Quadruple split.

Chapter 2625 Chasing Feathers
"Om."

This time, not only Ji Xiaoge, but even Mo Tan, whose hearing was not as good as the former, heard a strange sound that was not easy to detect but was definitely there, and immediately located the source of the sound.

Whoosh!
The next instant, accompanied by a fleeting pale golden afterimage, something no bigger than the palm of a hand vanished from the edge of Mo Tan's vision, escaping the limits of his sight and perception.

Even with his dynamic vision honed by the power of killing, he couldn't make out what it was. Even with his desperate attempts to recall, he could only remember a faint golden light on his retina.

however--

"bird?"

Ji Xiaoge stared wide-eyed at the depths of the passageway, in the direction where something had just disappeared, and asked in bewilderment, "Was that... a bird?"

Mo Tan, who was well aware that the other party possessed exceptionally high-level dynamic vision due to their racial talent, paused for a moment and asked curiously, "You saw that thing clearly?"

"I didn't see it clearly."

Ji Xiaoge shook her head, her expression somewhat conflicted, and said, "Although I tried my best to see, that little guy was very fast, so I could only see about a third of its back. But I can guarantee that it was definitely a pair of wings, a pair of golden wings."

Mo Tan casually transformed the [Asura Halberd] into the [Eternal Regret Thorn] and said seriously, "I have a feeling that this thing is the 'Queen's Relic' you mentioned in your mission."

"I'm feeling it too."

Unlike many pitiful characters in stories who are surrounded by clues and hints but are forced to ignore them by third-rate creators, Ji Xiaoge readily agreed with Mo Tan's accurate and somewhat unconventional deduction, and said seriously, "Suddenly encountering such strange things, especially in a fortress where one can't feel any life at all," if it's not the mission objective, it simply doesn't make sense.

Ji Xiaoge shook her wings, rolled up her sleeves, and took a deep breath: "So, we're going to chase after them?"

"Chase."

Mo Tan gave a concise and decisive answer, reminding him: "Be very careful during the process. You are in charge of controlling the direction and speed. Don't push yourself. Safety should be the top priority."

"rest assured."

Ji Xiaoge smiled gently, then lightly flapped her wings, taking flight and gracefully landing behind Mo Tan. She placed her hands lightly on his shoulders and whispered, "Let's go—"

The next second, Mo Tan transformed into a swift shadow, carrying the girl who was gently 'hugging' him from behind, and shot out at high speed into the depths of the dark tunnel.

"Don't stop."

With her exceptionally wide field of vision, Ji Xiaoge immediately warned Mo Tan before it reached the next gravity disorder zone. While guiding it with her 'flashlight' throughout, she swiftly flapped her wings and landed, precisely synchronizing with the backup link just before Mo Tan entered the disorder zone. Based on the model she had previously created, she restored the gravity of the disorder zone to a normal level.

After completing all of the above in a short time, Ji Xiaoge flapped her wings again, accelerated back behind Mo Tan, transformed herself into a light and fashionable accessory, and asked with a grin, "Am I amazing?"

"so amazing."

Clearly sensing that the 'crisis' in the air had quietly disappeared, Mo Tan replied with complete admiration, then accelerated again, passing under the half-open gate on the left side of the end without hesitation, and quickened his pace once more.

"The situation here is getting worse and worse."

With almost all of her weight on Mo Tan, Ji Xiaoge, who was constantly monitoring her surroundings, frowned slightly. She then adjusted her goggles to a mode suitable for the current situation and said quickly, "There are several high-energy reactions nearby, but since we haven't been identified as 'hostile targets' yet, most of those are defensive measures and haven't been activated. There shouldn't be any safety issues in the short term."

As Mo Tan sped through the ruins littered with wreckage, he asked without turning his head, "So, did you find that thing?"

"No, although I managed to record the wavelength of that thing, its speed was just too fast."

Ji Xiaoge shook her head and frowned, saying, "If this continues, even if the thing hiding in the shadows stays 'on standby,' it will be very difficult for us to catch it. It doesn't play by the rules at all; it dares to go into things like ventilation shafts. We simply..."

"Om-"

Before Ji Xiaoge could finish speaking, the two heard a buzzing sound with some kind of attribute. Turning their heads, they saw that the thing that had been highly suspected of being the key quest item 'Queen's Legacy' was flapping its wings and hovering near Mo Tan's ear, looking like a harmless ornament.

This time, Mo Tan finally saw the whole thing!
Simply put, this is actually an artificial object that looks completely round with a pair of pure golden wings on its back. It can not only make a buzzing sound and move at high speed, but it is also so small that even Mo Tan would have difficulty catching it with his enhanced physical abilities.

In addition, this thing seems to be immune to various restrictive or binding skills and effects. At least in the instant before it appeared and for several seconds afterward, Mo Tan's aura lock, which was always effective against melee professionals, was almost useless. If the other party hadn't made a sound and suddenly appeared in his field of vision, Mo Tan wouldn't have even realized that his target was right next to his ear.

【blast】

Without the slightest hesitation, Mo Tan immediately used the smallest movement he had made since learning the [Gale] skill. Although this skill, which could shorten the distance between the enemy and himself in an instant and temporarily grant him [Dynamic Vision] at almost the upper limit, was very valuable, in his judgment, this move, which gave him the opportunity to personally catch the opponent's movement skill, was simply the 'only solution'.

Unfortunately, despite his swift reaction, the buzzing creature managed to evade at the last second, gliding lightly through Mo Tan's fingers and hovering just in front of Ji Xiaoge's nose.

"Hi!"

Without hesitation, the girl reached out and grabbed, only to find nothing as expected. She watched helplessly as the other person drew several 'Z' shapes in the air, widening the distance between them to more than fifteen meters once again.

And so, the chase began again!
It must be admitted that despite the complex environment, Mo Tan and Ji Xiaoge still showed great resilience and concentration. Despite being outmaneuvered several times, they were always able to bring that seemingly clumsy but lightning-fast thing back into their 'attack range'.

But that's not the case—

"It was intentional!"

After being narrowly avoided and outmaneuvered for the third time by that thing that was almost literally a 'badminton shuttlecock,' and instantly pulled more than ten meters away, Mo Tan shook his head in frustration. He smiled wryly at the winged beauty beside him, who was flapping her wings and panting heavily, almost sticking out her tongue, and said, "If that thing wanted to, it could even maintain a 'safe distance' from us the whole time, but it seems like..."

"They're playing us."

Ji Xiaoge wiped away her sweat, casually placed a bright sphere inspired by Gu Xiaole's blue lantern, shaped like a balloon, capable of illuminating a radius of dozens of meters, into mid-air, and then changed her words to a more appropriate phrasing: "Or... are you playing with us?"

Mo Tan weighed the [Eternal Regret Thorn] in his hand, his expression subtle, and said, "The key is that we can't afford to play this game right now. Once the deadline for the emergency mission is over, those 'high-energy reactions' you mentioned will most likely come out and fight us to the death." "Oh, right!"

Ji Xiaoge scratched her head, then stood up with some difficulty, flapping her wings which were almost cramping: "Then let's keep chasing!"

"Don't worry."

However, Mo Tan did not show the urgency that should be present in the current situation. Instead, he casually took out a stool from his bag and handed it to Ji Xiaoge: "That thing is obviously not focused on escaping. Although it is out of our sight now, it is most likely staying or observing somewhere nearby. Rather than forcing ourselves to move, we should recover our strength first."

Ji Xiaoge, whose physical strength was indeed completely depleted, gave an "Oh," obediently took the stool handed to her by Mo Tan, opened it, and sat down. After letting out a long sigh, she suddenly turned to Mo Tan and belatedly asked, "So why do you carry a stool with you at all times?!"

"Because someone heard from a shop owner back in Academy City that this thing can be used for self-defense, and it is easy to carry and extremely concealable, ranking first among the top ten common weapons."

Mo Tan sat cross-legged next to Ji Xiaoge and said quietly, "In addition, because of [Xiao], I can't use other weapons casually, so someone impulsively bought me one for self-defense."

Ji Xiaoge: "...Aha, ahahaha, you reminded me and I remembered. Cough, really, my memory is usually pretty good, how could I have forgotten it by accident?"

"Because you bought a whole bunch of all sorts of 'subtle' practical things back then, and this stool was just one of them."

Mo Tan sighed and took out a soft-looking brush from her bag: "For example, this 'Winged Friend' series beauty brush from Angel Feather. You bought it because you heard it could cleanse, moisturize, and prevent hair loss, but you've never used it even once."

"cough!"

Ji Xiaoge blushed slightly as she snatched the brush from Mo Tan's hand, gently tapped his head, and wrinkled her nose, saying, "But he just forgot that players don't shed their fur, and why didn't you remind him before!"

Mo Tan: "...Because you instructed Lao Jia to spar with me to test the quality of that 'stool,' the old man spoiled you and attacked without saying a word using melee magic. If I had been distracted watching you buy brushes, I'm afraid he would have beaten me to a pulp."

"..."

Ji Xiaoge froze for a moment, then immediately flashed Mo Tan a flawless, beautiful smile, trying her best to present her cute, endearing, and lovable side, attempting to hypnotize her online boyfriend: "Gege is so cute, so you definitely won't have the heart to blame Gezi, right?!"

Don't worry, pigeon.

Seeing the other party's pitiful and cautious appearance, Mo Tan couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head, saying, "I didn't mean to blame you. I was just explaining where all this random stuff came from."

"Who's your brother?! Oh wait, I mean, you're the one who stood me up... Ugh, how annoying!"

After accidentally embarrassing herself, Ji Xiaoge suddenly widened her eyes and exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Oh no!"

Swah——

In the blink of an eye, the moment the girl cried out, Mo Tan's [Dawn] had instantly transformed into the most suitable [Ruthless Sword], and his gentle and warm eyes turned into sharp, vertical pupils flashing with lightning, as if he had activated [Reverse Scale] as he leaped up.

Not only him, but even the 'badminton shuttlecock' hiding in the shadows not far away was startled by Ji Xiaoge's shout and floated out of their blind spot.

"what?"

Ji Xiaoge stared blankly at Mo Tan, who was on high alert, then hurriedly stood up and took out her [Valkyrie Gatherin]. While nervously looking at it from left to right, she asked him in a low voice, "What happened?"

"...?"

Mo Tan turned to the winged girl beside him, bewildered, and asked, "Didn't you notice something was wrong?"

"what?"

Bathed in the soft light of the balloon lamps, the breathtakingly beautiful girl returned Mo Tan's gaze with an even more bewildered expression, and said in an even more confused tone, "I didn't."

Mo Tan: "Didn't you just shout 'No good'?"

"Oh, that one."

Holding Gaterin in one hand and nervously clutching the tip of her wing with the other, Ji Xiaoge said in a flustered tone, "I...I...I just suddenly remembered the last update!"

Realizing he had probably misunderstood something, Mo Tan lowered his sword and frowned, asking, "What was the meaning of the last update?"

"It's a notification when the game undergoes a major upgrade!"

Ji Xiaoge stood on tiptoe, looking quite nervous, and said, "Have you forgotten?! The notice said they were going to remove 'hair' protection for all players! What kind of logical and physiological hair removal design did they come up with?!"

Mo Tan nodded slightly, then hesitated and said, "I remember this one, but I haven't seen your hair lately... Ah, could it be that you mean..."

"We can't let our hair fall out! Not even our feathers!"

The winged girl jumped three feet high, exclaiming anxiously, "Tell me, tell me, the feathers on my wings should also be considered 'body hair,' right? They must be, right? Feathers are hair, after all! What if I accidentally lose some hair, or if I don't take care of them and end up with bald wings? Ahhhhhh, that's so scary!"

"calm down!"

Mo Tan immediately tried to calm Ji Xiaoge down, both amused and exasperated. After her attempts to persuade her failed, she picked up the 'Friends with Wings' series feather care brush and tentatively asked, "How about... I take care of your wings?"

hum-

The next moment, to Mo Tan and Ji Xiaoge's astonished gaze, the 'badminton shuttlecock' that had been toying with them for over half an hour appeared in front of Mo Tan, its tiny wings fluttering incessantly, looking...

They looked eager to try!

Chapter 2616: The End