Very quickly, a fluffy and fragrant little fox made a dazzling appearance. Lin Guang couldn't help but pick it up, bringing his nose to its belly for a deep inhale... alright, there wasn't any trace of a typical fox or pup smell, just a faint scent of minty body wash.

The only thing that gave Lin Guang a bit of a headache was that this little fox seemed to be very insecure, insisting on staying by his side, whether it be during baths or at night while sleeping, even trying to burrow into Lin Guang's bed. Fortunately, Lin Guang's sleeping posture wasn't bad, so he didn't have to worry about squishing it.

Inhaling the faint minty fragrance at the tip of his nose, Lin Guang gradually drifted into a dream.

...

The girl was riding the Wind Speed Wolf, swiftly weaving through the city at dusk.

As the sun set, the sunset gradually lost its color, and the vibrant neon lights lit up one by one, as if celebrating the death of the sun.

The Wind Speed Wolf ran through this lively Night City, the slow traffic unable to hinder its nimble steps. A route that would normally take an hour and a half by car, it completed in just over forty minutes, finding a resting spot for Spirit Beasts in the parking lot where it skillfully twisted open a nearby faucet with its mouth and began to drink deeply.

The girl took the courier-only passage to the third floor of the Spirit Beast Mall. Fu Fuyou, the sales associate who had received a delivery notification—also the burly man who had previously attended to Lin Guang—was standing by the elevator. Seeing the employee badge on the girl's chest, he stepped forward to report a pickup code.

"What?!"

Fu Fuyou looked at the skill crystal in his hand, now with no trace of brightness, and repeatedly confirmed it for a moment, eyes wide and mouth agape, his fearsome face appearing somewhat comical.

"Damn, completely depleted and unchargeable? Are you kidding me!"

The girl named Charlina frowned slightly and asked, "Is there something wrong with the goods?"

The burly man pondered for a moment and sighed, "No... I don't think so."

"If there's no problem, then I'll take my leave."

She nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Only a faint murmur of conversation could be heard behind her.

"That's unbelievable, the thing is all used up."

"Blast Punch Crystal? Someone really managed to break it, huh? Isn't it that Lin Guang from Experimental Middle School?"

"You know him?"

"It's not about knowing or not knowing; it's all over trending searches, probably made it to the evening news already..."

The voices grew fainter until they were no longer audible.

Charlina walked out of the mall and into the parking lot, suddenly pausing in her steps—her breathing abruptly became rapid, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her face turned pale, and she leaned against the wall, slowly squatting down.

"Woo-woo!"

The Wind Speed Wolf named "Eleven" next to her circled anxiously upon seeing her condition.

"It's... it's nothing."

She flipped her wrist, shakily pulling out a bottle of unlabeled medication, took out some pills, and swallowed them dry without water, sitting silently on the ground as if waiting for the pain to gradually subside.

After a while, seeming to feel a bit better, she shakily stood up, and "Eleven" immediately lowered its body so the girl could climb on.

Lying on the wolf's back, she whispered in its ear, "Let's go, I'm fine now."

It seemed they'd traveled this route many times before, because even without Charlina saying a word, the Wind Speed Wolf knew exactly where to go. It carried her through the streets, weaving through the urban outskirts, until arriving in the life-infused old city district.

Night had completely fallen by then.

The Wind Speed Wolf agilely bounded along the exteriors of old residential buildings, silently reaching the rooftop of a nine-story old building.

"Thank you."

Charlina, having found her calm, jumped down from the wolf's back, patted its nose, then slowly walked to the edge of the rooftop where a stack of old newspapers lay. She sat down directly, letting her legs dangle below.

From there, she could overlook the bustling scene of people coming and going in the night market of the nearby old city, though the noisy sounds seemed almost washed away by the night wind, leaving only the quiet of the night.

The girl just sat quietly like this, all the scenery, all the life, the good and the bad, flowed into her eyes without stirring even the slightest ripple. There was no joy, no sadness, only a sense of aimless emptiness and bewilderment.

After staring blankly for a good while, the Wind Speed Wolf finally couldn't resist, sitting down beside her and nudging her gently with its nose.

"Ah."

Awakening from her daze, the girl lowered her head slightly and stretched out her hand to retrieve from the Spiritual Artifact a large bag of high-end food for canine Spirit Beasts and a food bowl as big as a washbasin, pouring them out.

Once a small mountain of food had piled up, she finally took out that platter of scarlet grilled fish and a pack of instant grilled bread under the Wind Speed Wolf's eager gaze, placing them in a spot nearby not likely to fall off the building.

The Spatial Spiritual Artifact had preserved the freshly-prepared warmth and flavor exceptionally well, making the Wind Speed Wolf drool with anticipation.

Eleven excitedly sniffed the aroma, shuddering with anticipation as it licked the fish's tail, then suddenly froze with a howl, as if struck by lightning.

"?"

The girl paused for a moment, before seeing it suddenly come back to life and then howl excitedly, "Awooo!!!"

Then it began tearing at the tail of the fish.

For a moment, a hint of hesitation flashed over the girl's calm and serene face. Her nostrils flared slightly, and she involuntarily swallowed a bit of saliva.

After a moment's hesitation, the girl retrieved disposable gloves from the Spatial Spiritual Artifact, placed her hand on the grilled fish's belly, unflinching at the searing heat from the Samadhi True Fire.

With her index finger slightly flexed, she took a bit of fish belly meat, put it in her mouth, and chewed gently.

In the next moment, the girl's eyes seemed to brighten. Although there was still no expression on her face, the brilliance in her pupils was as vivid as fireworks bursting in the night sky.

It seemed that even the deep-seated emptiness in her eyes was somewhat filled, with a hint of emotion.

"..."

Feeling a sudden impulse, she took out her phone, searched online for the name she had just heard from the mall staff, clicked into the top news, and saw the boy she had seen in the evening, but the background was a battlefield.

The black-haired, black-eyed boy held his gaze low, his half-open eyes glowing with a dim golden hue, hands clasped together, shrouded in a crimson vortex.

Perhaps due to the angle of the photograph, a radiant halo of flame shone brilliantly behind him, and his unhealthy complexion and chapped lips added a hint of inhuman divinity, making him look like a statue of Buddha.

The girl inspected the image for a while, put away her phone, then began eating her grilled bread with some fish meat.

"Lin Guang..."

The night wind that brushed her face carried away the girl's murmured whisper.

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