Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

"Phew—finally caught up. This persistent antimatter army is like cockroaches in the gutter, utterly disgusting."

A familiar, slightly flippant male voice slowly drifted out from behind the mask.

Laira was slightly taken aback, filled with doubt.

That voice... it has an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Even though the mask filtered through and the tone of voice was slightly muffled, the nonchalant and unreliable tone stirred something within her.

The next instant, the mysterious figure in front of them raised his hand and deftly pulled the energy bottle from the driver on his waist.

The Radiant Knight Armor instantly dissipated into tiny energy particles, revealing Jiang Ning's clear image before Leira's eyes.

"Hey, silly woman, did you miss your brother? How about it? I came all this way to save you, aren't you touched?"

"Tsk, how did you get so disheveled?"

A mischievous thought instantly popped into Jiang Ning's mind. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, turned on the camera, and cheekily leaned forward to take a series of pictures of Leila's dusty face, still bearing traces of wet tears.

Such excellent material from my embarrassing past shouldn't be wasted.

Who told this woman to use the recording to scheme against him? Today he's determined to get his revenge. Jiang Ning doesn't hold grudges, so he'll seize any opportunity to get back at her, aiming to avoid any loss whatsoever!

Looking at the familiar yet infuriating face before her, Leira froze, her mind going completely blank.

A few seconds later, Jiang Ning put away his phone with satisfaction, and only then did Laira suddenly come to her senses.

"How is it you?!"

Ignoring her disheveled state and the need to snatch the phone to destroy her image, she grabbed Jiang Ning's wrist and pulled him in front of her.

Leira raised her hand and rubbed his face haphazardly, as if to confirm that what she was seeing was not an illusion, and then looked incredulously at the Build Driver on his waist.

"That mysterious person in armor... it really was you?!"

Leira simply couldn't reconcile the imposing Build Rider with the somewhat thin and irritating guy in front of her.

Jiang Ning's face stung from being rubbed, and he impatiently brushed away her hands that were making a fuss.

"Don't rub it like that. Don't you know how dirty your hands are? You've made my face all dirty."

Look at the way your eyes are practically bulging out... I told you before, but you didn't believe me. Can you blame me?

Once he realized that the Jiangning before him was not an illusion, all the pent-up fear, grievances, and lingering dread of surviving the ordeal rushed to his mind.

Laila's eyes welled up with tears, and she suddenly threw herself into Jiang Ning's arms, unable to suppress her sobs.

Feeling the warm tears soaking through the fabric of his clothes, Jiang Ning was momentarily at a loss.

"Hey, is it really that serious, you stupid woman? You're really that shocked to find out who's behind the mask?"

Laila ignored him, having no time to pay attention to Jiang Ning's spiel.

Having just escaped death, the immense psychological pressure is something that an ordinary clerk could not easily bear, let alone a woman with a more sensitive heart.

Jiang Ning, unusually, refrained from his teasing and stood quietly, letting her vent all the fear she had been feeling for days.

Once she had calmed down a bit, Leila slowly pulled away from his embrace.

Looking at her tear-streaked face and red-rimmed eyes, Jiang Ning's gaze sharpened slightly, and he spoke in a somewhat cold tone:

"So you're afraid of death too? I thought you were so stupid that you'd risk your life for a little fame and fortune."

The sudden remark left Leira completely stunned.

She looked closely and saw Jiang Ning holding a metal USB flash drive between his fingertips, gently waving it in front of her.

"Varied……?"

Laira frantically reached into her pocket—it was empty.

"It was your best friend who asked me to come and save you. I happened to run into her while cleaning up Area C. She gave me directions and also told me all the stupid things you did."

You are truly hopeless; you can't even distinguish between the importance of information and your life.

Jiang Ning's words were calm, yet like cold, fine needles, piercing a deep scar in Leila's heart.

She clenched her teeth, lowered her head, and remained silent.

Just as Jiang Ning was about to step forward and say something more, Laiira suddenly stood up and reached out to snatch the USB drive.

Jiang Ning reacted quickly, using his height advantage to hold the USB drive high so that she couldn't reach it at all.

"Give it back! That's mine!"

Laila gritted her teeth, stood on tiptoe, and tried her best to reach it, but she was always just a little short.

"Hey, is this how you treat your savior?"

Ignoring everything else, Leira leaped into the air.

But Jiang Ning dodged slightly to the side, lost her balance, and fell heavily onto the cold ground.

"hiss--"

A sharp pain shot through her old ankle injury, making her tremble slightly.

Are you injured?

Jiang Ning realized that he had gone too far and quickly squatted down to check her injuries.

Laila shoved him away forcefully, gritting her teeth as she said:

"It's none of your business! Give me back my USB drive!"

Looking at Laila, who was slumped on the ground, still stubbornly clinging to her beliefs, Jiang Ning remained silent for a long time.

After a moment, as if he had made up his mind, he slowly turned around and looked at the broken suspension bridge in front of him.

Below the broken bridge lies an endless abyss, bottomless and pitch black.

He held the USB drive, which Leila valued more than her own life, between his fingers and sighed softly as he gazed at the deep crevice.

The next instant, Laira's pupils contracted sharply, and her whole body tensed up.

Jiang Ning raised his hand and tossed the USB drive lightly out of his grasp, sending it plummeting into the abyss.

"don't want--!!"

Laila scrambled with all her might, using both hands and feet, toward the edge of the broken bridge, reaching out to grab it, but ultimately it was too late.

She could only watch helplessly as the light on the USB drive grew smaller and smaller until it finally plunged into endless darkness and disappeared without a trace.

"Well……"

The pent-up grievances, resentment, and despair burst forth at this moment.

Laila struggled to her feet, clenching her fists and pounding them against Jiang Ning's chest, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls.

"You bastard...why do you always bully me?"

Her voice trembled uncontrollably from the intense emotions she was experiencing.

"You keep saying that life is more important than data, but what do you even know?!"

Do you think everyone is as exceptionally talented as you, with Lady Black Tower backing you up?!

Do you know how fierce the competition is for the Black Tower space station?!

Yes, I'm stupid, I'm useless.

I have no connections, nor any extraordinary talent. I've worked incredibly hard and gritted my teeth to finally achieve some success.

Without this information, my research project is completely ruined...

Everything is over...

As if all her strength had been drained away, Laira's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground, powerless. Staring at the bottomless crevice, a crazy idea suddenly sprouted in her mind.

She bit her lower lip hard with her teeth until fine beads of blood seeped from it.

"In that case, I might as well..."

A resolute glint flashed in her dim eyes as she moved her body and scrambled quickly toward the edge of the abyss.

At the critical moment, Jiang Ning suddenly reached out and pulled her back hard, pressing her firmly to the ground.

"Let me go! My life is ruined! What's the point of me living?!"

Laila gritted her teeth and struggled desperately, but the vast difference in strength made all her resistance futile.

She could only stare at Jiang Ning with her eyes wide open, her gaze filled with hatred and despair.