Chapter 17

As he was kicked away, the man's face was filled with pain and bewilderment, never expecting Lin Nai to strike with such swiftness.

Ignoring the person flying backward, Lin Nai trotted over to Bronya and snapped her handcuffs clean off.

Bronya gazed at Lin Nai's somewhat weary and haggard face (from the exhaustion of driving).

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why... come to save Bronya?"

"Why... what do you mean why? I saved you because I wanted to. If you really need a reason... we're companions."

"Companions..."

"Yeah, companions."

Lin Nai ruffled Bronya's hair: "So no matter when it is, as long as I know, I will come to save you."

He had originally intended for Bronya to break through her own cage and nightmares...

But...

To be honest, asking him to just stand by and watch her be OMO-ed or whatever, he simply couldn't do it.

If it weren't for the many other children in the base, he might have lost his temper and attacked much sooner.

"Mm..."

Bronya looked at the broken handcuffs, and the strings of her heart began to vibrate.

Would he break her cage...

Companions... is that it?

Clap, clap, clap—

The sound of applause rang out.

"What a pity, then you can both die here together."

The man clutched the spot where he had been kicked, stood up, and aimed a gun at Lin Nai.

"Try it if you think you can." Lin Nai looked over.

The masked man who hadn't quite died yet struggled to get up from the ground, let out a roar, and charged at Lin Nai.

Bang!!

A bullet also came flying toward him.

Whenever this happens, it's time for the system to make an appearance!

[Random Skill: Ultra Punch (Ace version)]

He tilted his head slightly, dodging the bullet by a mere millimeter, and delivered a fierce Ultra Punch that punched right through the masked man's abdomen!

"Hah!!"

A heavy punch pierced through!

The expression beneath the man's mask was full of disbelief; he stared fixedly at Lin Nai until his body finally collapsed backward.

Lin Nai looked at his blood-stained right hand, his expression devoid of any ripples.

He simply looked coldly at the person who had caused all of this.

That man hadn't expected Lin Nai to be so ruthless, and he instinctively took two steps back.

"Wait!!"

Seeing Lin Nai start to walk toward him, the man shouted in terror.

Lin Nai raised an eyebrow: "What? Do you have any last words?"

"I just wanted to say, since you're so strong, how about we cooperate?"

"Huh? Did your brain short-circuit?"

"Of course not." The middle-aged man's expression was impassioned: "As long as we work together, we will definitely be the strongest!"

"Money, women, status, power—I can satisfy you with anything you want!!"

"Oh..."

Seeing Lin Nai appear somewhat moved, the middle-aged man continued: "How about it? Let's cooperate? You'll be the second-in-command!!"

"Indeed, what you're saying is quite tempting... Daga! Kotowaru!!"

"Eh?"

"How could anyone be swayed by something like that, you idiot."

Lin Nai looked at the foolish adult with a gaze that suggested he was looking at a moron, then his expression turned serious:

"I'm just here to save people. Not just Bronya, but all those children you've been raising into killing machines... I'm going to save them all, too!"

"Heh... in that case, then just die!!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Bullets flew out, but the target wasn't Lin Nai; it was... Bronya.

"Danger!!"

Bang!!

"Ugh..."

I have to say, this was exactly what he was waiting for.

If that man had fired at him, Lin Nai would have been the one to break Bronya's cage.

Because bullets can be dodged.

That man would have been finished off by him in an instant.

If he fired at Bronya, then he could immediately pivot to his original plan.

He only needed to make a tiny, minor adjustment.

Using the fact that he was wounded to force Bronya to break the cage.

This was a massive gamble!

He had to bet that Bronya would avenge him.

The other guy had been stalling for so long—wasn't it just to get a shot off? Lin Nai didn't believe for a second that the man would actually let someone else be his so-called second-in-command.

It was just a way to buy time.

Unfortunately, that man didn't know that this was exactly what Lin Nai was waiting for!

That was why he had played along with the man's stalling for so long, just to see how he should proceed.

Whether he should do it himself, or let Bronya break the so-called cage on her own.

And so.

Lin Nai lunged to embrace Bronya, using his own body to block the bullets, and couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

This was a necessary sacrifice!

Besides, it didn't even hurt.

Bronya was stunned.

The middle-aged man was stunned too, but soon, he burst into loud laughter.

"How truly foolish! To actually block a bullet for a tool? Hahahaha!"

"Bronya is not your tool..."

Lin Nai climbed up from the ground in pain (feigned), staring at the man with a gaze full of killing intent.

He spoke weakly: "Bronya is a person, a real, living, breathing human being!"

"And you, you only have the appearance of a human, but inside, you are an ugly monster..."

Bronya stared at Lin Nai's back, which seemed to be stained with blood, her mind completely blank.

She didn't know Lin Nai would do this.

She never expected it at all...

"Hmph! Say whatever you want, but after being hit by bullets, you won't last much longer, right?"

A smug smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face, feeling like he was back in control.

Lin Nai raised his hand and secretly bit down on something, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He revealed a truly ferocious smile: "That's not necessarily true; I can still punch you to death right now."

If nothing else, smashing this guy's head in with one punch wouldn't be a problem.

Hm?

Shot?

No way, no way!

It couldn't be that Lin Nai was a glass cannon who couldn't take a bullet in the early stages of the novel, right? Huh?

[You really are petty...]

Lin Nai: Shut up! It's not like you're the one who shrunk!!

[Ahem, I don't mind it like this, at worst I can just sit lower.]

Lin Nai: ...Stop talking, it leaves a bad impression. Besides, you're just a system, you know.

[That's right, so I'm just saying it purely for the sake of it.]

Lin Nai: ???

BOOM!!!!

The roar of an explosion echoed from outside, the sudden tremor causing Lin Nai and the middle-aged man to crash to the floor.

Following closely behind was the piercing sound of an alarm.

Beep, beep, beep—

"Warning! Warning!"

"This is not a test."

"Intruders detected, all departments please prepare."

"Repeat, intruders detected, all departments please prepare."

"This is not a drill! This is not a drill!"

"Tch!" The middle-aged man rose from the floor, casting a look of disdain at the two of them.

"Forget it, you two aren't going to live much longer anyway... just hold onto each other and drown in your misery!"

After saying that, the man left the room.

Meanwhile, Lin Nai lay sprawled on the ground, completely unable to get up.

"Lin Nai!"

Finally snapping out of it, Bronya's pupils constricted as she rushed over, lifting the weakened Lin Nai into her arms.

"Lin Nai! Lin Nai! How are you?"

"Cough... I'm fine... just a... mere fatal wound..."