In a derelict, unfinished building in City D
At this moment, Hunter Horse, under the intense stare of Potato One, was pitching his deal to a creature that appeared human in appearance
"Mate, this is a win-win deal. I give you strength, and when you've no need for it, you return it to me. I take a little interest... Isn't that a fair bargain?"
Hunter Horse spoke with enticing fervour, an orange-red orb of light drifting from his hand.
"Cucumber crisps!" (This bloke... clearly no good sort, preying on innocent humans (questionable) with usurious loans. Utterly despicable!) Potato One declared, hopping angrily twice.
Just as the "human" approached by Hunter Horse prepared to absorb that power,
[Freeze!]
A distant, icy blue energy bolt instantly froze Hunter Horse's hand to the floor.
"What?!"
Hunter Horse inwardly cursed his misfortune, already guessing the identity of his opponent.
Then, an ice cream-themed figure appeared: armoured in yellow, clad in white undergarments, with barely discernible eyes.
The "person" who'd been dealing with Hunter Horse, seeing this, turned tail and bolted without a second glance, leaving Hunter Horse alone, flustered in the wind.
Subsequently, the ice cream man flexed his wrists before pointing at Hunter Horse, his tone tinged with mockery as he declared:
"Now offering..."
"...cooling services!"
With that, the armoured man locked eyes with Hunter Horse.
"Eat cucumber crisps!" (Eh... what's this about? Did the master transplant his own organs to someone else?)
Upon seeing this fellow wielding food-based combat powers, Potato One instinctively categorised him as akin to Valen and Bram.
Meanwhile, Hunter Horse locked eyes with the ice cream man, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"What wind has blown you here, you great hero, Sharp Ice?"
Hunting Horse spoke as flames erupted from his hand, instantly thawing his frozen limb. He countered with a fiery punch to the opponent's chest.
Yet Sharp Ice shrugged off the blow, countering with a heavy punch of his own.
"Ugh!"
"Gwaaah!!!"
The Hunter was sent flying backwards by the punch's impact.
Yet moments later, his laughter echoed throughout the derelict building.
"You're still far too naive, Sharp Ice. This was my escape route all along! You're far too green to outmanoeuvre me, Hunter!"
"Oh no..." Jianbing realised something was amiss, a sinking feeling gripping his heart.
"Boom!"
As Lie Ma became embedded in the wall of the unfinished building, the precarious structure began to shake violently.
"Escaping by exploiting this opportunity?"
Jianbing muttered, swiftly activating the device on his wrist to conjure a ceiling of frozen ice, shielding them from the collapsing debris.
"Crash! Rumble! Rumble!"
Amidst the deafening roar of collapse, the once-standing building crumbled into a heap of rubble and broken bricks in an instant.
Fortunately, Sharp Ice hadn't suffered too much damage; the makeshift ceiling had perfectly shielded him from these attacks.
Oh, right—it hadn't shielded him entirely alone.
There was another little chap.
"Cucumber crisps!" (So strong... This chap must be a good soul!) Potato One declared, eyes sparkling with admiration as he gazed at Sharp Ice.
Meanwhile, Sharp Ice had also noticed the little fellow at his feet.
"Eh... What's this?"
Meanwhile, Potato Three successfully relayed his message back.
However, due to the great distance involved, more potatoes inevitably joined in the relay.
This caused the final content to develop a slight deviation.
Inside the apartment at that moment:
"What!" Kiana slammed her hand on the table in excitement, jumping to her feet.
Then, she exclaimed with great fervour:
"Number One met his heroic end battling some horse-like creature?!"
Upon hearing this, the messenger, Potato Sixteen, nodded solemnly before declaring with profound grief:
"Eat cucumber crisps!!!" (Number One, we miss you...)
Potato One: Children, this is a rumour. In truth, I did not perish.
Upon hearing this, Qianna didn't hesitate. She opened the door and walked out.
『They dared to attack even my Belly Bag. This isn't just any ordinary enemy. I must strike hard!』
She didn't even notice she hadn't brought her Belly Bag.
Meanwhile, Mei Maiyi assumed Qianna was just stepping out, so she didn't call her back. She turned and began fiddling with her transformation bag—the Thunderclap Bag.
"Ah... Come to think of it, it's been years since I last performed as the Dance Goddess..."
Meiya sighed, then picked up a group photo.
In the photograph, she and Bubanya stand flanking her on either side, with a deliberately vacant space left for a third person in the centre.
(One might envision the official group shots of the Three Great Families from various eras, but with Qianna absent.)
'Come to think of it, the reason I didn't do it back then was because I lacked the motivation to keep fighting…'
She reflected, her thoughts drifting back to the day she withdrew.
"I'm sorry... Senior Kiki, I... simply couldn't hold on any longer."
At the time, she was in a terrible state due to her father's imprisonment (later overturned, which is why Mei Mai became a police officer). She even attempted suicide by jumping from a building after being bullied by classmates, though she survived the fall.
Yet that was only one aspect. Another lay in the fact their team had always been incomplete.
The reason was simple: the guide who had led them to become Maiden of the Dance, Maiko, had once said,
"Your group still lacks one who can wield this white shoulder bag—the Lunar Ring Bag."
『But we still haven't found it...』 Mei Mei sighed, then patted the Thunderclap Pouch in her hand.
Precisely because of this, the photograph had always lacked someone capable of standing in the centre position.
As for the Lunar Ring Pouch, it was currently being safeguarded by her senior, Hua Bao—who still fought as a Dance-Law Celestial Maiden—awaiting the emergence of its rightful owner.
At the Shadow Realm Base at that moment:
"Cough cough cough..."
The hideous general now lay charred to a cinder.
Ignoring the searing pain, he hastened to complete his mission with the newly conjured psychic beast.
And by an even stranger coincidence,
this psychic beast
was a Demon Horse.
And by an even stranger coincidence still,
his target—Wu Qidong—resided not far from where the Demon Horse hunted for its prey.
An unwarranted calamity for the Demon Horse... was now unavoidable.