Kiana was even more puzzled when she heard that. "How did they get down there? And there aren't any tire tracks nearby either..."
"Did you forget the wind that suddenly started blowing while we were walking here? The wind blows the snow around and covers the tracks."
Lin Nai gave her a look as though she were an idiot, making Kiana bristle. She stubbornly retorted, "I... I knew that, of course! I was just testing you!"
"Your mouth's pretty tough too."
"Shut up!"
Kiana punched Lin Nai on the shoulder, though of course, she did not use any force at all.
"But how are we supposed to get down there?"
"How... hmm, open sesame?"
"How could that possibly work?"
Lin Nai looked thoughtful. "Palace... oh, that should work over in Shenzhou."
"One, two, three, four, five, go up the mountain and hunt a tiger."
"I love you for walking alone through dark alleys?"
"The heavenly king covers the earth tiger, Bronya is one-point-five meters tall!"
"Lin Nai, what are you even talking about?" Kiana was utterly helpless.
He had been muttering things she could not understand ever since earlier.
"And this place is completely different from where you're from, right? The things people use here definitely aren't the same..."
"I know. I just wanted to make references." Lin Nai spread his hands. Still, Bronya really was one-point-five meters tall.
Not to mention that the current Bronya was not even one-point-five meters tall.
This was the land of a fighting people, so he needed to use the slogans of a fighting people, right?
"Ahem."
Lin Nai cleared his throat and pondered for a moment.
"Take my sword! Shenzhou's number one sword! White Emperor Sacred Sword! Follow me with your sword! Twin swords unite! Demacia! Suka blyat! Ura!!"
Kiana could only watch helplessly as Lin Nai howled nonsense in the wilderness.
How could a slogan like that possibly be right?
Not to mention that this guy seemed to have said it in Shenzhouese...
Seriously.
This idiot...
Click—
The sound of machinery turning.
Kiana's expression froze, followed by a rumbling boom.
The platform beneath their feet slowly descended.
Kiana: ???
No way!
That slogan actually worked?!
Kiana's brain trembled.
Kiana: Born from Mom...
Lin Nai fell silent too. He had only shouted it for fun; he had never expected the thing to actually open.
He had already been prepared to blast the door open with a skill.
Because normally speaking...
Wasn't this supposed to be controlled by the people below?
What year was this supposed to be?
They already had voice-activated doors?
You did not need to understand Honkai world technology that clearly.
That said...
"Lin Nai, what do we do next?"
"I'll rescue Bronya. You look for wherever they train those children."
"Mm... didn't you say Bronya had to break out of the cage herself?" Kiana asked in confusion.
Lin Nai looked down below and said seriously, "I changed my mind."
"If I have the ability to solve all this, then why shouldn't I? Making that child suffer all over again just for so-called growth... I can't really do it."
Reason told him that Bronya should do it herself.
That way, Bronya would grow and become stronger.
But his emotions told him that he could do it, so he should. He could change many things, as long as he wanted to.
Lin Nai thought it, so Lin Nai would do it.
Besides, Lin Nai had thought about a lot on the way here.
He realized that he had overlooked something.
Bronya was very patient and very calm.
She knew how to assess the situation and her surroundings, which meant that if she could not see any hope of escape, Bronya might gradually give up.
Lin Nai could not gamble on that possibility.
On top of that, his heart had been urging him to save her all along, so it was only natural that he regretted it.
He was a brute with feelings, not some strategist who threw emotions aside for the sake of schemes and would not rest until he achieved his goal!
As for Kiana?
She did not understand, but no matter what Lin Nai wanted to do, she would help him.
Why?
Because he was Lin Nai.
"I understand. Lin Nai, go ahead and do it!"
"Yeah."
Connections Matter When You're Out in the World
Inside a damp, gloomy room.
The faint light from the candle burning on the table was not enough to illuminate the entire room.
The bedding on the room's only bed had already gone moldy, and cockroaches scurried everywhere.
It was clear that no one had come here in a long time.
Bronya was imprisoned there, handcuffs locked around her wrists as she sat on the floor.
Bronya raised her head and looked at the ceiling.
Yet she was thinking about whether Lin Nai and Kiana were safe right now.
She was worried that the people here would attack them.
Even with extraordinary power, could they withstand a siege like that of an army?
Perhaps...
She should have left by herself back then.
If she had known that guy was not dead...
As she followed that man back, Bronya's mind had been filled with memories of Lin Nai and Kiana.
People always thought of many things when feelings like regret, fear, nostalgia, and the like arose.
Creak—
The heavy door scraped against the floor.
A middle-aged man dressed in formal attire walked in.
The girl looked up. There were several more scars on his face. It seemed surviving had come at a price.
"You seem disappointed to see me, Silver Wolf," the man said.
Bronya said nothing.
Of course she was disappointed.
She had thought she had escaped the cage, only to find that the cage was still there.
Bronya quietly watched him. There was not the slightest light in her eyes, nor did she have any desire to speak.
The man shook his head, frowned, and said sternly:
"You never wanted to swear loyalty to me. You refuse to break your cane, and you won't even call me Master? What makes you disrespect me so much?"
"Hmph!"
Seeing that the girl remained silent, the man snorted coldly and raised his hand as if to strike her!
Boom!!!!
The man abruptly turned around, only to see a masked man and the door crashing into the wall together.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm here!"
"Lin Nai..."
The girl stared at Lin Nai standing in the doorway, her eyes full of astonishment.
How could this be?
"Sorry, I was a little late..."
Hah, his prediction had been right after all.
Just now, if that man had struck her, Bronya might not have even tried to resist.
No...
She could not resist in a situation like that either, or the consequences would only be worse.
Bronya had always been calm, so she knew when to wait and when to endure.
That also meant it might be difficult for Bronya to break out of the cage on her own.
If she kept enduring, Bronya might end up like that again.
You could not unconditionally trust reason without intelligence, or there would be no way to solve this cage.
There would always be things he failed to account for.
So he still had to do it himself.
Lin Nai's smile vanished as he looked at the man, already prepared to punch his head apart.
"Heh, you green little brat."
The man sized Lin Nai up. "You can fight, huh? So what if you can fight? That doesn't mean shit!"
"When you're out in the world, connections are what matter. And you're on my turf. Whose man are you?!"
"Shut the hell up, you loser!" Lin Nai rushed forward and delivered a front kick!
The man, completely unable to react, flew backward.
Before you continue