The redhead snarled, "Fine. He actually abandoned us? Next time I see him, I’ll blast him to smithereens!"

Ziye leaned her back weakly against the tree trunk. While listening to her continuous grumbling, her thoughts had already soared into the distant heavens. Was An Junlie truly dead?

How could An Junlie possibly be dead?

Just the day before, he was holding her, telling her, "Come with me." How could he be gone today? So many people in his legion were still waiting for him to return...

The more she thought, the more heartbroken she became.

The redhead, noticing Ziye’s lack of response, continued, "Actually, I'm not truly angry with him. It’s not bad that someone volunteered to go first. Did you save the data? Let everyone analyze it together. If there are no issues, all of us will leave this forsaken place."

Ziye gave a soft "Mm," replying, "I'll send the data to the shared drive later."

Closing the communicator, Ziye sat where she was, closed her eyes, and emptied her mind, allowing her body to slowly recover. She forbade herself from thinking about anything related to An Junlie any further; otherwise, it would be dangerous.

But she forgot that in the Death Zone, there were far more dangerous things!

That is, the Dragon-Scaled Lizard!

Besides the Dragon-Scaled Lizard, countless other creatures, large and small, caught her scent and began swarming towards her hiding spot. Seeing the continuous influx of lifeforms on the coordinates, Xiao Dou Ya panicked and shot out a thread of micro-electricity, jolting Ziye awake.

"Master, danger!" Xiao Dou Ya urgently cried, "So many unknown creatures!"

Ziye snapped back to reality. Looking at Xiao Dou Ya's light screen, she saw countless red dots erupting on the coordinates. In Xiao Dou Ya's interpretation, red universally signified harmful or dangerous entities.

Just as she was about to rush towards the airship, the nearby trees suddenly rustled violently. A massive tail whipped down with crushing force. She hastily grabbed Xiao Dou Ya and leaped onto a tree branch. Before she could even turn around, she heard the sound of the airship shattering.

The colossal Dragon-Scaled Lizard lifted its foreclaw and swatted the airship away with a single blow, then slowly lumbered toward her position.

Ziye’s back instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

She was no immortal; she certainly couldn't fight the Dragon-Scaled Lizard. Furthermore, she didn't possess the speed required to evade the lizard's monstrous grasp. What should she do?

In a moment of desperation, she fumbled for the spatial button clipped to Xiao Dou Ya's posterior. With a press, the ten-meter tall Illusionary Crow mecha burst forth with a thunderous roar, materializing before Ziye like a colossal beast, perfectly blocking the Dragon-Scaled Lizard.

The Dragon-Scaled Lizard was startled by the sudden appearance of the metallic entity radiating a chilling light. It recoiled slightly, glaring at the mecha with intense caution. Ziye, taking advantage of the lizard’s momentary hesitation before attacking, scrambled up the mecha in three quick movements, slipped into the cockpit, and initiated the startup sequence—

Just as the Dragon-Scaled Lizard’s claws swung up again, the Illusionary Crow erupted with a powerful burst of thrust, rocketing skyward.

Ziye clung tightly to Xiao Dou Ya, her palms slick with sweat. Only after clearing the Death Forest did she finally exhale, slumping weakly against the mecha's optical computer.

Was that just playing with her life?

Ziye sat up straight, wiped the sweat from her brow, and instructed Xiao Dou Ya, "Let's go home."

By the time she arrived, she was terribly hungry. Although Ziye hadn't exerted herself physically, the recent extreme emotional trauma, followed by a narrow escape from death, had left her so mentally exhausted that she could barely summon the will to move.

She walked into the kitchen, finding the desolation there profoundly unsettling. There was not a single edible item left on the dining table, the counter, or the stove. She opened the chiller; it was filled only with raw, uncooked ingredients. She had consumed every meal An Junlie had prepared before he left yesterday, leaving behind only a pile of dirty pots and pans soaking in the sink, emitting faint, sour, decaying odors.

An inexplicable irritation surfaced within Ziye. She commanded one kitchen robot to clean and the other to steam rose-petal buns.

The robots were swift. Not long after leaving the kitchen, the robot presented her with the buns and rose tea. Six pristine white buns were arranged in a circle on a dish. Within the steamy aroma wafting up, there was only a strong, acrid smell.

It was all rose scent, yet why did the smell of An Junlie's cooked rose and rock sugar sticky rice porridge smell so wonderfully fragrant, while this made her feel nauseous? Ziye felt the urge to throw the buns away, but her stomach was growling so fiercely she felt dizzy. She forced herself to pick up a bun and stuff it into her mouth.

The next second, she gagged, bent over, and regurgitated everything she had just managed to eat.

How could something taste so awful? How had she ever managed to eat it before? The roses were clearly not fresh; they carried a stale, moldy scent from sitting too long. Too much sugar had been added, making it sickeningly sweet. Even the outer layer of the bun, made with dragon bone powder, was inconsistent—part soft, part hard.

Completely inedible!

Ziye picked up the rose tea, took a sip to rinse her mouth, and sat there dumbfounded, lost in thought. The kitchen was silent; the robots stood lined up neatly, observing her helplessness, scrutinizing her disappointment.

She felt utterly vacant, devoid of thought or emotion. A breeze drifted in from the window opposite, making her thoughts feel scattered. She held the cup until the liquid grew cold. When she finally returned to her senses, she couldn't recall what she had been thinking about at all.

Xiao Dou Ya intentionally tried to tease her, hopping onto her head: "Master, Master, is the tea delicious?"

"Mmm... Huh?" Ziye suddenly registered something. Wait, the tea tasted wrong. Ziye lifted the teacup again. Only a tiny dreg of liquid remained inside, cool to the touch. She forced herself to drink the last bit, letting the liquid slowly trace a path down her throat.

This flavor... Yes, this was the tea An Junlie had brewed!

When An Junlie brewed tea, he invariably selected the purest rose petals, never added sugar, only a single drop of truly pure honey. As the aroma bloomed, one could detect a faint, sweet undertone.

She put down the teacup and abruptly stood up, crying out excitedly, "An Junlie! An Junlie, did you come back? An Junlie?"

There was no reply.

The house was utterly silent, so quiet she felt as if every living creature in the world had fallen asleep. Frantically, she rushed out of the kitchen into the living room—no one.

Could he be in his room? Ziye hurried towards his chamber. His room was exactly as it had been—empty, devoid of any lingering presence.

Refusing to give up, Ziye dashed to the courtyard, then the workshop, checking every conceivable location, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. But after turning the entire house upside down, she found no sign of him.

If An Junlie hadn't returned, how could there be the taste of his brewed tea?

Was it her illusion? Or had Xiao Dou Ya deliberately misled her? She looked up, glaring at Xiao Dou Ya, who was hovering in the air with its golden wings spread wide. Xiao Dou Ya chirped, fluttered down onto her head, extended the small leaf on its crown, and sent a beam of micro-electricity straight into Ziye's arm. Ziye involuntarily shuddered and snatched at it in annoyance: "Have you had enough fun?"

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