Chapter 4: Re-seeing the Light

“Mmhm! Σ(° △ °|||)︴”

With a cute yelp, Yiluo’s fierce sword halted abruptly above the thing before her, stopping mid-air.

Just an inch below the sword tip sat a small white fluffy ball—about the size of an adult’s fist—now trembling violently in fear.

Nani?

What in the world is this thing?

Yiluo had absolutely no idea what the fluffy ball was.

It clearly wasn’t something within her previous-life knowledge.

But… it looked strangely cute.

Yiluo withdrew her sword and observed the fluffball, pinching her chin thoughtfully.

“Hm.
It is pretty cute.”

The fluffball seemed to sense danger.

It flopped weakly onto the ground, its two tiny eyes hidden within its fur staring downward, not daring to look at Yiluo.

“So cute… maybe that means it’s dangerous.
Better chop it.”

The fluffball had just escaped death.

It never expected Yiluo to swing the sword again immediately.

Its fur puffed up in terror—yet it didn’t dare run.

To Yiluo, the unknown equaled danger.

Something that looked harmless was often the greatest threat.

Back when she was an agent, she often disguised herself as harmless, cute, or unremarkable.

Cute.

Harmless.

Unremarkable.

This fluffball had all three.

Yes.
It must not be allowed to live.

However—
The sword did not fall.

Yiluo’s expression twisted painfully.

Her left hand grabbed her right wrist, trying to force it downward.

But she couldn’t.

She was locked in internal struggle.

“Cut it down, you stupid right hand!
Don’t get soft!”

“Me? Get soft? Impossible.”

“Ugh!
This is hard!”

After fighting herself for a while…
Yiluo finally lost.

She withdrew the sword and sighed.

“So this is human instinct?
Damn this body memory…
From the former owner.”

“This battle is lost… but without regret.”

At that moment, Yiluo looked like she’d entered sage mode.

But her sneaky eyes ruined that image instantly.

She suddenly leaned down, grabbed the fluffball, and began fiddling with it.

“Even if I don’t kill you, I must check you thoroughly.”

“See if you’re hiding anything weird.”

“Oh—oh.
You have eyes, they were just covered by fur.”

“Eh?
Hehe, these tiny legs are hilarious.
So short!”

“This body is so small!
Is the whole thing just fur?”

“So soft!
So fun!”

And so—Yiluo played with it happily…

After she was done, she finally entered true sage mode.

She tossed the fluffball aside and began evaluating her behavior.

Yes, she was naturally playful…

But even for her, the earlier behavior was too extreme.

Was this because she had acted as others for so long?

Did her “professional instincts” pull her into the body’s personality?

Damn it!

If she wasn’t a special agent anymore—
Would she always act like this?

Just imagining it made her shiver.

She used to be a man!

Sure, she’d played female roles many times…

But she couldn’t continue down this strange path!

And if she tried to act macho with this body…

That would be even more perverted.

“Oh, brother—should we go bilibilibili?”

Instant winter chill.

Standing naked in snow type of chill.

“No.
Absolutely not.”

She mentally froze.

……

Forget it.
Let’s just go with the flow.

First, she needed clothes.

Even if she wasn’t cold, she couldn’t stay naked.

Yiluo began exploring.

She found nothing wearable, but noticed something odd—

The weapons around were rusted heavily.

Clothing had decayed uniformly.

The battle here happened a very long time ago.

Which meant—
Why was she a young girl now?

Her earlier skeletal form made more sense.

Well, even if bones were pretty…
A human body was better.

She found a cloak, cleaned it, and wrapped herself up.

The cloak had gold and silver embroidery—sun, shield, sword, flowers.

The sword emblem matched the one she held.

The original owner was definitely someone important.

She flipped the cloak inside-out—habit—so enemies would not recognize symbols.

She wrapped her sword in another cloak.

The fluffball followed faithfully.

“Mmhm mmhm… mmhm…”

Noticing her gaze, it bounced nervously.

Its fur formed a faint arrow shape—pointing somewhere.

Yiluo blinked.

Question marks appeared above her head.

Then—ding!

She understood.

“You’re hungry?
Is the fluffball edible?”

The fluffball froze in terror.

It shook violently.

Yiluo laughed.

“Pfft—just kidding.”

“You mean you know the way out?”

“Then lead me.
If it’s a trap, I’ll kill you first.”

Her innocent smile darkened dangerously.

The fluffball panicked and shook rapidly in denial.

Yiluo waved calmly.

“Lead on.”

They walked upward via broken stairs.

After an hour, they reached a blocked passage.

She looked at the stones, then her fist.

With her strength, she could break them easily.

She punched.

BAM!

BOOM—

Dust filled the air.

She shielded her head with the cloak.

When the dust settled—
She peeked out.

Then covered her eyes again.

Then laughed.

“Haha…
It’s sunlight.”

“It’s really an exit…”

Yiluo stepped into the light.

The fluffball bounced after her.

◇

Meanwhile—
Back in the bone sea…

A cat-sized rat searched for food.

It spotted the severed head of the dried corpse loli.

“Squeak squeak…”

Delighted, it approached and gnawed.

But—

A crimson mist burst from the corpse.

It wrapped the rat instantly.

“Sque—!”

The rat turned to white bone in a second.

The mist returned to the corpse.

The dried head gained… a faint hint of color.