As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

"And that cub too."

Li Yu suddenly raised her finger and pointed to the thin, one-eyed giant kneeling in the pool of blood.

"Do you know why it was at the very back of the line?"

Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing.

The middle-aged man replied, his voice carrying the confidence of someone who had studied mythical beasts for many years.

"Cyclops are social animals, and when the group migrates, they leave the weakest and most useless one at the back of the line. When they encounter a strong enemy, the one at the back of the line is always the first to die. It's like having a built-in shield."

"Did you hear that?" Li Yu said. "Even wild beasts know to leave a scapegoat and an escape route for their tribe. You bunch of superhumans don't even have this much division of labor."

The valley fell completely silent.

After a while, the young man, whose face had turned red, suddenly moved.

He walked silently to the edge of the pool of blood, pressed his hands to the ground, and a yellowish-brown light emanated from his palms.

Earth-based special ability.

A mud wall, about half a person's height, arched up from the ground, enclosing the kneeling, thin, one-eyed giant inside.

"I...I'll circle it first."

He lowered his head, his voice slightly unsteady: "To prevent it from running away and hurting someone. Let's wait for the rescue team to arrive."

Li Yu glanced at him but didn't say anything.

People in the crowd started moving again; some squatted down to check on the injured, while others ran towards the valley entrance, saying they were going to meet the rescue team.

Li Yu withdrew her gaze, feeling a sense of relief.

At least they listened to everything.

"I'm gone."

She turned around and gestured with her chin toward the bell.

"Oh—eh?"

Bell got up and chased after it for a couple of steps.

"Auntie, that roast lamb..."

"Go back and bake it."

"Okay!"

The bell rang cheerfully in response, then, remembering something, turned back and shouted to the group, "Don't you dare do what you did just now! Next time something happens, remember—"

She got stuck.

She'd never been in a group fight before, so she couldn't think of anything profound to say. After a long pause, she finally managed to utter:

"Remember not to block the way!"

crowd:"……"

After a long while, someone in the crowd finally managed to stammer out, "...She's actually quite cute."

Another voice chimed in softly, "You didn't say that when you were so scared your legs went weak."

Li Yu paused, but didn't turn around; her shoulders trembled slightly.

Bell followed beside her, her thoughts racing.

This was the first time she had ever seen her aunt so angry.

My aunt usually acts like she has no expression in front of outsiders. She speaks very little and eats very slowly. No one has ever seen her get angry.

Today's lecture sent chills down Lingdang's spine.

Her legs went weak for a moment, but she didn't let her aunt see it.

Lingdang suddenly felt a little relieved, thankful that she hadn't actually run away.

If she had cowered like those other people, she would have been the one scolded by her aunt right now.

A streak of red light suddenly swept across from the southeast of the valley.

It was incredibly fast.

One moment it was just a red dot on the horizon, the next it was over the valley and landed steadily without disturbing a speck of dust.

It's a woman.

A striking red dress, so vibrant it was almost blinding, stood out against the greyish-brown valley like a flower ablaze in the snow.

She stopped, her gaze sweeping over the giant corpses lying on the ground before landing on Li Yu's face, and suddenly the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

Even a light rain can get angry.

She said, with a hint of amusement in her voice, as if she were looking at a rare object, "So cute."

Li Yu's cold, lecturing demeanor was completely exposed by this one sentence.

A blush suddenly spread across her fair face, all the way down to her ears.

"Sister Wan, what brings you here?"

"Old Zhou asked me to come and see if things are going smoothly here."

Su Wan slowly approached, her gaze lingering on the blush on her cheeks for a moment longer, her smile deepening.

"It looks like things are going smoothly."

"..."

What Li Yu wanted to do most right now was to blindfold Su Wan.

The biggest mistake in this trial was letting Su Wan catch her scolding someone.

Lingdang tilted her head back, looking at Su Wan, then at her aunt's face, which was so red it could boil an egg, and asked curiously, "Auntie, why is your face so red?"

"From the sun."

Is there sunshine here...?

"I said it was from the sun."

Lingdang wisely swallowed the second half of her sentence.

Su Wan stopped teasing her and turned her gaze to the small, thin giant in the pit. She glanced at the bell and immediately guessed what had happened: "This one, was it the bell that put it here?"

When her name was called, Lingdang jumped up, puffed out her little chest, and exclaimed, "It was me! I knocked it down!"

"Not bad," Su Wan praised, then asked Li Yu, "What's the situation here?"

Li Yu then overcame her awkwardness and explained the situation in a few words.

Su Wan nodded: "I'll explain things to the rescue team here. You guys go first."

"Um."

Li Yu responded and walked away.

Su Wan waved to the bell.

"Little girl, don't just focus on picking fruit from now on."

Su Wan smiled and said, "You saw how angry your aunt is. Next time she gets angry, remember to offer her a glass of water."

Bell paused for a moment, then grinned, revealing a row of small white teeth: "I've got it! Hand me some warm water!"

"..."

Li Yu's temple suddenly throbbed: "I'm not at the age where I need someone to hand me water yet."

Su Wan smiled without saying a word, not in a hurry to leave, her gaze sweeping between the aunt and niece.

Lingdang tugged at Li Yu's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Auntie, who is Sister Su Wan to you? The way she looks at you is different from how she looks at others."

"..."

"Are you two—"

"They're gone."

Li Yu raised her hand, pressed it on her head, and turned her around.

"Ask again, and you won't get any roast lamb tonight."

The bell hissed and immediately shut up.

Before she could take a step forward, she turned back to look at the small, thin giant kneeling in the pit, staring longingly at her, and muttered softly, "Don't run away, someone will come to get you later."

Li Yu didn't expose her sudden display of kindness.

The aunt and niece turned around and walked towards the other end of the valley.

Fat Orange perched on Li Yu's shoulder, its heterochromatic eyes lazily glancing at the group of people behind it. It slowly flicked its tail and snorted through its nose.

The translation is roughly: A bunch of people who have never seen the world.

Behind them, none of the B-level applicants, who had been scolded and were red-faced for asking for autographs, dared to move forward any further.

Only the A-level uncle leading the team stood there, watching Li Yu's retreating figure, opened his mouth, and finally uttered a sentence:

"...Thank you for your guidance, Senior Xinren."

Li Yu didn't even turn her head, tossing out, "Good thing you remembered. Don't let me see you standing there waiting to die next time."

Su Wan stood there, watching that figure from behind, the smile on her lips lingering for a long time.

She had known Li Yu for so many years, and this was the first time she had ever seen this girl speak such a long string of words in one breath.

The cold-faced girl scolded people angrily, but her face turned red to the roots of her ears.

She suddenly realized that this girl actually harbored a fiery temper, but she was just too lazy to unleash it usually.

Su Wan felt a warm, indescribable feeling in her heart.

She turned and walked towards the rescue team.

In the same secluded place, on another mountain ridge.

A figure leaned lazily against the rock wall, holding a green fruit in his hand and nibbling on it casually.

His gaze pierced through the thick fog, landing in the direction of the valley, and he stared at it for a long time.

From the moment Li Yuxun saw Su Wan land, and from the moment Su Wan landed until he saw the aunt and niece turn and walk away, he didn't move an inch.

This clone is an eye that Li Xian left on the outer perimeter.

The main body plunged into the deepest part of the secret realm, going deeper and deeper until only this lazy clone remained, guarding the outer edge of the small area for the main body.

The clone has no other special abilities, except that it can see far and clearly, and can also pick up a couple of fruits for the original body.

The valley fell completely silent, and only then did the person turn their gaze away, looking down at the half-eaten fruit in their hand.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly muttered something to himself, his voice carrying a tone that was hard to define as either helpless or amused:

"I wonder if the original body... will still be going home for dinner."