Using a Shadow-Eating Soldier to devour Tingyun's shadow was another method Caelus had prepared to verify her identity.
This thing's initial form was extremely weak and not easily detected.
It would devour her shadow at night while she slept, when she was defenseless.
The real Tingyun, the chief representative of the merchant guild who couldn't even truss a chicken, a delicate young woman—even if a Xianzhou Foxian's constitution was superior to an Earthling's, she wouldn't be able to resist the shadow-eating ability.
If it could be devoured, it meant she was the real Tingyun.
Conversely, if it couldn't be devoured, or if the Shadow-Eater was destroyed outright, it would mean a big bad wolf was hiding under Tingyun's soft fox skin.
Previously, at the Divergent Star Port, Caelus hadn't summoned Little Raccoon Stelle to be Tingyun's backup dancer precisely to avoid alerting the enemy.
Whether it was the Black Shadow Soldiers moving through the Shadow World or the devouring of a living being's shadow, it was all part of a power system from outside the Imaginary Tree, something Phantylia had never encountered.
It was just like a "first-encounter kill" in a game. Even a Lord Ravager of Destruction, who could easily annihilate all the Ghost Shadow Soldiers Caelus could summon at full power, wouldn't be able to react to such a sudden, unexpected test.
Tingyun wouldn't connect it back to Caelus.
As for why Caelus would be looking for Tingyun to chat at this hour?
It wasn't the first time he'd done so.
After all, Tingyun was the person in charge of hosting the Astral Express Crew, so it was perfectly normal for him to look for her for a chat now and then.
Stelle had also been constantly trying to raise Tingyun's affection level because of the treasure chest on her body.
If she were the real Tingyun, Caelus would have to approach opening the treasure chest in that... location... slowly and might even feel a little bad about it. But if it was confirmed that Tingyun was Phantylia in disguise, then he could strike without any scruples.
He wouldn't have to worry about a thing.
"As expected of my Caelus, that realistic acting has a bit of my flair,"
While Caelus was pondering the results of his test on Tingyun, Stelle, March 7th, Seele, and Bronya were still heatedly discussing the proposal video that was trending on the video-sharing sites.
They were scrolling through the video's comments.
[Xiao Guizi Guinevere: Waaaaah, I ran into a natural-born master of chaos on a Luofu street! He's monstrously strong, I tried my best but couldn't win! Begging for the male lead's contact info! Master, accept me as your disciple, I want to learn the art of chaos!]
[FrailButPacking: What planet are these two from? Proposing with a trash can is seriously badass. I wanna visit their planet.]
[WatchDiting+AddFriend]: C my cute vids C good stuff cheap
[TulipsCan'tBeatGeneralJingYuan'sFragrance: First sight, cute, I'm a stan, marriage, I'm fine with both of them!]
[ProofOfTheColonialEmperor'sTechnique: @person above, this punch is from General Jing Yuan!]
[Administrator: WatchDiting+AddFriend has been muted by an administrator.]
[BecomingLightToProtectMissJiaRan: The link bro! No! My link bro!]
"Hiss~ These people are so weird... Ah!"
Stelle did a tactical lean-back onto the redwood sofa, but being used to soft couches, the back of her head hit the wooden frame. She immediately curled up, clutching her head.
"Give me a break. With your acting skills, you're on the same level as March at best."
Caelus reached out and rubbed Stelle's head to help ease the pain.
It wasn't that he wanted to, but their shared sensation was giving him a headache too, and rubbing his own head wasn't very effective.
"Weird? I think you two are the last people who have the right to say that."
March 7th couldn't help but retort, then she suddenly whipped her head around. "Wait, Caelus, were you just saying my acting sucks?"
The two most heavyweight champions of weirdness, the Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick of the Astral Express!
"Seele, don't look." Bronya covered Seele's eyes the moment she saw the "link bro" comment and the username below it.
Is this the power of the citizens of an interstellar civilization?
"The Masked Fools... They're a very dangerous group, and not in the conventional sense."
After hearing Caelus's story, Welt's brows furrowed, his expression serious as he fell into thought.
"Why would they appear on the Xianzhou at this time? And why would one disguise herself as Stelle to approach Caelus? Could the Masked Fools also have a hand in the Luofu's Stellaron crisis?"
"Caelus, what do you think?"
"I don't think she has anything to do with the Luofu's Stellaron crisis. At least, not right now. Who knows about later," Caelus answered honestly.
Welt pondered for a few seconds before giving his senior's advice. "No matter what, remember this: you must always be on your guard when dealing with the Masked Fools."
"Don't worry, it's not yet certain who's fooling whom~!" Caelus said, smoothing out Stelle's long hair and then playfully tying two strands into a knot.
"Wait, truce! My phone buzzed, I'm out!"
If anyone else had said that, Welt would have thought they were being careless or getting cocky, but Caelus...
He looked at the video on the phone, at 'Stelle' having a trash can shoved in her face by a kneeling Caelus. He could practically smell the stomach-churning, gut-wrenching odor through the screen.
With the Masked Fools targeting Caelus, it was really hard to say who the unlucky one would be.
Welt fell silent.
While roughhousing with Stelle, Caelus wondered whether he should tell everyone the information he had on the Lord Ravager Phantylia.
But considering Little March's acting skills and her ability to improvise in these situations...
Caelus gave up on the idea of a public announcement. It would likely just alert the enemy. He could, however, share and discuss it with Old Yang; he was the only reliable one.
Pinned down by Stelle's brute force, his neck locked in a scissor hold by her long, fair legs, Caelus decided he would go find Old Yang for a private chat after the meeting broke up.
Ding~!
To show his sincerity for the truce, Caelus's hand was the first to let go of the globes he was gripping tightly.
Stelle smiled faintly. "Shine~!"
Noxian Guillotine~!
Her beautiful legs, adorned with blue thigh rings, chopped down like steel blades before hooking back up.
Caelus was trapped in Stelle's leg lock for a good while before Seele helped him get free. He took out his phone, and the screen lit up automatically as it sensed his gaze.
[Wolf King is Still Returning: Bro, I found the identity of the survivor and info on the ship that rescued her.]
[Tongliao KGB: As expected of my dear Wolfie, you've become Seele's favorite big sister Silver Wolf. Well done!]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: Chibi_Silver_Wolf_proud_and_hands_on_hips.jpg]
Praising Silver Wolf for her hacking skills was less effective than praising how well she matched with Seele. Caelus easily reeled her in, hook, line, and sinker.
[Tongliao KGB: So, what are the results of the investigation?]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: Oh, right, coming right up.]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: According to the intel I got from hacking that ship, the only survivor found at the scene was a Foxian. She's still unconscious. I managed to get a photo of her through a camera.]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: Image.jpg]
[Tongliao KGB: ???]
[Tongliao KGB: Isn't this Tingyun? The survivor is her?]
Caelus stared at the photo Silver Wolf sent, his expression a mix of astonishment and bewilderment.
It wasn't that Caelus was hoping for Tingyun to be dead; he was just genuinely confused.
Logically speaking, Phantylia chose to replace Tingyun to infiltrate the Xianzhou, yet she actually spared her life?
Was she found and rescued by Ruan Mei?
That was certainly lucky. In a galaxy this big, to run into a passing genius... that fox has some serious good fortune!
Since when did a Lord Ravager become so merciful?
[Wolf King is Still Returning: I was shocked at first too. All I can say is, she's extremely lucky. The owner of that ship is—Genius Society Member #81, Ruan Mei.]
Ruan Mei!?
Seeing Silver Wolf's message, Caelus paused, his eyes widening slightly in silent surprise.
As for Ruan Mei... setting aside her actual personality and just going by her character art, she was one of the Star Rail characters who had left the deepest impression on Caelus, besides Stelle and March 7th.
A classical beauty in a qipao, a direct hit to any Easterner's XP!
Reining in his wandering thoughts, Caelus frowned and began to ponder.
[Tongliao KGB: How is Tingyun doing now?]
In his past life, Caelus had been stunned the first time he saw Ruan Mei. In terms of appearance alone, she could even be called flawless!
But inside her heart was a Garan's Void, an emptiness that could not be filled by ordinary things.
[Wolf King is Still Returning: Probably... not great.]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: She's still showing vital signs for now. But if Ruan Mei loses interest in her, she might die the very next second.]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: There are selfless, helpful people in this world, like the Nameless of the Express and Seele, but those folks from the Genius Society aren't exactly bodhisattvas.]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: Herta, that old hag, is actually one of the more normal-acting geniuses. I don't know much about Ruan Mei, but I know that even among the Genius Society, she's considered a monster.]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: In some ways, the Masked Fools might even have a higher moral baseline than her. There's no way someone like her would waste her time saving a complete stranger for no reason.]
[Tongliao KGB: I think so too.]
No genius would waste time on meaningless things. Even a gentleman among geniuses like Screwllum would, at most, scoop her up and toss her to his subordinates to handle.
If she was saved, it was her fate; if not, that was her fate too.
And that would already qualify him as a moral paragon of the Genius Society!
[Wolf King is Still Returning: Bro, are you going to save her?]
[Tongliao KGB: I'll consider it for a... Save her! I must save her! As a ten-year veteran Nameless of the Astral Express, how can I stand by and watch an innocent, beautiful fox die at the hands of a Lord Ravager!]
As Caelus typed and thought, a crisp sound suddenly echoed in his mind.
[System Quest: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us?]
[Quest Description: As the title says. If you're free, you could go save her.]
[Quest Rewards: Crystals x222, chance to unlock hidden CG—The Fox's Gratitude.]
[Wolf King is Still Returning: ???]
Silver Wolf was full of question marks.
[Tongliao KGB: Talk later, I'm off to save someone.]
Although he said he was going to save her, there was a 99% chance Caelus couldn't save Tingyun on his own. The most reliable plan... was undoubtedly the only one.
Caelus closed the chat with Silver Wolf and clicked on Herta's ID.
[Tongliao KGB: I have served the Simulated Universe! I have bled for Herta! I want to see Ruan Mei! I want to freeload off Ruan Mei!]
Caelus directly copy-pasted this three times.
[Little Hater (Caelus's Nickname): ???]
[Little Hater: What's with this sudden craziness?]
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