Chapter 653: Eating a Banana

Her mind was processing the scene before her: the Mecha that had just been about to fall apart was now a girl who looked as if she had stepped out of a noble lady's portrait.

The contrast was almost excessive, so much that her usually untroubled heart fluttered slightly, like a pebble tossed into a Calm water surface, sending out a tiny ripple.

No matter how indifferent her temperament, she had to admit—this truly was surprising.

The two of them just stared at each other.

The surrounding chaos seemed to be blocked off from them, while in the distance the Divine Lord and the Giant Fox continued their battle, the rumbling sound still echoing, the violet‑red shards still falling from the sky, exploding into bursts of light upon hitting the ground; not far away, San Yue Qi and Bai Hang were leaping around, dodging the shards, and Lin was shouting "Jiaojiao Jiaojiao" there.

Yet those sounds, those lights, that chaos seemed to be blocked from A Xing and the girl, unable to reach them or affect them.

The two of them stood there like people sealed inside a glass dome; no matter how noisy the world outside was, it remained quiet inside.

The girl's gaze was hollow and Calm, her mismatched blue‑purple eyes looking at A Xing without curiosity or appraisal.

She seemed to be waiting for something, just standing there, quiet as a tree planted in the ruins.

A thought suddenly sprang into A Xing's mind.

She wondered whether this person was hungry or thirsty.

Looking so thin and pale, she thought it couldn't be hunger, could it?

The thought came out of nowhere, but she didn't dwell on it.

She slipped her hand into her pocket and rummaged through the messy contents.

Then, at the deepest part of the pocket, she felt a banana.

That banana had been taken from the building of Jiaoshou.

She grabbed it casually, stuffed it into her pocket, thinking it might come in handy someday.

She didn't expect it would actually be used.

She pulled the banana from her pocket and handed it to the girl.

The girl lowered her head, stared at the banana for two seconds.

Then she reached out and took the banana.

Her long, fair fingers, with neatly trimmed nails, held the banana so lightly it seemed she was handling a fragile object.

A Xing nodded in satisfaction.

The gesture was small, but for her it had already been difficult.

She usually didn't even bother to nod; if she could convey something with a glance she would, if she could with silence she would.

Being able to nod today showed she was indeed quite pleased with the result.

The girl peeled the banana.

She peeled it slowly, starting from the tip, tearing the skin piece by piece, the motion so meticulous it resembled a delicate craft.

When the yellow flesh was exposed, she paused, as if checking whether it was edible, then opened her mouth and took a bite.

She chewed slowly and earnestly, as if savoring something precious.

Watching her eat the banana, A Xing suddenly felt—the scene was rather harmonious.

A girl who had emerged from nowhere, quietly eating a banana that had been taken from the Monkeys in the ruins.

The Giant Fox and the Divine Lord were battling in the distance, shaking heaven and earth, the fragments from the sky still falling, yet none of it affected her banana‑eating rhythm.

Then a pair of monkey ears sprouted on the girl's head.

The ears emerged from her hair, at first just tiny bumps, then like two leaves unfurling, they pushed out between the strands.

The ears were brown and fuzzy, starkly contrasting with her long hair, like two clumps of mud stuck in snow—completely mismatched.

Immediately, a Tail protruded from behind her skirt.

The Tail was also fuzzy, swayed once behind her, then hung down, its tip sweeping the ground and kicking up a small puff of dust.

The girl seemed to sense something.

She halted her chewing, her mismatched blue‑purple eyes dropping, glancing at the monkey ears that had emerged at the edge of her vision, which flickered lightly in her peripheral sight.

She turned her head again, glanced at the Tail hanging on the ground behind her; sensing her gaze, the Tail twitched once more.

Her expression did not change.

She continued eating the banana, as if watching something unrelated to herself.

A Xing paused.

It was a bit unexpected for her.

She had expected the other to at least say "ah," or frown, or give her that "what did you feed me?" look.

But instead, the girl just glanced, then did whatever she was doing, calmer than she was.

That banana was the one she had taken from that building.

That building was Jiaoshou's lair, and the creature was a Monkey; its bananas—A Xing hadn't given them much thought when she grabbed one, but now, seeing the fuzzy ears on the girl's head, she felt her mind might need a reboot.

Yet, seeing the other's indifferent demeanor, she didn't seem to mind much.

A Xing relaxed.

Since the other didn't mind, she had nothing to mind either.

That banana was originally a greeting gift; how the other handled it was their own choice—whether ears grew or a Tail grew, that was their business, not hers.

She nodded again, this time a bit more emphatically than before, as if affirming her own thought.

The girl swallowed the last bite of the banana, then neatly folded the peel—she actually folded it—placing it on the nearby rubble, stacked perfectly like a folded paper airplane.

Then she lifted her head, gazed at A Xing again with those hollow blue‑purple eyes, her expression still so detached that A Xing felt even if the sky fell, she would probably keep that same look.

A Xing stared at her, and she stared at A Xing.

The distant battle continued.

The clash between the Divine Lord and the Giant Fox had entered a fever‑pitch.

One fore‑leg of the Giant Fox was seized by the Divine Lord, the other slashed across the Divine Lord's chest, golden lightning burst from the chest, the bolts coiled around the Giant Fox's claws, scorching it back two steps.

Divine Lord seized the opportunity and stepped forward, the Golden Long Spear thrust out of its hand, heading straight for the Giant Fox's throat.

The Giant Fox tilted its head and dodged, its huge mouth opened, black‑red light gathered deep in its throat, like a star being ignited.

From black‑red it turned to dark red, from dark red to purplish‑black, those lights rolled and coalesced in its throat, as if something inside was desperately pushing outward.

Then the Light Pillar spewed out from its mouth.

It wasn't spewed toward the Divine Lord, but toward the sky.