Chapter 858: Little Manzi

Most travelers in the Chaos are alone, wandering by themselves. It’s rare to see groups like Su Che’s, who stay closely together almost as if touching each other. Generally speaking, even if several travelers form a temporary alliance, they still need to be wary of one another at all times, and keeping a proper distance is essential. In other words, the trust that allows one to trust their teammates’ backs almost doesn’t exist in the Chaos. It was precisely because she saw this mutual trust among Su Che and his group that Manzi came to the conclusion: Since there is genuine friendship or some other form of affection among you, perhaps you can also accept me? It’s easy to understand—this is the principle that “birds of a feather flock together.”

In response to Manzi’s request, Su Che said, “Of course! We’re very happy to have you join us.” He agreed so readily, without even consulting Tianyin or Lao Hei. It wasn’t because he was deceived by Manzi’s delicate and cute appearance, thinking she posed no threat. Rather, Su Che had full confidence in the combat strength of their four-person team—himself, Tianyin, Lao Hei, and Xiao Hei. While they might not be invincible in the Chaos, they could handle any single traveler. With Lao Hei’s extreme defensive abilities and Xiao Hei’s innate advantage in navigating the Chaos, even if they couldn’t win, they could at least escape. Besides, based on intuition, Su Che thought Manzi wasn’t that bad—likely belonging to a race with naturally kind and gentle traits. Right? Of course, only time would tell.

Also, Manzi had visited Mo Li Island several times and was quite familiar with its dangers. Their group, on the other hand, was new to the area. Even with the soul memories of the tiger-patterned monster, having an “insider” like her would be a clear advantage.

“Thank you very much for accepting me,” Manzi said. She could tell that Su Che was the leader of the group, so she floated slowly toward them, though her expressions and movements still revealed obvious caution.

“Welcome, welcome!” Lao Hei grinned broadly, his face grotesque. It was hard to show a truly kind smile when one looked like the tiger-patterned monster—his appearance was simply too fierce.

About a hundred zhang away from the four of Su Che, Manzi stopped. It seemed this was the closest distance he considered acceptable. Su Che walked to the edge of Xiao Hei’s palm and said to him, “Come here. It’s best if you stand with us. Since you want to join this team, a basic level of trust must be established in a short time. What do you think?” The other party was a super-strong being who had lived for countless years, so no further explanation was needed. “Alright.” Manzi nodded and then floated onto Xiao Hei’s palm. This approach was indeed a bit risky for him, but it also showed that he had sufficient confidence in his own strength. Manzi’s height only reached Su Che’s waist, and when standing next to the taller Lao Hei, it barely reached his knees. With such close face-to-face contact, it became even more apparent how adorably cute the little guy looked—so amusing it was hard to describe. “How can an old fellow with an unknown lifespan look like this? It’s simply too inconsistent!” The three of Su Che couldn’t help but feel astonished. Manzi, however, wasn’t bothered by being much shorter than others. He tilted his head up, carefully observing Lao Hei, and said tentatively, “There’s a traveler near Mo Li Island who looks exactly like you. I’ve seen him a few times. If it weren’t for the complete difference in your energy auras, I would have thought you were him.” Su Che and Tian Yin smiled without saying anything, while Lao Hei chuckled and said, “That guy must not be very trustworthy, right?” Hearing Lao Hei say this, Manzi nodded and told the truth, “In my opinion, he belongs to the most unfriendly type of travelers… May I ask, is he your kin?” “That guy is my enemy—a complete scoundrel!” Under Su Che’s silent guidance, Lao Hei deliberately said this to avoid causing Manzi unnecessary worry. Killing the tiger-patterned freak and turning him into a puppet body—no matter right or wrong, such actions would always lead to unnecessary speculation from others. For example: Would they use the same methods on me? Even if it was out of kindness to hide the truth, the four of Su Che would never do something despicable like harming others for personal gain. Lao Hei added to Manzi, “Don’t worry. Though I may look like that guy, we’re definitely not the same kind of person. Let me put it this way: as long as you’re willing to cooperate sincerely, there won’t be any dishonorable acts of harming each other in our team.” “That’s ideal.”

Manzi nodded in agreement. “This is exactly what I expected. Actually, my demands aren’t high—three Mixed Purple Crystal Fruits will suffice. They should be able to trigger an enlightening effect in my internal energy.”
“Understood,” Su Che replied with a nod. “None of us intend to keep everything for ourselves. If we can gather ten Purple Crystal Fruits on this trip, it won’t have been in vain.”
“Good.”
Manzi then asked, “Have you ever entered Magic Island before?”
“No,” Su Che answered. “Not once. But a Chaos Traveler has been there three times and shared all his experiences with us without omission.”
Sharing experiences isn’t difficult for peak-level experts. With just the replication and transmission of mental information, they can fully absorb others’ insights, which is almost as good as experiencing it themselves.
“I see…”
Manzi pondered for a moment and thought this situation was quite favorable. The four of Su Che had never truly entered Magic Island, but they weren’t completely ignorant either. This allowed them to highlight their own importance without worrying about being dragged down by inexperienced teammates.
So, he said, “I’d like you all to introduce your own strengths first, so we can discuss the specific plan for entering the island. How about that?”
“Okay.”
Su Che first pointed at Lao Hei and explained, “You must be aware of Lao Hei’s racial traits, right? His physical defense is extremely strong. Once on the island, if we’re attacked by magical beasts, Lao Hei can act as a living shield to draw their main attacks.”
He then pointed at Xiao Hei and said, “This Xiao Hei is a special creature born from Chaos Energy. His form of life is completely different from ours. One could say that Chaos is his home and paradise. All the troubles and obstacles caused by Chaos Energy don’t exist for him.”
“Ah…”
Manzi looked up at the thousand-foot-tall Xiao Hei, a look of surprise in his eyes, but he didn’t interrupt Su Che’s introduction. He simply nodded silently.
Su Che then pointed at Tian Yin and said, “Tian Yin is my wife. She possesses the primordial power of sound in our universe. I believe her sonic abilities can suppress those magical beasts on Magic Island to some extent.”
Finally, he smiled and said, “As for me, compared to the other three, I lack distinct traits. I’ll just have to adapt as the situation unfolds.”

Manzi gently shook her head, expressing a different opinion: “I can see that you are the true decision-maker among the four of us. The other three will unconditionally follow your commands. That means you must be a very special person—only that for now, you’re not yet sure if your abilities can be effective in that regard.”
“Thank you for your evaluation and recognition,” Su Che said with a smile and a nod.
“In that case, our team is quite strong,” Manzi said, her gaze falling on Tianyin. She spoke softly, “Tianyin, could you use your sonic powers on me a few times?”
Tianyin nodded in agreement. Then, every so often, he used the most distinctive sonic ability he had at his disposal. Of course, he made sure to reduce the destructive power significantly, just enough to showcase the characteristics of each ability so that Manzi could experience them.
Over several dozen breaths, Manzi silently endured dozens of attacks from different sonic waves. Finally, she nodded at Su Che and said, “You’re right. A few of these sonic waves can indeed counter those magical beasts.”
Su Che readily agreed and said to her, “This time, as we go to the island, the leadership will fall on you. We’ll do whatever you arrange.”
Manzi showed no hesitation in expressing her joy: “Thank you for trusting me like this. Based on our previous experiences of going to the island, I can’t guarantee success, but I’m confident that even if this mission fails, I can bring everyone back safely.”
Manzi’s joy wasn’t feigned. She truly felt that Su Che was the kind of person with a broad mind—a quality that was extremely rare and exactly the kind of partner she had long desired.
At that moment, Lao He asked with a grin, “Little Manzi, you still haven’t told us about your strengths and advantages. Besides being cute, what else do you have?”
Little Manzi?
Su Che and Tianyin exchanged a look, trying not to laugh. Only someone like Lao He would dare to use such an outrageous nickname.
Although she looked young and small in stature, her actual age must be incredibly old…
Manzi seemed to have a good temper and didn’t show any displeasure at Lao He’s nickname. Perhaps she thought this tiger-patterned gorilla was even older than herself.
She replied, “My strength lies in my control ability. I can control two magical beasts at the same time, turning them into allies to help us fight against their own kind. But I can only control two at once; more than that isn’t possible, as those beasts are too powerful.”

“What remarkable control!” Su Che couldn’t help but exclaim. After all, through the soul memories of the tiger-patterned monster, he already knew that a Chaos Traveler could hold their own against a single magical beast, but would struggle greatly against two. Against three or more, they would have to turn and flee. Yet this little Manzhi could control two magical beasts and then turn to fight the other two—meaning she was single-handedly taking on four. It could even be assumed that she might be able to hold off five or six magical beasts on her own for a short time. At that moment, Lao He almost couldn’t resist picking her up and pinching her slightly reddened nose: “Little one, I didn’t expect you to be so amazing!”