The row of light tubes emitted a radiant glow, the stark white light enveloping the confinement room like a bug screen.
Three kids were chatting in front of the TV, the red-haired one lying sideways on a rolling cloud, resting one hand on his cheek, yawning lazily.
Silently, the metallic door at the entrance opened once again.
They turned their heads simultaneously, seeing Filio standing still, his wolf ears slightly perked up, tail dragging on the ground twitching back and forth like a mop sweeping.
After a while, he scratched his black hair, and said somewhat shyly:
Sun Changkong was sitting cross-legged on a Somersault Cloud, she looked curiously at Ji Minghuan, casually asking, "Who’s this again?"
"His name is ’Filio’, I mentioned him to you before." Ji Minghuan said.
Sun Changkong thought for a while: "Oh, I remember! You said he’s the little werewolf."
Seeing Filio starting to get shy again, Ji Minghuan silently got up, walked over, bent down and held Filio’s tail, leading him to the TV.
Just like picking up a little golden retriever from a pet shop, so natural.
Filio slowly walked over, his pitch-black eyes looked at Sun Changkong and then whispered:
"You’re ’Sun Changkong’?"
"Yes, hello." Sun Changkong was still curiously studying him, she had never seen a human looking like that.
"Did you eat your dad?" Sun Changkong asked softly.
"I ate my mom." Filio corrected.
Sun Changkong was taken aback, noticing his melancholy expression, realizing she had misspoken, shouldn’t have been so blunt. She covered her mouth, unsure of what to do.
At that moment, she suddenly remembered how Ji Minghuan once used "Anyway, I’ll destroy the world" to comfort him.
Following suit, she calmly said, "I wiped out my foster parents and a whole village."
Filio was stunned for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words, before saying: "You’re amazing."
"You’re amazing too." Sun Changkong nodded, thinking to herself that she was Ji Minghuan’s top student, look, she just comforted someone well.
Ji Minghuan, listening in on the side, felt chills down his spine, thinking what kind of conversation is this? Surely, I didn’t teach this, right? I’m not taking the blame, it must be a Salvation Society issue. Seriously, open your eyes and see what kind of problem children you’ve all raised?
Thinking this, he chewed a White Rabbit candy to calm his nerves and continued watching TV.
"Is this the Somersault Cloud?" Filio asked, he had heard from his mentor about Sun Changkong’s story.
"Wanna try sitting on it? They’ve all sat on it before." Sun Changkong curled her lips towards him.
"No need." Filio replied softly.
"Really?" Sun Changkong raised her fiery eyebrows, surprised that someone could show no interest in her treasure.
Filio shook his head.
Ji Minghuan, watching TV without turning his head, said to Sun Changkong, "He’s very shy."
Then he spoke to Filio, "Don’t be afraid, big doggie, sit down and chat, you’ll get familiar."
The four kids silently sat down, staring blankly at the TV, none spoke.
Ji Minghuan chewing a seed, suddenly mentioned, "Speaking of which, do you guys know the mentor said we’re going out on a mission soon?"
Filio nodded, "Said we’re going to catch an Exorcist."
"Have you ever gone out on a mission before?" Ji Minghuan asked.
Sun Changkong and Filio spoke simultaneously, glanced at each other, then quickly looked away.
Ji Minghuan cleared his throat and said seriously: "First, I must declare, our team members have different strengths, some are good at writing and some at fighting, so we must have a clear division of labor. When the time comes, I’ll be strategizing, you guys handle the physical work. When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, only you two can step up. You two look out for each other, team collaboration, okay?"
"What about her?" Sun Changkong glanced at Kong Youling.
Ji Minghuan shrugged impatiently and said flatly: "You don’t think this silly penguin has combat power, right?" Saying this, he patted Kong Youling’s head.
Kong Youling shook her head, her white hair got a little messy, like a kitten with its fur bristled.
She lowered her head to write, then lifted her notebook seriously: "I will try my best too."
Sun Changkong and Filio clicked their tongues, they indeed couldn’t imagine Kong Youling punching and kicking anyone.
Seeing they understood the situation, Ji Minghuan said satisfactorily: "In conclusion, though I haven’t seen you two going all out yet, I’ll be relying on you then."
"No problem..." Filio said softly, "Don’t underestimate me, I’m quite formidable after transforming."
"As long as the mentor lets me unlock the top levels of strength, those little minions are nothing for me." Sun Changkong wiped her nose with her hand, raised her face proudly.
Ji Minghuan chuckled dryly, thinking: The last one shouting "minions, minions" already wet his pants, but since you’re a Mythical Level miraculous being, if you can’t win you can still burst into action, not as disgraceful as the Refrigerator Demon...
Thinking about it, he added: "But have either of you actually fought a superhuman?"
Both of them shook their heads without hesitation, having been confined in the Salvation Society since childhood, never had contact with outsiders, let alone fought superhumans.
Ji Minghuan coughed twice: "Dreams are one thing, actual fighting is another... The battlefield is ever-changing. If your mental strength isn’t up to par, even as geniuses, it’s possible to get so scared you wet your pants."