Chapter 41: The Cloaking Beacon and a Sudden Departure

Through the combined efforts of Lin and Rena, twelve ‘Magic Cubes’ imbued with Holy Light were successfully buried underground.

Bastet, with thoughtful foresight, even camouflaged the spots to prevent any detection by the Shadow Beasts.

Xia Ranxin stood near the surface where these twelve Magic Cubes lay hidden, one hand tightly clutching the pendant Bai Zhi had just given her.

Her fingertips tracing the edges of the ornament, she glanced back at Bai Zhi and the others, a flicker of unease in her eyes.

Without uttering a single superfluous word, Bai Zhi simply offered her a confident, reassuringly radiant smile in return.

A look of relief washed over Xia Ranxin’s face.

She drew a deep breath and resolutely made her way to the precise spot Bastet had meticulously chosen for her.

It was the designated position for the ‘bait’.

“Now, take these.”

Observing Xia Ranxin’s readiness, Bastet, the black cat, used her tail to curl three grey, circular badges into her grasp, placing them into the hands of Bai Zhi and the other two.

“These are concentrated cognitive obstruction barrier generators that Bai Zhi and I created together.

Alternatively, you may refer to them by the name Bai Zhi gave them—the ‘Cloaking Beacons’.”

“Simply wear them, and press the switch on the back of the badge to activate them.

To ensure the young lady’s safety, you cannot hide too far from her, so you must activate the Cloaking Beacons to avoid detection by the Shadow Beasts.”

“Is its effect truly that potent? After all, you’ve consistently emphasized the Shadow Beasts’ incredibly keen senses.”

Rena accepted the badge, her expression one of surprise.

“And why are there three? Don’t you need one?”

“I am a cat, after all.Is it not perfectly normal for a cat to be present in such a place?

What need have I to hide?” Bastet replied, her face a picture of self-evident logic.

“As for its effect… simply activate it normally and see for yourself.”

“Don’t suddenly emphasize that you’re a cat at a time like this; you hardly ever act like one usually…”

Grumbling softly, Rena activated the Cloaking Beacon precisely as Bastet had instructed.

“So, it’s activated, then? I don’t feel anything…”

As Rena spoke, she lifted her head, intending to seek confirmation of the effect from Bai Zhi and Lin.

Yet, the moment she looked up, she was met with Lin’s unnervingly searching gaze.

“Hey, why are you suddenly looking at me like that? Has something happened to me?”

Believing she had made an error in operation, Rena hastily inquired.

It was then, however, that she realized neither Lin nor Bai Zhi, nor anyone else, was looking at her.

It was as if Rena simply did not exist there.

“This… this is the effect of the Cloaking Beacon?

Truly worthy of Bai Zhi-sama’s creation…”

Lin continued to stare at the spot where Rena had been moments before, now conspicuously empty, a subconscious exclamation escaping her lips.

From Lin’s perspective, the instant Rena donned the badge, she vanished from her original position.

Even Lin, who considered her own senses quite keen, could not detect the slightest trace of Rena’s presence.

Had she not known beforehand, she might have believed no one else had been there to begin with.

“I told you it was powerful, didn’t I? After all, without such an effect, it wouldn’t be able to fool the Shadow Beasts.”

Bastet declared with a triumphant air.

“Let alone you, I doubt even Bai Zhi could completely detect Rena’s presence.”

“Uh, actually, I can still sense a little something.”

Bai Zhi’s expression was peculiar.

“While I can neither see nor hear her, I can definitely feel that Rena should be standing right next to you, Bastet… and attempting to grab your tail.”

“?”

Bastet instantly sprang away from her spot, casting a wary glance at her tail, then looked at Bai Zhi with a puzzled expression.

“There are indeed signs of it being grabbed… but how did you detect that?

Logically, no one other than Rena herself should be able to perceive anything she does right now.”

“To be honest, I don’t know either.” Bai Zhi scratched her head with an innocent expression, uttering a soft ‘hmm’. “Perhaps… it’s intuition?”

“Intuition… that hardly explains this anomalous situation.”

Bastet assumed a thoughtful expression, but after only a few seconds, she gave up, muttering,

“Perhaps it’s because this item was crafted using your power, so its effect on you might be slightly weaker.”

Bai Zhi continued to gaze at the spot where she sensed Rena to be.

“Is that so?”

“Let’s just assume it is.”

Bastet sighed with a touch of helplessness.

Then, she turned around deliberately, clearing her throat twice.

“And now… Miss Rena? Please deactivate the barrier for now; you just need to press that switch again.”

No sooner had Bastet finished speaking than Rena’s figure abruptly reappeared beside her, startling Bastet into taking another large step backward.

Rena, however, was not particularly pleased by successfully startling Bastet.

Instead, a crestfallen expression settled upon her face.

“Uh… welcome back.” Bai Zhi stepped forward. “How do you feel?”

“To be honest, it felt terrible.”

Rena sighed.

“No matter what I said or did, none of you reacted in the slightest.

It was as if I had been transported to another world all by myself, which is quite detrimental to one’s mental well-being.”

Rena’s face was etched with distress, but then she managed a strained smile and looked at Bai Zhi.

“It’s a good thing you suddenly said you could see me; otherwise, if it had continued like that, I might have started to doubt my own existence.”

“That’s precisely what happens when the effect is too good.”

Bastet, having regained her composure, had approached at some point.

Rena turned to look at her, her voice tinged with exasperation.

“Seriously, aren’t you going to consider improving it?

The cloaking effect of this thing is simply too potent; it completely cuts off communication even among allies.

It’s utterly unusable like this.”

“You needn’t worry about that; we’ve already accounted for it.”

Bastet puffed out her chest, her tail swaying in a seemingly pleased arc.

“Once a Cloaking Beacon is activated, you won’t be affected by the barrier, and you’ll be able to see and communicate with each other normally.

Therefore, there’s no need to worry about the inability for allies to communicate promptly during combat.”

With that, Bastet lifted her head to observe the sky.

Her ears twitched twice, and her expression instantly turned solemn.

“Now, proceed as planned and quickly infiltrate your respective positions.

The Shadow Beasts should be arriving any moment; there isn’t much time left for idle chatter.”

As she spoke, Bastet transformed, appearing before them as a dignified black cat.

“Henceforth, I am merely an ordinary cat.

Do not attempt to speak with me, to avoid exposure.”

“Understood, Bastet-sama!”

Lin stated earnestly, yet her reply was met with nothing but a meow.

Bastet had shed her usual clever demeanor, now lying on the ground like a common feline, watching her.

“She really has started pretending to be an ordinary cat.”

Rena sighed, then looked at Lin and Bai Zhi.

“In that case, we should also begin our operations swiftly…”

As Rena spoke, she turned to leave with Lin.

Just then, however, Bai Zhi suddenly froze, a peculiar expression crossing her face.

“My apologies, Rena, and Lin, but I’m afraid I must leave for a while.”

“What has happened, Bai Zhi-sama?”

Lin and Rena simultaneously halted their steps, turning to look at Bai Zhi.

“A new Transcender has appeared. I’m afraid I must attend to that matter first.”

“Must you leave right now?” Rena asked, her tone clearly urgent. “Surely a brief delay wouldn’t be an issue?”

“Ordinarily, that would be true, but…”

Bai Zhi replied with a hint of hesitation.

“The one who has arrived this time appears to be a fellow named Kuka, whom I sent back to the past a few days ago.”

“And this fellow is currently broadcasting across the entire city via magic waves, demanding that I meet him immediately.

Otherwise, he threatens to unleash a massacre upon the other citizens…”

“Broadcasting? Why haven’t I heard it?” Rena inquired.

“I don’t know.”

Bai Zhi furrowed her brows, utterly perplexed.

“Perhaps it was encrypted, audible only to me, or perhaps he employed some other method I’m unaware of.

But based on the information I received, that is precisely what’s happening.”

The three fell into a sudden silence, none of them having anticipated such an event on the eve of their operation.

“Perhaps it’s just a trap, or something similar.”

Rena suddenly spoke.

“It could also be a tactic mimicked by the Shadow Beasts, given how remarkably coincidental this is…”

Before Rena’s words had even fully faded, a towering pillar of fire suddenly erupted from the direction of the previously pitch-black city, momentarily illuminating a corner of the ink-dark night sky.

Immediately afterward, the piercing wail of sirens echoed from afar.

“It seems our opponent is serious.

Even if it’s a trap, I must go.” Bai Zhi’s expression was exceptionally grim.

“Bai Zhi-sama, why not allow me to go?”

Lin suddenly stepped forward, offering the suggestion.

“Both you and Rena are indispensable to this operation.

Allow me to handle such petty scoundrels.”

Bai Zhi stopped Lin, who was about to head towards the city.

“No, I should go.

Since he specifically demanded to see me, if he sees anyone else, he will continue to harm the citizens.

This must be prevented.”

Bai Zhi extended her hands, resting them on Rena’s and Lin’s shoulders respectively.

“Moreover, this is inherently my responsibility.

How could I possibly abandon it to others?”

Lin’s expression was displeased.

“But, Ranxin-sama, she…”

“Don’t worry.”

Looking at the worried faces of Lin and Rena, Bai Zhi smiled.

“I will quickly deal with that Kuka fellow.

He was already defeated by me once; the battle won’t last more than a minute.

I’ll return immediately afterward, without wasting much time.”

“Until then, your only task is to protect Ranxin well.”

“…”

Neither Rena nor Lin spoke.

Lin’s face clearly showed her reluctance, yet reason told her that Bai Zhi’s proposal was the best course of action to minimize harm.

A moment later, Rena offered a gentle smile, just as she always did.

“In that case, please resolve it swiftly and return immediately.

Until then, we will protect Ranxin.”

“Of course!”

Bai Zhi gave Rena a thumbs-up.

She cast a glance back at Xia Ranxin, who was looking uneasily towards the city, and at Bastet, still sprawled on the ground pretending to be an ordinary cat.

Then, taking a deep breath, Bai Zhi transformed into a milky white streak of light and soared towards the city.

“I never expected something like this to happen.”

Lin frowned, her demeanor uneasy.

“We’ve made so many preparations already; even with just the two of us, it should be enough to deal with the Shadow Beast.” Rena approached, deliberately using the teasing tone they often shared.

“Or are you actually lacking confidence in yourself, to the point where even protecting Ranxin requires Bai Zhi’s presence?”

“…A clumsy provocation, but I’ll accept that remark.”

As Lin spoke, she closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, all traces of unease had vanished.

“Ranxin-sama’s safety, naturally, should be personally guarded by me!”

“Your bravado is decent enough; I just hope you’re not all talk.”

Rena chuckled softly.

Perhaps she herself hadn’t realized that her relationship with Lin had softened through their constant daily interactions.

“However, there’s likely still some time before the Shadow Beast appears, so Bai Zhi should be able to make it back.

After all, I have great confidence in her strength…”

Rena’s words were cut short as a sound like a beast’s whimper reached their ears, followed immediately by a sudden gust of wind rising from the ground.

Lin and Rena’s expressions changed simultaneously.

They exchanged a glance, then with unspoken understanding, both pressed the switch on their Cloaking Beacons.

The worst-case scenario had come to pass.

The Shadow Beast had arrived.