She hooked her finger into the heel of her shoe and peeled off the white sneakers. Her white stockings were soaked with sweat, translucent with a hazy snow-white glow against her skin, like crystal-thin rice sheets wrapping her little dumpling toes.
Her untrained little feet were utterly spent after the five-kilometer run, limp and listless, sagging softly like steamed Cleaning Slugs—glistening white, tender, steaming hot, but motionless.
Ashley tilted her little head, staring at her dangling pale legs and floppy little feet, murmuring:
“They look like they’ve died.”
“Poor thing…”
Amber cast a sympathetic glance, then her mind heated up. She thought the soft white little slugs were a bit cute… so cute. One more look.
As she looked, she inexplicably reached out and grasped one.
“Wah!”
The moment her slender fingers closed, Ashley shuddered violently, a soft, sweet little yelp escaping her throat.
Then, her head whirred like a spazzing electric fan as it stiffly turned, her round eyes glaring at Amber.
Amber yanked her hand back, her mind buzzing—I-I-I what am I doing?!
Her motive was just curiosity, thinking it fun, but after grasping it, her heart stirred. A wondrous feeling rose in her mind, light and floating, bringing unprecedented pleasure.
She pouted, unable to stop herself from sneaking a peek.
“Ah, it’s curled up…”
Sure enough, the grasped slug—from the tiny toes to the pink heel—had curled tight.
Her body… was so wondrous…
Amber’s heart raced, a guilty thrill like a thief’s. She bowed her head to dodge the Blue-Haired junior’s gaze.
Fortunately, Ashley’s little brain was either overheated from the intense exercise or some switch in her body had flipped on with that grasp. Her mind was sluggish and muddled, and in the weird atmosphere, neither spoke again.
After a while, Amber fanned her collar. “L-Let’s… go back and shower.”
At the mention of showering, Ashley felt sticky all over, like wrapped in tar. Eager to escape, she stood and hurried to the restroom.
Amber had unwittingly bailed herself out.
The showerhead in the restroom was half a meter wide, which Ashley loved. Like a cat, she preferred living water and psychologically rejected bathtubs.
“My fitness is so lame. I need to improve fast; can’t let that dumb loli look down on me. Hmph, Senior…”
The standards were too high for her; no need to test the other sports to avoid humiliation. But luckily, she dodged the school swimsuit.
The written exam was her strong suit. She breezed through seven or eight cultural subjects with high scores.
This shocked Amber, who had always thought her learning ability was top among peers. Ashley didn’t lose to her at all, especially in math and physics. Full scores didn’t show her level, but her effortless poise suggested teacher-level skill.
At the same time, she was glad this genius loli hadn’t gone astray—for now.
I’ll definitely set you on the righteous path! Little trickster junior! Amber resolved inwardly.
But Ashley sucked at history, scribbling nonsense; clearly knew nothing.
At that moment, at the Training Base entrance, a sneaky loli peered through the fence.
“Hmm… strange. A criminal, and a notorious member of the Jenkins Family, at a police training base? Hmph, this world is rotten to the core.”
The loli was Chloe, who had tailed Ashley all morning.
Of course Ashley knew she was being followed; the newspaper carriage was plastered with Fountain News ads, impossible to miss. But she didn’t let it derail her plans.
After the mock assessment, Ashley left the base and bought hotpot ingredients at the market to take home, plus a small coal stove for sumo hotpot.
The Tribunal’s training was comprehensive: fitness, shooting, combat, tracking, culture classes, etc. Without nutrition, she couldn’t keep up.
Night was dungeon-diving time. She set the hotpot simmering before heading out; she’d feast when she returned.
The explored route was safe for quick passage. Ashley swiftly reached the underground dark river that had blocked her last time.
Relic 0872 “Aqualung” came in many types; Ashley’s rental was ray-shaped. Silver back, white belly, silicone-like texture. Worn on the head, its broad fins enveloped it, water flowing through angled pores to filter oxygen, delivered via the hollow tail to the mouth.
The dark river’s water, tested at Little Black Feet’s workshop, was pristine, drinkable like mineral water.
Ashley clipped on a nose clip and dove in.
So cold!
She shivered in the water, thinking: Once I have money, I’ll get a fish-skin relic; no hypothermia in cold water.
She swam with the current for a distance, then climbed a natural stone platform. She shook water from the Black Lantern, lit it, and the glow revealed a cave sloping forward, stalactites hanging like icicles or monster teeth, extending into unseen darkness.
Then, the gyroscope needle trembled.
Searching nearby paths, she circled to the target. Half an hour later, she reached a rock wall fissure. Peering in, it was a bizarre cavity lined with flesh, like inside an animal.
The flesh was vividly colored, bloated and swollen, with uneven buried veins. Thick, root-like branches extended complexly, linking dark red nodules of various sizes. They pulsed and swelled with gurgling liquid, eerie and ominous.
