Love, Gun, Cupid

"You don't like sleeping in the bed here either?"

"Ah."

"Then come over and talk to me."

While Hehuan turned away, Lin Jiade sniffed himself to make sure everything was normal before approaching her.

"What do you think about tonight's match?" Hehuan asked.

"I hope Senior Kapok can win gracefully, after all, her opponent's abilities can easily embarrass people."

"Yes, a beautiful victory..." Hehuan sighed, "Alas, I was really worried..."

Hehuan seemed to be under more pressure than the contestant herself. Lin Jiade comforted her, saying, "You should have confidence in your senior's abilities."

"But the price she paid for losing was too high. There's something I didn't tell her, for fear of disturbing her thoughts: among the contestants, there was a sister from Kapok."

"Weren't Kapok's brothers and sisters all abandoned by her parents because they lacked talent?"

"So I don't understand why Kapok's sisters are in the elimination rounds," Hehuan said. "Kapok's biggest advantage in being a rebellious girl and not going home for so long is that her parents can't create another one like her."

Lin Jiade continued Hehuan's words: "So, if Mumian's sisters achieve better results than Mumian and prove their worth, Mumian's parents will no longer spoil her, but will forcibly bring her back to Brilliant City?"

"Well, so I don't know whether I should tell Mu Mian, or when I should tell her. My family won't offend Brilliant City's allies because of Mu Mian; this is Mu Mian's family's internal affair."

Hehuan bit her lip and looked at Lin Jiade: "Although I don't want to admit it, I feel that you and Mumian are closer in spirit. You should decide whether or not to say this, and when to say it... Actually, I'm just shirking my responsibility."

Hehuan paused for a moment, then continued, "When I first met Mumian, she was only this tall. We were both outstanding junior magic researchers. She was as wild as a boy from the streets, while I was a spoiled young lady. We didn't like each other."

I planned to teach her a lesson, but when we started fighting, we ended up getting caught up in a brawl between older students. To deal with the taller and stronger kids, we had to team up... Even so, we still got pretty badly beaten.

Kapok protected me then, and she received far more punches than I did. Even so, they still cut off my hair, which I had grown for ten years. But I don't regret it at all, because I gained a friend.

After that incident, Kapok and I became friends. We were both suspended from school for a month, so we wandered around outside together. Her hair was short, and so was mine. By the time my hair grew back to waist length, hers was still only up to her neck.

In a sense, Kapok was my first love. Her behavior and her way of talking often made me forget that she was a girl... However, she didn't have those kinds of feelings, and I also discovered that I actually liked boys, not lesbians.

We remained friends until the end. We became intermediate magic researchers one after the other, but now, Kapok has the strength of an advanced magic researcher, while I am stuck at the intermediate level.

Occasionally, I wish she wouldn't advance to the rank of advanced magic researcher, but would remain at this level, giving up her magical dreams. I would be a wandering singer, and she would be my bodyguard. We would wander from here to there, singing every day, chasing the sunrise, until we were too old to walk anymore, and died hand in hand in the quiet night.

But I can't be so selfish, nor do I have the ability. I retreated in the face of reality, so I stayed, remaining in the birdcage to find joy in my own chirping and in the joy of others, while watching the kapok fly higher, sometimes regretting, sometimes feeling gratified.

Hehuan covered her face, and Lin Jiade tried to pat her shoulder to comfort her, but she slapped his hand away.

“Right now, I’m so jealous of you. If Kapok were a man, or if I were a man, you wouldn’t have any chance of interfering,” she said.

“Senior Kapok is neither a man nor a woman in her consciousness. She sees herself as a sword and tries to maintain her identity, while I hope... no, I have decided to turn her back into a woman.”

Lin Jiade grabbed Hehuan's hand and shook it: "Thank you, Senior Hehuan. Your failure made me realize that if I wanted to keep Senior Kapok, I had to use those immoral, unfriendly, and cruel methods."

I'll keep Senior Kapok here, you go and become a popular musician, and I'll lend her to you as a bodyguard. That way, she'll remain in our lives... Aww!

Hehuan withdrew her foot from Lin Jiade's sneakers: "I suddenly feel uneasy. Why did Kapok become yours?"

"But the kapok tree is my sword."

"Ah, that..."

Hehuan broke free from Lin Jiade's grasp, looking like she knew everything. Lin Jiade couldn't help but ask, "What else do you know? Oh right, you guys always say Senior Mumian is very big, but what exactly is she big about?"

"you guess."

Hehuan gave a sly smile and ran off quickly. Lin Jiade shook his head helplessly, yawned, went back to his room and fell asleep immediately, only waking up in the evening due to suffocation.

“You’re really hard to wake up,” Reed Warbler said, pointing to the time. “You should get ready.”

Lin Jiade jumped up, turned on the tap and washed his face haphazardly. Mu Mian was eating, but unlike the others, her meal consisted only of porridge and bread spread with jam.

Before the battle, it was Kapok's habit to eat vegetarian food. Lin Jiade, who was also nervous, only ate a plate of pork knuckle and a bowl of rice.

"Don't worry. If what Qi Yanli said is true, then I have victory in my grasp. If Qi Yanli's information is false, it's just like before, testing the opponent and looking for weaknesses. Victory will ultimately belong to me."

Mu Mian high-fived everyone else, and when it was Lin Jiade's turn, she high-fived him and then stepped on his foot. Lin Jiade felt that he deserved it.

“Be careful, I might tell Jasmine.”

After muttering her angry words in a low voice, Kapok headed to the venue.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The First Round of the Main Tournament (Part 1)

Unlike the playoffs, the main event venue did not have any boxes. All spectators sat in their assigned seats according to their numbers and then wore special audiovisual equipment to watch the battle in an immersive way.

To Lin Jiade's left was Wei Ying, and to his right was Rafaam, the shapeshifter who had transformed into a fox-eared girl today. Rafaam looked utterly terrified upon seeing him, as did Lin Jiade.

“I have no intention of getting into a conflict with you; I’m just here to watch the game,” Rafaam said.

Lin Jiade glanced at Wei Ying, deciding it didn't matter whether Rafaam was telling the truth or not. With a combat-specialized Celestial Observer right beside him, could Rafaam really kill him instantly?

The young man settled down and looked around the room, spotting more familiar faces: FN Company's representative in the 18th district, who was also Kapok's brother, was chatting with someone; not far away, Qi Yanli, a contestant who was suspected to be a victim of Kalxa, was playing with the feathers on the Diamond Elf Longbow; behind him, the cyborg Hatter, who had been humiliated and eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, was laughing and joking loudly with his girlfriend.

The hatter was already considered ugly, and her partner was even less attractive. Lin Jiade couldn't appreciate it, but he thought the couple was a perfect match and it wasn't his place to object.

At the same time, he was also being stared at. Lin Jiade found the source of the gaze; it was a tall woman… at least that's how she appeared. During the time Lin Jiade was observing her, the woman only looked at two things: Qi Yanli and him.

Rafaam poked Lin Jiade's arm with his fluffy tail: "Want to know who's spying on you?"

"What are the terms of the deal?" Lin Jiade asked.

"Call your girlfriend, I'll talk to her."

Which girlfriend?

Rafaam paused for a moment, then gestured with his hands: "The one that's frighteningly tall."

Lin Jiade dialed Jianlan's number and then transferred it to Rafaam. Rafaam and Jianlan talked for a while before the call was returned. Lin Jiade heard Jianlan say, "The deal is done. Listen to what she has to say. Judge for yourself whether it's true or not."

He hung up the phone and looked at Rafaam. The shapeshifter said, "That's Emerald Curtain, a participant in this tournament, and also a victim of Kalxa, who will be appearing tonight."

"No wonder she was looking at me and Qi Yanli. I'm from the Kapok team, and Qi Yanli is also a victim... Seriously, how come this circle is so small!"

“Let me hide,” Rafaam said nervously, bowing his head. “I saw Yi Lu Ting Feng; she’s already put a bounty on my life.”

Considering Rafaaam's beauty after transforming into a fox-eared loli, Lin Jiade didn't betray her, but he also had no intention of intervening in their conflict. He put on his audiovisual equipment, pressed a button, and his vision was instantly filled with darkness, the full moon at the center of the night sky swallowing the brilliance of the stars.

Kapok and Calxa are placed in the Temple of Artemis, where massive stone pillars support the dome, and a statue of the moon goddess stands in the center. Moonlight shines on the temple steps, dyeing them frosty white, as if the moon goddess's skirt were trailing on them.

“It’s a beautiful spot. Legend has it that Artemis was a virgin goddess who hated men and was worshipped by chaste maidens. This is practically your home turf,” Calsak said.

“I am not a woman,” Kapok said.

"But you exude a woman's fragrance, and you're still the kind who hasn't experienced love. Trust me, I'm an expert in this area."

Kapok's opponent was about 150cm tall. Like Kapok, Karksa was completely covered by confusion magic, with only a staff woven from tree branches exposed, inlaid with a transparent sphere containing a pale yellow liquid.

Kapok put on the gas mask. She didn't know if it would work, but she knew that the opponent's spitting manner of speaking could potentially arouse her using bodily fluids, thereby depriving her of her fighting ability.

"It's not time for the competition yet, aren't you going to say something? I'm very interested in taking a virgin's chastity in the temple of the goddess of virginity."

To verify the reliability of Qi Yanli's information, Mu Mian asked, "Are you a woman?"

"I am a woman, but I consider myself a man, and I am bisexual. I love both men and women."

"Are you so beautiful that you're confident they'll all love you?"

Kapok's words stung Karksa slightly. She said in a deep voice, "Looks aren't important; what matters is the heart."

"Really? I know someone who chooses a partner based on looks first, so he's always very interested in what's under my helmet and tries to find all sorts of ways to take it off."

This conversation was transmitted to Lin Jiade's ears through special audio-visual equipment, and he awkwardly touched his nose. Wei Ying asked, "Did you take off her helmet?"

"no!"

What does the kapok tree under the helmet look like?

"I almost didn't manage to pick it... uh."

Lin Jiade covered his mouth, while Wei Ying laughed happily: "Sister definitely had a reason for choosing you; she loves to tease idiots the most."

"So, you choose me? You like idiots too?"

"I... I didn't choose you! Don't be so narcissistic!" Wei Ying's voice became flustered. "The competition has started, focus on your match!"

Inside the temple, Kapok turned the wheel on her sword, raised it, and the moment the whistle blew, she took a step forward, then suddenly stopped, pulled out a submachine gun, and opened fire on her opponent.

"Tch, observing the opponent's response from a medium-range harassment, making a preliminary assessment of the opponent's quality, and maintaining the flexibility to attack or defend... It's stable, but just too boring," commented Wei Ying.

Lin Jiade defended himself: "Senior Mumian is under pressure to get promoted. She has to choose between a flashy and brave but uncertain tactic and a conservative, steady, or even ugly tactic. I think she should choose victory."

"What if it's your favorite sport, football?"

"If it's a team I support, I'll choose to win; if it's a game I don't care about supporting and am just watching, I'll choose a flashy style of play."

During their conversation, after Mian ran out of ammunition, she imitated Yuki's technique by throwing grenades and flashbangs to suppress Karksa, who immediately took cover behind a stone pillar. Mian sought out the best shooting angles, while Karksa avoided them; Mian tried to drive Karksa out of the temple, but Karksa instead ran deeper into the temple.

For a moment, the two played hide-and-seek. Every time Karxa tried to wave her staff to cast a spell, she was met with a thunderous spell from Mumu. Compared to Lingard's version, Mumu's casting speed was slightly slower, but her range was doubled, which allowed her to interrupt Karxa's spellcasting in time.

“This is a matter of dignity… Damn it, when did she learn my magic?” Lin Jiade muttered.

Because Shuke's scheduled update function is turned off, all updates will be released at once during this period.

Chapter 40, First Round of the Main Tournament (Part 2) (29→28)

After being electrocuted several times, Kalxa abandoned her plan to exchange magical blows. She hid behind a pillar, raised a magical shield, emerged from the shadows, and charged towards the direction of the cotton tree with the shield on.

"..."

Kapok felt a sense of déjà vu; when she sparred with Lin Jiade last week, Jianlan had also cast a protective spell on Lin Jiade to test Kapok's defense-breaking skills. She accelerated forward, and as she brushed past Kalkssa, she turned around swiftly and struck Kalkssa's shield with her raised hand.

Kapok pulled the trigger, and red energy flowed into the sword, propelling it along with the recoil to slice through the shield. Just before striking Kalksar's back, Kapok twisted the hilt, striking Kalksar with the back of the blade, sending him sprawling to the ground.

As Karksa fell, the spherical container embedded in his staff shattered. The pale yellow liquid seemed to come alive, transforming into a humanoid form and lunging at Kapok. Kapok leaped back, and Karksa grabbed his staff, slamming it into the floor.

"Do you really think I didn't do anything while I was dodging?!"

A dozen or so magic circles lit up on the temple floor, each with tentacles emerging from them, working in conjunction with the water elementals to block the cotton tree's movement.

Tentacles are magical girls' best friends, but for swordsmen, they're just the materialized form of their seafood PTSD fear. Kapok darted through the forest of tentacles, their surfaces covered in a pale yellow secretion similar to that of water spirits. Kapok dared not be careless; she swam to the edge of a wall and leaped to a higher position.

Tentacles and water creatures were hot on her heels. Mumu would turn around from time to time and use her sword to repel the alien pursuers, but inevitably, her sword would still be stained with those secretions.

Under Kal'ksa's manipulation, the secretions swirled along the blade, attempting to use it as a springboard to attack her body. Kapok abandoned her own longsword, chanting an incantation to conjure her spare sword from behind her back.

"The Thunder Emperor is calling!"

Calxus chuckled: "What's the use of pulling out another sword? Unless you have area-of-effect magic that can clear out all the summoned creatures."

As if responding to her opponent's statement, Kapok clenched her fist. Sensing danger, Kakasa manipulated the Water Spirit to rush up the high ground occupied by Kapok. Kapok leaped up, her feet brushing past the Water Spirit's toes, and escaped safely.