A Secret Gift and a Desperate Plea

“This doll… yes, it’s meant as a gift for someone.”

“For whom?”

“Hmm, you’ll find out in a few days.”

Ming Yu pondered for a moment, deciding to keep it a secret from Little Nightingale for now. She wanted to give her a surprise.

Viktor’s phone wallpaper was a picture of a young Little Nightingale holding a rabbit doll. Ming Yu had heard Viktor explain that he had intended to personally give this gift to his daughter, but unexpectedly, he was called away on a mission.

Left with no other choice, Viktor had entrusted someone else to keep it safe and deliver the gift on Little Nightingale’s birthday.

After spending time together, Ming Yu hadn’t noticed anything specific that Little Nightingale particularly cherished, which had led her to ponder for a long time about what to get her for her birthday.

Today, she had coincidentally spotted a rabbit doll in a claw machine. After much thought, she couldn’t come up with a better idea, so she decided to simply ‘copy Viktor’s homework’ and get a doll as a birthday present.

However, Ming Yu failed to realize that her secretive intentions, when perceived by Little Nightingale, led the girl to almost definitively conclude it was a gift for Qing Shui Ling Yin. After all, besides herself, Ming Yu only frequently interacted with Qing Shui Ling Yin.

The ambiguous relationship between the two women left Little Nightingale feeling inexplicably uneasy, a sense of anxious possessiveness.

Whenever Qing Shui Ling Yin returned from the academy, Ming Yu would come home early to personally cook for her. More than once, Little Nightingale had witnessed Qing Shui Ling Yin in the kitchen, secretly embracing Ming Yu from behind while she was busy. They would whisper, and a smile that always annoyed Little Nightingale would play on Qing Shui Ling Yin’s lips.

‘I want that too…’

‘I want Ming Yu…’

Little Nightingale couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Ming Yu’s hand, struggling to control her expression and prevent the creeping darkness in her heart from showing on her face.

Just then, something utterly unexpected occurred.

“Hmm? Little Nightingale, were you just speaking?”

Ming Yu was pressing her earbud, browsing the nearby holographic map to find the quickest route to the transportation hub. The sudden thought of ‘I want Ming Yu’ that had popped into her mind had completely crashed her brain.

“Is there something you need help with?”

She paused, turning to face Little Nightingale, her head tilted in confusion.

At the same time, Little Nightingale froze, her mind a complete blank.

At the crossroads, the crowd parted, flowing around the two women who stood rooted to the spot.

Even with their faces obscured by black and white masks, they still garnered a remarkable number of curious glances, with eyes occasionally falling on Ming Yu’s crimson pupils and Little Nightingale’s golden hair.

For a moment, Little Nightingale couldn’t recover, her small face turning pale.

‘Ming Yu can actually…’

The instant this thought arose, Little Nightingale suddenly realized something. She vigorously shook her head, dispelling all subsequent notions.

She suddenly recalled a technique she had learned in virtual reality, consciously beginning to guide her thoughts and forge her will into a mental fortress.

Augu’s instructions were simple and easy to understand, and she had grasped the essentials with ease.

“Telepathy, completely replacing language as a bridge for communicating thoughts, is one of the most fundamental applications of psionic energy…”

“Only those with psionic energy can penetrate the mental ocean and read others’ thoughts; but similarly, only they can erect a mental barrier to block others from prying into their minds…”

“Whether an effective mental fortress can be constructed depends on the difference in psionic strength and application skill between the two individuals…”

“…”

****

After successfully constructing her mental fortress, Little Nightingale once again let her thoughts flow, cautiously initiating a test while keeping a close watch on Ming Yu’s micro-expressions.

‘Big Sister Ming Yu, let’s go back…’

Little Nightingale silently repeated the thought in her mind.

This time, Ming Yu showed no reaction, still gazing at her with a look of utter confusion.

She let out a sigh of relief, feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart.

Little Nightingale smiled and shook her head, taking a step closer to Ming Yu.

“Big Sister Ming Yu, Luna seems to have gotten heavy again. Could you… help me carry her?”

“Meow~ ฅ₍⸝⸝› ᴗ ‹⸝⸝₎ฅ˒˒”

Luna, understanding her little owner’s intentions perfectly, cooperatively raised a paw, signaling to her ‘mistress’ for a cuddle.

Little Nightingale knew Ming Yu wouldn’t refuse.

No one understood Ming Yu better than her.

Little Nightingale swallowed hard, anticipating what might happen next, a blush spreading from her pretty face all the way to her earlobes.

Sure enough, Ming Yu raised a slight brow, accepting the small white cat that leaped down without a moment’s hesitation.

“Oh, so it’s that kind of thing. Of course, no problem.”

Ming Yu happily embraced Luna, but with her other hand still holding Little Nightingale’s, she couldn’t spare a hand to pet the cat just yet. She had to suppress the urge.

‘No rush. Once we’re on the monorail, there’ll be plenty of opportunities.’

****

“The train is about to depart. All passengers, please be seated and hold on tight!”

“Next stop: Mamba Coliseum. Passengers wishing to disembark, please prepare.”

****

Ming Yu surmised that Little Nightingale was likely too exhausted, unable even to stand steadily when they disembarked.

Thus, she mimicked Little Nightingale, letting Luna perch obediently on her head, then gently scooped up the weary Little Nightingale and slowly walked toward home.

Little Nightingale clutched the rabbit doll, Ming Yu carried Little Nightingale, and a white cat sat atop Ming Yu’s head.

It was weight training with absolutely no pressure.

****

Outer perimeter of the Pharos Alert Zone.

The night was as cool as water, and the salty sea breeze swept through.

Pure white sea eagles flapped their tired wings, slowly gliding down from the clouds to land on the pinnacle of a tall tower.

In this vast ocean, sea eagles with strong talons were few and far between. Their steel-hard, sharp talons symbolized the past glory of their kind.

They had once stood at the apex of the food chain.

Alas, with the shifting tides of the world and the passage of time, the sea eagles that once dominated the ecological pyramid now faced the brink of extinction.

The so-called ‘pinnacle of the tall tower’ was merely a dozen meters above sea level. Most of the tower’s body was submerged, with only a small platform exposed above the water.

Standing on the tower’s platform, one could gaze in all directions at the boundless, dark blue expanse.

At the edge of the platform, a blood-soaked man leaned against the wall, his hand reversed on a nearly two-meter-long giant chainsaw cutting blade.

Even though he was utterly exhausted, he dared not loosen his grip on the weapon, fearing that his laxity might cost his children their lives.

Beside him, a boy of only seven or eight years old had fallen asleep from exhaustion, unable to be roused by the cries of the infant girl in his arms.

Colt painfully turned his head, gazing at the fiercely burning ships in the distance, sinking into unprecedented despair.

Traveling south from Dresa, crossing the equatorial waters, they were on the verge of reaching Pharos, with only a few days of sailing left, just a few days…

Yet, a single sea beast, a catastrophe, had effortlessly shattered everyone’s hopes.

Even the maritime escort frigate, the ‘Dawn’, which had sailed victoriously and carried such high hopes, was treated like a toy by that sea beast, consuming all its crew as if toying with its prey.

Colt painfully averted his gaze, lost in thought as he stared at the faces of his two children, catching glimpses of their mother’s features.

A sharp pang twisted in his heart.

“Gods or demons, whoever you may be… please save my children. I will offer my soul, sacrifice everything…”

He expended his last ounce of strength, his voice hoarse as he roared.

He, too, had once been a staunch believer in materialism.

As a flutter of wings sounded, the long, drawn-out cry of a sea eagle suddenly echoed. The white sea eagle, which had been resting on the tower’s pinnacle, soared into the sky, circling in mid-air.

Beneath the moon, an enormous shadow emerged from the sea, engulfing Colt.

“Hiss—”

The flicking of a serpent’s tongue drowned out the sound of flesh being torn.

Golden vertical pupils, like flickering flames, danced in the sea breeze, igniting the pitch-black night.