Bai Cheng’s hands froze mid-motion, and she immediately turned her gaze toward the train door.

But her vision was blocked by the gray mist. She could only vaguely see Chi Yan standing on the muddy swamp, his expression alert.

Steadying herself, Bai Cheng took out a flashlight and shone it forward.

Most of the light was swallowed by the fog, leaving only a small patch visible in front of her. Beyond that, there was nothing.

Watching Chi Yan’s back, she wanted to call out to him but hesitated, afraid of distracting him. Instead, she clenched her fists nervously, staring intently in the direction he was focused on.

Amid her worry, Bai Cheng also felt a flicker of curiosity. What kind of creature is this magical beast?

Magical beasts... Chi Yan is one too, and he’s a golden legend to boot. In a one-on-one fight, he should be fine, right?

But the next second, faint ghostly blue lights flickered one after another in the mist ahead.

They looked like will-o’-wisps, or perhaps... eyes. Eerie blue glows pulsed in the air, shifting and shimmering within the mist.

"What is that...?" Bai Cheng’s gaze sharpened, then widened in shock. "Holy crap, There’s a whole group of them!"

The blue lights darted through the fog, and suddenly—

Whoosh!

Shadows lunged from the mist.

One, two, three! 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

They circled in the air, their tattered black robes trailing like tails. In the blink of an eye, Chi Yan was completely surrounded.

They moved so fast that Bai Cheng couldn’t even make out what they were.

Then, one of the outermost shadows abruptly halted.

Under the flashlight’s beam, Bai Cheng saw it clearly. It was a figure draped in a tattered black robe, completely limbless. Its wide hood was filled with swirling black mist, and within that darkness, two eerie blue flames flickered like eyes.

What the hell is that?!

Before Bai Cheng could react, the shadow moved.

With a sweep of its sleeve, it hurled a blue fireball straight at her!

Although Bai Cheng panicked, she didn’t freeze in place. Her first instinct was to use the train as cover.

But before she could even dodge—

BOOM!

A blazing crimson pillar of fire erupted from the distance, swallowing the blue fireball mid-flight. Then, the flames lashed out in a wide arc like a whip.

The firestorm spiraled around Chi Yan, forming a searing vortex before exploding outward.

Every single shadow was caught in the inferno.

As if doused in gasoline, their robes ignited on contact, their forms quickly engulfed in flames.

The moment they caught fire, the creatures abandoned their assault, desperately trying to flee back into the mist.

But the flames spread faster than Bai Cheng expected. Before they could escape, their robes burned away entirely, leaving nothing but ash.

A few seconds passed before Bai Cheng snapped out of her daze. "Is it over?"

Still shaken from her first encounter with a magical beast, she muttered, "Are they... ghosts?"

At this moment, Chi Yan remained on guard, not turning back as he answered, "Young Lady, those are undead creatures. They have no physical form, but fortunately, their one weakness is fire."

Bai Cheng immediately understood his implication. If not for that weakness, even Chi Yan would’ve struggled against these intangible monsters.

Seeing that he hadn’t relaxed, she pressed, "Will they attack again?"

"This subordinate is uncertain. Undead creatures usually don’t need to feed, and they are social magical beasts. Their aggression likely means that we had trespassed into their territory."

Bai Cheng frowned. The train’s route was fixed, and she couldn’t change it.

Then, she picked up the green employee card generated beneath the screen and glanced at the notification:

[Your employee Chi Yan has slain 5 wraiths! Gained 5 EXP!]

"So they’re called wraiths... and killing them gives ten times the EXP of Silent Night beasts!"

A grin spread across her face. Even though they were magical beasts, Chi Yan wiped them out instantly.

How is that any different from hunting normal beasts?

"They didn’t seem that strong, though?" She tapped her chin, then turned to look at Chi Yan’s broad back, "Chi Yan, are you okay?"

If this keeps up, my EXP will skyrocket!

"I can handle ordinary social magical beasts, but I can’t guarantee that there won’t be solitary ones lurking in Silent Night."

Bai Cheng blinked. "What’s the difference between them?"

"Social magical beasts are generally weak individually, but they compensate them with intelligence. Some species even develop their own technology and magic."

"They have civilizations?!" Bai Cheng’s mind reeled. She finally knew why there were no humans in this world.

"In other words, weak magical beasts are always social, but social magical beasts aren’t always weak."

She wrinkled her nose. It wasn’t hard to grasp. It was like animal behavior, just amplified.

Wouldn’t that mean that one day... I might be chased down by high-tech magical beasts in the future?

Things are getting interesting...

"What about the solitary ones?" she asked.

Chi Yan’s voice darkened. "Solitary magical beasts are the opposite. Their individual strength is immense. Once they matured, even the weakest among them would reach Elite Rank..."

"Huh?!" Bai Cheng nearly choked.

There’s something even worse?!

She had assumed that Chi Yan’s Elite Rank strength came from being a golden legendary, but she didn’t expect that solitary magical beasts would start at Elite Rank!

At the same time, she realized the severity of the situation.

If an Elite Rank beast appeared in Silent Night, even if Chi Yan could win, it wouldn’t be an instant kill.

And with this being wraith territory, the undead might target her while Chi Yan was tied down in battle.

"Social magical beasts are intelligent..." Bai Cheng doubted that they would miss that chance.

Her safety now depended on luck, on whether an Elite beast happened to be nearby.

She understood Chi Yan’s unspoken warning. "So the safest move is to leave."

"Young Lady, you shouldn’t risk your life just to gain experience. For your safety, this subordinate recommends that we leave."

Bai Cheng met his steady crimson eyes, then silently looked down at the stack of employee cards in her hand.

"Then, what if... What if I have a second employee?"