Chapter 44 – Save Me Save Me

Lin Du hadn’t gone far.

He stood at the corner of the alley, back against the wall, still holding the bag of vegetables.

That Cat Girl was a Strange Person with legal identification, but the Fox Clan Strange Person named Li Ya was not.

She was an undocumented resident, theoretically someone who should be taken in.

Besides, that Cat Girl had run off in such a hurry, and seemed to be clutching something in her hand.

After he left the alley mouth, he looked back—the two of them had vanished on the spot, leaving only an ice pillar rising from the ground.

In the records of Beast-Ear Strange People, there was no flying or spatial teleportation ability.

The ice pillar wouldn’t disappear out of thin air, and neither would people.

They had simply gone somewhere he couldn’t see.

For the safety of the surrounding citizens, he had to keep an eye on them.

ROAR—!

A huge roar came from midair.

Lin Du jerked his head up and saw a massive figure standing under the moonlight on the roof of a nearby residential building.

“That’s…? Not good!”

Lin Du dropped the plastic bag and sprinted toward the depths of the alley.

‘Was it Li Ya?’

‘She was crying so hard just now. Was that an act?’

‘Did I misjudge her after all?’

He gritted his teeth and ran faster and faster.

…

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

On the rooftop, White Li was using an ice lance to forcefully block the mouth of the monster Xiao Yu had become.

The ice lance was wedged between the upper and lower jaws, creaking under the bite as ice chips fell in a shower.

The other’s strength was absurd—she had grown even larger in just a few minutes.

At this rate, the ice lance would be crushed sooner or later.

‘By the way, what medicine did Martha inject her with? How did she suddenly turn into this?’

White Li gritted her teeth, both hands bracing the ice lance, her heels already pressed against the concrete railing at the edge of the rooftop.

Beyond that was the void of more than ten stories.

HAH—!

Xiao Yu suddenly exhaled, kicked her hind legs against the ground, and left deep craters in the concrete.

“Wait… wait!”

White Li was pushed backward, her back hitting the railing, a grunt of pain escaping her.

‘I can’t keep this up. If this goes on, I’ll get pushed off.’

The opponent kept increasing the pressure.

White Li took a deep breath, and the moment the ice lance shattered, she dodged sharply to the side.

Xiao Yu couldn’t stop her momentum; her whole body charged past White Li and smashed through the railing.

CRASH—!

White Li lay at the edge of the rooftop looking down.

Xiao Yu had crashed through several awnings and landed heavily on the ground.

“Sorry about that. If I hadn’t dodged, I’d be the one all smashed up.”

She leaped lightly, flipped over the edge of the rooftop, and slid down.

Frost condensed under her feet, creating a slide as she descended along the building’s exterior wall.

She landed on a second-floor awning, bounced, used the momentum to flip, and landed steadily on the ground.

Strange—where Xiao Yu had landed, there was nothing.

White Li quickly crouched into the shadow of a roadside tree and pricked up her ears.

In the distance, dogs were barking, windows were being pushed open, and someone was yelling, “What’s all that noise in the middle of the night?”

But there was no sound from Xiao Yu.

‘Weird. Where did she go?’

White Li slowly stood up and looked around.

The street was empty.

Tree branches and leaves were scattered everywhere, and occasionally pieces of awning fell from the sky.

But the huge gray figure was gone.

crack, crack… The sound of the ground splitting came from behind.

White Li turned around.

A massive creature suddenly charged out of the alley’s shadow.

It raised a front paw and slammed it against the ground.

The earth split open.

The ground beneath White Li’s feet seemed to be torn open by a giant hand; cracks spread in all directions from under her.

Before she could jump away, she was sinking.

Then the ground came alive, rubble surging up from both sides to wrap around her limbs.

“What the hell?!”

She struggled desperately, but the more she struggled, the deeper she sank.

Those chunks of debris pulled her down like quicksand—dirt and gravel climbed past her waist, pinned her arms, and trapped her tail.

She couldn’t move, like a stake driven into the ground.

Xiao Yu stood in front of her, lowering her head, a low growl rumbling from her throat.

She opened her mouth; fangs gleamed coldly in the moonlight, ready to deliver the final blow to her prey.

BOOM—!

A ball of flame exploded from the side of Xiao Yu, hitting her squarely in the shoulder blade.

The scorching blast sent White Li’s hair flying and rubble scattering.

Xiao Yu was blasted away, knocked over a roadside trash can, and rolled several times before stopping.

Silver-gray armor glimmered in the moonlight, red patterns flowing over its surface.

The visor lit up, a sharp red light glaring in the darkness.

The Blazing Knight.

He stood in front of White Li, looking down at her trapped in the ground.

“What’s going on?”

his voice came from behind the mask.

“Did you let it out?”

“Uh… well… it’s, it’s a long story…” she swallowed and jerked her chin toward Xiao Yu.

“Now’s not the time for explaining! We have to calm that thing down first!”

“I understand.”

Lin Du turned slightly, his gaze locking onto Xiao Yu, who had already gotten back up in the distance.

She shook her head, an even angrier roar rumbling from her throat.

“You stay here and don’t move.”

The knight stood in front of her, assuming a combat stance.

“Huh? No way, give me a hand.”

White Li tried to free herself by pushing with her arms, but the rubble was still pinning her legs, not budging.

She yanked a couple times and winced in pain.

“I’m stuck! What if you two start fighting and I get hurt?”

“And what if you get out and sneak away while I’m not looking?”

The knight shot her a glance, then blocked Xiao Yu’s attack.

Before the words had even faded, Xiao Yu had pounced.

Her huge beastly mouth opened wide, aiming straight for his head.

The knight held her lower jaw with one hand, stopping the attack solidly.

Xiao Yu’s front paws gouged deep furrows in the ground, but she couldn’t get any closer no matter what.

“Tch…”

White Li rolled her eyes at him.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu backed up a few steps, then raised her front paw and slammed the ground again.

Cracks spread from under her feet, racing toward the knight’s position.

“Careful, don’t fall into the ground,” White Li warned.

“I know.”

Lin Du leaped upward at exactly the right moment, but at the same time, several stone pillars burst out of the earth and coiled around his feet.

The pillars contracted rapidly, yanking him toward the ground.

BANG—!

The knight crashed down from midair, landing on one knee, his feet embedded in the ground.

“Pfft—”

White Li couldn’t help laughing.

“The great Blazing Knight, brought low today?”

Lin Du struggled hard, but the stone pillars didn’t budge.

Xiao Yu had already turned and was charging at White Li.

“No way, why is it coming at me again?!”

White Li’s smile vanished, and she waved at the knight.

“Save… save me!”

Lin Du gritted his teeth.

Flames erupted from his feet, the scorching blast shattering the stone pillars into pieces.

He lunged forward, grabbed White Li by the shoulders, and yanked her out of the ground like pulling a carrot.

Xiao Yu’s claws grazed over both their heads, smashing a stone bench by the roadside.

White Li was tucked under the knight’s arm like a little cat being carried.

“Okay! Put me down!”

Lin Du set her down.

White Li stumbled a couple of steps, then steadied herself against the wall.

“Thanks.”

She patted the dirt off her clothes and flicked her tail twice.

The knight turned his head toward her.

“Is there any way to control it?”

White Li flexed her wrists; frost condensed at her fingertips.

“Heh heh, of course there is.”