At the center of gravity, Hua nearly lost her footing. Fortunately, years of martial arts experience allowed her to steady herself, giving the other side no opening.
At that moment, another squad entered the room.
Mercenaries.
The Welt lookalike laughed arrogantly. "Take down that man, then seize the target."
The group held submachine guns. Chen Ran's eyes narrowed slightly, but he abruptly burst forward and kicked the leader.
Both his physical abilities and combat skills had been enhanced by the system. He was no longer a helpless researcher.
The young man surged forward, snatched a gun, and swung it like a club. His momentum instantly intimidated everyone present.
Seizing the opportunity, Hua quickly said, "I'll hold them off. Take Wendy and leave."
Before Chen Ran could react, Hua raised her hand.
Short-Range Force: Mountain Collapse!
A solid force like a mountain formed an invisible wall. Seeing the opportunity, Chen Ran immediately entered Wendy's room.
Wendy was already sitting on the bed with a coat draped over her shoulders. But because of her legs, she could not go anywhere and could only wait for the outcome outside.
"Whew, thank goodness."
Chen Ran directly picked her up and said, "Trust me. It'll be okay."
Wendy pursed her lips and said nothing, only wrapping her arms around his neck.
Then, the two of them went straight over the windowsill.
St. Freya's alarms continued to blare as Theresa and Himeko cleared the endless stream of air-dropped Titans.
"Anti-Entropy's people are still as persistent as ever. I wonder how Wendy is doing."
A trace of concern showed in Himeko's eyes.
They had been held back.
The other side's objective was hardly concealed. They had come for Wendy.
"With Hua there, there shouldn't be a problem." Theresa frowned unconsciously. "But it's not guaranteed. Since Anti-Entropy dared to come, they must have made preparations."
"Himeko, I'll hold this place. Go find Wendy."
Himeko nodded. "All right."
At that moment, Chen Ran was carrying Wendy as he evaded the enemy's pursuit.
He said with a hint of relief, "Good thing they didn't bring that many people. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to escape."
His skills were only slightly better than those of an ordinary person. He could not tear apart a Titan with his bare hands.
Being able to jump out the window without spraining an ankle was already fortunate enough, especially with someone in his arms.
Just then, he suddenly felt a chill and instinctively dodged aside.
A raven feather landed where he had been standing, shattering the marble floor.
"Hi. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"So, could you be good and cooperate?"
4
PS: I recommend a Genshin Impact fanfic.
"Inazuma's Daimyo Is Worn Out"
The author is a great person, and the book is nearly finished. It's very well written, so you won't regret picking it up now.
The Herrscher Consciousness's Temptation
Chen Ran knew this person.
She was not the assassin who had attacked him at the Oceanic Branch last time, but she was far more terrifying than that assassin.
Natasha Cioara.
A World Serpent executive, code name Raven.
For Chen Ran, this was undoubtedly the worst possible outcome.
After all, Raven's combat strength surpassed even Rita's. One of them was weak and the other crippled; there was basically no chance of escaping Raven's grasp.
But Chen Ran would not admit defeat so easily.
Stalling for time, he asked, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"The mission I received was to take away the girl beside you, so you'd best cooperate."
Raven paused before continuing, "What happened tonight was already unexpected enough. I don't want any extra trouble."
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to her."
Chen Ran narrowed his eyes slightly. "Do you think I'd believe that?"
"Unfortunately, 'make the target believe it' isn't part of my operating procedure..."
Bang!
Before she could finish speaking, Chen Ran somehow fired at Raven.
Wendy, behind him, recognized it. It was the Colt she had placed on the bedside cabinet.
It was also the only weapon the two of them could use right now.
Raven twisted aside. Looking at the bullet that had nearly pierced her head, she spat in irritation.
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit."
Her eyes immediately sharpened. The raven feather in her hand flashed with a black shadow beneath the moonlight as it struck toward Chen Ran's wrist.
Chen Ran had no time to dodge. His right hand, which held the gun, was slashed open. The strength in his body seemed to drain away in an instant, and the Colt fell to the ground.
Blood spilled across the floor.
"Ah, are you okay?"
Wendy hurriedly looked at Chen Ran and instinctively wanted to support him.
But she herself was already being held in Chen Ran's arms and had no strength at all.
Chen Ran shook his head. His right hand had lost all strength, while the pain spread through his nerves and across his entire body.
"I-I'm fine. Don't worry."
Dying like this would not be so bad. At least then, after resting for a while, he could rewind to an hour earlier.
Thinking of that, Chen Ran became entirely calm.
He slowly set Wendy down, then stood in front of Raven.
The young man's face was pale from blood loss, yet Raven could not see the slightest fear in his expression.
"You'd better kill me. Otherwise, if you drag this out, you'll be the one who dies."
He paused, then said, "Those idiots from Anti-Entropy were under your orders too, weren't they? Or rather, you had begun planning this even earlier."
Chen Ran did not really understand why World Serpent was obsessed with the Gem of Desire rather than the Conquest Gem.
After all, no matter how one looked at it, Raiden Mei was more suitable as a target than Wendy.
The only explanation was that between Raiden Mei receiving the Conquest Gem and Wendy receiving the Gem of Desire, World Serpent had already set its sights on the Gem of Desire.
"You planned to steal the Gem of Desire when the Divine Right Plan failed. That way, the repercussions would be minimized."
"But the Gem of Desire fused with Wendy far better than you expected. In fact, you may even have been hoping for an Artificial Herrscher to appear."
"Yet Wendy's body continued to reject the gem's fusion."
Chen Ran's words began to grow breathless. The blood loss had even begun to cloud his consciousness.
He paused, then said directly, "According to the original plan, you only needed to wait for the experiment to fail and steal the gem. You just never expected me to interfere."
"You are indeed very smart."
Raven did not rush to act. Instead, she said, "If my colleagues had even half your composure, I wouldn't have so many headaches."
"However, that won't affect the final outcome."
She looked at Wendy, who sat on the ground and watched Chen Ran anxiously. "Come on, little girl. Don't worry. He won't die anytime soon. I held back."
Raven was not a cold-blooded killer, and this commission had not required her to kill anyone.
Yet at this moment, she had a bad feeling.
The instant Chen Ran's wrist was slashed open by the raven feather, Wendy's mind went blank.
This was already the second time.
She watched the person she loved get hurt, while she could do nothing.
You have no power.
A chaotic consciousness burst from her mind. She heard a voice identical to her own sneering beside her ear:
You can only be dragged away and flee. When danger comes, you are powerless.
"I..."
She wanted to say something in rebuttal, but discovered that she could not refute it.
Do you desire power?
The power to let you stand again, fight back, and ruthlessly take revenge on everyone who hurt him.
"You're the Herrscher consciousness."
At last, Wendy realized what it was. Her mind filled with vigilance.
As a Valkyrie, she naturally knew about the so-called "Herrscher consciousness." It was an important point of study for Valkyries:
A Herrscher consciousness was the infinite amplification of the dark emotions within a Herrscher's heart.
Because of this, every Herrscher who was born became an enemy of civilization.
As a Valkyrie, she instinctively rejected the Herrscher consciousness.
Yet that consciousness merely sneered at her.
How foolishly rigid, human. Do you think that by rejecting me, your situation will become any better?
Besides, the ones plotting against you now are also the companions you call humans, aren't they?
Right now, you can do nothing.0
The Herrscher personality's final sentence made Wendy let out a muffled groan.
She thought of Chen Ran being injured twice.
The first time, he had been trying to make the Divine Right Plan fail; the second time, it had been because of her.
The blood on the ground had already turned reddish-brown, and the scent of rust in the air stimulated her nerves.
Although she knew as a Valkyrie that she could not accept the Herrscher's temptation.
But now...
Bang!
A muffled impact pulled Wendy back to reality.
Himeko had somehow arrived, wielding the Greatsword of Sunfire as she struck fiercely at Raven.
The latter moved like a nimble bird and dodged in time. Himeko's greatsword smashed into the ground, shattering the floor tiles everywhere.
Before you continue