Huai Shi didn't know what exactly a Relic Bone was.

But Fu Yi had one.

Moreover, this GM account came with one, bound to her—the Golden Relic Bone. It sounded incredibly badass, and of course, Huai Shi wanted to get one too.

In the past couple of days, by combining guesswork with Raven's previous explanations, he had almost figured out what the Witch's Night truly was.

Although named after the historical night when witches made deals with devils, in reality, it was likely an Abyss experiment that treated all participants as test subjects.

A Creator, before passing, poured their life's work and inquiries into this illusory dream, hoping to find the long-sought answers within it.

It was as if an indie game developer's puzzle game went live on Current Circumstances' massive server. They handed over all operational rights to the server managers and donated their assets and all their hard work for free.

The Astronomical Society retained the rights to maintain this game. They could even set several GM accounts with their own abilities and continue to unpack it from the outside.

That didn't matter.

If the Astronomical Society wanted to incorporate this Power into Current Circumstances, they would inevitably have to collaborate with the Creator to complete the experiment.

The internal, ironclad rules could not be altered.

If successful, the Astronomical Society, the participants, and the Creator would all benefit. Even if the Creator had passed away by then, their final obsession could still receive the result.

To hear the Way in the morning, and to die content in the evening.

Without such determination and integrity, one couldn't even be considered a Creator, let alone a Scholar.

This was also why the Astronomical Society was so proactive in publicly recruiting Explorers on a large scale and even distributing most of the GM accounts. A final lesson from a Creator was also a rare opportunity for Scholars. If one could enter and gain the Creator's recognition, inheriting their mantle, it would indeed be a tremendous opportunity.

However, inheriting anything was a long shot; the experiment was called an experiment precisely because of its slim chance of success.

It was a grand gamble, a lone bet after a lifetime of unfulfilled pursuit.

It was the same for all Explorers.

Even though this Creator was exceptionally kind and didn't drag the Explorers' physical bodies into it, failure would likely cause their souls to shatter, incurring severe trauma.

This was an expedition of considerable risk—both an archeological dig and a pioneering voyage.

Whether motivated by maximizing interests or out of respect for the Creator, these participants with additional privileges wouldn't mess about.

To avoid internal interference and bugs to the maximum extent, all privileges issued were primarily for self-protection. The purpose was to prevent the exploring Scholars and Sublimators from being killed off in the initial stages by unexpected attacks or sheer bad luck.

The situation where a little hedgehog accidentally obtained GM privileges and teamed up with a Husky, whose brain always seemed to be missing a string, was entirely unforeseen.

After much effort, a pale golden Spiritual Body finally located Fu Yi through an external Telescope and Spirituality Operation Tweezers. Seeing that her consciousness index and vital signs were all okay, it breathed a sigh of relief.

Without giving it much thought, it used the Astronomical Society's authority to contact the Teenage Girl. Then, hastily forming the warmest smile possible, it tried to comfort the girl it imagined was panicking.

Then, an expressionless hedgehog answered the video call. It was chewing on berries, spat two seeds onto the ground, and casually asked, "Who's there?"

"..."

This was not what was expected. The Scholar behind the Spiritual Body was confused for a moment, and his smile started to falter. "Um... is this Miss Fu Yi? Your father, Carter..."

"My dad's surname isn't Carter. You've got the wrong person."

SNAP!

The communication was cut off.

Got the wrong person? The Golden Spirit Body stood there, dazed, flipping through the information repeatedly. No, that's not right!

It called again. "Miss Fu Yi, I'm very sorry for accidentally involving you. Please follow my instructions, and we can safely get you out of this conflict..."

Well, even the most stubborn girl would cooperate after knowing she could escape from misery, right? It gave itself a mental thumbs up.

"No need to apologize. I'm doing quite well here. If there's nothing else, just hang up."

Fu Yi pressed the red button.

The communication was cut off again.

The Spiritual Body stood still, flabbergasted. She's doing quite well? What does that mean? Girl, do you think this is a vacation? Cut it out, it's very dangerous here, okay?

"What's going on?" A pale blue Spiritual Body drifted over from the tracks with two others in tow. "Didn't you find her? Why hasn't she come out yet?"

"Mr. Smith, you must help her!" a Spiritual Body grabbed Smith's hand anxiously. "Mei only has this one daughter. She can't afford to have anything happen to her..."

"Uh, I can't do anything if she doesn't cooperate with me," Smith replied helplessly, after staring at the hurried Carter for a long time. "I say, is there some kind of miscommunication happening between you and your daughter?"

"Bullshit!" Another Spiritual Body furiously retorted. "That's my daughter!"

"..."

Smith looked from the enraged Director Fu to the awkward Carter. He stood there, dumbfounded. Then he realized something, staring at the pale blue Spiritual Body bewilderedly. Why didn't you tell me Carter's wife was also a man?

The pale blue Spiritual Body was utterly confused. It had no idea why Smith was looking at it, nor did it realize that in just a few seconds, Smith had conjured up a multi-million-word narrative in his head.

Ah, two lonely men meeting in the rain... a wonderful encounter leading to a drunken night in a bar. Waking up to a lovely misunderstanding... initial resistance, then hesitation, then pain... and finally, a determined decision spurred by the call of true love! After overcoming numerous difficulties, they finally got together. My God, they even adopted a girl! Such positive energy!

He was so moved he was about to cry.

"I admire your courage, both of you..." Holding their hands, Smith said, his eyes brimming with tears, "I've always wanted to be like you, but I never had the courage."

"What the hell are you talking about!" Director Fu was about to lose his mind. "Where's my daughter? My grown daughter, gone just because of an invitation?"

"Ahem, Mr. Fu, you need to understand this was an accident. That invitation was not supposed to be activated by anyone other than Mei and myself..." Carter explained helplessly. "Please rest assured, the Astronomical Society will make sure nothing happens to Fu Yi."

"Rest assured my ass!"

Director Fu instinctively reached for his waist but didn't feel his gun. He swung a punch at Carter's forehead, only to remember that he was now a Spiritual Body; if the other party was unwilling, he couldn't even spit on them. The feeling of anger and sorrow intensified instantly.

"I have only one daughter! One daughter!" Thinking of his daughter being taken away by this foreigner, even a tough man like Old Fu couldn't help but feel grief well up, shedding manly tears. "It's one thing to take her abroad to study, but you should have taken her alive and kicking, not this disappearance without a trace! What the hell is going on?"

"Can we keep it civil, Fu Xiang King!" Li Mei finally stepped in. She glared at her ex-husband, about to say something, then remembered this wasn't the place to argue. She sighed and looked at Smith. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Dr. Smith. Isn't there a way to bring her out directly?"

"The main issue is that the laws of internal and external transmission conflict with internal regulations. It's best not to do so unless absolutely necessary."

"Then please try contacting her again. We will persuade her to cooperate with your work."

"I'll try..." Smith was about to operate the device when he stiffened. After a long moment, he looked up in astonishment. "I... seem to have been blocked by her?"

On the screen, Fu Yi's hedgehog avatar had dimmed, with only the last message flickering: "I'm going out for a walk, all is well, no need to worry, Mom and Dad. I'll be back soon... probably."

"..."

The people present fell into a prolonged silence. What does this mean? Has the rebellious stage arrived, and she finally ran away from home?

"Look... at least she left you a message." In the deathly silence, Smith mustered the courage to comfort them. "Exploring the world during adolescence isn't too bad, right?"

Then, he felt three sharp glares directed at him. His expression twitched, and he couldn't help covering his face. What on earth is this!

In the cave, tidied up until it was like new, Huai Shi awkwardly gathered the dry leaves on the ground with his paws, trying to make a bed.

Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, he turned and saw the little hedgehog returning from outside with small steps. He was slightly puzzled. "Where did you go?"

"Took a bath, almost fell into the river. Let's not talk about it." The little hedgehog shook the water from her body and rubbed vigorously against him. Since Huai Shi's thick skin wasn't bothered by prickles, she felt like a thick towel. Huai Shi winced as she poked him a couple of times, his expression twitching.

"What are you doing?" Fu Yi eyed the small pile of dead leaves.

"I wanted to start a fire, but my paws scraped for a long time without igniting anything. So, I used the leftover leaves to make you a bed. Give it a try."

The little hedgehog jumped on it, bounced a couple of times, and cheered up. "Nice, it's not cold anymore."

"That's good." Huai Shi blew the dust from a Stone and lay on it. "Let's sleep. Tomorrow we'll go fight the Elite Monster."

"Okay."

Fu Yi also lay down.

Huai Shi closed his eyes, hugging his own tail, and fell asleep.

In the long silence, something small moved in the pile of leaves. It crawled up his arm, found a comfortable spot on his dog head, and settled down, motionless.

Huai Shi opened his eyes to look up. Naturally, he couldn't see anything, but it felt warm. It was as if a good buddy had put a hat on him. Not too bad, either. He closed his eyes again.

Outside the cave, the night deepened.

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