Chapter 140: The Unidentifiable White Mouse

Watching the squad charge into the alley, a smile touched the corners of Lan Qingyou's lips.

Years of being bedridden had not erased her penchant for a good spectacle.

In fact, thanks to her innate talent, this trait had received an epic-tier boost.

This was exactly why, even in the absolute safety of her Shelter, she still went out of her way to craft an abundance of items just to venture outside.

Simply put, she was not the type of person who could stand being idle.

Now that entertainment had delivered itself to her doorstep, how could she not be thrilled?

What they were searching for or attempting to catch did not matter to her. What truly mattered was the amusement of watching them return empty-handed.

As for whether this would offend someone like Sherlock, that was not even within Lan Qingyou's realm of consideration.

To put it bluntly, the Potions she currently possessed were more than enough to level the palace he was constructing. If he really came looking for trouble, it was highly debatable who would be the first to break down.

By the time Lan Qingyou leisurely rode her Magic Broom in a straight line to hover above the alley, the squad inside had already engaged in fierce combat with two D-Rank Flame Hounds, flames trailing from their tails and dripping from their jaws.

Having never ventured outside since arriving on the Kalim Continent, this was arguably Lan Qingyou's first time witnessing other people fight monsters.

It was a highly novel experience.

If only she had some sunflower seeds on hand, she would absolutely be snacking on them as she watched.

However, no matter how closely she looked, there were only two Flame Hounds. What exactly were these people chasing?

Confident in her perfect vision, Lan Qingyou, equipped with her Appraisal Glasses, could see quite clearly even in the dead of night, aided by the bright moon and sparse starlight.

Not to mention, the squad members had Magic Carriage Lanterns hanging from their waists.

Yet even under these conditions, she could not spot any 'third party' aside from the humans and monsters currently tearing into each other.

A dozen or so people fighting two monsters should have been a walk in the park, at least in Lan Qingyou's opinion.

After all, Li Huai frequently took on two or three by himself.

However, the actual performance of these dozen people left Lan Qingyou completely dumbfounded.

Hold on, with such a massive numerical advantage, how had they already lost three men to counterattacks?

Was it because this group was just hopelessly weak?

Logically, that should not be the case. Setting aside abnormal powerhouses like Li Huai, who simply could not be used as a baseline, even Shang Chuan's squads would never produce such a dismal battle record.

Then it could only mean the Flame Hounds were incredibly strong?

That did not seem right either. After all, they were only D-Rank monsters, and her Appraisal Glasses had not revealed anything particularly special about them.

Swoosh!

Just as the squad managed to slay one Flame Hound at the cost of three lives, Lan Qingyou caught a flash of white out of the corner of her eye. The pale silhouette darted out from behind the surviving Flame Hound and bolted toward the alley entrance with absurdly blistering speed.

"Take this!"

Although she had no idea what was going on, there was no doubt that this white figure was the elusive 'third party'.

So, without a single second of hesitation, Lan Qingyou immediately tossed down a Frost Potion, freezing the white figure into a solid block of ice on the spot.

She simultaneously threw down an Explosion Potion.

Except these Explosion Potions were aimed squarely at the squad of men.

Are you kidding? Now that she knew what their target was, what was the point of leaving them alive? To use them as free manual labor for the holidays?

Boom! Boom! Boom!

While fierce explosions tore through the alley, Lan Qingyou rapidly descended, swooped down to snatch the frozen block of ice off the ground, and shot straight back up into the sky.

Because she was flying a Magic Broom, her handling of the vehicle was still slightly rusty compared to her past experiences.

However, after days of soaring through the sky and weaving between dense trees, her piloting skills had been effectively sharpened.

As a result, the entire snatch-and-grab operation was over in the blink of an eye, barely attracting any attention.

A few men did manage to spot Lan Qingyou, but less than two minutes later, they were reduced to literal scorched carbon, becoming existences that would absolutely never rat her out.

Since she had chosen to flee the scene immediately, Lan Qingyou kept her broom accelerated all the way back to her tent. Only then did she finally have the time to extract the ice block from her Card to inspect exactly what she had caught.

"Whoa! Nothing but question marks?"

She was completely taken aback by what she saw.

It turned out that the creature trapped inside the ice was actually a little white mouse?

Of course, that was not the most shocking part.

The real shock came from what her Appraisal Glasses revealed.

【XX Mouse (?)】

【Health Points: ???】

【Mana Points: ???】

【Skills: (???) (???)】

【Description: ???】

Understood. It was an existence far beyond her current scope.

Lan Qingyou clicked her tongue.

After all, her current Appraisal Glasses were only capable of analyzing D-Rank entities.

Yet for this creature, aside from confirming the painfully obvious fact that it was a 'mouse', every other metric was obscured by question marks.

In other words, this little creature was at least a C-Rank monster, if not something even higher.

What exactly was it? Should she keep it around as a pet for now? Would it pose a threat to her safety?

She had absolutely no answers to any of these questions.

It was a bit of a headache, but there was an undeniable thrill to the mystery.

After all, based on what that squad captain had shouted, this was something even Sherlock was desperate to find.

What kind of cheap trinket would capture the intense interest of a greedy slave owner—a coward who actively avoided combat and forced others to fight his battles?

As someone who had successfully crafted magical golems, Lan Qingyou felt she was more than qualified to make that judgment.

The only problem was that she currently had no way to handle it.

"Squeak!"

While Lan Qingyou was lost in thought, the ten-second freezing duration finally expired. Regaining its freedom, the little white mouse seized the opportunity while she was distracted, leapt out of her hand, and vanished into the shadows of the tent.

"Uh..."

Seeing this, Lan Qingyou blinked in surprise.

However, she was not particularly worried.

After all, the tent was only so large. As long as she did not open the flap, there was no way for it to escape. Moreover, there was barely any clutter inside, making the interior visible at a single glance. No matter how stealthy the creature was, there were simply no good hiding spots.

Catching it again was merely a matter of time.

Sure enough, Lan Qingyou did not even have to lift a finger. Steel Wool, with a rapid dive-bomb from above, snatched the frantically squeaking white mouse in its claws and flew back to Lan Qingyou's side to claim credit.

"Oh! Look what my precious baby brought back!"

Lan Qingyou declared in an exaggerated, theatrical tone. She gave Steel Wool an affectionate pat on the head while lifting the little white mouse by its tail.

Buzz!

In that exact instant, Lan Qingyou clearly felt a sharp attack directly strike her Spirit.

"Hiss—"

Reeling from the assault, Lan Qingyou gasped in pain as a sudden headache flared up. Her grip loosened, granting the white mouse yet another chance to escape.

However...

Smack!

Before the white mouse could even stretch its legs to run, Steel Wool slammed a heavy claw down, pinning it firmly to the floor as it resumed its frantic squeaking.

Perhaps the shrill squeaking was getting on Steel Wool's nerves, or perhaps it was angry that the creature had dared to attack Lan Qingyou.

Either way, after apprehending the culprit once more, Steel Wool simply lowered its head and scooped half of the white mouse's body into its jaws. Only two stubby legs, a slightly pinkish tail, and a round little rump were left dangling out in the open.

"Good job! You didn't lose face!"

Fighting through the lingering headache, Lan Qingyou flashed Steel Wool an approving thumbs-up.