The silver-white giant wolf tore across the battlefield, then whipped her head around, streaking over the army at blinding speed.
"Teacher, why're you here?"
Despite her charge, the silver wolf moved with unearthly grace, as if treading on starlight, her halo scattering beauty in her wake.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Yu Yu was practically fainting from excitement!
Silver Moon Sky Wolves had razor-sharp senses. She could smell the hormones of shifting emotions, hear the rush of blood, the thump of a heart.
Her deep blue eyes flicked, puzzled, from her teacher to her sister. "Is she corrupted?"
The Grand Archon, one hand behind her back, wore an odd expression. "Gone mad, probably."
The great wolf drew closer.
She towered over Yu Yu, lowering her head, blue eyes glinting with mockery. "Captain Yu?"
The Grand Archon flinched as Yu Yu slipped her grasp.
"AWOOO!!!! WOLF WOLF WOLF WOLF!!!!"
Yu Yu launched herself!
The Duchess's smirk froze.
Wolf baffled.jpg
Her ears snapped upright, and she looked down.
Yu Yu flung her arms wide, hugging the wolf's chest, cackling like a maniac, chanting "wolf wolf wolf wolf"…
The wolf's fur was as silky as Yu Yu's wildest dreams, smoother than satin, creamier than milk. Up close, every strand glowed with soft fluorescence. Oh, and she was a fragrant giant wolf! How could such a perfect creature exist?!!
Yu Yu's arms couldn't fully encircle her. In her frenzy, her mind was all wolf, oblivious to everything else. The wolf's shoulders loomed above her, forcing her to look up. Soft fur draped down, radiating gentle moonlight.
The Duchess, still baffled, glanced at her teacher, then her sister. "She's lost it?"
A jest before, now a genuine question.
Grand Archon: "…"
Truth be told, she hadn't anticipated this absurdity and was at a loss for words.
Felix, icy, "Gone mad, huh? And you're letting her hug you?"
Yu Yu, in her fervor, looked up, spotting the wolf's pink nose and silver whiskers. She couldn't resist.
Touch!Tug!
Duchess: "!!!"
Fuming, her ears flattened into airplane mode. She shifted back to human form, roaring, "Yu Yu!!!"
Seeing her transform, Yu Yu wailed, "WOLF!!!!"
The Duchess, enraged, "Such audacity!!!"
Yu Yu was so excited that she was disconnected.
Her first time triggering Eternal Darkness's safety mechanism—not from danger or anomaly, but because the wolf turned human.
Three seconds later, Yu Yu reappeared, rubbed her eyes, saw the silver-armored woman, and shrieked, "WOLF!!!!"
Disconnected on the spot.
The four waited, but she didn't return.
The Grand Archon sighed deeply. "Didn't expect Fu Fu to be this popular with Little Yu?"
Meng stifled a laugh, silent.
Felix looked sullen.
The Grand Archon caught on, eyeing Felix. "Is she coveting my little pup?"
She glanced at the just-hugged wolf, then her own wolf, suspicious.
Felix's face grew colder. "Where is she?"
Meng, barely holding it together, "Check the forums."
Felix wordlessly opened them.
Yu Yu had blitzed through, leaving a trail of sparks and lightning under every Duchess photo and video post.
[WOLF!!!! AAAH WOLF BEAUTIFUL AS A FLOWER!!!! SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF!!!!]
[WOLF!!!! Hehe!! WOLF!!!!]
[FOR SILVER MOON!!!! FOR WOLF!!!! (voice cracks)]
A massive fangirl meltdown.
But…
The Duchess's expression twisted. "Are these people… sick?"
Yu Yu wasn't even the wildest. Others were more unhinged, more fervent, more… perverse.
Sure, I'm a wolf, but who's taking you weirdos as dogs? My pack wouldn't accept you lunatics!
After outsiders saw the Duchess's true form, her popularity skyrocketed. The forum's front page was all wolf pics—Yu Yu just a small player.
The Duchess couldn't comprehend.
The Duchess was furious.
Felix was livid too. These outsiders were too much, daring to talk like that.
Compared to them, Yu Yu seemed restrained.
Thinking further, Felix's anger spiked.
Rage meter soaring.jpg
The Grand Archon relished the chaos. Seeing both wolves fuming was a rare treat.
Fun, fun.
How could the star be absent?
After much prodding, Yu Yu logged back on, glowing with joy, "Grand Archon!"
She was vibrant, as if healed by life itself.
She faced Meng and the Duchess's icy glares.
They looked so alike!
Yu Yu snapped to, forcing a serious face. "Grand Archon, any more tasks?"
"I'm so tired. Can I log off and rest?"
The Grand Archon pointed at the forums. "You mean rest by leading the forum frenzy?"
Yu Yu protested, "Nonsense! They were like that before I logged off! It's not my fault! It just shows humans share the same taste for beauty!"
Felix said coldly, "Including sending the Duchess fur shampoo?"
Yu Yu waved frantically, "I didn't send any!"
Felix: "You showed me some!"
Yu Yu cried foul, "That was for Banban! Senior, don't slander me!"
Felix said even colder, "And the lint roller?"
Yu Yu: "Banban and Er'er both shed a lot! Senior, you know I have a cat at home!"
Everything has a reason!
Felix was momentarily stumped.
The Duchess said coldly, "You disrespected me!!!"
Tugging her whiskers, touching her nose!!!
Yu Yu's smile froze. "Duchess, let me explain!"
She spouted nonsense about "humans can't resist fluff" and "love strikes unbidden," filling the air with absurd cheer.
She didn't soothe the Duchess, and Senior was still mad.
Yu Yu panicked.
Done for! Both wolves angry—what now?!
The Grand Archon, enjoying the show, only spoke after stream nagging. "Weren't you looking for Chong?"
Yu Yu remembered her mission, sighing as she trudged to find Senior Chong.
Senior Felix followed, while the Duchess stayed to lead the army.
The wolves split tasks, both sporting matching cool glares, giving Yu Yu no warmth.
All because she got too excited and touched!
Hugging was one thing, but tugging the Duchess's whiskers? Touching her nose?
But that nose was so pink and tender…
From her angle, Yu Yu couldn't see the wolf's ears, but with the Duchess's fur, the inner ears must be pink too.
And that big tail!
Yu Yu couldn't help giggling.
Felix asked coldly, "What's so funny?"
Yu Yu snapped her grin shut. "Nothing! Just thinking—huge haul this time!"
She tried diverting Felix. "Senior, I've never seen so many herbs! Will the Magic Circle pay?"
"What's the branch like? Fancy? Gold-brick floors? Can I pry them?"
Felix took the bait, spitting out, "Embarrassing."
"Almost high-tier, and still obsessed with gold."
Yu Yu rubbed her hands. "That's 'cause Senior's rich. Me…"
She fake-cried, "The Grand Archon's so stingy, always docking rewards…"
Grand Archon: "?"
Feng Ye, faintly, "Oh? Elaborate."
Yu Yu jumped. "Grand Archon, didn't you leave?"
The cloaked woman materialized beside them. "Hm?"
"So you badmouth me to Felix," she said, "call me stingy?"
Yu Yu: "This time, I've earned a manor, right?"
She faced the Grand Archon. "Five golems! What's your offer?!"
Feng Ye, leisurely, "Without Xue, Zong, my badge, Her Excellency's help, or Jin Che's guidance, could you have gotten in?"
Yu Yu: "???"
Feng Ye: "Split the credit like that, what do you think?"
Yu Yu counted on her fingers, stumped. "I still get some credit, right? Am I just a camera drone?"
Guang Chen: [Pretty much.]
Just streaming the whole time?
Yu Yu's loot was too tempting, so despite the chaos, they hadn't left the stream.
Click to watch shady Feng Ye exploit a junior spellcaster.jpg
Jin Che defended Yu Yu. [Without Yu, you'd never find the Light Cone in 800 years. Didn't the other outsiders miss the quest?]
[Yu's irreplaceable. Our help matters, but she's the key.]
Yu Yu bellowed, "Exactly! My brilliance is the star!"
Feng Ye, faintly, "Where'd the Puglis Satchel come from?"
Yu Yu, loud, "I got it from a legendary quest!"
Feng Ye: "Who helped with that?"
Yu Yu, louder, "I took it myself! Ask Her Excellency!"
Flame Sovereign: [I'd love to know how my quest was done.]
Feng Ye faltered, switching tracks. "You get credit, but not all. Agree?"
Yu Yu: "Tell me my share first!"
Feng Ye's patience frayed. "Thirty percent?"
"Fifty!!! How's it only thirty?! I bled for the Magic Circle! I sweated! Grand Archon, are you a capitalist?!"
Felix: "…"
Meng: "…"
Never seen such an outrageous spellcaster.
Shouting that?
Your skin's not even scratched!
Flame Sovereign: […Fair point. Why so stingy, Little Feng Ye? Just gold. If you're short, I've got plenty.]
Jin Che, unsure but recalling Yu Yu's risky quest, [Exactly. A senior spellcaster, docking a junior's rewards?]
Yu Yu, louder, "See? See? SEE?!"
Other knowing seniors: […]
Really? That's how it is?
Fine, Yu Yu was crucial, but… why so much gold?
Just to move out? Silver Moon not enough to wreck?
Felix caught the issue. "What're you buying? A manor?"
Yu Yu, guilty, "Here's the thing. Lynn said the city bans flying and combat skills—too restrictive. I agree. I want to ride horses, grow grapes, watermelons, build a library…"
She ticked off fingers. "So Senior's house isn't enough. I need a big one!"
Yu Yu: "Senior, I'll return your house! Invite you to my new place next time!"
Felix, cool, "Manors? I've got tons."
Yu Yu ignored her. "Grand Archon, five golems—worth a big manor, right?"
Feng Ye, stern, "Demanding payment from the Magic Circle?"
Yu Yu, livid, "The Magic Circle can't mooch off me!!!"
Feng Ye choked again. "That's how you talk to your boss? And didn't you promise one golem to Chong? It's four."
"Fine, four!"
"And tons of herbs! I dug dirt forever! No credit, but I worked! Grand Archon, how're you this cheap?!"
Feng Ye went numb. "I'm just calculating. Who said no manor?"
Yu Yu's eyes blazed with joy. "You agreed? You said it! I want the biggest! As big as it gets! Grand Archon's so rich, you won't skimp, right?!"
Feng Ye cooled. "The biggest? That's Fufu's. Ask her."
"If I recall, manors need a title," she smirked. "I can cover gold, but…"
Yu Yu: "The Magic Circle can't just handle it? Making me buy? How's that considerate?!"
They bickered mid-flight, Yu Yu holding her own, repeatedly stumping Feng Ye.
"First time someone's demanded I be considerate…" Feng Ye marveled.
"Haven't you heard? To make subordinates work hard, warm them, feed them. I'm not asking you to feed or dress me—just this tiny wish, and you can't grant it?"
Feng Ye's eye twitched. "You want me to feed and dress you???"
Yu Yu: "Just an example! How's the Grand Archon so uncultured?"
Feng Ye, fuming, "Manor, max. Nothing else."
Yu Yu: "How big? Where? Don't scam me!"
Feng Ye snapped back, realizing she'd been derailed again.
"The Magic Circle has no manors."
"No way! I don't buy it!!!"
The Magic Circle's loaded—how no manors?!
Feng Ye, restrained, "The Circle doesn't deal in property. Spellcasters are casual. Any manors belong to individuals—I can't force them to hand them over, can I?"
Yu Yu: "Got one yourself?"
Feng Ye: "?"
You want my wallet?
Feng Ye threw up her hands, giving up. "Nope. I live at Fufu's. Don't even own a house."
"Grand Archon for so long, and the Circle doesn't pay you?"
Feng Ye, grave, "Yup, Grand Archon salary's tiny."
Other Grand Archons: […]
High Stewards: […]
Flame Sovereign: […]
Classic Feng Ye.