A Sudden Interruption

“Should we rescue the captured ones first? With those two around, it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Mm… If we have Bai order the stronger ones to gather in one room and set a trap, we should be able to suppress them quickly.”

“Alright, let’s do that~”

Qianwei nodded. While asking the two hypnotized individuals about the camp’s layout and details, she finalized the plan with Hongye. Buqi’s ability allowed for quick communication. They gathered the stronger little girls into one room, successfully trapping over a dozen of them. After that, no one in the camp could organize effective resistance, let alone hurt Hongye.

Once they rescued dozens of Flame Serpent tribe members who had been undergoing ‘education,’ Hongye quickly ordered all prisoners tied up and gathered. After counting, only about a dozen had escaped, with over three hundred captured.

Most were between 1.1 to 1.2 meters tall, including Bai and Buqi, with a few barely over a meter. According to them, the smaller the Hidden Eagle tribe member, the higher their talent, apparently.

…I somehow feel like I’m committing a crime, he thought, looking at the captured “children.”

“Huh?”

“Ah… nothing.”

Qianwei looked away from the multitude of overly small little girls, turning to Hongye, who was personally restraining Bai.

“It went smoothly. Can you use your teleportation now?”

“Not yet. Although my energy use is fine, there’s still a tiny bit of residual seal from that earlier ban. If I teleport, there’s a high chance of landing incorrectly due to the residue. With bad luck, I might end up stuck in a wall and lose my anchor.”

“I see…”

Qiuyue Han’s image of being stuck in a wall flashed through his mind. Qianwei quickly suppressed the strange thought and nodded regretfully. Even if teleportation were available, transporting so many people would require hundreds of trips. Besides, this underground cavern camp originally belonged to the Flame Serpent tribe. It was on the edge of their territory, one of many lost regions in the outer area.

“I’ve already informed Mother of our exact location using secret arts. A support team should arrive soon.”

“Mm~”

The great crisis was resolved with surprising ease. Seeing that some captured Flame Serpent sisters were barely containing themselves, Qianwei stretched and decisively chose to avoid the scene.

“I’ll go rest in that stone room over there. Call me when Qiuyue Han and the others arrive~”

“Want them to help you relax?”

“Don’t joke about that!”

“Haha~ Sorry, sorry.”

With such a victory that nearly resolved their tribe’s crisis, Hongye couldn’t hide her joy. After teasing Qianwei a bit, she pulled Bai and Buqi into her arms.

Seeing this, Qianwei said nothing more. As she turned and walked toward the room, she cut off the hypnotic control. The two little girls immediately regained awareness, their expressions changing drastically. But with restraints on, their roles had reversed, leaving them powerless against Hongye’s whims.

Escaping the grand silver revelry, Qianwei quickly hid in a room. She cheerfully began inspecting the valuables taken from the prisoners. Most abundant were energy crystals of varying quality, but all mid-to-high grade. These could quickly replenish internal energy and also served as currency among demon tribes. Next were special materials, tools, and weapons.

Among them, a notable item was a small plate: exquisitely crafted, with gems set in the frame, a crystal front, and a metal back. Qianwei studied it for a while, and his eyes grew moist. Because this was a phone! Its owner was Buqi.

When he had asked Qiuyue Han, he learned that the human civilization in this world was highly advanced—comparable to Earth, even superior in some aspects. Even though he was prepared, seeing such tangible technological proof after nearly half a month still left him feeling wistful.

Upon further inquiry, Qianwei was thrilled to learn that the phone could connect to the human network even here! That was normally impossible. Buqi had used her abilities and knowledge, combined with extremely rare components, to create this one-of-a-kind device.

With excitement, she channeled energy into the phone. The screen slowly lit up, displaying a familiar yet strange interface.

“It really works! Haha~ But the energy consumption is quite high…”

The long connection distance required an extreme amount of internal energy; within a breath, a significant portion of her energy was depleted. Fortunately, unlike other awakened ones, Qianwei had no energy shortage due to fusing with the Holy Spirit Core.

But as she casually swiped the screen, his joy rapidly dissipated. The phone worked… but he couldn’t read the text!

It was somewhat expected, since the language and writing systems of this world operated differently. Writing was an invention, while speech, as the primary medium, was automatically translated by the influence of words and energy.

Damn… Sigh, I’ll have to learn it slowly, he muttered dejectedly. Back in school, it had taken him over a week to learn to write the English alphabet, and he still scored single digits on exams. Could he really do this?

Qianwei stopped supplying energy and put down the phone. She picked up another trophy from the table. A black crystal the size of a fingernail—also very familiar: a Soul Crystal.

It had been taken from Bai, the princess of the Hidden Eagle tribe. Condensed by the previous chieftain, the Blue Hole appraisal indicated it housed the tribe’s powerful innate ability: the power to turn into a shadow. Whether crafted into an item or used once in a critical moment to escape, it was a precious treasure.

Considering the Hidden Eagle tribe’s abilities, Qianwei planned to use this soul crystal to enhance her aura-hiding item, masking her otherworldly identity. If he wanted to escape Qiuyue Han and live peacefully in this world, he had to solve this most important issue.

“Yeah, this will make a good material for the next phase~”

Qianwei examined the rhomboid crystal, slightly smaller than the one the previous ‘bad woman’ had condensed. Then she quickly lifted her skirt. Previously, the material for the fake core inside her body was a small energy crystal. Adding new materials during item crafting had been proven feasible.

So without hesitation, she felt the icy chill and thrust the crystal upward—just as the door suddenly opened.

Qiuyue Han’s expression, still carrying a hint of urgency, froze instantly.

“Eeeek~!! Why did you barge in without knocking!”