Chapter 144: Matters Regarding the Level 20 Regular Dungeons (Part Two)

The cat-girl Night Moon walked completely soundlessly, and the little loli's cascading long hair swayed with minimal motion. Zhao Nan walked in silence, quietly calculating the cat-girl's attack power.

Judging from the damage values she inflicted on the monsters, even without factoring in skills, her output was surprisingly close to Fenina's level under similar circumstances. He felt a secret surge of astonishment, but quickly dismissed it. After all, this world was vast and filled with all sorts of possibilities. While the little loli's abilities might be exceptionally rare in certain places, looking at the world as a whole, she was perhaps just part of a talented group.

After sleeping for the better part of the day, the little loli rubbed her eyes and rather clumsily climbed down from the cat-girl's back. Looking around with her eyes still half-open and half-closed, she quickly scribbled a few words on her notepad: "Are we not there yet?"

The cat-girl casually replied, "We can pick up our pace a bit now, Little Master. You should join the fight as well; withholding your combat will only slow us down."

Yee Anya did not hesitate at all. She took out her ancient zither, and the cat-girl scooped her up to sit upon her shoulder. As melodies began to flow, the cat-girl flickered and leaped ten meters ahead in a single bound.

Zhao Nan narrowed his eyes, casually leaving a numbered mark on a nearby wall. From the first one up to now, this was already the ninety-ninth marker. At present, whether there was combat or not, Zhao Nan didn't care much. The monsters in this dungeon couldn't provide him with much experience anyway; instead, this combination of "master and servant" before him piqued his interest far more. Even if she was unwilling to speak, she would inevitably slip up when she fought.

The little loli remained deeply vigilant.

In Zhao Nan's view, this vigilance wasn't particularly sophisticated. It matched her age—semi-adult, essentially caught between maturity and youth.

So far, the little loli displayed two main methods: using zither music to form defenses, and using it to deter monsters. She seemed to lack direct offensive capabilities. However, the appearance of her pet, the Shadow Assassin, made up for this deficiency. With the Wings of the Gale fluttering behind him, Zhao Nan followed quietly behind them like a ghost, moving with a speed that did not fall behind the cat-girl.

Unbeknownst to the man trailing behind, the little loli was currently having a private chat with the cat-girl.

She stubbornly insisted on communicating with others solely through writing, even when the party channel supported telepathic communication. She always stuck to her own ways. Yet, she made an exception for the cat-girl. Because she was her closest companion—the only one who would never betray her, never abandon her, and would willingly sacrifice her life to save her if necessary.

"The Little Master seems to be getting along very well with Lord Zhao Nan and the others."

"This humble one merely finds him interesting."

In the private chat, the little loli was surprisingly talkative. Although she still used her archaic self-reference, her tone was no longer icy and aloof. "The couple both look like decent people."

Through the private chat, the cat-girl emitted a very low, soft chuckle. They say a cat's purr can calm a person's mind, but the cat-girl's laughter possessed that exact same soothing quality.

Out of Zhao Nan's line of sight ahead, the little loli glared and forcefully plucked a particularly loud note on her zither, mirroring the emphasis in her private chat.

"Don't laugh!"

"Pardon my impudence."

"Hey, Night Moon, what on earth are those two? I've met so many players, but I've never seen anyone as formidable as them."

The cat-girl felt an urge to stroke the little loli's head, but finding her current posture somewhat inconvenient, she instead smoothed out a few stray locks of hair hanging down. "My Little Master is very formidable too."

"I always feel like he's actually terrifying. That day, I saw with my own eyes how he used a toy dagger to fool everyone, lying without even blinking an eye. Then he lured Lin Yu out. He could have retaliated immediately, but he stubbornly hid beneath the water and secretly told me via the party channel not to move, to wait and watch how things played out, and just do as Lin Yu said."

The cat-girl listened attentively. At this, she suddenly turned her head and saw that Zhao Nan behind them was carving the number 100 onto the wall.

Sensing something, Zhao Nan turned his head to look, but the cat-girl quickly averted her gaze, leaving him feeling a bit puzzled. He didn't ask, merely refreshing his Gale Wings and Whispering Wind skills before strolling leisurely to catch up, feeling a strange sense of reassurance upon hearing the rhythm of the cat-girl's heartbeat.

"Little Master, do you think the reason Lord Zhao Nan didn't strike back immediately was simply to let Lin Yu's true intentions be completely exposed?"

"He probably thought I was just an immature, pretending-to-be-grown-up ignorant little girl, so he didn't bother hiding many things from me. Later on, when I pieced the whole event together, I realized that he was the one who benefited the most from start to finish. With just a toy dagger and a single health potion, he drove everyone in Listening Wind City who opposed him completely insane!"

The cat-girl nodded noncommittally and suddenly spoke up, "Lord Zhao Nan, ten meters ahead, you need to jump over every third stone slab, otherwise you'll trigger a trap."

Zhao Nan murmured a word of thanks and immediately began writing notes on the wall regarding what to pay attention to. When he finished, he found that the cat-girl had already leaped across several times, instantly widening the distance by dozens of meters.

Seeing Zhao Nan's slightly startled expression from afar, a trace of smugness flickered across the little loli's face. The cat-girl shook her head, thinking that her Little Master was indeed still half-mature and merely putting on a facade of worldly wisdom.

Then, she saw Zhao Nan let out a soft chuckle. A flash of light burst from his back, unfurling a pair of pristine white wings. With a gentle bend of his knees and a light spring, his body glided horizontally through mid-air. Landing smoothly, he folded his wings away and asked in a low voice, "Are there more traps than monsters ahead?"

The cat-girl calmly replied, "Monsters outnumber traps, but the journey isn't long anymore."

A spark of realization flashed in Zhao Nan's heart, and a smile formed on his face.

...

Chirp, chirp.

Ever since the Rose Fairy was planted, the surrounding air had taken on a comforting, subtle fragrance. The air in this dungeon was naturally murky, but now it had become much cleaner. Though the visibility was dim, it felt as though one were standing out in an open field.

Yanan wanted to tease the Rose Fairy. Pinning its pair of wings between two fingers, she brought it close to her eyes and stared intently. "Look, Sister Fenina, this little guy has pointy ears!"

"Chirp, chirp."

As if discovering a new continent, the conversation between the two quickly shifted from emotions and life philosophy to this newly born little life. Girls naturally possessed a maternal instinct; even though Yanan was just awakening to romance and might have already experienced adult matters from Fenina's perspective, she was still fundamentally a young girl at heart. Even she herself was filled with fondness for the Rose Fairy.

"Alright, you're scaring her," Fenina suddenly said softly. "We need to keep moving. It won't be lonely from here on out."

"Could it be..."

A thrill of pleasant surprise ran through Yanan. As she relaxed her fingers, the Rose Fairy flew in panic behind Fenina, burrowing into her hair. Peeking out from her fair, smooth neck with a terrified expression, it looked out at this newly birthed world.

Chirp, chirp.

Fenina smiled down, ripples of warmth stirring in her heart. Remaining silent, she followed her intuition, exited the secret chamber, and hurried through the maze corridors. Her pace gradually accelerated as she danced with her long sword, sending flashes of blade-light dancing through the air.

Behind her, Yanan wore a look of utter shock. This was far more formidable than before.

The breathtaking posture suddenly came to a halt. A rock monster ahead shattered directly into pieces, and a piercing beam of light suddenly shot out from the corridor ahead, illuminating the passage as bright as day.

Who else could be standing at the source of that light other than Zhao Nan?

Fenina gently slid her long sword back into its scabbard.

She tilted her head, smiling and blinking.

Zhao Nan looked up, smiling and waving.

The two quickly walked toward each other.

There was no dramatic embracing or passionate kissing upon meeting; it was simply him brushing away a stray lock of hair on her shoulder, and her dusting off a speck of dirt from his clothes, accompanied by quiet silence.

...

...

"How utterly bland and sickening!"

Yanan shook her head. She didn't understand this kind of scene; it felt too detached from her imagination. She always felt that such a reunion shouldn't be so unromantic.

Romantic or not, they had finally found each other, which was far better than wandering aimlessly.

Chirp, chirp.

Zhao Nan suddenly paused, reaching out to touch the hair on Fenina's shoulder. While she never avoided his affectionate gestures, she knew he wasn't doing this out of romance. She tilted her head slightly so Zhao Nan could easily reach the Rose Fairy hidden within her hair.

Pinching the Rose Fairy by its body with two fingers, Zhao Nan pulled it out and examined it with curiosity.

"This grew from that seed." Fenina recounted the events in the secret chamber.

With its brilliantly colored eyes wide open, the Rose Fairy looked back at Zhao Nan, wearing an uneasy expression. This was a seed obtained only after slaying Count Rose, but it wasn't strictly a pet. The fairy grown from it seemed to possess none of its former memories—merely a fragile little life that could be easily crushed with a slight squeeze.

Seemingly sensing some ill intent, the Rose Fairy began to shiver violently all over, letting out nervous chirps.

"Her name is Chirp, so don't you dare bully her." Reaching out, Fenina rescued the Rose Fairy from Zhao Nan's grasp, placing it in the palm of her hand and carefully smoothing down its slightly ruffled hair.

"By the way, who is this?"

The remaining few individuals, whose presence had been completely overshadowed by the reunion of the two, were finally noticed.

After brief introductions, the cat-girl merely nodded casually and offered a polite greeting, while Yanan began curiously scrutinizing the cat-girl. She had encountered a bit too many new things today.

Unexpectedly, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from ahead, followed by a terrifying bellow, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind blowing through the corridor.

"It seems someone has reached the end of the maze before us." The cat-girl's eyes gleamed with absolute certainty. (To be continued...)