Little Pink Starfish

When she woke up groggily, Gao Ling stared at the wall in front of her, momentarily unable to make sense of what had happened.

She remembered everything going black, and then she suddenly passed out… What exactly had happened? And where was this place?

Gao Ling looked out the window. It seemed like a courtyard that had long been abandoned, with a large tree and a bunch of weeds growing wild—it felt desolate.

She looked around again. The people who had come with her were all tied up in a row beside her. It wasn’t clear who had captured them and brought them here.

Gao Ling studied her surroundings closely… Suddenly, the place looked vaguely familiar. It seemed to be the same house she had visited years ago.

But what had happened? Why did it look so rundown now?

She looked at a broken chair in the corner… and finally confirmed it—it really was the same place from years ago. She had a vivid memory of that chair because back then, the shop owner who sat in it had once shocked her badly.

What kind of place was this…? It could pass for a ghost movie set now. While Gao Ling was thinking this, footsteps suddenly echoed from the corridor. Her heart tightened, and she quickly tilted her head and pretended to be unconscious.

“Are these people still out cold?” someone asked.

“Still out…” another voice responded. “They probably won’t wake up so quickly. After all, they’re just a bunch of ordinary folks.”

Gao Ling, eyes closed, silently thought: Am I not an ordinary person…? No wait, maybe it’s because I’ve got stronger spiritual energy.

Suddenly she remembered the talisman on her chest… That thing had saved her countless times over the years—without it, she would’ve attracted way more monsters when she went out.

She focused—yep, the talisman was still there.

Okay. Temporarily safe. Gao Ling continued to lie still and fake unconsciousness.

Where was this place really…? And how could she get back? Was this punishment for dragging others along to monster-watching tours?

The store had obviously been abandoned. Something must have happened. Gao Ling thought, Seems like being a monster nowadays is a high-risk career… But she still couldn’t figure out how a plain clothing shop owner ended up in such trouble.

Ugh… What now?

While Gao Ling was struggling internally, Yuan Yuanyuan was at work in the tavern when her phone signal suddenly cut off.

What the hell? She shook her phone, wondering if a powerful monster had just arrived. Typically, when a big one showed up, phones often short-circuited… But this was broad daylight—how could a big monster be around?

Yuan Yuanyuan looked up at the window and was stunned to see large red lipstick writing across the glass.

She snapped out of it and rushed over, quickly wiping it off with a cloth. It scared the hell out of her. Who the hell writes stuff on her window in broad daylight? Ji Qiu’s moves were getting bolder and bolder—it was like she wanted Yuan Yuanyuan to get exposed.

Luckily, Si Qun had just gone next door. Otherwise, she’d really be screwed… That little idiot might not understand what the message meant, but she’d definitely be curious. Before wiping it all off, Yuan Yuanyuan glanced at the writing on the glass:

[Go to the Juvenile Zone immediately]

The Juvenile Zone? What happened over there?

Though confused, Yuan Yuanyuan was used to Ji Qiu’s lunacy. She grabbed a dagger and rushed out, not even bothering to change her clothes.

Before leaving, she saw Li Zi Jie. Li Zi Jie asked what she was doing with a strange look, but Yuan Yuanyuan couldn’t explain—she just said something had come up and she had to go.

Then she immediately used earth travel to head to the Juvenile Zone. It was quite a distance from the tavern, so Yuan Yuanyuan went full throttle, worried something might have happened.

She had to admit—even though she always complained about Ji Qiu, she still took Ji Qiu’s warnings very seriously.

When she finally arrived at the Juvenile Zone, her entire body was tense, ready for a serious confrontation. She was almost ready to barge in, dagger drawn—but she paused at the entrance.

Inside the house… it was all humans?

Why were there only humans here? What were they doing in her place?

Yuan Yuanyuan was baffled. She started doubting Ji Qiu’s intentions for sending her here.

Still, she pushed through and went inside. After surveying the room, it seemed like only the two up on the roof were monsters. Everyone else was human.

She looked at the two little monsters—they looked ridiculously ordinary. Probably not powerful ones. But they were oddly festive.

Why… were they so festive-looking? What were their original forms? Russian nesting dolls? Yuan Yuanyuan watched as the two cheerful-looking monsters came downstairs, each carrying a pile of random stuff.

“Not much here…” one monster said. “Just a pile of junky books…”

“Shut up and finish packing. We’ll take it all,” the other one snapped.

Hey… those books… Yuan Yuanyuan blinked—they were all manga! What were they doing with those? Why take manga? And some were even water-damaged…

Gao Ling, still “unconscious,” was nervously gritting her teeth, scared those two monsters would realize she was faking. Then she noticed something a bit funny: it seemed like a lot of others were awake too… They were just all pretending to be out, and doing a much better job than her.

Turns out she had the worst acting skills of the bunch.

People really had sharp survival instincts these days… But what now? Gao Ling wondered. They all used to scoff at “weaklings” in manga. Now here they were, caught by possibly the weakest monsters ever.

Ugh… Should I risk it and fight? Gao Ling started weighing her options. There were several people on her side… and only two monsters. If they really fought back… maybe one or two could escape?

“Hey, let’s go.” A monster near Gao Ling said. “We’ll sort through this stuff later.”

“Alright, let’s clear out.” The other replied. “What about these people?”

“…Take care of them?” Gao Ling’s scalp tingled at those three words. She started gathering her energy. It looked like others were doing the same.

Someone next to her seemed ready to move. Gao Ling pinched her stealthily—every second they stalled was a second more they had.

She figured she had spiritual energy. Maybe she could hold off the enemies for a while. She hadn’t spent the past few years for nothing—she had met people with strong spiritual power, and they said in a crisis, people with strong spiritual energy could sometimes unleash immense strength. She decided to hold on a bit longer…

“Hey, you two… what are you doing over there?”

A pleasant voice rang out beside her, and Gao Ling jolted.

Don’t ask why she jolted… Just like how Yuan Yuanyuan thought Gao Ling looked familiar, Gao Ling also thought this voice sounded very familiar—but she couldn’t place it right away.

Almost the moment the voice spoke, Gao Ling heard a faint gasp near her ear. She secretly opened one eye—only to meet the eyes of the person who had just spoken.

Startled, she quickly shut her eyes again, but internally she couldn’t help but mutter, “Damn!”

Uh… was that a guy or a girl?

She had only glanced briefly but couldn’t tell.

The voice sounded like a guy, but the clothes… kinda looked like a girl’s…

She didn’t dare open her eyes again. Although she had already been seen, it would seem even more fake if she suddenly opened them again… So she kept pretending nothing had happened.

“Hey, you two little monsters,” the person said. “What the hell are you doing rummaging through someone else’s place?”

Around Gao Ling, others were starting to secretly open their eyes. At this point, there was no chance they’d escape on their own. This newcomer might be their only shot. After the initial shock and hopelessness, they were now relatively calm, sneaking glances at Yuan Yuanyuan.

Yuan Yuanyuan had almost said, “This is my place,” but caught herself just in time. That would have freaked everyone out.

She looked up at the two little monsters again, didn’t waste words, and leapt from the beam. With a spinning kick, she knocked both monsters out cold.

“Hey, wake up.” Someone nearby nudged Gao Ling. “Come on, wake up.”

Gao Ling slowly opened her eyes, saw the two monsters lying on the ground, and let out a small sigh of relief. They didn’t know if this new person was friend or foe, but at least the immediate threat was gone.

She looked toward the newcomer—and suddenly froze.

The newcomer paused slightly too, seemingly startled by her reaction.

“Hey, aren’t you…” Gao Ling began to speak.

“You’ve got the wrong person, miss,” the other interrupted quickly.