Shen Yi landed on a vine, hidden by the leaves, staring in disbelief at the lush greenery not far away.

The valley, which had been stripped bare by the Flower Elf just yesterday, had sprouted new grass and leaves in just one short day.

Wild grass flourished, a vibrant green expanse crowding around the elegant, delicate spiritual flower on the cliff wall—lush, vibrant, and full of life. There was no trace left of yesterday’s massacre of broken branches, as if it had all been just a dream.

Shen Yi let his antennae droop; for a moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if his mind, unable to endure the long, hopeless loneliness, had created hallucinations.

After all, how could there be elves in the world? Were such magical creatures truly real?

Shen Yi scanned the entire valley again.

Whether it was the pulverized leaf fragments or the churned-up soil and debris, there was no sign of any trace.

Leaning forward, he gazed at the spiritual flower swaying in the wind on the cliff wall. An inexpressible restlessness welled up in his heart, triggering a faint itching. Eventually, he couldn’t resist snapping his wings open and flying toward the spiritual flower.

Whether it was an illusion or not, he would find out by going to see for himself.

He squeezed out the little spirit power he had recovered, spreading a thin layer over his body to barely mask his presence, but he couldn’t mask the distinctive buzz of his bumblebee wings.

The moment he approached the spiritual flower, Shen Yi’s heart suddenly hammered. In that instant, he couldn’t explain why, but he found himself inexplicably landing on the elegant flower he had so often visited.

Suddenly, dozens of barely visible green threads shot out from the flower’s center, like activated traps, springing to life and wrapping around the bold “flower thief.”

Shen Yi was trapped.

He struggled on instinct, beating his wings, but the more he struggled, the tighter the threads wrapped around him. Shen Yi’s heartbeat grew faster and faster.

Just then, the bud beneath him trembled slightly, and a green figure floated out gracefully, hovering lightly in mid-air.

Shen Yi’s spirit power was completely depleted from the struggle, finally revealing his chubby form on the flower.

—He had been caught.

Before he could even feel fear, an ethereal, lovely voice sounded above him.

“A bee?”

The voice was so unreal yet pleasant, it seemed naturally capable of dispelling fear. He instinctively stopped struggling and looked up.

The Flower Elf, adorned with an elegant bud, had emerald green eyes that carried the essence of the forest and nature, naturally evoking everything beautiful and making it hard to feel wary.

But Shen Yi’s instincts screamed warning signals, his heart pounding violently as if trying to leap out of his chest. Danger enveloped him. Though he should have been afraid, he found himself captivated by the elf’s clear green eyes. Reason told him to flee, but instinct urged him to draw closer…

The conflict between reason and instinct only added a mysterious aura to the dangerous elf. Creatures are always drawn by curiosity and adventure—the more dangerous, mysterious, and elusive something is, the more they want to approach and uncover its secrets.

Instinct overpowered reason. Shen Yi remained silent, planning to wait it out.

Xi Ye pursed his lips, frowning as he looked at Shen Yi as if studying some strange novelty. He disliked chattering creatures, and the spiritual pressure from his Destiny Flower should have been enough to repel such annoying insects. How had this bee gotten so close?

With a wave of his hand, before Shen Yi could even cry out, the threads yanked him forward, spinning him full circle in the air. After turning him around several times, Xi Ye paused to poke his fluffy belly, then roughly tugged his antennae, toying with them in his palm. Shen Yi shivered as if shocked.

When those mischievous fingers reached for his tail, intending to pinch it, Shen Yi finally couldn’t hold back: “…Is that really necessary?”

Those emerald eyes suddenly lit up with astonishment, as if seeing a ghost: “You’ve become sentient?”

While Shen Yi was still pondering what “sentience” meant, the Flower Elf’s surprised expression turned fierce, glaring at Shen Yi: “Was it you stealing the flower dew these past few days?”

Seemingly not expecting an answer, the threads around Shen Yi abruptly tightened, digging into his flesh. Shen Yi finally snapped back to reality—this little creature truly intended to kill him.

“Wait,” Shen Yi gasped out, struggling on instinct against the pain and suffocation, scrambling for words to calm the elf, “I didn’t know this flower had an owner at first. Taking without asking was my fault—I’ll make amends!”

The threads remained unmoved, continuing to tighten.

“Though I don’t have anything as valuable as flower dew right now, I promise I’ll repay you double for your losses.”

Once he completed the swarm expansion task, he would receive the Queen Bee Nest Seed as a reward. System rewards are usually valuable, but nothing was more important than survival.

However, all he heard from above was a dismissive snort, and the threads kept tightening.

Xi Ye’s cold gaze was icy. Thinking of the lost chances from being repeatedly tricked and the risk he took planting the Thousand-Thread Vine to catch the thief, only to find it was a bee.

He had been fooled by a bee for so long!

He couldn’t even sense any spiritual energy from this bee—it seemed utterly ordinary. Even if he devoured it, he wouldn’t gain much energy. At most, he could crush it to vent his anger. He had suffered a great loss.

The Thousand-Thread Vine was planted for nothing, and his pain was in vain!

At this thought, Xi Ye’s gaze grew even fiercer. He deliberately tightened the threads slowly, using the miserable thief’s pain to soothe his pent-up rage.

Shen Yi panicked. Was he really going to die here? He hadn’t even gotten to use his cheat ability yet! Shen Yi hurriedly called out to the system: “System, system, save me!”

“Host, I am here.”

“…Is there any way to escape now?”

“Race: Flower Elf”

“Level: 13”

“Host’s escape chance in combat: zero.”

“What level am I?”

“Host level: 2.”

“…”

Shen Yi’s vision started fading as suffocation set in. The only thing he could do was plead for mercy. Drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, his thoughts grew muddled; most of the time, he didn’t even know what he was saying, everything relying on instinct.

“I really… meant no harm. I was just drawn to this beautiful flower…” What would happen to his followers if he died?

“Ugh, the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is.” The ancestors didn’t lie. If there was a next life, he would stay far away from such beautiful, deceptive things.

Just as Shen Yi thought he was about to die, the threads cutting into his flesh suddenly loosened.

He heard that beautiful voice again.

“Beautiful?” The ferocity in those emerald eyes froze for a moment, replaced by confusion. After a brief daze, Xi Ye looked at the trembling bee, gasping for air and on the verge of death, and pursed his lips.

He finally remembered: this bee, despite having almost no spiritual energy, had managed to enter his Destiny Flower and evade his detection. There must be some secret about it.

Such a strange bee was worth keeping around for now.

Xi Ye pulled the barely breathing bee closer. He held it in one hand, removing the excess Thousand-Thread Vines and leaving only a single thread tied between its abdomen and thorax—so light it was almost unnoticeable.

Then he pricked his finger and squeezed out a few drops of blood, flicking them onto the bee.

The emerald-green blood completely enveloped the chubby bee, some of it flowing into its stomach through its mouthparts. The searing pain throughout Shen Yi’s body gradually eased, replaced by a warm, soothing sensation from the inside out, as if he had just consumed Spirit Nectar.

“Experience points +900.”

“Congratulations, host, you have leveled up. Current level: 3.”

“Congratulations, host, you have leveled up. Current level: 4.”

Jolted by the system prompts, Shen Yi was overwhelmed by the thrill of leveling up twice in a row, which momentarily overshadowed his fear of brushing with death. He couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the difference between experience points and life energy?”

“Referencing Earth’s game settings, life energy and other energies the host can absorb are collectively referred to as experience points.”

In his dazed state after brushing with death, Shen Yi didn’t realize he had absorbed the Flower Fairy’s blood, mistaking it for the Spirit Nectar from the flower—though the effect was even better.

The blood of a Flower Fairy possesses certain healing properties. Given Xi Ye’s level, his blood had an immediate effect when used on a bee that had just awakened its spiritual nature.

The wounds on Shen Yi’s body healed quickly. Although he didn’t understand why this stubborn Little Madman had decided to save him, he completely abandoned any thought of befriending this damn thing. As soon as he could escape, he would round up his crew and move away overnight.

He lay motionless in the Little Madman’s hand, not daring to move a muscle. Once his depleted mental and physical strength were fully restored, he immediately spread his mental energy over his body, mustered all his strength, and flew up like a bouncing ball, zipping out of the pale, delicate palm.

However, before he could fly far, he heard a dismissive snort, and his abdomen suddenly tightened. The entire bee was jerked backward.

“Trying to run?”

This bee was the fattest Xi Ye had ever laid eyes on, almost as big as his palm, fitting perfectly in his two hands. He shook the squirming bee a few times.

A crystal-clear voice laughed mockingly, full of sarcasm, yet still pleasant to the ear: “Didn’t you say you were going to compensate me earlier?”

Only then did Shen Yi realize that a fine, nearly invisible silk thread was tied around him. His jaws couldn’t even snap it.

The fingers gripping him kept moving, seemingly fascinated by the soft fur on his abdomen, poking and pressing it repeatedly.

“…”

Shen Yi looked down at the silk thread tied around him. When in someone’s grasp, better play along. After quickly running through his thoughts, he decided to be straightforward: “You were trying to kill me earlier, of course I had to run.”

“You trespassed into my territory and stole my nectar. Don’t you deserve to die?”

“…” In a world governed by the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, Shen Yi had no choice but to lower his head. “It was unintentional. Is there any way I can make amends?”

“No need for compensation,” Xi Ye rubbed his abdomen again, surprised that such a noisy little insect was surprisingly soft to the touch. “You’re mine now.”

“…”

This world had no concept of slavery or pets, but Xi Ye decided to keep the bee for now.

He flew Shen Yi over to his Destiny Flower and asked, “Is it beautiful?”

Shen Yi, dangling in his grip, baffled, suddenly had a flash of insight. He remembered—

Earlier, in his dazed state, he had vaguely complimented the flower’s beauty, and the silk thread that was strangling him had loosened.

Could it be—that the trick to handling this Little Madman was to praise his flower?

“…Beautiful.”

“Where is it beautiful?”

“It’s unique. Vibrant flowers are a dime a dozen, but green flowers are rare, and it’s so beautiful,” Shen Yi praised sincerely. “I picked it out immediately in the grass.”

Xi Ye pressed his lips together and said nothing.