Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

"Whoosh—"

The car sped through the last bend, its speed gradually decreasing, and glided back to the finish line.

The safety lever deployed, and Zhou Ruoruo was the first to jump out of the car, her face flushed as she shouted, "That was so awesome! It was absolutely amazing! Do it again!"

Su Wan's legs were still a little weak after getting off the bus, and she was trying to catch her breath, so she ignored her.

Zhou Ruoruo suppressed a laugh and pointed to the Ferris wheel in the distance: "Let's go ride that one and relax."

Su Wan glared at her, but did not refute.

The sun slowly moved overhead, and the air became hotter.

The group walked to the Ferris wheel, had their tickets checked, and boarded the gondola.

The Ferris wheel turned and slowly rose.

The elevator car was made of transparent glass, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery. Zhou Ruoruo was taking selfies like crazy with her phone, while Su Wan and Shen Bai sat side by side opposite each other without saying a word.

Seemingly sensing that the atmosphere was a bit quiet, Su Wan took the initiative to start a conversation.

"What do you usually do?"

"Work-related matters, such as coordination and scheduling."

"That sounds exhausting."

"fine."

Shen Bai's tone remained indifferent, but his gentle attitude prevented Su Wan from feeling any dislike towards him; instead, it made her even more curious about him.

  

"So how do you usually balance work and life?"

"Outside of work, I spend most of my time practicing meditation, occasionally going home or taking a walk along the river."

Su Wan's eyes lit up. "You're cultivating too?"

"Yeah, I practiced a bit."

"My dad also made me practice, saying it would improve my health." Su Wan sighed, "But cultivation is so hard. I practiced for almost half a month before I broke through to the fifth level of the apprentice level."

Su Wan glanced at Shen Bai and asked curiously, "What realm are you at now?"

"A little taller than you."

Shen Bai didn't say it directly; his cultivation level was ahead of everyone else's, and he was afraid that Su Wan would overthink it if he revealed it.

Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Su Wan didn't ask any further questions.

The Ferris wheel slowly descended.

After stepping out of the sedan chair, Zhou Ruoruo seemed to have exhausted all her energy and suggested that they go eat first.

Su Wan turned to look at Shen Bai, but before she could speak, Shen Bai said, "It's past eleven o'clock. Let's eat first, then we'll have the energy to play in the afternoon."

"it is good."

Su Wan responded with a comment and then looked down to search for nearby restaurants.

Seeing Su Wan's behavior, Zhou Ruoruo rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Prioritizing romance over friendship!"

After choosing a location, Su Wan led the way, and the three of them headed towards the restaurant.

The park was busier at midday than in the morning, with people sitting under the parasols of roadside restaurants, and the air filled with the smells of grilled sausages and popcorn.

They walked through a path adorned with colorful flags and entered a Western-style restaurant.

The three sat down by the window, where sunlight was cut into horizontal stripes by the blinds and fell onto the white tablecloth.

Zhou Ruoruo opened the menu and began reciting the dishes without looking up—"Beef sandwich, mango chicken pizza, tuna salad, cream of mushroom soup, and a vanilla ice cream."

After Zhou Ruoruo finished speaking, she handed the menu to the two of them.

"What do you want to eat?"

Su Wan placed the menu horizontally on the table for Shen Bai to see, flipped through a few pages, and ordered a pasta dish and a cake.

Shen Bai also ordered a plate of pasta and a glass of watermelon juice.

The dishes were served quickly, and just as Shen Bai picked up his fork, Xiao Cheng's voice rang in his mind.

"Master, a random rift has appeared 3 kilometers southeast of the park. The energy fluctuation is at the peak of the first level. The nearest mobile team will take 15 minutes to arrive."

Shen Bai put down his fork.

"I'm going to the restroom, you guys eat first." He stood up.

Su Wan nodded: "Okay."

Shen Bai turned and walked out of the restaurant.

Watching his retreating figure, Su Wan called over a waiter and pointed to Shen Bai's pasta, saying, "Could you please get a heat protector to cover it?"

Zhou Ruoruo sat next to her, eating pizza while playfully saying, "Yo yo yo~"

Shen Bai left the restaurant, found a quiet corner, spread his spiritual energy like a thin mist to conceal his figure, and then took to the air and flew out of the amusement park.

After breaking through to the second level of Qi Refining, cultivators gain the ability to fly briefly. Shen Bai, who cultivates three paths simultaneously, has speed and endurance far exceeding that of ordinary second-level cultivators, thanks to the enhancement of his mental power to manipulate objects.

To the southeast of the amusement park, there is a farmland.

The rift opened in the middle of the farmland. The dark red light had not yet completely dissipated when several monsters ran out and were wandering aimlessly in the fields.

As Shen Bai descended from the low sky, the first-tier demon immediately noticed him.

It turned its head, its dark red pupils locking onto Shen Bai's location. It let out a low roar, kicked its hind legs, and sent dirt flying as it charged forward like a cannonball.

Shen Bai stood still, his mental energy silently probing into the monster's skull. With a slight movement, the monster's brain was instantly crushed.

The monster froze abruptly, black blood gushing from its face. Its claws carved several shallow grooves in the ground, and it collapsed with a thud half a meter away from Shen Bai.

Hearing the commotion, the other apprentice-level demons, driven by the violent demonic energy, charged towards Shen Bai.

Shen Bai used the same trick again, his mental energy transforming into an invisible shockwave that swept across them. Almost simultaneously, their limbs went limp, and they collapsed to the ground, as if all their strength had been drained away.

After confirming that all the monsters were dead, Shen Bai instructed in his mind, "Xiao Cheng, send someone over to retrieve them."

"The team is on its way and will arrive in five minutes," Xiao Cheng replied.

Shen Bai looked around. The rift had disappeared, and the faint sound of music from the amusement park could be heard in the distance.

He glanced down at his clothes—a few drops of black blood had splattered on his white T-shirt. He wiped them off with his hand; they weren't very noticeable. He then turned and flew back to the amusement park.

Ten minutes later, Shen Bai returned to the restaurant.

Su Wan was chatting with Zhou Ruoruo when she saw him return and removed the thermal cover.

"Eat quickly, it's still hot."

Shen Bai sat down, looked down at the plate of still-warm pasta, and felt a surge of warmth in his chest.

"Thanks."

After he finished speaking, he picked up his fork and started eating.

Su Wan smiled slightly and quietly watched Shen Bai eat. Her gaze swept over his shirt and she noticed the dark stains on it.

Her eyes flickered, but she didn't speak.

After dinner, the three of them went to ride bumper cars. Zhou Ruoruo chased after Su Wan, who was bumped around and staggered. Shen Bai watched from the side with a slight smile on his lips.

In the afternoon, the three of them went on the carousel, the thrill ride, and the river rafting, and also watched two themed performances.

At eight o'clock in the evening, as night fell, a grand fireworks show illuminated the sky above the castle.

Su Wan had bought exclusive seats in front of the castle in advance, so the three of them didn't have to squeeze onto the lakeside, but instead sat in the VIP section.

The stands were very close to the castle, and the magnificent fireworks seemed to be right in front of us.

Su Wan secretly turned her head and looked at Shen Bai's profile.

Shen Bai looked up at the fireworks, the colorful lights reflecting off his face in turn.

Su Wan thought back to how she had looked at him like this in the tunnel earlier that day, and her heart felt like it had been gently bumped. She couldn't quite describe the feeling—she just felt that if time could stop at this moment.

Brilliant fireworks burst in the night sky, and in front of the castle, two figures quietly drew closer by an inch amidst the flowing light.