"Are you sure there won't be any problems?" Holding a dress behind her, Liu Yanran was still rather worried. The other party's timing was simply too coincidental. They had chosen to come during such a chaotic period, so how could she not be concerned?
"I'll be fine. I'm already quite strong myself, and with them around, it would basically take at least two Heaven Rank experts to harm me." Chu Lian tidied her long hair in front of the mirror. After taking the dress from Liu Yanran and putting it on, a little girl dressed entirely in Lolita style appeared in the room.
"I know that's true, but... Fine. Maybe I'm just too nervous." Liu Yanran's hands trembled slightly as she bit her lower lip and spoke. She did not want to worry so much, but this situation made it impossible not to.
"You... Don't you trust me? Since I'm confident, I must have a way to handle it. Don't worry." Chu Lian turned around, pinched her little nose, then leaned over and gently kissed her cherry lips. After releasing her, she spun in place several times and asked, "What do you think?"
"White one-piece tights with white forest-style ankle boots, a rose hair clip in your hair, and your long hair hanging loose... You look beautiful." Since Chu Lian had asked for her opinion, Liu Yanran gave it honestly. She was unexpectedly adorable.
"Ahaha, of course. I'm a super-invincible beautiful girl." Chu Lian showed no embarrassment at the praise and instead laughed.
"Shameless..." Liu Yanran murmured softly before laughing along with her. Chu Lian was trying to help her relax. Fine, she would trust that nothing would go wrong this time, because she was Chu Lian.
"I'm heading out. Have fun by yourselves." Chu Lian walked to the window and leaned outside, feeling the scorching sunlight. After speaking, she took a sunhat draped with light gauze from the wardrobe door and put it on. Then she turned, waved, and skipped downstairs.
Watching her departing back, Liu Yanran shook her head. "You're different now, but you still make people feel just as safe, Chu Lian."
The other girls were all resting in a relatively large room on the third floor, discussing Dreambound's design and what made the game enjoyable. After finding something to pass the time, they had become thoroughly immersed in it.
Perhaps for these girls, who had always been obedient children or sheltered young ladies, games—especially full-dive games—were something extremely novel and fascinating. That was why they liked them so much. Even though they had already played Infinite World, they still could not put this game down.
"Little Lian'er, keep an eye on the time and come back early." Li Mingxue was sitting in the living room, holding a... Kyubey?
The moment Chu Lian saw Kyubey, she stopped dead and stammered, "Mom... Where did you... get that?"
She was genuinely afraid that this pet had appeared out of nowhere and persuaded her mother to sign a contract to become a magical girl. If that happened, she would be in serious trouble. Creatures like Kyubey had to be exterminated.
"Oh, this little thing? Don't worry. I took it from Anna. I kept seeing it abandoned in a corner of my room. Whenever Anna was unhappy, she bullied it, and whenever she got angry, she killed it a few times. Even I found that rather speechless. She's been studying hard lately and hasn't had time to bother with it, so when I saw it looking bored, I asked Anna to give it to me. I thought it must have been treated that way because it was mischievous, but unexpectedly, it's very well behaved. It barely moves while lying in my arms."
Li Mingxue seemed rather interested in Kyubey and answered Chu Lian's question with a smile.
Every sentence she spoke made an enormous 'what the hell' echo through Chu Lian's mind. It seemed Mom had taken a liking to this creature. That was terrible. With Mom protecting it, Kyubey would basically have nothing left to fear. She only hoped it had not realized that yet, or things would become troublesome.
As for her remark, "I thought it was treated that way because it was mischievous, but unexpectedly, it's very well behaved. It barely moves while lying in my arms," Chu Lian naturally understood what was happening. Mother, your aura is the strongest in the world. Not only can you suppress unruly children, even little pets wouldn't dare act up in front of you. Of course, she could only complain inwardly. Saying it aloud would only bring trouble upon herself.
"In any case, Mom, be careful around it. That species is nothing good. If it accidentally awakens, it'll become a huge headache." Chu Lian could not explain too directly, but she could at least offer a warning.
"Yawn... Don't worry. Even if its entire species came here, they wouldn't be able to do anything." Li Mingxue's yawning response was the most reassuring answer Chu Lian could have received.
Knowing that her mother must understand Kyubey's species and its characteristics before daring to hold it like this, Chu Lian said nothing more. She waved and headed toward the front door. "As long as you know. I'm leaving."
"Mm-hm, mm-hm." Li Mingxue answered as her eyelids gradually drooped. By the time Chu Lian stepped outside, she had already closed her eyes and begun dozing.
"The sun is so bright. It feels like I haven't basked in sunlight for ages." Standing outside while waiting for the other party's car, Chu Lian felt the warmth against her body and sighed.
Although she was not exactly a shut-in, she truly had spent very little time in the sun lately. Her current physical condition no longer required sunlight to regulate itself, but she still felt strangely isolated from the world.
Beep. While she was lost in thought, a Maserati H0208 appeared in front of her. An intellectual-looking woman wearing glasses sounded the horn, drawing Chu Lian's attention before asking, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Chu Lian?"
"Yes, I'm Chu Lian. Also, there's no need to call me 'Mr.' My learning hasn't reached the level where I deserve to be addressed so formally. Just call me Chu Lian." Seeing her, Chu Lian breathed a sigh of relief. Once the woman opened the door, she climbed inside, sat in the passenger seat, and began chatting with her.
"Haha, there's nothing I can do about that. It's company policy. Since we weren't certain we could persuade you to come, we were instructed to be as respectful as possible to earn your goodwill. By the way, my name is Nan Xi. 'Nan' with the grass radical, and 'Xi' from the phrase 'returning home.'" The woman seemed to appreciate Chu Lian's directness and introduced herself with a smile.
"Nan Xi, huh? Hello, Big Sister Nan Xi." Chu Lian blinked and glanced at her figure. It was quite impressive. The fact that a woman like this had chosen to work in cultural entertainment rather than as a model was rather unexpected.
"Mm. I can call you Chu Lian while we're on the way to the venue. Once we arrive, though, I can only call you 'Mr.' until the boss gives permission otherwise." As Nan Xi spoke, she started the car.
After reversing a short distance and safely entering the road, the convertible sports car immediately accelerated. Amid the roar of the engine and tires grinding against the pavement, it sped forward.
"Woo! Speeding like this feels amazing... But Big Sister Nan Xi, aren't you worried about traffic police? There aren't many people on this road, but it's still dangerous, isn't it?" Chu Lian stretched a hand outside and felt the wind rushing against it, both excited and somewhat worried.
"Don't worry. I've been driving for five or six years, so I'm an experienced driver. I know exactly how far I can push it. Sit tight. Let me show you the thrill of real speed." Nan Xi was also excited. She had originally worried that Chu Lian might not be able to handle it, but after discovering that the girl was even more enthusiastic than she was, she stopped holding back and accelerated further.
What a... bold woman... Chu Lian drew her hand back and sat properly in her seat, watching the visibly excited woman in the driver's seat with considerable amusement.
"Hold on tight. Once we cross this bridge, we can get onto the highway, turn toward the plaza, and reach the meeting very quickly." The more Nan Xi spoke, the more excited she became, and the faster the car moved.
Just as the car reached the middle of the broad road, where hardly anyone was present, Chu Lian felt a sudden palpitation. Then the accident happened.
"Watch out!" Unfortunately, her warning came too late. A bullet fired from an unknown location struck the sports car's front tire. The speeding vehicle skidded violently and hurtled uncontrollably toward the edge of the bridge.
Crash! The car spun, smashed through the guardrail, and flew off the bridge. While it was still airborne, several bullets struck the fuel tank beneath it, causing the luxury sports car worth several million to explode into a ball of flames before plunging into the river.
Although the entire sequence—the bullet striking the tire, the car flying off the bridge, and the explosion—happened extremely quickly, Chu Lian had already been prepared and prevented anyone from being harmed. Before the car exploded, she had rescued Nan Xi.
"Why did it have to happen now?" Tearing apart the seat belt, Chu Lian reached out and pulled the terrified Nan Xi into her arms. Although the woman was over 1.6 meters tall, her size meant nothing beneath Chu Lian's tremendous strength.
Spiritual power protected Nan Xi's body. Chu Lian looked toward the bridge, activated Teleport, and vanished from the car moments before it exploded.
"My, my. It seems that had no effect." The sky became shrouded in a black-and-red barrier, transforming the area around Chu Lian into an isolated miniature world. A girl's proud and confident voice reached her ears.
"Let's see who's here." Holding Nan Xi, who had somehow fallen unconscious, Chu Lian raised her head toward the sky. A girl in an ornate red dress stood before a golden clock, holding two guns and gazing down at her with only her right eye exposed.
"Kurumi Tokisaki..." How could Chu Lian not recognize her? On the contrary, she was very familiar with her. In her previous life, there had been a period when she was quite obsessed with the song Pomp and Circumstance, so Kurumi had left an extremely deep impression on her. Even without having watched the original anime, she knew Kurumi was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
"My, my. You actually know me. That makes killing you even more interesting." Kurumi Tokisaki froze slightly when Chu Lian called out her name, then looked at her with even greater interest.
"Is that so? I don't think you're necessarily going to win this battle." Chu Lian shook her head, her tone overflowing with confidence.
"I know how strong you are. When you unleash your full power, you can kill someone at the peak of Earth Rank. But I'm Heaven Rank. You should understand what that means. If there were other people beside you, I might still have some reservations, but right now, all you have is one perfectly ordinary human. I don't believe you can defeat me."
Kurumi Tokisaki did not attack immediately. She felt there was something strange about the girl and did not want to act recklessly before discovering what it was.
"I truly don't have confidence. Given enough time to prepare, I might be able to kill you. But right now, even if I went all out, there would be nothing I could do." Chu Lian did not care about Kurumi's assessment of her strength. No one understood her own capabilities better than she did.
"Then wouldn't it be better if you obediently accepted your death?" Kurumi Tokisaki did not fire as she spoke, yet a gunshot rang out from behind Chu Lian. Its target was unmistakably Nan Xi.
"Sigh..." Chu Lian's figure vanished from the spot. When she appeared again, she was behind another Kurumi Tokisaki, gripping the clone by the neck as she said softly, "Clones are the worst, aren't they?"
Crack. Chu Lian snapped the clone's neck with a squeeze. Even when she saw the eerie smile on its face, she showed no reaction.
After being killed, the clone dissolved into a cloud of black-and-red fragments, as though it had never possessed a true physical body.
Chu Lian furrowed her brows. "This is somewhat troublesome." Carrying someone in her arms was genuinely inconvenient, especially when that person was taller and larger than she was.
"Honestly, I suppose there's no other choice." Chu Lian snapped her fingers. A circular portal opened in the sky, and Suicune's powerful figure descended from within. Landing beside her, it lowered its head and asked, "My lord, why have you summoned me?"
"Protect her. You don't need to concern yourself with anything else." Chu Lian placed Nan Xi on Suicune's back and gave it a brief instruction before allowing it to leave on its own.
Suicune did not hesitate. It exerted force through all four limbs, leaped off the bridge, and hovered above the water. Although this space belonged to Kurumi Tokisaki, wherever water existed, Suicune would forever be king.
"Cold Beauty." Gripping the blade jade, Chu Lian summoned the long sword into her hand. She raised her head toward the vigilant Kurumi Tokisaki and smiled. "Kurumi, why aren't you attacking? What are you worried about? There's no one else beside me now. Even Suicune is elsewhere. Are you still afraid?"
"I'm not afraid. I'm only curious about how you intend to escape." After waiting so long without seeing anyone appear, Kurumi Tokisaki finally cast aside her doubts. Since Chu Lian truly had no one helping her, then...
She raised both hands and fired bullet after bullet from her twin guns, aiming at every part of Chu Lian's body.
With a faint smile, Chu Lian was just about to push off the ground and dodge when several naked Kurumi clones suddenly emerged beneath her. They stretched out their arms and clung to her legs, preventing her from moving.
Clang, clang, clang! Since she could not leave, Chu Lian simply stopped trying. She stood in place and allowed the bullets to strike her body, producing a series of metallic chimes.
"Undying Body?" Kurumi's expression changed. She had not expected Chu Lian to possess such an ability. This differed from the intelligence she had received.
"That's right. Undying Body." The moment Kurumi finished speaking, Chu Lian's voice sounded from behind her, while the Chu Lian who had been standing in place had already disappeared.
Bang! Kurumi Tokisaki fired two bullets and flipped backward several times. Although she possessed Heaven Rank strength, her destructive power was often only at Earth Rank. Fighting a warrior like Chu Lian in close combat would be completely unreasonable.
"That's right. Before you activate your ability, I can suppress you. But once you do activate it, I won't be able to defeat you. I might even be killed by you. But do you know someone called... the Bane of ADCs?" Chu Lian made no move when she saw Kurumi evade. She merely stood in midair and spoke with a carefree smile.
Boom! As though responding to her words, the moment Chu Lian finished speaking, a petite girl in a black kimono appeared behind Kurumi Tokisaki and kicked her down onto the bridge, sending up a cloud of dust...