Chapter 2: Chaotic Relationships (Part 1)

This simple phrase from Xiaohar made Halechi’s face change drastically. He really couldn’t afford to anger Meili. Though his face turned blue, he didn’t dare to argue. He muttered under his breath, “My name is Halechi… not Xiaohar. What the hell is this… Sigh… My reputation as a great hero is completely ruined.”
Meili was carefree and didn’t notice what Halechi was muttering. Guo Shier, on the other hand, heard everything clearly and couldn’t help but sigh. With a master like Halechi, he really felt inferior in the team. Thinking about himself, he was pretty much the same. Fortunately, he had good luck and stayed low-key, avoiding many messy situations.
Guo Shier noticed that here, if people were close, they liked to call each other by nicknames. For example, Li Ran called Qi Wu Zhen “Xiaozhenzhen,” while Qi Wu Zhen called Li Ran “Xiaoranran.” In fact, those two weren’t really close—they were just being overly affectionate to annoy each other. But in this world, calling someone by a nickname indeed indicated closeness.
Meili was straightforward. If she liked someone, she would go after them. Halechi had no choice but to avoid her, feeling extremely frustrated. He had no interest in a human-beast relationship at all. He always considered himself a charming man—whether it was ordinary people or professionals, as long as they were beautiful, he liked to get close to them or tease them. He was known as a playboy, but he had never thought of being infatuated with a humanoid aberrant beast.
As soon as Halechi hid behind Guo Shier, Meili followed over. She asked, “Xiaohar, are you avoiding me?” Although she was carefree, that didn’t mean she was stupid. She could clearly see his obvious attempt to avoid her and immediately became displeased.
Halechi’s almond-shaped eyes blinked frantically at Guo Shier. Guo Shier found it amusing. He stepped back two steps, unkindly exposing Halechi. He certainly wouldn’t act as a shield.
Meili went over to Halechi, grabbed his hand, and held it tightly. Her big eyes, glowing red, stared intently at him with affectionate looks—so intense that even Guo Shier, several steps away, could feel them clearly.
Halechi’s legs turned weak. Meili’s grip was firm; she wouldn’t let go. Halechi tried to break free, but she refused to loosen her hold. Before Halechi could speak, a furious shout rang out, “Let go!” Still confused, Halechi thought, “I didn’t shout… Who’s being so considerate…”

A figure appeared. As soon as Ezekiel arrived, he witnessed a scene that enraged him—his woman holding Halechi’s hand, looking at him affectionately. He instantly flew into a rage, shouted loudly, and charged at them.
Mei Li kicked him, shouting, “Let go!”
Unprepared, Ezekiel was kicked aside. Halechi seized the opportunity, pulled his hands free forcefully, and instantly teleported away. His scalp tingled as he thought frantically, “What the hell is going on here?” Without saying a word, he teleported to a nearby floating mountain to hide.
Mei Li was furious. Ezekiel screamed, “Stupid woman, you belong to me…”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but shake his head. He hadn’t expected even the mutated beast to be so lustful. He quickly stepped back, fearing that if those two started fighting, even the floating mountain might be damaged.
But they didn’t fight, because Mei Li said, “Of course I belong to you!”
Ezekiel’s face turned purple-red as he stammered, “You… you…”
At that moment, Zhen Wuji, Goha, and Yao Zebusun also returned one after another. Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen were still missing. Zhen Wuji asked, “Shier, what are they doing?” Having seen Ezekiel and Mei Li in such a tense situation upon returning, he was also curious.
Guo Shier said, “It’s nothing, nothing. They’re a couple… playing a game.”
Yao Zebusun asked, “A game? What kind of game?”
Guo Shier replied, “Uh, a triangle game.” Although they hadn’t seen Halechi, they immediately understood what he meant upon hearing that.
It was only then that Ezekiel managed to speak a complete sentence: “…Why are you holding him?”
Mei Li continued, “I belong to you… but he belongs to me!”
Confused by Mei Li’s words, Ezekiel gripped his long white horns tightly, trying to figure out the relationship. “Hmm, I belong to you… so you belong to me… but he belongs to me? What do I need him for…” He muttered to himself, but his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly.
Guo Shier was stunned, and Zhen Wuji and the others were equally shocked. By this logic, Halechi would belong to Ezekiel and have nothing to do with Mei Li. Could this guy get any more confused?
Mei Li said, “He belongs to me… not to you!”
Ezekiel suddenly realized and said, “Right, right, that’s good. You belong to me, and he belongs to you…” Then he realized what he’d said and exploded in anger, “You! What do you mean? He belongs to you! What about me?”
Mei Li replied, “You? Since I belong to you, what more do you want?”

Yao Zebusong covered his forehead and said, “These two guys have given me a headache. I’m going to take a break over there.” He immediately slipped aside and sat cross-legged. He had no interest in listening to the two argue.
Ezek was completely confused. The more he tried to figure it out, the more confused he became. He pointed at Meili and then at himself, saying, “No, no… I… I, you are my… him… I… This is fucking… too complicated…”
Guo Shier felt like laughing. He never expected Ezek to turn such a simple problem into a mess. Meili’s innocent-looking expression was even funnier; he didn’t realize she could be so cunning.
After pondering for a while, Ezek finally stopped trying to calculate. He said, “I don’t care about your ‘my’ or my ‘yours’. Anyway… you’re not allowed to be with that guy!” He had finally grasped the key to the problem.
Meili giggled, ignoring Ezek. She turned aside and sat cross-legged, imitating Yao Zebusong.
Ezek, furious, rushed over to her, threw her to the ground, and snapped, “Stupid woman, you belong to me!” Meili leaned in and kissed him, saying, “Mm, I do belong to you…” Ezek immediately softened, still cursing, “You stupid woman!” But his expression had relaxed.
Guo Shier sighed, “Our team… is going to be lively from now on.”
Zhen Wuji chuckled and said, “You seem quite happy. Why is that?”
Guo Shier replied, “Traveling alone can be lonely. Some variety is needed.”
Zhen Wuji said, “You unscrupulous guy.” The two exchanged smiles.
Two talismanic lights flashed, and Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen appeared. Guo Shier went up to them and asked, “Brother Li Ran, there’s nothing here. Let’s move on to the next level.”
Qi Wu Zhen frowned and glanced at Ezek and Meili, who were hugging each other carelessly. He said, “We’ve made some discoveries. Let’s discuss them together.”
Only then did Ezek release Meili, and the two stood up.
Li Ran scanned the surroundings and asked, “Has Halechi returned?”
Guo Shier replied, “He has.” He let out a long howl, and soon Halechi flew back. With a nervous look at Ezek and Meili, he asked, “Should we leave soon?”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s discuss it first, then decide how to proceed.”
Goha asked, “Have you found anything?”

Li Ran said, “This stacked continent is truly amazing. The first six layers are all Spelllands. After observing them, we found that starting from this layer, it’s not a Spellland but a continent from another small world. We estimate that the next layer will likely be similar as well.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “So, the eighth and ninth layers are… another world.”
Guo Shier said, “Not a greater world?”
Li Ran replied, “It has nothing to do with a greater world. I don’t even know what kind of continent it will be. From the seventh layer we arrived at, this continent has no spells—it’s another kind of small world. We don’t know… what the level of combat strength in this world is, nor do we know if there are humans there.”
Zhen Wu Ji, Ge Ha, Yao Ze Bu Song, Ha Le Chi, Aizek, and Mei Li all looked confused. Clearly, they didn’t understand Li Ran’s words—small worlds, Spelllands, greater worlds—nothing of it made sense to them.
Ha Le Chi was slightly better off because, since meeting Qi Wu Zhen, he had stubbornly followed him and thus heard some similar discussions. As for how much he understood, no one could tell.
Guo Shier asked, “Going there… means we’ve entered another small world. Is it possible to return?”
Li Ran said, “If we can go there, we can also return. It’s different from going to a greater world. Once we go to a greater world, we’re probably not able to come back. Greater worlds and small worlds are completely different.”
Guo Shier asked again, “It won’t affect our journey to the greater world, right?” This was very important. If going to other small worlds affected our ability to reach the greater world, it would be a loss.
Li Ran replied, “It shouldn’t affect it. Actually, I have a question now—how many small worlds might stand in our way if we go to the greater world?”
Guo Shier asked, “What do you mean?” Then he realized and said, “You mean… when we go from the Spellworld to the greater world, there will be other small worlds in between?”
Li Ran nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
Guo Shier was filled with doubt. After a long while, he said, “Elder brother, if that’s the case… when we go to the greater world, could we be going in the wrong direction? If we are, we might never be able to get out.”

Li Ran said, “There’s no need to worry about that. Xiao Zhenzhen has a legacy; the idea of sacrificing to the stars she mentioned is a great direction. Besides, you know my situation—I have a faint sense of the Greater World, so the direction should be correct. If it were wrong, we would be trapped in the small world forever and unable to escape.”
Guo Shieru was well aware of Li Ran’s situation. He was a fragment of soul that grew up in the world of spells, with a faint connection to his main soul, which was in the Greater World. So the direction should not be wrong. But Guo Shieru noticed another problem and said, “Sacrificing to the stars… isn’t that the Greater World?”
Li Ran replied, “I’ve discussed this issue with Xiao Zhenzhen.”