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Chapter 100: Candy and Black Stockings

"ROAR~!!"

The Flame of Outer Space, a strange life form not of this world, had grown in the Fragmentum brought by the Stellaron, feeding on the energy within its very foundation. It had been happily eating energy and singing its song, but then it saw a group of bandits burst into its territory to steal the Fragmentum's energy. How could it tolerate that? It immediately roused itself from its slumber, intending to annihilate these energy-thieving bandits!

And then...

Its passing was not peaceful.

The energy it had absorbed and accumulated for over a decade was now being drained from its body at the speed of a bursting dam. The threat of death grew stronger and stronger. It began to struggle madly, even trying to self-destruct, but the curse of withering pierced its body. "Leaking" power, it couldn't successfully detonate. Its survival instinct screamed at it to run, but it was surrounded on all sides, forced to stay put and feel its life's savings being plundered by bandits, its very body being dismantled for parts.

"Hmm, why do I hear a hint of misery in this monster's roar?"

Sucking on a piece of candy, March 7th scratched her head. "Fragmentum monsters aren't supposed to have intelligence, right?"

"Must be your imagination. But, it certainly isn't an ordinary Fragmentum creature."

Dan Heng calmly crunched a lollipop, which had a slight energy-restoring effect.

Clara explained the whole story to Seele. She had been surprised to see the other Seele, thinking Big Sister Seele had found her long-lost sister. Before Clara could offer her congratulations, the strangeness around the gray-haired big sister caught her attention.

"Big Sister Seele, this, this is!"

Candies of all shapes and colors were being pulled from the monster's body by the big sister, piling up into a small mountain. Although the big brother had told her those things were candy, Clara had never seen such beautiful candy before!

"It's supplies! All of it! It can fill our stomachs and be used as medical supplies!"

A smile blossomed on Seele's pretty face; she rarely smiled so joyfully. The minuscule amount of energy in the candy was negligible to a Pathstrider, but for an ordinary person, it could be the last straw of hope! It had been a long time since the Underworld had seen such a bountiful supply!

Her heart pounded. Bronya's overjoyed expression was mixed with a strange bewilderment as she stared at the center of the candy mountain.

"Jie jie jie, oh, Stelle, did you ever think the tables would turn?"

Caelus's sinister expression was filled with arrogance. He let out a villainous laugh, like an elder from the Hall of Souls, then stuck out his tongue and gave Stelle's snow-white, pretty face a forceful lick. He was finally starting to understand why this fruit was called the 'Lick-Lick Fruit.'

"You bastard!"

The sweetness from his tongue was pleasant, but the feeling of being licked was truly odd. Provoked, the furious Stelle immediately raised her hand, intending to use her fruit ability to suppress Caelus.

"Don't stop. Everyone is surrounding the monster, time is limited. The more candy you make, the more people in the Underworld can have a full meal."

Caelus threw down the heavy hat of morality, immediately fanning Stelle back to the energy-candy production line.

His smile grew even more rampant, his expression approaching that of Tom the cat. He hugged Stelle's beautiful leg, clad in its blue-green leg ring, and began to lick it like Tom licking a steak bone.

The scene was enough to shock everyone who witnessed it.

Silver-gray pupils trembled, and a forbidden blush appeared on Bronya's face. She nervously tugged on the younger Seele's sleeve and stammered, "Seele, th-they aren't siblings, are they? H-how could they..."

"They're not. Big Brother Caelus and Big Sister Stelle aren't brother and sister. The two of them are one person," Seele replied with a light laugh.

"Ah?"

"One person?"

This statement stunned both the older Seele and Bronya. Clara's small face was full of confusion. After Seele explained further, the three of their expressions became even more spectacular. This time, even Clara's eyes widened in utter shock.

The relationship between Stelle and Caelus was completely beyond their worldview. They couldn't understand it, but even if they were one person, this... this kind of behavior was a bit too... too...

Bronya couldn't find the right adjective.

Dan Heng remained expressionless.

March 7th's clear eyes reflected the bizarre scene, and her expression gradually morphed into: (O_o)

She put a hand to her forehead and sighed at the sky. She felt that if this continued, her worldview would sooner or later be shattered and rebuilt by these two.

"I'll go back and find Natasha and the others, tell them to come help."

As the least educated person present, the older Seele was the first to snap out of the shock. She gave Seele a quick instruction and then turned and sped off towards Boulder Town. There was too much candy; the few of them present couldn't possibly carry it all back. To speed things up and deliver the good news to Natasha, Seele's figure turned from solid to ethereal, flashing forward accompanied by illusory, fluttering butterflies.

"Um, Big Brother, Big Sister..."

As Caelus stopped his prprpr and let go of the chocolate-flavored leg, preparing to see what the other leg tasted like, Clara finally found a chance to step forward. Although she felt her image of the big brother had shattered a little, there was something more important right now.

"Could you share some of these candies with me? There are many people in the vagrant camp who don't have enough to eat, and many are injured. Their living conditions are very poor, and there's no clinic in the settlement..."

"Of course, you can, as long as Clara lets me lick your feet~!"

Stelle's smile instantly turned comical. As a Lick-Lick Fruit user, it was only reasonable for her to lick things, right? Who could refuse those natural, pure, tender jade feet that had never been constrained by foreign objects like shoes?

Clara, wearing her candy shoes, instinctively took a step back. But thinking of the vagrants in the settlement, she mustered her courage and took a step forward, looking exactly like a little loli being forced by a gray-haired pervert's shameless methods.

Bonk~!

Caelus gave Stelle a flick on the forehead. "Clara, don't listen to her nonsense. Big Sister is just joking."

I haven't even had a taste yet, and you want some?

"As for the candy... let the remaining robots take it." The supplies were meant for the Underworld anyway; it didn't matter who got them.

"Stelle, get back to work! After we drain this guy, we have to catch more Fragmentum creatures."

Caelus spurred her on like a farm owner whipping his cattle to work hard.

"Hey~ I swear to..." Stelle was cut off as Caelus covered her mouth. A wave of frustration washed over her. She had finally become a candy person, but she hadn't gotten to play at all, just doing serious work the whole time.

Meanwhile.

The older Seele, using her Path Skill to travel, had already appeared at the door of Natasha's clinic.

"Natasha! There's good..."

The girl with long, dark blue hair hurriedly pushed the door open. Before she could finish her sentence, she sensed the leaden atmosphere in the room. There were several more patients in the clinic than when she had left for Rivet Town.

On a bed lay a patient in an old uniform, his right leg twisted and mangled, drenched in blood. Seele recognized the patient's identity at a glance: a miner. Even though mining technology had improved over hundreds of years, accidents could never be completely avoided. The pain had contorted the old miner's face, and Natasha, standing by the bed, wore a worried frown.

"Natasha, what's wrong?" Seele asked, her brow raised.

"Ugh, we're out of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. I can't perform surgery under these conditions..." Natasha sighed heavily.

"Try this!"

Seele quickly pulled out the energy candy Caelus had given her for recovery from her skirt pocket and handed it to Natasha.

"This is... candy?"

Natasha was taken aback when she saw the object placed in her hand, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. This was not a candy that could be made in the Underworld.

"This isn't ordinary candy. Caelus made it with a very magical ability... Argh, it's very complicated, I can't explain it right now!"

"Don't worry about the why for now, just give it to him quickly."

Hearing this, Natasha didn't hesitate. She trusted Seele.

After giving the energy candy to the miner, to Natasha's astonishment, the patient's face relaxed. His painful moans stopped, and the pain was clearly reduced.

"This candy?"

"According to Caelus, the pain-relieving effect might not be as good as a painkiller, but it gives the patient a short-term, comprehensive boost to their resistance and physique. I rushed back so quickly to tell you this."

Considering the patients, Seele condensed the story into a few sentences for Natasha.

"Turning Fragmentum monsters into candy... edible, and with restorative power!" Natasha's face was filled with disbelief. It was too incredible! If Seele hadn't placed the energy candy right in front of her, Natasha would have found it hard to believe. She quickly realized what this meant.

Her expression instantly became serious. "Seele, go find Oleg immediately. Gather the members of Wildfire to provide support! I'll come as soon as I finish the surgery!"

"Got it!"

Seele left her remaining energy candy with Natasha and then turned and left without another word.

"With this, it might just work."

Using the last of her painkillers combined with the energy candy, Natasha successfully completed the surgery. Afterward, she gave the patient another piece of candy, then walked out of the operating room, took off her mask, and hurried away. Without resting, she rushed towards Rivet Town.

Her messy bangs were slightly stuck to her forehead with sweat, and her face was pale and tired from overexertion. Eating an energy candy might have helped, but Natasha, who cherished medical supplies, couldn't bring herself to use one.

Not until she saw the members of Wildfire carrying box after box of energy candy out of the town, every single one of them ecstatic.

Guided by a Wildfire member, Natasha found the Trailblazer team. She witnessed a magical scene: a gray-haired girl, her fair forehead dotted with fine sweat, shot a colored light from her hand. The Fragmentum creature hit by the rainbow light turned into candy amidst the strange colors.

"Hoo... hoo... Last one. Time's up."

Her fruit ability's time limit ended. Stelle fell backward, landing in Caelus's arms, panting heavily.

"Well done, Stelle! I'll give you a small merit for this!" March 7th said, not stingy with her praise as she ate a milk candy.

Amidst the Astral Express crew's laughter, Seele explained the full story to Natasha.

Natasha walked up to Stelle and Caelus, her face sincere. "This... I really don't know how to thank you both." As she spoke, she tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear with her slender fingers, a single glance revealing the full charm of a mature woman.

"Hehe, don't mention it..."

Stelle was instantly captivated by the mature big sister, breaking into her trademark goofy grin. It was only when her gaze fell upon Natasha's full thighs, wrapped in black pantyhose, that she snapped back to reality.

Stelle shot up as if jolted from a deathbed. "Dr. Natasha, in exchange for all this candy, could you... give me your black stockings?"

"Eh?"

The bizarre request left Natasha, Seele, and Bronya completely bewildered. March 7th put a hand to her forehead, a look of "of course, it's this again" on her face. However, Stelle and Caelus really had been a huge help this time.

"This... Is that all you want?" Natasha's expression was incredibly strange. What was with the request for stockings? Her black stockings were worth this many supplies? Natasha felt a sense of surreal absurdity.

"Stelle."

Caelus put a hand on Stelle's shoulder, his tone solemn. "Fifty-fifty."

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