The next morning, the three prepared and applied the invisible ink on themselves.
Applying it to arms and legs felt fine, but on the face and hair it felt strange. Fortunately, the ink was as smooth as body wash, instantly rendering anything it touched invisible.
From Zhang Da Ye's perspective, Tom and Artoria's hands first disappeared when touched by the ink. As they moved, their entire bodies seemed like sketches being erased, and of course, Zhang Da Ye himself vanished in the same way.
Once fully invisible, Zhang Da Ye noticed a problem: "We can't see each other anymore."
Not only could they not see others, but they couldn't see themselves either. Moving became like performing actions with closed eyes; precision was difficult. For instance, stretching both hands with index fingers extended rarely allowed the fingertips to touch perfectly.
Curious, Zhang Da Ye spun left three times, right three times, twisted his neck and wiggled his hips, thinking, "Even if I jump and perform a full martial arts routine, no one can see me now!"
He stepped forward cautiously, then suddenly felt his foot crush something and heard a scream:
"Ah!!!" It was Tom, whose paw had been stepped on, but invisible to all.
"Tom?" Zhang Da Ye quickly lifted his foot, feeling around until he found Tom's head and carried him to his shoulder.
"Ouch! Watch where you step, that hurts!" Tom complained, covering his mouth and blowing a magical puff of air down to his toes, which puffed up one by one.
Since they couldn't see each other, Tom chose to endure silently.
"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't see. How about you just sit on my shoulder?" Zhang Da Ye suggested.
"Alright!" Tom forgave him for the minor injury.
"Where are you, Artoria?" Zhang Da Ye asked cautiously.
She grabbed his wrist: "Time to teach you how to sense auras."
"Great! Being able to feel others' positions and movements is very convenient," Zhang Da Ye remarked.
Artoria continued: "Indeed, I even 'saw' your dance earlier."
Zhang Da Ye froze. Invisible or not, this was embarrassing—someone could perceive his every move.
Sensing skills were intrusive, he thought—an invasion of privacy!
---
The human auction house was located at 1GR, northwest of Zhang Da Ye's position in 59GR, within walking distance. Some islands with seemingly distant numbers were actually close. Riding a bubble vehicle would appear driverless and alarm locals.
Since sensing auras wasn't easy, Artoria guided Zhang Da Ye through the crowd to avoid separation or collisions.
Being invisible felt novel. Even walking boldly past others, no one noticed. Shadows couldn't be hidden, but with the crowd and proper positioning, it wasn't an issue.
Entering the lawless zone, the atmosphere changed.
Shabby shops lined the edges, some with only a single hanging nail for a sign, doors partially broken, and one shop had a long knife impaling a skeleton outside (not an exaggeration—seen in anime).
"This is the lawless zone?" Artoria, accustomed to large-scale scenes, wasn't shocked, but the contrast to their recent living conditions was stark.
"Yeah," Zhang Da Ye said. Anime often glorifies reality, he thought.
As they ventured deeper, they had to remain silent; many armed individuals—pirates, traffickers, and bounty hunters—wandered the streets. Except for obvious pirate insignias, distinguishing them was difficult.
On Zhang Da Ye's shoulder, Tom shivered, then realized no one could see him and grew mischievous:
He waved his hands in front of people's eyes, pulled faces, and even poked noses with his tail tip.
"Achoo!" A pirate captain sneezed, sending his hat flying. A bald man, dripping saliva, angrily confronted him.
Zhang Da Ye didn't know what Tom did, only saw two people immediately drawing knives over a sneeze, amazed at the lawless zone's volatile tempers.
Artoria glanced at Tom, shaking her head silently.
Tom, seemingly aware of the invisible "camera," shrugged and acted innocent.
Leaving the zone, Zhang Da Ye realized not every area was chaotic; some districts had civilians, restaurants, bars, shops, and even high-end hospitals. Occasional gunfire didn't alarm locals—they continued walking calmly, as if firecrackers were going off.
This absurdity was hard for Zhang Da Ye to process; he instinctively wanted to leave.
Artoria whispered: "No signs of Celestial Dragons nearby."
Zhang Da Ye suggested: "Let's head straight to 1GR. If the Celestial Dragons appear, they'll go there."
They were now in 2GR; a short walk brought them to 1GR.
The central building, the most conspicuous on the island, had four spires and two guards at the entrance. A wooden plaque read "HUMAN."
Zhang Da Ye observed: "This is the human auction house… officially called the 'Occupation Bureau.'"
A polished name masking a hideous trade.