Though K' and Maxima's individual strength far exceeded these mass-produced modified soldiers—
The enemy's numbers were simply too great! And they fought without fear of death, with precise coordination, as if guided by a unified "hive mind."
Two fists can't beat four hands.
Soon, K' and Maxima were struggling again, wounds multiplying on their bodies.
"Damn it! There's no end to them!" K' blasted away a charging modified soldier with a "Heat Drive," but his own arm was slashed by another's high-frequency vibration blade, leaving a wound deep enough to show bone.
"K'! We need to break through! Their reinforcements are almost here!" Maxima used his alloy-like body to tank several lasers, speaking gravely.
Just as the two were about to be overwhelmed by the endless enemies, on the verge of despair—
A leisurely voice, as if strolling through a backyard garden, suddenly rang out from the other side of the battlefield.
"I say... it's the middle of the night, and you're shooting lasers and blowing things up. Don't people need to sleep?"
"Making this much noise, have you considered how us ordinary citizens feel? Noise pollution is fineable, you know."
Everyone, including K' and Maxima, looked toward the voice.
There, atop a large pipe not far away, a young man in black casual clothes sat with his legs crossed.
In his hand was a freshly grilled, sizzling skewer of squid tentacles, which he was eating with relish.
In the moonlight, his profile was almost unfairly handsome.
It was Cloud—woken by the noise, out foraging and "watching the show."
"Who are you?!" The masked team leader questioned coldly.
Cloud ignored him, instead directing his gaze at the red-haired youth covered in blood, yet whose eyes still held the defiance of a lone wolf—K'.
His lips curved with interest.
"None of your business! Get out of here!" K's personality was naturally tsundere and rebellious. Even surrounded and in dire straits, he stubbornly refused to drag Cloud into danger.
"Tsk tsk tsk, young man, don't be so hot-tempered." Cloud shook his head, then finished the last bite of squid, brushed off his hands, and lightly jumped down from the pipe.
"Fine, considering you're decent-looking..."
"I'll meddle in this today."
Saying this, he walked toward the group of NESTS modified soldiers surrounding K' and Maxima.
"Unauthorized personnel, leave immediately! Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!" The masked leader issued a final warning.
Cloud smiled.
"Killed without mercy?"
His figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.
The next second—
"—THUD!"
With a muffled sound, the arrogant masked leader didn't even have time to react before a hand appeared from nowhere, gripped his throat, and slammed him hard into the ground!
The ground cracked like a spider web!
Cloud's figure reappeared.
He held the masked leader by the throat with one hand, lifting him from the ground, his face still wearing that casual smile.
"Just now, you said... you'd kill who?"
The entire scene fell dead silent.
K' and Maxima stared dumbfounded at this scene.
Finally, K' was the first to break the silence.
His defiant face carried a hint of reluctance. "Why did you save us? Who the hell are you?"
They'd personally experienced the masked leader's strength! His power was nearly equal to theirs!
And yet...
Just like that... one move... instant kill?!
This man... what kind of monster was he?!
The remaining modified soldiers, after a brief "data error," immediately redirected their attacks toward Cloud!
Dozens of lasers, dozens of high-frequency vibration blades, struck at Cloud from all directions!
"Watch out!" Maxima shouted instinctively.
Yet Cloud only curled his lip, showing a hint of annoyance.
"So many flies."
"Orochinagi!"
A burst of flame exploded outward with him at the center!
"BOOM—!!!!!"
Every modified soldier lunging at him—whether their weapons or their hardened bodies—was instantly and completely incinerated!
Not even a single intact piece remained.
The whole process took less than a second.
The world fell quiet.
Cloud released his grip. The now-terrified masked leader collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud.
He'd done all this as casually as swatting a few mosquitoes.
Then he turned to look at the two "defector duo" who had completely turned to stone, smiling: "Alright, problem solved. Now, can we have a proper chat?"
...
Inside an abandoned factory, a bonfire crackled.
K' and Maxima silently tended to their wounds.
Their eyes kept darting toward the leisurely man across from them, filled with wariness and a hint of gratitude.
"I'm Cloud. As for why I saved you..."
He looked at K's right hand with the red glove, speaking with interest: "Because I'm intrigued by your fire."
"My fire?" K's eyes instantly became guarded. "What do you want?"
"Don't be nervous." Cloud smiled. "I'm just... a technology enthusiast who's curious about the underlying logic of various powers."
Just moments ago, during his brief exchange with K' and while watching K' fight, the system in his mind had been running furiously.
[Ding! Deep Analysis function activated!]
[Analysis Target: K's Crimson Flame]
[Analyzing genetic sequence... energy wave frequency... similarity to Kusanagi Fire...]
[Analyzing...]
[Analysis Report Generated!]
[Target flame originates from Kusanagi Blood, but is not a pure bloodline inheritance. It was forcibly transplanted through gene grafting and energy injection.]
[Evaluation: A crude, bug-ridden half-finished product. Its energy output is extremely unstable and causes significant backlash to the user. Similar to... forcibly installing a pirated Android system on an iPhone—it works, but could explode at any moment.]
[Optimization Suggestions: Rewrite the underlying code and fix bugs, or... simply format and reinstall a legitimate system.]
...
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