After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 130 Key
As the two observed, the spirits' behavior quickly became strange.

Unlike other strange creatures encountered in magnetic fields in the past, they did not exhibit hostility or aggression.

Instead, after noticing the two, they started to back away and then move closer.

Their movements were almost like...playing.

As soon as An Jing and Xu Yanyi approached, the spirits retreated with a "whoosh," like a group of naughty children dodging an adult's outstretched hand.

But as soon as the two of them stopped or took a few steps back, the spirits would slowly approach and circle around them, neither too close nor too far.

This ambiguous state of being neither too close nor too distant gives one the illusion of being passed around like a ball.

An Jing was mesmerized.

At first, she was wary, her fingers gripping the weapon's mechanism, ready to respond to any unexpected situation. But as she continued to observe, she increasingly felt that these spirits meant no harm. They were like mischievous little animals, testing and teasing her.

When the idea took shape in her mind, she was stunned for a few seconds.

"Are they... playing with us?"

For a moment, An Jing couldn't help but laugh.

A smile spread across his lips, dispelling some of the oppressive atmosphere that had permeated the forest area.

The next moment, the spirits seemed to sense her emotional fluctuations and began to stir, gathering forward as if attracted by her laughter.

An Jing's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly reached out her hand.

"Caught!"

As her hand passed through the air, she touched something soft, like semi-solidified mist or compressed cotton. The sensation was peculiar, both real and unreal.

The captured spirit immediately struggled violently. Its originally somewhat transparent milky-white body instantly turned into a bright green, and then it let out a howl that sounded like "woo-woo," a childish sound, but full of anger.

That whimpering sound was the same crying sound we heard when we first entered the forest.

Xu Yanyi's expression changed.

"An Jing, be careful! What if they retaliate?!"

He dared not be careless, after all, this thing was a completely unknown product, and he had never come into contact with it before.

Even if they act docilely right now, there's no guarantee they won't completely lose control and do something drastic the next second.

However, An Jing did not panic.

She carefully cradled the spirit in her arms, gently stroking it, her movements almost like comforting a frightened little animal.

More accurately, it's about smoothing the fur.

Miraculously, under An Jing's comforting words, Ling's struggle gradually subsided.

The green faded little by little, returning to its original milky white, its transparency softening, and its body trembled slightly, as if letting out a sigh. Most importantly, it stopped howling.

The air returned to stillness.

An Jing looked down at the little one in her arms, a smile involuntarily appearing in the corners of her eyes and brows.

"See? I told you it was nothing."

She looked up and smiled at Xu Yanyi, "Let's go, we've already caught one."

Xu Yanyi, however, was not so relieved and still frowned.

"Should we just leave like this? Should we find a few more? Or... find some others?"

"Looking for what?" An Jing shook his head, his eyes suddenly dimming.

Her voice lowered slightly: "Are you looking for Chi Chen?... That's impossible."

The mere mention of that name sent a sharp pain through her heart, like a needle pricking it.

“As long as she doesn’t want to be found, there’s no way we can catch her.” An Jing forced a smile, but couldn’t hide the weariness in her voice. “So… let’s not do anything pointless. More than that person, we need to figure out why the energy concentration in this area is so low. It’s almost like it’s been purified.”

Xu Yanyi opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more, only nodding.

The two returned by helicopter.

The forest gradually shrank into green spots at our feet, the wind whistling in our ears. But inside the cabin, there was an odd little creature.

The captured spirit showed none of its previous fierce resistance. It remained quietly in the cabin, like a kitten led on a journey, full of curiosity about everything.

It darted around the cabin, floating to the window to look at the scenery outside, jumping onto the seat back, and even trying to crawl into the pilot's helmet.

There was quite a commotion in the cabin.

An Jing had no choice but to reach out and hug it back to her arms.

After being held in her arms, Ling did not struggle anymore. It curled up in her arms, trembling gently like a docile ball of cotton, occasionally stretching out its tendrils to touch An Jing's chin.

An Jing looked down at it and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.

Can this little thing really devour mysterious energy?

If so, could they become humanity's greatest hope?

She raised her hand and gently stroked Ling's body. The touch was still soft and cool, strangely like looking through a layer of mist.

At this moment, Xu Yanyi couldn't help but lean closer, his eyes filled with curiosity: "Can I touch it?"

It looks like it feels really good to the touch.

He reached out and carefully touched the spirit.

But the next second, his hand passed right through Ling's body, as if passing through a wisp of air, and he didn't touch anything.

“…Huh?” Xu Yanyi was stunned.

"Doesn't it let me touch it?"

An Jing blinked, and seeing that Ling didn't react, smiled: "It shouldn't be."

"no?"

“Hmm.” An Jing said thoughtfully in a low voice, “Last time in the forest, I was able to catch it… I can do it again this time. But you can’t.”

She paused, a hint of confusion flashing across her brow: "Perhaps, this has something to do with me? Maybe there are some reasons that I myself don't know."

Xu Yanyi frowned, unwilling to give up, and tried several more times, but each time he missed without exception.

In the end, he had no choice but to give up, lean back in his seat, and sigh.

"Fine, it seems you're right. It only recognizes you."

An Jing looked down at the little one in her arms, but she didn't feel relieved.

Why does it only recognize itself? Is this a coincidence or an inevitability?
The problem lingered in her mind like a shadow.

The helicopter landed smoothly on the research department's dedicated helipad.

The two took Ling to see Yuri immediately.

When Yuri saw this strange spirit, her eyes immediately lit up. Her professional intuition told her that the importance of this thing far exceeded her imagination.

"That's great." Yuri rarely smiled, and her speech was a beat faster than usual. "Send it to the lab immediately. Monitor it throughout the process to ensure the sample remains intact!"

She made a decisive decision and issued the order.

The lab technicians quickly took over, taking Ling along with the recorded data. An Jing stood there, looking at the empty space in her arms, feeling a deep emptiness in her heart.

She didn't know what the research department would eventually discover about this spirit, but her intuition told her that it would be a pivotal moment that could change the course of events.

(End of this chapter)