3: Chapter 3 Escape

"Why..." Xing Yaoyan started to speak subconsciously, but she quickly forced herself to swallow the unspoken words.

"Xing Yaoyan, your most important goal right now is to escape from here as quickly as possible; curiosity killed the cat.

These naive Spirit Beasts are willing to die for you, doesn't that increase your chances of escape?

Forget about everything else, staying alive is the top priority!"

With her thoughts cleared, Xing Yaoyan set aside the doubts in her heart and said thick-skinnedly:

"Fine, how can you help me?"

Hearing her words, the Spirit Beasts looked at the wolf-eared girl with excitement, as if they had heard the best news in the world.

"Squeak, howl..." (It is an honor for our humble lives to die for Your Highness the Saintess.)

The little monkey from before knelt on the ground and called out respectfully.

"Howl, howl..." (Soon, some of us will head out first to scatter in all directions, and this Spirit Bee can share our vision with you, Saintess, in real-time. Finally, the other Spirit Beasts will cover your retreat.)

"Alright, thank you everyone." The wolf-eared girl's lips curled slightly.

Without the slightest hesitation, some of the Spirit Beasts suddenly let out a roar. An invisible energy emerged on the surface of their bodies, making their already burly frames grow even larger.

They then roared loudly and charged out of this "white cage."

Xing Yaoyan covered her small mouth slightly in surprise.

She curiously observed the invisible ripples of power on the surface of the Spirit Beasts' bodies:

It was identical to that big man's power. Could this be Spiritual Power? It looks delicious...

Of course, she didn't have time to be too distracted at this critical moment, because a Spirit Beast that looked like a bee had already landed on her shoulder.

Invisible threads of Spiritual Power cautiously touched Xing Yaoyan's Spirit Sea, like a servant seeking the master's permission.

Without any hesitation, Xing Yaoyan took the initiative to open her mind and accepted the threads of Spiritual Power.

She felt at ease with these Spirit Beasts because she didn't perceive the slightest bit of malice from them. This was enough to prove that what the little monkey said was true.

At first, the images were laggy, like an old television set, but with the Spirit Bee's control of Spiritual Power, the images finally became clear.

Then, Xing Yaoyan froze on the spot.

She saw many people wearing uniform white clothing; some had Metal Prosthetic Limbs that glowed with blue light. People were running around in a panic.

"Is this a laboratory?" Xing Yaoyan thought.

By then, some Spirit Beasts had already used their Spiritually-enhanced bodies to smash through the laboratory's thick metal walls. Through their perspective, Xing Yaoyan saw the real world outside for the first time:

High-tech skyscrapers reaching for the clouds, cars dragging colorful trails of light as they sped through the sky, colorful laser screens, and pedestrians wearing techwear jackets...

This was a technological world interwoven with neon and steel—

"Cyberpunk???!"

Xing Yaoyan was completely shocked.

Suddenly, her vision blurred, and many of the small screen perspectives quickly dimmed.

"Squeak, howl..." (Saintess, they have fulfilled their mission and attracted all of the humans' attention. We can leave now.)

"Mhm..." Xing Yaoyan replied casually.

"Once I reach the outside world, it'll be like a fish in the ocean or a bird in the sky. I'll find a place to lay low and develop. I'll wait until I reach Major Achievement in my Cultivation before coming back to avenge this humiliation!"

"Howl..." (But before that, please, Saintess, you must promise this old one one thing...)

Huh? I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch; so this is what you were waiting for? Also... you're actually quite old.

She didn't speak, only frowning slightly as she stared into the little monkey's clear green eyes.

"Howl..." (This sealed memory is the result of me and countless Seniors lurking in human society for many years. Please, Saintess, bring it to the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom of Myriad Demons after you successfully retreat.)

The little monkey pulled out a faintly glowing crystal from somewhere and solemnly handed it to the wolf-eared girl.

Xing Yaoyan took this so-called important result and continued to look at the little monkey with an inquisitive gaze.

"Aren't you afraid I won't fulfill the agreement?"

"Howl..." (Not afraid.)

"Why..."

"Howl..." (Because you are the Saintess of the Demon Race.)

"Why do you think I'm the Saintess of the Demon Race? I don't even have Demonic Power." Recalling the big man's terrified words from before, Xing Yaoyan couldn't help but ask.

The little monkey didn't speak again, only pointing a finger at its own forehead.

Xing Yaoyan then noticed a faint golden pattern on its forehead.

Xing Yaoyan didn't dwell on the little monkey's riddle-like behavior; she simply reached out and took the weightless crystal, putting it into her storage space in secret.

"Is this enough..."

"Howl!" (Long live the Saintess!) The little monkey and the remaining Spirit Beasts bowed down, letting out an earth-shaking roar.

"Alright, alright, stop dawdling, let's get going... (Mature Big Sister voice) Ugh! What's... (Loli voice)"

Xing Yaoyan watched in surprise as her body shrank bit by bit, and she felt with horror that the golden light in her Spirit Sea was rapidly dimming.

Her power was vanishing at a geometric rate.

"Damn! Why now of all times..."

By now, Xing Yaoyan's head had begun to spin.

From an outsider's perspective, Xing Yaoyan's face was flushed, looking exactly like a little loli with a high fever.

Suddenly, in her daze, Xing Yaoyan felt herself being lifted onto a broad, furry back.

Then, the panicked cries of the crowd, the sound of metal clashing, the sound of flesh tearing... mixed with the sound of the wind, whistled past her ears.

At this moment, she focused her last bits of consciousness on the "Teleportation" spiritual power in her Spirit Sea that had not yet vanished.

After an unknown amount of time, she had a thought. She perceived it—she felt that the distance of the teleportation had increased by dozens or even hundreds of times from its original small range.

"I'm out! This is my chance!"

Xing Yaoyan quickly calmed her mind and used her last strength to fully activate the "Teleportation" ability...

...

"Thud."

After the sound of an object hitting the ground, there was dead silence.

"Heh, finally it's quiet..."

Xing Yaoyan gave a silent, self-deprecating smile as her consciousness began to blur rapidly.

In her daze, she felt as if she had fallen into a warm embrace.

Soon, her last bit of consciousness sank into silence involuntarily...