"W-Wait! You can understand us, boink?" the little slime stammered, its translucent blue body wobbling violently in shock.

​The father slime and mother slime also shared a terrified glance, becoming anxious.

"A human who speaks the tongue of the resonance... this shouldn’t be possible unless he is a high-ranking Beyonder!" the father whispered, though Neo heard every vibration perfectly.

​Neo chuckled, feeling the gentle hum of his Musical Blade-Storm physique. It was clear now: his body didn’t just pick up sounds, it also translated the very frequencies of life.

To him, the slimes weren’t just making noises, they were broadcasting their thoughts through mental waves in the air.

He draped the flower necklace over his shoulders and said, "Yes, I can understand you perfectly. But tell me, what did you mean by ’starving’ and me being a ’patron’? And what coins are you talking about?"

​The mother slime bounced forward apologetically.

"Please don’t be angry, Great Human! We are just humble Slime-Residents of the Outer Dough Zone. Most humans who fall from the sky are confused and aggressive. We usually trade hospitality for ’Cosmic Coins’, those invaluable energy stones your kind carries. We haven’t had a patron in three moon-cycles!"

​Neo’s eyes narrowed. "Humans who ’fall from the sky’? You mean I’m not the only one?"

​"Boink! No, no!" the little slime chirped, regaining some of its courage. "Ever since the Grey Flash started appearing in orbit, many pieces of metal and many humans have been scattered across the forest. But most are... broken. Or they get taken by the Red Slimes from the Inner Ring."

​The father slime bobbed up and down solemnly. "Guest, If you are looking for your friends, you should be careful. The Grey Flash is a spatial anomaly; it splits groups apart and drops them according to their ’value’ in the universe. Your friends are likely scattered across the different layers of this world."

​Neo felt a chill. "Could this be how the little girl from the Rothschild family disappeared? Yeah, it’s possible," he concluded inwardly.

​Rescuing the girl wasn’t his priority, though. He came to explore, and that was exactly what he would do. But there was a small concern: if the Grey Flash had separated the crew based on power, Moon and the others were likely in a much more dangerous zone than he was.

​"Going to find them now will only put me in greater danger," he realized. "For now, I should focus on getting familiar with this world and finding a way to grow stronger. The rest can come later."

​He turned his attention back to the slime family.

"Alright, since I am your guest, why don’t you show me around? I don’t have the coins on me right now, but I will promise you one thing: you won’t have to worry about struggling to get those coins after helping me."

​The slime family showed a kind, understanding expression. "Boink! We understand your difficulty, guest. Do not worry; as long as you’re here, we’ll help in whatever way we can," the father said.

​"Mister, I will help you even if my papa and mama don’t!" the little one said excitedly.

​Neo smiled and gestured to the little slime. "Then hop on, little fella. We’re going to have an exciting journey ahead."

--

​Meanwhile, in another place where Red Slimes were as numerous as rats, two people were seen fighting in coordination. One was an old man with a mechanical heart; the other was a monk with a bald head.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

​The old man shot bullets from his transformed arms, taking down Red Slimes one after another. The monk crushed them under his large feet and palms. For a monk, he was incredibly ruthless and emotionless.

​After a while, the battle ended, leaving behind a mess of red gelatinous goo.

​"Amitabha. They are finally gone. Great One, please forgive me for my sins." Monk murmured.

​Vice Captain Deus leaned against the Vanguard, which had teleported along with them. His eyes widened when he noticed the cannon on the exterior. Instead of the usual blue Plasma Cannon, it was now completely black.

​Even though Deus had decades of experience, he couldn’t understand the mystery behind its sudden appearance.

​"Amitabha... this thing looks dangerous," the Monk said, shivering as he looked at the void cannon.

"Just where did you get this, Mr. Deus? And why didn’t you use it earlier? I broke my ribs for no reason," Monk grumbled.

​Deus looked solemn as he replied, "This technology wasn’t equipped on our ship, Monk. Even I am confused as to how it arrived there."

​Monk tilted his head in puzzlement. "If you didn’t modify it, is there a chance the higher-ups bestowed it upon us?"

​Deus shook his head. "That’s impossible! From what I know of these greedy corporations, they would never do such a thing. A single plasma cannon costs 200 million Federal Dollars. But this... this thing is easily worth more than the entire ship combined!"

​"Amitabha!" Monk’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

​Deus smiled. "That’s a valid reaction. This thing could easily be sold for 3 billion dollars."

​"Th-three billion?" Monk stammered. "Even though I am a monk and don’t care for earthly things, that amount is making my heart jump out of my throat. With that money, I could buy tons of Cosmic Cores."

​"Enough with your daydreams. We need to find Ajax and the others soon. From the looks of it, we’re in the zone of those nasty Red Slimes. We have to fight our way through!" Mr. Deus said, his expression becoming serious. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

​"But what about the ship, Vice Captain? Won’t someone steal it?" Monk asked with genuine concern.

​"I’ve got this..."

​Mr. Deus lazily pressed a few buttons on the control panel engraved into his left hand. Suddenly, the ship turned completely invisible, as if nothing existed there at all.

​"Amitabha. I almost forgot how far technology has come," Monk remarked, quietly impressed.

​"Let’s keep moving! I’m getting Ajaz’s signal nearby."