Chapter 874

Ke Lai Yin paused, Tail gently swayed half a circle behind her, "The above explanation is for reference only. The real reason is that the question bank just happened to have this question."

Heimu closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

Then she opened her eyes, about to speak—

"Heimu sister."

Ge Lei Xiu's voice floated over from the tree roots, as if completely unaware of how delicate the atmosphere was now, "What is 'same'?"

Ying moved her hand from the hilt and naturally placed it on Ge Lei Xiu's shoulder.

The movement was light, like soothing a curious kitten, but the slight tightening of her fingers revealed the turmoil inside her at that moment.

She pulled Ge Lei Xiu closer, bent down, and whispered so low that only Ge Lei Xiu could hear.

"…I'll explain later. Don't ask for now."

Ge Lei Xiu looked up at Ying.

Ying's face showed no expression, still that Calm, indifferent look.

But Ge Lei Xiu blinked, as if receiving some signal from Ying's tone, obediently nodded, lowered her head again and resumed drawing.

The pencil rustled on the paper again; the drawing had shifted from a subway entrance to a small doll floating in midair, a sketch of Ke Lai Yin, with a question mark beside it, and a little cat scratching its head next to the question mark.

Heimu mentally owed Ying a favor.

She shifted her gaze back to Ke Lai Yin's face and found those pink‑green gradient snake pupils still calmly and patiently staring at her.

Ke Lai Yin held the record booklet in her right hand, her left hand hanging by the side of her white coat, hovering motionlessly.

She seemed genuinely waiting for an answer, and she was not in a hurry.

"Countdown begins."

Ke Lai Yin coldly added, a faint green flash in her left eye, "Ten. Nine. Eight."

Heimu's fingers tapped lightly on her arm a few times.

The question itself was nothing, just asking about sexual orientation, a trivial matter.

In her previous life in the original world, she had filled out every questionnaire, and the sexual orientation box was always checked at random without even blinking.

But "voluntarily filling out a questionnaire" and "being interrogated on the spot by a thirty‑centimeter doll in front of a group of heroes" are completely different experiences.

Her gaze swept quickly around; Ying was intently studying the bark pattern of a tree, eyes never blinking, but the study was so serious it seemed suspicious.

Kesi Mo had already turned his head the other way, and the mechanical sound of the propulsion wing panels folding back was as light as a cat tiptoeing.

Ge Lei Xiu kept drawing; the question mark on the paper was larger than Ke Lai Yin herself.

Alright.

Actually, it's nothing.

Ying would definitely never say it everywhere; Ge Lei Xiu didn't understand at all, Kesi Mo, Kesi Mo's mouth is tighter than a welded‑shut safe.

The chance she'd say it out loud is about as likely as Aha suddenly starting to do charity.

"…Yes."

The word that came out of Heimu's mouth was much lighter than she had expected.

There was no awkwardness she feared, nor any blockage from a tight throat.

It was simply a single syllable, falling into the air.

She even felt her shoulders sink a little.

Come to think of it, indeed.

Holding it in for so long, releasing a bit is indeed quite nice.

Anyway, there was nothing special around.

Ke Lai Yin's left eye flashed.

A light "beep" sounded, like the checkout scanner beep at a supermarket.

"Correct answer. The first step Barrier is lifted."

She closed the record booklet, tucked it under her arm, Tail swayed satisfyingly in a circle, "Thank you for your cooperation. Wish you a pleasant passage."

After saying that, her body began to fade.

Starting from her feet, she turned into semi‑transparent pale‑green light particles, then the whole body, the particles drifting upward one by one, like someone igniting a painting from the bottom, flame slowly climbing the canvas.

The last to vanish were her pink‑green gradient snake pupils, leaving a faint green speck in the air that flickered twice before extinguishing.

Heimu lifted her hand to grasp her, but her fingers passed through the dissipating light particles, touching nothing.

"Wait—"

She opened her mouth, but Ke Lai Yin had already vanished completely, leaving not even the outline of the glowing green crown.

Heimu withdrew her hand, looked at her empty palm, and took a deep breath.

She still had a heap of questions to ask—who Corrosion you?

How Corrosion?

How many questions remain on the lower steps?

Who made the question bank?

Why was the first question so absurd?

Will the later questions be normal?

These questions queued up in her throat, none having a chance to come out.

The dense forest fell silent again.

The palm leaves rustled again, and distant gulls began their muted cries.

The freeze of those few dozen seconds seemed to be a special field that Ke Lai Yin carried with her; when she left, she took the field with her, leaving four people standing there, each with a different mindset.

Kesi Mo was the first to break the silence.

The thrust wing plates refolded and retracted along the outer side of the thigh, emitting a crisp metallic clank.

She turned her body toward Heimu, the warm orange pattern on the visor stabilizing to a normal breathing rhythm; after a moment's hesitation, she spoke.

The electronic reverberation sounded as usual, but her speech rate was half a beat faster than normal, likely trying to quickly dilute the awkward atmosphere.

"Um— the entrance seems to be lit."

Heimu looked in the direction her finger pointed.

On the subway entrance steps, the previously dark green light strip now illuminated a short segment at the top—about ten steps long—its pale green glow lighting the anti‑slip grooves along the step edges.

Deeper below, it remained pitch black, with no indication of what lay there.

Sakura's hand moved off Ge Lei Xiu's shoulder and was placed back onto the hilt.

She walked to Heimu's side, stopping a step away, her gray‑purple eyes glancing at the lit strip on the steps before turning back to Heimu.

Her expression remained calm and detached, revealing no extra emotion.

She fell silent for a moment, seemingly processing the sudden interlude that had just occurred.

Then she spoke, her voice Calm.

"Shall we still go down?"

Heimu brushed her chin, flicking her fingers lightly twice.

The brim of the Witch Hat cast a faintly trembling shadow on her face.

She stared at the steps descending underground ahead, recalling Ke Lai Yin's face that switched expressions faster than flipping a book.

What had seemed like a tough encounter turned into a thirty‑centimeter doll's moral‑blackmail performance, plus a privacy issue that nearly sent her hat flying.

Fine.

Very good.

She was already becoming curious about what other tricks the lower steps might have waiting for her.

"Of course, we go down."

She tugged the brim downward, covering the remaining speck of powder on her face.

"All the questions have been answered. Not going down would make those answers pointless."