"Wait! Wait!"
Barbatos didn't understand how the situation had turned into this. He yelled nonstop, struggling in midair, but it felt like zero gravity. No matter how much force he exerted, nothing happened.
"What is it?"
Bai Fanxian tilted her head and asked innocently. But to the middle-aged man, this felt like a wolf in sheep's clothing!
Why did the woman who'd been chatting nicely until just now look so terrifying!
"Why are you suddenly going to experiment on me!?"
"...Well, I saw you seemed to cooperate well?"
Bai Fanxian didn't care how much Barbatos yelled. She flicked her finger once. Her qi forced Barbatos's body to lie down parallel to the floor. This time even his limbs couldn't move. Only his head could still struggle.
"Stay still... otherwise I'll silence you too."
Bai Fanxian's threat seemed effective. Barbatos quickly froze, his body going stiff. He didn't dare even speak, only looking at her with pleading eyes.
If he'd known it would be like this, he'd rather have stayed bound in those restraints!
Barbatos startled when Bai Fanxian picked up tools floating nearby. They resembled test tubes and many small needles orbiting around her like she was the center.
"Release your mana again..."
She ordered softly. Barbatos was now completely at her mercy. How could he dare resist? He relied on his body's sensations and muscle memory to slowly release mana throughout his body.
Blue light flowed out, like liquid yet not. Bai Fanxian guided one of the orbiting needles to pierce the mana current. When she flicked her hand, the needle flew back. Faint blue light clung to its tip.
Bai Fanxian dropped the needles into her test tubes one by one. The process took less than five minutes. Soon the tubes were filled with needles, each tip glowing with mana.
Barbatos squinted, watching everything. He'd thought she would do something more violent, but in the end she just wanted mana samples? He'd been shocked for nothing.
Whoosh!
He barely felt relieved when a light pillar shot up from the floor, penetrating through his chest. Barbatos stared wide-eyed—did his chest just get a hole? But before he could panic, Bai Fanxian spoke first.
"Don't worry. It doesn't even hurt, does it?"
Barbatos realized she was right. No matter how frightening it looked, there was no actual wound. He just felt like his heart, visible in the light pillar's center, could be seen in every detail.
"...Is it like this?"
Bai Fanxian murmured to herself continuously, circling around Barbatos. Eventually he started accepting the situation. He let her do whatever she wanted, no longer resisting, and closed his eyes.
Time passed—he didn't know how long—before enormous pressure crushed down from above. His lips twisted. He glanced toward Bai Fanxian and saw her fingers glowing. It felt like a mountain was crushing him flat. Sweat poured from his body while Bai Fanxian watched his condition calmly, showing no intention of helping. Barbatos gritted his teeth.
"...!"
Then Bai Fanxian noticed something. The heart visible through the light pillar glowed faint blue. Mana was spreading out to cover Barbatos's entire body. When it connected seamlessly, his condition immediately improved.
"...Mana can be used to cover the body like qi to protect from the environment."
The light at her fingers went out. Barbatos sensed the crushing pressure disappear and gasped in relief.
"Fini...finished, right?"
The previous feeling still lingered, making him fearful.
"Yes... nine more rounds left."
"...What? Ugh!?"
Before Barbatos could finish speaking, he encountered the same pressure again. He stared wide-eyed and turned toward Bai Fanxian. But his twisting mouth couldn't speak.
"...Experiments need to be repeated many times, right?"
Bai Fanxian answered flatly. After that, inside the secret room at this Eastern base, strange sounds arose periodically...
.
.
.
"Alright... that's enough for today."
She'd been in this room for quite a while. Bai Fanxian stomped her foot once and everything disappeared back into her dimensional rifts. Barbatos, eyes closed and unprepared, crashed to the floor.
"...Fi...finished?"
He held his head, looking at himself, clothes soaked through with sweat. Bai Fanxian didn't answer. She walked around the room dropping strange objects everywhere. When she returned to the door, she finally turned back.
"...If you like it, I can continue?"
"No no! I didn't mean that."
Barbatos waved his hands frantically in denial. Who would enjoy being pinned in midair like that? Or maybe there were such people. But not him. Even with memory loss, he still believed his tastes weren't like that!
"Tomorrow I'll visit again..."
Before leaving, Bai Fanxian left that final sentence. Barbatos felt his hair stand on end. As she walked through the door and stomped lightly, the strange objects around the room glowed brightly. They trembled, floating about a meter off the floor. Then ancient characters appeared across the floor, weaving into a white Border.
Jin Ling had been watching the monitor and waiting at the door. The scene stunned him. This was Grandmaster Bai's famed Border. He remembered the military had tried requesting one before, but she'd refused.
He hadn't dreamed she'd create one without being asked. But he suspected she'd be coming here many more times, so she'd made it early to save trouble.
"Unless it's an attack exceeding Sage level, no one else can enter this small Border..."
Bai Fanxian explained when she saw Jin Ling looking at her strangely. The soldier felt even more impressed. This way, even without restraints, they could be confident Barbatos couldn't rampage and escape.
This time Bai Fanxian had put in more effort. But it was just a small Border of a few square meters, so the materials and qi she'd expended weren't much.
"Then I'm relieved..."
Jin Ling sighed. Frankly, he hadn't known how to report that Grandmaster Bai had released all the restraints. But with the Border, plus Barbatos lying sprawled exhausted in the room's center, he could confidently say the man couldn't escape.
"Are you heading back now?"
Jin Ling pressed the button and the room door closed tight.
"I think I'll go see those children..."
Bai Fanxian glanced at her watch. It was almost time to open the clinic. If she hurried, she could still make it back.
.
.
.
At the Eastern Command Center's wide clearing, staff are often gathered for morning training or exercise. But today was different. Instead of focusing on their own training, they'd all crowded around the field's center.
Thud!
Bai Fanxian had just arrived when a man's body flew out from the encircled center. Cheers erupted from those around. They didn't care about the flying man because something more eye-catching was at the circle's center.
"Move aside..."
Jin Ling addressed the staff members. Everyone recognized the Black Hawk sub-unit leader and quickly made way for him.
"What is this...?"
At the field's center, over ten burly men surrounded one small girl. They attacked with fists, feet, and every technique they'd learned. But Hui'er showed no fear. She just deflected each person with her hands, never losing her position.
Crack!
Another loud sound. This time the little girl's palm struck a staff member in the stomach. He curled up like a shrimp, flying after his comrade.
When someone left the field, another staff member walked in to replace them. The system was so organized that even Bai Fanxian was surprised.
But when her gaze moved to the front of the line, she found her other small disciple sitting on the black bird's back with Little Red sleeping beside her. Each staff member entering to fight Hui'er would first walk straight to Tang Yeye and present a bag of snacks. When Bai Fanxian saw the enormous pile of snack bags on the black bird's back, she could only sigh.
...Are you earning snacks from your sister's efforts?
She'd noticed long ago that these two children had personalities opposite their elements. Hui'er, with her tremendously fierce yang element, had a cool nature somewhat like Bai Fanxian's own, probably from unconscious influence.
Tang Yeye was different. Despite her cool, cold yin element, this child was bright and cheerful with a bit of cunning. Probably because she was the youngest sister, she showed her childish side more than Hui'er.
"Hui'er... that's enough for today."
Hui'er and the surrounding staff froze in place. The next second, the feeling vanished. Up on the black bird's back, Tang Yeye had been counting snack bags when she looked up and gave a start. Their lady had returned!
"...I won't say anything. Keep them to share with your sister."
Bai Fanxian didn't know whether to feel exasperated or fond. The moment Tang Yeye realized she'd come, the girl gave her a sheepish smile. Bai Fanxian sighed, then patted the girl's head once. Tang Yeye immediately smiled sweetly. Knowing their lady wasn't angry, she started loading the remaining snacks onto the black bird's back. Poor Jin Ling had to find a large bag for the children to carry everything home.
"Bye bye~ We'll come again tomorrow!"
The black bird spread its huge wings. Just one flap created a massive wind current in the middle of the field. The next beat sent its body, with all three passengers, up into the sky, gliding eastward.
Left behind, staff members began cleaning up the field. Many who'd recorded videos took them out to exchange. Several others felt disappointed about missing their turn. But remembering tomorrow they'd return, they looked forward with hope again.
Probably during this period, the military's snack shop here would sell incredibly well...