After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

"Of course there's a problem," Ruf said with an icy face, pulling a mocking smile. "During nighttime, all movements must be approved by a senior officer. If you want to go out, you have to wait until after tomorrow's competition is over."

"That's just the rule for ordinary people, right?"

"It doesn't apply to 'us'."

Lin Da crossed his arms and placed them on the table, smiling faintly at Ruf. "You would agree, right, Mr. Werewolf?"

Ruf's expression changed.

A chilling murderous aura burst out in an instant.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ruf couldn't fathom how this Number 34 had seen through his identity.

The mysterious abilities, the undisguised provocative smile, and that damned sense of superiority all made Ruf's blood boil with restlessness.

He wished he could open his huge mouth and devour the human before him!

From the aura that Number 34 had revealed in the dormitory, Ruf concluded that the other party was just an ordinary B-level Transcendent.

As for himself, he had already mastered Transcendent Power and reached Level A, standing above the other.

How dare he provoke me like this... he must be tired of living...

"Fine, let's talk outside."

Ruf stood up with a cold laugh and took the lead out of the dining hall.

"That's more like it." Lin Da followed closely behind.

Security personnel spotted them, annoyed. "You fools, it's nighttime now. Do you want to have your necks snapped by werewolves..."

"Ugh!"

Ruf suddenly made his move, his palm knife glinting with cold light.

In an instant, the security personnel's head was severed!

Making this move, Ruf secretly observed Lin Da, hoping to see fear on Lin Da's face.

But Lin Da maintained a poker face.

This kind of thing, even the Mage of the Phoenix Tail Flower Team could do.

Ruf's power level was indeed not low among humans, reaching a level of 50 points, about the human body's limit.

It's just a pity that this is a low-magic world.

50 points is only equivalent to the level of a Level 5 adventurer.

Seeing Lin Da's expressionless face, Ruf grew even more cautious.

In contrast, Lin Da casually took in the building's layout, as if his thoughts were not on Ruf at all.

The more Lin Da acted like this, the more Ruf's heart raced, and he dared not act rashly.

The two came to an empty small warehouse.

"What's your purpose?"

Ruf stood ten meters away from Lin Da, his gaze ice cold.

"I mean no harm, just want to ask a few simple questions," Lin Da shrugged. "Try this first, and then you'll understand that we're friends."

Murmuring a silent spell, Lin Da stretched out his right hand.

This action made Ruf's hair stand on end, as he assumed a defensive stance!

What fell was a warm green light.

This strange glow enveloped Ruf.

The wounds under Ruf's clothes stopped bleeding at an astonishing rate, and his weak body turned vigorous within a few breaths.

A Primary Healing Spell directly refilled Ruf's blood to full.

"This is..."

Ruf incredulously touched his waist, where a wound left by a Hunter's firearm had been troubling him for days.

Even with a Transcendent's formidable physical abilities, he couldn't recover back to prime condition in a short period.

But under the mystical spell of Number 34, the wound healed rapidly.

Now Ruf only felt himself full of vigor, in peak condition!

"A Healing Transcendent?" The coldness on Ruf's face melted away.

In this Dark Night City, werewolves constituted the majority of Transcendents.

And Healing Transcendents, with their noble status, were highly sought after by the public.

Even the most terrible diseases posed no challenge to the Healing Transcendents.

One could say, ten werewolves together wouldn't compare to a single Healing Transcendent.

Ruf's wariness significantly subsided, warmed by just that Healing Spell the other had cast.

"Ask whatever questions you have. But I advise you, don't easily reveal yourself, especially your identity as a non-combat Healing Transcendent!"

Not skilled in combat, huh... Lin Da smiled but did not explain.

He cut straight to the chase, "How would I make contact with the mysterious forces of Dark Night City?"

"What, you're a self-awakened? No injection of potion?" Ruf's eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh...right. I hope someone could introduce me." Lin Da said, "What about you? How did you become a Transcendent?"

"I don't mind telling you, I come from the Dawn Church; eighty percent of Transcendents come from this organization."

Ruf didn't mind sharing this basic information about Transcendents with Lin Da.

"Becoming a Transcendent was straightforward for me; an envoy from the Dawn Church picked me, I had the Transcendent Potion injected, and awakened my werewolf abilities. Your self-awakening is rare, sought after by the higher-ups of the church."

"Can you help me get in touch with the church?"

"That's difficult. We're contacted only one way; only people from the church come to see me, I don't know where they are."

"Is that so..."

Lin Da pondered, resting his chin on his hand:

He had at most seven days to stay in the Mystic Realm. If the church didn't contact Ruf within these seven days, his purpose would be unachievable.

"Why did the people from the church choose you?" Lin Da decided to try another angle.

Ruf gave a cruel smile, "Maybe, because I'm strong enough. I defeated a warrior ranked 100 when I was ranked 143."

"So if you're strong enough, you can attract the church's attention?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"I understand."

Lin Da nodded, looking at the gold button on Ruf's collar.

There was the number 7.

He asked, "Does being ranked seventh make you strong among warriors?"

Ruf was stunned for a moment, anger flashing in his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Lin Da countered without answering, "Do you know why I helped you with your healing?"

"Why?"

"Because... I want to blow you away when you're at your best."

Lin Da smiled modestly.

"Haha, hahaha! Interesting!"

A vein throbbed near Ruf's temple.

He stepped from the shadows into the moonlight streaming through the window.

His clothes burst open, revealing gray fur as sharp as steel needles.

Ruf's arms were as thick as a man's thigh, and his hands had turned into fearsome beast claws, with long nails shining with a cold, icy light.

His identity was now beyond doubt.

A Transcendent of Dark Night City, a warrior with power far above ordinary people, a werewolf!

Lin Da nodded with satisfaction.

Just as he had expected, Ruf had reached the level of 10, just right to be qualified for the "Common Monster" rank of the fourth layer.

"Considering you're a Healing Transcendent, I'll give you a chance to apologize."

Ruf's expression was ferocious, his voice hoarse and deep, like a piece of iron scraping in his throat.

On his furry face, the wolf's mouth protruded, and his fangs were sharp.

"Are you deaf?"

Lin Da scratched his head in confusion, "Then let me say it again."

He said with a smile, "I want to blow you away."

...

...

At the same moment.

In the wilderness outside White Dove City, the Barren Plains.

The Snow Goose Adventure Team was nearby, hunting Murderous Crabs.

They had only caught about twenty or so for the entire day.

As the numbers dwindled, Captain Lia considered moving to a Mystic Realm.

After several days of teamwork, Lia felt that Snow Goose's combat strength had significantly increased, and her relationship with the team members was warming up again.

Although the smiles were still less frequent than when Lin Da was around, they were much more common than right after Lin Da had left the team.

As dusk fell in the outside world, the girls, tired from the day's battle, spread blankets on the ground for a picnic. Aiko proudly placed her hands on her hips as she took out various snacks from her Space Ring:

"These are the latest creations of the great Aiko herself, enjoy them with gratitude!"

Fruit cake, egg tarts, potato chips, sugar-baked biscuits, handmade ice cream... the picnic blanket was covered, and Klrona called out with delight, savoring the feast.

Klyne smiled politely, her movements and posture very ladylike.

Lia hesitated for a while, her mouth watering as she eyed the tempting fruit cake.

She had been foregoing sweets for many days for better training results.

"It shouldn't hurt to break the rule just once, right?" Aiko pushed the cake towards her.

"Well then... I won't be shy!"

Lia couldn't resist the temptation of the cake, took a bite, and her eyes lit up, "Aiko, when did your cooking skills get so good? I remember you could only make poison!"

That's because I didn't want to try hard before...

To become a good bride, Aiko had seriously practiced, and now her cooking skills were top-notch.

The girls enjoyed the delicious food under the cool autumn breeze, discussing recent amusing events. Meanwhile, Oru and Phyllis, looking rather glum, were collecting Murderous Crab materials and tidying up the spoils, occasionally getting a piece of cake to eat.

At that moment, Lia suddenly thought of something and said out of the blue, "Do you all still remember the things from the fourth layer?"

"The fourth layer? That story-like Mystic Realm called Dark Night City?"

Aiko tilted her head, "Other than the name Dark Night City, I've forgotten everything that happened inside. It's the rule set by the World Tree Goddess, isn't it? Lia, can you remember what happened there?"

"Hmm... a little bit, but not very clearly. But Lin Xi... Phoenix Tail Flower was heading for the fourth layer, right? I vaguely remember, inside the fourth layer Mystic Realm, Lin Xi seemed to have said something to me."

Lia grabbed her hair in frustration, mumbling, "What was it that she said? I just can't remember, but it feels important."

"Oh, Aiko, I'm so sorry, I dropped your cake on the ground," Klyne said apologetically.

"No worries, I can just make more. Why not let Oru and Phyllis have it?"

Aiko was saying this when Lia suddenly stood up as if struck by lightning, "Yes, that's it!"

"What's what?" Aiko was completely lost.

"I mean what Klyne just said!"

Lia was certain, "Sorry. What Lin Xi told me on the fourth layer was the three words 'I'm sorry.' She wanted me to convey it to everyone!"

At these words, the members of Snow Goose showed confused expressions.

Why would Lin Xi need to apologize to them?

Could it be related to her disappearance?

The words 'I'm sorry' were actually her way of saying goodbye...

She hadn't left without saying a word.

It's just that the memories within the story-like Mystic Realm were erased by the rules of the World Tree.

Aiko sighed, "Lin Da said he was going to investigate her clues, but without the memory of the last exploration, what's there to investigate? When Lin Da comes back, let's all go visit him. Let's not make him too sad."

"I... I'm not going," protested Lia.

"If you don't go, it just shows you're a pretentious fool!"