At this moment, the spectators erupted into chaos!
Screams, gasps, and discussions melded into a loud, indistinguishable hum of noise. Some decisive evolvers had already turned to leave.
If previously, most of the onlookers merely found the situation odd, now they found it utterly eerie—unbelievably eerie! No wonder the number of spectators here was so low; they must have noticed something strange and gradually left.
Soon, the crowd scattered in all directions. Those who remained were either a few greedy individuals, their minds clouded by the sight of the evolutioners' corpses, or the black and purple parrot and Miss Rabbit.
"Big, big, big, big, big boss, w-w-w-what's happening?!" The black and purple parrot asked Miss Rabbit in terror. If she hadn't been dragged here by the boss, she would have fled immediately.
"This is a [man-made disaster]," Miss Rabbit replied calmly. "[A calamity brought by man]."
"Ah?!" The black and purple parrot was shocked. It seemed like the boss knew that human girl. Her curiosity was piqued, but what happened next made her mind go blank, and she completely forgot about the girl.
Miss Rabbit suddenly grabbed her.
The black and purple parrot was scared stiff. Realizing what was happening, she began to wail and cry: "Big, big, big boss, you can't do this! Don't burn your bridges! Surely, I have some use, can't you spare me? I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. I even have a childhood sweetheart waiting to marry me! You can't kill me!"
Miss Rabbit glanced at her. "You're noisy."
Then, she flicked her hand backward.
Instantly, the black and purple parrot turned into a streak of light, flying away at an incredible speed. From afar, only her faint voice could be heard: "Biiiiiig bossssssss—"
At this moment, the human girl who had been silent finally spoke. Her voice was soft and timid, giving the impression she was very shy. "...Why did you let her go, Rabbit Sis?"
That term of address clearly indicated that she knew Miss Rabbit. Anyone who scrutinized her words would notice something terrifying—the girl hadn't stopped those other spectators from leaving, but she referred to letting the parrot go as "letting her escape." In other words, she believed no one else could escape except for the black and purple parrot, who had been flung away by Miss Rabbit.
"Don't call me by that name," Miss Rabbit said as she walked onto the scene.
"But, but master said names are important..." the human girl timidly responded.
"Really?" Miss Rabbit said lightly. "Bunny, Fluffy, Little Wolfie...from those names he gave, I can't sense any 'importance.'"
"Master said the meaning of a name is defined by oneself."
"You're quite glib."
"Besides, Master is really bad at naming..."
"But, Rabbit Sis..." the girl looked toward the direction the parrot had flown, asking softly, "Aren't you afraid she might hit something and die?"
"That's her fate," Miss Rabbit replied, walking toward her.
At this point, the battle among the evolvers had ended. The last one standing was the brown bear, but he had completely lost his will to fight.
Logically, nothing would stop him from attacking the human girl now, but he just sat there dazed, doing nothing, looking utterly disheartened.
As Miss Rabbit passed by him, the brown bear shuddered and went silent.
The girl seemed to sense something, frowned slightly, and stepped back to distance herself from Miss Rabbit. Miss Rabbit didn't pursue her. Standing still, she said, "You're still as annoying as ever."
The girl pouted, looking somewhat aggrieved but said nothing.
"You've abandoned all your characteristics to imitate him so closely..." Miss Rabbit sighed lightly. "Don't you know, to others, this is nothing short of an offense?"
The girl lowered her head. "..."
Miss Rabbit's tone softened slightly, a rarity. "That's why no one else likes you."
At this moment, the human girl, or rather the being that resembled a human girl, finally mustered the courage to lift her head, her face flushed as she argued, "M-master said, as long as Little Grudge becomes who she wants to be, that's enough!"
"Sigh..." Miss Rabbit sighed, staring at her for a while before suddenly saying, "Leave this place."
"Ah?!" The girl was puzzled. "Rabbit Sis, what are you saying?"
"I said, leave this place," Miss Rabbit repeated, suddenly exuding a murderous aura. The girl stepped back again. "Master is here, how can Little Grudge leave?"
"You saw him?!" Miss Rabbit frowned, then seemed to understand. "No wonder the number of devolvers near his place has decreased. It was you?"
The girl replied in a timid voice, "I saw him in a bookstore over a month ago, but Master's condition seemed off, so I didn't show myself, afraid my ability might hurt him..."
"Just haven't woken up, I guess," Miss Rabbit said calmly.
Seeing this, the girl seemed to realize she couldn't convince Miss Rabbit. Black wings sprouted from her back, and with a gentle flap, she rose into the sky.
Miss Rabbit looked up at her. "Do you think flying up will keep you safe?"
"Of course not," the girl shook her head seriously. "Though I've never fought Rabbit Sis, Master said you're the only one among us who has taken your ability to unimaginable levels. Rabbit Sis, I don't know why you want me to leave, but Little Grudge cannot leave. So, excuse me!" As she finished speaking, she spread her right hand toward the ground, fingers slightly bent.
The buildings around them began to tremble, dust falling, and glass creaked under strain. Insects hiding in crevices fled frantically!
The remaining evolvers were terrified to find the ground beneath them becoming unstable.
The earth was trembling!
Deep underground, something was surging and roaring, as if about to burst forth and devour everything above!
"Unavoidable Disaster—natural calamity!"
---
Ben Mao realized something today: luck tends to balance out.
A few days ago, as an ordinary evolver—weak even among the ordinary—she accidentally encountered two Chosen Ones. It was the worst luck, thinking she would be eaten. Her luck had plummeted to the lowest point!
But because she spoke human language well, she was mistaken for one of them and somehow joined their group, ranking fourth, with several stronger subordinates under her. Despite fearing she might be exposed someday, life was comfortable, her luck soaring.
Sadly, the good times didn't last. A sudden killing spree wiped out her side easily.
Her luck plummeted from its peak back to rock bottom.
Yet, in this hopeless situation, she survived.
Although she had to give up the blood and flesh of three Chosen Ones and over a hundred evolvers, the pain was immense. But getting familiar with the boss, and feeling like a small follower, this chance of surviving a desperate situation should count as good luck, right?
Then... nothing.
The boss inexplicably flung her away, hitting branches, breaking several bones, and even injuring her wings.
After a few days of ups and downs, she was once again a weak, helpless, and pitiful parrot.
Luck returned to zero, life reset to the original state.
"Never mind, being alive is good. Though everything's back to the way it was, I don't have to worry about being exposed anymore." Ben Mao comforted herself. "A parrot should be content!"
Now alone, she carefully moved her injured body, looking for a place to hide. The world was dangerous now, and with injured wings, her survival ability was greatly reduced.
"Still, why did the boss suddenly fling me away?" she muttered to herself while searching for a hiding spot. "Even with such a bad temper, the boss wouldn't be this capricious, right?"
Just then, the ground trembled, and the bushes rustled.
Rumbling sounds came from afar.
Was it... the direction she flew from?
Ben Mao turned to look and was stunned!
In the distant sky, dark red magma, engulfed in black smoke, shot into the clouds, tearing them apart with brutal force!
Fire filled the sky, black smoke covered the sun! Giant waves of fire swept in all directions, falling like torrential rain. Countless burning rocks descended, destroying everything on the ground!
Apocalyptic power!
In Hanghai Grand Hotel, in the top-floor room, Raymond stared at the distant scene in disbelief. For a long, long time, he didn't notice the homemade ice cream melting in his hand.
"Damn it..."
At this moment, he felt that even this word couldn't describe his shock.
What did he see?
A volcanic eruption!
A volcano erupting in the city?!
Excuse me?! What the hell is this?!!
Why would a volcano erupt in the city!!!
Raymond snapped out of it, squatted, and pinched Ben Mao at his feet.
There was a tangible feeling.
It wasn't a dream?!
Raymond was even more confused.
He remembered there being no volcanoes in that area. Could it be an underground volcano, like the one under Yellowstone Park in the US? But he hadn't heard of anything like that!
The entire western part of the city was engulfed in flames, a hellish scene.
The fire burned all afternoon, showing no signs of stopping.
Because this disaster was so severe, unlike any previous fires, Raymond even wondered if it would eventually affect his place.
If that happened, he and Ben Mao might have to consider leaving and moving to another city. However, this would not only add complications but also entail risks during the move. After all, after his trip out today, he had a deeper understanding of the power of his aura of misfortune.
In the evening, it started to rain. Around the same time, the doorbell rang. Raymond went to open the door, and sure enough, Miss Rabbit was standing outside with her usual calm expression. He glanced at her and suddenly said, "Miss Rabbit, you're hurt?"
Miss Rabbit had no visible wounds on her body, but there were several places on her hands and feet where her fur was missing, likely from injuries that had healed but where the fur had not yet grown back. Her clothes were also somewhat tattered.
"Yes," Miss Rabbit responded lightly.
Raymond casually asked, "Was your opponent another evolver who had obtained a meteorite fragment?"
"You mean a Chosen One?" Miss Rabbit asked.
"Chosen One?!" Raymond was taken aback.
"That's what those who have obtained fragments are calling themselves now," she explained briefly.
"Chosen Ones... Chosen Ones..." Raymond repeated the name and couldn't help but chuckle. Miss Rabbit asked, "What's funny?"
"Um... I just think it's a bit amusing," Raymond said with a smile. "Turns out, not only humans but even animals become arrogant after gaining intelligence. By the way, what was the result?"
"She got away."
"Oh," Raymond replied.
Miss Rabbit handed him a bag she was carrying. "Seeds."
"Thanks," Raymond said, taking the bag. "But I might have to move."
Hearing this, Miss Rabbit looked puzzled. "Why?"
"Volcanic eruption!" Raymond said. "It might spread here. Who would've thought there was an active volcano underground? If this were before humanity's extinction, the responsible officials would be executed ten times over."
"Don't worry, it won't reach here," Miss Rabbit said.
"Why not?" Raymond asked, confused.
"It's raining, isn't it?" Miss Rabbit said lightly.
Raymond chuckled. Such a light rain wouldn't help much, but he didn't argue. Instead, he said, "I just made some yogurt with milk powder. Interested?"
"No," Miss Rabbit replied indifferently, turning to go back to her room.
"It's carrot-flavored," Raymond added.
At this, Miss Rabbit's ears twitched. She turned back and said, "Alright."
Raymond watched with amusement as Miss Rabbit took the carrot-flavored yogurt back to her room, then shook his head with a smile and closed the door.
He then opened the bag and found himself at a loss. The seeds Miss Rabbit brought back were indeed numerous, but... but why were they all carrot seeds?
"I'm not a rabbit!" he exclaimed inwardly.
---
That night, unable to sleep, Raymond sat alone on the sofa, deep in thought as he looked out the floor-to-ceiling window.
Thunder rumbled, and the rain poured down heavily.
Why... why did a typhoon suddenly start?!
At the height of summer, it's not unusual for typhoons to come through this area; it happens every year. If it weren't for the inexplicable volcanic eruption earlier in the day, Raymond would have thought that the typhoon had simply moved quickly, causing the sudden change in weather and the heavy rain and strong winds. After all, there were no weather forecasts available nowadays. He didn't understand how to predict the weather based on changes in the clouds or air humidity.
But—an eruption followed immediately by a typhoon? This was too strange to be a coincidence. After all, a volcanic eruption in the city itself was already beyond belief! He had lived here for many years and had never heard of any dormant volcanoes underground.
After mentally ranting about the bizarre situation, Raymond glanced at Ben Mao, who had been startled awake by the thunder a few minutes ago but had since fallen back into a peaceful sleep. He couldn't help but feel envious of Ben Mao's carefree existence.
The night was deep, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was pitch dark. Only the occasional lightning bolts provided brief, cold flashes of light. The raging typhoon howled, and the rain mercilessly pelted the windows with a relentless rhythm.
Having had a rough day, filled with strange volcanic eruptions and typhoons, Raymond felt that more had happened today than in the past month combined. He thought of the rabbit next door and her display of power earlier: "That… shouldn't be something you can do with just physical strength, right?"
Were bamboo shoots poisonous? No. He had once borrowed a piece from Miss Rabbit out of curiosity, and it was just an ordinary bamboo shoot.
---
The next morning.
"Ding dong!"
Sleepless throughout the night, Raymond rang the doorbell next door. He thought that rather than overthinking, it was better to ask directly. Didn't someone once say that communication is key, whether it's between people or between people and rabbits?
After a while, Miss Rabbit opened the door.
"Good morning," Raymond greeted, handing over a bag of yogurt. "I couldn't get used to the carrot flavor, so it's all yours."
"Oh." Miss Rabbit accepted the bag, looked inside, then gave him a look that seemed to ask, "Do you need something?"
Raymond said, "Don't you think you should say something?"
Miss Rabbit tilted her head slightly and, after a moment, said, "Thank you."
"And, as a thank you for the yogurt, don't you think you should invite me in for a chat?" Raymond added.
"...Okay," Miss Rabbit said, turning to let him in.
Raymond followed her into the room and closed the door behind him.
The layout of Miss Rabbit's room was almost identical to his and Ben Mao's, given that they were adjacent hotel rooms. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the typhoon showed no signs of abating. The gloomy weather and lack of light made the room feel dim, but it wasn't too dark to see.
After briefly glancing around, Raymond got straight to the point: "Actually, I came over today because I have a question for you, Miss Rabbit."
"Oh," Miss Rabbit responded casually as she took a bottle of carrot-flavored yogurt from the bag and took a sip.
Enjoying her drink, she added, "Go ahead."
To Raymond, Miss Rabbit seemed like someone who did whatever she wanted. For example, she moved next door simply because she found him (or Ben Mao) interesting, without caring how they felt. So, since she had said, "Go ahead," Raymond asked directly, "Do all Chosen Ones have their own abilities?"
"Yes," Miss Rabbit replied casually, enjoying her yogurt.
"What about ordinary evolvers?" Raymond asked.
"Possibly," Miss Rabbit said, finishing one bottle of yogurt and reaching for another. "It ultimately comes down to the degree of evolution."
Raymond pondered this. He had considered that the only difference between ordinary evolvers and Chosen Ones was the meteorite fragments. Chosen Ones were lucky enough to have obtained these fragments, meaning they had access to more evolutionary material (for lack of a better term). However, whether this extra evolutionary material merely gave them a head start or led to a qualitative change was unknown. Miss Rabbit seemed to believe it was the former, though her nonchalant response made Raymond feel like she knew more than she was letting on.
"Is your ability to control an opponent's balance?" he asked out of curiosity.
"No," Miss Rabbit shook her head. "My ability is arguably the most useless in the world. You don't need to worry about it."
"Huh?" Raymond was confused. The most useless ability in the world? What a joke! While it might not be "controlling balance," it surely had to be something capable of that and more. How could that be useless?
Miss Rabbit finished counting the yogurts in the bag, then looked up and said, "I'll answer one more question for you."
Wow, carrot-flavored yogurt had such a strong persuasive power? Raymond thought he might need to make more of these peculiar recipes in the future.
There were many things he wanted to ask, but he decided on the most perplexing one: "Do you think yesterday's volcanic eruption and the current typhoon could be caused by a Chosen One's ability?"
"That's impossible! You're overthinking it," Miss Rabbit replied.
"But it feels so strange," Raymond insisted.
"You're overthinking it," Miss Rabbit said calmly.
"...Alright," Raymond sighed.
After asking his questions, Raymond prepared to leave. As he was about to open the door, he turned and said, "My memory has been getting worse recently."
"Oh?" Miss Rabbit responded.
Raymond continued, "At first, I only forgot small things like the brand of the tape recorder I used in middle school or the name of my elementary school teacher. Later, I found my parents' faces blurry in dreams. Now, I can barely recall the faces of family and friends."
Miss Rabbit's red eyes narrowed slightly, showing a hint of seriousness.
"It's like my memories of the past twenty-odd years are slowly disappearing," Raymond added.
"...Is that so?" Miss Rabbit said after a pause.
"But the more I think about the Eight Sufferings you mentioned, the more familiar they feel, like memories from a long time ago," Raymond said, reciting, "Form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness make up the Five Aggregates. The Five Aggregates come together to form the body, burning like fire, causing the suffering of the Five Aggregates. The remaining seven sufferings stem from this. The suffering of form leads to the suffering of illness; the suffering of perception leads to the suffering of separation from loved ones, encountering enemies, and unmet desires; the suffering of mental formations leads to the suffering of aging, and the suffering of consciousness leads to the suffering of birth and death. Miss Rabbit, the Eight Sufferings... aren't just religious philosophy, are they?"