At the same time, in another corner of the city, two human-like girls were facing each other from a distance. One had blood-red eyes and long white hair, with a pair of fluffy rabbit ears on her head. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly turned her head and looked in another direction, raising her eyebrows slightly with a calm expression.
Opposite her was a black-haired girl with wings on her back, hovering in the air. She too was looking in that direction, but unlike the calm rabbit-eared girl, her brows were furrowed. She muttered, "Something must have happened to the master, otherwise that person wouldn't be so angry. I need to go check!"
She looked at the rabbit-eared girl, her sweet voice full of urgency, "Rabbit-sis, what exactly do you want?"
The rabbit girl's expression remained indifferent as she shifted her gaze back, saying, "Why are you so nervous? That guy won't die."
Hearing this, the black-haired girl, who called herself Xiaoyuan, clenched her fists and pursed her lips in displeasure. She was anxious but couldn't act rashly because standing before her was "Five Aggregates Burning Suffering."
The first of the eight sufferings and the only one created by the master based on his own form. The other seven sufferings were modeled after her. It is said that she was initially irrational, driven mad by the gathering of the five aggregates, burning like fire, and suffering all the world's pains, which should have made her a failure. But she eventually gained a new life through an ability that evolved on its own.
That ability was composed of nine self-sealing mechanisms, which the master simply called "Nine Seals." All beings' abilities in this world are beneficial to themselves, differing only in the type and extent of benefits. Only the ability of Five Aggregates Burning Suffering was meant to suppress herself.
And now, for some unknown reason, Rabbit-sis had unlocked the eighth seal! This was the closest form to her original state. If it weren't for Rabbit-sis's usual casual and capricious behavior, Xiaoyuan would have thought she was about to fight her to the death.
But regardless of what Rabbit-sis was thinking, this form undoubtedly put immense pressure on Xiaoyuan. It was a danger that felt like falling into a freezing river in the dead of winter, drowning and suffocating.
It was a danger that felt like falling into a freezing river in the dead of winter, drowning and suffocating. Strangely, the nearby evolved beings couldn't sense it. Even though they couldn't feel it, they were unconsciously driven to avoid the area where the two were. Xiaoyuan understood that this was why no evolved beings entered the hotel where the master was staying. Memory is an ambiguous thing, sometimes beautifying, sometimes distorting, and sometimes blocking out things for self-protection. The deepest-rooted fear made the evolved beings overlook the hotel, without even realizing it.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight you." Seeing Xiaoyuan looking so tense, the rabbit girl returned to her usual demeanor, her movements casual, her expression casual, and her tone casual, saying, "This fog affects visibility a bit, so it's easier to find you this way, saves time. Hmm... though the feeling of suffering all pains isn't pleasant."
Then she said, "I'm here to tell you that I will be leaving for a while."
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan raised her eyebrows in surprise, feeling relieved yet frowning at the same time. She was being told to leave a few days ago, and now Rabbit-sis was saying she was going to leave herself. What exactly was Rabbit-sis up to?
Rabbit-sis looked at her and suddenly said lightly, "The world often associates weakness with kindness, but if you think about it, there is no causal relationship between the two, is there? Xiaoyuan, like me, you have no interest in the fate of the masses. From a universal value perspective, neither of us are good people. Among the Eight Sufferings, only one can be considered a good person."
Her words seemed unrelated, but Xiaoyuan vaguely understood something. Rabbit-sis continued, "And that's the first problem—Canglong is a good person. The other problem is his ability, which is too dangerous. His 'Ephemeral Fate' distorts the originally stable strength curve by dividing life stages, creating extremely low troughs and extremely high peaks. In his youth, he is too dangerous. I have considered that sealing his memories along with the 'Ephemeral Fate' might save his life."
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan couldn't help but ask, "Will Canglong be willing...?"
Rabbit-sis replied casually, "I don't care if he's willing or not."
Xiaoyuan: "..."
Indeed, it was a foolish question. This was the Rabbit-sis she knew, arbitrary and unreasonable. Xiaoyuan said, "Maybe if we just..."
"But it hasn't happened yet." Rabbit-sis interrupted her. Xiaoyuan paused, her voice lowering, "We can help advance the master's plan..."
"Help? What can you and I do?" Rabbit-sis interrupted her again, "From my observation, his plan is almost indefinitely postponed."
Xiaoyuan worriedly asked, "The master really lost his memory, didn't he?"
Rabbit-sis raised an eyebrow, her tone a mix of annoyance and amusement, "It's more troublesome than amnesia."
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan didn't ask further, but her frown deepened. She had sensed something was wrong with the master's state when they reunited at the bookstore, and now Rabbit-sis was confirming it.
Rabbit-sis didn't dwell on the topic, instead saying, "Besides, do you really think if it had happened, Canglong wouldn't have ended up on the opposite path?"
Her offhand remark stumped Xiaoyuan, leaving her in silence.
Rabbit-sis sighed for once, "Among us, Canglong is his favorite, so he survived six thousand years ago, but it's hard to say if he will next time. Actually, it's best if you leave here, but I'll be away for a while. If you're not here either, it could be bad if something happens."
Pausing, considering Xiaoyuan's usual lack of concern for many things, she reminded, "Recently, I discovered some outsiders who call themselves 'Chosen Ones.'"
Immediately, Xiaoyuan's frown deepened again, only to slowly relax, but her expression remained tense.
She nodded, "I understand."
After saying that, she thought for a moment before asking, "To seal Canglong's memories and abilities... using 'Nine Seals'?"
As far as Xiaoyuan knew, 'Nine Seals' had three uses. The most formal was 'Unseal,' which meant lifting the ability. The higher the level of unsealing, the stronger the suffering, but correspondingly, the more power Rabbit-sis would regain, and the more she would resemble a 'human.' However, no one had seen Rabbit-sis's fully unsealed form except the master.
Besides 'Unseal,' there were 'Seal' and 'Reverse.' But as Rabbit-sis said, 'Seal' and 'Reverse' were just small tricks she thought of out of boredom. Using 'Nine Seals' against enemies was 'Seal,' and reversing the seal was 'Reverse.' However, because 'Nine Seals' was meant to seal herself, when used on others, it could only invoke a very small portion and wasn't very effective, resulting in 'weakening' and temporarily enhancing potential 'strengthening.'
For others, 'Seal' would weaken the opponent and 'Reverse' would strengthen allies, but Rabbit-sis... never used them that way.
She used pinpoint strengthening and pinpoint weakening, and because she used them with such precision and subtlety, 'Seal' and 'Reverse' in her hands became puppet strings, almost allowing her to manipulate the opponent's body at will. Xiaoyuan always felt this method was full of dark humor. Who uses strengthening and weakening like that?!
In short, as Xiaoyuan understood, Rabbit-sis's 'Nine Seals' couldn't achieve something like 'sealing Canglong's memories and abilities.'
But considering the master's high regard for Rabbit-sis, there should be some secrets she didn't know about in 'Nine Seals' besides the formal 'Unseal' and the small tricks of 'Seal' and 'Reverse.'
"No." Rabbit-sis suddenly pointed to the sky, "Using that."
"Oh." Xiaoyuan understood and responded.
After finishing the explanation, Rabbit-sis turned her head for a final look, sighing deeply, "Xiaoyuan, you don't know, he's so easily fooled now, even mistaking me for those atavists. Sometimes watching him overthink is quite amusing. Who would have thought he'd end up like this? Sigh, I won't see him anymore! This is more regrettable than not getting to eat carrots!"
After saying this, she didn't care about Xiaoyuan's reaction to her words, casually waved her hand, and left on her own.
"Maintain the status quo until I return."
"Death," a thing most people experience only once, had happened to Raymond several times already, but never as inexplicably as this.
Am I dead?!
Upon realizing this, Raymond's thoughts weren't filled with terror, confusion, or questions like "How did I die?" or "Who killed me?" Instead, his immediate concern was—"Oh no! Ben Mao is in danger!"
At that moment, Ben Mao was staring blankly at the spot beneath Raymond's soul, where his body lay, seemingly too stunned to react. The shock was so overwhelming that even Raymond was momentarily frozen.
But freezing up now was extremely dangerous!
Without hesitation or pause, Raymond chose to revive!
In his soul state, he was absolutely safe, but he didn't take the chance to locate the enemy or even see how he had died. He chose to revive immediately because there were more pressing matters at hand!
"Ben Mao, run—!"
Everything happened in an instant. Raymond's body hadn't even hit the ground yet.
He shouted and, with a burst of speed, propelled himself in the opposite direction from Ben Mao.
He didn't know where the enemy was or who they were, but he knew one thing—the enemy was dangerous! Extremely dangerous!
What did that mean?
It meant that if the enemy had attacked Ben Mao instead of him, Ben Mao might be dead! At the very least, severely injured!
A wave of fear swept over Raymond, followed by a surge of anger!
It felt like a burning heat was scorching his chest, but he knew this wasn't the time to vent his emotions. The priority now was—run! Act as bait to let Ben Mao escape!
However, he only managed to take two steps before feeling another sharp pain in his chest!
Then, darkness consumed his consciousness once more!
Death came again!
This time, Raymond still didn't see where the opponent was, who they were, or how they attacked, but he saw how he died.
A bloody, gaping hole appeared in his left chest, completely destroying his heart!
Such a wound immediately made Raymond think of—
A sniper!
M99? Has that guy appeared again?
No!
There was no gunshot! Besides, if he had been shot through by an anti-materiel sniper rifle, the building behind him should have been damaged as well!
But it wasn't!
So this wasn't a sniper!
Moreover, in this pitch-black environment, there couldn't possibly be a sniper!
Suddenly, a small shadow entered Raymond's soul vision.
The shadow was smaller than the hole in his chest, a very tiny brown bird with a long slender beak, floating as if suspended in the air, hiding in his and Ben Mao's blind spot. If Raymond weren't in his soul state, it would have been nearly impossible to notice it.
A hummingbird!
The attacker was a hummingbird!
As Raymond's soul spotted it, the bird acted again. In an instant, it flapped its wings hundreds of times, then vanished with a strange ripple.
It didn't just accelerate to look like it disappeared—it really disappeared!
The empty space rippled like a lake, and the hummingbird vanished like a stone falling into water.
This bizarre scene heightened Raymond's sense of danger to the extreme!
He instantly grasped the situation!
A chosen one with spatial abilities!
This was terrible!
Raymond had intended to encounter chosen ones, but never a chosen one with spatial abilities!
In novels and anime, spatial abilities are always ridiculously powerful and incredibly dangerous!
What kind of rotten luck is this?!
In such a big city with so many chosen ones, how did he end up encountering one with spatial abilities?!
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Raymond chose to revive again, shouting, "Idiot! I'm still alive!"
In the next moment, less than a meter from Ben Mao, the space rippled like water again, and the hummingbird reappeared, looking back at Raymond with a face full of surprise.
It was indeed targeting Ben Mao!
After killing Raymond, the attacker activated its ability again, intending to attack Ben Mao—Raymond couldn't think of any other possibility.
So he revived once more without any hesitation or delay.
"Surprised? Confused?" he taunted the bewildered hummingbird, flipping it off, "Because you're weak!"
Infuriated, the hummingbird let out an angry cry and flew towards Raymond, flapping its wings at an extremely high speed.
The space rippled, and the small hummingbird disappeared once more.
"Damn it! Is there no limit to this bird's ability?" Raymond cursed inwardly, but also felt a bit relieved.
As long as the opponent could be provoked, it was manageable.
Now, according to the plan, Ben Mao should escape…
But at that moment, an angry cat's cry echoed: "Meow—!"
Suddenly, the space rippled again, and the hummingbird reappeared, but its expression showed that this reappearance was unintentional.
A teleportation failure!
The sudden scene stunned the hummingbird!
Since awakening its abilities, it had experienced failures, but those were always due to physical limitations, fatigue, or mental exhaustion. But now, its body was still holding up, and it wasn't fatigued or mentally exhausted. How could teleportation fail now?!
Confused, it tried to activate its ability again, but to its shock, not even a ripple appeared!
Meanwhile, Ben Mao, having snapped out of his daze, pounced angrily at the bird, his blue-gray eyes filled with killing intent and showing a hint of strange transformation.
Seeing this, the hummingbird rapidly flapped its wings and darted several meters away.
However, in the next instant, a massive force struck it!
Its wings were violently torn off!
Ben Mao's sharp claws, fueled by rage, tore it open!
"I...dodged it…didn't I…"
Amidst the intense pain and incomprehensible confusion, the hummingbird fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
At the same time, in another corner of the city, two human-like girls were facing each other from a distance. One had blood-red eyes and long white hair, with a pair of fluffy rabbit ears on her head. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly turned her head and looked in another direction, raising her eyebrows slightly with a calm expression.
Opposite her was a black-haired girl with wings on her back, hovering in the air. She too was looking in that direction, but unlike the calm rabbit-eared girl, her brows were furrowed. She muttered, "Something must have happened to the master, otherwise that person wouldn't be so angry. I need to go check!"
She looked at the rabbit-eared girl, her sweet voice full of urgency, "Rabbit-sis, what exactly do you want?"
The rabbit girl's expression remained indifferent as she shifted her gaze back, saying, "Why are you so nervous? That guy won't die."
Hearing this, the black-haired girl, who called herself Xiaoyuan, clenched her fists and pursed her lips in displeasure. She was anxious but couldn't act rashly because standing before her was "Five Aggregates Burning Suffering."
The first of the eight sufferings and the only one created by the master based on his own form. The other seven sufferings were modeled after her. It is said that she was initially irrational, driven mad by the gathering of the five aggregates, burning like fire, and suffering all the world's pains, which should have made her a failure. But she eventually gained a new life through an ability that evolved on its own.
That ability was composed of nine self-sealing mechanisms, which the master simply called "Nine Seals." All beings' abilities in this world are beneficial to themselves, differing only in the type and extent of benefits. Only the ability of Five Aggregates Burning Suffering was meant to suppress herself.
And now, for some unknown reason, Rabbit-sis had unlocked the eighth seal! This was the closest form to her original state. If it weren't for Rabbit-sis's usual casual and capricious behavior, Xiaoyuan would have thought she was about to fight her to the death.
But regardless of what Rabbit-sis was thinking, this form undoubtedly put immense pressure on Xiaoyuan. It was a danger that felt like falling into a freezing river in the dead of winter, drowning and suffocating.
It was a danger that felt like falling into a freezing river in the dead of winter, drowning and suffocating. Strangely, the nearby evolved beings couldn't sense it. Even though they couldn't feel it, they were unconsciously driven to avoid the area where the two were. Xiaoyuan understood that this was why no evolved beings entered the hotel where the master was staying. Memory is an ambiguous thing, sometimes beautifying, sometimes distorting, and sometimes blocking out things for self-protection. The deepest-rooted fear made the evolved beings overlook the hotel, without even realizing it.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight you." Seeing Xiaoyuan looking so tense, the rabbit girl returned to her usual demeanor, her movements casual, her expression casual, and her tone casual, saying, "This fog affects visibility a bit, so it's easier to find you this way, saves time. Hmm... though the feeling of suffering all pains isn't pleasant."
Then she said, "I'm here to tell you that I will be leaving for a while."
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan raised her eyebrows in surprise, feeling relieved yet frowning at the same time. She was being told to leave a few days ago, and now Rabbit-sis was saying she was going to leave herself. What exactly was Rabbit-sis up to?
Rabbit-sis looked at her and suddenly said lightly, "The world often associates weakness with kindness, but if you think about it, there is no causal relationship between the two, is there? Xiaoyuan, like me, you have no interest in the fate of the masses. From a universal value perspective, neither of us are good people. Among the Eight Sufferings, only one can be considered a good person."
Her words seemed unrelated, but Xiaoyuan vaguely understood something. Rabbit-sis continued, "And that's the first problem—Canglong is a good person. The other problem is his ability, which is too dangerous. His 'Ephemeral Fate' distorts the originally stable strength curve by dividing life stages, creating extremely low troughs and extremely high peaks. In his youth, he is too dangerous. I have considered that sealing his memories along with the 'Ephemeral Fate' might save his life."
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan couldn't help but ask, "Will Canglong be willing...?"
Rabbit-sis replied casually, "I don't care if he's willing or not."
Xiaoyuan: "..."
Indeed, it was a foolish question. This was the Rabbit-sis she knew, arbitrary and unreasonable. Xiaoyuan said, "Maybe if we just..."
"But it hasn't happened yet." Rabbit-sis interrupted her. Xiaoyuan paused, her voice lowering, "We can help advance the master's plan..."
"Help? What can you and I do?" Rabbit-sis interrupted her again, "From my observation, his plan is almost indefinitely postponed."
Xiaoyuan worriedly asked, "The master really lost his memory, didn't he?"
Rabbit-sis raised an eyebrow, her tone a mix of annoyance and amusement, "It's more troublesome than amnesia."
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan didn't ask further, but her frown deepened. She had sensed something was wrong with the master's state when they reunited at the bookstore, and now Rabbit-sis was confirming it.
Rabbit-sis didn't dwell on the topic, instead saying, "Besides, do you really think if it had happened, Canglong wouldn't have ended up on the opposite path?"
Her offhand remark stumped Xiaoyuan, leaving her in silence.
Rabbit-sis sighed for once, "Among us, Canglong is his favorite, so he survived six thousand years ago, but it's hard to say if he will next time. Actually, it's best if you leave here, but I'll be away for a while. If you're not here either, it could be bad if something happens."
Pausing, considering Xiaoyuan's usual lack of concern for many things, she reminded, "Recently, I discovered some outsiders who call themselves 'Chosen Ones.'"
Immediately, Xiaoyuan's frown deepened again, only to slowly relax, but her expression remained tense.
She nodded, "I understand."
After saying that, she thought for a moment before asking, "To seal Canglong's memories and abilities... using 'Nine Seals'?"
As far as Xiaoyuan knew, 'Nine Seals' had three uses. The most formal was 'Unseal,' which meant lifting the ability. The higher the level of unsealing, the stronger the suffering, but correspondingly, the more power Rabbit-sis would regain, and the more she would resemble a 'human.' However, no one had seen Rabbit-sis's fully unsealed form except the master.
Besides 'Unseal,' there were 'Seal' and 'Reverse.' But as Rabbit-sis said, 'Seal' and 'Reverse' were just small tricks she thought of out of boredom. Using 'Nine Seals' against enemies was 'Seal,' and reversing the seal was 'Reverse.' However, because 'Nine Seals' was meant to seal herself, when used on others, it could only invoke a very small portion and wasn't very effective, resulting in 'weakening' and temporarily enhancing potential 'strengthening.'
For others, 'Seal' would weaken the opponent and 'Reverse' would strengthen allies, but Rabbit-sis... never used them that way.
She used pinpoint strengthening and pinpoint weakening, and because she used them with such precision and subtlety, 'Seal' and 'Reverse' in her hands became puppet strings, almost allowing her to manipulate the opponent's body at will. Xiaoyuan always felt this method was full of dark humor. Who uses strengthening and weakening like that?!
In short, as Xiaoyuan understood, Rabbit-sis's 'Nine Seals' couldn't achieve something like 'sealing Canglong's memories and abilities.'
But considering the master's high regard for Rabbit-sis, there should be some secrets she didn't know about in 'Nine Seals' besides the formal 'Unseal' and the small tricks of 'Seal' and 'Reverse.'
"No." Rabbit-sis suddenly pointed to the sky, "Using that."
"Oh." Xiaoyuan understood and responded.
After finishing the explanation, Rabbit-sis turned her head for a final look, sighing deeply, "Xiaoyuan, you don't know, he's so easily fooled now, even mistaking me for those atavists. Sometimes watching him overthink is quite amusing. Who would have thought he'd end up like this? Sigh, I won't see him anymore! This is more regrettable than not getting to eat carrots!"
After saying this, she didn't care about Xiaoyuan's reaction to her words, casually waved her hand, and left on her own.
"Maintain the status quo until I return."