I'm Not a Flame-Chaser

Lin certainly didn't expect that his target was right behind him.

After entering the cabin, Jiu immediately found a seat with a view of the front section of the cabin and sat down. The child next to her, accompanied by his parents, sat down laughing and shouting at the slowly rising ground. He casually placed the half-eaten hamburger on the seat.

When he tried to pick up the hamburger to continue eating, he only saw the empty wrapper.

With a calm expression, Jiu chewed and swallowed while listening to the child's wailing beside her, her eyes fixed on the cabin ahead.

Come on, Lin, if you want to have a showdown, then let's give it a try.

Coral's "Reversal": Chapter Forty - The Ruthless Herrscher

The next place to visit is the World Trade Center, located in the center of the island base. Compared to the magnificent rail elevators and world-class amusement park attractions, the shopping center, limited by the size of Coral Island, is not particularly special, but it is still large enough to accommodate a wide variety of goods.

Lin and Bronya kept an eye on the instruments along the way, but the data showed no fluctuations, which meant that the target they were looking for was not nearby.

"Is there anything you want to buy?" Lin glanced around discreetly. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he had vaguely sensed people staring at him from the beginning, though he didn't see anyone suspicious.

Could it be that Schicksal has noticed they are already monitoring them?

We should be more careful.

Bronya glanced at the large shopping mall umbrella in front of her and said, "I want to bring back some local specialties for Seele and the others."

"Let's go then."

Two people, dressed smartly but with the demeanor of secret agents, walked into the mall side by side. They went to the mall's store guide list with a clear goal, wrote down the stores they wanted to visit, planned their route, and then entered the stores with super efficiency, buying gifts down to the exact model of each item. The huge and complicated mall was conquered by them in just ten minutes.

Both women had shopping bags full of gifts Bronya had picked out, such as a bitter gourd pillow for Theresa, a robot model for Welt, a game console for Kiana, and a pleated skirt for Seele.

As expected, appearances can be deceiving. Bronya is a typical girl with no personality, no material possessions, and no social skills, but she understands and cares for those around her better than anyone else, and the gifts she chooses are always in line with their interests.

"Are you done shopping?" Lin asked Bronya, who seemed lost in thought, as he slung the numerous shopping bags over his left arm. "Let's go back to the hotel and put everything away."

"..."

After taking a couple of steps, Lin noticed that no one was following him. He turned around and saw the light gray-haired girl standing still, head down, deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Bronya looked up, a strand of hair falling from her ear. "There are still people whose gifts haven't been bought."

"Whose?"

"You."

"..." Lin Mo paused for a few seconds, then spread his hands towards Bronya was standing not far away, and said, "No need."

"Need."

"Unnecessary."

"Need."

Are there any other words?

"Necessary."

"Why did the severity increase?"

With a sigh, Lin walked back. It wouldn't take long anyway, and spending some time with her wouldn't hurt.

... But thinking about it carefully, doesn't this mean that Bronya never intended to buy him a gift in the first place?

So the two walked back from the door, but as they returned to the dazzling array of shops, Bronya stared blankly at the numerous goods on display, looked up, and asked, "What do you like?"

Their movements are suspicious; are they scouting the location?

Jiu stood with her hands in her pockets, gazing at the two people ahead from afar. She watched them walk into the mall with a cold expression, followed them with a cold expression, and then, with a cold expression, snatched an ice cream from a child who came out of the ice cream shop next door and licked it.

He saw two figures, one tall and one short, reflected in his eyes, and pondered the purpose of their actions.

"Waaaaah... Give me back my ice cream!"

"..."

A faint force came from the hem of her clothes. Jiu looked down at the little boy who was crying his eyes out, and then at the ice cream in her hand.

After thinking for a moment, he squatted down in front of the little boy.

"Hand over all the money you have," he said coldly. "Don't tell anyone, or I'll make you eat cat food."

After robbing the little boy of all his spare change, Jiu bought a cheap bread at a nearby shop and followed him. He noticed that Lin had stopped and was looking around. He hid in a nearby shop and pretended to be a customer.

After a while, he saw Lin and the light gray-haired girl carrying a bunch of shopping bags each heading towards the exit, and he couldn't help but frown.

What exactly is this... doing?

Just as Jiu was about to follow, he saw the light gray-haired girl stop. He was startled and dodged into the nearby emergency exit. Lin also came back at this moment.

Almost...

A fine layer of cold sweat seeped from Jiu's body. He knew why Lin was doing these meaningless things. Lin had noticed that someone was following them, so he used this method to lower Jiu's guard and then kept observing the surrounding environment to look for the person following them while shopping.

Even though I couldn't see him or sense him, I could still detect his presence. He's definitely not someone to be trifled with...

There's no other way. If this continues, we'll definitely be exposed. We should retreat and find a way to leave Coral Island.

As Jiu walked out of the safety passage, he quickly headed towards the mall entrance after Lin and the light gray-haired girl had gone far away. However, at that moment, a person holding a child appeared in front of him.

"Waaah... it's him..."

"Hmm... little kitty, I never taught you to steal ice cream or money from children."

... At that moment, Jiu believed that there must be a God in the world.

Otherwise, such a bizarre reunion would be inexplicable.

After a while.

"Here, take this and go buy something. Next time something like this happens, be sure to tell an adult!"

Binai squatted down in front of the crying little boy, put the money into his palm, patted his head, smiled with narrowed eyes, stood up and turned to look at the calm-faced Kyu.

"You ran away without saying anything. Did the food not suit your taste?"

... There is no such thing as food that suits one's taste in this world.

"I told him not to tell anyone," Jiu said, arms crossed.

"Yeah, I saw him crying and asked him what happened." Binai chuckled and wagged her finger. "A handsome older brother stole his ice cream and then stole his money too."

Jiu heard the description and her facial muscles tightened.

This woman is Schicksal one, and perhaps due to some intellectual deficiency, she failed to realize that he is the Herrscher that Schicksal is looking for. However, staying by her side at any moment could lead to his discovery, which is extremely dangerous.

He turned and left.

I can't walk.

Binai smiled and used her slender fingers to lift him by the back of his collar, dragging him into the mall like she was carrying a cat. "Hehe, I'm on vacation today, so I'm just browsing around the mall. Little kitty, you look like you want to come along too."

"In no mood."

Despite her protests, Jiu was dragged into the shop with a sour face.

This is troublesome; it will be even more troublesome if Lin finds out.

Despicable humans.

Finally, Lin and Bronya stood in front of a claw machine.

"...I don't like dolls," Lin said expressionlessly.

"I like it." Bronya put a coin in. "Kiana and I used to have a claw machine competition when we went shopping. She didn't win a single one, but I won twenty."

Does this mean you're boasting about your superior skills?

"Ding-dong."

After the confirmation sound rang, Bronya turned the joystick and stared intently at the clip in the glass window. After carefully adjusting it, she pressed the button. The loose clip caught a small gray duck plush toy, but the obviously loose clip couldn't be lifted at all and slid out.

However, the end of the clip snagged the little gray duck's tag, forcibly lifting it to the exit. After the shaking stopped, the little gray duck fell into the shipping chute.

Incredible skill.

A slight change appeared on Bronya's icy, pretty face. She took out the little gray duck, looked it over, and handed it to Lin.

"Your gift."

"..."

Lin Mo took it, looked at the ugly-cute plush toy, and said nothing.

Bronya put a coin on the claw machine.

"...What's this?"

The young woman with a single, spiraling ponytail pulled down Lin's sun hat and said calmly, "When I bring something with me, I leave a coin as proof that I was here, and also to pass on good luck to the next person."

After saying that, Bronya walked past Lin.

"Ding-dong."

The girl stopped and turned around in a daze. She saw the man's face reflected in the light of the claw machine. After a few seconds, he bent down, took a small black duck from the dispenser, and put a coin on the claw machine.

"Yours." Lin tossed it to Bronya as he walked past her.

"Why?"

"You didn't even buy yourself a gift."

Bronya picked up the little black duck, looked at it, and then gazed blankly at Lin, who had walked away.

Actually, I originally wanted to repay the favor I received from the Ferris Wheel...

The Coral's "Twist": Chapter Forty-One - The Little Black Duck and the Little White Duck

"Speaking of which, the last person I encountered in that place was the Herrscher of Binding, wasn't he?"

"...Um."

"Even though I only saw him once, he looks just like you."

"..."

Walking along the wide streets, one can hardly see any trace of time on this artificial archipelago, which was built only ten years ago.

Humans are amazing creatures. They are always dreaming about the future and always hoping that tomorrow will be a completely different day than today, but at the same time, they can never let go of the past.

The two shadows appeared and disappeared on the bright road.

"He's different from us, isn't he? He seems more like the Herrscher of the Void?" Bronya looked down at the little black duck in her hand, pinched its fluffy head, and asked the man beside her who was paying attention to his appearance.

"He's different from everyone else." Lin took a deep breath. "Would you make it your life's mission to exterminate a certain kind of insect? Even if they don't threaten you or cause you any harm, it's just that you have this mission."

"... I don't understand. What do you mean by mission? Is it something without any real meaning? Just a slogan?"

"Yes."

Just like Lin had done to humanity before, the responsibility was forcibly imposed upon him without any reason.

That is a divine decree. Those who receive a divine decree do not doubt its correctness, but only faithfully carry it out.

Lin doubted and rebelled against God, while Jiu went down the opposite path.

"Rather than Herrscher, he's more like a messenger of God." Bronya understood Lin's meaning. "With such a precedent, the fact that you can still get along with Kiana and even Benares is truly..."

"Because it's not just him, I've also encountered other different Herrscher."

Lin stopped in front of the fence. Further ahead was the sea. Half of the bottom island base had been explored, which meant that today's search was over.

He gazed at the sea, his hand resting on the railing.

"I once met a Herrscher of Reason."

"The Herrscher of Reason?"

Lin turned to look at Bronya, whose voice had suddenly cracked, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No, continue. Was it the Herrscher of Reason from your era?" Bronya hesitated for a second, then shook her head.

"No, she came from a civilization earlier than mine. As the last Herrscher who ended the previous civilization, she came to our time." Lin tapped his fingers on the railing, the rust on it being the only mark of time that Lin could find on this city. "But in the end, she died to save humanity."

The Herrscher died to save humanity...