Late at night, a car sped along a deserted road, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The car headed straight for a private cemetery. Xia Shizhao drugged the caretaker, then skillfully walked to his friend's tombstone. He first gently brushed the dust off the mechanical lilies, then reached out and touched the soil, which was very soft. His eyebrows furrowed as he sensed something was wrong.

Ye Qiuling squatted down beside her, touched the soil, rubbed it between her fingertips, and said in a deep voice, "Something's not right."

Her words confirmed Xia Shizhao's guess. She clenched her back teeth, her temples throbbing with pain, and her voice trembled slightly: "I want to dig it out and see."

Xia Shizhao was not cremated at the time of his burial, but instead chose traditional burial. If the coffin had not been disturbed, there would definitely still be a body inside.

Ye Qiuling didn't stop her, "Dig, I'll go with you."

It was past one in the morning, the sky was pitch black, and all around was the incessant buzzing of insects.

Two people were digging a grave in a cemetery.

Xia Shizhao wiped the sweat from his forehead and lifted the coffin lid.

It was completely empty.

Xia Shizhao's chest heaved violently, and his rapid breathing was particularly noticeable in the darkness.

With her head down and a gloomy expression, Xia Shizhao remained silent for a long time before she gritted her teeth and said, "...I'm going to kill them all."

“Okay,” Ye Qiuling put her hand on her shoulder, her nose twitched as she smelled a faint floral fragrance, her eyes narrowed slightly, “Let’s rein in our mental energy and pheromones, and discuss this further.”

Xia Shizhao's vision was almost blurry. He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and slowly squatted down, hugging his knees and gently stroking the opened coffin.

Ye Qiuling gently patted her back, comforting her, "Bury the coffin back. We can't expose it yet. We should go."

With a muffled "hmm," Xia Shizhao wiped the sweat from his brow, picked up a shovel, and began burying the coffin.

Looking at the card slot containing Mechanical Lily, Xia Shizhao closed her eyes with a pang of heartache, stood up, looked at Ye Qiuling, and said calmly, "Let's go."

Ye Qiuling sighed as she looked at Xia Shizhao's expressionless face, then reached out and took her hand. Xia Shizhao did not refuse and silently followed her.

As they walked, Ye Qiuling felt a slight tremor in her palm. Looking at the faintly brightening sky, she silently accompanied her to the car.

Xia Shizhao lowered his head, sat in the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, leaned his head against the backrest, and stared intently at the changing scenery outside the car with slightly reddened eyes.

Ye Qiuling drove quietly, releasing her spiritual energy to offer silent comfort.

She gradually grew sleepy and drifted off to sleep.

The cold, ticking instruments were ringing in her ears. Xia Shizhao realized she was being dragged along. Suddenly, many robots appeared in front of her. A figure rushed out and blocked her way, the blurry face shouting decisively yet reluctantly, "Number Ten, run! Don't worry about me! Run out and start a new life!"

Xia Shizhao wanted to see her face clearly, but his body quickly fled in another direction toward the light.

She ran out, and then the place exploded.

Xia Shizhao opened his eyes, clutching his aching chest, and vaguely realized that he was already on the airship.

Looking at the roses on the ceiling, I waved my hand in the air, and the double image in front of me disappeared. What is number ten?

Xia Shizhao sat up, and the blanket slipped off his body.

Holding his forehead with one hand, Xia Shizhao walked out of the room with a headache. He searched everywhere and finally found Ye Qiuling at the training ground.

She stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching her fight against the simulated human who was one-to-one with her in strength.

They hit pretty hard; the dummy even made his mouth bleed.

The two were evenly matched, and Ye Qiuling was temporarily unable to defeat him, resulting in a draw. She then collapsed to the ground to rest.

A towel came into her view.

Xia Shizhao stood under the light, looking down at her. Ye Qiuling looked at her delicate face and inscrutable expression, and was momentarily dazed. She reached out and took the towel, wiping the sweat from her face.

He propped himself up on the floor with one hand and sat up. "Are you feeling better?"

"Um."

Xia Shizhao nodded, took out the medicine and handed it to her, "Thank you."

"No need, it's only right for friends to help each other."

Ye Qiuling took the medicine and said calmly.

"Drink it and then fight me."

Xia Shizhao made a startling statement.

Ye Qiuling nodded, "Okay, I won't hold back."

In the open space, two figures rapidly exchanged positions, their fists flashing and clashing, a dazzling display that resembled a collision between blazing flames and surging waves.

One is agile and primarily offensive, while the other is steady and primarily defensive.

Xia Shizhao's eyes were sharp, like a cheetah eyeing its prey, constantly watching his opponent's every move, the air whipped by his raised fist.

Ye Qiuling raised her hand to block Xia Shizhao's unhesitating punch. A muffled "bang" was heard, and Xia Shizhao's hand was instantly grabbed. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she raised her leg to kick Xia Shizhao. Xia Shizhao dodged to the side, nimbly avoiding the kick, and used the momentum to kick away the other party's hand with a flying kick, landing steadily.

The two exchanged a barrage of moves, their figures clashing, punches and kicks flying, sweat pouring down like rain, soaking their clothes, their faces and bodies bruised and battered. Both were full of fighting spirit, their eyes burning with fierce determination.

The two sides remained deadlocked for a long time. Ye Qiuling's eyes flashed with excitement, and her heart, which had been dormant for a long time, began to beat. Xia Shizhao's skills and combat awareness had obviously improved a lot. Since she became a general, she had not had such an exhilarating fight with someone in a long time.

Xia Shizhao, sitting opposite Ye Qiuling, was panting heavily. He stared at her and thought to himself, "What kind of person is she? She's not even tired and doesn't even seem to be out of breath. What a fake!"

Suddenly, Xia Shizhao's eyes glazed over for a second. He stopped fighting, stood up straight, and looked at the person opposite him. He twitched his nose and could really smell the rich fragrance of roses.

Ye Qiuling didn't seem to have noticed yet, but seeing Xia Shizhao's condition, she walked towards him worriedly, "Can't you fight anymore?"

Xia Shizhao took a big step back, pressing his right index finger against his palm. "Stop, where's your inhibitor? Why are you in your sensitive period again?"

Ye Qiuling stood there blankly, raised her hand and smelled it; a floral fragrance wafted through the air.

Seeing Xia Shizhao's completely oblivious expression, she panicked slightly, took a step, and ran away.

Xia Shizhao:?

She shouted, "Why are you running? Did you bring your inhibitors?"

"I brought it!"

Then came the loud bang of the door slamming shut.

Xia Shizhao stood there, bewildered, scratching his head. "What's wrong with me?"

At this moment, Ye Qiuling, who was in the room, quickly found the enhanced version of the inhibitor and injected it into her shoulder. She leaned against the wall, covered her eyes, and triangular, furry ears popped out from her head.

Ye Qiuling raised her hand to grab the protruding ear, her expression contorting slightly for a second.

She didn't know why she had grown ears during her current vulnerable period. She went for a checkup and found out she wasn't a half-beast. Telling Fu Ziran was useless; she didn't know what was going on, and the medicine was difficult to prepare. Because of this incident, she spent her entire vulnerable period at home, and she specially renovated an isolation room at home.

QQ.

There was a knock on the door, and Xia Shizhao's voice came through, "I brought you some snacks, I left them at the door, remember to eat them."

Ye Qiuling said in a hoarse voice, "Okay."

After a while, they opened the door and found Xia Shizhao sitting on a chair outside eating potato chips. The two of them suddenly stared at each other.

Xia Shizhao's gaze slowly moved upwards, looking at the pair of cute triangular ears with a puzzled expression. Ye Qiuling, realizing what was happening, slammed the door shut.

Xia Shizhao sat on the sofa, his brows slowly furrowing.

Cat ears?

How come Ye Qiuling has cat ears?