One climax followed another; a string of events unfolded in an instant.
From the four of them confidently holding their trump cards at the start, to the girl detonating her ambush, to Ling's method activating unexpectedly, and finally to the two cowards successfully falling out of the building.
A series of "spectacular," "long-planned," "each confident in their own schemes"
grand dramas had played out in mere moments.
Fang Ran dazedly raised his head and discovered that he was in a huge pit, completely unharmed.
Tears instantly streamed down his face.
Thank heaven, I'm alive.
Fang Ran felt that surviving even this should unlock a skill called "Remaining Unharmed When a Building Collapses."
"Bro!? You're still alive, right!?"
Fang Ran cautiously shouted. Just now, he had desperately clung to the railing and pitched forward as he fell. In his final glance, he seemed to have seen that girl's lightning?
Uh, and then she seemed to have been eliminated by a burst of dazzling light!?
"Pfft, cough cough!! I'm alive!! Little bro, over here, give me a hand!"
A bedraggled voice came from nearby. Fang Ran turned and saw Meng Lang stuck in a pit, so he hurried over and pulled him out like a radish.
Then, like a pair of brothers in misery, they collapsed onto the rubble-strewn ground and gasped loudly for air. After a long while, Fang Ran carefully tried asking:
"Bro, does this mean we made it out alive?"
"Uh, I guess so?"
Meng Lang stared blankly at the collapsed building. Just moments ago, the two of them had been inside, freely munching on snacks and taking whatever they wanted.
But now it had suddenly collapsed!?
How bizarre.
Could someone have interfered?
Meng Lang shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Then he gave Fang Ran's shoulder a hearty slap, wearing an expression that said, See? Your bro's reliable, as he declared:
"Little bro! We're safe!"
Then he saw Fang Ran's expression stiffen. Just as he was wondering why, Fang Ran pointed behind him and spoke with difficulty.
"Bro, look behind you first."
"No! I don't want to look!"
Meng Lang answered without hesitation.
"You have to look even if you don't want to! I can't be the only one bearing this despair!"
Fang Ran snapped, then forcibly turned Meng Lang's head.
And Meng Lang saw it.
A pitch-black monster the size of a small dinosaur was pushing aside the rubble, and then it spotted the two of them.
The three stared at one another for a second.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"Roar!"
The two men and the monster screamed at the same time!
But before Fang Ran could either drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness or turn and run.
The system's voice suddenly sounded.
"Ding! You have successfully killed target E-49."
"Ding! You have received a special reward."
Fang Ran stared blankly at the interface before him. Then the two of them watched in shock as E-49, its lower body still buried beneath the rubble, suddenly collapsed limply as though it had exhausted all its strength, slowly dissolving into a cloud of black mist.
Fang Ran: "...Meow?"
Meng Lang: "...Holy shit!?"
Suddenly, the rubble beside them gave a crash, and a streak of silver light drilled its way out. The first thing it saw was Fang Ran and Meng Lang.
"You two cowards are actually still alive!?"
The loli voice sounded surprised as Ling looked at Fang Ran. She had originally planned to catch him, but the damn building had collapsed. How had he survived?
"What are you talking about?" Fang Ran immediately straightened his expression and said with stern composure, "How could Chicken Dinner elites like us die so easily?"
"That's right!" Meng Lang instantly nodded solemnly as well. Crossing his arms, he said with lofty confidence, "We were only waiting for an opportunity. Look, didn't we take out the final target already?"
Ling stared straight at the two cowards, glanced at the spot where the building had directly crushed E-49 to death, where traces of black mist still lingered, and fell silent.
These bastards had actually pulled it off!?
With her exceptional intelligence, Ling immediately guessed roughly what had happened. Although she did not know who had triggered the fuse she had set, the collapsing building had happened to crush E-49 to death.
Then, because of the special relationship between Fang Ran and herself at that moment, the system had directly counted the target as having been killed by Fang Ran.
Damn it!
Ling looked at Fang Ran's expression, which clearly said, I really want to show off, but no, I need to stay calm, and desperately wanted to smack him across the face.
Forcing down that impulse, Ling suppressed her temper and asked:
"How did you survive when the building collapsed?"
"Oh, that? At the very last moment, Bro Meng Lang shouted a move. Uh... wait, holy shit!!!!!!"
Halfway through speaking, Fang Ran suddenly remembered something. He abruptly turned and stared at Meng Lang!
"Uh, little bro, why are you looking at me like that?"
Meng Lang immediately tensed up and pulled his cloak tighter around himself.
Ling was also puzzled. She merely watched as Fang Ran suddenly stared at Meng Lang's entire body in shock for some reason.
The two fell silent for a moment before Fang Ran suddenly spoke:
"Bro, do you dare open your cloak and let me take a look?"
"I don't!"
Faced with Fang Ran's inexplicable question, Meng Lang answered instantly!
Then, as though he had confirmed it, Fang Ran pointed at Meng Lang with a trembling finger, his voice shaking as well.
"Could it be, bro, you..."
"Don't ask, little bro. Don't ask anything!"
Meng Lang clutched his cloak around his whole body, crouched down, covered his face, and did not dare face Fang Ran.
The entire scene looked like "a cheating girlfriend, naked and clutching a bedsheet, unable to face her boyfriend's questioning after he rushed over"!
It was exceptionally painful to watch!
Ling looked speechlessly at the two men, having no idea what they were doing or what kind of nonsense they were up to. Then she suddenly noticed something that had fallen from Meng Lang's black robe when he crouched down.
Hmm? I feel like I've seen this shape somewhere before.
Emmm~~~
"Hmm!?"
It matched something in the database in her mind, and Ling cried out in astonishment!
"Bro, so it really is true. What you're wearing right now... is... a Sailor Uniform?"
Fang Ran said in utter disbelief. The situation had been too urgent before; when he heard the words "Moon Power," he had not connected them to anything. But now that Ling had brought it up, combined with the dazzling light that had eliminated Lightning Girl earlier, Fang Ran instantly found the match in his memories!
Sailor Moon!!??
Moon Spirit Realm power transformation!!??
Holy shit!!
"Little bro, I..."
Meng Lang dropped to his knees, feeling that he could no longer go on living. Damn it, he must have been out of his mind to use that ability just now!! Why had he not used something else!?
He had grown used to dealing with those old-timers who knew nothing about anime.
I forgot this guy's an otaku!!
"It's okay, bro."
Fang Ran suddenly comforted him in a steady voice.
"Don't comfort me. You have no idea how desperate I am!!"
Meng Lang grabbed his robe tightly, his face miserable as he pounded the ground and shouted!
"I know, bro."
"No! You don't! Can you imagine it!! Suddenly being trapped in a desperate situation! Suddenly being told I had superpowers! Suddenly, when I was excited!"
"I suddenly became Sailor Moon!! My lifesaving straw was Sailor Moon's powers!!"
Crash, crash—Meng Lang could hear the sound of his heart breaking.
"I understand."
"You don't!"
"I really do!!!"
Fang Ran suddenly said with absolute conviction. Then, trembling, he pulled a card from his pocket. Under Meng Lang's stunned, disbelieving gaze, he covered his own face, unable to bear looking at it, and said:
"Because I'm fucking the same!!"
"I suddenly became a Magical Girl too!!!!"
The Sword Card appeared in Fang Ran's hand, exactly like it did on television.
Meng Lang was stunned. He froze as he and Fang Ran stared at each other for a long time, as though they would remain like that until the end of time!
"My kin!!!"
"My soulmate!!!"
The two suddenly embraced! Tears streaming down their faces!
Finally! Finally!
Finally, someone could understand the despair of suddenly falling into a life-or-death crisis, grabbing onto a lifesaving straw, only to discover that they had become Magical Girls!!
"Bro!"
"Little bro!"
"I feel like I have the motivation to keep living!"
"Bro, let's form a team!"
"To keep our secret, let's support each other and survive together!"
"Okay!"
The two vigorously patted each other's backs, feeling as though they had found someone to rely on in life, then burst into tears again!
Only Ling watched this touching yet exceptionally painful scene in silent speechlessness.
Before you continue