Looking at the clock, it was almost ten o'clock.
Someone coming so late?
Yuxiaoxiao cautiously sat up, put on her coat, and walked to the door, looking out through the peephole.
The dark courtyard, with two tall figures.
Yuxiaoxiao held her breath.
Outside came the sound of discussion.
"Are you sure there's only one girl?"
"I've been watching here for a long time, and she's the only one who comes in and out every day."
These simple sentences made Yuxiaoxiao's blood run cold.
This was an old residential area, and most of the nearby neighbors had been living here for decades. However, in recent years, with the housing boom, many people had moved to new homes or left their houses empty. The community didn't have dedicated security, and the floors were also low, making it a favorite place for some people to steal.
The two outside might be small-time thugs from elsewhere, moving from one city to another, making a living by committing robberies.
Yuxiaoxiao heard the sound of fiddling.
As if some metal was prying the lock.
The door was bolted, and she tightly gripped her phone, trembling as she sent an alert.
The orange cat walked out of the bedroom, staring straight at the security door.
Bang!
The sound of prying the door grew louder. This was the ground floor, and the residents in the two adjacent ground-floor units used them as storerooms, and those upstairs couldn't hear this far away.
Yuxiaoxiao picked up the orange cat and headed towards the bedroom, opened the cabinet, and saw a faint barrier.
She remembered that this passage couldn't be used outside of working hours.
But the situation was urgent now. She reached out and touched it, and the same prompt sound as before appeared.
【Non-working hours! No entry!】
Bang!
Bang!
There were two more banging sounds, and Yuxiaoxiao picked up the communicator and sent a message to Slime.
Soon, there was a reply.
(No good, this barrier is inherent to the plane, specifically used to protect non-magic planets.)
(Oh! I remember!)
(Xiaoxiao! You're already a steward of the underground city! You can live here twenty-four hours a day!)
(Look for identity verification next to the barrier and put your fingerprint on it!)
Following Slime's prompt, Yuxiaoxiao saw a small text for identity verification next to the barrier.
She tapped it, and a fingerprint input area appeared.
After pressing her thumb, an electronic female voice said, "Verification passed".
The barrier disappeared, and Yuxiaoxiao carried the orange cat into the cabinet and went down the stairs.
The cabinet door slowly closed.
At the same time, the door outside was pried open.
Two young men slipped in.
The lights in the house were off. They carefully closed the door and whispered, "Looks like the person hasn't come back yet, quickly see if there's anything valuable."
The other person sounded puzzled, "That's not right, I clearly remember someone had come back. They must have hidden. It's your fault, why are you in such a hurry, from now on, let's disguise ourselves as deliverymen."
They moved to the bedroom.
The house was not large, with two bedrooms and a living room. The mother's room was usually closed, and Yuxiaoxiao lived alone in the small house.
After turning on the light, what came into view was a simple checkered bedsheet, and a row of dolls on the bedside.
Every year, Xiao Xiao keeps the small birthday gifts she receives.
The room looks like a girl's boudoir, filled with various delicate knick-knacks and stuffed dolls.
"Look again." They turned the house upside down, and apart from the laptop, there really wasn't anything else valuable.
A comrade complained, "Nowadays, people's money is all in their phones!"
"See what's in the cabinet."
The small house has two cabinet doors, one is full of clothes when opened.
The other one, connected to the underground city.
When they opened it, there was nothing inside.
Xiao Xiao sat at the bottom of the stairs and made a call to the police. The police arrived quickly and surrounded the two who didn't have time to leave.
The police called Xiao Xiao and she said she was outside and would go to the police station later to make a statement.
This time nothing was lost.
Xiao Xiao returned home with lingering fear.
If there wasn't a mysterious passage in her house, what would have happened when she faced the thugs alone before the police arrived?
Fortunately, they had just embarked on this path and lacked experience, so they didn't use more effective means of breaking in first and then waiting.
Otherwise, if they had caught Xiao Xiao coming back from outside, with someone covering her mouth from behind, forget about the belongings, even her own safety would not have been guaranteed.
This incident also served as a wake-up call for Xiao Xiao.
She quickly opened Taobao and bought a home surveillance camera to install outside in the hope that it would have a deterrent effect.
She also bought an alarm, as well as a bunch of anti-wolf tools.
She also downloaded special software on her phone, which could play the sound of a barking dog or a man when necessary.
Of course, the most important thing was to get a better anti-theft lock.
…
Because of the thief incident, Xiao Xiao had almost slept through the night. With two prominent dark circles under her eyes the next day, she contacted a shop to customize an anti-theft lock.
After making an appointment, she went to the underground city to prepare breakfast.
Possibly due to insufficient rest, she felt dizzy while cooking.
Slime looked at her worriedly and said, "Xiao Xiao, are you okay? If your home is too dangerous, why not stay here at night, at least it's—" Slime suddenly stopped talking.
At present, the underground city is just a ruin, with no protection systems in place, let alone the legion.
Although most of the time it's safe, what if a reckless and blind person sneaks in? It's probably a hundred times more dangerous for an alien girl to stay here than outside.
Thud.
It chose to shut up.
Xiao Xiao sat on the sofa, her eyes almost unable to stay open. She lay down on her side, murmuring, "I'll take a nap…"
"Uh—" Slime pushed the food trolley out.
It glanced back at the sleeping girl and thought, "It would be nice if Xiao Xiao could stay here all the time after the legion is established."
Today's breakfast was simple.
Egg custard, seafood noodles, and a fried sausage.
Slime vividly described the events of the previous night, how a teenager narrowly escaped danger.
If she had fallen into the hands of those two criminals, she would probably have withered at the prime of her youth.
The man's hand with the chopsticks slightly stiffened.
After a few seconds, he continued eating the noodles.
"Cut in the view from the other side of the stairs." he spoke.
"That's Xiao Xiao's home." Slime said without thinking, "Would it be inconvenient for us to monitor the place where a girl lives?"
The man said nothing.
Because he saw a few black scales falling from the clothes.
He touched the back of his ear with his hand, those tough and stubborn scales finally started to fall off.
"What day is it today?" he asked.
Slime responded, "May 31st."
Today is the last day of May. From tomorrow, June will officially arrive.
As summer approaches, Slime looked a little uneasy.
Because every week at this time, the underground city would receive a group of "death row prisoners".
These people went and never came back.
Rumors say that the third prince has fallen seriously ill and craves human flesh, especially in the summer when he needs it to nourish his body.
Because of this, everyone is disgruntled with the third prince.
But, the old king turned a blind eye to it.
He still prepares an ample supply of "food" to be sent into the underground city in the summer.
People say he is overly indulgent with this child.
The other two princes did not shun their younger brother because of this. On the contrary, they have always been kind to the third prince. When others mocked him, they would protect him in their own way.
As they grew up, due to state and war affairs, the burden on the two princes became heavier, and they had little time to care for their brother.
However, every month, many condolences are still sent.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Each season is different for the master.
The slime's favorite is the master in winter.
Because at that time, his mood is the best, he rarely loses his temper, and there is little killing.
After the slime left.
The man sat alone on a stone bed, lifting his wide sleeves, watching the black scales on his arms gradually falling off.
His originally ugly arm gradually became humanlike.
Half of the dense black veins on his face also faded, but many remained, unwilling to leave.
The only thing unchanged from his physical features is the black-red tail.
Hard, thick, with scales like a chisel, where the tail gently slides, it leaves a rugged trace.
The man took off his hat.
His silver-white hair was exposed to the air.
In the distance, a white halo flickered. It seemed as if something wanted to burst out.
He walked over.
Raised his tail, and lightly touched it with his fingers, blood gushed out instantly.
He dripped his blood into the halo, and the intensifying light gradually dimmed. He sat down quietly, guarding here. His posture was like when his father held him to watch the moon in the water when he was a child.
...
When Yu Xiaoxiao woke up, she saw the slime sitting on the carpet in front of the sofa, looking through an art book.
Upon hearing the noise, it hurriedly said, "Miss Xiaoxiao, you're awake!"
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Three in the afternoon."
I slept for six hours.
She sat up, stretched, and felt energetic.
"Well, I'm leaving now. I'll come back in the evening."
Today, she still had to go and change the locks, with the appointment time scheduled for four in the afternoon.
The girl hurried away.
After she left, the slime continued flipping through the art book and softly said, "It would be great if I could have a small room next to the kitchen, with a few sturdy marble trees growing. Then hollow out the tree trunk and put all my stuff in it..."
The slime appeared full of longing.
"The next time Rum comes to visit, they won't mock me for not even having a place to live!"
When Yu Xiaoxiao left the house, the orange cat was still sleeping.
She placed her shoes on the nearby rack.
She saw the pale shoots of evening primroses in the flower bed. She looked up; the azure sky was drifting white catkins, feeling hot even in just a light long shirt.
It seemed as if she would start perspiring after a few more steps.
"Summer has arrived," she murmured.