The Informant and the Speaking Eagle

Without that blue laser, Ming Yu might have escaped successfully, leaving the battlefield before the drug’s effects wore off.

But there was no ‘if’.

There was an informant within the team.

This informant had sabotaged her at a critical moment, clearly intending to kill her.

She had no grievances with this team of hunters, nor did they even know each other. Why would someone try to ambush her?

Ming Yu was utterly bewildered, her confusion inevitably giving way to a hint of indignation on her face.

Woe betide them if she caught them.

Since they harbored murderous intent, they should be prepared to be killed in return.

Once she returned, she would track down every survivor and inspect their mission recorders one by one to discover who had betrayed her. If anyone refused inspection without a satisfactory explanation, it would save her a lot of trouble.

Since they were strangers, she would simply eliminate them.

A cold smirk touched her lips, her eyes chilling to the extreme.

Over the years, in this hell known as the ocean, Ming Yu had faced countless crises. Life-threatening situations had become commonplace, and she was well accustomed to fighting uphill battles.

As long as she wasn’t completely dead, there was always a chance to turn the tide.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Ming Yu pushed aside a clump of aquatic plants, dragged herself ashore, and spread her soaked outer robe on the ground to dry.

She then activated her combat suit’s auxiliary power, quickly drying her sodden underclothes.

Apart from her drenched silver-white hair, which remained untamable, the moisture on the rest of her body had mostly evaporated, significantly reducing the weight she carried.

Not that such a minor burden affected Ming Yu in the slightest.

With her clothing issue resolved, her attention returned to her surroundings. Her gaze swept past the low-lying bushes and fixed on the lush, dense jungle in the distance.

‘This place feels like an exchange,’ Ming Yu mused.

She quickly reached a conclusion.

On the vast ocean, landmasses, especially those of significant size, were exceedingly rare.

Wanderers often converged on such locations, forming military factions and establishing underground exchanges – so-called “black markets” – to attract traders from the sea fortresses.

There were always those interested in illicit goods.

Ming Yu was somewhat familiar with such practices.

While this could be an exchange, at first glance, there was no port visible, giving it the natural appearance of an uninhabited island.

She couldn’t be certain.

Just then, a familiar eagle cry pierced the air.

From mid-air, the white-feathered sea eagle suddenly swooped down, bumping into the unsteady Ming Yu and causing her to stumble. It then perched on her shoulder, its eagle eyes gleaming with a hint of arrogance, its gaze filled with scrutiny.

‘Though this human is terrifying, she’s severely wounded. There’s no way she can easily subdue me again. I’m terrifyingly strong now.’

Being stared at so intently by a bird struck Ming Yu as inexplicably odd, yet her movements remained swift.

She promptly employed the “Five Finger Mountain” technique to subdue it.

Effortless. Light and easy.

Pinioned in her hand, the white-feathered sea eagle instantly lost its arrogance, frantically flapping its white wings, its sharp cries echoing repeatedly as it struggled to break free.

This time, however, the eagle’s cry reached Ming Yu’s ears with a sudden shift in tone, an unfamiliar, delicate voice resounding in her mind.

“Waaah! Human, let me go, you hateful, hateful, hateful thing!”

The pure, loli-like voice carried an air of haughty arrogance, yet its conviction seemed slightly lacking.

Ming Yu froze, her gaze momentarily unfocused, a flicker of disbelief crossing her face as her grip instinctively loosened.

‘What’s happening?’

‘What just happened?’

‘This white eagle is actually speaking?’

Glancing around and confirming she was alone with the eagle, she gasped, utterly unable to comprehend the situation.

‘No, it wasn’t exactly speaking.’

Ming Yu suppressed the shock in her heart, forcing her underpowered mind to process the absurd anomaly that had just occurred.

‘The loli voice seemed to have directly emerged from my mind, utterly bizarre and baffling.’

“You…”

She stared at the white eagle in her hand, unable to stop herself from raising an eyebrow. She simply couldn’t reconcile the elegant, majestic appearance of this ocean eagle with such a soft, loli-like voice.

It was like tasting sour, foot-smelling white socks in a cup of lemon tea.

The incongruity was overwhelming.

At this moment, her curiosity about the white eagle reached new heights. She began to playfully manipulate it in her hand, provoking a continuous chorus of “Waaah! Waaah!” in her mind.

“Don’t stroke my feathers! Don’t touch my talons! Don’t rub my head! Aaaaaah!”

“You detestable human! I should have poked out your eyes… Ah, no, not there!”

“Waaah! That tickles! Stop touching me!”

“…”

Ming Yu suppressed her laughter, her lips curving into a smile harder to contain than an AK’s recoil. Her hands, no longer rough, began to gently stroke the eagle’s plumage.

In such a dire situation, there weren’t many ways to relieve stress. Teasing the little white eagle certainly proved to be an excellent method.

First, she would pretend not to hear and observe the white eagle’s reaction.

As Ming Yu approached the dense forest, she continued her actions. While playing with it, her mind incessantly pondered the white eagle’s various supernatural phenomena.

The first time, by staring into its eyes, she could read some of its memories.

This time, even without looking into its eyes, she could clearly grasp the thoughts and intentions conveyed by its cries.

‘What exactly went wrong here…’

After a long while, having ventured deep into the dense forest, Ming Yu, despite racking her brain, couldn’t conjure any reasonable explanation.

She simply decided to cast it aside for now and focus on the immediate situation.

The jungle’s ecosystem was eerily peculiar; there were no insects, no wild beasts, only a group of fully armed humans surrounding her.

Ming Yu’s expression remained unchanged, her gaze sweeping over the armored soldiers who had encircled her, her eyes as placid as still water.

She suddenly realized that the white eagle, which had been restless all along, had ceased its clamor, not even offering a token struggle.

“Hehehe, someone’s about to have a bad day~~”

This was the first time Ming Yu heard the white eagle laugh, though the sound was filled with gleeful mockery.

Before Ming Yu could discern the target of the white eagle’s derision, the surrounding armored infantrymen raised their kinetic rifles, their dark muzzles uniformly aimed at the unfamiliar silver-haired woman.

The lead armored infantryman thoroughly scrutinized Ming Yu, his eyes brimming with undisguised shock and fascination, before raising a hand to signal his subordinates to lower their weapons.

“Hello, beautiful lady, it’s a pleasure to meet you…”

“I presume you were summoned by the storm and, unknowingly, ran aground along the shores of the Falling Star Archipelago, yes?”

“Aha, thanks to the Lord’s bounty, this must be a fated encounter bestowed by the Storm Lord!”

The leading armored infantryman turned, gallantly clearing a path for the distressed beauty, who seemed like a celestial being, and gestured for her to follow him.

The armored infantrymen present exchanged glances, then all lowered their kinetic rifles, displaying a knowing, mischievous grin.

That inexplicably familiar lecherous grin was precisely the kind that sent Ming Yu’s blood pressure soaring.

And so, she smiled too.