. A cool, moon-like halo materialized at the tip.
A perfectly spherical, semi-transparent crystal orb roughly 1.5 meters in diameter silently materialized in front of them.
"This spell is called the Crystal World. It effectively completely insulates the interior from extreme external heat and cold," the girl explained softly. "Regardless of how harsh the environment is, even if it is thrown into a thousand-degree furnace or the vacuum of deep space, as long as the spell is maintained, the occupants' lives will not be threatened. Furthermore, the crystal orb is completely airtight and continuously generates fresh oxygen to maintain respiration."
In the past, because of her terrifying power of death, she had been forced to live in absolute isolation.
Whenever she traveled alone, she relied heavily on this spell—which basically functioned as a portable mini-safehouse—so she wouldn't accidentally touch a passing civilian in her sleep and cause a tragedy.
While the Crystal World wasn't absolutely invincible and could be shattered from the outside by highly concentrated piercing attacks or massive explosions, it was more than durable enough to provide Castorice with crucial early warnings and reaction time.
"Oh! That's awesome!"
Fuli's eyes lit up. Like a curious child, he circled the crystal orb, inspecting it from every angle. "It just looks a little cramped inside, doesn't it? It feels like living in it would be like that fairy-tale princess who lived inside a walnut shell."
Thumbelina Cassie?
That just makes her even cuter!
What? What about bathroom breaks?
Everyone knows beautiful girls don't go to the bathroom!
Jokes aside, it was actually a biological fact for superhumans. As their power levels increased, their bodies' digestion and energy conversion efficiency skyrocketed.
For someone at the Critical-Class, even if they didn't possess Fuli's Outer Path devouring capability, perfectly digesting 100% of the food they ate with zero waste was completely possible.
"If we squeeze slightly, accommodating two people shouldn't be an issue."
Castorice looked completely calm on the surface, but her slightly trembling eyelashes completely betrayed her internal panic.
Before Fuli could respond, she immediately bent down and gracefully slipped into the translucent orb.
Then, she raised those ethereal, dreamy amethyst eyes. With a hint of heavily suppressed, nervous anticipation, she quietly looked out at Fuli, who was still standing on the beach.
"Is this really a good idea?"
Little Li suddenly hesitated.
The space was tiny. A lone man and woman locked inside that thing for an entire night?
There was going to be inevitable bumping and rubbing. What if all that friction generated 'heat'? How was he supposed to explain that?!
He was still an innocent virgin, goddammit!
His chastity refreshed every twenty-four hours!
"Lord Fuli, now is not the time to worry about such trivial details."
Castorice looked incredibly self-righteous, speaking as if she were discussing a matter that pertained to the survival of the universe. "The time until the Living Planet arrives at the Luofu is drawing ever closer. Every single second is absolutely critical! We must rendezvous with Miss Hyacine and the others as quickly as possible!"
"Yeah, you're right."
Hearing her completely logical argument, a wave of deep shame washed over Fuli.
Cassie is willing to sacrifice her personal reputation and physical comfort for the safety of countless lives, and here I am, awkwardly stalling because my brain is filled with nothing but lewd thoughts! I really need to do better!
With that thought, he immediately purged the impure thoughts from his mind.
Taking three steps in two, he walked up to the crystal orb, bent down, and squeezed himself inside.
The interior space was even tighter than it looked from the outside. The moment he entered, Fuli instantly felt a subtle, claustrophobic pressure.
He desperately tried to lean backward, pressing his back flush against the cool interior wall to give Castorice as much space as physically possible.
But even with him shrinking as much as he could, the distance between them was still close enough to make his heart race.
The scent of the girl's body—a deeply intoxicating mixture of faint violet flowers and cool medicinal herbs—unavoidably filled his nostrils, and he could faintly feel the warmth radiating from her through the thin fabric of her clothes.
(Illustration: Castorice)
Meanwhile, seeing the boy take the bait, Castorice nodded imperceptibly, a faint glint of absolute triumph flashing deep in her eyes.
"Please cooperate with me, Lord Fuli. We need to exert force from the inside together to roll the crystal orb toward the sea."
Her melodic voice echoed incredibly clearly inside the tightly enclosed space, and the sweet breath escaping her lips brushed directly against Fuli's nose.
And so, trapped inside a transparent orb with a diameter of barely 1.5 meters, the two of them began a highly clumsy, three-legged-race style of movement.
Their coordination was inevitably a bit clunky, and the physical contact between their bodies grew more and more frequent.
Barely halfway to the water, Castorice suddenly let out a soft yelp:
"Ah!"
She 'accidentally' tripped over her own feet, completely losing her balance, and fell straight forward into Fuli's chest.
Instinctively, the boy opened his arms, and the soft, fragrant girl crashed solidly into his embrace.
"Uhh..."
His entire body went rigid, an incredibly awkward expression plastered across his face.
Don't ask. If you must know, the infamous Yoshikage Kira quote about the Mona Lisa was currently screaming in his mind.
Castorice, however, remained incredibly calm.
She didn't even attempt to immediately pull away from him. Instead, she merely shifted her posture slightly, adjusting herself so she was leaning against his chest more comfortably.
Then, she said calmly, "This posture... seems far more conducive to coordinating our internal force and pushing the crystal orb, Lord Fuli."
She tilted her head up, looking at Fuli with perfectly clear, innocent eyes that didn't contain a single trace of impurity. It looked as if she were genuinely discussing a serious academic thesis:
"Let's just maintain this posture and move to the sea together."
Fuli: ...
She had already framed it like that; what else could he possibly say?
Biting the bullet, Fuli half-hugged, half-supported Castorice, maintaining a deeply intimate posture that looked exactly like two deeply passionate lovers holding each other. Moving awkwardly, they slowly rolled the Crystal World to their destination.
Even though they were both actively trying to suppress it, the heavy, palpable pheromones of romantic ambiguity completely saturated the tiny 0.75-meter-radius space. The temperature inside the orb practically spiked from their combined body heat.
"W-We're at the sea," Fuli managed to say, his voice carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible hoarseness. "What's next? How do we get across?"
"Mhm..."
Castorice seemed to have gotten deeply lost in the hyper-intimate atmosphere, her reaction delayed by half a beat.
When the boy called out to her again, the misty-eyed girl finally snapped out of it. She licked her moist, glossy lips and began to softly chant a bizarre, highly melodic incantation.
Under the cold moonlight, fine ripples suddenly broke across the surface of the previously tranquil, pitch-black sea.
A moment later, hundreds upon hundreds of unrecognizable fish—drawn by an invisible summons—swarmed toward them from all directions.
Working in perfect unison, the massive school of fish used their heads and backs to carefully guard the Crystal World. They gently pushed it beneath the cold surface of the water, then began steadily propelling it toward the opposite shore of the ocean.
—Gathering the Sea's Abundance. Alternate name: The Angler's Salvation.
The prerequisite for casting this spell was that the user had to be in the ocean or a massive, open body of water. After chanting the specific incantation, local fish species in the surrounding waters would be telepathically summoned, congregating and obeying the caster's commands.
"Lord Fuli..."
Casting two D-Rank spells back-to-back seemed to have heavily drained the stamina of a Critical-Class powerhouse (lol).
A soft panting echoed right next to Fuli's ear. Nestled tightly in his arms, the Handmaiden of Death breathed her fragrant breath against his neck. "From here on out... please rest well. The fish will protect us and ensure we arrive safely on the other side."
And the journey will take the entire night~
Fuli, on the other hand, genuinely felt like crying.
Sis, please delete this skill. It's not for me, I'm just asking for a friend who's a fisherman... His mental health is completely shattered.
If I had this ability, would Kiana and the others still mock me every time I caught nothing but seaweed?!
On the other side of the sea.
Deep inside the most luxurious and heavily guarded tent in the center of the massive Borisin encampment.
Mangus ordered her subordinates to carefully place the Prison Realm onto an altar inscribed with highly ominous, esoteric runes. She then dismissed all the Borisin guards from the tent.
"Almost there."
A languid, highly seductive female voice suddenly echoed through the empty tent. The body of the Seer Mangus, previously seated on the lotus throne, began to undergo a terrifying mutation.
Like a snake shedding its skin, the Borisin disguise slowly peeled away, revealing the true face and hyper-voluptuous, breathtakingly sexy body hidden beneath.
Long, dark green hair writhed and danced like living vines. A pair of curved horns grew from her forehead, completely betraying her non-human identity. Her pale, flawless face was set with a pair of highly demonic, golden eyes.
A dark green qipao clung tightly to her tantalizing curves. Through the sheer sections of the fabric and on her exposed skin, faint golden patterns resembling plant veins pulsed gently. She looked incredibly dangerous, yet impossibly alluring—like a highly venomous flower blooming in the heart of a cosmic paradise.
—Heliobus. A bizarre energy lifeform born in the depths of the Sea of Quanta.
They usually existed purely as energy entities with no fixed physical form. They delighted in parasitizing and manipulating the bodies of sapient hosts, violently goading them into extreme, emotionally intense activities to siphon the resulting emotional energy to sustain themselves.
To put it simply: they were the 'demonic spirits' of Xianzhou legends.
Except they weren't the ghosts of dead humans; they were a unique, naturally occurring cosmic species.
The conflict between the Heliobi and the various Xianzhou ships went back millennia.
For instance, the Zhuming Luofu—famous for its precision forging and energy tech—had permanently sealed the progenitor of the Heliobi, the Flint Emperor, within its core furnace, the Flamewheel Cast, forcibly siphoning its power to serve as the ship's astronomical power source.
And Phantylia was a member of this species, once known by the alias 'Essence of Starfire.'
In the eyes of those in the know, she had long since surpassed the ancient Flint Emperor, becoming one of the most terrifying, headache-inducing Heliobi in the modern universe.
Ten years ago, Phantylia had secretly infiltrated the Xianzhou Luofu. By inciting a massive internal rebellion, she triggered a catastrophic disaster.
Although her grand conspiracy was ultimately exposed and thwarted by the flawless strategic maneuvering of the Divine Foresight General, Jing Yuan—forcing her to flee after leaving behind a vicious threat—the sheer scale of the rebellion still resulted in the destruction of a third of the Luofu and an astronomical death toll.
More importantly, it had inflicted practically incurable, permanent internal injuries on Jing Yuan, violently crippling his physical condition.
To put it bluntly, Fuli's 'senior martial brother' dying of 'old age' was absolutely, 100% Phantylia's fault.
Even so, Phantylia considered that operation a failure.
And so, this absolute menace had disguised herself as Mangus, infiltrating the tribes of the Xianzhou's mortal enemies, the Borisin, and manipulating her way up to the high seat of Seer.
Her goal?
Naturally, it was to prepare a completely unique, highly elaborate 'gift' for the newly appointed General of the Luofu, Lady Fu Xuan~
And calling it a 'gift' wasn't an exaggeration. Compared to straightforward, massive army-vs-army combat, Phantylia vastly preferred watching mortals destroy themselves. Countless sapient lives had been lured by her into the abyss of eternal damnation.
This current Living Planet was merely an appetizer. Phantylia had prepared a slew of highly elaborate backup plans specifically to test the true mettle of the new Eye of Divination General.
A master of strategy and divination?
Hah! I absolutely love playing games with people who call themselves 'geniuses'!
"So?"
Phantylia stretched languidly on her lotus throne. Her demonic golden eyes shot a half-smiling, highly amused glance toward a patch of deep shadow in the corner of the tent.
"The grand Brood Lord of the Borisin, Hoolay. Hiding in the dark like a scurrying rat. Don't you find that deeply humiliating?"
"Or perhaps..."
The corners of Phantylia's mouth curled into a highly playful, deeply mocking smirk.
"Upon learning that the precious disciple of your deeply beloved 'white moonlight'—Jingliu—has stepped foot onto this battlefield, you simply couldn't suppress your burning desire to tear him to pieces?"
(Illustration: Phantylia)