Chapter 141: Xia He: That Array, Give Your Bro Another One

A moment later.

Xiaobai’s eyes fluttered open. She pushed herself up from the sofa, rubbing her drowsy eyes and letting out a yawn before walking over to Qin Yang.

"Master, did you do something to me? Why do I feel so sore?"

"Where does it hurt?"

Qin Yang put down his phone and got up from the sofa to brush his teeth and get ready for bed.

After the night’s ordeal, it was already ten o’clock. He still had to work tomorrow.

"Everywhere! Especially my butt and my back!"

Xiaobai followed Qin Yang into the bathroom and glared at him, tugging at the shirt she was wearing. "And what about this Fairy’s clothes?" she complained. "Why am I wearing your big T-shirt, Master?!"

"..."

With a toothbrush dangling from his mouth, Qin Yang glanced at Xiaobai and mumbled, "You don’t remember what happened earlier?"

"What happened?"

Hearing this, Xiaobai looked down at her slender calves peeking out from under the T-shirt. She rubbed her shoulders and then suddenly stared at Qin Yang warily. "I... don’t really remember..."

"Tsk. If you forgot, just forget it."

Qin Yang rinsed his mouth and said dismissively, "It wasn’t anything important anyway."

’The Stabilizing Pill worked better than expected.’

’After Xiaobai regained her sanity, she’d also completely forgotten about her rampage downtown.’

But now, what concerned Qin Yang more was the reason for her rampage.

’Is it because of the Beast Tide?’

As Qin Yang finished rinsing his mouth, he frowned in thought, recalling what Xia He had said earlier.

’Judging by Xiaobai’s condition, this Beast Tide is no ordinary one. Its influence is far greater than any before.’

’Even Star Beasts within the city limits have been affected.’

’Looks like I’ll have to pay closer attention to this over the next few days.’

After washing up, Qin Yang changed into his pajamas and went back to his room, ready for bed.

"Master, you still haven’t answered me... About earlier..."

Xiaobai quietly trailed after him, rubbing her sore shoulders and butt. "What exactly did you do to me?" she pressed.

"Stop asking. Go to sleep!"

"Oh..."

The night passed uneventfully.

.....

The next day, Qin Yang went back to his usual routine, heading to the library for work. He decided to leave Xiaobai at home for the time being.

Just to be safe, he also set up a Fifth Level Sealing Array in the room to prevent a repeat of last night’s rampage.

’I’ll just observe her for now. If she went berserk at the library, it would be a real problem.’

Right now, what concerned Qin Yang most was the Beast Tide’s effect on Star Beasts.

’Just how deep does its influence run?’

’And how long will this situation last?’

Life in Jianghai City had already changed drastically because of it.

On his way to the library, Qin Yang saw many Star Pet Stores had closed, and other public places had begun posting "No Star Pets Allowed" signs.

On the sprawling streets.

It was as if Jianghai City’s Star Pets had vanished overnight. Barely anyone dared to bring one outside.

Back at the library, Qin Yang went back to slacking off and scrolling through his phone, taking a moment to check the stock market. The Star Pet industry’s stock prices were plummeting.

Reports of Star Pets injuring people dominated the trending news. The Star Martial Police Bureau had worked through the night to form special teams to patrol the city.

The entire city of Jianghai was in an uproar.

The already chaotic situation grew even more muddled and unpredictable.

Inside the library, Qin Yang, still slacking off, noticed that Li Qinghe hadn’t shown up for work again. Instead, just before noon, Xia He walked in through the main entrance.

"Old Qin! I’ve missed you like crazy!"

Xia He stopped him by a bookshelf. He was wearing sunglasses and casual clothes. "You almost never saw me again, buddy! I never thought I’d be the one to feel this way."

"What? Did the Platinum Han get raided for vice again?"

Qin Yang asked casually, pushing his cart and mentally counting the minutes until he could clock out.

Xia He: "..."

"No way! Is that really what you think of me?"

"Actually, it’s a little worse than that."

"..."

Xia He was speechless. He clutched his chest and sighed, "That stings, Old Qin! I really had a brush with death last night!"

"Oh, really?"

Qin Yang smiled.

"You don’t know how dangerous it was last night!!"

Recalling the previous night’s siege, Xia He tugged at his floral shirt, still shaken. "My whole uniform got burned to a crisp! Now I’m stuck in plainclothes!"

He nudged Qin Yang’s shoulder. "I haven’t been around for a few days. Aren’t you even a little curious where I was?"

"Not really."

Qin Yang teased, "Just as long as I don’t have to go to the Police Chief to bail you out like last time."

"Tsk, alright, stop laughing! You should see me in a new light, you know? Your buddy here was *this* close to sacrificing himself for our Jianghai City last night."

Xia He looked around, and after seeing no one was nearby, he leaned in close to Qin Yang’s ear and whispered:

"I’m only telling you this, Old Qin, so don’t let it slip. I’ve been on a tracking mission for the past few days. Yesterday, I walked right into an ambush and got surrounded by a pack of those bastard Demons!"

"And then?"

Qin Yang slid the book in his hand back onto the shelf. Seeing it was time to clock out, he headed straight for the time clock.

"Then things got intense!"

Xia He followed at his side, pulling a Star Stone from his pocket. "Thanks to that Star Array you gave me," he said excitedly, "we managed to survive last night!

You have no idea! Those Demons were outside attacking the Array, and they worked themselves to exhaustion but couldn’t even make it budge!"

He gave Qin Yang a thumbs-up. "Old Qin, you’re a fucking legend! Did you really make that Array yourself? If it wasn’t for that thing, I’d be a dead man right now!"

"Yeah."

After clocking out, Qin Yang said casually, "Just something I threw together in my spare time. Glad it came in handy."

"That’s an understatement! It was a huge help, Old Qin!"

Xia He was beaming. He grabbed Qin Yang’s hand and half-dragged him toward the door. "Forget the cafeteria today! It’s my treat. Order whatever you want!"

"Alright."

Qin Yang just nodded and, without another word, got into Xia He’s luxury car.

The two of them headed straight for the most expensive hotel in Jianghai City.

Xia He didn’t even wait for Qin Yang to order and run up the bill; he went ahead and arranged a grand feast himself. Red wine, king crab, black-lipped abalone...

He ordered the works!

They were brothers, after all. A life debt was worth more than a thousand words. Qin Yang ate to his heart’s content, and Xia He was more than happy to foot the bill.

「After they had eaten and drunk their fill.」

"BURP~"

Qin Yang leaned back in his chair and let out a comfortable burp.

Xia He lit a cigarette and blew a smoke ring. "Old Qin," he said suddenly, "you got any more of those Arrays? Hook a brother up with another set... preferably one that’s fireproof."

The memory of last night’s Innate Demon was still vivid, leaving him with some lingering fear.

’The world outside is nuts!’

’One day you’re slacking off, the next you’re the main carry...’

’I’ve got to get some better gear!’

"Fireproof?"

Qin Yang mused, feeling the Star Stone in his pocket.

"Heh heh, you know me, Old Qin. I’m not just talking fireproof. If you’ve got others, I won’t say no..."

Xia He rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "You know, like lightning-proof, poison-proof... maybe one that lets you survive inside for a month without food or water... You’re a legend, I’m sure you can pull it off!"

"..."

Hearing the endless stream of requests, Qin Yang rolled his eyes and turned away in annoyance.

"Get lost!"