“Tch, dragged on too long…”
Tixiang furrowed her brows in displeasure. The cruise ship’s position had been exposed, and any further delay would allow the enemy’s reinforcements to arrive—and they would keep coming.
“Everyone, prepare to withdraw!” she said into the walkie-talkie’s communication channel.
In truth, there was no need for the reminder. Lamb, Grandmother, Grandma, and the Witch had already descended to the bottom hold and donned their Fishskin Peanuts, ready to slip away.
None of them were fools. With the Night Devil lost, if the Society Head wanted to reclaim his abilities, he would have to assassinate them personally.
At that point, it was uncertain who would be the hunter and who the prey.
After all, the Bride’s Wedding Dress only had the ability for a stealthy one-hit kill. If it failed to kill, they would fall into a massive disadvantage with no abilities left to use.
Even if the Society Head treated them as traitors and eliminated them, it would still be better than the current life of being ordered around like slaves, living in constant fear of being discarded like consumables at any moment.
Tixiang had no idea that her subordinates had already scattered into the river like dumplings. She was still pondering how to counterattack Ashley later, snatch back Little Night Demon and the wolf-cat sisters, and make the Card Court Society great again…
Wind cleaved thunder, exterminating the demon horde!
Amidst the wriggling organs strewn across the ground and the steaming blood, Mingyue stepped forward with a trail of bloody footprints, arriving before Ashley. Her body was pristine and untouched, not a single drop of blood staining her.
Her hands wrapped around Ashley’s slender waist, carefully gathering the spike-legs that extended from her silhouette, and pulled her into a full embrace.
Ashley felt as if she had been clamped by an oversized comb.
Chirp chirp…
The two membranes covered in special patterns at Mingyue’s waist dimples rubbed together, producing a pleasant insect chirp, like that of a beautiful lacewing.
As Ashley’s fingers trailed from her long, snow-white neck to the back of her head, two fingernail-sized elytra automatically parted, allowing her fingers to slide diagonally into the cranium and press against the fingerprint lock.
Chirp—chirp—
The chirping grew long and delighted. Ashley suddenly noticed Mingyue’s small body trembling slightly.
Delwei had said that when the TA Mechanism was activated, it secreted endogenous opioids as a reward. Could it be…
“Good girl… you did well… Master will reward you…”
Ashley’s fingertip caressed the soft-textured tissue. She felt Mingyue hug her tighter, seemingly extremely pleased, wriggling her body against her nonstop.
Once a certain threshold was crossed, Mingyue shuddered all over. Her legs trembled so much she couldn’t stand, clinging to Ashley only with her arms and spike-legs. Then, a soft, sticky white orb trailed by a silk thread dropped downward…
Eh?
What was this?
Ashley’s eyes widened round. It took her a moment to react.
Ah, insect eggs…
Bugs were like that.
Laying eggs, spawning egg cases, and such.
Even without fertilization, they expelled them regularly.
It wasn’t because her fingers had reached in and fidgeted, nor would any little bugs burst out and call her mommy…
Mingyue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she detached from Ashley’s body. Then, as if nothing had happened, she picked up the white clump from the ground and brought it to her moist, thin lips, nibbling it away bit by bit like rice cake.
“Is this the pet you keep? Quite interesting.” Little Cousin poked her head out from the Great Raven’s cockpit.
“Uh… I’d rather she were a bit more boring.” Ashley said with a wry face.
Back on the first-floor terrace, the gray mist had dissipated. Ashley could see the river surface again, with several speedboats approaching from afar and pulling up alongside the ship—high-level cadres here for ‘support.’
“You two, it’s over. Thanks for watching the show,” Ashley said with a laugh.
Brady and Gloria looked grim, inwardly filled with regret. If they had been more proactive back then, they might have gotten a piece of the pie.
Who would have thought a mere Three-Star Inspector would have such formidable combat prowess, with a team configuration that was terrifyingly strong?
After learning that Coleridge was the leader of a criminal organization, both of them regretted it so much their guts turned green.
This meant Coleridge had gone from a private collector to the head of a supernatural criminal syndicate, and the Garden of a Hundred Beasts—along with everything on it—was now plunderable spoils of war!
A once-in-a-lifetime chance to eat their fill had slipped through their fingers!
Unfortunately, there was no regret medicine for them…
Ashley sat on the ship’s railing, her legs dangling toward the water, swinging back and forth. The clear river reflected her delicate arches and slender toes.
While facing off against her colleagues who coveted the spoils, she received treatment from the Little Doctor.
The cruise ship was slowly docking, but the river surface remained lawless territory. These two senior cadres could use the excuse of clearing remnants to board and rob the spoils—if their strength matched, they would have acted already.
The oppressive presence of the Great Raven and Bug Lolita was too strong, and the Blue-Haired Loli was no pushover either. Thus deterred, they could only stand by, swallowing their saliva, their eyes gleaming green like wolves.
Ashley gradually understood the ways of this world.
If you didn’t take it, others would—and they wouldn’t leave you a scrap. Even if you held it, someone would snatch it away. Like African wild dogs or hyenas, slinking around you stealthily, waiting for an opening to strike.
She felt a natural affinity for Amber, perhaps because she was one of the few good people one could relax around—or catch off guard, sink teeth into her snowy white neck, and savor her exquisite, soft little body.
Once bandaged, Ashley leaned askew in Amber’s arms, blowing in the river breeze as she listened to her complain about how greedy the two senior cadres were, taking advantage of her vulnerability to extort her.
“You’re the idiot, aren’t you? In that situation, you should’ve fleeced them hard. They did nothing wrong,” Ashley muttered.
“Hey! How can you say that!”
Amber was furious, but upon seeing Little Ai’s frail appearance in her arms, her anger quickly faded. She couldn’t help but grasp the little hand curled against her chest.
Her hand… so small…
But these delicate, cute little hands… had killed many people…
A strange feeling welled up in Amber’s heart. Boldly, she gave it a pinch.
“Hey, you’ve taken so many advantages of me. Shouldn’t you give something back?” Ashley said abruptly.
“Eh? Give what?” Amber blinked, her eyes cutely widening.
“Poke a hole in you!” Ashley narrowed her eyes, baring her sharp little fangs.
“Eh?!”
“Pierce a little silver ring in—one that I can tug with my finger to stretch the skin. Just a hook of the finger, and you’d have to lean into my arms! And when you bathe and see it, you’d think of me, like I’m right there in front of you, tugging it…” Ashley described vividly.
“Ah—! Stop talking!”
Amber’s face flushed beet red, her voice distorting.
She panicked, eyes darting everywhere, fingertips trembling numbly.
“Eh… you won’t even do something this great? You’re so uncool, Amber, such a square,” Ashley pouted disdainfully.
“It’s not uncool… Would you do it if it were you?” Amber argued.
“I would!”
Ashley flipped over, propping her hands on the deck behind Amber’s waist. She lifted her little face toward Amber’s chest, eyes sparkling mischievously, and said:
“Could you make it my birthday gift? Pierce the hole and set the ring yourself—no anesthetic. I want to keep the full sensation… If it’s you, Amber, a little pain is fine. Or rather, I want you to hurt me…”
“Aaah…”
Amber covered her face with both hands. These words were too stimulating for her. Blood rushed to her face, throbbing, her little ears burning hot.
“Amber! You’re having a nosebleed!” Ashley suddenly exclaimed.
“Wah wah wah…”
Amber fled in panic.
After the cruise ship docked, Ashley didn’t rush back. Instead, she first wrote a detailed report and sent it to Senior Officer Godfrey’s office.
A few hours later, a 7-Star Tribunal Officer was dispatched to Card Court Town to form a task force for the Coleridge case.
All Tribunal Officers were direct subordinates, not collaborators like search officers. At the very least, they wouldn’t eye the spoils. Meanwhile, the two search officers, Brady and Gloria, had already led their teams back earlier.
