Under Xiao Song's puzzled gaze, Qianna crossed her twin blades and addressed the two psychic beasts before her.
"Domo, Bitter Gabu desu."
Then, wielding her cucumber-potato-chip blades, she engaged the grasshopper beast closest to her.
The thorny tree beast, naturally, was left for the evil ginseng beast.
It was at this moment that Xiaosong noticed Mei Yayi watching nearby.
"Officer, I'm a reporter from a local magazine. What's the situation here?"
Xiaosong spoke, pulling out a pen and paper from his pocket.
(What? You're asking how Xiao Song recognized that Bitter Gabu in cucumber chip form and Bitter Gabu in coffee gummy form were the same in that Armor world without form-shifting concepts? There's a thing called checking the belt.)
In response, Mei Mei turned her head.
Before she could say anything, Xiao Song exclaimed in surprise,
"You're that dance master from fifteen years ago... Ugh!"
Before he could finish speaking, Mei Ya Yi forcefully covered his mouth with her hand.
"Let's not bring up that dark past..."
Mei Ya Yi said awkwardly, then added,
"I'm just an ordinary director now, nothing more..."
"As for that knight... she's definitely not a bad person."
As she spoke, Mei Yayi fixed Xiao Song with a gaze that seemed to say, "If you don't believe me, I'll stuff you in a sack, fill it with cement, and sink you to the bottom of the river."
"Umm... I... I understand," Xiao Song stammered, visibly shaken by the glare. He then backed away nervously to the side.
Just as the two were talking,
"RED CUT!"
Chanting the skill name her master had taught her, her twin blades became yellow-green phantoms. In an instant, Qianna teleported behind her opponent.
Slowly rising, she shattered both blades—handles and all—into fragments.
"Lost?" Wu Qidong slumped to the ground, uttering the words with a hint of despair.
But the answer was clearly no.
Behind Qianna, the grasshopper beast's chest bore two distinct cross-shaped wounds that had pierced through its body. Then, a light began to radiate from those very wounds.
Qianna turned her head, gazing down from above at the Grasshopper Beast about to explode. She spoke slowly.
"Recite the Crimson Verse!"
Upon hearing these words, the Grasshopper Beast emitted a series of rhythmic roars.
(The following content is professionally translated by a specialized translator for the series)
"Cucumber chips"
"Truly formidable"
"Surely useful next time..."
"Sayonara!"
With a deafening explosion, the Grasshopper Beast was instantly reduced to dust.
Just as Qianna retrieved her magic tablet, a sharp pain pierced her back.
Turning around, she saw the Thornwood Beast!
Beside them, the Evil Root Beast, once again reduced to its magic talisman form, silently declared the outcome of the battle.
Cage Root: Children, even I, the weakest of the Psionic Beasts, cannot surpass him.
Just as the Thornwood Beast prepared to press its advantage, raising its club to strike Qianna's head,
"Hmph..."
A faint smile touched Qianna's lips beneath her mask. Her fingers flickered, and the potato chip shards swirled around her hands like a swarm of blades.
Then, she brought her fists together and delivered a vicious punch straight to the beast's midsection.
"BANG!"
With a thunderous crash, the Thornwood Beast was knocked back several paces. The shards instantly swarmed toward it like flies drawn to rotten food. Amidst the terrifying scrape of blades, the debris dispersed to reveal the Thornwood Beast reduced to a pile of splinters.
As the debris dissolved into nothingness, the Thornwood Beast's magic token landed in Kiana's hand.
Then, the potato chip armor slowly fell away. Above the black belly, the cucumber chip Bao Zhang sprouted wings and a halo, ascending into the sky.
"Goodbye!" Qianna waved at the ascending Cucumber Chip Baozang before effortlessly reverting to her human form.
She then hurried over to Mei Yayi.
"It's done!" Qianna said, stretching her limbs with a hint of fatigue.
"Yeah, I know," Mei Yayi smiled, then pointed to Xiao Song behind her.
"This is Xiao Song from the publishing house. I used to know him."
The moment they saw each other, Qianna and Xiao Song blurted out in unison:
"The guy who never gave me that burger! / It's you?!" ×2
As the four conversed, Xin Nan—who'd realized this would be a tough fight and had already fused his armor—finally arrived.
"The work of that Black Knight again..." Observing the scene, Xinnan found an unoccupied corner to disassemble his armor. He then spoke into his earpiece to Meizhen on the other end:
"Meizhen, the psychic beast was taken care of by that Black Knight again. And I encountered the Black Knight's shapeshifter once more."
"Then bring her over immediately."
Then, Xinnan emerged from the corner. After making up a simple excuse, he led Qianna to the ERP.
"So... this is how you summon that black armor?" Dongshan said, glancing at the pulsing cucumber chip in his palm.
"Mhm," Qianna nodded.
"Well..." Seeing this, Meizhen stated her purpose.
"We're a state-sanctioned armor organization tasked with ending this Light-Shadow War. But we're desperately short-handed right now, so we'd like to invite you to join us..."
"Huh?" Qianna clearly froze upon hearing this.
Noticing her reaction, Meizhen continued speaking.
"Your abilities are evident to all. A powerhouse like you should channel that strength toward the right path. That's why we're extending this sincere invitation for you to join us."
"Well..." Qianna hesitated. After all, joining an organization she'd never met before felt a bit too sudden.
Seeing Qianna's reaction, Meizhen immediately played her trump card.
"We offer formal employment, stable wages, and comprehensive benefits—including social insurance and housing fund contributions. After this Light and Shadow War concludes, we'll secure you a position and provide regular retirement savings."
It must be said, Meizhen presented an exceptionally tempting offer.
And as luck would have it, Qianna was a very practical person.
"I'm in!"
"A wise choice." With that, Meizhen produced an employment contract and handed it to Qianna.
Qianna reviewed it, confirmed everything was in order, and signed her name.
A moment later...
"Huh—" Qianna stepped out of the burger joint, gazing at the sky darkening on the horizon as she murmured to herself.
"Who'd have thought I'd find a place to stay on my first day here, and land a job on the second..."
"It's almost like the heavens are smiling down on me."
With that, Qianna shrugged her shoulders, then flipped over and began climbing the building step by step toward her current residence.
Behind her, an ethereal-looking old man watched her with a meaningful gaze, his form as illusory as a phantom.
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
"Mayi, are you absolutely certain that guy is safe?" A mature woman in a tailored suit, with gray hair and eyes, pressed the question.
Mayi remained unflustered. She flipped her police badge onto the table and spoke slowly.
"Bubanya, I swear on my former glory as a Dance Goddess—Kiana would never do anything to harm humanity."
Seeing this, the woman known as "Bubanya" sighed.
"Fine. For the sake of our shared past as Dance Goddesses."
With that, she tossed a shoulder bag bearing a lightning symbol into the other's arms.
"You should keep that power from your past. My intuition tells me you'll need it."
Mei Mei smiled at this, her expression returning to its usual cheerfulness.
"Then thank you, Silver Wolf, Dancer of the Heavens."
Hearing this ancient title, Bubanya smiled faintly, then replied,
"Likewise, Thunderclap, Dancer of the Heavens."
After that, Mei Mei took out her phone to check the time.
Oh no, Qianya's almost back! I gotta head home and cook dinner for her. We'll chat later, Bubanya!
Saying this, Mei Yayi waved goodbye.
Bubanya sighed at this.
"Fine, fine, everyone's got a partner now, huh? I just don't get what's so great about love anyway..."
Then, Bubanya flexed her wrists, ready to leave, only to turn and spot an advertisement displayed on D City's giant screen:
〈The autograph session for Miss Fureai, the renowned author from the Warrior Nation, will be held in the coming days. Please stay tuned!〉
Seeing that ad, Bubanya's face flushed slightly as she swallowed hard.
『Holy crap, I really like this one...』
Inside the apartment at this moment
Three coffee gummies locked inside the apartment since today:
"...Eat coffee gummies!" (Where the heck did they go?) Number One said with some concern.
"Eat coffee gummies!" (I bet they went to get a room... Maybe by now we'll have a few little brothers or sisters.) Number Two remarked.
"Eat coffee gummies!" (I told you to tone down the imagination, okay!) Number Three said, nudging Number Two again.
Just then, the door opened.
"Phew..."
Kiana was panting slightly from running all the way here. Her face flushed from overexertion, she collapsed onto the sofa, looking utterly spent.
At that moment, Mei Ya Yi limped in, clutching her waist—she'd twisted it on the way over.
This sight, falling upon the eyes of the three Coffee Gummies, was quite another scene...
Even more coincidentally, a pile of Cucumber Chips was bouncing around on the sofa.
"Eat the Coffee Gummies!" (Boss...) Number Two nudged Number One with his body.
"Eat the coffee gummies!" (I won't be the boss anymore. You're so perceptive—this position should be yours!)
"Eat the coffee gummies!" (Same here, Number Two... Er, no, Boss!)