"In short, it's so late now, get some rest early." Bai Cha patted Cang Liu's shoulder and said lightly, "You're not much worse than Lucifer, there's no need to hide. If you pretend to be a pig eating a tiger too much, you might actually become a pig."
As she spoke, Bai Cha adjusted her coat and leaped from the rooftop. She didn't plan to cause herself any trouble these past few days. When she could rest, she didn't want to inflict suffering on herself. She came to find Cang Liu tonight only to confirm her suspicions.
Although she felt something was still not quite right, Bai Cha was at least sure that Cang Liu had no ill intentions, and that was enough.
"Brother Cang Liu." A small figure darted out from behind the small building on the rooftop, scratching his head a little awkwardly, "Miss Bai didn't discover me."
Cang Liu glanced at Gu Mingze and said with some helplessness, "The earlier 'get some rest' was directed at you. She just felt there was no need to point it out."
"Ah? Really?" Gu Mingze realized belatedly, chuckling awkwardly, "But I really didn't expect, Brother Cang Liu, that you could predict things. You're hiding it so well, playing the fool to appear wise. Is it to confuse potential enemies?"
That's how feel-good novels are written. Protagonists who can predict the future or reincarnate hide their strength, pretending to be weak to fool their scumbag fathers, wicked sisters, and green-tea villains, then they rebel, slap faces, defy fate, and embark on the path to the pinnacle of life.
The more Gu Mingze thought about it, the more logical it seemed.
"...It's not precognition." Cang Liu put on his cloak with a helpless expression. He had always been impressed by Gu Mingze's wild imagination. "I don't even know who the enemy is."
"Ah? Is that so?" Gu Mingze was bewildered. "Then why are you hiding your strength? Wouldn't it be better to be like Long Aotian, dazzling everyone with your brilliance?"
Cang Liu: "?"
What is Long Aotian?
Cang Liu had long given up on being curious about the terms Gu Mingze occasionally blurted out. He just looked in the direction Bai Cha had disappeared with some emotion.
"I just want to hear her guide me once more."
There was no deep meaning, no grand ambition, just a desire to hear her voice more. If he knew everything, would Bai Cha feel he no longer needed guidance? If so, would she stop appearing?
Cang Liu walked to the railing and gently caressed the railing Bai Cha had leaned on. He was always like this, silent, quiet, and timid, so timid that he loathed himself.
He had been so weak before, the difference between him and Bai Cha was like an ant and a true dragon. But now, he had desperately reached her side, and he still dared not speak.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Bai Cha returned to her room. In the less than a minute it took her to leap from the rooftop and arrive at her room, the "Savior Squad" group chat created by Fan Tian had already received dozens of messages, most of them being Fan Tian's reaction images. Eventually, Jupiter and Geb were also drawn in, and the few of them competed with each other.
Oudmubra appeared quite composed. In fact, Oudmubra was the oldest among the six of them, already in his thirties. The occasional reaction image he sent carried an aura of blooming wealth.
"Master, the milk is warmed. You can rest now." Lucifer entered with a tray, seeing Bai Cha leaning on the bed looking at her phone. He casually asked, "Did something interesting happen? You seem to be in a very good mood."
It was a casual question, but Bai Cha actually chuckled and pushed her phone towards Lucifer, laughing with a hint of helplessness.
"If everyone knew how these leaders of national intelligence agencies, who are feared by many, interacted in private, I wonder if they would be greatly surprised." Bai Cha's laugh was somewhat peculiar.
Lucifer took a closer look and happened to see the end of their emoji battle.
[Jupiter: Why do you guys have so many reaction images? You send hundreds and they're not repetitive?]
[Jupiter: I surrender, big shot, have mercy.jpg.]
The kneeling frog character, shamelessly clinging to a thick leg, looked incredibly amusing.
[Fan Tian: The upstairs guy has no integrity.jpg.]
[Fan Tian: Rolling on the floor laughing.jpg.]
[Fan Tian: Good son, call me daddy.jpg.]
A series of three reaction images suggested Fan Tian had quite a few more in his inventory.
[Geb: ...I'm out too, you win.]
[Athena: You guys are so energetic.]
[Oudmubra: Thumbs up.jpg.]
A golden thumb was nestled amidst a bouquet of roses, with a large "thumbs up" in colorful, sparkling text. It was truly... very dated.
[Fan Tian: Red packet for password: Daddy.]
Lucifer paused and wisely chose not to help Bai Cha click on the infuriating red packet. Oudmubra and Athena also remained silent. Only Jupiter and Geb quickly opened the red packet, only to find it contained a single cent. They immediately exploded, launching furious accusations at Fan Tian for being unfair.
In reality, they had only met once and were not close at all. However, with Fan Tian's outgoing personality, the group's playful banter quickly created a feeling of years of friendship in just a few minutes. It was truly lively.
Lucifer: "..."
The private interactions of these individuals, who were regarded as dark villains, were too bizarre. Indeed, one should not interact with great gods up close, as their towering images would rapidly crumble.
[Fan Tian: @Bai Cha, don't lurk, come and compete.]
[Geb: @Bai Cha, yes, you haven't said a word. Come out and pop up.]
[Athena: +1.]
Even Athena was joining the fun.
Suddenly being called out, Bai Cha maintained a poker face and casually dropped a two-hundred-yuan red packet into the group. The group immediately fell silent, everyone kneeling and offering thanks for the great one's generosity.
[Fan Tian: Sweet dreams, big shot! Lackey.jpg.]
[Jupiter: Yes, yes, yes. Rest well, big shot. Anyone who disturbs you, I'll deal with them.]
The rest of them queued up to add their agreement. In just a few minutes, Bai Cha had figured out the nature of this group and silenced everyone with a single red packet.
Lucifer: "..."
These people were actually the leaders of the prophecy. He suddenly felt a faint pang of anxiety for the future of Earth.
"Master, you should rest as soon as possible. A day of training is very tiring." Lucifer wisely changed the subject, handing the warm milk to Bai Cha. Meanwhile, he picked up a comb and gently smoothed Bai Cha's long hair, also adjusting the indoor temperature and humidity.
With this series of actions, Bai Cha had just finished her cup of warm milk. Lucifer took Bai Cha's empty cup, his timing becoming more accurate.
"You go rest too. You worked hard tonight." Bai Cha lay on the bed and stretched.
Lucifer agreed with a smile. Just as he opened the door, his steps faltered. Bai Cha's stretch was half-finished, her arms extended straight. Interrupted like this, the laziness within her was left hanging.
Can't a person get some proper sleep?
Bai Cha and Lucifer were both beings of dark energy, and they were most sensitive to abnormal shifts in evil. It seemed to be due to the residual energy from the World Tree in her body, Bai Cha could faintly sense the probing intentions from the Dragon Mother's star system in the universe.
Outside the window, the moon seemed to be obscured by dark clouds. Beneath the vast expanse of starry sky, dense swarms of small flying dragons poured towards this large area like a locust plague. It seemed some evil dragon had awakened, controlling countless dragon attendants who began to frantically attack the World Tournament venue.
"Master, shall we go?" Lucifer was helpless. He could only put the glass on the table for now, and deal with it later. This time, he sensed many dangerous energies, and their numbers were very large.
"No rush." Bai Cha was a bit reluctant to move. The World Tournament had so many teams, with all sorts of strong contenders present. She didn't need to rush into the fray right at the start.
Outside the window, a golden-white light bloomed, gradually expanding from a small point in the distance. Within seconds, the point of light had grown into a giant light shield. Any small black evil dragons enveloped by the golden light were vaporized like smoke. Only then did everyone see the true appearance of the sky.
There were no starry skies. The dense masses were the eyes of these bat-like small evil dragons.
"Is this a locust infestation?" Bai Cha sat up from the bed, helpless.
Athena's light shield was too bright. It was like being directly exposed to the sun, blindingly conspicuous. Even the curtains couldn't block it, instantly turning night into day. Bai Cha couldn't sleep even if she wanted to.
[Fan Tian: ! Guys, we're being attacked by evil dragons. Will our country be in trouble? Should we rush back!]
[Jupiter: ...Are you stupid? This is clearly directed at us.]
[Geb: They dare to attack when all the strong people are here. It's so strange. I feel like something is wrong.]
[Oudmubra: Something's wrong +1.]
Although these dragons were numerous, their abilities were really not great. Athena had only erected a thin sky barrier, and the evil dragons couldn't advance an inch.
Just as everyone was confused, in the Savior Squad's group chat created by Fan Tian, Bai Cha posted an image.
[Bai Cha: Image.]
Fan Tian and the others clicked to open it and found a conversation between Bai Cha and a person whose identity was obscured by a mosaic.
[xxx: Bai Cha, something bad has happened. I received intel from a informant that xxx plans to collude with someone to cause trouble for you.]
[Bai Cha: ?]
[xxx: Right now! The urgent report is that my informant heard xxxx triumphantly celebrating, saying this time it's foolproof!]
Important personal information had been mosaicked by Bai Cha, but the people in this group were all cunning elites, the peak of the peak. Seeing this message, they exchanged glances. The group suddenly went quiet.
Under normal circumstances, someone would have jumped out and said how terrible it was that Country Z was suffering, or that someone was playing dirty behind their backs, asking if they needed help, or why they weren't united.
But this collective silence meant that these people themselves were unsure if, while Bai Cha was being ambushed by people from her own country, they might also be facing ambushes from another faction within their own country.
Bai Cha's eye twitched. She suddenly felt that the neutral faction, which had always caused her so much trouble, was actually quite good. At least they occasionally leaked some useful information.
[Bai Cha: Your reactions make me feel like your situations are no better than mine.]
The other members of the Savior Squad: ...
Why do they feel so sympathetic all of a sudden, when people should not tear each other down?
[Oudmubra: Let's talk in detail when we meet again. We should focus on resolving the immediate crisis first.]
[Athena: We'll discuss our situations later. The current problem is, will there be particularly difficult A-class dragons? If they appear in swarms, it will be really troublesome.]
Bai Cha lay on the bed, unwilling to type. She sent a voice message instead.
"A swarm of A-class dragons isn't very dangerous. I think we might need to go back to our country." Bai Cha said lazily.
[Fan Tian: Seriously? Isn't this dragon disaster meant to test us? Shouldn't we just stay here?]
Bai Cha: "I think the Dragon Mother wouldn't expend too much energy on us. The peak powers of the entire Earth are gathered here. Exerting great effort to test us would be more trouble than it's worth. It would be better to suppress us entirely with the power of the dimension. Absolute power is always useful, after all."
"Therefore, the possibility of a smokescreen is greater. And sometimes I wonder, if the Dragon Mother can control evil dragons, can she also have interactions with humans?"