Chapter 817: The Great Ge Lei Xiu!

Ying fell silent for a moment, and her gaze fell back onto the Big Yellow Duck.

A vague bewilderment flashed in her gray‑purple eyes.

Heimu crouched at the edge of the cube, one hand on his knee, the other resting on the brim of his hat, and lowered his head to scrutinize the Big Yellow Duck.

It's too quiet.

The Big Yellow Duck simply floated silently on the sea surface, showing no sign of suddenly cracking or emitting any strange gas.

But its global scan was probing the interior of the Big Yellow Duck, and the results showed a cavity inside, with a roughly humanoid outline.

Body temperature slightly low, breath steady, vital signs normal.

"There's a person inside," Heimu said.

Ying's pupils contracted slightly.

She drew the Foot‑long dagger again, and the blade slipped from her waist almost silently.

The two of them leapt from the cube's edge, their boot soles landing on the seam between the Big Yellow Duck's inflatable body and the sea water; the inflatable plastic was surprisingly sturdy, and when they stood on it they sank only a little.

The back of the Big Yellow Duck had a semi‑transparent zip‑like opening that ran from the top of its head down to the waist.

Heimu reached out, grasped the zip tab, and pulled downward.

The inflatable plastic emitted a faint rubbing sound as the opening unfolded, revealing the cavity inside.

The inner wall of the cavity was warm‑yellow inflatable plastic, with several layers of white soft cloth covering the bottom.

A young girl lay on her side inside.

Her ice‑blue shoulder‑length hair reached her jaw, the strands lying smoothly against her fair cheek, while two locks at the back of her head draped onto the white cloth.

A golden circular halo adorned her head, and on the right side she wore a deep‑blue fabric flower hair accessory.

Her face was a standard oval, and her cool white skin appeared especially translucent in the gentle warm‑yellow light of the cavity.

Long, curled lashes cast two faint shadows beneath her eyelids.

Her lips were a pale pink, breathing gently, her chest rising slightly with each breath.

She was slender and slightly thin.

The white off‑shoulder uniform clung to her still‑youthful upper‑body curves, and the golden trim at the collar glimmered faintly in the light.

A golden star‑disk ornament at the center of the wide black belt reflected specks of light, and the waistline appeared extremely narrow under its cinched design.

The hem of the short dress faded from white to ice‑blue, printed with light‑blue star patterns.

Both legs were tightly wrapped in a thin layer of white tights.

The tights were semi‑transparent and thin, adhering to the skin and outlining the long, smooth leg lines without reservation.

The plump contour at the top of the thighs was faintly visible beneath the white silk, whose surface glimmered softly under the warm‑yellow light.

There were no folds at the knees, the calf lines were even and tight, and the slender ankles were snugly encased by the cuffs of black short boots, whose edges pressed into the white tights leaving a faint indent.

She lay there quietly, like an unfinished painting temporarily stored in a warm‑yellow storage box.

Heimu lowered his head to look at the girl in the cavity.

"... Ge Lei Xiu?"

Heimu said softly.

And Ying simply stared with her eyes wide open.

Her gray‑purple pupils contracted slightly in the warm‑yellow light of the cavity, reflecting the girl lying inside, her ice‑blue hair, golden halo, white off‑shoulder uniform, black star‑disk belt, and the long legs wrapped in white silk.

Every detail was clearly mirrored on her retina.

She recognized that face.

She was far too familiar with that face.

But that face did not match her Memory at all.

"This is... Ge... Lei Xiu?"

Ying's voice squeezed out of her throat, as if someone had suddenly pinched her windpipe.

She took a half‑step forward then stopped, her Fox Ears standing straight, the tips trembling lightly.

Her gaze swept from Ge Lei Xiu's ice‑blue hair to the white‑to‑ice‑blue gradient of the skirt, finally resting on the girl's delicate side face that had shed all baby‑fat.

In a bewildered tone she whispered, "How... how did she grow so big?"

Heimu turned his head and gave her a glance.

Ying's expression, usually ever‑calm and composed, was now filled with "Where am I, who is this, what's happening," causing Heimu to swallow the words that had reached his mouth.

She understood.

After all, as a hero of Past World Paradise, Ying's impression of Ge Lei Xiu was that of a tiny kid, about waist‑high, speaking in a soft, mushy voice, and running around the corridors daily clutching a paintbrush.

The girl lying inside the Big Yellow Duck now stood at least a full tier taller, her physique shifted from "child" to "young woman," even the leg lines wrapped in white silk bearing the unmistakable elongated curve of a girl.

That leap was like jumping straight from an unripe green fruit to a tree in full bloom, skipping every transitional frame.

Anyone would crash on the spot.

"Stay calm."

Heimu raised his hand, his five fingers slightly spread.

Data surged from his palm, coalescing in the air around the Big Yellow Duck into a dark‑purple light membrane.

The membrane wrapped the base of the Big Yellow Duck, lifting the entire inflatable Big Yellow Duck off the sea surface.

The duck bobbed upward, its black plastic eyes still staring blankly at the sky, a few drops of milky sea water sliding off the inflatable plastic and, when they fell back into the sea, producing a "da" sound.

The duck settled steadily on the surface of the white cube.

Heimu approached, crouched, and his fingertip hovered above Ge Lei Xiu's face for a moment.

Her System Panel was scanning Ge Lei Xiu's bodily data at maximum precision: vital signs normal, breathing steady, pulse stable, body temperature slightly cool but within normal range.

No external injuries, no signs of Data Corrosion, and no pleasure entries attached to the data panel.

Besides her appearance changing from "child" to "girl", all indicators are spotless like a blank sheet.

This made Heimu raise an eyebrow.

Ying had previously been controlled by the power of the Invasive Lawgiver, leaving green circuit-board patterns on her face; although they have now faded, this at least shows that corrosion did indeed take effect on her.

Ge Lei Xiu, however, had nothing on her.

Spotless, as if someone had deliberately protected her.

One possibility: the person behind the scenes dealt with Ge Lei Xiu more lightly.

After all, it's Ge Lei Xiu.

The little painter who was the quietest, gentlest, and most unwilling to refuse others among the Pursuing Fire Thirteen Yingjie.

Kidnapping Ge Lei Xiu is fine, but stuffing her with random junk data might even make Aha hesitate.

Of course, there is another possibility: turning a tiny speck into a slender white-silk girl; this operation itself is already enough "joy", so Aha probably thinks no extra addition is needed.

Heimu withdrew a finger, turned head to look at Ying.

Ying still stood in place, fox ears still erect, right hand unconsciously gripping the hilt of the foot-long dagger, knuckles whitening slightly.

On that cool, delicate face hung confusion, worry, and a certain complex emotion of "I left for a moment and the child grew up like this".

"It's her,"

Heimu spoke in a calm tone: "Vital signs are normal, they're just asleep. No external injuries, no data corruption; aside from the appearance change, all indicators are within normal range. I will now wake her."

Ying froze for a beat, then quickly nodded.

Heimu raised a hand, fingertips tracing an operation panel in the air.

On the panel popped up Ge Lei Xiu's data interface, the status bar marked "Asleep".

She extended a finger and lightly tapped the wake-up key on the panel.

Ge Lei Xiu's eyelashes twitched.