He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Chapter 113 Favor

"There are 1 day and 16 hours left before the sewage is discharged."

An afternoon in the gray garden.

Wearing candy-colored pajamas and animal slippers as usual, Ai Yi yawned as he walked out of the bedroom, with dark circles under his eyes. He staggered to the living room, sat down at the dining table, and looked around but didn't see the usual lively scene. He only saw Lin slumped on the sofa.

"Where is everyone else?" The gray mist responsible for keeping the lunch warm dispersed, and Ai pulled out a chair and sat down, then casually asked, "Why haven't I seen a single person in the middle of the day?!"

"----you guess."

Lin, sitting on the sofa, struggled to open her eyes, revealing a pair of dead fish eyes. She stared blankly at the fox, her anger at being disturbed from her afternoon nap evident. "The organization has been incredibly busy lately, but there's this outsider who slept all day yesterday and then slept until the afternoon again today. My big boss, guess who it is?"

"Could it be me?" Ai shook her head. "Unbelievable—"

That's enough.

After tilting her head and thinking for a moment, she ignored the fox who was busy being unreasonable and turned her body to the side of the sofa, letting her head hang down naturally. According to Lin herself, this posture allows blood to flow into the brain, which can effectively relieve her low blood pressure when she wakes up.

Of course, nobody believed she really had low blood pressure.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ai was busy outwitting the lunch on his plate. Recently, he had indeed been in a bad state, or rather, ever since the last resistance force in the suburbs was wiped out, and after the "pure white dream" after yesterday's lunch break, the fox had been acting strangely.

In just one day, almost everyone noticed the anomaly. After all, although Ai had taken every opportunity to slack off, she had never voluntarily reduced her study time—sometimes she would stay in the lab all night, and she would never have been so "drowsy".

Meanwhile, the situation in the suburbs had undergone a final transformation: with the dark alleys occupied by the Gray Court, the last hiding place of the resistance was torn apart—they had nowhere to escape, and the core members were busy with the final purge and incorporation.

"So why are you still here?"

Glancing at Lin, Ai couldn't help but complain, "Didn't you call yourself the head housekeeper? Why are you lying at home pretending to be dead at this hour?"

"I'm not a combatant—"

Lin maintained her strange posture and said leisurely, "The front lines are probably in a state of complete chaos right now. What would I do there? Go collect the corpses of those traitors, or pose for a selfie amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood?"

"Indeed," Ai replied, neither confirming nor denying.

—After Ronan eliminated the last faction leader, the unification process came to an end—but the chaos would only intensify in the short term, as the disorganized resistance made its last stand, and the rats, certain of their impending doom, went into a state of hysteria.

But there is no doubt that their madness will not cause any more turmoil—the suburbs will be completely under Ai's control before the day of the sewage discharge arrives.

At this juncture, it's normal for combatants to be a bit busy. Apart from the fox, the only other people in the entire Gray Court are Lin, who's in a slacking-off mode, and Miya.

"Boss, that tastes bland."

Lin, having somehow gotten up from the sofa, held up a can of soda in her hand and raised an eyebrow at him. "Want something to drink?"

'

""

Ai tilted her head, a half-smile playing on her lips.

—Thinking about it, it really has been a long time since I've had a drink.————

"Dry—" Ai slammed the can down on the table and took a deep breath—in her hand was a 45° distilled liquor, each sip a way of intensifying her own experience.

Although—given his current physical condition, alcohol no longer has any effect on his mind, the exhilarating feeling of drinking heavily is still there.

"I wonder if there's any special wine for the Grand Prize Pool—" Feeling a little unsatisfied, and thinking that wine brewed from secret crops might be even stronger, Ai smiled and looked up at Lin beside her.

"Speak your mind."

Ai had already figured out that Lin had come on a mission. She guessed that the Gray Court crew wanted to find out his current situation, so they sent this guy to ask about it.

Within twelve hours of the fox's unusual behavior, the little snake was the first to report that Ai Yi's nap had lasted a whole day—or rather, he hadn't been sleeping at all—according to Miya, he had just been staring blankly at the ceiling with his eyes open all morning.

He even ate the green pepper inside the fried egg that was brought into the room for breakfast, which terrified the little snake, who concluded that the boss must have a very serious problem.

—And that is indeed the case.

After waking up from that pure white dream, Ai's mind was in a "strange" state, as if it were on the verge of a complete collapse.

This is exactly what he needs.

—To confine one's own thoughts into the rules and regulations that all beings need to follow is a weight that the first stage of intellectual ascension cannot support—so Ai must take some shortcuts.

The establishment of "Grey Court" is still in the experimental stage—it might be too "harsh" to ask a modern person who has received nine years of compulsory education and lived in an orderly society for decades to complete such a transformation into a dictator in just four months after time travel.

"Actually—we can take it slow, can't we?"

Lin suddenly interrupted, her brows furrowed in unusual distress, "Why the rush—"

"I have to make a decision." Ai's gaze passed through the ceiling and landed on the sealed dome.

The outline of malice has grown increasingly distinct, forming a thick shadow.

The fox shook its head. "Tomorrow morning, we will be completely exposed to the entire hive, becoming part of the landscape—and I have yet to give my own power—to choose a direction."

—Initially, Ay's purpose in establishing his own cult was to facilitate his own "ascension"—but now he also has to consider—

—About a more glorious future.

If Radiance is ruthless, then Ai can also be ruthless.

But he was not content with merely being inhumane—

"Perhaps it's because you usually overcomplicate things."

Lin's eyes suddenly lit up. "I have a nascent idea—"

Under Ai Yi's intrigued gaze, she cleared her throat and said, "Is it possible that if you let a keyboard warrior spend all day writing about politics, he'll go crazy too—boss, you need to adjust your perspective—for example, change your mindset and think about something else."

"For example?" Ai wagged her tail.

"for example----"

Lin glanced around furtively and whispered to the fox, "For example, I don't know if you've noticed, boss, but Miya's attitude towards you is... a little strange."

"Well."

The fox blinked, then said helplessly, "Anyone with eyes can see that."

The little snake that was responsible for almost all of the fox's daily life—what exactly was going on in this little guy's head?

Ai sighed. He wasn't a slow learner; he could easily understand things. He had always been withdrawn because of a certain "insecurity," like sticking his legs out of the blanket while sleeping, always feeling a sense of "precariousness."

Ultimately, it's because his time in the world was too short. Even now, Ai Yi sometimes feels a sense of detachment, and suddenly feels that he doesn't belong to this world.

Therefore, the fox of the past did not want to build deeper bonds with more people.

It wasn't until recently that Ai began to confront the fact that he was becoming more and more of a "fulcrum"—more and more people and things that were fixing him in this nest and placing him deep within this strange world.

For example, with Dodo—in their interactions, their relationship never seemed to undergo any significant changes, but in Ai's heart, that silly bird, who was initially her only supporter, had become no different from a "real family member."

Mia, on the other hand, embodies a different kind of emotion. Ai can sense the snake's dependence on her. Apart from the fox, no one can understand her past. She has the form of a snake and bears the infamy of being a worm. If she were placed on the Foundation's side, the snake would most likely be identified as an "alien"—even if she can speak human language, certain prejudices cannot be erased.

Ai, who symbolizes "light," is now Mia's only support in this strange world. Her people have been lost, her name has been tainted, and her existence is a question that needs to be discussed in the present world.

Therefore, the fox's significance to the little snake has become so heavy that, if a metaphor must be used, it is like a witch serving a god, always waiting for a sacrifice.

The proof of her existence is locked on Ai.

"Let's not even talk about your bird sister—Xiao Miya, I see her sneaking into your room every day, and nothing's happened yet?"

Fueled by alcohol, Lin slapped the fox's shoulder hard. "And I even gave her advice! This innocent little snake—she's so cute and pretty, how could she not win you over?"

"Fuck you." Ai rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

Lin was right. The fox now worries every day that he will wake up one day to find a naked little snake lying in his bed.

—It feels like a sudden change could happen at any moment!

However, when the topic shifted to this point, Ai did indeed change her mindset slightly.

—More fulcrums?—

Thinking of this, Ai sighed softly and began counting on her fingers, "1, 2 — 3, uh, isn't that a bit too much —"

"Holy crap, there's more?!"

Lin was horrified and spat out a mouthful of distilled liquor. "Cough cough—cough cough cough!"

Ai casually evaporated the spilled liquor on the ground, her gaze turning dangerous, while the person opposite her quickly changed the subject.

"In short, no matter what changes occur, things won't be worse than they were in the past."

Lin concluded lightly with this statement: "Isn't that right?"

Having said that, Lin, who had kept her merits hidden, stood up, clinked glasses with Ai Yi, finished the rest of her drink, and turned away with a light laugh.

"Boss, the path to illuminating the sun still needs to be cleared by the light itself, and the responsibility that lies within it is perhaps a weight we cannot imagine."

"However—" she chuckled softly.

"But if it's the boss, everyone has this inexplicable confidence."

"——".

'

Watching Lin disappear into who-knows-where, vanishing from her sight—Ai pondered for a moment, then suddenly felt like laughing.

—Responsibility—?

He looked at his palm and remembered the talk therapy that Xiaobai had given him during his period of losing control. Xiaobai had said that when Ai Yi put on the gray mask, he could become a shadow that was "always irresponsible".

No need to bear any burden on your back, no need to worry about any choices — because gray is already great enough.

He can be forever joyful, forever light-hearted—this is the price Gray paid in advance for him.

"Of course you can do that."

Then the door spoke, “The upper limit of gray is necessarily grand. Even if you follow his path step by step, you can reach that promised end. But now you may have some new pursuits, so you must bear the corresponding weight and pay the corresponding price.”

"And now you feel lost."

Xiao Bai: "It's because—you're no longer willing to endure a cold and lonely future."

Instead, they try to pursue a path centered on themselves.

"I see—"

Without a sound, Ai Yi let out an extremely happy smile.

"This is such a tough choice."

Until all was silent, a light murmur rang out, like some kind of madness—a seedling facing the world, truly beginning to take root, regarding everything in sight as its own.

His azure eyes narrowed slightly. "Responsibility, huh—"

He tilted his head.

-responsibility----

"There are 1 day and 3 hours left before the sewage is discharged."

The radiance faded, and all things silently welcomed the darkness of the day.

It is late at night.

Instead of staying in her room as usual, Miya carefully avoided the furniture in the living room and quietly arrived at a door.

Half an hour ago, Gray Fog knocked on her door and told her to go see Fox privately, saying that he had something important to discuss with her.

With a strange restlessness, I pushed open the door, and the little snake poked its head in, calling softly, "Boss—"

Before she could finish speaking, Miya was stunned when she saw the scene in the room—the tip of her tail suddenly knotted up, followed by heavy breathing.

"Boss?" A blush crept onto her delicate face. The little snake casually turned her head to the side, her weak voice trembling slightly, "Did you call me over—?"

The night in the suburbs was pure darkness. No light could shine in through the tightly closed curtains. Only the light that was already fixed in the room allowed Miya to see the scene in the dim environment in front of her. A petite figure sat silently on the edge of the bed, leaning against a pillow that was taller than himself. After realizing that Miya had arrived, he slowly turned his head.

Her grayish-white hair seemed to be frozen with moonlight that didn't exist in this world. It was damp and hadn't been deliberately dried or tied up. It was casually draped over her narrow shoulders, and streams of water dripped down her slender neck.

—Did you just take a shower?

The little snake tilted its head, and its originally narrow vertical pupils gradually expanded into an oval. Following its momentum, it swam to Ai's bedside and cautiously took a few more glances.

The fox's frame was small and delicate, as if it would break with a single touch. When he sat down on the edge of the bed without any warning, he looked even more youthful than his already young appearance—seemingly expressionless, yet a faint smile lingered between his brows and eyes, adding a touch of mystery to his appearance.

"The boss?" Miya swallowed hard.

The boss didn't seem to be wearing pajama bottoms; he was only wearing a thin, plain white shirt that looked like silk. The shirt had no buttons, so a small patch of skin was exposed from his neck to below his collarbone. The loose shirt served as pajama bottoms, covering half of his thighs.

The fox was reading a book about the size of a palm, the title of which was illegible. At that moment, the back of his hand, which was exposed from his sleeve, was so white that it was almost transparent, making the protruding veins appear thin and dark blue.

"Um--

There was no emotional response. Ai used her little and ring fingers to pull at the long sleeve, while her index and middle fingers, seemingly unsure of themselves, withdrew into the sleeve to cover herself as she turned a page of the book in her hand. Without looking up, she asked, "Have you taken a shower?"

-error?

Miya was stunned and didn't react for a moment. The instant she heard the words clearly, she was in a daze—an indescribable tingling sensation spread from the tip of her tail to the top of her head, and the whole snake almost lost its balance and went limp to the ground.

"————"

The little snake has been cramming on human culture lately, but the complex situation she's facing is still a bit beyond her grasp. At the very least, calling someone to come to her room to shower late at night—that's not right!

So Miya thought about it very seriously for five seconds, and then walked into the bathroom with a resolute look on her face.

A girl's bath time is a black hole.

What should we do next?

He ordered the gray fog to block the door and carefully checked that there was no sleeping doll cat in the box under the bed.

-Then what?

Lost in thought, Ai sat back down on the edge of the bed and began to stare blankly. But this confusion didn't last long, because the next second, a pair of wet arms silently slipped under his ribs and gently wrapped around his waist.

A lingering, post-bath steam filled the air, carrying a sweet, refreshing aroma reminiscent of rock candy, like biting into a fresh grape, or a rich, sophisticated crème brûlée.

There was also a faint, familiar allure, filled with holiness and purity.

Miya's wet hair, still damp and not dried, clung gently to Ai Yi's neck, accompanied by an almost imperceptible soft touch and a faint, hot breath, feeling cool and refreshing.

"Boss—" A trembling voice rang in my ears.

Without any hesitation, Ai put the book in her hand aside and leaned back.

— An easy overthrow.

Then crush it.

The little snake stared blankly at the ceiling.

The already dim light became blurry in her vision, and her empty vertical pupils transformed into more expansive ovals, spreading out greatly, and then gradually becoming murky, like spilled wine.

—His face was so close.

Miya shrank her neck.

Too close!

"Glug."

The little snake couldn't help but swallow again. She felt herself trembling, as if something was about to hatch from deep in her throat, something that seemed like a mournful cry, or something softer.

The heavy pounding of her heart completely drowned out her breathing. Miya had never realized that opening her eyes could be so difficult.

In the room enveloped in radiant light, time seemed to stand still.

The moonlit white light was a puzzle with a color similar to desire. The girl's long black hair seemed transparent under the clear glow, like the pearly light flowing on the surface of wine. It added a definite purpose to the already naked and aggressive light, and then solidified it even more resolutely on her young and tender face, which was now flushed.

"Ugh—" With great difficulty, Miya managed to squeeze out a pitiful soft moan. Her cherry-pink lips parted slightly, and the crimson in her eyes, as vivid as blood, was now stained with glistening tears, making them look wet. Her long, slender eyelashes, also wet, fluttered rapidly before she closed them even tighter.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Ai told her this, as if soothing a curled-up little animal, gently brushing aside the wet hairs clinging to her cheeks, embracing her waist with just the right amount of force, her arms encircling her slender neck like boneless snakes—

Sharp fangs were pressed against the little snake's ears, the distance becoming a question mark. From its lower body, the snake felt its calves rubbing against the smooth scales, a cool and pleasant sensation.

"It's a blessing." Ai whispered softly in her ear.

The tip of the little snake's tail flicked out afterimages, just like a rattlesnake, splashing ripples on the soft sheets.

"Great, great—" He blew into Miya's ear, and in the next instant, the scales on her legs flattened down even further, losing all their curves and pitifully clinging to the snake's body.

Ai became even more excited: "Great, great—"

The little snake began to breathe anxiously, its limp body unable to support any movement, its posture of being manipulated and played with at will, which made even the fox sigh.

—They're so incredibly cute.

Encouragement at the last minute is indulgence, and also tacit approval with no room for compromise.

The next instant, the tip of the tail that had been secretly wrapping around Ai's ankle suddenly burst out with force.

The roles of offense and defense have been reversed.

Soon, a small, sharp tooth retaliated by lightly biting the fox's earlobe. After causing a slight sting, it switched to a softer approach, its long, thin tongue awkwardly licking the earlobe before kissing the neck. The cool touch was so captivating that it made the whole body feel numb as if it had been injected with snake venom.

"Boss————"

The last young girl to inherit the name of Uso and the clan of Vallo murmured this over and over again—Ai listened with a smile, then offered advice in a low voice.

"I want to hear something else," he said.

—If they are gods and priestesses, what should we call them?

The cool snake tail slowly wrapped around the fox's waist, and slender fingers began to grope downwards from the lower abdomen—as if holding grape juice in its mouth. The little snake murmured, pouring the sweet scent and soft moans into Ai's ears.

"Owner."

The fine scales intertwined, and the smooth snake tail gradually tightened.

—Is that right?

The fox used its last bit of consciousness to think about this problem, but it was quickly filled with some kind of crazy, rising desire.

Outside the fox den, a gray mist silently shut out everything.

—It's a blessing.