Wait, why is this blond guy a lolicon?

"Shen Yue, I'll be at the turtle shop right away..."

"Don't come. Go to the north of the city, to the Shilu TV Tower. I'm not there. Guiyou Department Store..."

Yan Youyou: ? ? ? ?

"But..." she nearly crushed her phone, a surge of grievance welling up inside her: "But... I'm almost there!"

"This is an order. Do you still want to change back?"

Youyou's eyes reddened, her nose tingled, and she almost cried: "Waaah, why am I being chased around like a dog?"

But what can she do now that things have come to this?

Since she was wearing fluffy bunny ears, she had no choice but to obediently follow Shen Yue's orders...

She turned to the driver and said, "Excuse me, could you please detour to the Shilu TV Tower?"

"Huh?" The driver couldn't help but turn his head, and just as Yu Yi's mother reached out, he saw a stack of brand new banknotes.

"Haha, sure, sure, then what else is there to say?" the driver joked with a laugh.

"I might even charter a car for you today."

……

The drizzling rain hadn't stopped at the entrance of Guiyou Department Store.

Today is Christmas Day, and the famous Firefly Comic Con is being held here.

Cosplayers can be seen everywhere, including dark-skinned men wearing jerseys with the number 24 and holding classic tropical-flavored iced tea.

"Hmm~ Found it." Shangguan Yunque pulled Jiang Ling and skillfully made his way into the fire escape at the back of the mall.

They pried open the rusty underground sewage pipe inlet in a few quick movements.

She bent down and reached in, pulling out a withered branch soaked with rainwater—

Even though it was completely damp, it still had an eerie sense of dryness. The leaves were curled up and the branches were brittle, as if all life had been drained away.

"Hmm, it seems this is the poisonous creature?" Shangguan Yunque twirled a withered twig between her fingertips, carefully sensing it with the Gu worm for a moment, then immediately wrinkled her round little face and stuck out her tongue:

"Ugh, there's a disgustingly sweet taste, and this power is so strange... like being gnawed on by something."

"Heh..." Jiang Ling swept his gaze around with his Observation Haki and sneered, "I've seen this power before."

"Huh?" Shangguan Yunque blinked. "What kind of power?"

"It's better if you don't know," Jiang Ling said, not intending to drag her into the struggle against the gods.

"Alright," Shangguan Yunque nodded.

Suddenly, her eyebrows furrowed, and she abruptly looked towards the north of the city. Her nose twitched, and she murmured to herself:

"Something's not right. Why is there still that strange aura... It's in the north of the city, probably near the Shilu TV Tower..."

Jiang Ling: "Then let's go to the north of the city."

……

"Youyou, don't come, it's the TV tower."

Shen Yue's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible irritation.

"what?"

"Go... um, go to South Bay."

"..."

"There's nothing we can do about it. It's also a good opportunity to train your patience."

Yan Youyou: (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

……

Next to the sewage outlet of the TV tower.

Jiang Ling just pulled another identical withered branch out of the damp pipe.

Shangguan Yunque wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a bitter face:

"Hmm, I knew it, there are these dead branches here too. We've already found two."

"Hmm? Wait, there's a new presence coming from the direction of South Bay..."

……

"Youyou, don't come to South Bay."

"..."

"Go to the Tamagawa River, there's my lab over there too."

"Waaaaah..."

"Patience means being able to endure and think things through; a small lack of patience can ruin a great plan!"

"Shen Yue...it's almost 8 PM..."

"So, your love for Jiang Ling is so fragile..."

"Huh?! No way! It's just South Bay. Even though there's no highway, it's only a hundred kilometers away. I'll go!"

The provocation worked.

……

"There are also dead branches here, making a total of three."

"Hmm? Oh no, Brother Ling, I sense an aura reappearing in the northwest. Let's check the map... Hmm, let's go to the Jade River."

……

"Hey, Shen Yue, you're not going to change your address again, are you?"

"..."

"..."

"Shen Yue?"

After a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, Shen Yue's voice, tinged with a hint of temper, came through: "Please come back to Shilu University."

Yan Youyou: ...

The tips of her hair gradually turned a pale green.

The only time he wasn't provoked by Ah Ling and didn't show signs of personality change...

She glanced at the driving trajectory on the electronic map—

In just a few hours, the taxis drew a crooked pentagram pattern in Shilu and the surrounding counties.

"Waaaaah..."

The driver glanced at her, who was on the verge of tears, with a complicated expression, sighed, and thought to himself:

"Could it be some kind of mission from a master? This is really strange, going around in circles."

"Well, whatever, I'd be a fool not to make money."

After a long pause, Yan Youyou replied weakly, "I understand..."

Then she said to the driver, "Please go back to Shilu University."

driver:……

Holy crap, is this for real? It really is the master's mission?

……

at the same time.

Shen Yue sat in the car with the chopped chili fish head, staring at the small red dot slowly moving on the electronic map, gritting her tiny silver teeth.

The purple tuft of hair drooped listlessly.

Even the human-machine loli harbored a hint of resentment.

Damn it... why do you keep running near my lab?!

Then, just as she was about to turn the car around and head towards Shilu University.

On the map, the little red dot is heading towards Shilu University again.

Shen Yue: (⩌-⩌)

"I don't care anymore. You're seen by Youyou, and then whatever happens, I don't care!"

"I hate you, I hate you so much!" Shen Yue's purple ahoge (a stray hair) fell down as she gripped the steering wheel tightly, as if she were pinching Jiang Ling...

The two little girls shed tears at the same time, a deep resentment rising in their hearts.

……

"Hey, there's another one at Shilu University?" Shangguan Yunque asked, somewhat surprised. "How come we didn't find it before?"

"It's probably because the pipelines are different," Jiang Ling vaguely remembered that Shilu's pipeline system was very chaotic, comparable to Beiri's power grid system.

"It doesn't matter. There's no need to look for others after we collect this one," Jiang Ling said calmly. "These four dead branches are almost identical, and the other sources of pollution are probably the same thing."

"Since it's just for intelligence purposes, this is enough to get the job done."

"Hmm~ I'm tired too, I don't want to walk another step," Shangguan Yunque said with a bitter face, looking at the building not far away.

"By the way, does Brother Ling live at school? Could you...?"

"No need..." Jiang Ling carefully stored away the dead branches she dug out of the sewer. "But if you need to rest, I have a friend who should be able to provide accommodation in her lab."

"laboratory?"

"Calling it a laboratory would be more accurate to describe it as a five-star private hotel."

Jiang Ling smiled faintly, thought for a moment, and then led her toward the teaching building.

"Let's go, let's rest for a bit first, she'll probably really welcome me..."

PS: Here's a picture of Yan Youyou with bunny ears for reference only!