Caw! Caw! Caw!
In the dim room, a piercing bird cry suddenly rang out.
W 's eyes snapped open, her amber pupils cold and sharp—like a fish that had been gutted at a market for ten years. She instinctively rolled to the side—
Thud.
She fell off the bed.
"..."
For a moment, the air fell silent.
Then, from outside the window, more incomprehensible shouting followed—filled with anger—mixed with another round of "cawing," like some kind of black-feathered beast (W's general term for winged creatures), its cries brimming with mockery and mischief.
W didn't react again. She simply adjusted herself on the floor and stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling… and the white light fixture embedded within it.
After a long while, she slowly turned her head toward the bed.
Sunlight slipped in through the gap in the pale blue curtains, giving her a rough sense of the time.
She wasn't used to this.
Ever since she learned how to survive in Kazdel, she hadn't slept at night in a very long time.
Night was her camouflage.
Deception, theft, assassination…
She was born in the darkness, accustomed to handling whatever food she managed to get during the night while watching the sun rise on the horizon—celebrating that she had survived another day.
Only then would she find a relatively safe place—like a war-abandoned building—lean against a wall, and sleep.
And even then, she could never sleep deeply. The slightest disturbance would wake her instantly.
But now—
Not only had she fallen asleep at night, she had slept all the way until this hour.
If this were Kazdel, she would already be dead.
"..."
After a moment of silence, W raised her hand and pressed down on the mattress beside her.
Soft. Spring.
Yesterday, she hadn't been able to resist its comfort. Sitting against the wall by the bed, she had somehow ended up lying down without realizing it.
According to that boy, this bed had been bought over ten years ago.
And among the billions of people in Great Xia, nearly every household could afford something like this.
She lay on the floor for a long time, until sleep no longer tempted her. Finally, she stood up.
Sitting back on the bed, she lowered her head and began unbuttoning her white shirt. From the bedside cabinet, she picked up a piece of undergarment, fumbling behind her back for a while before finally fastening it.
Last night, she had ultimately chosen to take a proper bath.
Her old clothes had been thrown into the washing machine, so Lin Guang had used that strange little box—his phone—to order her a set of underwear online.
She didn't fuss about it. After bathing, she simply put it on.
As for outerwear, Lin Guang was about 170 cm tall. His clothes fit her just enough.
So without asking, she had taken a white shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans from his wardrobe.
Though while sleeping, the undergarment had felt too tight around her chest, so she had taken it off in the middle of the night, wearing only the shirt.
Now, as the clasp clicked into place, that slight sense of restriction returned.
She stood up, put on the slightly loose jeans, washed up briefly in the bathroom, and pushed the door open.
By then, the boy was already dressed and sitting at the dining table.
The living room was brightly lit by the midday sun. In front of him lay an open notebook; one hand held a pen, scribbling, while the other tapped away on that small device called a phone.
Hearing the door, he turned his head.
"You're up?"
W didn't know what to say. She scratched her cheek awkwardly and gave a small nod.
He closed the notebook. "Then let's eat first."
Just like yesterday, she watched him move efficiently in the kitchen. Before long, he brought out two bowls of steaming egg noodle soup.
Chopped scallions floated on top—simple, yet appetizing.
Lin Guang set the bowls down, took off his apron, and brought over a pair of chopsticks and a fork.
"You can try using chopsticks. If you can't get used to them, use the fork."
W stared at the two wooden sticks, her mouth twitching.
"Why should I learn to use this world's utensils?"
"You'll need them when you eat out."
"..."
Watching him take the first bite, the girl—dressed in an ill-fitting shirt—begrudgingly began her battle with the chopsticks.
A full minute passed, and she still hadn't managed to pick up more than a few strands of noodles.
Just as she was about to lose her temper, she bit into the fried egg.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
Without hesitation, she abandoned all pretense and began devouring the contents of the bowl, even drinking the soup clean, looking like she still wanted more.
Setting the bowl down, she caught the slight curve of Lin Guang's lips.
Her face flushed faintly. "What are you smiling at?"
"No chef dislikes seeing their food enjoyed."
"That egg is from a Gray-grade spirit beast—Ten-Yellow Chicken. One costs over twenty yuan. If you liked it, then it wasn't a waste."
"..."
For some reason, W could tell he was telling the truth.
And that made her deeply uncomfortable.
All her survival instincts, honed from years of wandering, were completely useless here.
Shouldn't have brought it up…
She clicked her tongue, watching Lin Guang eat calmly, her black-red tail swaying side to side behind her.
[You fed W . Stardust progress increased.]
[Stardust progresses 100%. Gained 1 Stardust.]
[Affinity: 9 → 11]
"Did you hear that noise just now?" she asked.
"Oh, that?" Lin Guang shook his head. "Someone in the neighborhood keeps a Boom Crow. Its voice is ridiculously loud—like an explosion. It's kept as a pet, probably not even first-rank yet. It's been disciplined a few times, so now it only calls around midday."
"If you stop it from calling, it gets depressed. And since it can fly, it's hard to catch, so people just let it be."
W snorted softly and muttered, "If I still had my gun, I'd've turned it into a roasted bird."
…
The afternoon sun wasn't as harsh.
A small electric scooter zipped along the road, the breeze lifting strands of her silver hair.
W sat sideways behind Lin Guang with casual ease, one foot propped on the seat, her chin resting on her hand as she watched the adjacent spirit beast lane with interest.
The beasts there varied wildly in shape. Some resembled dangerous creatures from Kazdel—
But far more docile.
There was even a massive blue crab-like spirit beast crawling sideways along the road. She stared at it for quite a while, only reluctantly looking away after it made an oddly agile yet bizarre turn.
After the seventh intersection, Lin Guang gently squeezed the brake and slowed down by the roadside.
He parked the scooter, took off his helmet, and hung it on the handlebar.
Sunlight filtered through the golden birch trees lining the sidewalk, casting dappled shadows.
Turning back to W , he said:
"We're here."