Operator #1 · Best Friends

Claudia Ars Duran--

She sat motionless in the dim lamplight.

A fleeting look of nervous hesitation crossed his eyes, while terror and longing welled up within him.

Jiang Xueming from [FE204863] is a madman!

I thought I could make a deal with this guy, but I naively believed that I could bribe this big shot with wealth, power, or a young body.

It wasn't until this evil demon king revealed his entire past experiences, until he spoke to me about his life's ideals, that things changed.

I finally understand that there is no possibility of cooperation between us.

--In Sixty-Three's eyes, I am merely a prop! An observation tool that can barely see the future and is used to modify Jiang Xueming's soul power!

It wasn't our newsboy who found Sixty-Three; rather, Sixty-Three came to us on his own initiative!

Claudia Ars Duran, cheer up!

The Demon King cares neither for money nor for beauty; he is willing to give up everything to achieve his goals.

The lives of everyone on the plane were experimental subjects in his hands—including Wood Plark, the unpredictable and eccentric train conductor whose soul power was like a violent explosive, capable of displaying endless creativity in this experiment.

Sixty-Three already sees us as compounds, and when we react with Jiang Xueming, we can catalyze a soul power completely different from the [Regret Pill], defeating the gravity of fate—that's his idea!

Although we don't know what the heaven mentioned in the Sixty-Three is, the soul within our bodies and our spiritual power are almost predetermined by heaven and cannot be changed.

Even though the Soul Might of the Hand of Omnipotence was gnawed and fragmented by the Madness Butterfly, the special abilities of their Soul Might remained largely the same, without any fundamental changes. It was merely a weakening of their hardware stats such as destructive power, speed, and endurance.

Even if Sixty-Three Vita Imprint into Jiang Xueming's body, he can only obtain a weakened version of the [Regret Pill], which is not the result Sixty-Three wants.

And I, Claudia Ars Duran!

I don't want to die here! I want to change my destiny!

I'm going to escape from here with Flavia! I love her, even though she doesn't love me very much!

This love is my courage and determination.

Sixty-Three, hands clasped around her knees, asked, "What are you thinking about, Ms. Duran?"

Duran saw only hostility, even though she had already entered the hunting grounds of the Sixty-Three. In the eyes of this evil demon king, the lives of others were merely consumables, tools used to reach heaven.

"Whatever you're trying to do, I'm not playing this game with you anymore! Sixty-Three!"

"I can kill you with ease," said Sixty-Three. "Do you know how fast I can kill?"

"I... I know. I understand!" A glint of divine power flashed in Duran's eyes. As she decided to speak these words, the [Timeline] had already marked seven ways for her to die. "Even Jiang Xueming from FE33031 is not someone I can mess with. Let's spread out his effective kill count."

Sixty-Three interrupted, "You kill more than three people a day on average. Even knowing this, you still want to."

Duran interrupted Sixty-Three: "You prioritize things like [going to heaven] that have no meaning for me, and you've never taken me seriously, big shot. I don't understand what you mean by heaven—it's too abstract, too vague! All I can think of is that you'll have to sacrifice many lives to achieve this goal, maybe even yourself—but will I survive? Will Flavia and I really get off the plane alive? She's already died several times! I will not allow you to continue toying with our lives!"

Before the words had even finished --

--The domineering demon king, wielding his soul power, once again gripped Ms. Duran's neck.

The rusty spirit still possessed great strength, easily lifting the tall woman who weighed about fifty kilograms and was a little over 180 centimeters tall.

At that very moment, the water chestnut serpent spat out its red tongue of defiance at the Demon King!

Duran was almost choked unconscious, but she never begged for mercy. She didn't intend to make a gesture of surrender, nor did she want to beg for mercy with a smile. She just painfully gave the middle finger to Sixty-Three.

In the instant when her brain was almost deprived of oxygen and she was about to lose consciousness, her hands were still tightly gripping the steel claws of the [Regret Pill], trying to use her physical body to resist the powerful soul force of the Sixty-Three strong beings.

Her fingernails were curled upwards, and her legs were stretched unnaturally, like a dead animal just slaughtered by a butcher, blood trickling from between her fingers and falling onto the smooth floor.

--Sixty-Three's pupils contracted slightly, and he suddenly and gently placed Duran back in his seat.

As the plane climbed, blood flowed along the slope of the floor towards the customer service room, seeping into the gaps in the isolation door and appearing on the pristine white carpet.

"Damn it." Sixty-Three cursed, but his heart was filled with curiosity, for this was a new possibility, a new branch of options. "Lady Luck favors the hero."

Duran's eyes blazed with fury, burning along with the White Snake.

"What will happen? Sixty-Three, this is the first time I've defied you, isn't it?"

Immediately afterwards--

--In the customer service room, Flavia stood up and spoke to Mr. Wood in a friendly manner.

"Sir, the plane is still climbing and there will be some turbulence. You'd better go back to your seat."

Wood also had a smile on his face, and he glanced at the flight attendant's healthy tanned skin and beautiful legs a few more times.

"I can't breathe, so I came here to find some water. Do you have any?"

Flavia was extremely nervous. She wasn't a good actress, and she trembled under the almost interrogative gaze of the VIPs on the Abyss Special Train. As she walked to the coffee machine and bent over to find a cup, she immediately noticed the bloodstains on the carpet.

"This smell... it's the smell of blood! It's Duran's blood."

Without any hesitation, this feminist stormed through the first-class isolation door the instant her female companion was attacked, and charged aggressively toward Sixty-Three.

She grabbed Sixty-Three by the collar and then shouted angrily.

"Hey! You weirdo! How dare you hit my woman!?"

Wood Plark followed closely behind, and he could clearly sense that the furry, rotten, stench-filled Inspiration seemed to have accompanied the eccentric flight attendant into first class.

--The mischievous cat Butch is hiding in first class.

When Train Conductor Wood came into Sixty-Three's view, the Demon King also withdrew all his murderous intent.

He finally understood what Ms. Duran was relying on.

If he cannot save the lives of these two beautiful women, Duran will likely continue to oppose him.

To modify Jiang Xueming's soul power, keep the kid alive, and have close contact with him, repeatedly forging a new soul power through direct collisions of spirits—it's just too difficult to bypass Wood Plark's interference.

Mr. Wood remained unmoved amidst the noise, staying outside the range of the [Regret Pill], making it virtually impossible to kill him directly with Soul Power.

Sixty-Three had just stood up when Wood shouted angrily.

"Hey! You hiding in the shadows, too ashamed to show your face! It's you who's been causing trouble all along, isn't it?"

Ms. Duran immediately grabbed Flavia's hand, trying to hide in a safe place to avoid being accidentally injured by these two powerful men.

Flavia picked up her lover's battered hands and saw the bruises and swollen nails, and then noticed the scratches on Ms. Duran's neck.

"This guy actually dared to hurt you?! Has he always been this brave? Doesn't he know who I am? Doesn't he know our capabilities?! Damn it, damn it!"

Flavia's eyes widened, and despite Duran's attempts to stop her, she reached out from her lover's embrace and pointed at Sixty-Three's nose, yelling insults.

"You're dead! You old beast! I'm going to poison you with the [Yin Yang Demon Realm]! Don't worry! I guarantee you! The process will be extremely painful! You'll bleed from all seven orifices and die in excruciating agony!"

This arrogant little girl couldn't sway Sixty-Three's mind at all—he was completely focused, staring intently at Wood Plark.

He remained constantly wary of the train conductor, ignoring all other distractions, while a strong sense of curiosity simmered within him: what would happen if they continued along this Timeline?

Besides making people age rapidly, the "Regret Pill" has another fatal side effect.

That is waiting--

--In the long journey of time, at Sixty-Three, one can freely drag the progress bar of life to an earlier timeline, but cannot speed up time.

It's like searching for a beautiful erotic image on a videotape. It only has a few frames, but if you want to use the power of "Regret Pill" to seize this fleeting opportunity, you have to endure endless hours of wasted time, try repeatedly, and the process of waiting for the erotic image becomes almost a form of mental torture.

Flavia and Duran's intense love gave rise to astonishing courage.

--This courage led fate to bring their guardian knight to the Sixty-Three.

This is completely different from the previous sixteen attempts; there will be some new changes.

Sixty-Three dared not use the "Regret Pill," fearing he would miss out on this novel experience, miss out on that crucial "erotic picture" in his life, and simply waited patiently for new changes.

"It was you!" Wood Plark pointed at Sixty-Three's nose. "It was you who implanted memories in my head! Wasn't that right? What exactly do you want?"

This answer caught Sixty-Three completely off guard.

But Wood Plark gave him almost no time to prepare.

"These two ladies look so cute and charming! Yet they're crying and sobbing in front of you! I even smelled blood! So, you're the wicked cat Butch! You've been up to no good! Take this! [Sexy Bomb]! Blow him up!"

Water droplets splashed from Wood's hand, spreading all the way towards Sixty-Three's face.

The flames, like a python ready to devour its prey, surged forward along the explosive medium.

The explosion's flash illuminated the dimly lit first-class cabin, making it bright and clear.

--Sixty-Three did not run away. [Regret Pill] picked up his rotten steel fist and tore the weak and powerless water vapor flame to shreds. Then he went straight for Wood Plark!

On his first attempt, Wood blew up the plane's right wing, and the plane crashed into the sea.

On the second attempt, Wood killed Flavia, Duran was critically injured and on the verge of death, Jiang Xueming escaped to the tail of the plane.

On his third attempt, Wood used the narrow cabin terrain to his advantage to defeat Sixty-Three, but failed to kill him completely.

On the fourth attempt, Wood was poisoned to death by Flavia, Jiang Xueming suffered severe mental trauma, about to awaken his Soul Power.

This cycle repeated itself, ending in failure each time, until the sixteenth time.

During the clash between Xue Ming's and Sixty-Three's spirits, Sixty-Three exerted a great deal of effort and finally managed to inscribe [FE33031] and a string of characters on the boy's spirit, attempting to alter Xue Ming's soul power characteristics. He hadn't even had a chance to verify the results...

--The seventeenth round of the duel began with two sweet young ladies ringing the duel bell.

"You bastard..." Wood's eyes suddenly widened. When he saw the spiritual features of the [Regret Pill], he hesitated for a moment. "The shape of your spiritual form! Why is it exactly the same as Jiang Xueming's?!"

The phosphated, blackened steel doll stepped onto the polished floor.

It resembles a knight clad in iron armor, with a circular clock face on its chest and an unforgettable keyhole feature.

"Could it be that your soul power allows you to read other people's memories? To imitate their spirits and appearances?" Wood Plark's expression twisted with disgust. "Ugh! How despicable!"

To save his life and escape from Sixty-Three's control, Duran didn't hesitate to defect to the enemy.

"--Team Leader Wood! This is Jiang Xueming!"

Wood was even more confused. "Sister, are you kidding me? That guy is clearly right behind me!"

Xue Ming peeked out from beside Captain Wood and was speechless with surprise when he saw the Sixty-Three dark, ghostly figures.

Duran hugged Flavia's waist, speaking in utter terror.

"No, no, no! He is Jiang Xueming, he is Jiang Xueming!"

It's difficult to express a specific meaning in a very short time using only the tongue.

--The barriers between people's minds almost drove Ms. Duran to despair.

Sixty-Three stopped moving because he could see the explosives in Wood's hand.

--Rubber products removed from first-class seats contain enough energy to blow through the metal hull of an aircraft.

Wood analyzed seriously, "Hey! You can not only read and implant memories, but you can also change people's thoughts? Has this beautiful girl been brainwashed by you? Evil demon—why do I feel more and more that you and this kid are related by blood the more I look at you? Have I been brainwashed by you too?"

Jiang Xueming's brain was trembling--

Without hesitation, he pulled out his Browning M1900, pointed it at Sixty-Three, and pulled the trigger.

Wood simultaneously struck the detonation switch!

The scattered zinc bullet fragments struck the iron shell and steel body of the [Regret Pill], but could not harm this incarnation of a god at all.

"It's not a fake. He's not a fake." Jiang Xueming grabbed Wood and said nervously, "He's not a fake! Teacher Wood! You and I learned this lesson! Spirits cannot be faked! And that face isn't fake either!"

Wood: "Are you sure, kid!"

"I've looked at that face in the mirror countless times!" Jiang Xueming said earnestly and confidently.

Sixty-Three finally gave up--

He couldn't get around Wood Plark.

Any extreme action he takes could prematurely end the journey. In the instant the plane crashed, Jiang Xueming had no chance of survival, and trying to touch Xue Ming's spirit would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Only Ms. Duran continued to scream at the top of her lungs.

"Jiang Xueming! You've finally figured it out! This guy is you! Your beauty is undeniable—he's you from the future! You from another world! We must kill him, we must join forces to kill him! Only then can we escape this hell!"

"Don't worry, my dear!" Wood patted his chest and assured her, "Pretty girls can survive for a very long time in horror movies. If your boobs were a little bigger and you dressed a little more revealingly, you might even survive until the end of the film."

Before he finished speaking, the stars outside the window stopped moving.

Ms. Duran snapped out of her daze and realized with a start that she was back in her first-class seat.

Sixty-Three remained motionless, as if all the changes that had just occurred were a dream.

"Are you still going to oppose me, Ms. Duran?"

The plane was still climbing, having just entered the clouds.

A scream of terror came from Wood Plark in economy class.

"Why? Why is this glass full again? I drank it all!"

"Could it be that the enemy's soul power ability is... filling an empty cup with water?"