Chapter 871: Klein Appears

Deep in the dense forest, sunlight filtered through layer upon layer of canopy into fine golden specks; when they fell on a person they were already cold, leaving only a layer of brightness without warmth.

The air was heavy with moisture, mingling the sweet, pungent scent of fermenting leaf litter with a cold, sharp moss aroma from somewhere unknown.

Ying stood beside an ancient tree whose trunk was thick enough to serve as a wall; she held the Foot-long dagger in her left hand, her right hand hovering over the hilt, and her gray‑purple eyes scanned every shadow around her at a steady rhythm.

Her pink, medium‑short hair swayed gently in the forest breeze.

When she heard footsteps drawing near, the tips of her ears twitched slightly.

After confirming the approaching figures were Heimu and Ge Lei Xiu, she lowered her shoulders by a fraction of an inch,

and gave a slight nod toward Heimu.

"This way."

her tone remained as concise as ever.

Heimu moved to her side, and before he could ask about the situation, a rhythmic thudding came from the far side of the woods—dum‑dum‑dum—like a heavy object rapidly rolling over roots and mud.

The sound grew nearer, the thicket split apart suddenly, and an ice‑blue silhouette burst out from the shadows of the trees.

Kesi Mo slammed to a halt about three steps from Heimu; the propulsion wing plates at his feet gouged two shallow ruts in the soil, sending splinters of leaf and clod of mud up before they fell back.

The shoulder pads of his Kamen Rider‑style armor tipped upward, the ice‑blue semi‑transparent energy cape flipped forward then snapped back under the sudden inertia, and the warm orange patterns on his visor flickered several beats faster than usual.

"No anomalies detected."

the voice transmitted through the visor's electronic echo.

"East side is a cliff, with sea below. West side has a freshwater pond, water quality normal. No passage, no other exits."

Heimu glanced at her, his gaze lingering a moment on the mud splatter clinging to his armored knee.

She ran rather vigorously.

She nodded and turned her gaze toward Ying.

Ying pointed with her chin toward the right‑front.

In that direction, between several tightly packed broad‑leaf trees, there was something incongruous—a square, regular entrance, as if someone had ripped a section of a city subway station's vestibule from concrete and casually set it into this primeval forest.

Its stone frame was gray‑white, its edges overly regular, its surface overly smooth, with not even a speck of moss.

Above the entrance hung a rectangular canopy, its edges fitted with a row of dark‑green light strips; the light was faint, almost invisible in daylight.

Steps descended from the entrance into darkness, their depth indiscernible, and a cool, whistling wind rose up from below.

"The only unnatural thing in this area."

Ying's tone was flat.

"The entrance has no traps. I didn't force my way in; I waited for you."

Heimu took two steps forward, tilting his head as he examined the subway entrance.

A gray‑white frame, dark‑green light strips, steps leading underground—standing like this in a primeval forest with no paths at all, its abruptness was comparable to placing a vending machine in the exact center of the Narrow Passage of Destiny.

"Su?"

Ying's voice came from behind her.

Heimu turned his head.

Ying's gaze settled calmly on her, and Kesi Mo also turned his visor toward her; though the armor concealed his expression, the slight forward tilt revealed he too was awaiting an answer.

"She is staying over there for now."

Heimu pushed the brim of the Witch Hat upward, his voice sounding casual.

"The Rule of this area has bound her; most of her abilities are sealed, she can't get out. But she seems quite happy staying there—basking in the sun, sipping coconut water, a rare relaxation."

Ying was silent for a beat, then she nodded.

When she had just seen Su on the island's beach, she showed no outward surprise, yet her gray‑purple eyes widened by about half a millimeter upon seeing Su's soft‑white and mist‑black two‑tone swimsuit.

To her, that degree of expression change was equivalent to an ordinary person slamming their chin onto the ground.

The Awakened One of Past World Paradise, clad in attire that scarcely counted as fabric, lay beneath a parasol; she would need some time to digest that scene.

"Turning into that, indeed quite unexpected."

Ying said only that.

She never offers superfluous judgments, and this sentence itself was all the appraisal she could give.

Heimu shrugged, turned back to face the subway entrance.

She stepped forward, the soles of her boots rustling softly on the loose humus.

"Let's go, see where this subway station actually leads—"

Before she could finish, a small orb of light ignited in the darkness of the stairwell entrance, rising from the shadows as if something beneath the steps had opened an eye.

The light was a soft phosphorescent green, casting a vague outline on Heimu's retina—tiny, reaching only to her knee height, hovering at the top of the steps and perfectly covering the center of the entrance.

Heimu halted.

Ying behind her, at the same instant, pushed her right hand forward off the dagger's hilt by half an inch; Kesi Mo's shoulder pads emitted a faint mechanical clank, and the propulsion wing plates on his thighs unfolded slightly outward.

The phosphorescent green light steadied, and the outline grew clearer.

It was a petite figure, hovering mid‑air, its feet about ten centimeters above the ground; the whole being, or rather the whole doll, floated there like a small clump of cotton lifted by the wind.

It stood just over thirty centimeters tall, wearing a spiked mechanical head crown whose matte black metal surface was inlaid with fine Golden Thread patterns; the side spikes curved slightly backward, fitting the fluffy short hair atop its head.

Its hair color was a soft pale mint green, the wavy curls naturally fluffy; a large bundle of long bangs on the right fell down, fully covering the right eye.

The eyes were vertically elongated, pink‑green gradient serpentine pupils, the outer corners slightly drooping, exuding a weary, languid haze.

It wore a loose white robe, the garment reaching mid‑thigh.

Notably, the left half of its face bore several lines—Corrosion marks.

They resembled circuit boards protruding from beneath the skin, phosphorescent green, fine and orderly, extending to the jaw and merging into the collar along the neck.

Those markings faintly glowed in the darkness, flickering.

Ying's gaze lingered on that face for a moment, the gray‑purple pupils slightly contracted.

Kesi Mo's helmet visor turned, the warm orange geometric pattern flickered once, clearly recognizing the little fellow before it, and Ge Lei Xiu stuck half a head out from behind Heimu, blinking their eyes.

"Ke Lai Yin."

Heimu spoke the name.

Mei Bi Wu Si's assistant, the tiny administrator who silently maintained data for fifty thousand years in Letu and never appeared of its own accord.

But the doll standing before her now had Corrosion patterns crawling across its face, as if something had parasitized it from within.

Ke Lai Yin's left eye slowly turned toward Heimu.