Chapter 552: Welcome to the Pit

Chapter 552: Welcome to the Pit

The next day, Zheng Yichen brought a contract to Liliya. Liliya took the contract that Zheng Yichen offered and checked it carefully. She made sure it had no hidden traps, and the content was still as agreed upon earlier. She nodded and wrote her name on it.

The contract instantly burned and turned to ashes. As the ashes vanished, they vaguely formed an indescribable shape for just a short moment, but Liliya noticed it. “A strange contract reaction!?”

“How was this contract even made…” She realized it was very high-level—so high-level it went beyond her imagination. Lower-level contracts had loopholes easy to find. Even if the content was tight, weak power holding the contract could let sneaky tricks crush it right from the root.

For those who could totally crush it, they often didn’t. Why? Because even if such beings could ignore the contract’s effects or wipe them out, the backlash was like falling into a cesspool—not deadly but sure to sicken you! So, folks able to ditch low-level contracts didn’t go bothering themselves for no reason. But this contract Liliya signed was super high-level, plus the content was perfect. Hunting for any loophole was impossible.

Higher-level contracts rarely crossed lines. Even the slightest overstep could cause total backlash! Fully giving yourself without force, just pure kindness—how was that any different from finding a lover? Finding a dragon… no way!! Liliya much preferred handsome guys!

“It wasn’t me who made it, asking’s useless.” Zheng Yichen shrugged. Now that the contract was signed, he spoke more easily. After all, the contract stressed that Liliya must not leak any of his personal secrets in any way. So now he could blabber away freely…

“Who was it?”

“Dan Marina, of course.”

“Uh… Aah!!” Liliya was horrified. “Crap! My worst fear came true!!” Well, this contract couldn’t be scrapped now. Luckily, its rules didn’t bind her much—just never spill Zheng Yichen’s secrets. “Tsk, I’ll act like I never met him!” What rotten luck! She was trying to fix her own problems but ended up messed up again. “Your relationship is pretty special, huh…”

After struggling for nearly two minutes, Liliya pulled off her mask and said weakly, “That extra reward I mentioned? Forget it!!” She kept herself from punching the Alchemical Avatar in front—that took self-control. She really wanted to smack this guy!

Feeling the contract’s binding strength a bit, Liliya grew more shocked. Young but sharp, she kind of guessed Dan Marina’s escape from The Church. “Probably used a stronger contract power to cover the old one?” She didn’t know what contract Zheng Yichen and Dan Marina had, but it gave her a fresh take on Dan Marina’s skills. “Witches! So cool and annoying.” They cooked up most of the weird stuff.

“Grumpy! So grumpy…!!” Liliya glared bitter at Zheng Yichen, her eyes filled with dead-set resentment. Then, ignoring her Prophet image, she flopped on the table like a dull fish. “Bring it on! I’m braced for the storm!”

“…Uh, I think lying on the ground in a starfish shape suits that line better.” Zheng Yichen tapped his chin with a hint. Dan Marina didn’t do pointless things; this was her new plan. What did she want? Zheng Yichen couldn’t get her thoughts, but hanging around, he saw a trend.

For this contract, she didn’t need such top-shelf strength—yet this was the same one Dan Marina once used, just tweaked later. It muffled that weird sound’s mind bugs for a while. Handing such a high-stakes contract to a human Prophet was odd, especially with Dan Marina’s old ties to this one. “She sort of liked Liliya?” So this gamble… probably tested something.

Tsk, if true, it proved Witches earned their name. Even if fond, scheming came first—no sweat dragging Liliya into the pit. Yup, as a Church member, hooking up with him was one deep pit!

“You pervy dragon!!” Liliya squashed her anger and weighed the ups and downs. Even tricked, the contract held. “Zheng Yichen could work as a special relay hub for me.” This dragon was unique, surely wrapped in huge Threads of Fate… Huh? w(゜Д゜)w!!

“OMG! What mess?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻! Why so… blank? Are you a dragon!? Rock-bred, right?!” Liliya stared stunned at Zheng Yichen, her face all twisted in cartoon shock.

She sensed not one Thread of Fate linked to him. Yes, Prophets found it tough to see those threads—not like Dan Marina’s easy peeks—but sensing was possible. Zheng Yichen’s crazy state? Nothing. He was like a lone rock in the sea with passways nowhere. But even a rock should have slim ties to fate, maybe crushed under a foot someday. Too faint to feel, but it couldn’t be gone!

“What in blazes is he?!” Shocked Liliya felt she cracked big secrets. “That’s why the Fate Witch bonded with him?” And why Prophets pulled hair puzzling over it—not Dan Marina’s tricks but Zheng Yichen’s own bit. A dragon with no Threads of Fate? How could Prophets affect or track him via Prophecy Art? Sideways attack? All his crew were Witches… total no-go!

“I feel the world’s loony… no, I’m loony.”