"These are all my experiences; have you written them down?"
As the saying goes, to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself. Xiao Yu embellished her previous knowledge from television shows, presenting them as her own experiences to teach Leim. The more she spoke, the more animated Xiao Yu became, eventually even starting to believe it herself.
Leim was diligent, recording every word Xiao Yu said without a hint of doubt.
After reviewing it once more to ensure there were no mistakes, Leim, as if she had found a priceless treasure, carefully tucked the small notebook away.
This very earnestness only amplified Xiao Yu's guilt.
Having finished, Leim picked up the meteor hammer, her eyes full of reluctance. But finally, she gritted her teeth, pushed it forward, and placed it before Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu dared not accept it. What she had spoken were all nonsensical ramblings. Moreover, Xiao Yu could see how much Leim cherished this meteor hammer. Putting aside everything else, Xiao Yu's conscience wouldn't allow it.
"No, no, no, I can't accept this."
Xiao Yu quickly tried to hand the meteor hammer back to Leim. However, the hammer was too heavy; with Xiao Yu's strength, she couldn't even lift it, only managing to push it back towards Leim with great effort.
She didn't forget to add, "Aren't we friends? Friends should help each other."
Little did she know how she would feel later when she discovered that this friend had once intended to eliminate her countless times.
Leim looked at the meteor hammer in front of her, then at Xiao Yu, tilted her little head, and asked with a dazed, innocent expression, "What is a friend?"
The twelve talismans held by Shendu represented his full power, each containing potent magic. Among them, the Rat Talisman ranked among the top three in its miraculousness.
Although the Rat Talisman had few opportunities to shine in the original story, and was almost always used by Xiao Yu to activate the Super Moose, its own mystical nature could not be concealed.
For instance, Lope, activated by the Rat Talisman, was originally just a stone statue, an ordinary one, whose only value lay in the inscriptions carved upon it. After being activated by the Rat Talisman, it not only possessed all the memories of the real Lope but could also wield powerful magic scrolls.
Then there was the Quetzalcoatl from the Animal Arc, which was also just a stone statue before activation. After activation, it inherited the memories of the real Quetzalcoatl, along with high-speed flight capabilities, immense strength, and the ability to control plants. Its hands could unleash powerful energy waves, easily defeating Daolong and his Dark Assassins.
Furthermore, the toy activated the first time the Rat Talisman appeared also gained powers several times its original strength.
When Bai Qi used the Rat Talisman's magic on Leim, the activated Leim also gained her previous memories and some power. However, a minor glitch occurred during Bai Qi's later modifications.
Leim's strength had increased significantly, but parts of her original memories were missing, and the remaining memories were quite jumbled.
To prevent Leim from going mad due to memory conflicts, Bai Qi could only grit his teeth, stomp his foot, and erase all of Leim's remaining memories, then load a new set of memories using magic.
However, the magic for modifying memories targeted the soul and was very complicated to operate. To save trouble, Bai Qi cut corners when adding new memories, omitting anything he deemed unimportant. After all, Bai Qi had many powerful subordinates: the Mimic, The Enforcer, the Seven Deadly Sinners, and later recruits. Leim was just one more, and her presence or absence wouldn't make much difference.
Moreover, as Bai Qi had initially designed Leim not for combat but as a head maid to manage the palace's daily affairs, enhancing her strength was merely to give her the ability to protect herself.
Due to Bai Qi's shortcuts and Leim's constant focus on managing palace affairs since her activation, her thoughts and learning were geared towards serving Bai Qi well. The word "friend" was too foreign to her.
Fortunately, after Xiao Yu's explanation, Leim began to understand the meaning of the word friend. A slightly unnatural smile appeared on her usually placid face as she asked, "Are we truly... friends?"
"Of course."
Afterward, Xiao Yu continued to converse with Leim for a long time. Gradually, Xiao Yu realized that Leim was actually quite pitiable.
Since she had memories, she had never left this palace. Her daily task was to serve Bai Qi and manage all the internal affairs of the palace, with no time for rest or recreation.
Although Leim always said she was willing to do these things, Xiao Yu still felt that Bai Qi was being too much.
As she spoke, Xiao Yu even considered confronting Bai Qi to fight for some rest time for Leim.
However, Xiao Yu was unaware that it was too late for her to confront Bai Qi even if she wished. Right after giving Leim her instructions, Bai Qi had already set off for New York with the three idiots and the Pan Ku Treasure Box.
As for why Bai Qi was going to New York.
Alas, it was all the fault of the Black Energy Mother. Just as he finished his personal matters, she sent him on a business trip. According to magical guidance, although the exact location couldn't be pinpointed, the general area of Shendu's Demon Gate in the Sino-Soviet region was somewhere in New York.
Bai Qi found it strange when this result appeared.
It shouldn't be. When he released Bo Gang, his Demon Gate was identical to the original story. He thought Shendu's Demon Gate should also be on a fake door at Hollywood's Galaxy Studio, but the guiding magic indicated New York.
Bai Qi found it odd, thinking the magic might be mistaken. After checking multiple times and confirming there were no issues, he re-verified it several times, and the result was still New York.
Furthermore, Bai Qi learned from the three idiots that Hollywood didn't even exist in this world.
It made sense, though. With the world so drastically altered by magic, it was not surprising for the Demon Gate's location to conflict with the original story.
What was important now was to quickly find the exact location of Shendu's Demon Gate and release Shendu before the protagonist group interfered, retrieving the fire energy he had from him. As for the rest, whether Shendu would be imprisoned in hell again was not his concern.
Due to the Pan Ku Treasure Box, Bai Qi couldn't enter New York directly through the Shadow Realm and had to arrange passage through the Illuminati, traveling secretly by plane.
Upon entering New York, Bai Qi dared not be ostentatious and chose to act low-key.
As one of the most prosperous cities in America, New York was home to quite a few superheroes. He was only here to open a Demon Gate and didn't want to create unnecessary trouble.
While Bai Qi was busy dealing with Tara, the new underground emperor of New York, Iron Head, with the assistance of the Seven Deadly Sinners, had purged his rivals, cultivated his own forces, and eradicated the remnants of Kingpin's gang, thus becoming a true underground emperor.