Love, Gun, Cupid

Lin Jiade hung up the phone shyly, rolled his eyes, tried to control his expression, and said with a smile, "An old married couple?"

Lin Jiade smiled and prepared to go nearby to buy some food. Xuanling pointed to the area under the seat. The car had everything. Lin Jiade pulled out bread, dried meat, and water to share with his fellow passengers.

While the prey stopped at the gas station to refuel, the others took care of their own needs, preparing for a long night ahead. Two hours later, the police successfully cornered the prey within the enclosure. Special Tactics and Rescue Service Team 2 had moved to the northern part of the restricted area, then stopped and remained silent for a long time.

Lin Jiade dialed Jianlan's number: "What happened? They almost caught those three people just now."

Jianlan's reply was tinged with helplessness: "They bumped into pedestrians, more than one. Everyone in the neighborhood is related to them, and they're currently causing trouble... They can't come for the time being."

August 14th, TES vs LNG. Pick a team; if that team wins, there will be an extra chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Pursuit 2

“We can’t count on our allies for now,” Lin Jiade announced regretfully to the others. “Xuanling, let’s keep chasing.”

People still live on the edge of the blank areas, while in the central area consisting of four blocks, one-third of the houses are abandoned and two-thirds are wasteland. Apart from livestreamers who want to become famous exploring these places as haunted locations, even homeless people don't come here at night.

After nightfall, the only natural light source here is the moonlight. When the clouds obscure the moon, this abandoned area is instantly swallowed by darkness, and in the thick darkness, the light emitted by the cars themselves is so insignificant.

"It does have a bit of a horror movie atmosphere," Ice Cave said enthusiastically.

Did you used to like horror movies?

"Yeah, I like the thrill that horror movies create."

Soon, the thrill the ice cave was looking for arrived. When the moonlight illuminated the surrounding area again, Lin Jiade was shocked to find that he and his companions were surrounded. The monsters they had seen in the "non-existent time" were now gathering around them, while the trio they had been chasing turned around, got out of the car, and cast cold stares at Lin Jiade and his companions.

“That’s impossible,” Ice Cave said. “If so many monsters had broken through the Holy Land’s defenses and reached Fuxing City, they would have wiped out all the living creatures in the city long ago.”

Lin Jiade switched to the Soul Flame Vision and saw that the trio had souls, while the monsters were just empty shells. Moreover, the soul flames of the Alchemist and the Miniature Yeti were half gold and half black, while the young man who resembled Ragnar was half gold and half white.

The miniature snowman made a "get off the bus" gesture. He had been attacked head-on, and after calling for backup, he fought and retreated, finally seizing the opportunity when his opponent made a mistake and launched a counterattack. He could finally hold his head high.

"Shall we go down?" the ice cave asked.

"Get out of here. This vehicle's defenses won't hold for long. If we do nothing, we'll be melted by enemy fire." Lin Jiade glanced at his phone. "It's not like there's no hope at all."

They got out of the car, and the one whose mask had been shattered by Lin Jiade's sword said, "So you're Lin Jiade?"

And who are you?

"I... I'll just call myself Little Melon," the boy said. "Names don't matter, and I'm not interested in remembering your names, so there's no need to give them."

Lin Jiade remained silent. The other party said, "If you don't want to die, come with us."

"Who instructed you to come here?"

"You'll see when we get there. If you're trying to stall for time, don't count on it; we have other people blocking your reinforcements' path." The other party beckoned. "If you listen to us, you won't die, at least not now."

"I... refuse!"

Lin Jiade pressed down with his left leg, and the celestial weapon was already in his hand. Little Melon was wary of Lin Jiade's explosive attack, so he took a step back and then shaped himself with flames.

The miniature snowman separated a portion of the black/airflow surrounding its body, dragging it into a ball and hurling it at Lin Jiade; the gold-turning-stone gauntlets were aimed at Lin Jiade, and hidden weapons were launched from them. The monsters surrounding Lin Jiade and his companions launched a silent attack, coordinating their encirclement from the left, right, and rear.

It has a lot of momentum, but... it's a bit immature. Lin Jiade thought.

Just as the miniature snowman and the alchemy attack were about to reach the young man's body, Lin Jiade transformed into a sword in a second. Xuanling fired the gun that had transformed from the face hole of the demon ninja, hitting Lin Jiade in his sword form and the celestial weapon that was falling downwards.

Using the external force, Lin Jiade was pushed away, dodging the attack, and ran towards Little Melon standing in the middle. Ice Cave raised her wand and smashed it on the floor. Golden light surged from her center, pushing back the surging monsters and preventing them from attacking Lin Jiade and Xuanling.

However, this move also took a heavy toll on her; sweat appeared on her forehead just two seconds after activating the skill.

Seeing two flying swords hurtling towards him from both ends, Little Melon unleashed dozens of flame-shaped weapons in one go. Lin Jiade transformed back into human form, the magic circle at his waist lit up, and the surging air propelled him into the air, allowing him to dodge Little Melon's attack.

There, he transformed into a longsword for the second time, swooping down from the sky. The bell blocked the miniature snowman, and the gold-turning-stone technique was used to ambush the ice cave, but was blocked by the earth peach that jumped off the car.

During the final part of his dive, Lin Jiade transformed back into human form. He used his shield to shield himself against the poorly aimed and weakly shaped weapon that Little Melon had hastily created. As he landed, he reached out, and the celestial weapon flew right to his side. He grabbed it and casually stabbed Little Melon with it.

Little Melon retreated again, observing the battlefield situation—it was currently evenly matched, but it was clear that Lin Jiade's Holy Land Guardians would soon be unable to hold out; if they could just stall for a while…

However, the teammate in charge of the blockade then sent a notification that, after moving away from the city, Jianlan had used her authority to summon police mechs and armed drones. They could no longer hold out and were preparing to retreat.

Little Melon cursed inwardly, but had no choice but to signal a retreat. The monsters that had been battling the ice cave were the first to retreat into the darkness. The ice cave could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, its clothes soaked in sweat and turning dark.

Little Melon called to his two companions to fight and retreat, while Lin Jiade pursued them, hoping to at least leave one person behind to obtain information. At this point, he didn't even know who he was fighting.

The bell jingled in response, her attitude was very routine—preserving Lin Jiade's life was her top priority, and as for fighting the enemy, sorry, that was not within her consideration.

The more Lin Jiade chased, the less hope he had. By the time he reached the corner, the enemy had already disappeared into the darkness, so he had no choice but to draw his pistol and resort to his random shooting technique.

The young man emptied his magazine in one go, mostly out of venting his anger, but then he heard a scream in the darkness. Today, he was blessed by Lady Luck; his seemingly random shooting skills had actually hit the target.

Lin Jiade suspected it might be bait set by the enemy. He looked at Xuanling, who tossed him a burning stick, illuminating the silhouettes of two people struggling to walk while dragging their wounded companion.

Before Lin Jiade could give any instructions, Xuanling had already fired the anti-demon ninja face hole in its pistol form. She deliberately raised the muzzle to avoid killing the wounded enemy on the ground.

Lin Jiade, carrying his sword, gave chase, occasionally parrying the plastic weapons thrown by Xiao Xianggua. He chased them for another street, when the moonlight once again broke through the clouds, and he moved from darkness to light, pinpointing the location of the fugitives.

He braced his left leg, preparing to charge straight at Little Melon and the others. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the black cat, which was silently strolling over.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Pursuit 3 (2→1)

For Lin Jiade, the black cat who tricked Teacher Yang into signing a contract and continues to drain her energy is a higher priority than the trio whose background is unclear.

His shield and weapon still retained the blessing of the ice cave, so he decisively stepped forward and swung his sword to attack. The moment he hit the opponent's body, the black cat turned into smoke and disappeared.

It appeared in human form, and although it was clearly a monster, it revealed a human-like expression when it was destroyed: first longing, then hope, then gloom and anger, and finally, it smiled at him, a smile that sent chills down one's spine.

Lin Jiade knew that the monster was not truly dead; it had merely retreated after achieving its goal of hindering him. But to encounter prey on his first search, Lin Jiade considered himself a lucky hunter.

Ms. Yang woke up with a start. She had a nightmare, but quickly forgot about it after getting up. She touched the corner of her wet eye, realizing she had been crying.

However, it wasn't just her eyes that were wet; she was sweating profusely, and her throat felt like it had been smoked, burning and painful.

Ms. Yang lifted her pajamas and fanned herself, letting out a humid, hot breeze from her collar. Reluctantly, she got up, poured herself a large glass of water, and gulped it down. The cooled sweat then clung to her body, creating an unpleasant sensation.

There was always enough hot water in the ward, so Teacher Yang took a shower. The noise she made didn't wake Hehuan because Hehuan had become a sleeping beauty immediately after taking her medicine today.

She hadn't washed her hair, but she wasn't planning to go to sleep right away either. Just then, she heard what sounded like Lin Jiade's voice coming from outside the door.

She opened the door and saw Lin Jiade talking to a girl dressed like a magical girl, who was wearing Lin Jiade's down jacket. Hearing the noise, they both looked at her, a strange feeling spreading through Ms. Yang's heart.

She forced a smile and said, "Uh, did I disturb you?"

“We just brought the wounded back. Don’t worry, none of us were injured.” Lin Jiade glanced at his phone. “It’s already two in the morning. Teacher Yang, go back to sleep.”

Teacher Yang clearly saw that Lin Jiade had injuries on his face and arms. One of the injuries on his face was covered with a cartoon-patterned band-aid, and it was not hard to imagine who gave it to him.

The thought of them fighting for her in dangerous places while she slept soundly like the Princess and the Pea made Teacher Yang feel very sad.

Worry about Lin Jiade, self-loathing for her own incompetence, and jealousy triggered by the band-aid... a complex mix of emotions made Teacher Yang bite her lip and say, "You... be careful."

Lin Jiade nodded and continued walking forward with his companions. Behind them, Teacher Yang's expression began to break down. She closed the door, her body slumped down, and she covered her face with her hands. Tears flowed from between her fingers and dripped to the ground.

The window sill, illuminated by the moonlight, now had the shadow of a black cat. It looked down at the weeping woman and let out a cry that sounded like both mockery and a sigh.

Lin Jiade didn't care about Teacher Yang's feelings, because after repeated chases and struggles in the streets, he finally forced the miniature snowman and the little melon to give up their companion whose legs were both injured.

While abandoning their companions, they prepared to finish off the one who turned gold into stone, and they almost succeeded. It was Lin Jiade who risked his life (after all, he still had the divine oracle given to him by Du Juan to save his life) and turned his body surface into metal to block the fatal damage for the one who turned gold into stone.

This was the body-forging method taught to him by the reed warbler, Chi You. He was not yet proficient in using it. Sometimes his body was covered with brass, and sometimes with bronze. It was a matter of chance, and the area covered was also random. The injury on his arm was the result of blindly trying to turn gold into stone and overdrawing his luck.

He looked somewhat disheveled, but he had only suffered superficial injuries. These kinds of injuries do not damage the bones and muscles. Each injury expands his energy reserves, and he becomes even stronger after the wounds heal... Therefore, people say that scars are a warrior's medals.

The ice cave next to him, which looked normal, was actually in worse condition. If Lin Jiade hadn't wrapped her down jacket around the ice cave from head to toe, people would have seen her trembling legs and the bloodstains on her knee-high socks.

Lin Jiade never imagined that overusing the power of the ice cave would cause her menstrual cramps. When he returned carrying his spoils, he saw the bloodstains on her legs and thought something had happened in the ice cave.

This isn't a serious illness, but it's like a boy whose House of Commons has been brutally attacked and, after enduring the initial pain, continues to suffer from the dull, agonizing pain of being cut by a dull knife while recovering—a pain so intense it can render a person immobile.

Before the physical examination, Bingdong wanted to remove the blood-stained over-the-knee socks, but as she sat down in the chair, she felt weak and couldn't muster any strength when she placed her hand on the edge of the socks.

She turned her head to look at Lin Jiade: "I'm out of strength, can you help me take off my socks?"

Lin Jiade looked down and said, "Are you sure? This involves some physical contact, and I don't want to be seen as a pervert taking advantage of someone in distress."

“Don’t be so wishy-washy,” Ice Cave whispered. “If it were you… then it would be fine.”

After she finished speaking, she turned her head to the other side. Lin Jiade also felt his heart racing and his mouth inexplicably dry, so he first unscrewed the water glass and took a big gulp of water before turning to the front of the ice cave, squatting down, pinching her ankle, and first taking off her shoes from the ice cave.

Then, he reached up and slipped his hand inside the ice cave skirt. The back of his hand felt the silky fabric of the skirt, while his palm felt the warm, slightly rough touch of the over-the-knee socks.

An unprecedented thrill, like an affair, exploded in Lin Jiade's heart. He didn't touch anything extraordinary in the ice cave; the very act of delving into its secrets was enough to bring him pleasure.

He carefully explored, his fingers feeling the edge of the over-the-knee socks, and the sensation of her icy thigh was also under his control. As if possessed, his index finger drew a circle on her thigh.

Lin Jiade looked up and saw that the ice cave's head was still tilted to one side. Its pale face, disheveled clothes, and a strand of hair wandering around its collar were simply tempting to commit a crime.

But he remembered his friend's suffering from menstrual cramps, so he lifted up Ice Cave's skirt and roughly pulled down her over-the-knee stockings, repeating this twice. Before Ice Cave's skirt was fully down, he admired her bare legs as a reward for his work.

He wasn't a foot fetishist or a leg fetishist, but he had to admit that Ice Cave had legs that could handle over-the-knee stockings. The over-the-knee stockings complemented her perfectly, and he couldn't help but recall the feeling of Du Juan's feet in over-the-knee stockings roaming over his thighs last year.

He couldn't help but say, "Old Mu, if you want to be a girl, I'd like to ask you to do something."

"what?"

“From now on, wear knee-high socks every day,” Lin Jiade said solemnly.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Taking Responsibility

After Ice Cave felt better, she was called in for a medical check-up. The doctors had always been very interested in the Guardian of the Holy Land, especially the cross-section of the light pillar embedded in Ice Cave's chest, which compressed her heart and lungs while fulfilling its corresponding function, which was truly amazing.

Imagine if this kind of technology could be analyzed and applied; its applications would be so wide, from battlefield first aid to emergency accident response, that it would be worthy of being included in textbooks.

So if someone in the Ice Cave has a headache or fever, they'll be given a free check-up package. However, the doctors are disappointed to find that they're faced with data that's as ordinary as can be (by the standards of superhumans). Even menstrual cramps after overusing their powers aren't anything special, because many female superhumans have similar experiences.

The ice cave had been thoroughly ravaged, and she returned to Lin Jiade's side with an air of indifference, quickly collapsing into a chair and falling asleep.

Lin Jiade nudged her, but she didn't react at all. He chuckled and prepared to carry Ice Cave back in the manner of Aunt Ross carrying logs, but then he suddenly remembered Ice Cave's all-out effort in the battle, so he changed to carrying her in a princess carry.

He took a shortcut, knocked on Hehuan and Teacher Yang's hospital room, opened the "door" back to his own home, and then sent the ice cave back to the rented room through the "door" in his home. The rented room was very cold, and the girl in her sleep curled up even more.

After Lin Jiade turned on the air conditioner for her, he put her on the bed. The magical girl outfit in the ice cave was pretty and flashy, but it wasn't good to sleep in it, so he shook her awake and said, "Take off your clothes before you sleep."

"Good~"

While Bing Dong was taking off her clothes, Lin Jiade took her thermos, filled it up, and came back to find that Bing Dong had only undressed halfway, her upper body was under the covers, and her dress was piled up below her waist.

He was both angry and amused, and slapped her on the bottom: "You better take off your clothes and go to sleep!"

"I'm so sleepy~ It's warm enough like this, I don't want to take it off."

Lin Jiade had no choice but to help her take off her clothes, his arms inevitably touching various places. He covered her with the blanket and then clutched his chest when he returned.

"Lin Jiade?"

Jasmine's voice woke Lin Jiade. He looked at Jasmine guiltily and asked, "Didn't you go to school?"