Chapter 928: This Step

Then they nodded.

The nod was slow and solemn, and together with that tattered demon‑shadow face, it somehow evoked an indescribable tragic grandeur. Of course, Qingque wasn't thinking that way at all; in her mind she was busy awarding herself.

"Alright, pretend to agree, infiltrate the enemy, gather intel covertly, and at the critical moment send the information back. Isn't that the classic move of a spy‑film protagonist! We, Qingque, even as a demon‑shadow form, are still an outstanding employee of Luofu!"

After Huan Long saw the nod, she let out a satisfied hum, and the smile at the corner of her mouth finally upgraded from a "polite friendliness" to "having received a coveted gift".

She brushed the non‑existent dust off her knees, stood up, spun the Command Flag half a turn in her hand, the tip tracing a brisk arc, and said, "Very well. From now on, you're mine."

Qingque rolled her eyes in her mind; she couldn't utter a word aloud, only cursed inwardly, "You're only yours. I'm a member of Tai Bu Si, I'm Fu Xuan's person, I'm of Luofu Xianzhou, for now—temporarily yours. When I send the intel back, you'll know what 'invite the lord into the jar' really means."

Yet her tattered face remained completely unruffled.

The ash‑white hair fluttered slightly in the night wind, and a gray‑purple bud on her shoulder shed another petal.

Qingque lowered her head to glance at the wilted petal that had fallen on her knee, pinched it between her fingers, examined it in the last sliver of twilight, then silently slipped it into her cuff.

She didn't even know why she kept it.

Probably because she thought, if she ever reverted, she'd need proof that she had truly been that miserable.

Or perhaps she simply thought the petal looked pretty.

Either way, as a Xiao Bu Zhe of Tai Bu Si, she now officially joined the ranks of the Extinction Great Lord as an undercover agent. Ahead of her lie unknown conspiracies, unpredictable circumstances, and perhaps a Grand Diviner raging in the Exhaustive Observation Formation.

Qingque rested her chin on her knee, watched Huan Long hum a little tune in Huo Huo's voice while patrolling the kneeling demon‑shadow forms, and only one sentence echoed in her mind.

"How did I end up at this point?"

The dim green lights in the corridor flickered, stretching everyone's shadows erratically, like a troupe of silent shadow‑puppets dancing on the wall.

Heimu's high‑heeled short boots struck the light‑gray tiles, producing a crisp tap‑tap that sounded invigorating.

She walked at the front of the squad, with Sakura a half‑step to her right.

Sakura's Fox Ears twitched intermittently in the green light, her right hand constantly resting on the hilt, occasionally turning her head to glance at the side passage, confirming no irregularities before pulling her gaze back.

Heimu glanced sideways at the System Panel only she could see, a pale‑blue translucent Light Screen hovering at the edge of her right peripheral vision, currently streaming live footage from Xi Lian's side. In that pinkish room, dolls were piled everywhere; a pink‑haired youngster was nestled in the arms of a gigantic rabbit Doll, half a face buried in the fur, lips slightly ajar, saliva leaving a small dark wet patch on the rabbit's ear.

The sleeping posture could be summed up in one word: defenseless.

Heimu stared at the saliva mark for two seconds, confirming Xi Lian's breathing was steady and nothing was amiss nearby, then shrank the surveillance feed into a corner and let out a slight sigh of relief.

The breath hadn't fully left her lungs when her gaze shifted to Sakura walking behind her on the left.

The crimson Fox Ears stood quietly among the silver‑powdered strands, the tips occasionally giving a gentle tremor.

Sakura's expression was steady, her gray‑purple narrow eyes fixed ahead, her grip on the blade precise, appearing no different from how she looked on the platform.

But Heimu noticed that Sakura had been silent since earlier.

What happened on the train?

Heimu ticked off that judgment in her mind.

Sakura's time on the train was longer than theirs in the Painted World, and after exiting she gave a brief, calm briefing, but that deliberate tone Heimu caught.

Heimu withdrew her gaze, postponing any follow‑up on that observation.

We're still in the passage; new anomalies could pop up at any side, so the conversation can wait until we find a safe zone.

In the middle of the squad, Ge Lei Xiu and Hua walked side by side.

Ge Lei Xiu clutched her sketchbook, her pale‑purple round eyes calmly fixed ahead, expression cool and gentle, revealing no emotional shift.

Occasionally she would lower her head to flip open the sketchbook, which held the scraps of paper she'd collected on the platform; the remnants of a Qianjie × Kaiwen fan‑comic were painstakingly reassembled piece by piece. Though the reconstruction was crooked, the original composition was still discernible.

She stared at the reassembled page for two seconds, then closed the sketchbook and kept walking, a faint upward curl appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Hua walked beside Ge Lei Xiu, his over‑two‑meter muscular frame taking up a lot of space in the narrow corridor.

He moved cautiously, fearing his shoulders would hit the walls; the more careful he was, the more cramped he seemed, hunched back and sideways. That overly careful posture, combined with muscles capable of slamming a Herrscher like a sandbag, created such a jarring contrast that whenever Sakura's peripheral glance caught him, she quickly averted her eyes.

Kaluoer, sandwiched between Hua and Ge Lei Xiu, simultaneously experienced the "suffocating feeling of being blocked by a muscular woman" and the "transparent neglect of a quiet girl."

Her short white hair glowed faintly in the green light, warm golden eyes darted continuously, and her mouth hadn't stopped moving since entering the passage.

"Do you guys usually live in places like this? The lighting is insanely creepy—no need for filters when filming a horror movie. Oh, and that platform earlier was also eerie, but at least it was spacious. This place keeps getting narrower; are you sure this road leads somewhere and isn't a dead end?"

As she spoke, she reached out to touch the wall; her fingertips recoiled after brushing the cold tiles, rubbing them, "It's as chilly as ice. By the way, Hua, may I call you Sister Hua? When you just punched that Flame monster, you were unbelievably fierce—I've never seen a fist that big. Your blow cracked the ground; I was right behind you, you know, and the shockwave straightened my hair. Hey, Ge Lei Xiu, could I borrow your sketchbook?"

Ge Lei Xiu turned her head slightly, pulled the sketchbook half an inch closer to her chest, and shook her head gently.

"Alright, alright."

Kaluoer was unfazed by the refusal, instantly shifting her focus to the rear of the squad, "Kesi Mo—big brother or big sister? Sorry, I can't tell—can your armor fly? The propulsion wings are attached to your thighs, so taking off must be cool, right? By the way, the pattern on your helmet flashed really fast just now; is it transmitting some encrypted data?"

Kesi Mo maintained a steady pace at the rear, his cold‑blue armor reflecting a dim sheen in the green light. The warm‑orange geometric pattern on his helmet visor pulsed slowly at a very low frequency, and after Kaluoer's rapid‑fire questions, the flashing rate visibly accelerated to the naked eye.

The silence lasted about three seconds, then a deliberately flat voice emerged from beneath the visor, "…Stand guard. Remain vigilant."

"That's so cool!"