Hunting the Rain Lord

"Is this what you said you wanted to do?"

At a hot pot restaurant, two beautiful girls sat by the window at the table farthest out.

Chen Xi held the Coke she had picked up along the way, taking a sip now and then.

On their way here, they had once again gone through the ability introductions from the previous regression.

"Yeah."

Lin Yue scrolled through her phone, scanning the menu to order. "Is there anything you can't eat?"

To keep Lin Yue from noticing anything amiss, Chen Xi threw herself into her acting. "...I don't eat fish. Why don't we talk about the real plan?"

After ordering, Lin Yue set her phone aside.

"Hunting the Rain Lord."

She clasped her hands before her chest. "In half an hour, the Rain Lord will appear in the square fifty meters away."

This time, to make it easier to coordinate with the Countermeasure Bureau, she had specifically chosen a hot pot restaurant nearby.

"Then the Countermeasure Bureau will attack the Rain Lord. We just need to take advantage of the opportunity to kill it and take its eyes."

"Also, so they won't object, we have to show up at the critical moment."

A timely rescue and adding the finishing touch were two completely different things.

After two regressions, Lin Yue's personality had already begun to change.

"Finally, if anyone from the Countermeasure Bureau invites us into their car, don't go. Take the eyes, and then we leave."

"Oh, and don't eat the eyes right away," she added.

Chen Xi didn't object to the plan. It was right not to ask the Countermeasure Bureau for help.

Although Chen Xi could now erase Wu Xin's threads at the cost of a life, threads had also been planted in Lin Yue's heart.

If Chen Xi insisted on telling the Countermeasure Bureau about Wu Xin, Lin Yue—who had no chance of winning or advancing—would most likely hide in the shadows and secretly activate the thread in her heart.

So, the two sides maintained the last vestige of civility in this strange, unspoken accord.

Toying with the straw stuck at the bottom of her cup, the black-haired girl spoke slowly. "Why are you so sure I can kill the Rain Lord?"

"That was only a prophecy, not reality. What if I mess up? Then everything's over, isn't it?"

She looked up and met Lin Yue's gaze. The blonde girl's eyes were as calm as water.

"You won't mess up," Lin Yue said, her red lips parting slightly.

Looking at the composed Chen Xi before her, Lin Yue recalled the image of her fighting with the force of wind and thunder.

"...I don't have any reason. I just believe in you completely."

"So please believe in me without reservation, too." Lin Yue gazed deeply at her.

Chen Xi made no comment and went on, "Then why are we ordering all this food?"

Lin Yue turned to watch the raindrops outside the window. "We'll come back after the fight and have it as a victory feast."

Hearing that bold declaration, Chen Xi only smiled without replying.

The two of them idly browsed the Otherwalker Forum, learning more about the Legend.

"Click."

Raindrops struck the floor-to-ceiling window, leaving fine cracks with a faint sound.

The two women facing each other exchanged a knowing look. They had now been drawn into the domain.

Chen Xi drained her Coke and stared intently out the window, ready to jump in and help at any moment.

The diners in the hot pot restaurant were still chatting and laughing, completely unaware that death was closing in.

"Lin Yue, where did you say the Rain Lord would appear?" Chen Xi suddenly asked.

"Over by the square." Lin Yue answered, continuing to watch the downpour outside. When she saw Chen Xi was still looking at her, she asked, "What's wrong? Do you have any doubts about the plan?"

Chen Xi silently pointed behind her. "Then what's that out there?"

Lin Yue whipped around. A muscular, azure giant tiger, water swirling around its body, stood at the intersection, glaring menacingly at everyone in the hot pot restaurant.

"Guess our luck's not great."

There were eight roads leading to the square, yet the hot pot restaurant she'd chosen was the first to be targeted.

What's more, people were standing in the street, fleeing in panic.

The cars they had been driving hadn't been copied into the domain, so when they were pulled in, they were at a loss about what was happening.

But the moment they saw the enormous creature in the street, all their questions vanished.

Only one thought remained: run!

The Rain Lord began slaughtering humans in the street, without resistance.

Flesh flew, accompanied by the dull crunch of breaking bones. Everyone in the hot pot restaurant noticed the absurd, bloody scene at once.

"There really is a monster?"

"Quick, close the curtains!"

"Call the police!"

Panic instantly filled every heart.

After drawing the curtains, Chen Xi looked at Lin Yue, who was still sitting calmly in her seat.

"You're not going to step in?"

Honestly, Chen Xi was a little surprised.

Given Lin Yue's personality, even though she could regress through time, she should have tried to save the people. She absolutely shouldn't have been sitting here, unmoved.

Her final words—and the way she had died in front of Lin Yue—seemed to have nudged Lin Yue's growth forward, if only a tiny bit.

Well, a tiny bit.

Listening to the agonized screams outside the hot pot restaurant, the blonde girl's hesitant gaze gradually hardened. "The time isn't right. If we act now, everything will fall apart."

Lin Yue suddenly thought of something, her voice low.

"...If I don't step in, will you hate me?"

Her gaze darted away. She didn't dare meet those eyes that seemed able to see through everything.

"No."

Those two brief words immediately lifted the heavy stone hanging over Lin Yue's heart.

"We're half-dead ourselves. We don't have the strength to help anyone."

Last time, the two of them had seemed to decide the battle outright, but that was only an illusion.

If the people from the Countermeasure Bureau hadn't worn down most of the Rain Lord's strength and water, Chen Xi would never have had a chance to ambush it.

Worried that Lin Yue might take it the wrong way, Chen Xi added, "If the situation allows, I don't mind lending a hand."

After Chen Xi finished speaking, Lin Yue felt less guilty.

The black-haired girl pulled the curtain aside for a moment and glanced outside.

The bloody scene she had expected hadn't appeared. Under the downpour, the blood and bodies were washed to pieces in just a few seconds.

Through the rain, Chen Xi could barely make out the Rain Lord, its slaughter complete, lumbering toward the square.

By her estimate, the Countermeasure Bureau's people would break into the domain and confront the Rain Lord in ten minutes. She and Lin Yue would have to make their entrance after both sides had been badly weakened.

The problem was, it would be hard to judge the right moment. Battles between the supernatural could change in an instant; one wrong move could cost them their lives.

The downpour continued. Fine cracks had spread across the floor-to-ceiling window, and before long, the raindrops would turn into deadly weapons.

The thunderous steps of the Rain Lord grew louder as it walked down the street.

The hot pot restaurant fell silent. Everyone breathed as carefully as they could, afraid of drawing the Rain Lord's attention.

At that critical moment—

The door opened.