"Symbiotes?" Si Xiaobei tilted his head and looked at Nanming in confusion.
Nanming understood what he meant and patiently explained.
"A symbiote is a person who has formed a relationship with a Variant that's similar to symbiosis. The Variant can provide the person it bonds with its own power, while the Variant can live inside the human's body.
"But note that this relationship isn't parasitism, but symbiosis. It's more like a fusion. The consciousnesses of the Variant and the human aren't separate; they're fused together. So most people undergo a drastic change in temperament after becoming symbiotes. And since most Variants are hostile toward humans, most symbiotes are too.
"That's why most Night Stars are Awakened rather than symbiotes.
"And the stronger a symbiote becomes, the more closely they merge with their symbiotic Variant, and the more they're influenced by the Variant's thoughts."
"Oh, I see. Thank you, Brother Nanming." Si Xiaobei nodded slowly, then turned back to Sun Hai and Xing Lan.
At that moment, Xing Lan put her hands on her hips again, straightened her back, and declared proudly, "I, Xing Lan, am a symbiote! My partner is a Star Moon Butterfly, a City Destruction Level Variant!"
As she spoke, her eyes filled with stars, like the starry sky.
"Huh?!" Si Xiaobei's eyes widened, and he turned to Nanming, his voice trembling slightly.
"B-Brother Nanming, you just said most symbiotes were hostile toward humans, right?"
"..."
Nanming glanced at Xing Lan, who stood with her hands on her hips, radiating eighth-grader syndrome, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"She's definitely an exception."
"Symbiote..." Sun Hai repeated the word, then looked back at Xing Lan with a slight frown.
"How long have you been a symbiote?"
At that, Xing Lan's eyes lit up again.
"Two years! It bonded with me during my very first mission! Well? Doesn't that make me sound like the protagonist of a novel?"
"Two years..." Sun Hai's frown gradually eased. Then he pulled two blades, one long and one short, from inside his black coat and gestured for the others to move aside.
"W-what are you doing?" Watching their strange actions, Xing Lan couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Testing your strength. We'll see whether you're qualified to stay here," Sun Hai said coldly, without a trace of emotion.
Xing Lan: (((o(ﾟ▽ﾟ)o)))
"?"
"What kind of expression is that?" Sun Hai looked at Xing Lan's strange expression, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Wouldn't normal people think they were heartless and cruel at a time like this? Why was this girl getting excited?
"Nothing, nothing. Let's begin!" Xing Lan opened the backpack on her back, drew a straight-bladed saber from it, and tossed the backpack onto Si Xiaobei, who stood nearby.
In the vast basement, the lights converged on the two of them. The atmosphere grew tense to the extreme.
Xing Lan gripped her saber in both hands and stared intently at Sun Hai. Slowly, she began to grow nervous.
Suddenly, Sun Hai vanished from where he stood.
Xing Lan's eyes widened. The next instant, Sun Hai appeared directly in front of her and swung both blades at once, their sharp edges slashing straight toward her.
The pair of blades grew larger and larger in Xing Lan's eyes, but there wasn't a trace of panic in them. The corners of her mouth slowly curved upward.
She immediately switched to a one-handed grip and swung her saber at the two blades with blinding speed.
Her blade swept through the air, forming a gigantic blue crescent that collided head-on with Sun Hai's two blades.
Clang!
Sparks flew. The immense force of the crescent completely blocked Sun Hai's attack and even jarred his hands, making them ache.
Sun Hai immediately pulled back his blades and retreated, narrowing his eyes.
Then, without a second thought, he charged forward again, reversed his grip on the blade in his right hand, and slashed at Xing Lan.
Xing Lan switched back to a two-handed grip and met Sun Hai's attack head-on.
The sound of blades and crescents colliding rang out without pause. For a time, neither could gain the upper hand.
Everyone watching wore expressions of disbelief.
But soon, their hearts slowly settled. They could see that Xing Lan was beginning to fall behind.
Xing Lan swung her crescents as she slowly retreated, and the speed of her strikes had clearly slowed.
Sun Hai, on the other hand, seemed increasingly at ease, his eyes fixed on Xing Lan's attacks.
Finally, he found an opening. He flicked his short blade upward with his left hand, knocking Xing Lan's saber aside as the crescent dissipated in the air.
Before Sun Hai could continue his attack, two pairs of wings made of stars suddenly burst from Xing Lan's back, deflecting his blade and shielding her securely.
A smug smile curved Xing Lan's lips. Then she spread the two pairs of butterfly-like wings and slowly rose into the air.
"She can fly too..." Sun Hai's expression grew grimmer.
"Whoa! Awesome!" Feng Xuan couldn't help exclaiming as he watched Xing Lan in the air, excitement written all over his face. If she became their teammate, how cool would they look on future missions!
Liu Xiaogang was just as stunned, and a trace of envy flashed in his eyes.
Hearing Feng Xuan's praise, Xing Lan immediately laughed, carried away with herself.
"Hahahaha! Now you know how powerful I am, foolish humans!
"Hahahaha!"
Her laughter echoed through the basement, making people's mouths twitch.
At the same time, however, Xing Lan ignored Sun Hai, who was watching her from the ground like a tiger eyeing its prey.
Sun Hai pushed off with both legs and vanished from where he stood again, reappearing in front of Xing Lan.
Xing Lan panicked and immediately twisted aside in midair to dodge, but Sun Hai's blade still struck her wing. A gash instantly opened in the wing made of starlight.
Xing Lan's expression darkened. She was clearly blaming herself for her earlier arrogance, but she quickly grew serious again.
After his strike missed, Sun Hai repeated the same move, jumping at Xing Lan again.
This time, Xing Lan didn't dodge. Instead, she waved her left hand.
Countless stars instantly shot from the two pairs of wings on Xing Lan's back like bullets from a machine gun.
Sun Hai's expression changed. He immediately changed direction and ran to the side.
Xing Lan's bullets followed close behind, leaving one visible crater after another in the ground.
Xing Lan continued her pursuit. She knew she couldn't match Sun Hai in close combat, so she used this kind of long-range attack to wear him down.
As long as she stayed alert and didn't let Sun Hai catch her off guard, she could wear him down until he dropped dead!
Saber in hand, Xing Lan kept her eyes fixed on Sun Hai. The two pairs of wings on her back didn't stop attacking, relentlessly pursuing him.
As Sun Hai fled, he suddenly changed his footwork and came to a swift stop. At the same time, he hurled the short blade in his hand with all his strength at Xing Lan in the air.
The entire movement took less than a second. He didn't hesitate in the slightest, as if he had planned it out in his head beforehand.
The short blade sliced through the speeding stars, heading straight for Xing Lan.
Xing Lan gripped her saber with both hands and swung swiftly. A huge crescent appeared before her and collided with the hurtling short blade, easily deflecting it.
But suddenly, Xing Lan felt a chill at her back. Then an ominous premonition spread through her whole body.
Xing Lan whipped around, and her pupils instantly widened.
Long blade in hand, Sun Hai hovered in the air, staring at Xing Lan from close range like the god of death.
Slash! Slash, slash! Slash, slash, slash!
In an instant, countless slashes fell upon the two pairs of wings on Xin Lan's back. The wings made of stars shattered at once, scattering through the air.