Rover said discontentedly, "Don't think I can't hear you just because you're whispering."
"And I'm not jealous! I'm just expressing my dissatisfaction!"
Camellya retorted angrily, "You say you're not jealous, but you're clearly too caught up in the moment, Rover. If you looked at it from an outsider's perspective, you'd see there's nothing between me and Lucian!"
Lucian nodded slightly. "Indeed, there's nothing. Rover, you're misunderstanding me again."
Rover pinched Lucian's ear in annoyance. "It's all because you're always flirting around, making me suspicious. If you could just stick to the path of a loyal partner, I wouldn't have to doubt this and that."
Changli, hearing this, hugged Lucian's arm, pressing it between her soft curves, and smiled. "In the end, it's just that Rover's too sensitive. If it were me, I wouldn't doubt so much."
Changli looked up, gazing at Lucian with affection. "So, why not stay in Jinzhou and be a carefree Intelligence Officer…"
Rover: "?"
"You're already trying to steal him, and now you dare to do it right in front of me!"
"Lucian, tell me, does our agreement still stand? If you let yourself be swayed by Changli like this, watch out…"
Rover raised her fist and waved it in front of Lucian.
Changli chuckled. "So violent… If it were me, I'd only let Lucian experience what the Land of Tenderness feels like…"
With that, Changli hugged Lucian even tighter, stood on her tiptoes, and lightly kissed the corner of his mouth, then raised her head to provocatively raise an eyebrow at Rover.
Camellya exclaimed in shock, "I never thought Counselor Changli would be like this!"
"This is intolerable! Rover, if it were me, I couldn't stand it!"
Rover summoned the Emerald of Genesis in her hand, asking coldly, "Lucian, your answer?"
Lucian replied with a resolute gaze, "Rover, don't worry. No matter how Changli tries to sway me, I won't fall for it!"
Though he said this, Lucian's body didn't move, still letting Changli cling to his face.
Clearly, Rover noticed this.
With veins popping on her forehead, Rover shouted furiously, "Prepare to die!"
Just as the Emerald of Genesis was about to strike Lucian's neck, he quickly called out, "Wait!"
Rover said expressionlessly, "Any last words? Don't worry, since you love Jinzhou so much, I'll find you a prime burial spot in Jinzhou and lay you to rest properly."
Lucian's expression darkened. "Rover, how about this? You try seducing me too, and I'll decide based on the situation…"
Before Lucian could finish, Rover gritted her teeth and interrupted, "You're actually enjoying this!?"
The Emerald of Genesis swung down instantly. Lucian transformed in a flash, using Transformation Magic to turn into a white cat, landing lightly. With a push of his hind legs, he leaped into Changli's warm embrace.
The white cat spoke in a human voice, "Changli, quick, take me away from this troublesome place!"
Changli smiled brightly. "You said it yourself. When we get back to Jinzhou, you'll have to stay by my side…"
Rover snorted coldly, "In your dreams!"
As she spoke, Rover reached for the white cat in Changli's arms. Changli was about to leave with the cat when a blue light suddenly emanated from both the cat and Rover, and they vanished in an instant…
Camellya shrugged. "They were probably taken below by Shorekeeper."
Aalto clutched his forehead. "Looks like Mr. Lucian is quite busy usually…"
KU-Money snorted. "Human emotions are so complicated and troublesome. I still prefer cold, hard Shell Credits."
Changli sighed. "What a pity…"
Camellya pursed her lips. "What's there to pity? Lucian's not going to just follow you back to Jinzhou like that…"
Changli looked to the horizon. "I just think it's a pity that Lucian's about to get beaten black and blue by Rover… I hope Rover goes easy on him and doesn't ruin his looks…"
Camellya scoffed. "Rover loves him so much, how could she ruin his looks? She'd probably just drain him dry instead…"
As she spoke, Camellya turned to leave. Aalto reached out. "Hey? You're leaving? Don't go! There are still some lingering Tacet Discords up here on the Black Shores…"
Camellya waved her hand without looking back. "What's the point? There's no fun to watch anymore. I'll leave the rest to you."
Changli also headed toward the Resonance Beacon. "I'm not a member of the Black Shores either. There's still a lot to do in Jinzhou, so I'll leave the rest to you."
Aalto: "???"
KU-Money chuckled. "A world where only Aalto gets hurt has been achieved."
…
Still in his white cat form, Lucian looked around. He and Rover were in a garden of pale blue flowers, where a sparkling blue butterfly landed on his head before silently flying away.
"Rover… Rover…"
Rover slowly woke up to find a white cat pawing at her face with its soft pads.
"…Why are you still in that form?"
Lucian resisted the urge to lick his paws and grinned. "I found this form super comfortable! I can effortlessly let you carry me around."
Rover snorted. "I think you just want to sneak into my arms to do naughty things."
Lucian gave an awkward smile. "Didn't expect you to see right through me…"
Rover shook her head, fondly picking up the white cat Lucian. She lifted a corner of her collar and tucked him inside, leaving only his cat head poking out.
The white cat's face was full of bliss. "So comfy…"
Rover: "…"
"Where are we now?"
Lucian extended a paw, pointing to a small robot nearby watering flowers.
"We were probably brought to the depths of the Black Shores by Shorekeeper. There's a robot over there too. Let's go ask it."
Rover nodded slightly and walked toward the robot. "Where is this?"
The robot seemed quite timid, or perhaps it hadn't seen strangers in a long time.
"My name is KU-Nana. Th-this is the Bank of Life. As you can see, it's… it's the seed and plant storage of the Black Shores' underground…"
Rover nodded slightly. "So this really is the underground of the Black Shores."
Lucian, nestled in Rover's arms, asked curiously, "Why do they need different robots for watering flowers above and below ground?"
"Wouldn't it be fine to just have one robot do both jobs?"
Rover paused for a moment. "I hope the world doesn't have capitalists like you."
KU-Nana, startled, exclaimed, "A talking cat!?"
Lucian laughed. "What's so shocking about that? Aren't you a talking robot too?"
KU-Nana froze. "W-well… that does make some sense…"
"But I've seen plenty of talking robots, but I've never seen a talking cat…"
Lucian said smugly, "Well, now you have!"
"By the way, I think it was Shorekeeper who brought us here, right? Where's Shorekeeper?"