On the 33rd floor, Chu Lian walked quietly through the corridor. No one else was around, but she remained vigilant, scanning her surroundings.
Most of the room doors were ajar, furniture scattered in disarray, and several corpses lay on the ground with blood pooled beneath them. Whether they had been caught in the blast or injured otherwise, she didn't know—but the sight made her frown deeply.
Something's not right. It shouldn't be this empty… As she was thinking, a throwing knife suddenly shot out from the corner of a room, aimed straight for her face.
With two fingers, Chu Lian effortlessly caught the blade. She looked toward where it had come from—no one in sight.
This isn't right… From the moment the knife had been thrown to the moment she caught it and looked up, only two seconds had passed. With her strength, there was no way someone could vanish right under her nose without her noticing.
Just as she was about to investigate further, three more knives flew at her in a triangular formation from the side.
Chu Lian tilted her head slightly to dodge, then caught the middle blade as it passed and hurled it back toward the source.
Thwack… The sound of steel piercing flesh echoed as blood spattered onto the ground—and then floated strangely in midair.
"Invisible… so that's how it is," Chu Lian muttered, eyes narrowing with interest. Now that she had located the assailant, escape was no longer an option.
Sure enough, the invisible attacker realized they had been exposed and hurled a barrage of a dozen knives at her while trying to flee.
"If I didn't want to catch you, would I bother catching your blades with my hands?" Chu Lian's figure suddenly vanished—and in the next moment, reappeared in front of the attacker, speaking softly.
The attacker said nothing—only responded with more blades, slicing through the air with deadly force. Chu Lian's form blurred and then stabilized. With her slender right leg, she delivered a powerful forward kick.
Boom… The invisible assailant was launched like they'd been struck by a speeding car, slamming into the wall.
Whether it was fortune or misfortune, the building's construction used top-grade materials. The wall remained intact—but that only meant all the force rebounded into the attacker.
Splurt… A large mouthful of blood spewed out. Severely injured, the invisible figure could no longer maintain their stealth and reappeared.
It was a figure clad in black, the upper half of their face covered with a black cloth, strangely revealing only their chin. The outfit strongly resembled a neon-style ninja—complete with throwing knives and a peculiar mask style. To the average person, the difference would be indistinguishable.
"A ninja?" Chu Lian blinked slightly in surprise. Just then, the masked ninja threw down a smoke bomb.
Bang~ Smoke filled the entire room. Chu Lian coughed for a moment before regaining her composure.
Frowning, she muttered, "So he really is a ninja. But why would he be here?"
In this world, the Neon nation had long been subjugated by Huaxia—whether in ancient or modern times, they'd been under Huaxia's control for years. Only after a world war decades ago had they managed to break free and become an independent nation. Even then, remnants of Huaxia influence lingered in every aspect of life—customs, literature, food, etiquette, and even language all bore the distinct marks of Huaxia.
So despite their so-called independence, Neon had only half-freed itself. They hadn't formally paid tribute, but in reality, they acted subservient—more obedient than Japan had been to the US in her past life.
Of course, many within Neon opposed this dynamic. But since 95% of society conformed, the dissenters could only resort to sabotage in secret. As a result, the two nations weren't always peaceful—terror attacks from Neon operatives weren't uncommon.
Whether or not these actions were secretly backed by the Neon government was unclear, but it was obvious they loathed such radicals. They frequently cooperated with Huaxia's military to crack down on these groups.
So, if this large-scale destruction was caused by them, it wouldn't be surprising. But… could things really be that simple?
"He escaped… but that works perfectly for me." Chu Lian smiled elegantly, stopped scanning the area, and walked forward with light, graceful steps. At just the right moment, a small umbrella opened above her, adding to her graceful stride.
Not long after she left, someone crawled out from beneath the bed. His face twisted with pain, but his eyes remained alert. Only when he confirmed the area was clear did he limp away.
Meanwhile, Chu Lian, who had never left, was sitting cross-legged atop the bed. Watching the man's retreating, pitiful figure, a meaningful smile curled on her lips. Her violet-tinged black eyes narrowed.
"Interesting, very interesting. Let's see where you're headed," she murmured. Then, her body vanished. A moment later, she reappeared in a room just ahead of the man's path.
Hearing his approaching footsteps, she disappeared again—this time appearing at an angle in another room. Each time she popped in and out of view, her smile widened, as though she had discovered something fun.
The wounded ninja staggered toward the 34th floor. At one corner, he could no longer endure the pain and collapsed, his body convulsing violently.
Splorch… A wet tearing sound echoed as a grotesque creature burst from his body. It hunched over him and began to feast on his flesh.
"Xenomorph? This timeline doesn't even have the Alien film, let alone real ones. Something like this must've been brought here by a Spacetime Traveling Merchant from another dimension. No wonder this whole school trip's been such a mess. Two quests unintentionally overlapping raised the difficulty level," Chu Lian said softly, blinking her pitch-black eyes.
Though her voice was quiet, xenomorphs—lacking sight—were hyper-sensitive to sound. Even a whisper was thunderous to its ears. Startled, it halted its feeding, lifting its head to glare viciously in Chu Lian's direction.
A flash of violet light crossed her eyes. Coldly, she muttered, "Busybody."
Her body disappeared—and in the next instant, she was behind the creature. Her umbrella transformed into a longsword, slicing cleanly across its neck.
The xenomorph didn't stand a chance. Against Chu Lian's ghostlike teleportation, it was killed instantly.
"There are probably more of these things. That Spacetime Merchant must be one of those who takes pleasure in destruction—an existence hated by the very plane they infest." Gazing at the corpse, Chu Lian left the room.
On the 34th floor, she encountered several more invisible ninjas. This time, she didn't hesitate. She dispatched them swiftly, eliminating the xenomorph embryos hidden in their bodies as well. One corpse after another was left behind.
The casualties here were far worse than on the 33rd floor—it was a scene straight from hell. Shredded bodies lay everywhere, the floors soaked in thick, congealed blood.
"Trying to score big, then retreat before the plane's consciousness notices? Planning to repeat this cycle to slowly grow in power?" Chu Lian could tell these deaths hadn't triggered any response from the plane's awareness.
But since they were caused by invasive creatures, it was likely the plane was beginning to take notice. If the destruction escalated, backlash would follow soon. And when that happened, the merchant's gains wouldn't come close to outweighing the cost.
"No wonder they only attacked from the 50th to the 30th floor… so that's why." Having figured out part of their motive, Chu Lian let out a breath of relief. Only by understanding the enemy's goal could she formulate a counter-strategy.
"That person… must not be allowed to live." She had already made up her mind—if she encountered this so-called peer later, she would strike without mercy. For now, finding Inori remained the top priority.
She continued upward—35th floor, 36th, and finally 37th. Each floor was more gruesome than the last. Compared to this, the 34th floor's hellish scene looked tame. Fully grown xenomorphs patrolled the area, searching for anything edible.
When Chu Lian first saw this scene, the violet glow in her eyes flared even brighter. "Beasts!" she spat coldly. Without hesitation, she blinked behind a xenomorph and executed it instantly. Her Kuroyukihime blade might lack the destructive force of a void greatsword, but it was sharp and durable enough. Under her immense strength, not a single xenomorph could survive her strikes.
Soon, she reached the double suite where she had left Inori. The door had been violently forced open from the outside. More than a dozen xenomorph corpses were strewn across the floor. Bullet holes peppered the walls, and acid burns from xenomorph blood marred the surroundings.
Thankfully, there was no trace of human blood—meaning Inori was unharmed and had taken down all of these on her own. Her earlier assumption that human enemies were involved was completely wrong. The ninja had simply been parasite hosts for the xenomorphs. Their exposed mouths were to make feeding the internal creatures easier.
At that moment, a louder explosion rang out from the upper floors. Chu Lian looked out the window. Flaming xenomorph bodies were falling, and a girl's sharp voice echoed from above:
"Don't even think of capturing me. I'm no one's replacement!"
That voice—Inori?! Chu Lian's heart jolted. She rushed to the balcony and looked up. A helicopter hovered near the 50th floor, where a young boy sat casually, sipping red wine. Gunfire erupted from a nearby balcony.
Rage surged within Chu Lian. The boy on the helicopter—it was the same pretty-faced brat who had approached her when she was lost on the second floor. Now, she knew exactly who was behind all this. The gunfire on the balcony was unmistakably Inori's doing.
Without hesitation, she shouted, "Inori, I'm here! Jump down!"
Inori was still firing madly at the swarming xenomorphs. Hearing Chu Lian's voice, her heart surged with emotion. Ignoring the creatures, she leapt onto the balcony railing and, with a glance toward Chu Lian, jumped diagonally through the air. "Lian…"
The boy in the helicopter sipped his wine and smiled. "Perfect. The real star has arrived. Children, bring both of them to me. I will craft the ultimate queen for you all."
As if understanding his words, the xenomorphs below stirred violently. One by one, they leapt after Inori's falling figure.
Facing Inori's descending form, Chu Lian stepped onto the edge of the balcony. With a powerful kick, she launched herself upward.
She didn't spare the chasing xenomorphs a single glance. Her only focus was Inori. She caught her gently in her arms.
Inori smiled sweetly at her, opening her arms. "Lian… please use me."
Chu Lian nodded, reached out, and drew her sword…