Chapter 616: How to Solve It

Perspective shift.

A few people stood beside the huge crater that A Xing had blasted out; the crystal at the bottom still exhaled blue smoke, warming the surrounding air slightly.

Bai Hang recounted the whole monkey transformation matter, starting with the passersby who added "banana" to their speech, and then the Jiaoshou plan that merges the two worlds.

She didn't speak quickly, but each sentence hit the point; she skimmed what could be skimmed and elaborated what needed detail, and her Fox Ears twitched lightly with the rhythm of her speech, as if helping her organize her thoughts.

Near the end, she glanced toward Linzheng, who was squatting on the ground, trying to tuck the raised Tail into her skirt; noticing Bai Hang's gaze, her hand paused and an awkward expression appeared on her face.

A Xing fell silent for a moment after listening, glanced down at her own hand, then looked up, her gaze sweeping over the people in turn.

She came to this world to find Huo Huo and bring that little fox back to its original world; as for the other matters—those monkeys, those viruses, the merging of the two worlds—she neither knows nor cares much.

Yet the swaying Tail behind the black‑haired girl, and the obligatory "banana" word she tacked onto every sentence, indeed made A Xing find her a bit annoying.

She nodded, acknowledging that what Bai Hang said indeed needed to be resolved.

Robin stood a little farther away, listening quietly without interjecting.

Her complexion was still somewhat pale, and her lake‑green eyes narrowed slightly as Bai Hang spoke, as if straining to recall something.

When Bai Hang finished, she spoke, her voice low and uncertain: "The monkey you mentioned… is it yellow, that tall, with a tuft of banana‑like hair on its head?"

She gestured, holding up a finger above her head to indicate an approximate height.

Bai Hang was startled for a moment, then quickly nodded.

"That's called Sleep Banana Monkey."

Robin's voice steadied, the uncertainty fading, replaced by certainty: "It's an experiment of Original Doctor. I have seen related records in Pinokanni's archives—Original Doctor has been researching a Meme Virus that can cause organisms to regress, spreading through language, gradually degrading the infected's Cognition to a primitive state. Sleep Banana Monkey is the carrier of that virus."

Jing Yuan stood nearby, his golden eyes narrowing slightly.

He, of course, knew Original Doctor—the th Seat of the Genius Club, a being marked as "highly dangerous" in Xianzhou records; his experiments span multiple worlds, and each appearance brings massive ecological catastrophes.

But the problem is, this world is clearly not the universe they belong to.

No matter how long Original Doctor's reach, it cannot extend to every corner of a completely unrelated world, nor set such a vast scheme here.

"Unless…"

His voice was soft, as if muttering to himself, yet probing, "The underlying Rule of this world has some connection to our world that we have not yet discovered."

Robin gave him a glance, saying nothing.

She knew what Jing Yuan meant—if the rules of the two worlds truly correspond, Original Doctor's experiment could indeed find a foothold here.

But that also meant they were facing not just a mad monkey professor, but Original Doctor's projection in another world, or worse—Original Doctor himself.

The others clearly hadn't thought that far.

San Yue Qi stood nearby, her mouth having stayed open since earlier; she glanced at Robin, then at Jing Yuan, her expression shifting from confusion to bewilderment, then to a subtle look of "I don't get it, but it seems impressive."

Linzheng squatted on the ground, the Tail no longer raised, hanging limp behind her skirt; her complexion turned a bit pale, unsure whether frightened by the name "Original Doctor" or lost in other thoughts.

A Xing only nodded after hearing that.

She wasn't clear who Original Doctor was, nor cared much about how the worlds' rules linked, but she knew one thing—these problems caused by the monkey Jiaoshou needed someone to resolve them.

And she happened to be idle.

She turned her gaze to Jing Yuan and Bai Hang, asking, "How do we solve it?"

Bai Hang and Jing Yuan exchanged a glance.

Jing Yuan gave a slight nod, indicating for her to speak; Bai Hang then reiterated the Holy Grail proposal—obtain the Holy Grail, wish away the virus, and everyone returns to normal.

She said this calmly, but when the words "Holy Grail" came, she subconsciously glanced at Linzheng.

Linzheng happened to look up, their gazes meeting, each seeing the same thought in the other's eyes: "It's easy to say, but the Holy Grail isn't that easy to obtain."

"So the Holy Grail is the final plan."

Bai Hang withdrew her gaze, steering the topic back: "Before that, we must first find Jiaoshou. It's the core of the whole plan; if we deal with it, even if we can't fully eradicate the virus, we can at least delay the fusion's progress."

Jing Yuan added, "Moreover, from the current situation, Jiaoshou should still be in that building—the place Linzheng and San Yue Qi visited earlier."

San Yue Qi nodded vigorously nearby.

A Xing stood nearby, silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Have you ever seen a little girl with green hair? About this tall—"

She lifted her hand, gesturing at her thigh to indicate height, "She might have Fox Ears. Anyway, have you seen her?"

Bai Hang was startled, then quickly nodded: "Huo Huo! We're also looking for her. Lancer injured her before; she should be nearby."

She glanced toward Jing Yuan, who gave a slight nod, confirming, "Once we finish here, we can help you look."

A Xing nodded, saying nothing further.

Robin, having listened for a while, spoke now: "I need to go find Ilya."

Her voice was calm, but those lake‑green eyes held an unyielding resolve: "She's alone over there; I can't be at ease."

Bai Hang thought it over and felt the arrangement was fine.

A Xing wasn't familiar with the situation here, but was strong enough; going with Robin to find Ilya would provide support.

As for the building, she and Jing Yuan, San Yue Qi, and Linzheng had already been there once, so they knew the way well.

"That's it then."

Bai Hang clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention: "A Xing and Robin go find Ilya; once found, hurry back to rendezvous. The others go to that building and locate Jiaoshou first."

A Xing gave no reply, merely pressing the brim of her Top Hat down, tacitly agreeing, then turned and left.

Robin also gave a slight nod, then followed A Xing toward the depths of the ruins.

A Xing walked half a step ahead of her, pacing neither fast nor slow; the Top Hat cast a small shadow in the dim light, rendering her silhouette somewhat blurred.

San Yue Qi stood in place, watching the two figures disappear, then shouted, "Xing—! Once you find Ilya, come back quickly! Don't run around again!"