A Mysterious Invitation

An Lan looked at the note in her hand.

She unfolded it, smoothed it out, and stared at the childlike doodle.

“This little thing holds grudges, just like me~”

It was somewhat amusing, yet fitting.

This was a ‘token’ obtained from visiting ‘War Shadow,’ and she kept it for now.

Last time in the ‘Dungeon,’ she had been tricked after all. She had been sulking for a while, because the only gain was a ring dropped by a BOSS she had killed just before the dungeon closed. Its effect was somewhat underwhelming: it summoned a clone with 70% of her ability.

What use was that? Only 70%—it would still die in one punch!

Even so, she kept it. Having it around would serve as a constant reminder that she had been bested by that little thing.

This was an unforgettable novel feeling, like love. Constantly thinking about it—the ring of fate between her and her, haha~

Little fairy, you’ve piqued my interest. Don’t think you can run away~

Of course, An Lan smiled and waved away the complicated thoughts in her mind. Her hands dropped, and her blue eyes revealed contemplation.

After all, she had suffered two defeats at the hands of the other. Such an existence couldn’t truly have a childlike heart.

There was planning, scheming, and plotting.

The crooked yet round childlike handwriting—on one hand, it was impossible to discern the other’s true handwriting; on the other hand, the other was likely deliberately creating this impression to mislead others, using the advantage of her appearance.

A child’s grudge? Hah~

An Lan chuckled softly, shifting her gaze to the key time of ‘this month.’

She organized her thoughts. ‘This month, the C-level superpower squad lost its ability to act.’

The C-level superpower squad, which was a city’s highest combat power, meant that this city might have something that posed a slight threat to her…

“It seems she wants to challenge me this month and went out of her way to clear the schedule?” An Lan concluded with great confidence.

“What a cautious little thing. But then again, since she’s facing me, no amount of preparation is too much.”

“Little thing, you’d better make this fun for me. Naturally, you’re free to run—if you can~”

****

“Ah-choo!” Red Spider Lily rubbed her nose and looked around in surprise.

“Red Spider Lily, do you have a cold?” Saint Lily asked with concern. “It’s still chilly despite the warming weather. You should keep warm. I always felt you weren’t the type to pay much attention to this. Let’s go to the pharmacy and buy some medicine~”

“Haha~ No need! It doesn’t feel like a cold. It’s more like someone is badmouthing me.” Red Spider Lily shook her head, bent her hand, and made a detective’s thinking pose.

She looked at Su Xiaoqian. ‘Xiaoqian, was it you? Are you mad because I secretly ate your pudding this morning?’

“Host, don’t slander me without evidence!” Xiaoqian quickly waved her hands in denial, then suddenly realized, “Wait, host, didn’t you say a cat took it?”

‘Ah~ That’s right~ It was a cat, the same one Xiaoqian saw last time~’

“Host, you big bad cat, always picking on me!”

‘Just kidding. Sorry for eating it this morning~ I’ll buy you another one when we get back!’

“Yay! I want two, no, four! ≧▽≦!”

Red Spider Lily smiled. She said to Saint Lily, “Alright, don’t overthink it. I’m in great shape.”

“But it might be hay fever. Luckily I brought a mask this time. I’ll just wear it.”

“Uh… well, alright~” Saint Lily nodded. “Compared to injuries, colds and such can be really miserable.”

“Then you can just cast ‘Blessing’ on me when that happens, right?”

“Uh… Can ‘Blessing’ be used that way?” Saint Lily was taken aback, then thought about it. “I suppose it counts as an abnormal status?”

Then she shook her head and looked at Red Spider Lily. “No, really, even if ‘Blessing’ can be used this way, you can’t rely on it and neglect your body. The best measure for your health is prevention before illness, not craving a ‘panacea’ when you’re already critically ill. What if the ‘panacea’ doesn’t work?” Saint Lily said seriously.

“Yes, yes, yes~” Red Spider Lily agreed with a smile. “But that sounds like the story of Bian Que’s three brothers.”

“That story~”

“The three brothers of Bian Que’s family were all skilled in medicine. The eldest was the best, the second was next, and Bian Que was the worst, but Bian Que was the most famous.”

“The eldest could detect and prevent illness before anyone got sick, so the patients stayed healthy and thought they were fine to begin with, even thinking he was a fraud who didn’t know medicine.”

“The second brother would start treatment as soon as symptoms appeared. The patients would recover, thinking they had only a minor illness, and thus considered the second brother a doctor who only treated minor ailments, not a great physician.”

“Bian Que only began treatment when the patient was critically ill, so he was praised as having miraculous healing powers, reviving the dead, a great physician.”

“I didn’t expect Red Spider Lily to remember it so clearly.” Saint Lily nodded with emotion, then puzzled, “But this doesn’t seem like a story about the importance of prevention~”

“Seems like it~” Red Spider Lily also nodded. “But whatever, it’s not important. Saint Lily, we’re here.”

****

Today was not a date, but an invitation.

Dandelion was already there. Seeing Saint Lily, she smiled and waved, “Lily, over here.”

As for Red Spider Lily, “Miss Red Spider Lily, you’re here too~”

This temperature difference was all too real.

Of course, the inviter was not Dandelion.

In the third-floor private room, dishes had already been ordered.

Almost everyone at the table was female, except for He Mo, who sat at the head seat.

That’s right, he was the inviter, the survivor of the C-level superpower squad ‘War Shadow’… No need to make it sound so scary~

Redbud saw Saint Lily arrive and waved. Saint Lily smiled and nodded.

She then looked at Hyacinth and White Rose, who had noticed her and nodded. The latter seemed to have become much more mature and steady.

She nodded back to each. The current ‘Lucky Garden’ squad was already here.

After the three of them sat down, a voice came from behind, “Sorry, sorry, there was a sudden traffic jam on the way. I’m not late, right? It hasn’t started yet, has it~”

It was someone from ‘True Sight.’

“Xiao Tan, you’re here.” He Mo smiled and responded. “No, not late. Sit next to me; I saved you a seat~”

“Really? Brother He~ How embarrassing~” Tan Yuhan nodded and accepted, pulling Xu Yimeng to sit beside He Mo. After all, she was also one of the conveners of this gathering, so she should sit with the host.

“Let me first introduce myself. I am He Mo from ‘War Shadow,’ and it was through Xiao Tan that I gathered everyone here.” He Mo began.

“……”

Very quiet.

“Brother He, why so serious? I thought you were going to give a speech and ‘say a few words,’ making us afraid to pick up our chopsticks.” Tan Yuhan was speechless and laughed to warm up the atmosphere.

“Ah~ my fault, haha~ Everyone, feel free to eat. Order more if it’s not enough. We’ll talk while we eat~” He Mo continued.

In any case, someone started eating, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.

And since they were all young, there were none of the bad drinking habits, like urging each other to drink.

Red Spider Lily looked at the girl next to her who was holding her phone. Mm, she was raising horses.

She was eating while focusing intently, occasionally muttering things like “Only a dog would click on Guts.”

The failure probability turned from yellow to red, but there was a support rainbow ring. She bit her chopsticks several times and then clicked anyway.

It failed, -10-10-10, ‘Absolutely Unstable.’

She was visibly down!

The pitiful fate of a gambler~

But you all go ahead and talk—I’m just here to fill a seat. Her aura of slacking off was truly enviable.

“To put it simply, because of Su Mo, our ‘War Shadow’ is in a state of being unable to act. But if a city lacks a C-level squad, it’s undoubtedly very dangerous—it will make the public uneasy and leave crime unchecked.”

“So I’ve gathered everyone here in the hope of forming a temporary C-level superpower squad.”

“?”

Red Spider Lily narrowed her eyes, took a sip of her ’82-year’ coconut juice, and put it down. Meanwhile, the others, as the conversation fell, also stopped their actions one by one and focused their gazes on He Mo at the head seat.

……