The cat demon, oblivious to its rear, clawed at its nose with one paw and wrapped its tail with the other, writhing and twitching on the ground. Its body rapidly shrank, and in less than three seconds, it returned to its original form of a little black cat.
Before Huangfu Jun could breathe a sigh of relief, a sharp scream came from behind.
She turned around. Among the crowd, Li Ying coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching her chest in pain as she knelt on the ground.
Huangfu Jun immediately rushed over. When she reached Li Ying, she sprayed a thick circle of mosquito repellent mist around them before supporting Li Ying with trembling hands.
[Captain Bai, what's wrong with Li Ying?!] she demanded.
Bai Lin's voice was steady. [Normal reaction to the severed connection. No actual injury.]
Hidden in the shadows, Bai Lin clenched his fists in frustration. She actually thought of ambushing with mosquito repellent. His plan to make her kneel and plead had failed again.
Only then did Huangfu Jun relax. She helped Li Ying up, but seeing her eyes tightly shut and her brows twisted in pain, she still worried. [Is coughing up blood really okay?]
Bai Lin: [Press her philtrum to wake her up. The visible line is easy to cut; the invisible line is hard to find. Be careful.]
Invisible line?
Before Huangfu Jun could grasp the meaning, Li Ying's eyes snapped open, shooting out two fierce glares. She grabbed Huangfu Jun by the collar. "What did you cut?"
Huangfu Jun tried to explain, but her mute throat couldn't produce a sound. She could only press down on Li Ying's hands, attempting to mouth an explanation.
Li Ying's eyes suddenly blazed with terrifying green fluorescence. Her frantic hands instantly clamped around Huangfu Jun's slender neck.
"You cut off my life!" Li Ying grew increasingly deranged, her voice sharper. "Without it, everyone laughs at me, everyone looks down on me! I'm stupid. Without it, I can't even lose weight. Cutting it off means killing me!"
Huangfu Jun's eyes widened in horror.
She saw the already-shrunken black cat grow large again. It staggered to its feet and approached them step by step.
It raised a paw, bared sharp claws, its green eyes gleaming with evil. It opened its ugly mouth and let out a wicked laugh.
"Do you think I needed her? No~ It's always been her that needed me more~"
Its body suddenly swelled several times over. Its pointed cat ears even touched the blurred ceiling, appearing abnormally terrifying in the dim space.
Its voice was low and hoarse, carrying an irresistible magic: "The Jinhua Cat is neither cat nor human. I am the embodiment of desire. I am the god who lodges in this cat that peeps into human hearts. I become female when I meet men with lustful thoughts, and male when I meet women with longing. It was the true need deep in her heart that awakened me."
Huangfu Jun's gaze grew colder.
Such twisted logic could brainwash others, but not her!
Human desires were indeed hard to deal with, but there was never just one desire in the human heart.
She knew Li Ying well. Besides wanting recognition, attention, more money, and beauty, Li Ying cared about other things.
She clenched Li Ying's wrists with both hands, desperately trying to free her neck, and called the system again: [What's Li Ying's current state? Is she conscious? Can she actually see my face?]
Bai Lin: [Li Ying is awake now. The reason she's attacking you is the influence of the severed connection line. That half of the parasitic demonic line still carries the Jinhua Cat's demonic power. It's struggling desperately, trying to summon Li Ying's inner desires and re-parasitize her.]
Tears streamed down Huangfu Jun's face. She tilted her head up slightly, her gaze at Li Ying filled with despair, disbelief, heartache, and overflowing love.
Unable to make a sound, she traced Li Ying's name with trembling lips, over and over...
Although Li Ying maintained her attacking posture, her eyes watching Huangfu Jun grew moist.
Huangfu Jun's eyes flickered. Suddenly, she saw a cluster of light and shadow in the depths of Li Ying's eyes.
[Captain Bai, what am I seeing?]
Bai Lin: [It is the dream, and also Li Ying's subconscious.]
[Will awakening Li Ying defeat the cat demon?]
The next second, her eyes looked into the other's subconscious.
Seeing the demonic energy line on Li Ying's chest growing fainter, the cat demon roared unwillingly!
Its muscles bulged. It swung sharp claws and pounced on Huangfu Jun like a cheetah.
Just coming out of Li Ying's dream, Huangfu Jun spotted the attack and hugged Li Ying, trying to roll aside. But the cat demon was faster. Before she could exert force, the cloud-like monster was upon her.
She fell to the ground, shielding Li Ying beneath her, and instinctively called out: [Captain Bai!]
A flash of white light streaked by. Huangfu Jun blinked instinctively. The cat demon's head, with its bloody maw wide open, flew sideways. The cloud of darkness dissipated.
The thick smoke thinned, and the dark world was unexpectedly breached by a dazzling light.
Huangfu Jun's eyes widened. A tall, young man walked out of the light.
Against the light, his face was indistinct, but his long silver hair was beautiful, flowing with gentle moonlight. His plain robe rippled like water in the soft glow. The longsword in his hand gleamed with chilling brilliance.
He raised his hand. The icy sword traced a beautiful arc in the air and then sheathed itself. In an instant, all the surrounding black mist was sucked into the scabbard.
The boundless darkness receded. Light, following the cold gleam of that sword strike, returned to the world.
For a moment, Huangfu Jun was dumbstruck.
Then the handsome man, whose presence radiated overwhelming atmosphere and lethal force, tilted his head slightly. His sharp facial contours shimmered faintly. His lips were thin but red and lustrous.
"Summoned here, I am your System Lord." He spoke softly, a beautiful smile curving his lips.
Before Huangfu Jun could respond, a light white cloud suddenly rose around Bai Lin. It swirled and shifted rapidly, cloaking him in a layer of mysterious and ethereal gauze.
His face gradually became clear—completely different from the image on the subway. Now he had dreamy silver hair flowing like moonlight, and wore a loose white robe. His hair spread softly like waves, and his robe fluttered in the wind, as if in a dream.
In that boundless, pure sea of clouds, he revealed a breathtaking visage: