Chapter Eighty: Keisha’s Appraisal

Chapter 80: Keisha’s Appraisal

Demon One, the Queen’s Chamber.

Morgana lay sprawled across the bed in a starfish posture, idly playing with her fingers. Rose had already gone to Earth, leaving her feeling utterly bored. Usually, at this hour, she would be giving lessons to Rose, but today there was nothing to do but nap.

Suddenly, Atto’s voice sounded in the room.

“My Queen, the Ravagers have returned and are preparing for battle at the Giant Worm Bridge on Pluto.”

“Let them come. As long as they don’t mess with our furniture, it’s none of our business,” Morgana replied indifferently.

“Yes, my Queen,” Atto responded promptly, and the room lapsed back into silence.

It wasn’t long before Atto’s voice echoed once again.

“My Queen, 463z233-4631w is a triangular civilization currently heading toward evolution. The Super Warriors have already made contact with them, and there’s a high chance they’ll discover and mark Earth.”

“Mm, got it.” Hearing about the triangulars, Morgana, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly sat up and replied.

She then muttered to herself, “Mottled Blue, Karl, Void Terror, Prime Creature.”

After rattling off this list, she lay back down on the bed and said, “Whatever with the Void or Terror. Living in the moment is the real truth.”

Northern Star, an unnamed mountain peak.

“Come on, cheers!” Yunyang called out, holding a drumstick in one hand and a mug of beer in the other.

Rose was not far off, holding another drumstick herself.

They’d already polished off all the barbecue. Yunyang had made another run to see Ge Xiaolun, who, without further ado, had provided a mountain of raw ingredients. Yunyang then sought out Old Li to have someone cook it all up, picking it up himself.

Old Li had wanted to tag along, but Yunyang promptly shooed him away—this was their time, just the two of them; what business did an old man have butting in?

It all sounded troublesome, but in total, it took less than five minutes for Yunyang to sort everything out. The longest wait had been for Ge Xiaolun to prepare the ingredients.

With fresh food and drink on the table, the two of them drank more and more, gradually opening their hearts to each other.

“Yunyang, do you know why I like you?” Rose asked after taking a sip of wine.

“Isn’t it obvious? Because I’m handsome,” Yunyang, now thoroughly tipsy, boasted shamelessly.

Rose laughed. “Not at all, and don’t you dare laugh at me when I tell you the real reason.”

“Then why?” Yunyang asked eagerly—he was dying to know.

“I’m not telling. It’s a secret.” A sly glint flashed in Rose’s eyes as she teased him.

“Uh, then don’t you want to know why I like you?” Yunyang countered in kind.

But Rose, never one to follow the script, cut him off mercilessly. “No, I don’t.”

“Well, you should,” Yunyang said, exasperated but pressing on.

“Fine. But if you say you won’t tell me, you’re done for,” Rose said, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Heh, it was lust at first sight,” Yunyang whispered, leaning in close to Rose’s ear.

And with that, he couldn’t resist taking a bite out of the drumstick in Rose’s hand.

Rose had felt a bit shy at his words, but when she noticed a large chunk missing from her drumstick, she immediately realized she’d been tricked—this guy was just after her food!

She shot Yunyang a resentful glare, polished off the rest of the drumstick in a few quick bites, and wiped her greasy hands all over Yunyang’s new shirt.

Yunyang looked down at the two dark, greasy handprints on his brand-new clothes, then at Rose’s unabashed expression, and could only twitch the corner of his mouth in resignation.

Irritated, Yunyang pounced at Rose like a hungry tiger. Rose hadn’t expected him to lunge so suddenly, so she had no time to react and found herself pinned beneath him.

Reflexively, Rose almost activated her micro-wormhole to escape his hold, but in the final moment, she stopped herself.

Lying there on the grass, her cheeks flushing red, she said, “If you don’t stop, I’m going to call for help.”

“You can’t molest your own wife. Not even the police would care,” Yunyang replied nonchalantly.

Then, shifting his tone, he said, “Have you forgotten? I told you—it was lust at first sight.”

“So what are you going to do? This is outdoors,” Rose retorted, her bravado belying the nervousness that crept into her heart.

Yunyang said nothing. He pressed her shoulders and slowly lowered his head toward the smooth curve of her neck.

Burying his face in the crook of her neck and breathing in her delicate fragrance, Yunyang’s thoughts began to run wild. His hands, which had been resting on her shoulders, started to wander downward.

Rose, who had initially been confident that nothing could happen out here in the wild, began to panic.

No, not here, this is impossible… Her embarrassment faded, replaced by a growing determination.

“Aaah! That hurts! I’m sorry, let go!” A miserable yelp escaped Yunyang—lost in the moment, he’d just been bitten hard on the shoulder by Rose, who still hadn’t let go.

“Are you sober now?” Rose asked, her words muffled.

“I’m sober, I’m sober—it hurts!” Yunyang replied hurriedly.

Satisfied, Rose finally let go, glancing at the faint bite mark she’d left. She asked, a bit sheepishly, “Does it hurt?”

“It does,” Yunyang replied with a look of grievance.

“Serves you right, you scoundrel. Look at where we are!” Rose scolded him, making no effort to comfort him.

Yunyang, however, immediately began scheming. If the problem was the location—since they were on a mountain—maybe they could just go somewhere else.

With that thought, he pulled Rose into the virtual space, intending to exploit any loophole in her defenses.

But to Yunyang’s surprise, the moment they entered, they were spotted by Xiao Yi, who greeted them with delight.

“Master! Sister Rose is here to play too!”

The pair, caught off guard, quickly separated, both looking like they’d been caught doing something naughty. Yunyang suddenly remembered the third wheel he’d forgotten all about.

Seeing their guilty expressions, Xiao Yi covered her eyes and said with sudden understanding, “I didn’t see anything. Where did Master and Sister Rose go? Why can’t I see you?”

Hearing this, the two had no choice but to compose themselves, straighten their clothes, and sit on the sofa.

Yunyang, feeling a pang of guilt, gently patted Xiao Yi’s little head. Her delight was genuine—he hadn’t visited her in the virtual space for a long time. It must have been lonely for her, stuck here all day.

Xiao Yi closed her eyes in bliss at the head-pat, saying, “Sister Rose finally came to play with me. She never would before, no matter what.”

Rose smiled awkwardly. “I was just busy back then, didn’t have the time.”

In truth, she had been skeptical about entering the virtual space alone—wondering if she would still be herself inside, or become an NPC. Of course, lack of time was a factor too. Together, those reasons explained why she’d never entered before.

Soon, the two girls—one big, one small—were chatting away, completely ignoring Yunyang. In fact, as Yunyang’s face grew darker and darker, they even decided to sleep together that night.

Angel City, Celestial Fortress.

“Heaven is in real danger now—demons, those fallen angels, and now a triangular civilization,” Hoshi said, taking a sip of red tea as she spoke to Keisha, seated across from her.

“To Liang Bing, I’m already out of the picture. She won’t have any designs on Heaven. As for the so-called Celestial Palace, they’re nothing but a band of clowns. Only the triangulars are worth our attention,” Keisha replied coolly.

Hoshi shot Keisha a look. “I wonder who gave you, a third-generation god, the nerve to say that.”

Keisha paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and looked up. “Why, it was my little white crane who gave me courage.”

Hearing this, Hoshi looked up at Keisha in astonishment, as if to check whether she had been swapped for someone else.

Being stared at so intently made Keisha uncomfortable, and an expression uncharacteristic for her appeared on her face.

Keisha blushed—a reaction that utterly shocked Hoshi and filled her with wild joy. Did this mean she actually had a chance?

Keisha was nothing like she used to be—not the Angel King carrying all of Heaven on her shoulders, but simply a close friend, no longer needing to hide her true self.

Hoshi realized she should have seen it sooner, and, a little regretful, smacked her palm. She stood up, intending to move closer to Keisha.

But Keisha misunderstood, thinking Hoshi wanted to show her something, so she got up as well.

“How many are there now? How much longer will it take?” Keisha asked.

“Huh? What?” Hoshi was baffled, not understanding what Keisha was talking about.

She was just going to sit closer—why had Keisha gotten up? And what was she asking about?

Keisha realized Hoshi’s confusion and knew she’d misunderstood, but such things couldn’t be admitted directly. “The Divine Body,” Keisha prompted.

“Let’s go take a look,” Hoshi said, leading the way.

The two of them returned to the laboratory and entered a small chamber. Inside, micro-wormholes flickered in and out of existence, each bringing with it a nearly imperceptible speck of pale gold light.

These were the divine atoms of Keisha, scattered throughout the known universe, now being retrieved by Hoshi using the celestial computational array.

As each speck of light returned, it seemed to be drawn toward and merge into a half-transparent humanoid silhouette.

The outline was faintly discernible as female—even without saying, it was clear this was Keisha’s original body, nude and ethereal, too insubstantial to make out any details.