Chapter 25: Base

"Who are you? And who am I?"

A hollow voice echoed in the black room; her blood-red eyes held nothing, their unfocused pupils reflecting only Li En's silhouette.

Her once golden hair, brilliant as gold, had turned entirely into a faded, mercury-like pale silver; her pink lips had dried from severe dehydration.

Only her skin remained flushed, but that unnatural, infantile pink made her appear unnervingly fragile.

Li En's gaze filled her with inexplicable fear; she instinctively stepped back.

In that moment, the naked girl seemed especially small and weak.

Was she trembling? Afraid? Was it instinctive survival—or merely the cold?

"You are Laina Lana," Li En mused, giving her a new name.

"I'm Lana, Lana—but who are you?" The girl tilted her head; she liked the name, as if she'd heard it before.

"I'm your friend."

Li En sighed, took off his outer garment, and handed it to her directly.

He glanced at her original clothes—they were far too large and had long since rotted into foul rags; no wonder she'd discarded them.

The young man lowered his head, gazing at the girl curled up like a tiny bird, helplessly exasperated.

A person who had lost all memory should have lost more—was there still something left in the body?

"What is a friend?"

Feeling the warmth of the fabric, the pure girl smiled instinctively.

Her sweet, utterly untainted smile was like sunlight—striking Li En with a faint sting.

"A friend is someone who gives you food, clothes, and a place to live."

Saying this, Li En bent down and picked her up directly.

She felt remarkably light, as if her body were nothing but skin and bone.

Her skin was so fragile it seemed ready to tear at any moment.

"Don't move."

The girl didn't struggle—she merely curled tighter in his arms, perhaps because it felt warmer.

"Warm, friend! Good!" She reached out and patted his chin stubble.

【Species Rank: Inferior Stone. Strength: 2, Stamina: 2, Agility: 2.】 Li En glanced and saw numbers even more hopeless than his own.

This girl, if released, would likely die within days.

Or, more realistically, die in some brothel, on some noble's bed.

"I'll keep her for now—at least until she can defend herself."

More than half an hour later, in Li En's living room, he asked the physician who had just finished the examination:

"How is her condition?"

"The Boiling Blood hasn't fully ended; the regression just concluded. Your comrade's condition is relatively good—no obvious disabilities or illnesses. Aside from lost memory, her behavior and thinking are normal. Many regressors lose mobility or suffer severe mental disorders."

During this time, Li En had already crafted her identity.

He was a regressor, and so was she. Regressors were exceedingly rare—after all, those severely wounded truly died; even if one took a wrong path or underwent a failed evolution, regressing all the way down was extremely uncommon.

Essentially, she could be called a "lucky one" who should have been dead but lived anyway.

The identity Li En fabricated for her was that they had once been soldiers in the same squad, caught in a crisis and a curse, both falling into regression.

She had come specifically to seek refuge with him, but her injuries overwhelmed her, causing total regression—and now even her memory was burned away.

"What about her memory?" This was Li En's greatest concern.

"Just surviving is a miracle. Mental disorders in regressors are incurable."

Hearing her memory was likely gone, though morally questionable, Li En did feel a sigh of relief.

The physician, having received his consultation fee, departed; the girl was now under the care of a dedicated attendant.

Fortunately, the household maid hired by the guild had already arrived—Li En himself caring for her would have been deeply embarrassing and likely disastrous.

At least someone could help teach her basic life knowledge.

"Friend, friend, this clothing is so uncomfortable—I don't want to wear it."

"Pfft."

The White Stripe surged out—Li En, mid-sip, spat his water out.

Watching the girl wrapped only in a bedsheet, Li En sighed. Behind them, the maid rushed in, clutching a maid's uniform.

This was truly not Li En's taste.

The house had no other female clothing—only the maid's garments remained to be used.

"Lana, people wear clothes," Li En narrowed his eyes, averting his gaze.

"Young Lady Lana! Don't do that! Don't run around in just socks!" Fortunately, the maid arrived in time.

Oh, she wasn't completely naked—she wore white silk socks. But that was worse than nothing at all!

At that moment, Li En went completely numb—he might need to hire a You Sect teacher for her.

Leaving the newly "born" girl to the guild maid, Li En fled back to his room.

He considered for a moment, entered the bathroom, and returned to the world within the book.

Some things still needed confirmation.

"This is just a plain metal chain? What the hell kind of taming device is this? Again, you're messing with me?"

The iron chair once used to restrain beasts remained as unyielding as ever—even the Hero's Sword couldn't cut it—but the person bound within had escaped; it was now meaningless.

Perhaps, when resources and skill improve later, I can melt it down into weapons or armor—metal that could stump Elder Su would surely be valuable.

After regression, Laina's limbs had grown slender, her frame shrunk several sizes, and she simply slipped out of the iron chair.

And given the chair's design—only restraining the limbs—it seems this was part of the design too.

He was simply waiting for her regression; this binding never required a key or mechanism to unlock.

"As expected, no supernatural traces."

When Su Er possessed him earlier, he had inspected this chair and confirmed it was a pure metal binding; now Li En had touched it for ages and still found no trace of hypnosis magic.

This is merely an iron chair binding Laina; there is absolutely nothing tamed about it.

"Taming and the Newcomer Starter Pack are truly Li En Sudar-style pranks."

Li En sighed; like his brother Su Er, he was growing increasingly hateful toward Li En Sudar.

Yet, at this moment, touching the pale red gem in his hand, he felt warmth throughout his body and understood this excessively terrifying "Newcomer Starter Pack" even more.

"I fear that once I absorb it, I will break free from this crippled physical condition..."

Perhaps, from the very beginning of its design, it was meant to be a tonic compensating for one's flaws.

The room that originally imprisoned Laina now held only an empty chair, suitable for use as a warehouse; the remaining "regression materials" were wrapped in rags, quite numerous in quantity.

The broken tip of the tail still bore burn marks from combustion; three golden claws possessed astonishing hardness; a sphere emitting a strange black light sat in place as if devouring illumination.

Although there were various miscellaneous small items, these three were obviously the most abnormal.

Touching any single one of them, Li En could feel intense discomfort, as if they were intensely radioactive substances capable of killing him.

"These... cannot see the light..."

Li En had already inquired that Heroine Laina's species was "Alvak," a quite powerful evolved species, meaning the Sun God's Fiery War Lion.

After this unique quasi-mythical species was disassembled, its materials contained some essence of power.

These are highly dangerous radioactive substances; only evolved species on the same path can use them safely.

If sold, there is a possibility they could be traced back to Laina.

However, this bag of red gems, calm as ice and colored like blood, must be the Hero's Blood Dragon Hunter mentioned.

Touching them, Li En could feel his body's instinctive craving.

Perhaps this was the reason for the "Newcomer Starter Pack"; in someone's design, if he successfully infiltrated this city and waited patiently for a time, he could use them to complete his fragile physical body.

Given Li En's personality, under normal circumstances he would not use the Hero Soul Card so early; he should have been able to wait until Laina could no longer endure and obtained the Newcomer Starter Pack.

Then, once his body was completed, finding a job or whatever would be easy; yet two novice thieves and a black-market shop completely disrupted the original deployment.

Li En still shook his head; thinking about this was meaningless. Regardless of what he must do, he must at least have command over his own power.

If he truly faces the possible mastermind behind the scenes, he must at least be stronger than the afflicted Laina.

"Maybe I should just lie flat..." It seemed the difficulty was a bit too high.

With a helpless, self-mocking smile, Li En returned to the house.

But the moment he opened the door, he froze.

A girl was waiting for him outside.

Seeing him come out, she smiled sweetly.

"Friend, friend, Asha (maid) said wearing this will make you very happy. Is it true?"

A dress primarily black, paired with a white apron, white cuffs, and a white scarf; this ordinary maid outfit with stark black-and-white contrast, worn on the young girl, possessed a rare purity and liveliness.

Perhaps the original owner found it too plain, so various cute cat heads were embroidered on the lace trim, collar edge, and hemline; lace patterns depicting expressions of smiling, anger, or making faces.

The young girl tilted her head and, following the maid's instructions, lifted her skirt.

Yet, unaccustomed to the round-toed black leather shoes beneath the skirt, she nearly fell directly.

Li En supported her, receiving only a look up and that overly pure, sweet, foolish smile.

Those black cat ears were twitching... wait, why are there cat ears?!

"... It isn't good to always leave those ears exposed; fortunately, I have fake ears here too." The maid behind quickly explained.

Under those curious little eyes, Li En touched them; indeed, they were cloth headpieces.

As for why, in a world where everyone has beast ears, there would still be fake cat ears?

Uh, the wicked feudal lords always want to change their taste and try something new; rabbit ears are good, but cat ears are not bad either.

Little Lana still felt somewhat unaccustomed, instinctively tilting her head and shaking it, as if trying to shake the thing off her head.

Looking at the "cute little maid" before him, Li En silently looked up at the sky.

Well done, Asha (maid)! I'll give you a raise!

"Silver-haired, red-eyed, cat-eared maid actually exists... Suddenly, I feel my transmigration life has hope again."

Ahem, putting aside all that nonsense, Li En noticed that within a few minutes, the girl began trembling again.

"Cough, cough, cough." The girl, coughing again, was clearly in some discomfort.

A Rough Stone-level species rank does not simply mean low base attributes; it is the downward degradation of the normal body of a beastman species at the Rough Stone level. In short, the entire body is comprehensively fragile, weak, sickly, and mostly dies young.

Li En sighed and, amidst the maid's subtle gaze, directly brought her back to his room.

He took out a blood-colored gem and placed it against her body... For a long while, there was no reaction, completely different from the slight glow and heat it produced on his own body.

It seems Dragon Hunter was right that regressives cannot use their own "materials," which includes universal materials like Hero's Blood.

"Perhaps I need to spend some money to find her a private tutor and a doctor." That doctor earlier also said regressives require long-term nurturing and treatment, and hinted that although he couldn't handle it himself, he could provide contact information for more powerful doctors or even priests.

Yes, as long as money is paid.

"It's uncomfortable; let's wait until the rent arrives first. Tsk, my wages are gone too."

Li En did not go to work today; partly because of this little accident, and partly because he had been dismissed.

Just this morning, a sudden order from a newly arrived high-ranking police official landed on the special project team.

Let alone Li En, whose consultant title hadn't even lasted a week and who was kicked out before receiving his weekly salary; even the special project team was dragged into a suspension for several days.

It seemed someone above was dissatisfied with Li En disturbing the "order" in the dock district.

"Such a quick reaction; it looks like we touched someone's interests. Could it be a report filed by those corrupt cops?"

Li En was quite indifferent; this was within expectations. However, Talia was furious, rushing over upon receiving the order to scold for a long time.

Li En could see that she had mostly come to comfort him, but as they talked, the roles reversed, and the now-accepting Li En ended up comforting her.

"Rest assured, barring any unexpected issues, the task force will be reactivated soon." At this moment, Li En saw no need to act anymore.

"I hope so. Sigh, sometimes I really feel the greatest pressure in this job never comes from our opponents. Huh, is this the new maid you hired?"

At some point, little Lana had crept over again, seeming like a newborn cub, clinging tightly to Li En, the first person she had ever seen.

"No, she is my comrade-in-arms, a former comrade."

"What?!"

Lana's presence instantly diverted her attention and anger.

Hearing Li En's "introduction" of her former comrade status, she imagined the arduous evil suppression and its costs in her mind, while emotionally hugging Lana to comfort the poor girl who had lost everything for justice.

And when Li En asked her to help process an identity document for Lana, she agreed without hesitation.

"You believe people too easily." She was so gullible, believing a story halfway through as if it were complete truth, which even made Li En feel a bit embarrassed.

He had even fabricated a long story about how Lana had struggled on, sneaking into the city, only to finally collapse and begin regressing; yet he didn't even need to finish telling it.

Just the look of absolute determination in her eyes when she left made Li En worry she might go to extremes and explode at the higher-ups.

If he heard in a couple of days that she had gone to loudly denounce her superiors and was immediately dismissed, Li En would not be surprised in the slightest.

With her help, Li En breathed a sigh of relief; at least she promised to help procure some normal feminine hygiene products and clothes, and could personally teach Lana not to run around naked.

"Ding-dong."

Just as Talia left, another visitor arrived.

Then, the lady brought in by the visitor made Li En struggle to hold back his composure.

"I, I just came to see you. I heard you were dismissed." His former fiancée, Miss Shaliman Sudar, the current executor of the honey trap, was clearly unprofessional enough that even her lines were read unprofessionally.

Especially when the next moment, a silver-haired girl draped only in a bedsheet ran past behind Li En.

The poker face she had struggled to maintain instantly crumbled.

"Vulgar!!"

(End of this chapter)