Like the low growl before a volcanic eruption, Kalpas's towering figure appeared at the entrance of the recreation room.
He was initially drawn by the noise and laughter coming from this direction, wanting to see who was being so boisterous.
However, just as he reached the entrance, his gaze swept across the screen, and he saw himself "wall-slamming" Kosma against a wall while uttering the line that made his blood run cold—
"Little Wildcat, where do you think you're going?"
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Kalpas's pupils beneath his mask likely shrunk to the size of a needle tip.
The already scorching aura around him instantly erupted like a nuclear bomb had been dropped!
Blazing flames shot up uncontrollably, scorching the air at the entrance until it warped!
There was no questioning, no roaring (because the extreme rage had stripped him of the ability to speak).
The next second, a searing shockwave, like an enraged dragon, blasted forth from Kalpas's hand!
Its target was—the gigantic screen currently displaying the "Source of Sin"!
"Boom—!!!"
Accompanied by a deafening explosion and spraying sparks, the massive screen, along with the playback equipment behind it, instantly turned into charred fragments and billowing smoke under Kalpas's furious strike!
"Heh... hehe..."
Vill-V's laughter stopped abruptly. Looking at the smoking wreckage, she showed genuine regret on her face. "Oh dear... Kalpas, you're too sensitive... What wonderful 'Artistic Material' that was..."
She couldn't finish her sentence.
Because Kalpas's gaze, which seemed to come from the Nine Nether Hells, was locked onto her.
The meaning conveyed by that look was simple: you are the next one to be turned into charcoal.
The regret on Vill-V's face instantly transformed into the quick wit needed for a hasty retreat. Without a word, she let out a string of insincere exclamations like, "Oh dear, I suddenly remembered a magic trick I haven't performed yet," and slipped out of the recreation room's other exit like a nimble loach, moving so fast she left only an afterimage.
"Wait for me, Sister Vill-V!"
Seeing this, Pardo was scared out of her wits. Clutching Can, she scrambled after Vill-V, fleeing in terror, afraid that if she was even a step too slow, the enraged Kalpas would target her as a vent for his fury.
For a moment, the only people left in the recreation room were Kalpas, standing motionless, engulfed in flames, like a Demon Child... ah, no, like a Demon God descended, and Elysia, who was trying hard to ease the tension.
Elysia looked at the mess on the floor, then at the terrifyingly low-pressure Kalpas, and cautiously spoke, trying to soothe him: "Um... Kalpas? Calm down, don't worry about it. It was clearly a prank... It must have been the 'System' or the 'Black Herta' messing with us, trying to disrupt things..."
Kalpas let out a heavy snort, the sound seeming to be squeezed out from the depths of lava, carrying a heat that could scorch a person.
He ignored Elysia's comfort and didn't even look at the silent Su in the corner. He just stared intensely at the pile of screen wreckage for a few seconds, then abruptly turned around and strode away, carrying a rage that seemed capable of igniting the air.
A smell of charring permeated the recreation room.
Elysia watched Kalpas's retreating back, then looked at Su, who seemed to be meditating like an Old Monk Meditating nearby, and finally couldn't help but hold her forehead and let out a soft laugh, filled with helplessness.
"Sigh... This is truly... an endless stream of'surprises'."
Meanwhile, Vill-V, who had been scared off by Kalpas's "Death Glare," touched her chin once she was safe, her eyes gleaming with a look of wanting more:
"What a pity... But since it existed, maybe the data has a backup? Or... maybe I Can 'create' some myself? Hehehe..."
Perspective shift.
Just as Baiheng finished giving Jingliu a rough tour of the Cyber-Ancient Style courtyard and was secretly relieved that the "background setting" in her mind was detailed enough, a completely unexpected "detail" suddenly popped up—she wasn't just a tenant, she was sharing the lease!
The door to the other bedroom was tightly shut, and a pair of women's ankle boots decorated with gears was casually placed outside the entrance.
(...Sharing the lease?! Master! This wasn't in the script!)
Baiheng let out another silent wail internally, her smile instantly freezing on her face.
Jingliu, standing beside her, naturally noticed this detail as well. She tilted her head slightly, looking at the closed door and the boots outside, her voice calm and steady: "You have a roommate?"
"Uh... this... haha..."
Baiheng felt her CPU was about to overload, and she was racking her brain trying to weave a new lie when—
"Creak—"
The sound of the courtyard gate being pushed open rang out at the perfect time, rescuing her.
Feeling as if she had received a general pardon, Baiheng quickly said, "It might be my roommate coming back! I'll go check!"
Saying this, she quickly walked toward the living room.
She saw a petite "girl" walking in.
She was wearing a modified Xianzhou Attire, predominantly light purple and sharply tailored, topped with a Beret of the same color. Beneath the brim, her dark purple long hair was meticulously styled, her reddish-purple eyes were calm, and she was carrying a paper package filled with fresh ingredients.
The moment Baiheng saw her, fabricated information about this "roommate" was rapidly injected into her mind like a data packet:
Name: Xi Tong (System)
Race: Xianzhou Native (self-proclaimed)
Age: Over 320 years (within the normal range)
Gender: Female
Identity: Landlord of this courtyard and tenant of the master bedroom, Bai Heng's sub-landlord.
Background: Previously worked as an Interstellar Miner, an information broker for Data Pirates, a temporary bartender at a bar in Belobog's Lower District, an Honorary Advisor for the Space Station Cleaning Department (was "escorted out" after causing data corruption by scrubbing seventy-six experimental chambers with an unknown solvent), and a short-term Prop Manager for a Xianzhou Opera Troupe (left after attempting to apply holographic projection technology to the traditional opera *Emperor's Bow Trace*, leading to a stage explosion)... Currently claims to be a "freelancer," with her main source of income being a mystery.
Personality Traits: Extremely stingy, garrulous, slightly harsh, has minor germophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her evaluation of tenant Bai Heng is: "Quite well-behaved, just messy with her things."
Relationship with Bai Heng: Purely a monetary rental relationship, supplemented by occasional life guidance and care.
(What in the world is all this!)
Baiheng felt her mouth twitching; this background setting was a bit too "rich"!
Just as Baiheng's brain was overloading, System, who had walked in, also saw the two people.
Her gaze paused on Baiheng for one second.
Baiheng immediately snapped to attention, quickly stepped forward, plastered a smile on her face, and tried to take control of the situation: "Si—Sister Xi Tong! You're back! This is... a friend of mine! She—she's just borrowing the guest room temporarily tonight!"
She deliberately emphasized the words "temporarily" and "friend."
System, who was called "Xi Tong," lifted her eyelids, gave Baiheng a brief, indifferent glance, and spoke with a slightly critical flatness: "Mm. I'm back."
As she spoke, she placed the ingredients she was holding onto the smart cooking station, her movements smooth and natural.
Only then did System turn her gaze toward Jingliu, who had been standing silently by. She "sized up" the extraordinary white-haired woman, her face showing scrutiny.
Jingliu nodded slightly as a greeting, her voice cool: "Jingliu."
Hearing this, System immediately adopted her self-assigned persona of the "harsh, old-fashioned landlord." She opened her mouth, and the carefully designed "line" slipped out: AUV~
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