Tears glint in Lin Luoran’s eyes when she sees the cyan little fox for the first time since they parted three hundred years ago. She murmurs, “Cyan little fox… Cyan little fox, I’ve found you at long last.”
She can’t help crying, and the little fox gazing at her also has tears in its eyes. Fearing that everything in front of her is but an illusion, Lin Luoran puts down the stone tablet and throws her arms around the little fox.
The cyan little fox is stunned and blushes up to its ears.
“Hey, you woman are talking nonsense. I had found you, not the other way around, okay?”
The warmth of reunion is instantly diluted by these words. Actually, the cyan little fox is mischievous by nature despite its charming appearance. Lin Luoran is about to pinch its cheeks as a punishment when she finds something unusual—
“Why, can you talk now?” Not only can it speak, but it’s speaking in a lad’s voice, Lin Luoran says to herself. Remembering that she’s still holding the cyan little fox in her arms, she’s a little embarrassed.
The cyan fox combs its fur which is disturbed by Lin Luoran, and then shows the whites of its cute eyes, which look harmless.
“I knew a little bit about human language, but just didn’t bother to talk to you.”
As the cyan fox reveals its mischievous nature, Lin Luoran wants to pick it up by its neck and beat it. However, considering that they haven’t seen each other for more than three hundred years, she softens and lowers her voice.
“You, where have you been in all these years?”
The Lin family worried about it for long, but it turns out to be in the underground world. Has the little fox been hiding here? Before she can ask many questions, Lin Luoran gets a glimpse of the stone tablet which is plunging into the dirt. Shocked at the scene, Lin Luoran tries to catch it but in vain. It falls through despite her quick action!
The cyan fox purses its lips. “Forget it. The damn saintess ran away long ago, so it’s useless to hold the stone tablet.”
Ran away? Lin Luoran stands up at once. “What did you say?!”
The cyan fox clasps its ears with its paws to minimize the impact of Lin Luoran’s loud voice. “The saintess ran away three days ago! It occurred when you seized the stone tablet and were put in jail in place of her.”
Lin Luoran has a headache. She wonders if she should praise herself for finding the cyan little fox or just punish herself for letting go of the fake saintess.
Cyan little fox wants to laugh at Lin Luoran, but it suddenly gets serious as it smells the sulfur in the air. “Without the Ba, the magma in the underground world will cause an eruption! Let’s go!”
It rushes out very quickly, signifying that Lin Luoran should follow it.
Looking at its back, Lin Luoran discovers that this little fox which hasn’t grown up during the past three hundred years has an extra tail. As the fox runs, its two tails are waving. It’s so funny.
But then she sighs secretly. In fact, Lin Luoran guesses that cyan little fox probably comes here to look for the White Fox.
Unlike the Lin family who were missing, the White Fox was on the verge of extinction three hundred years ago. In this respect, the cyan little fox is all the more pitiful.
The cyan fox disappeared at the entrance of the Green Mountains three hundred years ago. Have it found any fox of its own race?
…
The little fox with two tails is not only faster in speed, but has become stronger and more powerful. The monsters of the underground world have to evade it as it passes by. Actually, the fox king has gained authority with the growth of the second tail.
In fact, the fox has run through these intersected tunnels three hundred years ago. Following it, Lin Luoran asks hesitantly, “We will escape, but these animals…?”
The cyan little fox is speechless whenever dealing with this silly kind person. It slows down a little bit. “The fittest will survive. Some of them are destined to be swallowed by magma. Otherwise, the multiplying species in the underground world would have destroyed the balance of nature long ago and all would have died.”
A biology class by a young nine-tailed fox! Lin Luoran looks embarrassed, but then resumes running with the fox.
They reach a slope which remains the same as it was long before. A huge army of animals huddle together on it. In fact, this place is very close to the ground. Thinking about this, Lin Luoran picks up the little fox and jumps up with a sword. She splits the thick soil layer overhead and transfers to the ground through the theurgy of Earth Escape.
On the desert are mutant monsters galloping nervously in the heavily polluted air… Besides, there are countless blue energy barrels.
Xiaozhi comes into contact with Lin Luoran as soon as she emerges from the underground world. But for such connection, Luoran would have thought that Xiaozhi has become a traitor with a consciousness of its own.
“Be careful. The Alliance has come to take revenge on you. They have also taken over the starship. I am afraid my secret will be discovered by them, so I am playing the fool… ”
To the Alliance, artificial intelligence with an independent consciousness is probably a greater threat than such a capable cultivator as Lin Luoran. Therefore, Xiaozhi has made the best choice to protect itself.
Lin Luoran narrows her eyes. The siblings of the Ma family are still on the starship. Are they hidden in a safe place by Xiaozhi?
“Ah, I’m not talking to you anymore. The Alliance is starting to run antivirus software again…”
The Alpha Alliance has every reason to suspect that the starship was captured by a cultivator because the intelligent brain program has been hacked. Indeed, Xiaozhi hasn’t fared well since it lost contact with Lin Luoran three days ago. The Alliance boarded the starship and has run dozens of antivirus scans a day to detect any system vulnerabilities, which makes Xiaozhi miserable.
“The cultivator on the ground, you have been discovered. Please lay down your weapon. The cultivator on the ground, you have been discovered. Please lay down your weapon.”
Lay down your weapon? What weapon?
“Hey, are they referring to you?” Lin Luoran shakes the cyan little fox in her arms and hears the commotion overhead.
Cyan little fox feels wounded. Its eyes are glowing with anger.
Damn alien barbarians! I am a member of the noblest nine-tailed fox clan in the world. How dare you call me a weapon?
I will bombard you with weapons!
…
On the “Alpha-Edward” starship.
“Captain Gaut Sutherland, I will submit your statement to the military arbitration department of the Alliance. Now please hand over your credentials and cooperate in our investigation.”
Colin Weir looks cold. He once occupied an official post with very little to do in the military arbitration department. But during his holiday on the earth, a barbaric planet in his eyes, all was changed when the garrison was captured. He was conscripted and sent to investigate how the cultivator attacked the garrison and how the garrison was held captive.
But for Gaut Sutherland, who is among the prisoners, Colin Weir would rather indulge in drinking than do this chore. Gaut Sutherland! Colin felt greatly motivated and readily accepted the commission from the military arbitration department.
“Colin Weir, let me tell you again. I suspect that the intelligent brain program of the starship has turned its back on us. It needs to be thoroughly formatted!”
Since Gaut Sutherland woke up from a coma, everything has changed.
Once an excellent soldier and a promising captain, he is now reduced to a prisoner of war, which will be a humiliation to him forever. The military arbitration department even suspects that some soldiers of their garrison have colluded with the earth cultivator. Otherwise, it’s impossible to explain why the starship fell into the hands of the earthlings in a short time.
What happened before he passed out is unbelievable. The special web for destroying cultivators didn’t work, and the robot refused to function in a normal manner. Gaut Sutherland ponders over the situation and concludes that the intelligent brain program of the starship is to blame. Therefore, when talking with the investigation team led by Colin Weir, he is so agitated that his eyes appear appalling.
But obviously, the points he makes are regarded by the investigation team as an excuse for his failure.
There’s even a trace of pity on Colin Weir’s handsome face.
“Gaut Sutherland, experts sent from the space station have made over a hundred tests on the intelligent brain program of the starship in the past two days. Unfortunately, there are no such problems as you describe… We still believe that there are traitors in the garrison. You’d better wait for the investigation results issued by the military arbitration department.”
Seeing that his opinion is not taken seriously by other members of the investigation team, Gaut Sutherland shuts his mouth wisely.
Colin Weir hands the investigation form over to his subordinates and says, “How can one question the loyalty of the intelligent brain program to the Federation? Had it not locked up the people who are with the earth cultivator, we wouldn’t have boarded the starship so easily.”
Colin’s words make Sutherland speechless.
Colin Weir goes around the starship and then heads to the living area. Two alliance soldiers with guns are standing at the door of a room. They salute Colin Weir as he approaches and let him in.
“It’s you! What are you here for?”
Obviously, Ma Yiming, Ma Shuangshuang and Han Weiya won’t fare well after they are held captive. The three live in the small room. Seeing Colin Weir come in, Ma Yiming stands up and pulls his sister, as well as Han Weiya by the way, behind him.
“Don’t be so hard. As long as you tell us where the earth cultivator has gone, you will be deemed as citizens of a Rank One member star. The Alliance will be generous to you.”
Han Weiya has an odd look under her veil. As the daughter of an interstellar merchant, she’s crazy about archaeology and interested in all things about Huaxia before the new era. She thinks Colin Weir’s words are very similar to a certain slogan of Huaxia in the new era.
Leniency to those who confess? Pfft. Everyone knows they will end up in jail!
“Warning. The starship suffers an unknown high-energy attack. Warning. The starship suffers an unknown high-energy attack. The attacker may be the earth cultivator.”
A mysterious smile appears on Colin Weir’s face.
The siblings of the Ma family and Han Weiya cannot hold back their joy.
“It seems that she’s here to save you.” Colin Weir throws up his hands.
…
The cyan little fox on Lin Luoran’s shoulder says the melted weapons smell bad.
Lin Luoran evades the energy cannon shots from the starship. The cyan little fox clings to her on the shoulders, its two tails waving in the air.
“Declare war on that steel monster!”
Lin Luoran nods. In fact, she declared war on the Alpha Alliance before long in the name of cultivators, didn’t she?
