Cen Yao lay quietly in Zhu Lingxi's arms, using that faint scent of incense to calm her mind.
The array was complete.
The Soul-Condensing Array and the Soul-Stabilizing Array would continue to nourish those fragile animal souls. Once they stabilized, they could enter the Karmic Retribution Array.
By then, the retribution array would present the karmic ties between them and the owner of the coffee plantation one by one.
It would also judge who the evildoer was.
And who the victim was.
And who owed the debt that had to be repaid.
They only had to wait until dawn for Pei Tinglan to take control of the coffee plantation's staff and gather enough cell phones and live stream equipment.
Then, they would start a live stream in front of everyone.
Cen Yao imagined that scene.
Countless cameras, countless viewers, countless pairs of eyes.
The owner believed he was deeply hidden.
He thought that the high walls of the coffee plantation, the remote location, the silence of the staff, and the animals' natural inability to speak would keep all his evil deeds rotting in the mud forever.
But once the retribution array activated, when the victims themselves appeared before the camera, and when those animal souls he had tortured and killed laid bare the entire truth to the world in the most direct way possible—would he still be able to hide?
He wouldn't be.
The coffee plantation would be shut down.
Those cages would be opened.
The surviving civet cats would be taken away.
And the animals tortured to death would finally receive their long-overdue justice.
They would gain public attention.
They would be seen by countless people.
Those who once treated them as commodities, as tools for making money, and as things that could be abused at whim would also have to think twice.
If anyone wanted to hurt them in the future, at least they could no longer do so silently, as they had before.
But this was still not enough.
Cen Yao closed her eyes, but her mind remained incredibly clear.
Relying on human protection was not a long-term solution after all.
Humans would forget.
The hype would fade.
The news would be covered by new news.
People might be angry today, but tomorrow they might find it a hassle.
If these civet cats wanted to truly protect themselves, they could not rely on others' pity forever.
They had to become strong on their own.
Cen Yao's consciousness swept over the civet cats gathered outside the array.
Some curled up together after eating their fill.
Some were licking their wounds.
A few were still afraid of humans, yet they did not leave.
Keeping a moderate distance, they quietly guarded Cen Yao and Zhu Lingxi.
They did not know what would happen next.
But they seemed to have understood that the people before them were different from those who held stun batons, iron hooks, and capture nets.
Cen Yao slowly opened her eyes.
A trace of light returned to the depths of her eyes.
There was still time.
There were still five days left on the quest countdown.
It was enough for her to sculpt a guardian deity that truly belonged to these civet cats trapped in the coffee plantation.
It would not be protection bestowed as charity by humans, nor a whim of pity, but a power that would give them the courage to lift their heads, bare their claws, and protect one another in every dark night to come.
Noticing her open her eyes, Zhu Lingxi looked down.
“Miss Cen?”
Cen Yao looked at her.
“Lingxi.”
“Yes?”
Cen Yao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Do you know how to sculpt a divine statue?”
Zhu Lingxi froze.
Pei Tinglan also turned his head.
“What?”
Cen Yao did not explain.
She only sat up slightly, leaning against Zhu Lingxi's shoulder as she looked at the group of civet cats quietly gathering around them.
Moonlight filtered down through the treetops, illuminating their maimed or scarred bodies, as well as the cautious hope in their eyes.
Cen Yao's lips curled up slightly.
“It's nothing.”
“I just suddenly had a great idea.”
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