Insomniacs must be extremely irritable. Ashley carefully tended to her, glancing worriedly at the flickering cigarette, thinking that perhaps the young lady would press the lit end against her flat chest or snow-white thigh, treating her like an ashtray and burning her viciously. After leaving her covered in wounds, she would strangle her to death and cuddle the corpse until dawn. How terrifying. But the more frightened she became, the more her lips uncontrollably curved upward, wanting to let out a cackling laugh.
It’s… it’s over…
She was about to crack up…
A wave of despair surged in the Blue-Haired Loli’s heart, yet her body twitched uncontrollably, on the verge of bursting into laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
The girl lifted her chin with slender fingers, scrutinizing the twisted little face strained from holding back laughter. She smiled too, but a mad killing intent welled up in her amber eyes, exuding a suffocating pressure!
So scary…
She’s going to kill me…
Wah…
Ashley’s hairs stood on end, her eyes glistening pitifully as if soaked in water.
“Hoo…” The girl suddenly blew a breath, lifting her bangs. In an instant, she retracted her ferocious expression and murmured, “Letisia said you’re a heartless little rascal, and indeed you are. But you’re perfect for that task.”
That task?
Ashley’s eyes darted slyly.
“Interested in becoming a double agent? Between Union City and the Jenkins Family.” The girl suddenly dropped a bombshell!
Ashley gaped in shock. Starting as a double agent right away? That was too thrilling!
“You didn’t mishear. It’s ‘double agent,’ not ‘undercover.’ Undercover work requires loyalty and sacrifice, but those don’t exist between you and Union City. Even if you’re willing to sacrifice, there needs to be a reason. Ordering you to provide intel directly would be too arrogant.”
The girl narrowed her eyes, revealing a smile that pierced straight to the heart. She took a drag from the cigarette, parted her thin lips slightly, and let the smoke drift out gently as she said:
“It’s not the best timing, but enemies won’t wait for us to prepare. This attack on civilians was the same—they’re steadily advancing a massive, cruel plan. You should sense it.”
Ashley composed her expression and grew serious.
She realized that the Twilight Girl had become city lord not just because of her immense supernatural power. She wasn’t some little girl sitting on a throne with a nuke, flattered by everyone and unfit to rule.
“So, what’s the price?” Ashley asked.
She thought every day about when that trash from her family would finally die. Of course she wouldn’t refuse if she could sell for a good price.
“The Jenkins Family offers whatever, and I’ll give ten times that,” the girl said flatly.
Although not a single gem or precious metal gleamed on the girl, Ashley had no doubt she held the keys to directing all of Union City’s resources.
Her gaze toward the girl changed—this was a true ruler. Powerful, restrained, calm, generous. A queen with the wisdom and means to unite all city-states and factions.
“Please allow me a moment to consider.”
Ashley took a deep breath, her mind turning exceptionally calm.
Undercover work carried huge risks, but the rewards were even greater. Moreover, without eliminating her family, she couldn’t shed that label and truly become a good person.
Of course, Ashley didn’t fully trust Union City. She wasn’t a fish that bit at any bait. After thinking it over, she looked up and asked:
“Why me? My status in the family isn’t high enough for the Fountain City Lord to personally come with a blank check for me to fill out.”
“You’re clearly a naive little loli, yet you’re not overjoyed to the point of losing yourself, nor hesitating out of fear. Those are the qualities of an excellent spy.”
The girl nodded approvingly and said:
“You’ll know in time. You’re different from them—not in terms of humanity, but in another way.”
Riddles, huh?
Ashley saw she didn’t want to say more and dropped it. But she pivoted and said:
“I don’t want ten times the price.”
“Oh? So you want more…” The girl wore an ambiguous expression.
“No matter what the family gives me, ten times won’t change its nature. I want one-tenth of the final proceeds! Otherwise, no deal!” Ashley declared firmly.
“If the final proceeds are humanity’s happiness?” The girl’s eyes narrowed further.
“I’m not interested in fertilizing someone else’s leek field.” Ashley bluntly looked away.
“Outrageous!” The girl flicked her forehead. “Treating humanity like private property—utterly wrong.”
“Wah wah… it hurts…” Ashley clutched her little head and curled into a ball.
“Don’t play pitiful.”
The girl pinched the cigarette butt between her thumb and forefinger, extinguishing it in her palm. The high heat did no damage to her tender skin, not even a speck of ash. Neat and decisive, she said:
“I accept your terms. Go all out.”
Joy surged in Ashley’s heart. She was just waiting for her cut. From today on, she was a pangolin!
However, the situation wasn’t optimistic. The family’s sole contact in Fountain City had been taken out. They needed to restore communication to act.
This meeting only reached a cooperation intent. More negotiations lay ahead, and double agents often got liquidated.
“Anything else to say?” the Twilight Girl asked before she left.
“I want to know your name,” Ashley said after thinking.
“Seriskona.” The girl gave a slightly tricky name, facing the wind as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Nostalgic. Not many know this name anymore.”
–
Though it was just a short walk from home to Fourth Avenue, events piled up one after another, overloading Ashley with information. Her little head felt stuffed full, desperately needing time to digest.
First, the family wanted to perform some ritual on her based on a million Spirit Points.
What was the transformation result? A crystal-skulled monster? A glowing giant bug? Unclear, but far from human anyway.
Ashley was very concerned about the starlight above Moracha’s head.
Those lights condensed into threads reminded her of fiber optics from her previous life. So it might be a real-time transmission line.
She had seen the Insect House’s gene transcription program. No need for real-time connection—just record on a carrier, transcribe into a organism, and it ran automatically.
For this situation, Ashley guessed two possibilities:
One, the mastermind judged that Moracha couldn’t escape after launching the terror attack—he’d surely be killed or captured. To protect core tech and prevent source code leaks, they used remote connection. Moracha was a pure tool; maybe he uploaded his consciousness before death, and what the Yellow Springs Light obliterated was an empty shell.
Two, enhanced control. The mastermind used satellite-plus-fiber to verify intel authenticity, meaning the plan had low fault tolerance. Any false intel or delay could cause massive losses.
The transformation plan was interrupted by Rat Rat’s absorption and Seriskona’s instant kill…
Thinking of this, Ashley pulled Rat Rat from her pocket. What appeared was a flower resembling a succulent plant.
Thick, fleshy petals clustered densely together, with a hazy transparent sky-blue texture edged in pale pink—exquisitely beautiful.
This flower topped a blood-red cactus-like stem, faint light shining from within, illuminating tangled filaments and an apple-shaped heart. With each heartbeat, countless light points raced through the filaments, mysterious and fantastical.
“Second Cycle ended, but plenty of Primordial Blood and Spirit Points remain, forming this swollen stem. But how to start Third Circulation?”
Ashley pondered. Clearly, outside the culture medium, hidden conditions needed fulfilling. No clues.
At that moment, Little Black Feet beside her offered advice:
“The suspected King Insect shedding was dredged from the ‘Rot Sea.’ Maybe species there complete multiple cycles. Studying their ecology might reveal more activation conditions.”
“Forming a Rot Sea exploration team costs a fortune, and it’s not on my to-do list.” Ashley shook her head.
“The seventh sublevel ‘Rot Sea’ nears the primal stratum—territory of the top hundred deep-dive teams. But we can buy intel. Leave it to me.”
With that, Little Black Feet placed the Second Cycle Rat Rat on an instrument for scanning. The supernatural fluctuations it contained grew even stronger.
“I have a feeling it’s forming some supernatural ability,” Little Black Feet guessed.
“Supernatural ability? Don’t those form at Singularities? Sacrifice valuables, gain power—one hand money, one hand goods.”
“Mutant creatures form them too, like your Demon Flower Mantis. Did it pay?” Little Black Feet countered.
“You mean Singularities are the business window for humans, like deals with devils?”
“That’s the common view, but it’s naturally formed. If it’s consciously stripping humans of their joys, that’s too terrifying.” Little Black Feet pursed her lips.
