Monica stared blankly at the spot where Phil had disappeared.

Only a few faint specks of light remained, soon swallowed by the damp, murky air of the sewer.

“……”

She opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately closed it.

Now that she thought about it, Miss Phil was even more unceremonious this time than she had been this morning…

The severe pain radiating throughout her entire body made Monica wonder if she had broken a few bones…

Just as Monica struggled to push herself up, a hand gently supported her shoulder.

“Are you alright? Can you still stand?”

The voice was gentle.

Monica looked up. Standing in front of her was the woman who had just impaled the Mutant with a light sword.

She wore thin-framed glasses, and her eyes curved slightly behind the lenses, giving her a very approachable and delicate demeanor.

Of course, that was provided one didn’t look at the Mutant pinned to the ground by the light sword behind her.

Monica gulped.

“I-I can manage… barely…”

“That’s good.”

Bai Yu smiled and helped her up.

“It would be such a pity if an outstanding Calamity Hunter like you were to get hurt because of SAVE.”

Monica froze.

An outstanding Calamity Hunter?

Who?

Me?

But then she suddenly realized that in the eyes of an outsider, she had single-handedly stalled and even almost defeated a B-Class Calamity. Such strength was rare even in the vastness of SAVE.

In the Calamity Hunter world, it was simply extraordinary.

So, feeling guilty, she ended up just giving two silly “hehe” laughs, blinking her eyes rapidly involuntarily, and mechanically replying, “Not at all, not at all…”

Then she quickly changed the subject.

“Um, you said you’re from SAVE?”

“Yes.”

Bai Yu nodded.

“This incident is SAVE’s responsibility for misjudging the difficulty of the commission. What was originally registered as a D-Class commission actually resulted in a B-Class Mutant appearing.”

Hearing that she was from SAVE, Monica’s hanging heart finally settled.

Bai Yu smiled and continued, “Afterwards, SAVE will recalculate your commission reward, give you a bonus for subjugating a B-Class Calamity, and provide extra compensation. The medical expenses and equipment damage will also be covered by SAVE.”

Monica froze.

“Medical expenses reimbursed?”

“Of course.”

“Bo… bonus?”

“Yes.”

“Extra compensation?”

“Exactly.”

Monica gasped, her eyes gradually lighting up.

For her, the most beautiful words in the world were not “I love you.”

They were “I’ll give you money.”

Seeing her reaction, the smile on Bai Yu’s lips deepened.

“Also, I have a personal question.”

“…What?”

Monica’s mind was already wandering, imagining the huge sum of money she was about to receive, practically drooling.

“Are you interested in joining SAVE?”

Monica tilted her head.

“Joining… SAVE?”

“It’s not uncommon for a Calamity Hunter to join SAVE. The fact that you were able to stall a B-Class Mutant for so long without the support of a regular squad has already proven your strength.”

Bai Yu added in a gentle tone:

“It would be a waste of your talent to continue being a Calamity Hunter.”

With a loud boom in her head, Monica’s already small brain started spinning wildly—

What did joining SAVE mean?

It meant being part of an official organization, a stable income, seven types of insurance and two housing funds, mission subsidies, paid vacations…

It meant the dream of almost all Calamity Hunters, an iron rice bowl, and that from now on she could walk sideways in front of other Calamity Hunters, accepting their envious and jealous gazes!

One should know that it was extremely difficult for an ordinary person to join SAVE. Even a regular employee was a talent picked out of ten thousand.

And now, such a place had opened its doors to her!

Director Grandma, did you see? Monica has made it!

She almost agreed on the spot.

“I—”

At the very last second, Monica’s rationality finally kicked in, and she bit back her words.

Setting aside the fact that her true strength was nowhere near that level, she would probably be exposed within two days of joining SAVE.

Not to mention, she had Miss Phil, a suspected high-level Calamity, tagging along with her!

Wouldn’t joining SAVE be throwing herself right into the net?!

An image surfaced in Monica’s mind: herself being labeled as a “Suspected Calamity-Contaminated Individual” and locked up in a dark room. She shuddered.

“Um…”

Enduring the heartache, Monica squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying, and struggled to say,

“I-I’d like to think about it a bit more.”

“Of course. After all, not everyone likes the lifestyle at SAVE. Contact me whenever you’ve made up your mind.”

She took a thin business card from her trench coat pocket and handed it to Monica.

The card was very minimalist, featuring only a name and a string of contact information.

Monica carefully accepted it.

So her name was Bai Yu…

Had she heard this name somewhere before?

Monica vaguely remembered seeing the name “Bai Yu” somewhere, but she couldn’t recall where at the moment.

“Let’s head out first,” Bai Yu said. “Your physical condition is very poor. SAVE has comprehensive medical facilities, so let’s get you treated and run a contamination test.”

“Contamination test?”

“It’s standard procedure, no need to be nervous.”

Bai Yu smiled.

“Though even if I say that, you’ll probably still be nervous anyway.”

Monica let out a dry laugh.

She was indeed nervous.

Extremely nervous, in fact.

She really wanted to refuse Bai Yu’s suggestion, but her legs were incredibly weak right now and she had no other choice. She could only let Bai Yu support her as she walked out in a daze.

After taking a couple of steps, Monica looked back worriedly at the Mutant pinned motionless to the ground. She swallowed hard and asked cautiously:

“Um… do we not need to do anything else about that… that Mutant?”

“Don’t worry, the Containment and Management Division will be taking over here shortly.”

Bai Yu didn’t even turn her head, revealing a smile completely different from her previous gentle and kind expression.

It was a smile so confident it bordered on arrogance.

“A Calamity that can still fight back after being pierced by my flying sword for this long probably doesn’t even exist.”

In W City, inside Lin Han’s room.

The hatch of the Simulation Capsule slowly opened.

Lin Han suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils unfocused for a few seconds before slowly returning to normal.

He didn’t get up immediately, just lying there, panting heavily.

The room was very quiet.

The sound of the air conditioner running, the slight humming of the computer tower, and his own overly fast heartbeat all became unusually clear.

His face looked terrible.

It wasn’t the exhaustion from staying up late, nor the dizziness from playing games for too long, but a deeper exhaustion, as if a part of his soul had been hollowed out.

Lin Han raised his hand and looked at his palm.

His fingers were trembling slightly.

It was as if the exhaustion from Phil’s battle had traveled through his soul and bled into reality.

“What exactly… is this game…?”

Lin Han muttered to himself with a solemn expression.