Chapter 284: Ai Lin Is Full of Motivation!

Hu Li carried her two guardians down the stairs, one on each shoulder, and sat docilely at the table waiting for food, while Ai Lin stood on the table, staring straight at the two chickens perched on the fox girl's shoulders.

The two pairs of cross-eyed chickens also stared straight back at the little puppet on the table. Both sides exuded an aura of roughly equal intelligence.

"I think they're up to no good with me," Ai Lin suddenly said. "There's mischief in their eyes."

"Impossible! Bai Qie and Yan Ju are very well-behaved!" Hu Li immediately declared seriously. "They usually just sleep inside my tails most of the time, and when they're out, they never fight..."

"Then obviously they're knocked out because they can't handle all that weird crap you feed them!" Ai Lin glared, though no one could quite explain how Hu Li had raised those two chicks into this state, it was clearly tied to all those bizarre 'immortal arts' of this nine-tailed fox and the 'spirit-infused items' she cooked up. Thinking about that made her lose her composure. "It's a miracle those two little bastards are still alive! You feed them until they're comatose for three days straight and they're still kicking!"

Hu Li paused at that, then fell into thought. A moment later, she clapped her hands together. "So that's what happened! I was wondering why they slept so long after every meal."

Ai Lin: "...So they really are comatose for three days out of every two and a half?!"

"Even spirit beasts struggle to transcend their mortal forms, let alone these birds that were originally just poultry. Some hardships are perfectly normal," Hu Li waved her hand, looking quite confident. "Either way, I'll keep them safe. I'm telling you, I'm really good at raising spirit beasts and immortal fowl. I was always the group leader for the pet-raising group back in my class. I even fed those two Mystic Plumage Sparrows in the back mountain of our academy..."

Saying this, she lifted her shoulders and turned her head to look at her two guardians. "Right? I take good care of you, don't I?"

Bai Qie and Yan Ju nodded solemnly.

Ai Lin was taken aback. "Those two feathered brats can actually understand?! They look so dumb!"

No sooner had she spoken than Bai Qie and Yan Ju launched into the air, diving down simultaneously, one chicken per head, and knocked the little puppet flat on the table.

Ai Lin didn't even have time to react. After rolling over on the table, she flew into a rage, jumped up, and started a brawl with the two chickens, shouting, "I knew those two were up to no good with me!"

Hu Li was also startled. She quickly stood up to rescue Ai Lin while still managing to state the facts: "But you started it by cursing them first..."

Yu Sheng, who had been cooking in the kitchen, heard the commotion coming from the dining room. At first he thought it was just Ai Lin and Hu Li's usual bickering, but halfway through he realized something was off. He quickly turned off the stove and ran out, only to see the little puppet pinned to the table by Bai Qie, who was pecking at her head, while Hu Li was trying her best to grab Yan Ju and stuff it back into her tail...

Yu Sheng stared dumbfounded: "..."

After barely managing to control the chaos and figure out what had happened, Yu Sheng could only look helplessly at the puppet who was angrily smoothing her hair. "So, you cursed them first, then got into a fight with the chickens—and lost?"

Ai Lin stomped her foot in fury. "No need to emphasize the last part!"

Then she added, "And what do you mean 'lost a fight to chickens'! What kind of normal chicken flies with auspicious clouds and dives down with lightning arrows?! Even you would have trouble hitting that!"

Yu Sheng was deeply impressed.

"I, I'll discipline them properly later," Hu Li said, lowering her head when she saw Yu Sheng wasn't speaking, thinking he was angry. "They've only just begun their transformation and don't know many rules yet."

"No big deal, no big deal," Yu Sheng said cheerfully, waving his hand. "Let's eat first, let's eat first. I'll go get the dishes."

Hu Li immediately stood up: "I'll help!"

"You stay put," Yu Sheng instantly pushed the fox girl back down. "If you carry one dish, you won't even make it to the kitchen door before you have to come back and wash the dishes. If I let you carry dishes, I won't be able to eat this meal..."

Hu Li's ears drooped. "Oh."

A moment later, a table full of sumptuous dishes was laid out.

Although Ai Lin didn't need to eat, she always claimed a seat at mealtime. Now she stood on the table, eyes wide. "Wow—what's the occasion today? Eating so well!?"

"The Special Operations Bureau made a payment—the reward for discovering the 'Fog City' and the bonus for rescuing citizens," Yu Sheng said happily. "And I just got word that the resettlement subsidy for 'Fairytale' has been approved too. But that money will take a while to arrive, since it's a large amount and some procedures still need to go through the Council... Anyway, we're not short of money anymore. Today we celebrate."

"Great!" Ai Lin clapped her hands happily, but soon caught on. "Wait, when did you buy the groceries?"

"Just now while I was cooking. I bought whatever I was missing from the market," Yu Sheng said casually. "Also, this big pot of rice came straight from the Bureau's cafeteria—this pot is borrowed from their window too. I'll have to return it later."

Ai Lin was dumbfounded. After a long moment, she squeezed out, "...You've truly mastered the art of opening doors."

Hu Li didn't bother to comment; she already had her head buried in the pot.

It was a good thing Yu Sheng had been quick enough to scoop out a bowl of rice beforehand, otherwise even that whole pot might not have been enough for Hu Li alone.

And by the time the meal was nearly finished (which meant Hu Li had started licking each bowl clean), Ai Lin, who had been staring off into space on the table, suddenly spoke up: "Hey, Yu Sheng, make me a new body."

Yu Sheng, who had been quietly enjoying the heartwarming sight of his fox fairy licking bowls, was taken aback. "Huh?"

"Didn't we say before that I'd get a new body when the chance came? I've been hoarding all those good materials from the Bureau..."

"Uh, we did talk about it. But why bring it up now all of a sudden?"

Ai Lin looked serious. "Make one that can fight better. If possible, make it normal-sized."

Yu Sheng was startled. "...Because you lost a fight to a chicken?!"

Ai Lin's face had been full of solemnity, but now she couldn't hold it together. She stomped and pointed at Yu Sheng's nose: "Who said it's because of that?! Do you think I'm that petty?!"

Yu Sheng didn't dare nod directly, so he just replied in a deadpan, understated tone: "Yeah."

"It's because I lost to that C-clip!" the little puppet glared, exasperated. "Such disgrace! Such damn disgrace! Me, a ball-jointed puppet, losing to a C-clip..."

Yu Sheng: "...Is that really the point? And I recall that 'Artificial Saint' wasn't entirely made of C-clips either—there were some complex mechanical structures too... like that self-destruct panel."

"See, we've both got the same grudge—I lost, you were tricked. Either way, it all comes back to that C-clip," Ai Lin walked over and patted Yu Sheng's arm. "That thing is really dangerous. We only ran into one, but its combat power is stronger than many dangerous entities, and it can even be mass-produced on a small scale... What if we run into another one? Or two? Or... even something worse than that C-clip?"

The little puppet's face was rarely serious, and the look made Yu Sheng serious too.

"I have a feeling we're bound to run into more tough enemies and tough situations. Even the Bureau chief said you attract trouble... I don't mind, of course. I have fun getting into mischief with you. But I don't enjoy losing. We can't just run away by opening a door every time, or let you go charging in."

Ai Lin sat cross-legged on the edge of the table, looking at Yu Sheng, then glancing back at the nine-tailed fox who was still focused on licking bowls, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.

"Your body gets stronger every day, and you're getting better at using those freaky abilities. Hu Li was already strong, and she learns fast. Now she's even refining those two sidekicks—though that was an accident—but anyway, she's tough and will probably get tougher."

The little puppet pointed at herself.

"This body of mine is made of rebar—pretty tough, but not tough enough. It only covers battlefield survival. But when I fought that C-clip, my reaction speed and attack power were clearly lacking. Strictly speaking, I don't even have an attack capability..."

Yu Sheng nodded: "Yeah, you're not even as tall as that Artificial Saint's fingernail."

Ai Lin jumped up and headbutted Yu Sheng under the chin: "Damn you, Yu Sheng!"

Yu Sheng let out an "Ow!" that even startled Hu Li, who was still licking bowls across the table. He rubbed his chin: "Alright, alright, go on... Actually, no need to explain anymore. I get it. You want a precision-engineered new shell to make up for your combat shortcomings."

"Right," Ai Lin stood with her hands on her hips before Yu Sheng, her eyes as determined as if she were ready to self-destruct alongside every C-clip puppet in the world. "This time, I'll guide you through a higher-level spirit-infusion ritual. We'll use the best materials, the best frame and filling, and patch up all the potential flaws from previous ceremonies. Aim to let me unleash the power I was meant to have—I'm telling you, I really am amazing. How could a real Alice puppet lose to a knockoff mass-produced model made by cultists..."

As she spoke, the little puppet's resentment overflowed again. But this time Yu Sheng didn't tease her. Instead, he reached out and patted Ai Lin's hair.

"Alright, since the Bureau won't have results anytime soon, and we've got nothing better to do... Let's go build an Ai Lin Pro Max!"

"...What the hell kind of name is that!?"