Love, Gun, Cupid

Starfish and Yuki exchanged a glance. Three intermediate magic researchers were fighting against two advanced magic researchers. It would be difficult for them to win, but in order to survive, they had to fight.

Above them, the Kapok encountered Robinson's obstruction as she climbed the platform. The blocky structures extending from the sides of the platform increased the difficulty for the bodysuit-clad monster to climb. What was originally a straight path had become a cat version of Ma'ao.

While dealing with Kapok, Robinson didn't let his guard down with Lin Jiade either—his still-burnt left arm was the price of underestimating him. Lin Jiade seemed to have the energy reserves of a novice magic researcher, but the spells he possessed, the equipment he had, and the presence behind him that looked exactly like Gladiolus were all extraordinary encounters that even advanced magic researchers would find difficult to gather.

For Lin Jiade, he will face a similar choice to that he faced with Buck: is it worthwhile to use more than half of his energy reserves to eliminate or severely damage Robinson?

While Robinson was distracted by the kapok tree trying to climb up, he seized upon the enemy's arrogance and unleashed a thunderbolt, but Robinson would not give him a second chance.

Perhaps thirty years of retirement life in Robinsonshire had made Robinson's movements slow and his thinking deteriorate, but maturity and experience were still a high wall standing in front of Lin Jiade.

There was indeed a wall in front of the young man, a defense constructed by Robinson Crusoe. No matter whether he used lightning magic, a pistol, or a longsword, all attacks were absorbed by the wall, which was as soft as mud.

Lin Jiade glanced anxiously in the direction of the pale-skinned woman. How much had she recovered in the time that had passed?

"Damn it, I still have to go all out... even if it means using up half of my energy reserves to fight that woman."

He muttered as he raised his hand, and Sword Orchid sighed and obeyed his will, the spell beginning to be cast. Just then, the voice of Kapok sounded behind him: "There's no need for that."

"?!"

Lin Jiade and Robinson simultaneously looked towards where Kapok was. The man in the tight-fitting suit, though disheveled, had gotten up unharmed. They couldn't figure out how Kapok had done it, but its existence was undeniable.

“I’ll hold him off,” Kapok said. “Don’t linger here too long. You and she have more important things to do, right?”

Lin Jiade hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Mu Mian quickly stuffed a teardrop-shaped pendant into his hand.

“Take this; it contains a way to save your life,” Kapok said.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine, I can handle this situation on my own."

Robinson didn't allow them to pass the baton; he clenched his fists and hurled a stone pillar made of stacked blocks at Lin Jiade. Kapok pushed him aside and dodged the pillar's path herself.

Kapok remained on the high platform, while Lin Jiade plummeted downwards. However, Jianlan cast a spell, and soon, a strong airflow propelled him into the air, heading straight for the area where the pale-skinned woman was.

Chapter 108 Worms: Exhaustion

Robinson aimed in the direction of Lin Jiade, but he didn't make a move. Instead, he turned back towards the kapok tree.

"You didn't do it; it seems you still have your senses," Kapok said. "Is everything about Friday's death, everything that's happening now, roughly the same as what your leader promised and planned?"

“I know what you’re trying to say. Friday… My son’s death was nothing more than a matter of her and that young man. Now they’ve gone to fight each other. One of them will die, and I can get the truth from the remaining one.”

"If Gladiolus is the one who survives, you will not get the truth."

You mean her lies completely deceived me?

“No, I mean you will die,” Kapok said.

“It’s good to be confident, but…” Robinson said after taking a deep breath, “I’m very irritable right now, extremely irritable. I know you’re innocent, but could you please not do things that make me even more irritable? I’m worried I’ll take it out on you.”

Mu Mian raised her sword: "I don't care, I've never been a likable character anyway."

Kapok glanced at Lin Jiade, who, transformed into a jetpack warrior, had already become a black dot in the sky. Gladiolus's spell moved Lin Jiade directly above the Azure Woman's location; on the ground, a gray eggshell concealed the Azure Woman's position.

"How do we get in?" Lin Jiade asked.

"Take a deep breath, and be careful not to bite your tongue."

"okay."

The young man did as instructed, and he felt a tremendous force pushing him from behind, causing him to plummet rapidly. He didn't have time to scream; he only saw a semi-transparent shield unfold before him. At the moment he hit the eggshell, the point of contact between the eggshell and the shield shattered, which objectively slowed down Lin Jiade's freefall.

He landed right on a chessboard of black and white chess pieces. The pale-skinned woman playing the black pieces sat opposite the woman playing the white pieces. They had already played about twenty moves when Lin Jiade, who had just appeared out of nowhere, shattered their game.

“My true form…is with Korobochka,” said Jianlan.

Lin Jiade looked at the woman playing the white pieces again. She was as cold as ice. Although she was beautiful, she was completely different from Jianlan's gentleness... However, judging from the fragments Jianlan obtained, it was hard to imagine that Korobochka was a woman who longed for love, enjoyed life, and looked forward to having children at home.

And now...

Lin Jiade stomped heavily on the chessboard in a provocative manner, shattering the board and sending the pieces flying. He turned to the pale-skinned woman and said, "You reforged Korobochka?"

“I have collected 47% of Korobochka’s soul fragments, and Buck has also handed me 47% of the Empire, which contains crucial fragments of her personality. Why not reshape her in a way that is to my advantage?”

The pale-skinned woman smiled slightly: "It's great that you're here. The 6% soul fragment of Korobochka and the magical knowledge I possess are all in the possession of that imposter behind you."

“I’m not an imposter,” Gladiolus said, pulling down her collar to reveal a pink gladiolus branded on her chest. “This is what distinguishes me from you all; I am an independent being. Though humiliating, it made me realize that I don’t have to be Gladiolus or Korobochka; I can just be myself.”

“A powerful mark of slavery… So that’s it. It was something imposed by the people who rescued you that day. But that won’t change the outcome.”

Lin Jiade used the hilt of his sword to press the button at his feet. He then kicked the pale-skinned woman in the face. The pale-skinned woman grabbed a chess piece and pressed it against the sole of Lin Jiade's shoe, saying, "You can't even break a chess piece. You're hopelessly weak."

The studs on Lin Jiade's boots popped out, carrying an electric current that pierced the back of the pale-skinned woman's hand. The pale-skinned woman grabbed Lin Jiade's ankle and threw him into the air.

Gladiolus cast a spell, enveloping Lin Jiade in energy to help him stabilize his body. A soccer ball popped out from Lin Jiade's belt, and he fully extended his body to complete a bicycle kick.

Gladiolus infused the soccer ball with energy, and it hurtled towards the pale-skinned woman like a cannonball. She was thrown from the chessboard, her chair shattered by the ball, while Korobochka, sitting opposite her, remained as still as a puppet, unmoved.

The pale-skinned woman stretched out her palm towards Lin Jiade. Lin Jiade remembered this sorcery; she had once drained his energy in one strike, leaving him as a weak and feeble young man. Now he was the Capricorn Saint (youth version), and a Saint could not be defeated twice by the same attack.

So he unleashed a thunder spell, which was faster than the spell cast by the pale-skinned woman, so he hit her first. The spell's effect was resisted, but that didn't matter; he interrupted her casting, forcing her to rebuild her magic.

The pale-faced woman looked at her palm: "Compared to magic, witchcraft requires a higher degree of concentration during the casting process, and any change in the external environment can easily lead to the failure of witchcraft casting."

Although your spells cannot directly harm me, their casting speed surpasses that of my sorcery, so you can always use them to interrupt me.

“I spent 89 hours studying you and simulating possible battles with you, while you spent how much time studying me, a weak opponent?” Lin Jiade replied.

"Is this enough to bridge the gap between you and me?"

The pale-skinned woman used the same trick again. Lin Jiade used a thunder spell to interrupt her spellcasting, but she suddenly canceled her spell and enveloped herself in energy, becoming thicker and larger, like a snowball crashing straight into Lin Jiade.

In the confined space, Lin Jiade had nowhere to retreat. Jianlan drew energy from his Gold Cloth and piled it in front of him. The two collided, and Lin Jiade, holding onto his shield, was pushed backward step by step by the snowball, turning the battle into a pure contest of energy consumption.

The pale-haired woman calmly cast her spells from within, sending energy surging from the surface of the snowball and flying towards Lin Jiade's body. Jianlan drew upon even more energy to counterattack, and for a moment, flames of energy danced in the sky like fireworks.

Under intense strain, Lin Jiade's Gold Cloth quickly became dull and lifeless. He had very little energy left, and he was fighting alone with no one to save him, while the enemy maintained their usual pressure.

“This damn energy reserve…” he muttered.

“That was a lie I told you,” the pale woman’s voice pierced Lin Jiade’s ears. “That attack was accomplished by me using the extra energy stored in the Amanda Stone, while my individual energy reserves remained almost intact.”

If you have 500 units of energy reserve with the help of your equipment, then I currently have 10000, a full 20-fold difference in energy. What do I have to worry about?

Chapter 109 Flying Birds: Invasion

How can a 20-fold energy gap be bridged?

Courage, faith, reinforcements, equipment, celestial observers, luck, love?

Several answers emerged in Lin Jiade's mind. He didn't know exactly what was supporting him, but there was no doubt that his body was now under heavy burden, but his mind was incredibly light. The unwavering thought drove all his actions.

"We have repaired Unit-01's turret. Please provide the coordinates. Repeat, please provide the coordinates."

The voice of the 19th District team rang out on the public channel, sounding like heavenly music to Lin Jiade. Jianlan reported a set of numbers, which Lin Jiade quickly relayed. Shortly after, the other party said, "Received. We only have one shot."

“Yes, this shot is an opportunity,” Jianlan said. “The instant they fire, I will draw all your reserve energy. If that still doesn’t work…”

She and Lin Jiade looked at the life-saving method that Mu Mian had given Lin Jiade. The situation was urgent, and Mu Mian had not explained how to use it or its specific uses. However, Mu Mian had previously said that the "life-saving method" was a destructive power, and she did not want to use it unless absolutely necessary.

Can the current situation be considered a moment of unavoidable necessity?

The pale-haired woman planned to deliver the final blow to Lin Jiade, completing the re-aggregation of her true form. She felt somewhat that Lin Jiade's presence among the thirty birds that had flooded into the Mirror Realm, and the fact that he was facing her in a direct confrontation, was somewhat orchestrated.

Who are the pawns, and who are the players? The pale-faced woman didn't know. Even if Lin Jiade was a sweet and tempting bait, she had to swallow it.

So, a deadly spell was brewing in her palm, aimed at Lin Jiade. Within the snowball of magical protection, no one could interfere with her casting... not humans, but the spider-like mech could.

The artillery barrage from 2.3 kilometers away was fleeting; the torrent of energy pierced through the outer walls of the material, reaching the pale-haired woman directly. She had assumed the mech was destroyed and hadn't added any defensive spells against it. Therefore, she was forced to interrupt her spellcasting and release another type of protective spell to safeguard herself.

Damn it!

As she withstood the shelling, she caught a glimpse of Lin Jiade's actions out of the corner of her eye. His golden armor was dull and lifeless, all its remaining energy being converted into offensive spells by the sword orchid. Those dazzling lights were like an army, charging forward with their commander, constantly breaking through and breaking through again.

Lin Jiade's army tore through the outer walls of the snowball and stormed into the inner space, most of his companions vanishing. The only obstacle between him and the immobilized pale woman was her protective magic. This couldn't hold him off for long; he breached the second barrier, his army, having accomplished its mission, dissipated behind him.

The commander, now without his army, stood dizzy before the enemy. His hands and feet were cold, his heart was beating slowly, and his face was pale. He was alive but looked like a dead man, while the dead man opposite him looked terrified, living like a living person at this moment.

"go to hell!"

Lin Jiade roared and thrust his sword into the pale woman's body. His sword pierced through the pale woman's left chest and emerged from behind. He poured the last bit of energy into the blade, and the magic contained within the blade was activated, causing the pale woman's soul to burst like a balloon.

Some of the scattering soul fragments entered Jianlan's body, giving her a more tangible feel to her form and restoring some of her energy. Before she could even process this, she saw the snowball, now without its caster's support, collapse, causing Lin Jiade to plummet towards the ground.

So she used the energy she had just gained to weave a cradle, catch Lin Jiade who was falling to the ground, and help him up. Lin Jiade plunged his sword into the ground and barely managed to maintain his standing posture by using the hilt of the sword as a support.

"We...won?" he mumbled.

"Although I really want to say this..."

Lin Jiade watched as the shattered, pale-haired woman reformed... only her upper body was reformed, while the rest of the fragments were nowhere to be found. Filled with hatred, she stretched out her palm towards Lin Jiade. Jianlan formed a shield in front of Lin Jiade, while Lin Jiade tensed up, preparing to face her final blow.

But the pale-skinned woman did not deliver her final blow. The spell she was preparing in her palm vanished, and an ice spear descended from the sky, piercing through her body.

“So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is…” she laughed. “The Baker Street Squad is just a victim unearthed from the corner of history, a prop used to divert attention. The real mastermind is hiding behind the scenes, enjoying… cough, now, she has seized the opportunity to make her appearance.”

The pale-haired woman still had much to say, but she left the stage, her body shattering into fragments once more. Lin Jiade removed his helmet and hurriedly gnawed on an energy bar, hoping to recover even a little bit of energy, while Jianlan's gaze followed the direction of the fragments, watching them eventually merge into the other half of the chessboard, where Korobochka stood as quiet as a puppet.

After all the fragments of the pale woman merged into Korobochka's body, the cold doll opened her eyes. Before her, the black and white chessboard and pieces turned into pure darkness. She stood up and looked at Jianlan, who felt as if her soul was about to be frozen by her.

The chill ran through Lin Jiade, who forced himself to look at the silent Korobochka and asked, "So, she's not an ally?"

"If she were an ally, she should look at us with a more friendly gaze."

Lin Jiade contacted the members of the 19th District squad and learned that they could fire another shot in five minutes. This also meant that within five minutes, he, who was already struggling to maintain his standing posture, would be committing suicide if he were to engage in any conflict with Korobochka.

But how did he get through those unbearable five minutes?

Just as he was hesitating about how to deal with Korobochka, Korobochka walked towards him. His body tensed up, and his breathing became heavier as the distance between them shortened. The cold seeped into his body, and the dry, cold pain spread from his nasal cavity to his lungs.

Korobochka stopped when they were still 15 meters away, glanced at Lin Jiade, his gaze fell on Jianlan behind him, and then returned to Lin Jiade.

She continued to approach, and Lin Jiade was unable to move under her gaze. She was so tall, exceeding 210cm in height and matching figure, that Lin Jiade appeared delicate and petite in comparison.

Korobochka reached out his hand, and Lin Jiade held his breath. He thought he was going to be torn to pieces, but unexpectedly, the cold touch spread across his head, turning his hair into a bird's nest.

“Well done, you have completed the mission I entrusted to you, now you can rest,” Korobochka said.

"Mission? I have no memory of that..."

Lin Jiade didn't finish his sentence because the words reappeared in his field of vision, wandering over Korobochka's body. The crimson color burned his eyes, reminding him of the choices made by the birds and worms.

“So, it was you from the very beginning,” he said.

Chapter 110 Flying Birds: Planning (41→40)