The living room of the villa on the floating island was bustling with activity. Yun Yun handed over the items she had just collected to Yuto Saito.
"Xiaotu, here are three spar, some gold sore medicine, and a ring," she said, passing the items to him.
Yuto Saito placed the items into his storage ring, a satisfied smile on his face. "Great job, this was much quicker than I expected."
Mina, with her usual playful confidence, chimed in. "Did you think I was too scared to kill monsters?"
Yuto Saito chuckled. "I thought it might take some time for you to get used to it, but it seems I underestimated you."
Mina tilted her chin up, her eyes sparkling with pride. "We're not as weak as you think."
Ruoruo added fiercely, "Exactly! If we didn't take down those giant rats, they could've hurt our friends. We won't hesitate when it comes to protecting them."
Yuto Saito nodded approvingly. "That's the spirit."
Ni Shuang entered the room and casually asked, "Xiaotu, how many crystals do we have now?"
Yuto replied, "We've got 40 in total, minus the two spar used today."
Ni Shuang calculated quickly. "So, we've still got 38 left!"
Ruoruo, ever curious, asked, "How much bigger will the floating island get after the next upgrade?"
"Ten times its current size," Ni Shuang answered with a grin.
"Ten times?!" Ruoruo's eyes lit up with excitement. "That's huge! We could build more houses!"
Ni Shuang nodded. "Not just that. We could even start farming."
Yuto Saito smiled at their enthusiasm. "I've already made a fish pond. If you want fresh fish, just go catch one."
Orange's mouth watered. "Braised fish sounds amazing right now."
Ruoruo, rubbing her stomach, added, "I want fish too! I haven't had any meat for two days."
Mina rolled her eyes, amused. "Ruobao, you had meat floss with your bread this morning. Don't exaggerate."
"That doesn't count as real meat!" Ruoruo protested with a pout.
Yun Yun chuckled. "Everyone did great today. I'll make a snack for us at noon. But don't slack off! We need to keep working hard this afternoon to gather more spar."
"Yes! Sister Yun is the best!" Ruoruo cheered, bouncing with excitement. "You're the most beautiful too, hee hee."
Yuto Saito couldn't help but tease, "Looks like you've gained a whole fan club, Yun Yun."
Yun Yun's smile was radiant. "They're your fans, not mine."
Ruoruo, always the diplomat, grinned. "I'm a fan of Brother Su and Sister Yun Yun equally!"
Ni Shuang laughed. "Good one! I thought Natto was smooth, but Ruoruo might be even better!"
Ruoruo giggled. "Hehe."
Suddenly, Natto spoke up from across the room. "I saw something interesting on the news. Last night, a team battled a fourth-order human-faced demon spider. Look."
Ni Shuang gestured toward the big screen. "Put the video on the monitor."
Natto connected her phone, and soon the footage filled the screen. The camera, mounted on a police car, captured the early morning battle where Song Yi and Gao Guang fought valiantly against the giant spider.
Yuto Saito sighed. "A fourth-order monster like that must have had some valuable drops, but they only managed to break off one of its legs."
Yun Yun, impressed by the battle, commented, "I didn't expect the policewoman to be able to perform such a powerful charge attack."
Ni Shuang added, "And the male officer? Turns out he has a defensive talent."
Ruoruo, always full of questions, asked, "Is that the Golden Bell Shield, or is it the Eastern Emperor Bell?"
Mina chuckled. "That's clearly the Golden Bell Shield."
Ruoruo nodded in awe. "What a strong defensive ability."
Orange leaned forward. "With the right teamwork, I bet we could take down a human-faced demon spider ourselves."
Yuto Saito smirked. "With Ni Shuang, we could handle that spider easily."
Hearing Yuto's compliment, Ni Shuang raised her chin proudly, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Yuto, noticing her smugness, mentally made a note to tease her about it later.
Orange turned to Ni Shuang. "I've never seen you in action, Sister Shuang. When will we get the chance?"
Ni Shuang smiled confidently. "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Mina, still riding the high of their recent success, beamed. "I just leveled up to 2! My combat power is now 4 stars."
Orange echoed with excitement. "Same here, I'm at 4 stars too!"
Yuto checked their stats on his screen.
Name: Mina
Level: 2
Combat Strength: 432
Strength: 92 (Average for ordinary humans: 10)
Agility: 95
Physique: 95
Mental Power: 150
Talent: Charm, Level 2
Appearance Rating: 95
Loyalty: 92
Mina's charm talent had increased, raising her allure to a whole new level.
Name: Xiao Orange
Level: 2
Combat Strength: 430
Strength: 105
Agility: 110
Physique: 105
Mental Power: 110
Talent: Listening, Level 2
Appearance Rating: 92
Loyalty: 90
Orange's enhanced hearing had doubled in range, giving her an even sharper edge in battle.
Ruoruo, not to be left behind, chimed in. "I'm 4 stars too!"
Name: Yu Ruoruo
Level: 2
Combat Strength: 412
Strength: 100
Agility: 102
Physique: 100
Mental Power: 110
Talent: Restoration, Level 2
Appearance Rating: 91
Loyalty: 88
As the others celebrated their improvements, Natto sat quietly, feeling a bit left out. She was still only a 3-star, the lowest on the team, and without any awakened talent.
Ni Shuang noticed her expression and smiled kindly. "Don't worry, Douzi. You're our key information gatherer. You don't need to fight."
Natto nodded, knowing her role. "Yeah, I know. I'm fine with it."
Yuto Saito turned his attention back to the screen. "Not every city is as peaceful as City X. In some places, the entire city has already fallen..."