Ten minutes ter, a bull-headed man and a horse-headed man walked calmly out of the supermarket, which exploded into fmes behind them, sending a thick column of smoke rising into the sky.

  "Horsehead, where do you think we should start looking for the new Miss Priestess? We can’t use high-level magic, and I hear the human region is pretty big. If we run at full speed, it’ll probably take us ages to find her" the bull-headed man said, scratching his head in confusion.

  "The elder already expined this! Were you asleep the whole time?"

  Annoyed, the horse-headed man smacked him hard on the head.

  "I’ll spell it out for you one more time, according to the elder’s directions, the new Miss Priestess should be somewhere in the human region, at a pce called the UN. Even though the elder’s transfer spell might’ve had some errors, we can’t be too far away. Our best bet is to start by asking for directions. Got it?" the horse-headed man said, exasperated but serious.

  Despite having just barely achieved the minimum 60 intelligence points required to pass the beastkin race’s exam at age 12, the horse-headed man still far outcssed his companion, whose total score across all subjects amounted to exactly 60.

  "Yes, yes! You’re so smart, horsehead!" the bull-headed man said, grinning sheepishly and nodding in agreement.

  "Of course! Now let’s go ask for directions. We need to find the Priestess as soon as possible, who knows what kind of trouble might arise for our race if we don’t"

  With that, the horse-headed man began scanning their surroundings.

  Around them, passersby froze, staring stiffly at the bull-headed and horse-headed men. A singur thought consumed their minds. Who are they? Beastkin? Why are they here? Should we run? Could we even escape?

  The horse-headed man, looking puzzled, approached one of the bystanders. The moment he got close, the man colpsed to the ground, trembling uncontrolbly.

  "I’m not edible! Don’t eat me! This is cheating! How can you break the beginner’s pond?" The man, too nervous to think clearly, blurted out what sounded like a phrase from a video game.

  The 'beginner’s pond', a pce meant for novices, was actually a fitting analogy. Compared to these two creatures, the average level 20 human was as insignificant as a rookie facing an endgame boss.

  "Eat you? Pond? What does that even mean? Aren’t you humans? What do fish have to do with this? Fish are delicious! Humans are not!" Before the horse-headed man could respond, the bull-headed man began rambling to himself, clearly confused.

  The horse-headed man let out a long sigh, pursed his lips, and leaned his rge equine head even closer to the trembling man.

  "You! Tell me where the UN is!" he demanded in a deep, serious tone.

  But when an ordinary person is suddenly asked to locate the UN, confusion is inevitable. While many know of the UN, far fewer know its exact location.

  The trembling man stammered, his lips quivering, "I... I... I don’t know how to get there!"

  "Ah? Do you think our heads are made of glue?"1This part was confusing for me, but apparently, it transtes to something like 'Do you take us for fools? the horse-headed man asked, tilting his head. A flicker of murderous intent fshed in his eyes. Behind him, the bull-headed man, slightly distracted, licked his lips.

  "Glue… that tastes good too" the bull-headed man mumbled to himself.

  Hearing his companion’s nonsensical comment, the horse-headed man couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth in irritation. Shaking his head to refocus, he turned his attention back to the trembling man in front of him.

  Terrified, the man fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone.

  "W-Wait! Let me ask Du Niang! (Baidu)2Du Niang (度娘) is a way to refer to the most popur Chinese search engine, Baidu. It transtes to something like "Miss Du" or "Lady Du"" the man stammered, trembling.

  "Du Niang? What is that? And what’s that little metal thing you’re holding?" the horse-headed man asked, poking the phone with one rge finger.

  "It’s… it’s a phone! You can use it to look up information or make calls" the man replied, swallowing hard.

  The horse-headed man examined the small device with growing curiosity. A mobile phone, one of humanity’s most remarkable inventions, a pinnacle of modern technology.

  "Hmm… perhaps humans do have some interesting things after all" the horse-headed man muttered to himself, considering how the elves might appreciate such a tool. Maybe he should bring one back to them as a gift.

  Meanwhile, the terrified man quickly searched for the location of the UN on his phone. After a few moments, he stammered. "United States… New York… that way" He pointed in the general direction with a trembling hand.

  The horse-headed man smiled at him, extended a hand, took the phone, and squeezed it in his fist.

  "This little metal gadget is called a phone, right? From now on, it’s mine. Human, thank you" said the horse-headed man casually as he tucked the phone away. Then, he turned, gestured to the bull-headed man, and the two of them sped off in the indicated direction like a raging hurricane.

  At the UN headquarters.

  Lian had already used contract magic to formalize the agreement with the world leaders.

  "All right, with this, the contract is officially sealed. Unless an extinction-level event occurs, any viotion of the cuses will trigger a magical effect that deals a fixed damage of 10,000 HP to the soul" Lian expined, smiling as she raised a finger.

  10,000 HP?

  The leaders of the human nations collectively drew a sharp breath. Some had entertained the idea that, once Pn Z was operational, humanity could uniterally break this agreement. But the penalty of 10,000 HP made that notion inconceivable. At present, even the strongest level-40 tanks only had 4,000 HP. For the leaders, who were non-combatants, reaching even half that amount of health was utterly impossible.

  They exchanged uneasy gnces, their forced smiles betraying their resignation. There was no escaping the reality, they were simply too weak. However, at least the alliance with the elves offered them a chance for stable development.

  Suddenly, Rin, standing next to Lian, raised her hand to her temple and closed her eyes.

  "Princess, the elders have sent an urgent message, requesting our immediate return" Rin said quietly.

  "What’s the matter?"

  "They didn’t specify, only that it’s critical and we must return as soon as possible"

  "I see. It seems we have no other choice" Lian said, frowning slightly in contemption.

  She then turned to Ye Lan, who was standing calmly at her side.

  "Priestess, an urgent matter has come up, and we must return to the elven territory. Unfortunately, this means we won’t be able to escort you directly to the beastkin territory. You can either stay here while I use communication magic to inform your race elders, or, if you’d prefer, you can come with us to the elven territory. What do you choose?" Lian asked, her tone tinged with apology.

  After all, they had promised to help Ye Lan return home, but circumstances now demanded their immediate attention elsewhere.

  Ye Lan’s expression flickered briefly before she nodded resolutely. "I’ll stay here. I don’t want to impose further. Besides, this pce is acceptable, so long as I don’t encounter repulsive individuals like before..."

  At her words, all the elves turned in unison to gnce at the blond man. Startled, he hurriedly covered his face with both hands and lowered his head in embarrassment.

  Meanwhile, the President of the United States, who had been listening intently to the exchange between Ye Lan and Lian, felt a shiver course down his spine.

  Leaving this beastkin representative here? Wouldn’t that mean sheltering a potential enemy within their own ranks? It felt as though they were installing a ticking time bomb in their midst.

  Worse yet, if she stayed, the highly confidential Z Pn risked being exposed...

  Suvn