Surge

“Hoo…”

Yisha leaned against the wall, letting out a long breath.

Beside her, Yina’s eyes were tightly shut. Behind her head, a crescent-shaped object pulsed with light, flickering in sync with her breathing.

The light emanating from the young girl was strikingly conspicuous against the night. Yet, it was deep into the night, so there was no fear of being discovered by the AST.

Furthermore, they had utilized its power to shroud the entire courtyard, preventing any light from escaping.

“What’s the outcome?” Yisha inquired, her gaze fixed on the gloomy, starless sky, illuminated only by the moon’s faint glow.

“As you suspected, Sister,” Yina replied. “They’re coming for us.”

Yina manipulated the moon-ring behind her head. Though her eyes remained closed, the scenery before her shifted constantly.

“Understood. Give Xin Xin the seed now, lest we run out of time later,” Yisha instructed. “I’ll find a way to resolve everything in a month and a half.”

After a moment of contemplation, Yisha formulated a response. It wasn’t perfect, but she knew her enemy well.

They had been clashing for nearly a month now. His name remained unknown, but he proved incredibly troublesome.

He possessed considerable intelligence, adept at manipulating people’s hearts, and his combat prowess was on par with her own. Most critically, Yisha still had no idea of his identity or the master he served.

The only certainty was his objective: to capture her, or perhaps…

‘To eradicate… me?’

Truth be told, too many in this world wished Yisha dead. Unfortunately for them, she couldn’t die—not yet, at least.

“Any other information?”

“Xin Xin’s father seems to have made a deal with that person,” Yina reported. “He promised him everything he desired, including ‘that person.’ Also, he has a family photo, though the angle makes it hard to see clearly. He also mentioned a name.”

Yina continued to control her Angel, synchronizing her senses with the surrounding life forms.

“A name? Whose?”

“Xia Xin.”

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced Yisha’s chest, an agonizing, tearing sensation. It was the urge to cry, yet the inability to shed tears—as if she knew this person, even though she was absolutely certain her memories held no trace of them.

‘What’s happening? Did they do this to me?’

Indeed, ever since arriving here, strange occurrences had plagued her. She often reacted strongly to matters seemingly unrelated to herself, though she usually blamed certain individuals for them.

This, she presumed, was likely another one of ‘their’ schemes.

“Anything else?”

“Nothing more. He’s gone to sleep.”

Yina continuously switched perspectives, attempting to glean more information. Alas, fate was uncooperative; she found no further intelligence.

“Then that’s enough for tonight. You should get some sleep too.”

Yisha patted Yina, signaling her to withdraw her spiritual power and Angel. Even if they weren’t afraid of spiritual power leaks being detected, prolonged use of an Angel was detrimental to them, as the amount of spiritual power was finite.

“Sister, look how amazing I was tonight, wasn’t I~?” Yina asked, her voice laced with an innocent charm.

Yisha’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly. After spending so much time together, how could she not understand Yina’s intentions?

“I get it,” Yisha conceded. “But let me make one thing clear: no touching!”

“Yay!”

The young girl was so thrilled she nearly bounced with joy. Even if she had, no one nearby would have woken up; they were the only ones still awake in the surrounding houses.

Of course, whether a certain someone’s voice would disturb the neighbors was another matter entirely.

“I’m truly glad we decided to buy a house here,” Yisha murmured. “If we were at the Matron’s place, she’d probably come over with a feather duster.”

Yisha rubbed her forehead, her face a picture of helplessness.

“The Matron probably wouldn’t use a feather duster,” Yina mused. “But the next big clean-up would definitely be unavoidable.”

“True.”

Joking and teasing each other, the girls entered their home, a space entirely their own.

“Yina, do you want to shower first, or should I?”

Yisha asked, observing Yina, who had flopped onto the bed like a dead fish and now lay motionless.

“Sis… Sister’s scent… Hiss~ Ha~… It’s been so long since I’ve smelled it.”

“You don’t even want a yuri relationship, so stop making such suggestive noises!”

The young girl’s composure nearly shattered. She hurled the pajamas in her hand fiercely at Yina, shouting loudly.

“Hehehe, did Sister’s heart flutter?”

Yina poked her small head out from the indentation in the bed, eyes narrowed slightly, a mischievous grin of success on her face.

“Listen, you! You know what happened before I came here. Don’t push my patience to its limit with this kind of nonsense! Otherwise, I’ll really punish you!!”

In her exasperation, Yisha resorted to her first tactic—a threat.

“But you don’t have the ‘tools’ for the job anymore, do you?” Yina countered playfully. “How will you punish me? With your body? I’d say that’s a win for me.”

With that single statement, Yisha was rendered speechless, effectively defeated. It seemed that whenever the topic veered in this direction, Yina could always overwhelm her, leaving no room for retaliation.

“Just lie there. I’m going to shower.”

This time, Yisha employed her second tactic—a strategic retreat. If she couldn’t win head-on, wouldn’t it be better to circle around, restock her ‘ammunition,’ and then calmly discuss things?

Stepping into the bathroom, Yisha felt her face flush slightly.

‘Idiot, even if that’s the case, you can’t behave like that!’

Earlier tonight, to celebrate her birthday, Yina had specially dressed herself and everyone else up to make the party more festive, knowing they would be taking commemorative photos.

Thus, she had naturally worn a dress (Yina: “Dresses are the second greatest invention in human history!”). And just now, when she had flopped onto the bed and poked her head out, her dress strap had slipped down just a fraction.

From Yisha’s perspective, it perfectly revealed the blossoming ‘flower bud.’ Though it was still encased in underwear, the great writer Lu Xun once said: “Concealment is often more alluring than complete nudity.”

Consequently, just as Yina had claimed, Yisha’s heart had indeed fluttered.

‘Argh, I’m not thinking about it anymore! Shower, shower.’

After rinsing her body, Yisha settled into the bathtub.

Enveloped by the water, and with the temperature just right, Yisha rarely felt such profound relaxation. Naturally, she didn’t hear the strange noises from outside, fully immersed in her enjoyment.

‘Princess appearing here yesterday was definitely its doing. But judging by her combat power, eliminating her would pose no challenge at all.’

The scene of her bombarding Princess yesterday flashed through her mind.

‘Yesterday, I only used a Burst Core and very little spiritual power to defeat Princess to that extent. While her defense and offense are high, her ranged attacks are weak. If it truly came to battle, I could probably handle her with fifty percent of my strength. So why would it send Princess here?’

Her fingers emerged from the water, swaying back and forth, creating ripples on the surface.

‘Is it betting I won’t make a move? Or does it have a way to deal with me here, should I act? Or perhaps, it has…’

CRASH!

“Sister, let me join you for a bath!”

The bathroom door swung open. The newcomer was clad only in a bath towel. Under the light, her pale skin seemed to meld seamlessly with the white fabric.

Her dark hair cascaded behind her, its subtly gradient blue tips preventing her from being mistaken for a true night elf. A face of breathtaking beauty, one that the world would adore, appeared completely unhindered in Yisha’s vision.

“Yina…”

Yisha lowered her head, her cascading hair obscuring her expression.

“Sister, don’t be shy! I know you really want to bathe with me, so here I am!”

Yina noticed her sister’s ears had instantly flushed crimson upon seeing her body, and she swelled with triumph.

“DON’T COME IN WHILE I’M BATHING, AAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!”

Accompanying the scream was a stool, rapidly filling her entire field of vision.