Chapter Ninety-Four: What on Earth Was That—An Earthquake?

"Babies, what do you think? Should we give her a chance?" Standing with one foot on the girl evil god, Akasa wore an amused expression and turned to ask the twin evil gods who had just been serving him.

"Then let her have one chance, Lord Akasa." The girl on the left, with a black mole beneath her left eye, set the grape platter she was holding onto the table beside the deck chair and said with utter indifference.

"If she still fails, she won't be coming back anyway," the girl on the right, with a black mole beneath her right eye, rose from the ground where she had been kneeling to massage the young man's legs and added, frowning slightly as she stared at the girl beneath the young man's foot.

"Did you hear that? Hmm?" Akasa pressed down hard on the girl's head and turned back to ask. He did listen to the words of his two most cherished subordinates, and besides, he was somewhat reluctant to simply waste a king-class evil god, even if it was only a timid one that had fled back in retreat.

"Yes. If I fail again, I will never come back." The girl's voice carried a trace of joy at being trusted, as well as a firm resolve toward the mission. If she could not complete it, then indeed she would not return; if success proved impossible, she would stake everything on making it succeed. Even though a trace of cowardice had crept into the evil god's nature, the instinct to obey a superior's command far outweighed that timid streak.

"Good. I have heard your promise. You are permitted to take one Burrowing Black Beast with you." Lifting his right foot from the girl's head, Akasa walked back toward his seat with a wicked smile. A mere small city did not require him to act personally. But if those humans still intended to resist, then by then, heh. That would be amusing, wouldn't it?

"Thank you most sincerely. I guarantee the mission will be completed. Then I will take my leave, Lord Akasa." Hearing Akasa mention the Burrowing Black Beast, the girl suddenly lifted her head, delight lighting her face. With a mature Burrowing Black Beast, the mission was practically within easy reach. Though she had botched things before, this time she would absolutely succeed.

"Go on, then." Lying back in the deck chair, Akasa's expression returned to its usual leisure. He waved a hand dismissively and paid the girl no more mind.

"May the deep darkness remain with you." Rising, the girl bowed to Akasa, then hurried off with impatient steps.

"Heh, I hope this one can amuse me." As Akasa's invisible aura rolled outward, the entire swimming pool collapsed and vanished beneath that unseen pressure. What had once been a fine villa gradually merged into the surrounding ruins under the expanding invisible field.

"Achoo!" Shiang Xiaoyuan sneezed fiercely out the window, then rubbed her itchy nose while seated in the front passenger seat. She felt as if a chill had just swept over her; had sleeping in the garage yesterday given her a cold?

"Monitor, are you catching a cold? I've never had a cold since I was little." From the back seat, Lu Xiaowei suddenly leaned his head forward toward Shiang Xiaoyuan and said, reaching out as he spoke, intending to feel her forehead.

"Get lost. I'm not catching a cold. Maybe somebody's thinking of me. And it's only because you're an idiot that you never catch colds. Stop bragging about how stupid you are everywhere." Shiang Xiaoyuan slapped away the hand he extended and rolled her eyes.

"Huh? Monitor, that's mean. I'm worried about you, you know. You're way too heartless to call me an idiot like that." Lu Xiaowei put on a falsely aggrieved, effeminate air.

"Tch. Stop acting silly and be serious. Besides, catching a cold and having a fever are completely different things. Even if I catch a cold, that doesn't mean I'll definitely get a fever. What do you think you're reaching out for? Want me to amputate it?" She raised a palm and made a slicing motion, threatening him.

"Monitor, you're too serious. I'm deliberately trying to liven things up, see? Isn't Xia Yu much more relaxed now?" As he spoke, Lu Xiaowei even patted Yang Xiayu on the shoulder.

"I-I wasn't nervous. Lu Xiaowei, you're too relaxed." Unexpectedly, even the taciturn Yang Xiayu couldn't stand Lu Xiaowei's clowning and called him out.

"Haha, serves you right. Even Xia Yu can't stand it anymore. All right, a little joking is fine, but only a little. Keep an eye on your surroundings. If anything launches a surprise attack, I may not be able to handle it by myself, so you need to protect yourselves. Hold on tight." Shiang Xiaoyuan smiled faintly, then her expression turned serious. She reached out and patted the machine gun set aside nearby as she spoke to the people in the vehicle, and also to the others on the other end of the wireless link.

"Don't worry, Monitor. You just focus on charging the front line head-on, and we'll hide behind you and pick up the spoils, haha." Hugging the machine gun to his chest, Lu Xiaowei was as optimistic as ever, joking cheerfully with Shiang Xiaoyuan.

Though his tone was playful, there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes. Although he regretted not having the strength to deal with demons and fiends, whenever he could, he would still contribute what power he had to the fight against them, even if that power was of little consequence to the evil beings.

Time passed quickly in the atmosphere of tension tempered by a touch of relaxation around Shiang Xiaoyuan and the others. The sun, following its usual path, slowly sank toward the west. Their shift change was almost at hand.

"Old Fu, we've still got plenty of time. Just deliver this truckload of wounded back and the job's done. Drive steady." After helping the front-line medics and nurses load the wounded who needed to be sent to the medical support department onto the truck, Shiang Xiaoyuan sat down in the front passenger seat and instructed Fu Jian, who was in the driver's seat. The transport mission had gone smoothly today, and there was still some distance left before the scheduled shift time. There was no need to rush back for the final run.

"No problem, Monitor." With a relaxed smile on his face, the day’s assignment was nearly over and the shift change was approaching. Fu Jian's heart likely eased a little as well. Driving all day was no easy task.

The journey remained fairly smooth. Even in the back compartment, Lu Xiaowei kept on talking nonstop. But having him look after the wounded was actually the right choice. His chatter could be annoying at times, but to the wounded it added quite a bit of will to survive—for instance, the desire to recover and then give him a good beating.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble. Rumble, rumble, rumble." The truck, which had been moving steadily, suddenly began to shake.

"Old Fu, what's going on? Drive steady... huh? An earthquake?" With the truck shaking all of a sudden, Shiang Xiaoyuan initially thought Fu Jian had been careless and driven over some rubble on the road. But after her eyes caught sight of the buildings outside all beginning to tremble, she realized it was actually an earthquake. How could an earthquake happen so abruptly? Could it be...

Thinking of a certain possibility, Shiang Xiaoyuan's expression changed. She began scanning the ground outside the truck. Noticing the changes on the surface, she opened the door and leaned out, looking toward the rear of the transport truck.

Boom.