"I refuse to believe this!"

Lü Xiaodao poured more Spirit Energy into his attack. His flying daggers instantly struck with fiercer force. But he didn’t know Rollroll was simultaneously reinforcing the Black Cauldron with extra Spirit Energy. Even as Lü Xiaodao’s face flushed red, straining like he was on the toilet, his daggers still couldn’t pierce the Black Cauldron.

Unnoticed by Lü Xiaodao, the Black Cauldron began to glow slightly red and hot under his relentless assault. Near its handle, an energy bar appeared, slowly charging. The number climbed rapidly, nearing one hundred percent...

"We can’t keep this up."

Flying above, Xiao Zhang hadn’t spotted the Black Cauldron’s anomaly. But he sensed dragging this out was risky. He didn’t know how long the electronic barrier would last. A swift end was best. He raised his arm and fired a small missile straight at the Black Cauldron. The cauldron flew to intercept it. Mid-flight, the missile morphed. A giant net shot out, engulfing the Black Cauldron.

As the net trapped it, Xiao Zhang launched another missile at Coco. Seeing the Black Cauldron covered, Coco knew trouble was coming. She stepped back twice and yanked Rollroll in front of her. Rollroll looked utterly bewildered. "Rollroll, eat it!" Coco commanded frantically.

Rollroll instinctively opened its mouth and sucked in the unexploded missile, swallowing it whole.

"Holy crap!" Xiao Zhang gasped mid-air. Damn, how was that even possible?

The missile was meant to shoot nets but still caused small blasts. He’d never imagined Rollroll just eating it.

The missile detonated inside Rollroll’s belly. Its body visibly swelled, then shrank back instantly. Rollroll burped, puffing a smoke ring. Its dog face twisted in disgust, as if the missile tasted awful.

Coco beamed, patting Rollroll’s head. "Good boy! All that care wasn’t wasted. You can eat missiles! You’re way better than that Servant."

If Feng Ye were here, his sister’s words would’ve made him spit blood. Screw it—this dog could eat poop too, but I can’t!

"Hmph, I don’t believe you’ll eat them all!" Xiao Zhang’s expression hardened. He activated every missile port on his armor. Countless tiny missiles rained down on them.

To his shock, Rollroll’s body swelled. It grew to six or seven meters tall. Then Rollroll opened its jaws and inhaled—all missiles vanished.

"Boom, boom, boom."

The missiles exploded inside Rollroll like muffled thunder. Rollroll burped again. A violent shockwave blasted outward, slamming into Xiao Zhang. It spun him through the air like a headless fly.

"Perfect chance!"

The giant Rollroll emerged from behind the Black Cauldron. Lü Xiaodao, on the other side, grinned wildly. He redirected his flying daggers toward Rollroll’s head.

But the Black Cauldron had fully charged. Rollroll’s paw gripped its handle. It swung the cauldron like a tennis racket at Lü Xiaodao. Glowing red-hot, it radiated searing heat waves—like a pro’s killer smash. The swing’s gust ripped off Lü Xiaodao’s baseball cap, revealing a bald patch on his scalp. The next second, the Black Cauldron slammed into him. His War Spirit daggers and all were sent flying with one hit.

"Ahhh!"

Lü Xiaodao’s face contorted in agony. The impact felt like every bone shattered. He crashed into his own electronic barrier. Electric currents coiled around him instantly. He foamed at the mouth, incapacitated. Finally, he dropped like a charred lump. His green hair stood on end in an extreme emo style.

Any emo tribe member here would’ve knelt and hailed him as leader.

The collision made the barrier spark wildly with buzzing zzzt sounds. It collapsed completely.

But as the barrier failed, Rollroll had already shrunk the Black Cauldron back to normal size.

"Oh dear, what happened to this lad? Did he escape Professor Yang’s Mahjong Addiction Center? Look how badly he’s been zapped."

Passersby soon spotted Lü Xiaodao lying charred on the ground.

"Poor soul! I warned against that center. Kids today are heartless—parents just love mahjong, and they send them for electroshock. Now he’s this inhuman mess," an auntie fumed.

"Truly cruel! We must report Professor Yang. He’s so corrupt. See this parent? Zapped black as coal! And his hair—green! His genes must’ve mutated!"

Crowds gathered, pointing and gossiping. Seizing the moment, Coco yanked Rollroll away. This time, she let Rollroll lead the escape...

...

Time rewound.

Elsewhere, in the Awakened Association’s mission hall, the trio about to leave spotted a pinned commission refresh on the task list.

"A strange lifeform attack in Zone 3 of Haven City. Awakened requested for support. No limit on numbers." The commission included the exact location.

"A strange lifeform? So not Beasts?" Lin Chuan asked, surprised.

"But what besides Beasts attacks humans?"

"Maybe creatures from another world," Lin Tang mused. "Remember years ago when lifeforms reverse-traveled here? That Dark High Priest was taken down by the great Night Maple!" Stars sparkled in her eyes.

"Usually, the Overdeity issues direct hunt missions for such cases," Lin Chuan countered.

Feng Ye felt curious too. As they talked, other Awakened noticed and accepted the task.

Lin Tang glanced at Feng Ye. "Brother Feng Ye, free later? Should we accept and check it out?"

Feng Ye checked the time. His sister wouldn’t be home for hours. He nodded. "Yeah, accept it." He was curious about the lifeform.

Lin Tang confirmed the team’s acceptance. Then she used her privilege to requisition a vehicle from the Association.

"Connections really smooth things out," Feng Ye remarked, eyeing the modified Awakened vehicle. Ordinary Awakened needed endless paperwork for this.

Lin Tang asked, "Brother Feng Ye, can you drive?"

"No," Feng Ye shook his head honestly. "I let Rollroll drive when needed."

"Rollroll? Your friend? Sounds like a dog’s name," Lin Tang said, puzzled.

Feng Ye’s mouth twitched. "Rollroll is a dog."

"Haha, can a dog drive?" Lin Chuan laughed. "Stop joking, Brother Feng Ye. I’ll drive—I’m Haven City’s driving god, after all. My title’s been gathering dust." He eagerly slid into the driver’s seat.

Feng Ye didn’t argue.

Lin Tang’s eyes narrowed, wondering if he was serious.

Soon, Lin Chuan weaved the car through traffic. "Brother Feng Ye, is my driving better than your Rollroll friend?" he boasted.

"Uh... probably similar. You should race him sometime," Feng Ye said, sparing his confidence.

"Same as me? I must meet this Rollroll!" Lin Chuan declared. "I’m Haven City’s driving god—three-time Akina Old Driver Race champ!"

"Just drive. Less talk," Lin Tang snapped.

"How dare you speak to your brother like that?" Lin Chuan fumed.

"I don’t have a dumb brother like you."

"You—!"

"O great god of magic..." Lin Tang pulled out a black diary and began reading.

"I’m sorry! I’m a dumbass—please stop!" Lin Chuan begged instantly.

"Drive properly!"

"Yes, ma’am..."

Feng Ye watched Lin Tang’s diary, stroking his chin. He’d once had a chuuni diary too—filled with his Awakened days. But after moving, it vanished...