"How about it, Sister Cipher? Ethan and I made this piece by piece!"
Seeing Cipher so shocked, Lauren proudly raised her head, filled with a sense of accomplishment.
Hearing Lauren's words, Cipher turned her head, her eyes still holding a hint of disbelief.
"How did you do it? This is too amazing."
"This is all thanks to this thing I picked up."
Saying that, Lauren lowered her head, seemingly rummaging for something.
But before Lauren could take it out, Ethan, who had just entered, quickly stepped forward to stop her.
"Captain... you know how valuable this thing is in the Pit Bottom District. You can't just take it out casually!"
"But there are no other outsiders here, and hasn't Sister Cipher joined our team?"
"But..."
Ethan wanted to say something more, but Lauren directly interrupted him.
"I know what you're worried about, but I can guarantee that Sister Cipher is absolutely fine!"
"This... alright."
Seeing Lauren's determination, Ethan sighed and finally gave up trying to stop her.
Hearing their conversation, Cipher became even more curious. What kind of item could cause them to argue over whether or not to take it out?
Then, she saw Lauren pull a bracelet out of her pocket.
"A bracelet?"
Cipher was a little confused, then she looked at the bracelet from left to right, but couldn't find anything unusual.
Ethan had said this item was very valuable, so there must be something special about it, right? But she had just looked around and hadn't found anything different?
"You can't tell, can you?"
Seeing Cipher staring at the bracelet on her hand, Lauren deliberately didn't state its use, instead waiting to see if Cipher could figure anything out.
The result was obvious; after seeing Cipher's puzzled expression, Lauren knew that even the very capable Sister Cipher couldn't figure out the item's use.
"Actually, its exterior is just an ordinary bracelet, but inside this bracelet, there's a very large space! Believe me, look."
After saying that, Lauren opened her hand, and then a metal gauntlet appeared in her palm.
'Is this... Ethan's gauntlet from before?'
Seeing this item, Cipher instantly recalled the scene she had witnessed outside the cult house after activating Divinity Speed.
At that time, Ethan had two metal gauntlets on his hands, and the one in Lauren's hand was one of them.
She had previously thought Ethan had put it in his bag, but she didn't expect it to be in Lauren's spatial bracelet.
Cipher looked at the gauntlet in Lauren's hand, deep in thought.
"Eh? Why aren't you surprised?"
After posing for so long, Cipher didn't show any surprise at all. Instead, she was staring thoughtfully at the gauntlet in her hand, which left Lauren, who had originally wanted to see Cipher's surprised expression, a little bewildered.
"Hmm... a spatial bracelet, it's indeed rare, but regarding spatial items, I actually have one too."
"What? Sister Cipher has one too?"
Not only did this fail to surprise Cipher, but Lauren's own eyes nearly popped out.
"That's right! And there's quite a lot of stuff inside."
Saying that, Cipher took out a bag of dried fish (each box of dried fish contains ten bags, and the cat currently has five boxes) from her system backpack.
However, in Lauren's eyes, a bag of unknown contents suddenly appeared in Cipher's palm, exactly like her own recent action.
At this point, Lauren was truly convinced. She had initially thought, "Spatial items should be rare, how could Sister Cipher have one?" But when she saw Cipher also conjure an item out of thin air, she accepted reality.
The item she considered so precious was actually not as good as someone else's casual grab... no... Sister Cipher seemed to have been picked up by her, and I even argued with Jassy, finally deciding to let Sister Cipher join the team.
Now, Sister Cipher is not only powerful but also possesses rare spatial items. Doesn't that prove I picked the right person? My judgment was correct!
Thinking of this, Lauren, who had been feeling down, immediately perked up, and her head was held even higher, like a victorious rooster.
She was proud of Cipher!
Cipher, standing to the side, watched Lauren's mood go from confusion, then to shock, then to dejection and loss, then to a sudden realization, and finally to pride, like a Sichuan opera face-changing performance unfolding before her, leaving Cipher utterly stunned.
"Uh... hey, do you want some dried fish?"
After much thought, unable to figure out what to say to connect with Lauren's train of thought, Cipher finally decided to use a food offensive.
Saying that, she opened the package of dried fish.
"Hmm? Dried fish?"
Lauren was a little confused, but no sooner had she asked than she smelled a strong, savory aroma.
"What is that smell? It's so good!"
Attracted by the aroma, Lauren immediately located its source: it was emanating from the package in Cipher's hand.
"Hmm... a snack? Do you want some?"
After asking Lauren, Cipher casually grabbed a small handful and threw it into her mouth... Hmm?!
The moment the dried fish entered her mouth, Cipher's tail, which had been gently swaying, instantly stiffened. Her sapphire-like eyes now seemed to radiate a brilliant light.
She stopped all movements, becoming like a statue, with only the slightly trembling tip of her tail indicating that Cipher hadn't completely petrified.
Damn it... the taste of this dried fish... how could it be so delicious?!
The moment the dried fish touched her tongue, Cipher felt an extreme savory and umami flavor instantly pierce her taste buds... followed by the aroma of oil.
The oil coating every fiber of the fish quickly melted in the warmth of her mouth, bringing a peculiar crispiness, as if countless tiny crunchy bits burst between her teeth, releasing the unique sweetness of sea fish.
The oil combined with the savory aroma, these two flavors formed a subtle yet intense electric current that shot directly from her mouth to her cerebral cortex.
After a 'buzz' in her head, Cipher felt all her original thoughts instantly cleared, then rapidly filled with an inexplicable sense of happiness until it occupied her entire brain.
After struggling with the dried fish in her mouth for a while, accompanied by a faint swallowing sound, the delicious dried fish, carried by saliva, entered her stomach. Only then did Cipher feel her brain gradually returning to normal, her thoughts slowly coming back, and even her eyes becoming much clearer.
The moment she returned to normal, Cipher's gaze sharpened, staring intently at the bag of dried fish in her hand, her fur bristling as if she had encountered a natural predator, her guard fully up.
Then she slowly placed the bag of dried fish on the ground, and then, with a "whoosh," a golden-purple stream of light flashed, and Cipher instantly moved several meters away from the bag of dried fish.
As for why it was only several meters, it was because the room was only that long.
"Sister Cipher / Cipher, what's wrong?"
Seeing Cipher suddenly become motionless, and then a few seconds later dart far away, Lauren and Jasmine, who didn't understand the situation, quickly asked with concern.
"I... I'm fine."
After a moment of calming down, Cipher slowly shook her head, her bristling cat fur gradually becoming smooth again.
However, just as she saw Lauren about to pick up the dried fish she had placed on the ground, she widened her eyes again, her tail standing erect, and anxiously shouted at her:
"Wait, don't move yet! This bag of dried fish has a problem!"
Hearing Cipher's words, Lauren, who was about to touch the dried fish package, froze.
She glanced at the dried fish and found nothing wrong, but she still obediently listened to Cipher, silently retracting her hand.
Seeing Lauren retract her hand, Cipher breathed a sigh of relief, then opened her system backpack, staring intently at the grid displaying the bagged dried fish.
"I want to see what this dried fish is. Is there ice mixed in? It hard-controlled me for several seconds!"
Saying that, Cipher clicked on the detailed description of the dried fish.