The Prehistoric System in the world of Fantasy-Chapter 174: You are strangers

Xie Mei exhaled through her nose and crossed her arms, already preparing the lecture she likely practiced on every overeager young hunter. "I told you earlier. No special ranks are given in this trial. Everyone leaves with a basic C. To obtain a proper rank, you need retesting at the Association."

"No way," Nianxi argued, stepping closer to him as if shielding her belief from her aunt's cynicism. "Fang-Ge is different! He was even purposely summoned by Master Feng..."

Two gazes turned to Lin Fang—one hopeful, one assessing like a scalpel ready to cut through excuses.

For a fleeting moment, he considered telling the truth.

A-rank.

Privately bestowed.

But then he thought, why bother...

He raised a hand in a modest, almost sheepish gesture.

"Your aunt is right," he said with a smile. "They only called me to report on the hostage situation. Nothing more."

Nianxi blinked, confused, but then nodded. "I see..."

Xie Mei's shoulders loosened by a hair's breadth.

Nianxi then rocked on her heels, still clinging to the last strands of excitement. "Fang-Ge, are you… going home now?"

Lin Fang shook his head with a soft exhale, the kind that carried too many untold errands. "No. I have other things to settle first."

"Oh…" Her voice dipped, surprise coloring it with something faintly disappointed, though she tucked it away quickly.

Before the air grew awkward, Xie Mei stepped forward, every motion crisp as if choreographed. "Speaking of unfinished matters," she said, sliding a hand into her coat. "I heard my niece made a deal with you."

She produced a dimensional ring and held it out like a verdict.

"Ten high-quality spirit cores. As promised."

Lin Fang blinked, the offer catching him off guard. His gaze flicked to Nianxi. Then, with a measured calm, he closed her aunt's hand around the ring and pushed it gently back.

"That wasn't the deal we had, though," he said.

Xie Mei's brows lifted, sharp and elegant. Did she offer something else?

Nianxi—caught between them—shifted nervously.

Lin Fang continued, "My agreement with her was simple. I keep her safe. She helps collect heads and spirit cores while we hunt. She upheld her part."

As Xie Mei slowly turned toward her niece with a pointed stare, Nianxi rushed ahead of any accusation.

"But he gave me all the kills," she said, cheeks warming again. "Because of that, I reached Silver Class. And in the hostage crisis, he saved me again. The spirit cores are just… a way to thank him."

Lin Fang opened his mouth—to refuse gently, maybe, or soften her gratitude, but before he did, Xie Mei's tone snapped into place like a blade locking into its sheath, aiming at Lin Fang, "My niece is not your friend, Mr. Lin."

Her voice was cool, carved from authority and long habit. "She is someone you met by chance. After today, you may not cross paths again. So, you can also take the reward without guilt. And understand that we have no intention of owing you anything."

"Aunt!" Nianxi's voice cracked. Embarrassment and anger warred on her face as she stared at the older woman.

But Lin Fang… he understood perfectly.

He drew in a slow breath, letting the moment settle. Then he reached out and accepted the ring from Xie Mei's steady hand.

"Very well," he said. "With this, neither of you owes me anything."

Xie Mei nodded, satisfied.

Nianxi's shoulders fell, something fragile collapsing inward—but hidden, tucked behind a small, forced smile.

And Lin Fang… slipped the ring into his inventory like it weighed nothing.

"So, I guess this is goodbye."

Lin Fang said it evenly, almost lightly, as if farewells were just another daily chore. Xie Mei gave a courteous nod, the kind that severed ties neatly. He turned to leave.

But fingers snagged his sleeve.

"Wait… Fang-Ge!" Nianxi bit her lip, summoning courage with both fists clenched by her sides. "Can you… Give me your number?"

Her words wavered in the air, hopeful and terribly young.

Lin Fang paused—not long, not dramatically—but just long enough for the moment to bruise.

He shook his head.

"As your aunt said… it was just an accidental meeting," he replied, voice steadier than the ache sitting somewhere behind it. "I doubt we'll cross paths again. But if we do… that will be fate. We'll see whether fate wants us to be strangers or friends."

He turned away.

"Farewell, kid."

His figure drifted into the morning bustle, swallowed by tents and soldiers and sunlit dust.

Behind him, Nianxi puffed her cheeks—anger, embarrassment, and something tender she didn't want her aunt to see tumbling in her chest.

"Auntie! Did you have to say all that earlier?"

Xie Mei crossed her arms with practiced elegance, her expression carved in stone.

"You're too young, a teenager who hasn't seen the world. You can't fall for a handsome face and develop a crush on them. The prettier the person, the more dangerous their heart."

Nianxi stomped, frustrated. "You don't know anything about Fang-Ge! And it's not what you think it is..."

"I don't want to know about him, and I don't care either," Xie Mei replied flatly, crossing her arms and coldly staring at the teenager. "Now come. We need to report the assassination attempt to your mother."

Nianxi followed reluctantly, glancing back once more at the empty path where Lin Fang had vanished.

And the dust had already settled.

*

Once he exited the base, Lin Fang slipped the wolf mask over his face again. Without another look back, he rose into the air and flew away.

He angled toward the nearest one, the Yanhui City.

While the wind curled around him, he sent a short message through his smartphone, that has over 30 missed calls the moment he switched it on.

"Finished the trials. Heading back. Too tired to talk. I'll message after a long sleep."

Li Liu's reply bubble blinked, but Lin Fang didn't open it. Because he knew that if he replied to Li Liu, he might either engage in a series of conversations or worse, talk to her on a long call.

At the moment, he just wants to freshen up and sleep. Physically, he might look good and fresh, but mentally, he was too tired from the events that stacked on his head, one after another.

As soon as he entered the city, he put away the wolf mask and hailed a cab, blending into the late-morning city.

No one spared him a second glance.

Exactly the way he preferred it.

At the hotel check-in counter, his voice held none of the weight of mythical spirits or hostage negotiations. He accepted the keycard, thanked the receptionist, and stepped into the elevator like a traveler who simply needed to rest.

The moment his room door clicked shut, Lin Fang dropped his bag, peeled off his dirt-stiff clothes, and staggered into the bathroom.

Warm water crashed down from the showerhead, rinsing off whatever dust had settled on his dress and also his mental fatigue. Mana cleansing never touched the tiredness under his skin; bathing under the shower of real water was a different experience.

Eyes closed, he let each event from the last two weeks rise and fall with the steam.

Vivian at the auction house.

The dinosaur egg.

The devil invasion, where he was nothing more than a powerless spectator watching titans clash.

Zhi Yan's unexpected partnership.

The trials—earning a fortune, gaining deadly allies, dying once, losing Mirror…The Mimic monster spirit never even got to greet properly.

Too much. Too fast.

A life uprooted and replanted in chaos, growing in directions he wasn't sure he wanted.

Eventually, the steam softened his thoughts into something quieter.

When he collapsed onto the hotel bed, a sigh escaped him—raw, almost fragile. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The mattress felt like a sanctuary. His body sank into it like a stone finding its home at the riverbed.

No monsters.

No assassins.

No shouting spirits in his head.

Just warmth.

Also, the fact that he slept on the floor and later on hard surfaces in the wilderness for the past few days made him miss this feeling even more.

He didn't even last two minutes before sleep tore him under.

The city outside bustled on, unaware that a young man with two mythical beings in his soul was snoring softly in a hotel room, hair still damp from the shower.

But someone else noticed.

Across the street, perched on the rooftop of an abandoned five-story building, a woman, wearing tight leather clothes that hugged to her body and made her curves and her bust stand out even more, watched him through these special binoculars that can make her see the silhouette and moments of Lin Fang, through even the walls, just like how night vision binoculars work. The green glow painted her eyes, sharpening her frown.