Love, Gun, Cupid

Lin Jiade's sword was already close at hand, but a phantom appeared behind the dolphin. He opened his eyes, twisted his waist to dodge, and threw a punch at the same time. Lin Jiade dodged to the side, pulled his arm back, and placed his other hand on the sword to block the punch that followed the dolphin's step.

Lin Jiade took three steps back and saw that the illusory figure behind the dolphin was Little Melon. At this moment, Jasmine arrived and attacked the dolphin from the side. Behind the dolphin, another illusory figure began to appear.

"Jasmine, watch out!"

Suddenly, a black ray shot out from the dolphin's hand, freezing Jasmine in place. The phantom behind him solidified into the outline of a panting, squatting person, and then the dolphin's fist slammed towards Jasmine.

Lin Jiade threw the sword in his hand, forcing the dolphin to stop, turn around, and block Lin Jiade's attack with its fist. The celestial weapon, which had been deflected, spun to the side, while a long wound was cut on the back of the dolphin's hand by the sword's edge.

"go!"

The door constructed by Iphigenia was complete. She pulled the dolphin through the door. Lin Jiade took two steps to chase after it, but seeing that the door had disappeared, he stopped chasing. He turned to look at Jasmine, who had been released from control. At the same time, her dragon form had reached its limit. Square pieces of paper wrapped around her body, and she returned to the appearance of a human girl.

"Well……"

Jasmine felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Her legs gave way, and she fell forward. Lin Jiade reached out and caught her. Jasmine's forehead hit his wound, where the square piece of paper was no longer there to hold her up, and blood began to flow again.

"Does it hurt?" Jasmine asked.

"It's alright, it's just that my left arm is temporarily immobile."

“My right arm too,” Jasmine said. “So, we…won?”

"Ah."

Although they killed two enemies and drove away the rest, Lin Jiade and Jasmine each had a seriously injured arm, the ice cave's energy was estimated to be depleted, and Hehuan lost her weapon... The most seriously injured was undoubtedly Mumian, who also lost Teacher Yang.

Lin Jiade was filled with unease, unsure of Jianlan's situation. On his way back, he encountered Bingdong, who tried to help him up. Jasmine glared at him, and Lin Jiade sheepishly withdrew his hand, asking, "Where are they?"

“Some are dead, some have escaped. I need to go back to the hospital to treat my injuries. Are you alright?” Lin Jiade asked.

The ice cave said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm fine, but my energy reserves are depleted again."

Lin Jiade didn't answer. The three of them went upstairs to go home together. He Ying greeted them, and her expression was as dejected as if she were about to die.

Lin Jiade assumed that Hehuan was saddened by the serious injury to Mumian and the destruction of her cherished violin. Ignoring his own injuries, he went straight to his room, where the injured Mumian was placed in an ice cave.

"You can go out now," he said.

Jasmine and Ice Cave exchanged a glance, then pulled the dazed Hehuan out of the room and closed the door. Kapok groggily opened her eyes and felt a familiar hand stroking her cheek in the darkness.

"Lin Jiade?"

“Kapok,” Lin Jiade’s trembling voice came from the darkness, “no matter what, it’s so good that you’re alive.”

"How is the situation?"

"Take care of your injuries first."

"Are you injured?"

"Not as heavy as yours."

Kapok closed her eyes and felt Lin Jiade's palm pressing on the mark on her chest. She said, "I made a mistake."

“My mistake is more serious than yours,” Lin Jiade replied.

Kapok transformed into a sword, her clothes scattered on the bed. The sword was covered in jagged wounds, representing the injuries Kapok had sustained in her human form. Lin Jiade took out Amanda Stone and metal from Kapok's backpack, and the energy and metal repaired Kapok's wounds.

Although Lin Jiade can also transform into a sword, he cannot use this method to repair himself. This is a unique spell mastered by Mu Mian, which is compatible with her physique, allowing her to be discharged from the hospital quickly every time she is seriously injured.

A whole piece of Amanda Stone shattered, and Lin Jiade hallucinated the scene of his account balance decreasing. Even though everyone could use the Kapok method, each repair would result in the loss of an Amanda Stone, which was not something that ordinary superhumans could afford.

Kapok transformed back into human form from the sword. Lin Jiade didn't turn around because he believed that looking at his girlfriend's naked body was his sacred right as her boyfriend.

The moonlight shimmered on Kapok's skin. She crawled over, the spring bed rocking, causing Lin Jiade's vision to sway with her body. Then, with a surge of heat and a soft yet heavy impact, Kapok hugged him tightly.

“I almost thought I was going to die,” she murmured.

Lin Jiade placed his hand on her back; because she had just finished strenuous exercise, Mu Mian was not comfortable to hug.

Kapok stayed in his arms for a minute, then took a deep breath, pushed him away, threw her underwear off the bed, and casually pulled out Lin Jiade's clothes to put on, asking, "How is it?"

Lin Jiade briefly explained the situation, and Mu Mian quickened her pace. The two left the room together, and Mu Mian went over to give He Huan a hug. The two spoke a few words in hushed tones, and He Huan managed a weak smile.

Ice Cave and Hehuan stayed at Lin Jiade's house, while Kapok, who had been slightly injured, went to West Ham Hospital with Lin Jiade and Jasmine, both wounded, to check on their condition and treat their injuries.

The cuckoo and the reed warbler were both there, always there, yet they seemed not to be. The reed warbler looked at Lin Jiade and his group with a complicated expression. She wanted to say something, but adhering to the principle of neutrality, she could do nothing, so words were useless.

"Once this is all over, I'll play some soccer with you," she said. "Anyway, you always cancel when I ask you to play online."

Lin Jiade paused for a moment, then nodded. He looked at Du Juan, who gave him an encouraging smile. Lin Jiade had many questions, but now was not the time to ask her.

To reach the hospital, the three had to pass through a "door." Behind the "door," an empty ward came into Lin Jiade's view, yet the ward was filled with the scent of life: uncovered blankets, clothes drying in the sun, books with bookmarks, a half-finished drink, a tablet playing a TV series, and crumpled tissues lying quietly in the wastebasket, soaking up tears and cheap sentimentality.

Jasmine tugged at Lin Jiade's clothes, and Lin Jiade looked away. He had a vague feeling that his relationship with Teacher Yang was not over yet.

I didn't get an extra update yesterday because of stomach pain, so I'm making up for it today.

Chapter Eighty-Eight: Lying (Fifteen)

At 8 p.m., a block away from West Ham Hospital, patrol officers had just finished a shift change. The officers being replaced were eating boxed meals ordered from a nearby restaurant, talking in hushed tones.

The conversation consisted mainly of patrol reports, complaints, and various speculations. More than half a month had passed since they were mobilized under the pretext of cracking down on illegal activities. In that time, they had caught several thieves, mediated several disputes, apprehended several clients and prostitutes, and destroyed a batch of illegally published R18 anime resources.

This can be considered a victory, but it doesn't match the momentum of the team's assembly. Even with attendance subsidies and three shifts, the strict orders to keep their phones on 24/7 and be available at any time made those with families particularly unhappy.

Nevertheless, they still demonstrated a high level of professionalism, and their patrols over the past two weeks have not been slackened at all. However, they gradually relaxed because they were equipped with riot control gear and fire trucks, and there were drones patrolling in the sky. Those with higher ranks vaguely knew that there were some powerful figures among their allies.

The story was quite mysterious, considered one of the seven unbelievable things in the police department: that there were people with superpowers in the undisclosed staff of the Fuxing City Police Department, who hid in the shadows and handled extraordinary matters.

When newly recruited young officers encounter the seemingly serious secret conversations of the older officers, they often just laugh it off. However, those officers who have experienced such conversations, feel something is amiss, but cannot fill in the gaps with logic, are increasingly convinced of the rumor.

At 8:05 PM, Henrietta, along with several guardians of the Holy Land, used the cover of night and magic to break through the airspace patrolled by ordinary drones. Rosa had already contacted Lingard and the others. Although Korobochka indicated that they could meet, he did not specify a date.

Henrietta couldn't wait that long; she had to share the information as soon as possible. So, that evening, she personally led a team to West Ham Hospital to tell Korobochka about it.

Aside from being the guardian of the Holy Land, Henrietta is an ordinary middle-aged woman in reality, whose daily life is filled with conformity and intermittent emotional breakdowns.

Life lacked passion; her husband was indifferent to her, his eyes constantly wandering to other beautiful women; and her desires could not be satisfied by her husband either. He became increasingly useless and perfunctory.

Their salaries have stagnated for several years, their jobs remain the same, their colleagues remain the same, their neighbors remain the same, and even the joys and sorrows in their lives are vastly different. The only thing that has changed is her son. She had high hopes for him, but he has become someone who spends all day playing on his phone, finding a hundred reasons to have fun instead of studying.

Henrietta was heartbroken. When she tried to discipline her son, he either remained silent or gave perfunctory answers. Later, when she secretly checked his phone, she discovered long chat logs between him and strangers online.

Her son has no friends in real life. He's as withdrawn as an orphan, but he's very active online, playing harmful games, following content she doesn't understand, and saying strange things that she wouldn't comprehend—things that would definitely get her points deducted if she wrote them in an exam…

Henrietta was confused. She might not have thought about the generation gap in detail, but she had personally experienced the growing divide between people brought about by the acceleration of the internet.

The internet has robbed Henrietta of the social interaction that she believes her son should have. She doesn't understand it, and her son doesn't intend to communicate with her either. The couple only has one child. Every night, her son sneaks online while doing his homework, her husband goes out to dance in the square, and she sits on the sofa watching TV, forgetting half of what she sees.

She has a complete family, with her husband and son both living there, each with their own joys, while she feels extremely lonely.

Thus, all the frustrations and unrequited love that Henrietta had accumulated in her life transformed into a twisted desire for control within the Holy Land. She treated the young guardians as her own children, educating and controlling them, which is why she flew into such a rage when the ice cave defied her.

Although Henrietta led the Guardians of the Holy Land, her abilities were not sufficient for her to hold the position. However, the Greeks preferred to have such a leader on the other side, so they did not touch her and allowed ambition to run rampant during her tenure.

And so came Iphigenia, and then came Iphigenia’s brothers and sisters, and then came Ragnar and his white dragon offspring, and now Korobochka and the cuckoo standing behind him are also eager to try.

Henrietta was completely unaware of this, and if one had to discuss what merits she had as a leader, it would probably only be her sense of responsibility.

Unfortunately, her good intentions backfired. Rosa, now under Greek control, reported the whereabouts of the Holy Land's guardians. Near the hospital, drones equipped with energy detection devices detected a series of suspicious energy fluctuations.

The superhumans deployed near the hospital took off urgently and approached the target under the guidance of the temporary command system set up in the hospital. "Coincidentally," Ragnar and the Greek organization chose to enter the battle from the opposite direction of the Holy Land Guardians at this time, seemingly playing a game of advancing from the north and south and launching a combined attack.

The gates to the dark side of the holy land opened, and out poured a group of ordinary people suffering from mental breakdowns. They were all people who had been kidnapped by the cult in Fuxing City. Half of them had been consumed by the Greeks, while the other half had been deliberately preserved by the Greeks and subjected to the life of livestock in the human pastures.

Their food and water were drugged, the air was filled with hormones, and every day they could see live performances by the Greeks. The oppression of evil from within and without destroyed the spirits of these people, while the Greeks chose from their desires, amplifying their will to survive to the extreme.

The "livestock" of the human ranch were released, but they were also told that it was a chase game and that the "livestock" would be killed if they were caught. Since their minds were already deranged, the moment the door opened, they ran forward, regardless of where they were or who was there.

The moment the gate opened, the drone and the guards near the post reacted. The officers on duty immediately moved closer together, and those who had been relieved returned to their posts and picked up their equipment.

"Stop, stop, stop! Everyone lie down on the ground and don't move!"

Police officers in armor and helmets pushed heavy riot shields equipped with enough to withstand gunfire to form a shield blocking the street, buying time for their colleagues behind them who were armed with shields and riot batons. Behind them, the driver had already climbed onto the fire truck, and the water cannon turret on the back was being raised.

Chapter 89 Lying (16) (Bonus Chapter)

"Tear gas ready! Tear gas ready! Damn it, they've all gone mad!"

"Hold on, hold on, push them back!"

"The riot control forks are over there; take control of those trying to climb the shield wall!"

The crowd released from the dark side of the Holy Land was like a raging bull, ignoring all advice and refusing to back down even when it crashed into the shields. Their faces were ferocious and terrifying, as if evil demons were chasing them.

There were indeed demons, but they didn't intend to kill them. Instead, they used these poor souls to create chaos and distract the police forces on the perimeter. Although these well-equipped mortals were powerless against the cultists who possessed evil magic, neither the Greeks nor Ragnar wanted to waste their energy on mortals.

Tear gas canisters were fired at the crowd, and soon white smoke rose from the scene. The cultists hiding behind the crowd took the opportunity to scale walls and use their various skills to cross the outer defense line and advance towards the hospital. As they advanced, they released the monsters created by the Greeks through undefended nodes under the unusual full moon in the holy site.

Although the monsters were not strong, the guards dared not be negligent. The spider-like mechs' turrets spun, and attacks that went straight to the soul were unleashed from the cannons. The torrent of energy annihilated the monsters and a small number of cultists in the path of the attack... Then, the monsters, who were theoretically already annihilated, staggered forward. The attack had affected them, but since they had no souls, they could survive the attack.

This caused some panic among the guards. In their minds, this ugly lump of iron (most people thought that mechs were humanoid, spider-shaped mechs, and even dogs couldn't operate them) was extremely powerful. There were only three in total in Fuxing City, two in operation, one in storage, and one that had been scrapped in an operation last October.

Ironically, the person who destroyed the spider-shaped mecha in the Mirror Realm now has the right to use it. At the same time, she participated in the design of the spider-shaped mecha, which makes one sigh: fate is truly wonderful.

If operated properly, a skilled spider mech can fire a shot every four minutes, and protecting it from damage during the cooldown period is the task of the others surrounding it.

The cultists were terrified by the power of the spider-like mech. A significant portion of them turned around and tried to destroy it, while the guards fought desperately to protect it. The two sides clashed around this point.

When the expert in sorcery passed through the ward and gave advice to the then-young teacher Yang, she was Gladiolus; but after leaving the ward, she had transformed into Korobochka.

The coldness emanating from her was terrifying, a mixture of fear and composure, two conflicting emotions that arose along her path.

The first problem she had to solve came from within: David Sullivan, the current director of West Ham Hospital, was furious when he learned of the attack.

"West Ham Hospital is a well-known neutral location, yet you're trying to turn it into a battlefield!"

The moment Korobochka opened the door, David's voice came through. She closed the door and said gently, "Don't worry, they can't get in."

"How can you guarantee that?!"

“I can guarantee it,” Korobochka leaned against the door, “you better pray that this is how it ends. Otherwise, the officials who were supposed to monitor and exploit the serious criminal Korobochka have actually colluded with him to profit locally. If this gets out, you’ll be in even worse shape than me.”

"Are you threatening me?!"

"This is not a threat, Mr. Sullivan, just stating the facts. From the moment you helped falsify the psychiatric evaluation results, allowing me—Korobochka—to become active again, we have been in the same boat."

You murdered your wife, the son she had with her lover, and the lover's entire family, while I will make this series of murders into an ironclad case committed by cultists.

At the same time, I also promise to share the Holy Land with you, a place possessing power comparable to that of humans and divine protectors. You've seen it yourself, Mu Xiu, or the medical data from the Ice Cave proves that what I said is true.

David's expression softened slightly. He wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and said, "With all the commotion you've caused, the higher-ups will definitely send an investigation team."

"As long as you can play your role as the nominal overseer well, then neither of us will be in any trouble, because tonight's battle is a grand sacrifice. From ancient times to the present, people have only been able to attract the attention of the gods through grand sacrifices, right?"

David considered a terrible possibility: "Could it be that you and..."