Yang Zijin angrily pointed at Su Luo, but dared not speak out. She was trembling with anger, thinking to herself that none of these strange creatures were good. Look, look at what these things are!

Thinking of this, Yang Zijin covered the red silk back up, pretending not to have seen it, and prepared to leave.

"Where to, 'pet'?"

Hearing Su Luo's words, Yang Zijin was furious, but he couldn't beat him in a fight and Su Luo was of a higher status, so it was a complete and utter defeat for Su Luo.

"What pet? I'm a person!"

“Yes, I know.” Su Luo nodded and pointed to the main hall door. “You can go out now. I guess that Lord Lanshan hasn’t gone far. If you go out, she will most likely disappear tomorrow.”

How could Lan Shan possibly let a disfavored pet stay alive? Who knows when Su Luo might remember him again, then all of Lan Shan's efforts tonight would have been in vain.

Although Yang Zijin was angry, she was still smart enough to know that what Su Luo said was true.

Moreover, the creatures in those cages can no longer be called human beings.

These fleshy lumps, fed with drugs and rapidly growing as if injected with hormones, are the livestock supplied to the entire Abyss. How can they still be called human? They are like the livestock raised before the apocalypse, merely a collective term for food, pets, and labor.

Although Yang Zijin covered the red silk, she couldn't hide Su Luo's curiosity about these things.

In fact, this was the first time she had seen the 'livestock' that Yang Zijin had mentioned. Although they had human characteristics, they were not quite the same as normal humans, or at least not like humans before the apocalypse.

It's not just about physical structure, but also about mindset.

Su Luo discovered that these 'livestock' and 'pets' could only understand some very simple words or sentences, and a large part of them were phrases used when serving the monsters.

Most importantly, they don't seem to be afraid of the monsters. In fact, they have a burning reverence for them and are willing to give everything for them. Even if Su Luo were to open the prison now, they probably wouldn't run away. Instead, they would think about how to please her.

That's really... weird.

Having no intention of releasing these 'pets', Su Luo stepped forward, put his arm around Yang Zijin's waist, sniffed her in a rather ambiguous manner, and then led the stiff-bodied Yang Zijin into the bedroom behind the large red jade screen.

A group of 'pets' were left watching Yang Zijin with envy.

Yang Zijin: ...

What's there to envy about this guy?

As soon as they entered behind the screen, before Yang Zijing could even speak, Su Luo coldly released her, even disgustedly picking up a silk handkerchief from the bedside to wipe her hands. After that, she pulled out a very unusual-looking blanket from the wardrobe next to her, threw it on the ground, and pointed to a small plush nest in the corner.

"Do it yourself, I'll sleep here tonight."

With that, Su Luo turned and headed towards the bathroom.

Looking at the place, which was no different from a pet's kennel, Yang Zijing almost ground her teeth to powder.

Do you really treat him like a pet?

However, there are still a few caged animals outside, so they can't sleep outside. But do they really have to live with a strange creature from the Nine Stars? Sleep in a pet bed?

Three hours later.

Curled up in a ball, Yang Zijin hugged the blanket that shimmered with pink bubbles, wrapped it around herself, and lay down in the little bed that was exclusively for her pets.

The lights went out, and Su Luo's steady breathing could be faintly heard. Yang Zijin, who had been sleeping in the small room, suddenly opened her eyes, sat up, and tentatively walked towards Su Luo. She waved her hand in front of Su Luo's eyes, raised her hand as if to punch, and made a few fierce gestures in the air at Su Luo to vent her anger.

"You call me a pet and make me live in a small kennel? You're the pet! Your whole family are pets!"

After whispering a harsh remark, Yang Zijing, confirming that Su Luo was truly asleep, slowly backed away until she reached the window. Looking at Yecheng under the night sky, she opened the ornate glass window and climbed out of the bedroom.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Su Luo, who had been fast asleep, slowly opened her eyes and, as expected, looked at the slightly swaying glass window.

...

Yang Zijin moved with incredible speed, so fast that he was invisible to the naked eye. Over the past few nights, he had left the room while Su Luo was asleep to search everywhere, covering almost the entire center of Yecheng, but still found nothing.

Now only one place remains.

This is an inconspicuous servant's residence within the palace of the city lord of Yecheng. The stench is overwhelming as soon as you get close. It is full of ugly and even deformed livestock, which are used either to build the ghost city or to clean and tidy up. All the hardest and dirtiest work is done by these livestock.

Brother Shu, will you really be here?

However, true masters often hide in plain sight, and as the saying goes, "the darkest place is under the lamp." Perhaps Brother Shu really is mingling among these "livestock."

"who?"

Seemingly sensing someone's arrival, the livestock that got up to use the toilet in the room asked a question in a low voice. A few seconds later, Yang Zijin came out dressed in a servant's tattered clothes and blended in perfectly.

As the main palace of the city lord of Yecheng, it had quite a few servants and livestock kept there. Yang Zijin looked at them one by one without making a sound.

No, no, no!

He searched through several dilapidated servants' and livestock's rooms, but found nothing. He even bumped into several livestock that were still awake, looking at him warily.

Damn it, this is the last room ahead. Time is of the essence; there's only half an hour left before these livestock wake up. If we can't find it, we'll have to go back for now.

I wonder how Su Luo is doing, whether he'll notice anything amiss with him, but...

I have a feeling that the other party did it on purpose.

Without evidence, it's just intuition. Whether it's tonight's actions, deliberately keeping him around before, or even those 'pet' words, it was all intentional on the other party's part.

Is there something fishy going on with that law enforcement officer from the Su family?

Just as Yang Zijin was lost in thought, a familiar face appeared in his peripheral vision. It was none other than the person he had come to Yecheng's main city for.

Shu Li.

One of the twelve leaders of the Red Leaf City of the Spark Society, Shu Li recently discovered something unusual near Ye City and came to investigate alone. However, before reinforcements arrived, Shu Li disappeared without a trace, and all clues pointed to the city lord of Ye City.

This was the real mission that Spark Association had assigned to him.

Seeing Shu Li lying in the corner, barely alive, her skin ravaged and raw, Yang Zijing clenched her hands, desperately wanting to help her up...

"Hey, it's you, Commander Yecheng. Your men are...on patrol?"

Outside, a familiar yet not entirely unfamiliar female voice drifted over, carrying a hint of amusement, curiosity, and mockery. It was unclear whether she was asking the Yecheng commander outside or the escaped caged pet inside.