Divine Strategy Alliance Library, first floor.
A girl with long, bright white hair gently closed her book and looked out the window. Outside, the city was brilliantly lit, its multicolored neon lights decorating the night sky. The streets below were filled with people in casual clothes, out to relax.
She glanced at the time on her phone. It was already past nine at night.
Shao Ya stared blankly at the screen for a moment.
On the screen was her chat with Su Zhi. The message in the text box—"Are you done? When do you want to go shopping?"—was unsent.
After a moment’s hesitation, the girl gave a helpless smile and deleted the text in the input box.
The next moment, her phone started ringing.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the caller ID, and a look of childish anticipation spread across her face in a wide smile.
"Dad!"
Shao Ya answered the call, her voice bright and cheerful.
"Xiaoya, it’s been a while! Is summer camp going well?"
On the other end of the line, Shao Yun’s voice was also brimming with joy.
"Uh-huh, it’s great!" Shao Ya answered with a smile, then asked curiously, "You sound really happy. Did something good happen?"
"Heh, Xiaoya, look up."
Shao Ya froze for a second, then slowly raised her head.
A middle-aged man in a beige trench coat was standing outside the library window, smiling at her. He was holding his phone in his left hand and waving gently with his right.
A cold and refined beauty with long, ice-blue hair stood behind him, also dressed in a beige trench coat, standing quietly in the wind.
Shao Ya suddenly felt a prickling in her nose as she ran out of the library.
"Dad!"
She let out a small cry and, like a child seeking affection, dove into the man’s embrace, her arms wrapping tightly around him.
Shao Yun gently patted his daughter’s shoulder.
This was the first time in 402 days that he had seen his daughter face-to-face.
"Disasters have been so frequent these past two years, Dad’s been completely swamped. Sometimes I couldn’t even find the time to call you..."
Shao Yun said self-reproachfully, wiping away the girl’s tears with his slightly wrinkled fingers.
"It’s been hard on you, Xiaoya. It’s my fault. I haven’t been a proper father."
"That’s not true!"
Shao Ya rested her chin gently on her father’s shoulder, a blissful smile on her face. "You’re my pride, Dad!"
"Mm, and Xiaoya is my pride, too."
Father and daughter embraced for a moment, both wearing blissful smiles.
"Oh, right, Xiaoya, let me introduce you. This is Selena, captain of the Flying Shadow Alliance’s 31st squad. She’ll soon be promoted to Vice Alliance leader; she’s my successor."
Shao Yun explained to Shao Ya, then looked at the refined, cold beauty behind him.
"Xiaosai, this is my daughter, Shao Ya!"
"It’s nice to meet you, Senior~!" Shao Ya smiled and stepped forward to shake the beautiful woman’s hand.
"You can just call me Captain Sai." Selena offered a gentle smile. "General Shao often mentions his daughter. You truly are an exceptional child."
"Hee hee, thank you, Captain Sai!"
"By the way, Su Zhi is here too, isn’t he?" Shao Yun looked toward Selena. "I hear he’s attending our Flying Shadow Alliance summer camp?"
"Yes, Su Zhi is one of my campers."
Selena gave Shao Yun a satisfied nod. "The boy is doing very well. He’s outstanding in all respects, both in his abilities and his character. You can rest assured."
’...in entrusting your daughter to him.’
"If even Xiaosai gives him such high praise, then I can rest easy."
Shao Yun gave a small smile, then looked to his daughter. "Speaking from the heart, though, I don’t hope for Xiaosu to choose the Flying Shadow Alliance in the future... What about you, Xiaoya?"
"I support his decision," Shao Ya said without a second thought, blinking.
Selena’s lips curled into a knowing, aunt-like smile, but she quickly schooled her expression back into that of a cold and refined beauty before Shao Yun or his daughter could notice.
"Well, Dad supports your choices too!"
Shao Yun patted his daughter’s head and asked curiously, "It’s a holiday today. Didn’t Xiaosu come looking for you?"
"Mm, he went to the archives to read. He’s not back yet... Huh?"
As she spoke, Shao Ya’s phone suddenly vibrated.
Seeing the new message from Su Zhi, she stared blankly for a moment, then tilted her head in confusion.
"Su Zhi just said a senior from the Divine Strategy Alliance wants to have a friendly match with him. He’s... at the Divine Strategy Alliance’s Battle Hall right now?"
The girl replied to Su Zhi with a "Go for it~!" while tilting her head in curiosity.
’Su Zhi didn’t even come upstairs, so how did he go straight to the Battle Hall?’
’Don’t tell me... the Divine Strategy Alliance’s archives has a direct path to the Battle Hall??’
Shao Yun was completely bewildered as well. "A senior from the Divine Strategy Alliance? Xiaosu knows people from there?"
Selena, however, frowned slightly.
"I’ll go take a look."
Divine Strategy Alliance Battle Hall. The match was about to begin.
"Which Pet Beast are you most confident fighting against?" Samika asked in a relaxed tone as he activated the arena’s Energy Barrier.
Su Zhi looked at Yu Bao.
Yu Bao put on its sunglasses and gave Su Zhi a cool, confident nod.
’It’s gotta be Leo!’
’Are you addicted to stomping noobs or something?’ Su Zhi thought, shaking his head with a laugh. He looked at Samika. "Yu Bao says Leo."
"Leo? Of course." Samika smiled faintly, and a deep blue Beast Taming Light Array immediately lit up at his feet.
A moment later, a grayish-white sphere materialized beside Samika in the flickering Light Array—
[Pet Beast: Lip (Thousand-Change Clay)
Attribute: Attributeless
Race: Middle Elite
Real-time Energy Value: 1700]
Seeing the Pet Beast that appeared opposite him, Su Zhi raised an eyebrow.
Attributeless Pet Beasts were a special case; they weren’t affected by Attribute Suppression, nor did they suppress any other Attribute.
’This type of Pet Beast is quite rare; I can’t believe Samika actually managed to form a contract with one. Then again, he’s a researcher, so I guess it’s normal for him to have access to rarer Pet Beasts?’
While Su Zhi was deep in thought, Samika communicated with the Thousand-Change Clay named Lip. A moment later, Lip’s body was enveloped in a pale gray light.