They were wandering in the forest and happened to encounter another team. Wen Yuncheng guessed they were second-year students because there were five of them in the team, and they were ganging up on a Star Warrior 3rd Layer demonic beast.

The young ice mountain’s face was expressionless. Wen Yuncheng guessed that Lin Jinyu probably didn’t want others to see what she was thinking. But she could feel Lin Jinyu walking faster and faster… Perhaps the Little Ice Mountain was a bit annoyed inside?

[Bullshit, she just wants to ditch you!]

Wen Yuncheng: Can you not be so biased? You become so un-cute whenever Lin Jinyu is involved!

[Huh? I’m the Long Aotian Growth System! I’m wild, handsome, cool, and awesome!] 1947 was quite angered by Wen Yuncheng’s “un-cute” comment. Although it didn’t think it had anything to do with cuteness, being told directly by its cub that it wasn’t cute still broke its heart a little. The more 1947 thought about it, the angrier it got, and after saying its piece, it went silent.

Lin Jinyu walked straight ahead blankly, while Wen Yuncheng followed quietly and closely behind. She didn’t know the way, nor did she know how to find demonic beasts, so she just watched as Lin Jinyu occasionally stopped to squat down and examine the soil or look at tracks on the trees.

…It was a cave?

Wen Yuncheng was a little surprised that Lin Jinyu had actually found a cave just like that. Then, she heard a tiger’s roar from inside. A brownish-yellow tiger emerged from the cave entrance, looking down on them from a superior position and letting out a warning growl.

A Star Warrior 3rd Layer tiger… This- this was really not good! Wen Yuncheng was panicking. Lin Jinyu was only a Star Practitioner 3rd Layer, and she herself was only a Star Practitioner 2nd Layer. They could handle a big dumb bear, but a carnivorous tiger was really out of the question!

“Lin-” Wen Yuncheng was about to suggest they run, but Lin Jinyu directly unsheathed her longsword and charged forward.

What- what was she doing?! This was too much of a level jump! Even she, a Long Aotian, didn’t dare to charge. How could Lin Jinyu be so bold?! – Just who was the Long Aotian here?!

1947 was also impressed by this sudden move. It began to ponder: Perhaps letting its cub hang out with her former fiancée could stimulate her Long Aotian attributes? After all, she was a former fiancée, and she knew its cub’s true identity…

“Roar!-“

Wen Yuncheng gritted her teeth, braced herself, and rushed forward. She released an RX-78 Pursuer, then took out four C-01 Guardians to charge up their Star Power cannons.

Clang

The tiger’s claws were blocked by Lin Jinyu’s horizontal longsword, but Wen Yuncheng was shocked to see sparks fly as the claws scraped against the blade. The force pushed Lin Jinyu back several steps, and the tiger pounced toward her.

With a bang, a fire explosive detonated at the tiger’s feet. A Star Warrior 3rd Layer demonic beast wasn’t that afraid of fire anymore, but the explosion still enraged it. Just as it was about to deal with Wen Yuncheng, the Pursuer had already reached its side. The signal light on the small, silver, brick-like head flashed red, and with a sudden lunge, it blew itself up.

Wen Yuncheng thought that this tiger had probably lived for many years without ever witnessing such attack methods.

Thinking about it this way, she had taught the Star Warrior 3rd Layer tiger a lesson, which was a little exciting. (Not.)

Lin Jinyu saw an opportunity and thrust her longsword, but the tiger nimbly dodged it. It let out an angry roar, the force of which made Wen Yuncheng’s head buzz. Unfazed, Lin Jinyu stepped forward, infusing her longsword with Star Power and unleashing a slash.

Wen Yuncheng didn’t know the name of the move Lin Jinyu was using. Since it was a Star Power slash, she decided to just call it a “Star Power Slash.” This Star Power Slash was unleashed but still failed to hit the tiger, only shaving off some of its fur and enraging it further.

[Can you stop slacking off?]

Wen Yuncheng’s expression turned a little grim as she looked at the big tiger. She watched as the Guardians at her feet fired the Star Power cannons they had been charging for a long time. However, the tiger could sense the energy source and dodged the attack, even if it meant getting a tuft of fur on its head shaved off by Lin Jinyu.

If someone had told Wen Yuncheng before she came to this other world, “In the future, you’ll be punching brown bears and kicking tigers,” she would have definitely thought that person was crazy. But now…

Wen Yuncheng took a deep breath, and with a thought, mechanical armguards covered her hands. She released another Pursuer and charged in close. It was really difficult for Lin Jinyu to handle it alone. Even though Lin Jinyu’s movement technique was good and she hadn’t been hit by the tiger, this was a Star Warrior 3rd Layer tiger. If she got hit… the outcome was a one-hundred-percent certainty.

Lin Jinyu glanced at Wen Yuncheng and sidestepped to dodge one of the tiger’s swipes. The tiger kept trying to bite her… Lin Jinyu felt her Star Power draining a bit too quickly. Had she been too arrogant to take on a Star Warrior 3rd Layer demonic beast after all? Just as she was thinking this, she saw Wen Yuncheng get close to the tiger and deliver a roundhouse kick.

Yes, of course, Wen Yuncheng’s move was cool and clean, but excuse me- were you kicking air?

Rip.

In that moment of distraction, a large piece of clothing at Lin Jinyu’s waist was torn off by the tiger’s claws. If she hadn’t dodged quickly, she would have been disemboweled. She blocked with her longsword, but the tiger bit down on it directly. Lin Jinyu immediately abandoned the sword and rolled away to dodge. With a clatter, the longsword was flung away by the tiger-

Piercing Kick!

Startled by Lin Jinyu’s sudden crisis, Wen Yuncheng didn’t have time to see what part of the tiger she was aiming at and directly delivered a Piercing Kick to its rear. The Star Steel boots kicked the tiger right in the butt, drawing its aggro. Relying on her Star Steel battle armor, she entered fearless mode. She immediately crouched and created a Self-Destructor that instantly exploded, scorching the tiger’s fur. Then, she controlled spikes to stab into the tiger’s body.

“Roar!-“

Lin Jinyu’s expression changed. She picked up her longsword from the ground, gathered her Star Power, and stabbed directly at the tiger’s head. At that moment, Wen Yuncheng cooperated perfectly by grabbing the tiger’s tail tightly, while the spikes pierced its thigh.

“Let’s go!”

Lin Jinyu had used almost all of her Star Power in that strike. She was still surprised that Wen Yuncheng could coordinate with her attack so well. But there was no time to be surprised now. “It doesn’t live alone. Its companion is on the way,” she explained hastily. Lin Jinyu sheathed her longsword and was about to leave with extreme speed, but before she got far, she turned back and saw Wen Yuncheng actually collecting the tiger’s corpse?!

Startled for a moment by Lin Jinyu’s anxious tone, Wen Yuncheng had begun collecting the spoils out of reflex. She also had to collect her four Guardians… However, just as she put the Guardians into her ring, Wen Yuncheng heard a tiger’s roar even more ferocious than the last one.

– A brownish-yellow tiger, but it was almost twice the size of the previous one. Even more absurdly, this tiger had a pair of wings.

This was too (fucking) ridiculous?!

A Star Master 3rd Layer Winged Tiger… was the same species as a Star Warrior 3rd Layer tiger? What kind of lame joke was this?! Wen Yuncheng was on the verge of a breakdown, wishing she had two more legs. As she ran, she used a fire explosive skill and threw it behind her without looking back.

That wasn’t even the biggest problem. The biggest problem was that she didn’t know the way, and Lin Jinyu had already vanished… Huh? The Little Ice Mountain came back?

Wen Yuncheng was so moved she could have cried. She swore in her heart: From this day on, I am Lin Jinyu’s one and only fan. No matter how good-looking anyone else is, I’ll never switch allegiances, boo hoo hoo…

[I think if Lin Jinyu knew this was what you were thinking, she’d definitely turn around and leave.] 1947 secretly cursed. Why didn’t Lin Jinyu have a buff like mind-reading? Then she could hear what was going through this damn cub’s head all day long!

However, Lin Jinyu didn’t know.

So she grabbed Wen Yuncheng’s hand and pulled her along as she ran. With her right hand, she took a palm-sized sphere encased in a white shell from her storage ring. It had a small pull-ring. She bit the ring off with her teeth and smashed the sphere against a tree-

Wen Yuncheng was struck by how cool that move was, then was startled by the massive explosion as the sphere suddenly shot into the sky. This was a distress signal?!

“Roar!-“

They… couldn’t outrun the tiger. If it weren’t for the downhill slope allowing them to run faster, they would have been caught long ago. Still, it was just a matter of becoming food sooner or being digested later.

Never mind that Lin Jinyu’s Star Power was almost depleted; even at full strength, outrunning the Winged Tiger would have been a challenge.

1947!- I’m really going to die!

[Right away! Quick, spend fifteen points to buy the Otherworldly Delicacy: Braised Bone! The tiger will definitely want to eat it! Are you buying it or not?!]

I’m about to die and you’re still asking? Just give it to me! While being pulled along, Wen Yuncheng suddenly tripped on a rock and fell onto Lin Jinyu. Lin Jinyu had never anticipated the power of an incompetent teammate. Wen Yuncheng’s fall took her down too, and the two of them rolled down the slope…

It’s over. We’re dead. Wen Yuncheng’s mind went blank. It felt like even her breathing was about to stop. She was starting to hate herself. Especially when she heard the sound of the Winged Tiger flapping its wings-

[Throw it!]

On reflex, Wen Yuncheng threw the large bone that had suddenly appeared in her hand. A rich, savory aroma of braised meat filled the air. At this life-or-death moment, Wen Yuncheng’s mouth actually started to water- but this time, she reacted quickly, pulling Lin Jinyu up and running in the opposite direction.

Wen Yuncheng didn’t know how long she had been running; in any case, she had no strength left. Lin Jinyu gave her a pull, and she fell backward onto the ground, gasping for breath, feeling like she was about to die from exhaustion.

“Did… did it not… catch up…”

“Mn.” Lin Jinyu’s breathing was also a little unsteady, but she managed to maintain her icy expression. She took out a porcelain bottle, ate two pills, and then handed the bottle to Wen Yuncheng. “Eat.”

“Thank you…” But these are useless for me. Wen Yuncheng was a little overwhelmed by the favor. She got up, took the porcelain bottle, and for the sake of appearances, tipped out one pill and ate it. She couldn’t taste anything; it was a bit astringent. Then she returned the bottle to Lin Jinyu. “I’m really sorry about just now… I, I didn’t expect to fall. I almost got you into trouble… I’m really sorry.”

“Mn.” Lin Jinyu nodded. Wen Yuncheng didn’t know what she meant and looked at her in a daze, but Lin Jinyu had already sat down on the spot and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Having just taken the pills, she definitely needed to digest their medicinal power and seize the time to recover her Star Power.

Wen Yuncheng looked at the dirt and torn parts of Lin Jinyu’s clothes and lowered her head guiltily. This is probably the most disheveled the young ice mountain has ever been, right? When Lin Jinyu grows up and remembers this, will she think of it as a dark part of her history?