Chapter 62: A Rare Sight of Shishai Being Shy—Quick, Take a Picture!

Of course, forging better equipment, weapons, and items will have to wait until the resource nodes for intermediate materials are unlocked...

Ye Hui flicked his ring, and a small head poked out from within.

"Chirp-chirp-tweet!"

Black lines appeared on Ye Hui's forehead.

Didn't it successfully finish molting already? A new layer of feathers had grown in, and it was quite presentable now. Why hadn't its chirping changed at all? It still sounded exactly the same.

Kero widened his eyes and flew out of the bag, circling around the Azure Sparrow to look at it again and again.

"What is this?"

It carried an aura completely different from any magic he had ever sensed before!

Tomoyo also recovered her wits by this time. "Eh? It's a little bird, how cute! So kawaii!"

"Didn't I already say, this is my companion."

Ye Hui glanced sideways at Kero, then urged, "Alright, let's get moving. Tomoyo is still waiting for us, and it's getting very late! Don't let Tomoyo stay by herself for too long!"

Ye Hui urged Sakura to speed up.

Kero snorted. "Are you sure Tomoyo won't have bodyguards with her? Why would she be by herself? She's nothing like an ordinary elementary school student like you!"

Hearing this, Ye Hui gave a light shrug, completely unaffected by the jab.

Sakura, however, twitched her eyelid.

Why did it feel like she was the only one who had been offended?

A moment later.

The three of them gathered around inside the vehicle to observe the Azure Sparrow.

Ye Hui introduced it to everyone: "This is our new companion, also my mount, pet, combat partner, and mascot..."

Kero muttered, "Why does it have so many names!"

Sakura gave Kero a sidelong glance. "But it really is very cute. Ye-同学, does it have any special abilities?"

Tomoyo opened her dark purple eyes wide, teasing the tiny Azure Sparrow...

Ye Hui began to explain the Azure Sparrow's abilities.

After acquiring the Divine Power of Animal Taming, Ye Hui discovered that the Azure Sparrow had not suffered any regression. Using his divine power, he found that although the sparrow had grown up ahead of schedule, its potential remained completely unaffected.

Ye Hui guessed this probably had something to do with the game's mechanics. If pets in the game took just as long to grow up after birth as they did in reality, players certainly wouldn't be satisfied.

The Azure Sparrow's premature growth also allowed Ye Hui to learn "her" abilities.

That's right, this was actually a little female bird.

The Azure Sparrow could be used to deliver messages, tend to spiritual herbs, and unleash wood-elemental talents to assist him in combat!

Abilities might not be numerous, but they were quite formidable. After all, spiritual avian creatures naturally cast spells by relying on the innate talents within their bloodlines. Her combat prowess came from a powerful physique; naturally, she wouldn't possess as many spells as an immortal cultivator...

Moreover, a pet in a game was meant to be a cute mascot in the first place. Being able to help him pick up treasures and serve as a mount was already quite good. Did he really expect a pet to farm monsters in his place? That sort of thing required cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect. He didn't possess any specialized cultivation techniques for taming beasts. Besides, Ye Hui had only transmigrated with a game panel, and his mutated panel hadn't revealed maps of other sects yet...

Therefore, while the Azure Sparrow held great promise for the future, for now, she could pretty much only serve as a mascot~

Delivering letters, passing messages, picking up materials—she could do all of that. Flying around like Kero and assisting in combat was fine too! Acting as a primary attacker, however, was out of the question.

Right now, she had just finished molting and was still very weak. So acting as a cute mascot, specializing purely in looking adorable just like Kero, was more than enough.

Sakura and Tomoyo looked at the Azure Sparrow, then at Kero, blinking their eyes.

As if reading everyone's thoughts, Kero shouted angrily, "I am not a mascot! I am a sealed beast, a handsome and powerful sealed beast!"

Tomoyo tilted her head, a smile in her eyes: "That's true, Kero's abilities are also amazing, and he has helped Sakura a great deal..."

Sakura chimed in, "Is that so? I suppose so... But somehow, the little Azure Sparrow's abilities feel even more incredible! It can even use magic!"

Ye Hui was entirely devoid of tact: "Just admit it, Kero. Both you and the Azure Sparrow are mascots now!"

[Kerberos Emotion Value +6]

"Chirp-chirp~!" The little Azure Sparrow raised its head proudly, looking extremely pleased with itself.

"What are you chirping about! Is this really something to be proud of?!" Kero glared at it.

"Chirp-chirp!" The Azure Sparrow cast a sidelong glance right back at Kero, keeping its head held high.

Sakura was instantly melted, her eyes sparkling: "Waa! So cute! Besides, the Azure Sparrow really is gorgeous! Much better-looking than Kero."

Kero gritted his teeth: "I don't make a living on my looks! And I am very handsome, thank you very much!"

Ye Hui shrugged.

Sakura ignored him completely.

Tomoyo spoke up instead, "Alright everyone, get ready. Our scheduled time for action is almost here..."

Before coming over, Tomoyo had brought along a copy of the security guards' shift schedule so everyone could know the rotation times in advance. The art museum was reportedly guarded extremely tightly and was very difficult to infiltrate. After leaving the museum earlier, Tomoyo had made a special trip back just to secure the guard schedule.

After reviewing the guards' shift times, Tomoyo had mapped out a plan, leaving the group with a one-hour window for the operation.

The time hadn't arrived just yet.

However—Sakura obviously still needed to act as Tomoyo's model. That process would take up a fair amount of time as well.

The costume-changing phase began.

Ye Hui stepped out of the vehicle to wait first...

"Today's outfit is relatively simple, isn't it?"

Ye Hui looked at Sakura as she stepped down from the vehicle first.

The battle uniform was primarily cyan, featuring diamond-shaped color blocks on both the upper and lower sections. However, quite a bit of fabric had been spared around the waist and legs, which certainly fit the phantom thief aesthetic. A pair of small demon wings adorned the back of the top, lending a slightly playful touch...

Sakura lowered her head in embarrassment.

She had thought the same thing herself. But even if it was simple, that only applied to the color scheme; the overall style was still extremely flashy!

By this time, Ye Hui was already holding the camera and recording.

The director for today was Daidoji Hui!

As for the true director, she was currently changing clothes inside!

"Next contestant, please take the stage!"

Just then, Tomoyo stepped out of the motorhome.

Ye Hui caught a rare glimpse of Tomoyo wearing a shy expression.

His eyes lit up.

"So pretty!"

"Just like that, perfect!"

"Tomoyo-kun, change your pose and show yourself off with confidence!"

Ye Hui egged her on.

[Daidoji Tomoyo Emotion Value +6]

Oh my~ Was she actually feeling shy this time?

Kero called out from the side as well: "That's right, that's right! It looks great! Strike a few poses!"

This time, Tomoyo had chosen an outfit similar in style to Sakura's, with matching colors and only minor adjustments.

It was a rare sight for Ye Hui as well.

The gentle and quiet Tomoyo actually wearing such a playful, phantom-thief-witch costume.

He quickly raised his camera, mimicking the way Tomoyo had previously filmed Sakura.

Front and back, up and down, left and right—he kept recording continuously!

Tomoyo lowered her head slowly, a rare blush staining her cheeks. It seemed she had never attempted such a daring fashion style before... Previously, she had always been the one wanting Sakura to try them on.

Blushing, Tomoyo explained that she had chosen slightly darker colors rather than the brighter ones Sakura wore, reasoning that a phantom thief without magic needed to maintain a much lower profile.