Redemption Weakens You by Thirty Percent; Going Dark Makes You Three Times Stronger

Out of trust in Caroline, and a clear understanding of just how useless he was in a fight.

Chen Kong obediently retreated to a relatively safe distance.

But this "obedient" display of his left the audience beyond the Dimensional Screen completely speechless.

"Come on, bro, you're hiding again?"

"I'm saying it for nothing, I'm saying it plain and clear—Old Kong, can you show a little Final Assessment spirit? At least act like a person!"

"Old Kong might have some strength, but then again, Old Kong having some strength doesn't seem very likely."

"'How I Clearly Got Stronger but Was Still a Total Coward'"

Just as the Dimensional Audience was wildly roasting Chen Kong for being so naturally cowardly.

Caroline, having sensed movement within the fog, abruptly assumed a rare combat stance.

With a forceful motion of both hands, two Data Throwing Knives glowing with a glow of blue light slid from her sleeves and landed with perfect precision in her hands.

Caroline gripped the Data Throwing Knives tightly, her green cat eyes fixed on the fog before her, clearly waiting for something.

Although the special fog made it impossible for Caroline to directly see what was truly inside.

Through the unnatural flow of the mist around its edges, as well as the faint footsteps constantly coming from within, Caroline still reconstructed a rough image of the fog in her mind.

After an unknown amount of time, Caroline suddenly spoke to the fog in front of her.

"You should count yourselves lucky Tiandao isn't here. Otherwise, trash like you wouldn't even be qualified to stand before me."

As soon as her words fell, a brawny Crab Exotic Beast with Purple Coral growing atop its head burst from the fog and lunged straight at Caroline.

Yet before it could approach, a Data Throwing Knife trailing distorted arcs of electricity tore through the air and struck the Purple Coral cluster on its head with perfect accuracy.

That single strike instantly sent the Crab Exotic Beast convulsing from head to toe. After taking only a few more steps, it plunged face-first to the ground and went completely still.

Caroline ignored the fallen Crab Exotic Beast. Instead, she turned toward another direction in the fog and silently raised the other Data Throwing Knife in her hand.

Two more Crab Exotic Beasts emerged from the fog in that direction, glaring viciously at her and Chen Kong.

They did not know who the Tiandao Caroline spoke of was, nor did they care.

Having retained only their most basic biological instincts, they had only one thought left now.

To kill every living creature they saw!

Roar—!

The two Crab Exotic Beasts roared and charged at Caroline together.

Yet much like the first Crab Exotic Beast.

One of them had not even run more than a few steps before Caroline's thrown Data Throwing Knife hit the Purple Coral cluster on its head with flawless precision.

Although it had raised its massive iron pincer to knock the knife down once it came within range.

Caroline's Data Throwing Knife seemed to have GPS guidance installed.

Not only did it precisely evade the giant pincer, it also struck its target with unerring accuracy.

After dealing with one Crab Exotic Beast, Caroline immediately shifted her gaze to the last remaining one.

Taking advantage of the precious opening its companion had bought with its life.

The final Crab Exotic Beast leaped over its companion's corpse and reached Caroline in one bound.

Looking at the frail Rank 1 Star Envoy before it.

The Crab Exotic Beast raised its massive iron pincer, intending to smash her to death in one blow.

Yet faced with its attack, Caroline did not flinch in the slightest. A trace of mockery even appeared on her cold, exquisite face.

Whoosh—

Accompanied by a sharp whistle through the air.

A Data Throwing Knife suddenly appeared behind it and swiftly pierced the Purple Coral cluster on the Crab Exotic Beast's head.

And that Data Throwing Knife was precisely the one Caroline had thrown first.

That was right. Caroline could freely control her Data Throwing Knives.

Unless the knife moved beyond a fifteen-meter radius around her.

Boom!

Without the Purple Coral cluster controlling it, the final Crab Exotic Beast immediately collapsed, dead beyond doubt.

Seeing that all the enemies had been dealt with, Caroline turned and walked back toward Chen Kong without even looking behind her.

But before she had taken more than a few steps, movement silently came from the corpse of the Crab Exotic Beast behind her.

"Watch out!"

Chen Kong charged toward Caroline in terror while anxiously preparing to activate his Star Source: The Visionary.

But before Chen Kong could run more than a few steps, a concealed Data Throwing Knife appeared again.

Pshk!

The suddenly appearing Data Throwing Knife pierced straight through the Brain Core of a small crab, pinning it dead to the corpse of the larger crab.

Chen Kong froze at the sight.

"Mother-Child Crab. I noticed it from the start."

Caroline walked over to Chen Kong and calmly said, "Save your precious Star Source ability. Other than Tiandao, I don't need anyone's protection."

As her words fell, Caroline raised her hand.

The next moment, her two special Data Throwing Knives flew swiftly back to her side like controlled drones.

After wiping the green blood remaining on the knives with a handkerchief, Caroline carefully inspected them. Once she confirmed that neither had been damaged, she returned them to the special grooves inside her sleeves.

After finishing all that, Caroline looked expressionlessly at Chen Kong and said, "Let's go. Your Mark of the Void can briefly disperse the fog around me. With you here, I think we'll find Tiandao soon."

Caroline's tone was calm, but firm enough to brook no refusal from Chen Kong.

She clearly did not care about his thoughts in the slightest.

As though, in her eyes, no one in this world besides Tiandao mattered.

Faced with Caroline's "order," Chen Kong, who had never had much of an opinion of his own, naturally chose to comply.

He walked ahead of Caroline, using his Mark of the Void to perfectly serve as a disposable fog-dispersing tool.

As the two disappeared into the fog one after the other, the audience beyond the Dimensional Screen began discussing something else.

"The main wife! She has to be the main wife!"

"They're obviously the official pairing! Tian-Caroline stocks are hitting the limit!"

"Stellaris's version of My Girlfriend Is a Robot. They're locked in!"

"Sigh, capitalism. Looks like our Tian Xing Party will never see the light of day."

With the aid of Chen Kong's Mark of the Void, the two soon found Chen Xing in the parking lot, after she had already dealt with the Crab Exotic Beasts.

After Chen Xing joined them, the three quickly walked out of the fog and arrived at the outer edge of the parking lot.

But the moment they saw what lay outside, all three of their expressions changed drastically, as though time itself had stopped.

Chen Kong wore a look of terror, clearly unable to believe what was happening before his eyes.

Chen Xing's expression darkened. Karma Fire immediately enveloped the Demonic Blade Blood Flame in her hand, clearly showing that she was under immense psychological pressure.

As for Caroline.

Known for her calmness and rationality, she was now the only one of the three who had been consumed by rage.

"Tiandao?"

For the first time, Caroline's voice trembled, and her body began shaking uncontrollably.

As the saying went, redemption weakened you by thirty percent, while going dark made you three times stronger.

Looking at Tiandao lying in a "pool of blood," his life or death unknown, Caroline completely cast aside her usual disguise.

Her hair moved without wind, while countless special patterns resembling circuits appeared across her skin.

Before long, violent, visible white currents of electricity surged through Caroline's entire body!

Star Energy Technique—Power Overload!

"Die!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the enraged Caroline transformed into a streak of silver lightning. She cast aside all her usual precise calculations, and the Data Throwing Knives she hurled carved deadly trajectories through the air, shooting straight for the Coral Knight's vital points.

At this moment, how could Caroline still possess any of her usual composure and reason? There was only endless madness and rage!

Seeing Caroline suddenly explode into action, a strange glint flashed through the Coral Knight's eyes.

Because according to Yun Meng.

Chen Xing, the brown-haired girl in the distance wielding the Demonic Blade, should have been the Number One Under Tiandao among the Starborn.

But now, that information appeared to be inaccurate.

Because at this moment, Caroline felt far more dangerous to him than Chen Xing did.

Had she been hiding her strength, or had her own potential been awakened?

As he looked at Caroline, who had completely lost her reason, the Coral Knight casually raised a hand while continuing to think.

The Data Throwing Knives crackling with electricity, which could so easily kill Crab Exotic Beasts, were effortlessly blocked by the Coral Knight.

And unlike his focused, all-out battle against Tiandao.

When facing Caroline in her powered-up, darkened state, the Coral Knight remained entirely on the defensive.

Every gesture of his radiated ease and composure.

The difference in strength between him and Caroline was obvious.

Fortunately, Caroline was not fighting alone.

Facing the powerful Coral Knight, Chen Xing quickly joined the battle.

Now confronting two of the top five Dual Stars at once.

The Coral Knight could no longer maintain his earlier ease and finally began to take things somewhat seriously.

After all, Yun Meng and Tiandao had specifically instructed him that in this so-called Artificial Desperate Situation, he could only win, never lose.

If he held back.

Then this so-called "desperate situation" would not only fail to pressure Caroline and the others, it would also fail to draw out the potential in their bodies.

But what Yun Meng and Tiandao had not expected.

Was that they seemed to have somewhat underestimated the immense psychological blow this Artificial Desperate Situation would deal Caroline.

With Caroline looking this insane right now, how exactly were they supposed to wrap things up later?

Beside an abandoned car at the edge of the parking lot.

Tiandao, secretly watching Caroline's reaction through the Dimensional Screen, was already drenched in sweat and panicking inside.

He could not help it. Caroline was acting far too crazily now!

So crazy that Tiandao had no doubt that once she learned the truth, she would absolutely seize him and beat him senseless.

Although Caroline could not defeat him, he was the one in the wrong—he could not exactly hit back, could he?

At that thought, Tiandao's mind began racing as he considered how to clean up this mess later.

After all, if he could not give Caroline an explanation that satisfied her.

Then for quite some time to come, he could forget about having any peaceful days!

Whether the production crew had heard Tiandao's inner plea, or simply found his microexpressions particularly amusing.

In the midst of the thrilling and intense battle between the Coral Knight, Caroline, and Chen Xing.

They actually spared precious screentime to briefly focus on Tiandao.

On the screen, Tiandao had his eyes closed, yet his lips trembled nonstop and cold sweat poured from his forehead.

He clearly knew he had taken things too far and that it would be difficult to end things later, leaving him "scared" out of his wits.

This amusing "cowardly look" formed an especially stark contrast with Tiandao's usual "arrogance" and "unmatched self-importance."

The audience beyond the Dimensional Screen immediately began to gloat when they saw it.

"Hahaha, he's scared! Tiandao is scared!"

"'How the director wrote a desperate situation, only to accidentally write himself into one too'"

"Tiandao: I said to create a desperate situation for Caroline and the others, not for me!"

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