“Indeed, many have lost the courage to strive, even though everyone is still young,” Athena said with a wry smile. “Actually, I’ve also thought about living a simple life.”
“Wanting to create a paradise on a deserted island, shaping the world into what everyone desires?” Bai Cha raised an eyebrow.
Athena faltered, feeling a sense of embarrassment at having her hidden thoughts revealed. She did indeed have such fantasies; despite her ability to hold a high position, she was still just a young girl in her twenties.
“Why be shy? I thought the same,” Bai Cha said with a smile, pointing to the floor-to-ceiling window. Athena looked down and saw a small pink sprite holding a bouquet of pink bauhinias, standing amidst a heart-shaped arrangement of candles, waving frantically at them.
The bouquet of pink roses seemed to be made of pink crystal, and the candlelight refracted off the crystal, making it shimmer brilliantly, adorned with pink baby’s breath.
In this technologically advanced modern era, most people even opt for mechanical fireflies for confessions, saving time and effort. Yet, Freya had chosen the most primitive white candles, which somehow appeared even more romantic.
If anyone else were to use such an abundance of pink, from top to bottom, inside and out, until everything around them was pink, it would surely feel overwhelming. However, this color and combination, when it came to Freya, was just right.
There was truly no one else in the world more suited for pink than her.
“When I was at my most miserable, she used to say this. She said it was the dream of all young girls,” Bai Cha pressed her face against the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window. Athena saw gentleness and Freya’s reflection in Bai Cha’s dazzling peach blossom eyes—a softness that came from the heart.
“Shaping the world into what I desire…” Athena murmured to herself, looking at Freya. To her surprise, Freya pouted at her and gave her a defiant glare.
Athena was taken aback for a moment, then couldn’t help but chuckle.
This child was probably jealous, afraid she would steal her beloved, wasn’t she?
Bai Cha smiled, pushed open the massive floor-to-ceiling window, and leaped out from the second floor. She looked at the smiling Freya with a hint of helplessness.
“Your birthday was yesterday, so today is the second day, right?” Bai Cha reached out and tucked a stray strand of Freya’s hair behind her ear, smiling as she said, “If it’s a birthday gift, you can give it to me directly when I get back.”
“It’s not! You can’t just give it directly! You can’t be so straightforward, Chacha. This is the everyday romance between couples,” Freya stuck out her tongue. The soft tip of her tongue was as tender as the flesh on the palm of a newborn kitten. “I brought it to you because I saw you hadn’t returned to your room in so long.”
Freya extended her hand. It was a blooming bauhinia carved from pink crystal, a token of the god of love.
Each divine statue on the balance beam had a corresponding divine token. Bai Cha’s token was a golden lily, and when Bai Cha performed self-surgery, she had directly extracted its power and infused it into her body. Thus, the token and Bai Cha had become one.
These tokens were symbols of power and identity, possessing great strength to protect their chosen apostles, but they could only be used once. After use, they were merely ordinary tokens. This was also why Freya had persisted until Bai Cha brought her before Mo Yuntian without dying.
However, even so, it was still a symbol of status and divine position.
“You can’t refuse. This is Chacha’s eighteenth birthday gift. As a coming-of-age ceremony, my gift must be the most special and beautiful,” guessing that Bai Cha would refuse, Freya directly interrupted her. With a playful smile, she said, “This is a symbol of my identity. So, from now on, I’m all yours. As long as you’re here, I’m here.”
“…You are truly willful.”
Bai Cha sighed softly, yet her gaze still held no trace of blame.
“Don’t say that. Everything a cute girl does is right,” Freya hooked her arm around Bai Cha’s, smiling. “Are you done with your business, Chacha? If you are, take me for a walk.”
Done with her business? That question was probably redundant. This little girl likely saw that her business was concluded and wanted her to accompany her to the park.
Bai Cha touched her nose, feeling a bit helpless, but still allowed Freya to drag her towards the fountain.
The next day, the leaders of several countries’ shadows woke up with hangovers and saw Bai Cha, fully equipped and ready to leave with her subordinates. They immediately jolted awake.
“Where… where are you going?” Fan Tian was the first to jump up.
“The underwater floating island. A small island in the sea has anomalous energy fluctuations,” Bai Cha stated concisely. “Didn’t anyone tell you?”
“Oh, that.” Upon hearing this, Fan Tian lay back down. He lay down too quickly and accidentally hit his head. “Ouch! Hiss… Not going, not going. I don’t have time for this mission right now. If you find any treasures, remember to share a bit with me.”
This guy was truly carefree, not afraid that they would hoard the treasures. Bai Cha responded casually with a helpless sigh.
The visual impact of the leaders of several countries’ shadows waking up drunk on the floor was too much for the group waiting to receive them. They were bewildered, unable to understand how their boss had become so close to these people, to the point of being drunk together.
“What treasure? It’s just a dragon,” Gai Bu yawned. He had drunk the most Erguotou yesterday and had almost passed out. His head still hurt. “Whether it’s an enemy or a friend is uncertain, but it would be best if we could bring it back. Perhaps it could be an ally… Right, I won’t be going. I have to return to Country Y for a meeting.”
Odemubul was fast asleep. His dragon, Raphael, however, was awake and quickly added, “We can’t go either. We have matters to attend to. We’ll help you after we’re done.”
It seemed everyone had indeed reported that it wasn’t a treasure but a living creature. Otherwise, if it were truly a treasure, other countries would not have let it go.
“Alright, then you guys can rest for a while. Athena and I will take people,” Bai Cha said indifferently. “No need to help.”
It was just an S-class dragon; sending a few experts would be enough to handle it. It would be an overreaction for all six leaders of the shadows to go together.
However, Bai Cha didn’t bring many people. Besides Lucifer, she only brought Xiang Nan, Cang Liu, and a half-baked Gu Mingze. Meng Qinghuan and Xiang Nan had swapped tasks and were responsible for backup. Yun He was a close-combat fighter, and the water resistance in the deep sea was very unfavorable for close-quarters combat, so Bai Cha had kept her behind.
Moreover, with the World Championship approaching, it was better to let them train more. Compared to Xiang Nan, who had average strength but a good mind, they were different.
The sea waves were surging. Even without wind, there were three feet of waves, let alone the sea center, which was not calm today. Although it wasn’t a storm, the back-and-forth wind had already made the cold waves sting Gu Mingze’s skin.
“Brother, are you sure I won’t drown?”
In the center of the sea, Gu Mingze clung to Cang Liu like an octopus, unshakeable no matter how much he was pulled. His legs were wobbly, and he was so cowardly he might as well have not come.
“Although… although you said I have a connection with the鲛珠 (Jiaozhu), isn’t it a bit much not to wear a diving suit?” Gu Mingze felt completely miserable.
Gu Mingze had originally thought that when Bai Cha said they were going to the seabed, she would have all the necessary equipment. But all she did was take them to a small boat, sail to the center of the sea, and tell them to jump in.
According to Xiang Nan, if it weren’t for the trouble of bringing him along, they wouldn’t even need a boat.
But he was still scared. He was going to drown.
Bai Cha and Xiang Nan had both undergone gene super-mutation surgery, allowing them to breathe underwater. Swimming was purely for training. Cang Liu was even more so; merfolk lived in the sea. But Gu Mingze… he considered himself an ordinary person.
“You have resonance with the 鲛珠. As long as Cang Liu is within a hundred meters of you, you’ll be fine,” Bai Cha said impatiently. She pinched Gu Mingze’s neck, and immediately Gu Mingze felt his limbs go numb and weak. With a slight push from Bai Cha, Gu Mingze was pulled off Cang Liu.
Bai Cha reached out and pinched Gu Mingze again. Seeing Gu Mingze stand up with a grimace, she estimated that his strength had almost recovered and kicked him from behind, sending him down.
“Huh? Ahhhhhhhh!” Gu Mingze was startled and grabbed Cang Liu’s arm, pulling Cang Liu down with him.
Gu Mingze had intended to say something, but with Bai Cha’s sudden kick, he swallowed a large mouthful of seawater.
He silently thought to himself, *It’s over, I’m going to drown.* To his surprise, the large mouthful of seawater he swallowed felt like air, and nothing happened. Instead, he felt a cool sensation all over his body, which was actually quite comfortable.
Gu Mingze was startled and instinctively gasped. He then realized that the seawater entering his mouth seemed to have turned into air. With every breath, his pores seemed to be emitting small bubbles.
“You won’t die, will you?”
Bai Cha’s clear voice, tinged with a hint of disdain, came from behind. It carried a refreshing softness through the seawater, cold yet pleasant, like the sea flowing around his body.
“Cough, wow, this is amazing!” After a brief moment of panic, intense excitement followed. Gu Mingze, a simpleton who had never even visited an aquarium, discovered that he could walk freely underwater and speak loudly. He was as excited as a husky spotting a bone, doing somersaults and leaps, thrilled by the feeling of weightlessness.
How could there be such a fun place? His body felt so light; Gu Mingze would have believed it if someone told him they were on the moon.
Cang Liu remained silent. The deep sea was where he spent the most time. It was cold and dark. Although he feared sunlight, as a merman who had long resided in the gloom of the sea, he still yearned for land. He didn’t understand Gu Mingze’s excitement, which seemed as if he had saved the galaxy.
“Oh, Brother, the seabed is so amazing! Look at me, look at me! Doesn’t it look like moonwalking! I can jump this high!” Gu Mingze twisted and turned excitedly in the sea. It had to be said that although Gu Mingze lacked muscles, his flexibility was quite good. He leaped in the sea, doing a backbend that touched his toes with his head.
“Hmm, haven’t you been to an ocean park?” Bai Cha was a little helpless. She had been to the seabed a few times, and she felt a bit embarrassed by Gu Mingze’s childlike excitement. “Ocean parks usually have activities like diving, which are probably more fun than this.”
This was just the dark seabed, with perhaps some aquatic plants and corals. The deep-sea fish were incredibly ugly. But proper ocean parks had beautiful schools of fish and corals.
Bai Cha said it casually. After all, modern society was a completely unimaginable technological future compared to the world thousands of years ago. Humans themselves hadn’t anticipated such rapid social development. Ocean parks and sky parks had become almost essential for children. Even the poor could save up and experience the joy of birds and fish.
Even Bai Cha, who had spent her childhood immersed in weapons training, had visited similar parks, experiencing the world of fish and birds.
The speaker meant nothing, but Gu Mingze, hearing Bai Cha’s words, suddenly stopped as if choked, feeling a bit awkward.
“Uh, I haven’t been,” Gu Mingze scratched his head, saying sheepishly. “My parents said that useless children don’t deserve to play and signed me up for a bunch of cram schools.”
Although, looking at the final outcome, this pile of expensive cram schools had been utterly useless. His grades hadn’t improved at all; he remained at the bottom.