I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 226

Chapter 226: The Holy Archangel of the Lord Will Never Fall

 

Compared to the dense forest outside and the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches, the temperature and air inside the “shrine” were noticeably cooler. Perhaps due to the recent construction, there lingered a scent of dry earth and wood, devoid of the strange odors of newly renovated houses like glue or formaldehyde.

 

There was a feeling… reminiscent of those old houses from a certain era, cool, comfortable, and filled with a sense of history. I remember back in the orphanage, there were many such old mud-brick and wooden houses around the medicinal plant garden, some used for storage, some long abandoned, empty inside, becoming our “secret base” for me and my friends.

 

It felt a lot like the secret base they had in “Anohana.” I still remember how there was a shed surrounded by neatly cut wooden strips and timber, weighing several tons, casually piled on the ground after being brought in by a truck.

 

From afar, it looked like a messy heap, but amidst it were pathways and tunnels made of the wood, through which us kids, being small in size, could easily crawl. During the day, we could go nearby to find some fruits and then nap inside, snacking and exploring, while at night, we would play hide and seek with our friends, feeling so joyful.

 

Yet, these ancient memories disappeared with the urban modernization. In places like the slums of Shenzhen City’s central district, children born in this era barely get to see scenes of nature or similar wooden houses anymore. Coupled with the fact that almost all schools have now canceled spring and autumn outings, their chances of connecting with nature have diminished even more.

 

Of course, I know this house was recently built, and the reason for its scent might be because the materials were left to dry by the seaside for almost half a month, and perhaps because it hasn’t been painted yet.

 

“……”

 

Wearing small slippers, I stepped on the flat floor inside the house, surveying this so-called “Dragon King Temple,” enjoying the tranquility that belonged only to me. Similar to the exterior of the shrine, there was no decoration inside the house, not even the most basic furniture like tables and chairs.

The wood and bricks retained their primitive colors. It seemed like the interior had been cleaned during the days of construction, but with no one to manage it in the following days, the floor had gathered quite a bit of dust again.

 

Especially at the entrance of the shrine where the floor tiles met the adjacent soil, there was a lot of very soft sand. Some of the tiles had several circles depressed in the middle, faintly showing the sand in the center of these funnel-shaped circles trembling slightly as if there were small creatures inside.

 

Antlions, a species specialized in hunting ants or small insects. These creatures prefer to live in cool and quiet places, particularly favoring nesting under the secluded eaves of human-built structures.

Their hunting method involves digging a funnel-shaped hole in a location where sunlight cannot reach and rain cannot wet, positioning themselves at the bottom. If any small animal accidentally falls into this funnel, it will slide all the way down to the center, where it becomes prey for the antlion.

 

Generally, in older houses covered in dust accumulated around them, with aging wood attracting termites, or if the soil around the house is of a sandy structure, it’s prone to attract antlions. Essentially, those small funnels on the ground are the masterpieces of antlions.

 

If I remember correctly, this house should have been requested to be built by Mayor Ye Yuqing when Mo and I accompanied her on her “exploration” here in late May. Mayor Ye’s response was also swift, and within a few days, this simple “Dragon King Temple” was built and left as it is now, allowing the surrounding small animals to naturally consider it a “natural attraction.”

 

I wonder what this place will become in a few years when the Shenzhen Cross-Sea Bridge is completed, when land reclamation is done, and the surrounding islands become the “Tenth District” of Shenzhen City. With underwater cables laid, water pipes extended, transporting electricity and freshwater, and then adding a few signal stations…

 

But when that time comes, I believe all those angels, catgirls, foxes, and centaurs from the other world that Xiao Mo mentioned will also come to this world, right?

Various magical creatures from another world disguising themselves as humans and harmoniously coexisting with ordinary humans here?

What a magical plot. Does this place really have such great allure for them?

Why do I feel like Fei Luo came over, became a maid, and got addicted to making coffee and milk tea after just a few days?

 

…………

 

In the “hall” of the Dragon King Temple, as I looked at the empty room, about to return the way I came, I suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the nearby small room. Is there some small animal here?

 

Out of curiosity, I walked towards the small room and with a creak, pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door in front of me.

 

“Hah-hah-hah…”

 

Since there were no electric lights installed here, the room was dimly lit, but I could still see the situation inside with my excellent vision—

 

A litter of foxes.

 

It should be foxes, the kind of animal with overall fiery red fur tinged slightly with orange. They have pointed faces, somewhat resembling Samoyeds among dogs, but with facial features more charming than those of dogs.

 

“Hah-hah-hah?”

 

I’m not sure how to describe the sound of a fox. It’s somewhat like “ka-ka-ka” and a bit like “Hah-hah-hah,” but the throat feels drier compared to the orca I heard earlier, and the frequency of the vocalization is stranger.

 

If I had to describe it, it might be like the feeling when you return to your grandma’s or grandpa’s house in the countryside during holidays, and at noon or in the evening, you hear birds outside making noises like “ka-ka-ka.”

 

“Ka-ka-ka…”

 

At this moment, there are a total of four foxes in this small room, one big and three small. It seems like the mother fox is taking care of the little ones. I suddenly pushed the door open and startled the four little ones, who quickly retreated to the deeper corners of the room.

 

Ah… indeed, it’s cooler inside on such weather.

 

After locking eyes with a few foxes for a while and recalling what Mo said earlier about “an adult lizard being roughly equal to 0.5 of Nuo’er,” I silently calculated the combat power of the foxes in front of me.

 

On Moon Orchid Island, the sea iguana is the largest and the most powerful. One sea iguana is equivalent to 0.5 of me. The second-largest animal on the island is the Angolan rabbit, which I would estimate to have a combat power equal to 0.3 of me.

 

Xiao Mo also mentioned that the natural enemies of Angolan rabbits are sea eagles and foxes. If foxes can defeat Angolan rabbits, then the combat power of one fox can be estimated as 0.4 of me. And there are four foxes here…

 

4 * 0.4 = 1.6

 

I probably couldn’t beat them, could I? Even if three out of these four foxes are young ones, their combat power might be discounted, but the mother fox should have a berserk buff when protecting her cubs. And I’m currently in my menstrual period, with a weakness debuff and a bleeding debuff. No matter how I calculate it, it seems like my chances of winning are slim…

 

Of course, they don’t seem to be in a fighting mood either; they just seem a bit uneasy at my sudden intrusion. Wait, why am I thinking about all this random stuff? It feels like I’m acting like a child.

 

Forget it, I won’t disturb you guys.

 

After some random analysis in my mind about this strange concept of “combat power,” I awkwardly reached out and pulled my bangs over, twirled them around my fingers, let go, roughly tidied up my disheveled hair behind, and turned to leave the room.

 

I came to this island today to relax and unwind, not to pick fights with these little animals.

 

“Squeak, squeak…”

 

To my surprise, as soon as I stepped out of the “shrine,” the Angolan rabbits that I was so scared of earlier actually approached from the nearby bushes, as if they had already determined that I wouldn’t harm them. They continuously rubbed against my ankles with their bodies.

 

“Your fur is so soft…”

 

Feeling a bit itchy on my feet, I quickly took a few steps forward and reached the nearby blanket that I had thrown on the ground earlier, took off my slippers, and stepped barefoot onto the blanket.

 

Because I’ve been working at the Cat Café all month, I come into contact with all kinds of cats every day, so I know more or less about cat behaviors and the texture of fur of different cat breeds. But when it comes to rabbits… I’m completely unfamiliar.

 

All I know is that “rabbits can bite when they’re agitated,” so in the absence of Yin Xiamo, I don’t plan to actively interact with these little animals.

 

But I have to admit, rabbit fur is really soft, even softer than that of ragdoll cats.

 

There are many breeds of cats at the café, but in my personal opinion, ragdoll cats have the best feel. They are like dolls, with long fur that’s very soft and fluffy. Next are the domestic shorthairs, tabby cats, and American shorthairs. After all, American shorthairs are technically domestic shorthairs from the Americas, and touching a shorthaired cat feels like half meat and half fur.

 

As for Maine Coons like Dingman… Maybe it’s because their ancestors were large, long-haired “wild cats” for several generations, their fur texture is somewhat coarse, giving off a wild feeling. Plus, with a mane, they have a proud and majestic demeanor, not exactly “soft.”

 

Sitting on the blanket, for convenience, I just wore my swimsuit as underwear, put on a thin cotton jacket and a small skirt on top, then grabbed my phone and lay down.

 

“Click, click—”

 

In places like Moon Orchid Island, there’s really no signal on the phone, not even the “emergency calls only” display, but that doesn’t stop me from using my phone to take pictures. The scenery around this shrine is really good, and I can even take photos of rabbits from such a close distance…

 

I aimed my phone at the Angolan rabbit hopping around, looking for grass to eat, and took several photos in a row. Maybe the position I was lying in triggered my body’s “sleep” system, or perhaps menstruation itself makes me prone to drowsiness; I soon felt a wave of sleepiness washing over me.

 

“Yawn…”

 

After yawning, I took a small blanket from Xiao Mo’s travel bag and covered it over my belly. Then, I glanced at the sky densely covered by the canopy of trees above and put away my phone.

 

“Don’t disturb me; I’m going to take a nap.”

 

Although I knew these rabbits couldn’t understand my language, the habit of communicating with the cats at the Maid Café made me subconsciously say this to them before closing my eyes.

 

?……?

 

In a daze, I felt like I had come to an unusually dazzling place. Warm light was everywhere, and occasionally, strange feathers would drift down from the sky.

 

After a moment of silence, a familiar voice came from all directions—

 

?Angels and sacred heavens will not participate in this war.?

?Why? Haven’t you angels always proclaimed yourselves as righteous partners? Haven’t you always been striving to redeem sentient beings? You intervened in the matter with the Dragon Clan last time, but this time, you plan to stand idly by while the Demon Lord harms living beings??

?The matter with the Dragon Clan was because you violated the agreement between us and the demon race… Fei Luo, as the Black Dragon Princess, walking alongside humans, I can turn a blind eye, but why are you consorting with demons??

?Haven’t angels and demons reconciled hundreds of years ago??

?It was my ancestors who reconciled, it has nothing to do with us now?

?Gabriel, you…?

?I detest the corruption of demons, I detest the darkness within them, I detest their cynical worldview. From the moment we are born, each of us should believe in the light for redemption, not like these demons… who only know how to indulge in pleasures, allowing themselves to fall deeper into darkness step by step?

?Indulging in pleasures? Momo has always been trying…?

?All demons are like this, for their own desires, they indulge without thinking, forgetting to reflect, and abandoning the light. That’s why they believe in darkness, because darkness allows them to hide and indulge in their desires?

?Gabriel, your prejudice against demons is too great, not all demons are like that, and following one’s desires isn’t necessarily wrong…?

?Fei Luo, I’m disappointed to hear you say that. Please leave. If even the Princess of the Dragon Clan is this hedonistic… then we angels have no need to cooperate with you?

?Gabriel…?

?Forget it, Fei Luo, let’s go back?

?Momo?

?This righteous Miss Angel is unwilling to compromise. Let’s go find another angel who is willing to. There are so many angels in the world, it’s not like she’s the only one who can use the power of light?

?Like who??

?Hmm?

?Alright, let’s go find someone else. Stingy girl, Gabriel, huff, huff, huff—?

?Your verbal attacks can’t even stir a ripple in my heart…?

?Flat-chested old lady!?

?What did you say?!?

?……?

 

“Umm…”

 

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Yin Xiamo’s pair of crystal-clear, beautiful eyes, with a hint of playfulness, and her bangs slowly falling down on both sides of her face as she bent over.

 

Behind Yin Xiamo was a dense canopy of trees, and sunlight streamed down diagonally through the gaps in the branches from the treetops.

 

“Xiao Mo…”

 

As my consciousness gradually returned, I yawned and sat up from the ground, stretching lazily. “What time is it now?”

 

“It’s two thirty in the afternoon. The café might be a bit quieter later, and Fei Luo is probably coming over here too.”

 

Yin Xiamo casually handed me a bottle containing one-third liquid and placed it in my arms.

 

“Having dreams again?”

 

“Ah…”

Remembering parts of the dream I just had, I took the bottle. “Is this your doing again?”

 

I remembered Yin Xiamo and Fei Luo mentioning before that she liked to use some dream-manipulating skills from the demon race to make me dream about various things related to my ‘past life.’

 

“Me? Not at all.”

 

Under my gaze, Yin Xiamo raised her hands, looking serious. “I swear by the heavens and earth, ever since Fei Luo came over, I haven’t deliberately controlled your dreams, Nuo’er.”

 

So, does that mean the dream I just had… could have been fake?

After pondering on the ground for a while, I decided not to dwell on this issue anymore and picked up the bottle.

 

“Is Fei Luo coming over later?”

 

“Yeah, she said she still has two customers before she can come. She’s probably on her way now.”

 

Yin Xiamo smiled. “There’s something I’m not sure if I should tell her.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s about… the angel who’s been arguing with Fei Luo for thousands of years… the one who’s now obtained the title of Archangel…”

 

Yin Xiamo leaned close to my ear and lowered her voice.

 

“She’s trying to follow the coordinates I left behind and prepare to come to this world.”

 

“……”

 

……