I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 602

After returning to this world, he discovered Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, which was related to Kevin. By attacking Shencheng Pharmaceuticals's facilities, he found information that allowed him to understand the world 50,000 years in the future. Among them, Kiana Kaslana, the Herrscher of the Void caused the Great Honkai, caught his attention. The data showed that there were eyewitness reports of her appearing in Sky City.

After lying in wait for three days, he found the girl and tested her, but what he found was completely different from what he had imagined: the girl named Kiana was determined to die under the gun.

If you die, it will all be over, and no one will be hurt anymore.

This made the man think about many things.

After the disorientation between his consciousness and body subsided slightly, the man exhaled a breath of stale air and turned his head slightly to look at the unconscious silver-haired girl.

He sat on the ground, raised his hand, gently lifted the girl's head, which was covered by her cascading silver hair, and placed it on his lap. He then took her coat and covered her with it.

The man gently brushed the strands of hair from the girl's pained face, leaned against the tree, and quietly gazed at the rising sun beyond the city.

No matter when, the sun will rise as usual, and even if you are full of pain and covered in wounds, there is only one way forward.

How much more must these children sacrifice to reach this bright yet cruel future...?

Kiana had a dream.

"Wow..."

Heart-wrenching cries.

I dreamt that stars fell into the city, monsters wreaked havoc, and there was blood, wreckage, and ruins. A crying child stood in front of a collapsed house, and everywhere I looked was a scene of despair and cruelty.

Ahead lay endless darkness, behind them lurking monsters; there was no way out.

There is no way out.

There is no way out.

Unbeknownst to her, her feet were submerged in a sea of blood. The girl trembled and covered her face, but her hands were also covered in foul-smelling blood, leaving ugly, bright red marks on her fair face.

Bubbles rose from the sea of blood, and to the girl's horrified gaze, faces emerged from it, their bloodshot eyes staring at her.

He stared intently at her, as if he wanted to tear her apart. The hatred he had swallowed flowed from his eyes, turning into tangible malice that rushed towards her.

Don't want...

Among those faces were both strangers and familiar faces.

Mei, Bronya, Theresa, Fu Hua... Himeko.

They hated, resented, and were angry... Even though the girl knew they couldn't possibly see her that way, she still ran away.

Escape...

Where to escape to...

I can't go anywhere...

"Are you going to run away again? Coward."

Herrscher laugh came from behind.

The girl woke up with a start. Yes, she couldn't run away. She had sworn to the Class President that she would never run away again.

She wants to protect everything she has.

The girl turned around resolutely, facing the aloof Herrscher directly...

However, the scene I imagined did not appear.

The Herrscher, who bore the same appearance as the girl, silently watched her, his golden eyes filled with mockery, yet also with...

Sad.

Why...

The girl turned and ran away.

She wanted to escape to a place where no one could find her.

Hiding in a dark, dirty corner, trembling all alone.

She never wanted to see anyone again.

In no mood...

Don't want...

Don't go near her anymore...

A guilty and lonely soul flows out from an empty shell.

The gloomy sky and the incessant rain soaked and submerged her, turning her back into the helpless child she was when she was little, keeping company with another version of herself in an empty room.

Pain.

But just as she was looking down and curled up, she smelled a faint fragrance.

Fragrance...

"If you don't know who to live for, then live for me."

Whose voice is that...? It sounds so familiar...

In that comforting fragrance, the rain in the girl's dream gradually dissipated.

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Seven - The First Encounter

After four consecutive months of nightmares, coupled with training even in her sleep in Sky City, Kiana hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. Recalling the soft bed at the St. Freya Academy and the morning sunlight shining on the blankets, it felt like years ago.

Today, she slept exceptionally well, enveloped in a faint fragrance that relaxed her tense mind, allowing her to release all the fatigue, stress, and fear of the past four months in the boundless white space.

Completely relaxed, she rubbed her sleepy eyes in the warm afternoon sun, got up from the grass, her coat slipped off her shoulders, and her face was slightly flushed from sleep.

Kiana, are you awake?

"Phew... Class President, is it time for morning class...?"

The Class President's call rang in her ears. The silver-haired girl yawned and, after seeing the semi-transparent girl, remembered that she was no longer at the St. Freya Academy.

"I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you. You've been under a lot of stress these past few months, so you really need to rest."

"Huh? Did I sleep for a long time?" Kiana looked up and saw the sun shining brightly in the sky. She was stunned for a long time before scratching the back of her head and smiling at the girl. "But I really haven't had such a comfortable sleep in a long time. I felt like I smelled a nice fragrance in my dream, which was especially comforting."

"Fragrance..."

The girl muttered to herself thoughtfully, while Kiana was preoccupied with something else; she looked around but couldn't see the person.

Has he left?

"They were here just ten minutes before you woke up..."

To be precise, you slept with your head on his lap all morning...

The girl wanted to say those words, but the words wouldn't come out.

Since the man left before Kiana woke up, it means he didn't want Kiana to know about it. Perhaps he had his own reasons, and I shouldn't expose him.

"He left something for you."

The girl pointed to the extinguished fire. Kiana's eyes lit up when she saw it, and her sense of smell, which had been dormant, instantly returned, allowing her to smell the rich, enticing aroma of food that had lingered before she lost consciousness.

Kiana carefully lifted the lid, and upon seeing the plump grains of rice inside, tears and saliva almost streamed down her face.

"Hmm... hmm... he's not that bad..." The silver-haired girl picked up the chopsticks beside her, opened her small mouth, and started eating, a happy smile appearing on her pretty face.

Watching Kiana wolf down her food, the girl shook her head with a helpless smile. A single meal could change her opinion of her. Sure enough, no matter how much she changes, Kiana is still the same Kiana.

A hooded man stood in front of the terminal screen, scanning the dense text at a glance. Behind him lay two paralyzed automated patrol robots. He was the only person in the huge data room.

This is one of the industrial zones of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. Since returning to his Intrinsic World, he has been collecting various information, and Shencheng Pharmaceuticals and the World Serpent behind it are the best sources of information. So while he was training Kiana, he was also observing the movements of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, looking for weaker facilities to infiltrate, and searching for intelligence and weapons.

The security at the facility we infiltrated today was a bit laxer than the previous ones, and we entered quite easily. However, the data inside consisted mostly of medical transaction information that was of little use, and there was no intelligence about the three major organizations: Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent.

So I guess I still have to go to the central industrial zone of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals...

After searching the entire terminal to no avail, the man formatted the system and prepared to leave.

"Clatter..."

A barely perceptible rustling sound broke the silence of the archives room. The man waiting for the formatting to finish glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a small, silver-black jar roll in from outside the door.

"... hiss."

The moment it came into view, the canister spewed out a large amount of thick smoke, filling the entire archive room with smoke that obstructed visibility within two breaths!

The man's figure gradually disappeared into the rising smoke.

"..."

Quiet.

In the smoke-filled, enclosed space, there was no sound. The smoke grenade seemed to be a signal to start the fight. After it began, both sides waited silently for each other in what they considered their most proficient areas.

Whether one is the hunter or the prey can change in an instant; often, those who lose patience become sacrifices beneath the fangs.

"Buzz—"

The sudden vibration in the air dispersed the smoke, and black raven feathers, appearing from nowhere, broke through the smoke and dust, embedding themselves into the indestructible alloy.

"Bass--"

In an instant, two figures belonging to the night clashed in the pale mist. Then, one of them took two steps back and retreated back into the smoke.

"..."

The entire archive room fell into a deep silence once again, until someone opened the door, and tear gas dissipated from the enclosed space.

She walked outside, took off her gas mask, revealing a beauty mark at the corner of her mouth, and her bright red, snake-like eyes darted around. She turned back to stare at the empty archives room and gave a cold laugh.

"Did he escape... thief?"

The man jumped to the roof of the tall building, looked out over the industrial area he had escaped from, and put the hood that had fallen off back on to cover his black hair and mask.

As expected, they've started targeting him. The lax security today was bait to lure him in. It's understandable that there was no substantial intelligence in the terminal; it's probably already been transferred to the central industrial area.

Where could the "key" to the Stigmata Project experiment be located...? The industrial zone is indeed the most likely place, but it doesn't seem that simple...

The investigation must continue, but World Serpent has already detected his movements, so it may not be so easy to get the information we want.

Looks like I need to shift my focus.

The man took out his phone, which contained various information he had recorded about Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, including, of course, the crucial "partners".

In recent months, the largest supplier of medical supplies to Shencheng Pharmaceuticals and Sky City has been an organization called "Schicksal".

Schicksal...

The man felt slightly uncomfortable with the word; whenever he saw it, he would think of a certain smiling blond man.

His thoughts raced through his mind. He put away his phone, leaped off the platform, and disappeared into the night.

"Today's training program is the same as yesterday's."

Kiana, who was waiting in the same spot, turned around in surprise and saw a mysterious man emerge from the shadows.

This person was more elusive than anyone she had ever met; he would disappear without her noticing and reappear without her noticing, which was a huge test for her heart.

"Should we continue with this training today?" Qi Ya looked at the man with a strange expression as he took out a cup. "What's the point of this kind of training?"

The man said casually, "It doesn't mean anything, I just enjoy tormenting you."

"..."

Kiana's slight change in opinion of him vanished in an instant, but she secretly hummed inwardly that she had found a way today. As long as she maintained the position of her neck, she wouldn't spill the water even if she dozed off.

The man didn't care what she thought at all. After placing the cup on her head, he took out two more cups.

The distant lights shone on the girl's face, which had turned deathly pale. "Wait a minute, why are there two more cups today?"

"Yesterday was just a taste; today is the main event." The man placed a cup on each of the girl's shoulders, then casually pointed, "Go stand over there, little dog."

The "Departure" of the Sky: Chapter Eight Yes, yes, yes, I did it all.

When Kiana woke up again, it was already another afternoon. The sun was warm, and a semi-transparent girl, still sleepy and deep in thought, stood to the side.

"Um... Good morning, Class President."