Chapter 257 - 256: Testing the Waters

At that moment, the small animals nearby also caught the scent of the residual soul mist and scampered toward Jian Yu.

Zhang Qin casually snatched up several small, edible beasts.

He kicked the slacker next to him. "Get up. I’ll roast a Lu Lu Beast for you tonight. I’ll even save you a big drumstick."

Wang Hu had collapsed, half-dead, while they were counting the Beast Crystals.

Hearing the words "big drumstick," he gulped, his throat making a GULP sound.

A stubborn burst of strength surged through his exhausted limbs. He scrambled to his feet and joined Zhang Qin in catching beasts.

He mimicked Jian Yu’s cackle, chasing after the Lu Lu Beasts.

Zhang Qin kicked him, exasperated. "Be normal."

Wang Hu was already exhausted, so the kick sent him sprawling back onto the ground.

He grabbed a handful of grass, grinding his teeth. "How come it’s cute when she does it, but when I do it, I’m just being weird?"

He’d seen it all. When she was acting and did that cackle, Zhang Qin had clearly clutched his chest with an infatuated smile.

The others also had doting looks on their faces, like they were watching some adorable pet.

Zhang Qin didn’t indulge him. "What’s wrong with you? Why are you comparing yourself to her for no reason? If you have to compare, you might as well compare yourself to me."

Wang Hu snorted. "Not compare myself to others? What, you want to have a pissing contest with me instead?"

Lu Yi silently walked away.

The others looked utterly disgusted. "..."

Wang Hu made a sudden lunge. "Got one!"

Watching the few Lu Lu Beasts that had hurriedly escaped, Wang Hu felt a pang of regret.

But looking at the two in his hands, he grinned, baring his teeth. "They’re like that dumb rabbit that ran into a tree. They practically jumped into my mouth. It’d be a crime not to eat them."

Jiang Fei said thoughtfully, "It is rather strange."

Zhang Ziyue shot a quick glance at Jian Yu, then lowered her eyelids. "It’s not strange. We’re deep inside the Ultimate Eye, so we’re bound to run into more beasts."

After counting the Beast Crystals, Lu Qi’s hands were shaking. "A total of two thousand, three hundred and forty-six."

Lu Yi’s jaw dropped. "Whoa!"

For a moment, everyone was cheerful.

Zhao Jiangyou didn’t join the conversation. He had started to panic earlier when he saw the endless stream of Mutant Beasts.

Now that the chaotic battle was over, the others were still riding the high of excitement, but he felt this place was extremely unsafe.

It was too bizarre.

It wasn’t that he’d never seen so many Mutant Beasts before, but he’d never seen them appear in such an orderly fashion.

They only came in waves of fifty or a hundred. The low-level Beast Ranks occasionally numbered three or four hundred.

Moreover, when a few High-level Mutant Beasts appeared, the number of low-level ones was clearly smaller. The final wave was as small as thirty-something.

Of course, it was also possible that there were simply fewer beasts nearby, which was why the wave wasn’t as large as the previous ones.

’I should tell them we need to leave. This situation resembles a small-scale beast tide.’

’I can’t say that.’

’I already told them I’d always been by Yan Ying’s side. Someone who’s never left Emperor Wolf Star, who hasn’t even been to a university, shouldn’t know what a beast tide looks like.’

’What’s more, Jian Yu was just staring at me, which made me feel a little uneasy.’

’Did she not believe my story, or does she just find me untrustworthy?’

Zhao Jiangyou glanced at the three people in the distance. He didn’t dare approach, afraid he’d be suspected of eavesdropping on Jian Yu’s conversation with the Chief.

’Maybe they’re discussing going to the Slave Market on Emperor Wolf Star right now?’

’In any case, Chief Ling is at the Slave Market right now.’

’I wonder if Chief Ling went alone, or if Chief Xi Yu went too?’

’Those two have always been inseparable. They’re probably both on Emperor Wolf Star now, right?’

Zhao Jiangyou’s gaze flickered almost imperceptibly over Jian Yu’s back.

’She was willing to play along and remove the tracking device from my body, so she shouldn’t suspect me. But why did she keep looking at me?’

’Jian Yu... she’s well-behaved, naive, and a bit of a neat freak. She came out here to complete an academy mission and still insists on boiling water for a bath.’

’Most people either sleep stinking until the mission is over or find a safe stream or cold lake to wash up in quickly.’

’I’ve never heard of anyone being so particular while in the Ultimate Eye.’

Zhao Jiangyou clenched his fists and glanced worriedly at the Yan Xu brothers.

’Could they have said something to Jian Yu?’

’I’ll ignore them for now.’

’I still need to find a way to get the other chiefs to go to Emperor Wolf Star.’

’My little brother is still waiting.’

Zhao Jiangyou saw Jian Yu approaching and quickly snapped out of his thoughts.

He wanted to probe her with a few questions, but she went straight to the front of the group without looking at him or showing any intention of speaking.

He secretly glanced at Jian Yu’s listless eyes, pale face, and depleted spirit...

’Right. Healing so many people at once... even a Level 3S Awakener couldn’t handle that.’

’I already found it draining to Heal Yan Ying a few times a day.’

Zhao Jiangyou didn’t think Jian Yu was all that powerful. After all, she had only Awakened a support-type Soul Beast.

’Don’t be fooled by the livestreams hyping up how incredible Jian Yu’s ability to soothe beasts is. That’s just laymen who don’t understand, who know too little.’

’I myself have a Healing Soul Beast. How could I not know that this so-called ’soothing’ is actually just Healing?’

’People and beasts all have their minor ailments. Awakeners are physically fit, don’t catch colds or fevers, and have strong Self-healing Abilities.’

’But by the same token, their Spirit Domains and soul domains must be a mess.’

’When their Spirit Domain is in chaos and their energy is depleted, Healing them at that moment will make them feel very comfortable.’

’And when a person feels comfortable, aren’t they ’soothed’?’

’The same logic applies to Alien Beasts.’

’If we’re talking about power, the people in this team are ridiculously strong.’

’They could fight off so many Mutant Beasts, and even someone as weak as Lu Qi had killed quite a few.’

Zhao Jiangyou guessed that Lu Qi must just look young. He was probably a third or fourth-year student.

’His Awakening Level is low, but he’s experienced, which is how he has the skill to kill so many Mutant Beasts.’

’It’s hard to believe Lu Qi’s Awakening Level is only B.’

’Students from Weis Lan Noble Academy... they seem more formidable than I had imagined.’

’No wonder Imperial Capital Star has been suppressing Emperor Wolf Star all these years.’

Regardless of whether Jian Yu was letting her imagination run wild, Zhao Jiangyou felt it was necessary to gain her trust.

If Zhao Jiangyou had been left to think of a plan himself, he might not have come up with anything. Fortunately, that person’s predictions had been spot-on, their plans flawless.

Thinking of Yan Ying... Zhao Jiangyou’s gaze flickered.

Zhang Qin handed the Beast Crystal Bag to Jian Yu.

He pointed to the left. "Let’s go over there. According to the map, there’s a cave on that hillside left by students from another academy. It can house twenty people."

Jian Yu nodded, her peripheral vision catching Zhao Jiangyou.

Zhao Jiangyou’s heart tightened.

He mechanically followed behind the team, his head lowered, a thoughtful expression on his face.

「Night fell.」

Everyone gathered around a fire for warmth.

Jian Yu was wondering how to bring up the topic of leaving.

Zhao Jiangyou suddenly said in a pained voice, "Miss Yan Ying is dead. I definitely can’t go back to Emperor Wolf Star."

The laughing and joking teammates instantly stopped talking.

Sheng Yue glanced up. "Once you’re admitted to Weis Lan Noble Academy, your household registration will be transferred automatically. You won’t need to return to Emperor Wolf Star."

Zhao Jiangyou buried his head in his hands. "Admiral Yan was my benefactor, and Yan Ying was his only biological granddaughter. I feel like I should explain things clearly to the Admiral, but I don’t know how."