*Click.*
Accompanied by the sound of a key turning, the shop door, which had been closed for a few days, was slowly pushed open, revealing the dim interior of the store.
“I’ll leave it to you, then.”
The Shopkeeper rubbed his hands together, placing all his hope on Su Keke.
“Please, you must drag out the disaster hiding in the back kitchen. Otherwise, I really won’t be able to keep this little shop in business.”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me.”
Su Keke gave the Shopkeeper a confident OK gesture.
Then, she pulled a palm-sized black instrument from her skirt pocket.
Holding the small device, she stepped into the shop and walked toward the back kitchen.
Although it was hard to see exactly what she was holding, it wasn’t difficult to guess its identity given the circumstances.
It was a Simple Detector issued by the Supernatural Bureau.
It could identify Star Eclipse Energy within a certain range.
Once it detected abnormal Star Eclipse Energy, it meant an Abnormal Entity was likely nearby.
Bai Yu watched Su Keke enter the shop with the detector.
With her there, the mutated Abnormal Entity in the kitchen should be handled smoothly.
Shortly after she went in, noisy sounds drifted out from the shop.
Su Keke had likely engaged the Abnormal Entity.
With her strength, she should be able to handle it easily.
However, as time passed, the noise didn’t vanish. Instead, the commotion grew louder and louder.
‘This isn’t right…’
An ominous feeling suddenly surged in the depths of Bai Yu’s heart.
‘Wait… she’s not going to lose, is she?’
‘If she really loses, it’s all over.’
Don’t expect a small fry like Bai Yu to defeat an Abnormal Entity that even Su Keke couldn’t handle.
If she really lost, Bai Yu could only take Loweia and make a high-speed getaway.
‘So, Su Keke, hurry up and use that dirty ability of yours. Don’t you dare lose!’
Bai Yu waited anxiously for the final result.
But just then, she heard a heavy thud, like the sound of a heavy object crashing into a wall.
“What’s happening?”
Before Bai Yu could distinguish what had made the sound, she saw the kitchen wall suddenly smashed to pieces by a massive force.
Bricks and stones flew everywhere.
In the next second, an extremely eerie figure emerged from the gap in the wall, walking toward the restaurant’s main door with heavy steps.
The moment she saw the figure clearly, Bai Yu’s heart sank.
‘This is bad… this thing is a bit terrifying.’
Walking toward the shop door was a mass of a Stitch Monster, its body composed of various pots, bowls, and pans.
Between the various metal utensils cobbled together, Bai Yu could vaguely see a mass of dark red flesh.
It seemed to be the reason those utensils were able to stitch themselves together.
‘Maybe that mass of flesh is the core of the Stitch Monster, and the actual thing that has been corrupted by the Star Erosion.’
‘If I can destroy that dark red mass of flesh, maybe I can dismantle this Stitch Monster.’
The problem was that before destroying the core, one had to destroy the metal utensils used to protect it.
At the very least, with Bai Yu’s current strength, she couldn’t break through those layers of protective gear.
‘This thing might be evaluated as a C-Rank at minimum, maybe even a B-Rank, crossing the threshold of a Heteromorph.’
‘This is bad…’
‘Where is Su Keke?’
She was so full of confidence when she went in, but in the end, she couldn’t win?
‘What’s wrong with that girl?’
To think Bai Yu had trusted her so much.
Forget it, she couldn’t worry about that side now.
She had to take Loweia and leave before the Stitch Monster caught up to them.
“Wei Ya, let’s go.”
Bai Yu pulled on Loweia, intending to run far away, only to find that she couldn’t seem to budge her.
“Wei Ya?”
Looking at the white-haired girl beside her, she saw that the girl’s face had lost all color.
She was trembling like a leaf in the autumn wind.
She stared blankly at the twisted Stitch Monster, the light fading from her bright eyes.
‘Oh no…’
‘This is a disaster.’
The situation Bai Yu feared most had occurred.
This was exactly why she hadn’t wanted Loweia to see an Abnormal Entity.
She was afraid Loweia would end up like this—afraid her mind would be traumatized.
But it was too late for regrets. She could only grab Loweia’s hand tightly.
“Wei Ya, go, we have to go now!”
At that moment, Loweia seemed to snap back to reality.
She subconsciously followed Bai Yu’s lead, but the moment she took her first step, her weak legs gave out, causing her to fall forward.
The girl closed her eyes in despair.
This fall would surely hurt, and she might even drag Bai Yu down with her.
‘So, is this the kind of danger Bai Yu has been hiding from me while facing it alone?’
Loweia had thought that once her body recovered, she wouldn’t have to hide behind Bai Yu anymore and could protect her instead.
However, the moment she saw that monster, fear gripped her heart, stealing even the strength to run away.
‘So, such terrifying existences actually exist.’
She had clearly intended to protect Bai Yu in the future, yet now, she didn’t even have the courage to face that monster.
‘Does someone like me really have the right to be protected by Bai Yu?’
However, the imagined pain of the fall didn’t happen.
On the contrary, she seemed to come into contact with something soft that carried a pleasant, fresh scent.
‘Is this… Bai Yu?’
The girl opened her eyes and found that as her legs had given way, Bai Yu had caught her just in time.
Looking at the black-haired girl holding her, she saw those purple eyes were filled with worry.
“Bai Yu… I’m sorry…”
She had made her worry again.
“Wei Ya, are you okay?”
“I… I’m okay, it’s just…”
She subconsciously looked behind Bai Yu, only to see the twisted monster charging toward them.
“Bai… Bai Yu! Be… Behind you!”
“I know, Wei Ya. You hide first. Leave this to me.”
“But, but…”
“Don’t worry, I can handle it.”
Seeing the familiar smile on the corner of Bai Yu’s mouth, Loweia bit her lip.
She pulled away from Bai Yu’s embrace and stumbled toward a nearby alley.
She hated it.
She hated why she was so useless.
She could only watch as Bai Yu went to face that terrifying monster alone, while she could do nothing but leave Bai Yu behind and hide by herself.
She hated it… she really hated it…
On the other side, once she saw Loweia leave, the smile on Bai Yu’s face vanished instantly.
‘I’m going to die.’
She had acted so composed in front of Loweia, but now that it was time to actually fight, she was a mess.
‘Damn it, Su Keke, you really let me down. How did you lose?’
Fine, now Bai Yu really had to do it herself.
Bai Yu could only pray silently that Su Keke was just temporarily held up by something and would rush over to solve it soon.
All Bai Yu had to do was stall for a little bit of time until Su Keke returned.
She should at least be able to do that.
Bai Yu’s gaze quickly scanned the surroundings, looking for a suitable weapon.
Eventually, her eyes landed on a broom leaning against a wall.
At this point, she couldn’t care less who it belonged to.
“I’m borrowing this.”
As for whether she could return it, that was currently unknown.