The Game Heroine's Cannon Fodder Leopard Cub - Chapter 17

Nora was looking at Yi’an with an expression of understanding…

Yi’an was slowly walking back when a frantic figure stumbled toward her, groping to pull her into a tight embrace.

Her vision was suddenly blocked, and a large patch of fur in front of her quickly became soaked.

Nora knelt in the snow, burying her face in Yi’an’s neck. Her shoulders trembled as soft sobs reached Yi’an’s ears.

“You… how could you just charge out there as a leopard?!” Nora’s voice was choked with tears, tinged with suppressed anger and heartache. “If anything had happened to you… what would I have done?”

Yi’an opened her mouth, wanting to offer a few comforting meows, but with two beads still in her mouth, she simply closed it again.

After a moment of silence, she instead raised her furry little paw and gently stroked Nora’s back.

As Nora’s emotions calmed slightly, she suddenly realized her current posture and stiffened abruptly.

She lifted her head, her face still streaked with tears and covered in Yi’an’s fur, looking somewhat disheveled.

“I’m sorry…” Nora said, her cheeks flushed as she awkwardly released the Little Leopard. To her surprise, Yi’an’s leopard face was now damp from their earlier embrace, leaving Nora torn between laughter and exasperation.

Yi’an had been about to gesture something, but Nora’s flustered expression made her burst into laughter. She extended a paw and carefully used her paw pad to wipe away Nora’s tear streaks and stray leopard fur.

Unexpectedly, the fur only seemed to multiply with each swipe, transforming Nora’s face into that of a proper little tabby cat.

“You rascal!” Nora scolded lightly, swatting away Yi’an’s well-intentioned but clumsy paw. She scooped up a handful of clean snow and began wiping her face herself, trying to salvage some semblance of dignity.

Watching this scene, Yi’an clenched her paw into a fist, then spread her paw pads open, feeling a pang of regret. If only I could transform into human form right now, I could wipe away Nora’s tears properly.

I need to obtain the Divine Spark as soon as possible.

Wait! Yi’an suddenly remembered the two beads she had been carrying in her mouth, snapping back to full awareness.

She gently nudged Nora and then padded toward the rocky cave.

Reaching the fire pit, Yi’an lowered her head and spat out the beads. She then dashed outside to rinse her mouth with snow.

Heaven knows how I managed to gesture at those beads for so long, only to end up carrying them in my mouth!

After rinsing her mouth, Yi’an returned to the cave. Nora was already sitting by the fire, holding the bead in one hand and using a magnifying glass to examine its structure with the other.

Yi’an’s ears twitched slightly backward, and she felt her cheeks flush. She was grateful Nora didn’t mind her saliva.

Being a Little Leopard is so inconvenient!

Nora looked up as Yi’an approached, holding up the magnifying glass. “I’ve examined it closely,” she said. “It’s just ordinary red crystal, nothing special.” She handed the bead to Yi’an. “Where did you get this?”

Yi’an leaned in to peer through the magnifying glass and noticed a striking change in color. The once deep, intense crimson had faded to a pale, watery pink.

This unusual transformation sparked immediate suspicion in her heart.

She raised a paw, pointed to her eyes, and meowed insistently.

“You mean… this was the White Bear’s ‘eye’?” Nora frowned, lowering her head in thought. She clasped both beads in her hands, her expression complex. “If removing the red bead calmed the White Bear’s agitation and even caused the bead’s color to fade… what does that imply?”

Following Nora’s reasoning, a sudden realization flashed through Yi’an’s mind.

“Baal!”

Meow! (Demon God?)

The woman and the panther, having spoken the same name in unison, exchanged a few seconds of glances before bursting into laughter.

Nora continued, “In this world, apart from the Demon Gods, no one can manipulate living beings through ordinary matter.”

Her words plunged Yi’an into brief contemplation.

Nora continued her speculation, “…When the crystal left the White Bear’s body, it lost the nourishment of its flesh and bl00d, causing the Demonic Flame to dissipate. That’s why the crystal appeared to ‘fade’.”

“I suspect the Vines and Chimera we encountered in the desert might have been similar cases, but… we didn’t have the chance to investigate properly at the time.” Nora sounded regretful, wishing they could have found more clues.

Yi’an carefully recalled the scene. The Chimera had ultimately been worn down by Ji Qi’s relentless barrage of flaming arrows, but the Vines had indeed been directly defeated by the two of them—by piercing its bl00d-red, swollen root nodules… Wait, bl00d-red?

Yi’an’s head snapped up.

She shared her realization with Nora, whose eyes lit up. “So the Vines were also infected by Baal’s Demonic Flame!”

“Now that you mention it, I have a theory,” Nora added excitedly after a moment of thought. “Maybe that tumor is the Chimera’s original heart, transplanted into the base of the Vines.”

“There must be some kind of connection between them, which allows the Chimera to find us so quickly. And the reason the Chimera has no weaknesses is because its power comes from this Demonic Flame infection!”

Yi’an listened quietly, a growing sense of urgency rising within her. Although Demon God Baal’s power hadn’t fully recovered, he was gradually expanding his influence by infecting living beings.

From the Vines’ massive tumor to the White Bear’s tiny crystal, the evolution of his control demonstrated his power was growing at an alarming rate. If they didn’t reclaim the Divine Spark soon, the situation would become unmanageable.

Nora analyzed with conviction, “Baal is likely trying to prevent you from retrieving the Divine Spark, so we need to find it before he does.”

Yi’an nodded in agreement, about to respond, when she suddenly realized something was off—did Nora know about the Divine Spark…?

She immediately looked up and found Nora gazing at her with a knowing expression and a meaningful smile.

Yi’an’s pupils widened in shock.