An hour later, Zuo Feng slowly opened his eyes, his abilities restored, and his fatigue receded.
He looked around, seeing everyone safe and sound, and his heart settled a little.
Da Mi Tao and Xiao She Jing were still sleeping soundly beside him, their breathing steady.
At this moment, Zuo Feng's gaze fixed on the small beast in Da Bai Tu's arms; it was curled up, eyes slightly closed, seemingly asleep.
Da Bai Tu had a gentle smile on her lips as she softly stroked it.
Zuo Feng stretched his still-numb muscles, his gaze tightly fixed on the little one in Da Bai Tu's arms.
The small beast's round, big eyes were now tightly closed, its short limbs occasionally moving unconsciously, appearing exceptionally harmless.
Upon closer inspection, Zuo Feng discovered that the small beast's plump body was actually covered in diamond fur, which looked exceptionally soft and smooth as Da Bai Tu stroked it.
A slender tail swayed gently, seemingly thoroughly enjoying Da Bai Tu's touch.
"Da Bai Tu," Zuo Feng whispered, with a hint of disbelief and deep curiosity,
"This little thing... have you figured out what's going on? What's its connection to Kong Ling?"
Hearing Zuo Feng's question, she raised her charming eyes to him, leaned gently into his embrace, and carefully adjusted her arm position to let the small beast in her arms sleep more soundly, her fingertips softly caressing its soft, smooth diamond fur.
"I don't know what its relationship with Kong Ling is either. When you were asleep, it kept circling Kong Ling like a little shadow, but it wasn't completely clingy; it would occasionally peek at us curiously."
Da Bai Tu's voice was very soft, afraid of disturbing the sleeping small beast.
"Xiao Mi Tao thought it was cute, so she told me to try calling it. And then... it seemed to understand, tilted its head, looked at me for a while, and then actually flew over!"
She paused, a hint of surprise flashing in her charming big eyes:
"And, it seems to like me very much. I held it, stroked its fur, and it fell asleep in no time. It's so magical!"
Zuo Feng listened intently, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. He stepped forward and gently poked the small beast's plump body; his fingertip met a soft, squishy sensation. The small beast trembled slightly but did not open its eyes.
Zuo Feng withdrew his finger, his brow slightly furrowed, his curiosity growing.
His gaze turned to Kong Ling, who was quietly hovering not far away.
Comparing this zombie and this small beast, there was clearly some profound connection between them, beyond his understanding.
"Did Kong Ling's evolution to two vertical bars also come with... 'birthing young'? Or is it some kind of companion creature?"
This thought struck him as absurd, but everything before him couldn't be explained by common sense.
Just then, the small beast's round eyes suddenly opened, and a flash of lively light appeared.
There was no sclera, only pure, diamond-like brilliance, and its pupils were exactly like Kong Ling's.
The small beast seemed to sense Zuo Feng's gaze, wiggled its plump body, floated up from Da Bai Tu's arms, and hovered in mid-air, curiously looking at Zuo Feng.
"Squeak... squeak squeak?"
The small beast let out a soft, milky call, its voice as clear and pleasant as colliding crystals.
Zuo Feng's heart stirred. He tentatively extended his right hand, his tone gentle:
"Little one, come here?"
The diamond small beast tilted its head, seemingly pondering.
A moment later, it really floated slowly towards Zuo Feng, not fast, with a naive curiosity like a newborn calf.
It flew a circle around Zuo Feng, finally landing on Zuo Feng's outstretched palm, merely examining Zuo Feng up close with its intensely brilliant big eyes.
"Ah! Just like Kong Ling, it only listens to Feng Ge and Qianqian-jie's words!"
Xiao Mi Tao jumped up excitedly, moving closer to Zuo Feng, her eyes sparkling with surprise, as if she had discovered a new continent.
Zuo Feng held his breath, observing this magical life form up close.
Those eyes, their material was exactly the same as Kong Ling's pupils, as if they were a part of Kong Ling's essence that had separated and condensed.
"What... exactly are you?"
Zuo Feng smiled, extended his right hand, and poked the small beast again. It was soft and felt really good!
"Squeak?"
The small beast responded, seemingly unable to comprehend the complex question, its short front limbs gently scratching, appearing somewhat bewildered.
His gaze turned to Kong Ling, and he probed Kong Ling's consciousness with his mind. He felt a strange resonance, as if an invisible bond existed between Kong Ling and the small beast.
This small beast should be Kong Ling's companion creature. No wonder he and Da Bai Tu could summon the small beast, because it was essentially of the same origin as Kong Ling.
Perhaps the small beast and Kong Ling were born together; it couldn't be said that the small beast was Kong Ling's offspring, but rather that the small beast was Kong Ling's companion beast. But unlike Kong Ling, Kong Ling had no consciousness, while the small beast possessed its own intelligence.
This small beast might have existed for a long time, only hidden in the void, and only appeared at this critical moment today.
"Kong Ling, how many of these little guys are there?"
Zuo Feng blurted out, as if by some strange impulse.
Then, under everyone's astonished gaze, a "squeak squeak" sound rang out, and another diamond small beast emerged from the void, also plump-bodied, hovering on Kong Ling's shoulder.
The moment this small beast appeared, the small beast on Zuo Feng's palm instantly flew to Kong Ling's shoulder. The two small beasts rubbed against each other and played around Kong Ling.
"Ah! There are actually two! Wow! So cute!"
Xiao Mi Tao's mouth dropped open, and stars even began to appear in her sparkling big eyes.
"Two little ones, come here!"
Da Bai Tu called softly, her charming voice tinged with affection.
Hearing this, the two small beasts immediately stopped playing and obediently flew in front of Da Bai Tu. The newly appeared small beast looked at Da Bai Tu, its eyes sparkling with curiosity and closeness.
Da Bai Tu gently stroked their heads, holding the two small ones in her arms, one on each side. The small beasts let out joyful "squeak squeak" sounds.
"Hehe! Xiao Nan Ren, from now on they'll be called Fatty and Roly-Poly!"
The two small beasts wiggled in Da Bai Tu's arms, making Da Bai Tu chuckle. The other four girls immediately surrounded Da Bai Tu, reaching out to tease Fatty and Roly-Poly, and the girls' joyful laughter echoed through the Fifth Floor space.
Soon after, Da Mi Tao and Xiao She Jing woke up one after another, instantly captivated by the two adorable small beasts, and joined in the teasing.
Zuo Feng shook his head slightly; these women had zero resistance to cute things.
"Alright! First, let's carefully check if there are any remaining zombies, then we'll return to the First Floor."
After digging out the loss crystal from the four-barred zombie's body, Zuo Feng glanced at it. As expected, there were four circles of patterns on the loss crystal—a four-pattern loss crystal was now in hand!
Da Bai Tu proudly held the two small beasts, and surrounded by the girls, she began to explore every corner of this Fifth Floor, ensuring no potential threats were missed. Then they returned to the Fourth, Third, and Second Floors, checking each layer carefully to ensure complete safety.
By the time everyone had finished checking and returned to the First Floor, it was already close to noon. Xiao Chu Niang and Xiao Nv Pu began to prepare dinner, while the others sat together, teasing Fatty and Roly-Poly.
Zuo Feng was also defeated by these girls; they actually discovered that the two small beasts were a male and a female. The small beast that killed the four-barred one was male, named Fatty; the one that appeared later was female, named Roly-Poly.
Moreover, both small beasts had two diamond vertical bars between their eyebrows, which clearly indicated that the small beasts' strength was synchronized with Kong Ling's. Most importantly, both small beasts also ate loss crystals.
Looking at the smiling girls and the two small beasts in Da Bai Tu's arms, a smile also emerged on Zuo Feng's lips. The small beasts' strength was terrifying; now the team's strength had increased significantly, and future explorations would be greatly empowered.
After enjoying the sumptuous lunch prepared by Xiao Chu Niang and Xiao Nv Pu, in the afternoon, everyone carefully checked every corner of each floor again and dragged the zombie corpses outside for incineration, ensuring that all hidden dangers were completely eliminated.
The corpse of the four-barred zombie, however, was sealed and preserved, stored within the kongling crystal.