Experimental Results / Because I'm an Idiot

Speaking of which... why did he mistake Yue for Theresa back then?

Why...

"Bang!"

Yue stretched out her left hand and shoved Lin away. The bullet that was supposed to be aimed at Lin's head, but came from above, grazed past him. This time, the bullet broke through the shield again and shattered her right shoulder and half of her upper body into pieces!

"Hmm!"

Lin lowered his body to avoid the line of fire and quickly assessed the direction from which the bullets were coming!

But he saw nothing.

These two shots felt like bullets from another world!

"Run... humans, don't worry about me... they're coming for me."

Yue knelt on the ground, her face pale, and tugged at Lin's sleeve, ordering him to leave.

At this moment, Lin should have felt extremely gratified.

But he couldn't even move his feet, coldly looking at the moon lying on the ground, and then at the surroundings where bullets might be fired again at any moment.

"Get out of here..."

The moon's crimson eyes lit up, and Lin's brain was stung. As a familiar, he could not disobey his master's command. He could only turn around stiffly and rush out, disappearing in an instant.

Only the wounded Herrscher remained, kneeling on the muddy ground like a forgotten rag doll.

She stared blankly in the direction Lin had left, blood trickling down her forehead.

But soon, she withdrew her fleeting bewilderment and returned to her blank expression, quietly watching as the fully armed personnel stepped out of the shadows and came before her.

Chapter 51 Experimental Results

So many questions were swirling in his head that he felt like it was going to explode. Lin mechanically repeated the motion of taking steps, running out of the water park. Controlled by the commands from his own consciousness, he couldn't even turn back.

There were no sounds of fierce fighting coming from behind. Logically speaking, that level of injury would only be a minor injury for Herrscher. Yue should still be able to fight. So why was there no sound of fighting?

Moreover, why did she ask him to go first to ensure his safety?

She had killed him thousands of times, and even though he was dead, the time would still rewind to the beginning of the Three-Day Cycle, yet she still did something so contrary to her personality.

Why is that...?

With her silver hair flying wildly, Yue dodged the bullets in a disheveled manner. These special bullets could not only penetrate the Honkai Energy shield, but also slow down her recovery speed. Even though they still posed no threat to her, they were still quite a headache.

"Third assault team, tighten the encirclement and be on alert for the Herrscher of Erosion's counterattack."

The leader of this group of people using strange weapons gave an order to the terminal. Yue glanced behind her and saw that armored women had emerged from various nooks and crannies. Each of them stared at her as if facing a formidable enemy, ready to die, and then charged forward to attack her without fear of death.

Don't these humans care about their own lives?

Yue tried to fly upwards to escape the encirclement, but was stopped by dense firepower and a strange, net-like device, forcing her to fight the women on the ground.

"Bang!"

She casually slapped one of them away, but instead of chasing him down and turning him into a bloody mist, she expressionlessly dodged and was caught off guard when he cleaved her shoulder in mid-air with a slash, causing her to cough up a mouthful of blood.

These women were fearless and could even be described as launching a completely self-destructive suicidal attack against her. Given Yue's abilities and cold-blooded personality, she could kill as many of them as she came.

But... both Yue herself and this group of women of unknown origin knew that Yue would only passively defend himself.

Whenever she slightly widened her eyes, wanting to smash all of these people into mincemeat, she would subconsciously clench her fists and restrain herself.

"Because she is different from you."

"Bang!"

Moon Underneath reached out to block the attack in front of her, but without the Honkai Energy shield, her arm was nothing more than the arm of a soft, boneless girl. Her entire arm was sliced open with a vertical cut, and her own blood splattered on her pretty face.

"Smack!"

She was kicked hard in the chest, and Yue Xiaoxiao's body flew backward, rolled several times on the ground, and collapsed limply to the ground.

She didn't scream in pain; her empty, red eyes weren't even qualified to show any emotion.

"Your Excellency, the Herrscher of Erosion has lost the ability to act. Prepare to capture her."

"Yes, well done... Let's bring our little princess back quickly."

The girl's slender neck was grabbed without any mercy, and she was lifted up like an object. The girl, who was missing an arm, coughed up shocking blood. Her slightly open eyes looked at the leader who was talking to someone.

After placing shackles on the dying Herrscher, the cold-faced leader continued his conversation with the person on the other end of the terminal, "Your Excellency, how do you know the Herrscher of Erosion won't attack us? And why did you let the man who was with the Herrscher go?"

"Monica, you're a bit too curious."

"Excuse me, if Your Excellency is unable to answer..."

"No, it's nothing serious. Just think of it as... a small experiment of mine succeeding. That person has fulfilled his purpose, so there's no need to worry about it."

"I see."

The leader realized that her superior was unwilling to explain in detail, and she would only follow orders to carry out the mission. Normally, a mission to capture Herrscher of this caliber would never be assigned to a unit of top-rank A-rank Valkyrie like them, but since it was the bishop's order, she could not disobey it. In the end, just as the bishop had said, the Herrscher was captured without any damage.

Perhaps it was the bishop's uncanny foresight once again.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out among the team members who were not allowed to take any other action before she gave the order to return. The leader, who always valued discipline, frowned and asked the team members who had caused the commotion through the terminal, "What's going on? Who fired the shot? Answer immediately."

"Captain... we haven't fired any shots."

"Bang!"

Another shot rang out, and this time it was even closer! Monica quickly scanned the coordinates of all the team members and didn't find any of them moving, but she did notice one member who was very far away from the team and not even in her designated waiting area.

"OC-023, why are you acting alone! Answer immediately!"

"..."

After receiving no response from her teammates on the terminal, Monica cautiously drew her gun and began to scan the direction from which the gunshot had rang out. She had already deduced the situation based on the two clues: the gunshot and the lack of response from her teammates.

Someone attacked her team members and stole their equipment.

"Bang!"

The gunshots were getting closer! They were coming from the woods about ten meters ahead!

Monica raised her gun and aimed ahead, then immediately ordered all her team members to approach and surround the woods. Her orange-yellow pupils stared at the now-calm forest, and for some reason, a bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

She hadn't felt tense in battle for a long time, not even in the battle with the Herrscher just now, which had given her this feeling of tightness in her chest.

Why? Clearly, the Herrscher are humanity's most terrifying enemies, and this guy in front of us, who doesn't dare to show himself, can't even launch a direct attack.

Because... we can't see it.

A sudden surge of fear, fueled by some unknown emotion, made her feel as if she were being watched by two eyes, one black and one gray, slowly reaching out towards her from a place she couldn't see...

Unseen places...

But, judging from the sound of the gunshot, the other party should have been in the woods ahead—

"Bang!"

This time, the gunshot exploded in her ears, and Monica, whose pupils had shrunk to the extreme, turned around and grabbed the fist that was about to smash into her head!

"Sizzle—"

Electric current, flickering.

His eyes, one black and one gray, stared calmly at Monica, who had blocked his attack, as if carved from an iceberg.

Was it him? The man the bishop said we didn't need to worry about?

Before Monica could continue her questioning, a strong electric current instantly swept through her body, and the excruciating pain forced her to release the man's fist.

"Ah!"

The man then snatched the gun from Monica's hand, pointed it at her thigh, and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

"Bang!"

Bright red blood gushed out from the hole, and Monica collapsed to the ground, clutching the wound on her thigh in excruciating pain.

Lin dropped his pistol, picked up Yue, and without even glancing at the fallen Monica and the women who had chased after him, jumped onto the water park slide, then leaped to the other side, disappearing from everyone's sight in a few bounds.

Chapter 52 Because I'm an Idiot

"... Don't you hate hurting humans the most?"

"..."

"Why did you come back to save me...?"

"..."

The man carried the silver-haired girl as they fled under the cold moonlight. The girl clung tightly to the man's collar, her soft questions drowned out by the wind. Her usually cold and inhuman eyes rested vacantly against the man's chest.

Compared to her previous cold and ruthless demon queen appearance, she now looks petite and fragile, curled up like an injured kitten.

After fleeing across most of Canghai City, Lin finally stopped to catch his breath, leaning against the shadows and using the reflections from the glass of buildings to observe his surroundings for any pursuers.

The other party doesn't seem to be catching up, but we still can't let our guard down. An organization that can capture Herrscher is probably... Schicksal. We absolutely cannot underestimate their power.

He looked down at the curled-up Yue. Thanks to the Herrscher's exaggerated self-healing ability, the parts of her body that were injured had grown back. Her smooth, fair shoulders and arms, no longer covered by clothes, lay quietly in Lin's arms. She raised her head and met Lin's gaze.

In those crimson eyes, which gleamed faintly, there seemed to be an added, unfathomable quality compared to the previous extreme coldness.

"You kept your promise and did not harm any humans, so I will also abide by the contract and protect you as a familiar." Lin took a deep breath to calm his heartbeat after the strenuous exercise. The faint fragrance of blood mixed with the scent of aged wine wafted from the girl. "Don't misunderstand, this is not a matter of wiping the slate clean."

"But why did you let me escape? Even if I die, it's just returning to two days ago."

"... Then why would you risk your life for people who have nothing to do with you?"

"..." Lin closed his mouth, the other person's indifferent gaze did not seem to be seeking an answer.

"If you can't answer, then it means you're just like me, acting on a whim." Yue's scattered pupils refocused into a bright Blood Moon. She jumped out of Lin's arms and opened her thin lips in the moonlight. "When you act on a whim, you might stomp on a bug to death, or you might put a cute bug back in a safe place."

"Alright, let's go..."

"... Just pretend I'm an idiot."

"What?"

Yue thought she had misheard and turned back to look at the man with a lifeless gaze.

"Because I'm an idiot, that's why I'm willing to save people who have nothing to do with me."

A lonely wind blew across the bangs that covered his gray right eye, which was now completely black and gray, yet seemed to emit scattered specks of light.

The silver-haired girl looked at him with an extremely strange gaze for the first time. This man, who exceeded her expectations in every way, was now beyond her control. After a long while, she softly muttered, "Idiot."

Lin didn't continue the conversation. After confirming the surrounding environment once again, he asked, "What should we do next?"

"?"

"Didn't you want me to help you find your parents?" Lin waved his hand, recalling the information Kallen and Theresa had told him about Schicksal and "that man." "I have an idea."

"... What are your thoughts?"

"Before that, I need to do something."

"Theresa, we have to leave this city. Although you are able to control yourself now, you have attacked a few people. You can't stay here any longer."

"Okay, let's go, sister."

Lin stood on the rooftop, the cold wind that swept in at night creeping into his trousers and leaving a chill inside his clothes.

Two figures, one tall and one short, slowly walked out of Canghai City. This time, they would probably be able to leave this place safely, truly escape their former cage, and see the beautiful world.

Lin raised his hand, and the cut on his arm had healed automatically. After becoming a member of the Moon's familiar, his self-healing ability was extraordinary.

"You really can't forget her." Yue stood beside him, glanced at his folded arm, and said coldly, "She can't remember you anyway; it's just wishful thinking on your part."

"... I'm an idiot."

This all-powerful answer left Yue Du speechless for a moment, and all she could say was, "You really are an idiot."

Yue rolled her eyes, feeling a bit irritated... This must be what irritation feels like, right? Her chest felt tight, and she really wanted to punch Lin's face flat. This was probably something she had never experienced before... irritation?

Why does Lin have to care so much about Theresa? She's just a copy of her, from appearance to ability; you could call her a flawed fake.

He's her relative! Not Theresa's!