Kill

Qiqi lay motionless on the floor. Her little hat was gone, and steel rebar from the shattered ceiling pinned down half her body.

"Qiqi!"

Tony struggled to move the rebar aside, then carefully lifted the girl into his arms.

"Qiqi, Qiqi, wake up! Please, open your eyes and look at me!"

Tony called to her desperately. His voice was already hoarse, but he refused to stop.

He gently stroked the girl's cheek. His hands trembled with fear and worry.

As though she had heard Tony calling, Qiqi's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze was unfocused, her mind hazy.

Qiqi looked at the man before her.

"It's you."

Overwhelmed with relief, Tony hugged Qiqi tightly, resting her head against his chest.

"Good girl. Don't be afraid."

Qiqi looked at Tony. She sensed something, and her eyes filled with reluctance to leave.

"Mr. Tony... I'm sorry..."

"No, no, Qiqi... don't..."

Tony didn't want Qiqi to say those words.

He knew that if he let her go on, he might lose this sweet little girl forever.

Mr. Tony's heart was beating so fast. Qiqi could hear it.

She knew he was worried about her.

But Qiqi... was so tired... so cold...

Just like the time she fell off the mountain in her dream.

It hurt so much.

Mr. Tony's arms were so warm. Could Qiqi sleep in his arms for a little while? Just a little while.

If Qiqi fell asleep, would she wake up again?

Would she... see Mr. Tony again?

No one answered Qiqi, but she already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tony..."

Qiqi said it again.

"Qiqi, no more saying you're sorry, okay?"

Tony held Qiqi even tighter, his voice pleading.

His voice trembled, as though he were afraid of losing something.

Listening to him, Qiqi felt terribly sad.

She was a bad girl. She had promised she would stay with Mr. Tony forever.

But...

"Qiqi is going to... break her promise."

Mr. Tony, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

"...So cold."

Tony tightened his embrace, his voice growing hoarse.

"You're not cold. You're not cold. I'm holding you, so you won't be cold. Be a good girl, Qiqi."

Qiqi parted her lips and breathed out a wisp of icy air.

She said nothing more, slowly closing her eyes and savoring Tony's embrace and warmth.

Tony pressed his face against Qiqi's cheek and felt its icy chill. His heart turned just as cold, as though he had been plunged into a bucket of freezing water.

"Qiqi?"

"..."

"Qiqi?"

Only silence answered him, a silence so complete it was frightening.

The little girl who had always gazed at him with those big eyes, who had always followed him, never woke again.

Qiqi, please don't scare me.

Wake up, please.

Tears spilled from Tony's eyes and fell onto the girl's forehead.

As though she understood the feelings held in that tear, the girl comforted him one last time.

Her tiny body dissolved into specks of ice-blue light. They circled Tony, reluctant to leave, before finally fading from his eyes.

As though unable to believe it, Tony stared blankly at his empty arms. He reached out and grasped at the air before him.

It changed nothing.

"Hahaha."

Thud!

Obadiah descended from above, watching the man's anguish with satisfaction.

"Well? Heartbroken?"

"Damn you!"

Tony glared furiously at Obadiah.

His fists clenched, his knuckles creaking.

He hated him. He hated him so much.

But what could he do?

Qiqi was already gone.

And this time, Obadiah would give him no more chances.

Boom!

Tony desperately dodged through the rubble. Obadiah's bombardment had destroyed the path to the workshop. He couldn't put on the Mark Armor and had lost even the ability to fight back.

He rolled across the floor several times. Shell fragments and exposed rebar gouged deep wounds into his skin, but none of that pain compared to the agony in his heart.

"Tony, your time is up!"

Obadiah laughed, aimed at Tony, and pressed the firing button.

The bomb exploded above the running man's head. The powerful shock wave slammed Tony into a wall. His head struck a sharp protrusion, knocking him unconscious, and his body collapsed to the floor.

The flames were about to engulf him.

At that very moment!

"Wind Blade!"

A blue-green wind scattered the flames, revealing Tony's figure.

The Traveler suddenly appeared. As Lin Ze looked at Obadiah, his eyes and heart burned with rage.

He was going to kill this son of a bitch!

How dare he hurt his Qiqi!

And hit Da... hit Tony, too!!

Absolutely unforgivable!!!

In a flash, Lin Ze moved like a gale, reaching Obadiah's side in the blink of an eye.

"Hah!"

"You goddamn bastard!"

Lin Ze roared through gritted teeth.

He leaped up, planted both feet against Obadiah's armor, and unleashed another Wind Blade.

Startled, Obadiah hastily dodged.

With a crash, a deep crater opened in the floor. This Wind Blade had carved out a trench, and it kept extending.

Unable to withstand the Wind Blade's power, the floor collapsed in an instant.

Having narrowly avoided the strike, Obadiah hurried toward the exit. But the weight of his armor sent another shock through the already fragile floor with every step.

"Aah!!"

Cracks spread beneath his feet, and the floor shattered.

Obadiah frantically clung to the edge, staring in shock at the boy who had suddenly appeared.

"Who are you?!"

The boy looked at him, his eyes filled with hatred.

"The one who's going to kill you!"

Lin Ze held out his hand, feeling the wind's presence. Anemo understood the boy's fury and rushed eagerly into his palm.

A storm had formed.

"Die, you scum!"

Lin Ze shouted, and the storm howled toward Obadiah, engulfing his body and carrying him outside.

Boom!

Countless Wind Blades filled the tornado, tearing and slicing at Obadiah's body.

"Aaaah!"

Scream after scream rang out. Obadiah's cries were chilling.

He wanted to escape, but Wind Blades surrounded his entire body. He couldn't move at all. He could only watch as they tore through his armor's protection and carved wound after wound into his flesh.

Before long, he was covered in blood.

At last, the storm subsided. The figure swept high into the air immediately plummeted toward the yawning abyss below.

He was certain to die.

"No!"

Obadiah roared in despair.

But no one would save him.

As he fell, Obadiah saw the boy standing by the window. He reached out to beg him for help, but the murderous gaze in the boy's eyes shattered his hope.

Thud!!

His body slammed into the ground like a rag.

"Urgh!"

Obadiah opened his mouth, and blood poured out uncontrollably.

He refused to accept it.

But his body no longer obeyed him. The Wind Blades had shredded it.

Crash!! Something heavy fell.

Rubble struck Obadiah, the impact flipping his entire body over.

"Cough, cough!"

He spat out a large pool of blood mixed with pieces of his damaged organs.

Lin Ze walked up beside Obadiah and looked down at him coldly.

Feeling that gaze, Obadiah laboriously raised his head and saw a pair of blood-red eyes.

Lin Ze raised the Dull Blade high, gripping its hilt with both hands and aiming its sharp tip at his target.

"Die!!!"

"No!!!!"

The blade pierced flesh, and crimson liquid sprayed out. The dark blood stained the Traveler's clothes. Lin Ze blinked, wiped the still-warm wetness from his face, and withdrew his sword.

He looked away from the twisted, defiant face on the ground.

Lifting his head, he looked up. A figure whose face he couldn't make out stood beside the broken window high above.

In the corner, the little flying girl covered her eyes and asked him:

"Traveler, are you done yet?"

Lin Ze looked away. Without hesitation, he strode forward.

"It's done. Paimon, let's go."