A colossal figure emerged from the explosion—a massive xenomorph, many times larger than an ordinary one. Chu Lian's pupils contracted sharply upon seeing it. "Xenomorph Queen? You actually turned yourself into a Xenomorph Queen? Or did you have some method prepared to forcibly transform yourself into one?"
But the boy-turned-queen had lost all traces of human ability. Suspended mid-air by a strange power, it leapt onto the rooftop of Qingping Grand Hotel and opened its gaping maw in a silent roar of fury aimed at Chu Lian.
"Pitiful, detestable person. Do you really think this will hurt me?" Though surprised by the transformation, Chu Lian didn't flinch. She raised her head, gazed at its grotesque body, and shook her head. "You were obnoxious before, but at least you looked human. Now you're not even that. There's no need to feel anything toward you anymore. Goodbye."
Chu Lian had no intention of engaging the beast in a drawn-out fight. She knew she'd expended too much energy, and a head-on clash—even if won—would come at too high a cost. Victory might be difficult, but killing? That was something else entirely.
Her right hand gripped the Void Greatsword's hilt, while her left raised the blade horizontally, its tip aimed straight at the Xenomorph Queen's head. In that instant, all of her remaining energy was poured into the weapon.
Sensing danger, the queen launched the first attack—a massive, ten-meter-long tongue lashed out at Chu Lian.
Calmly, Chu Lian sidestepped a few paces to the left, effortlessly dodging the strike. Her sword tip never wavered. The energy surging along its edge intensified, a crimson light gathering at the very tip.
What had been a feeling of danger now erupted into a palpable aura of death. The boy-turned-Xenomorph Queen panicked. It spun its hulking body, preparing to leap toward a nearby rooftop and flee.
But Chu Lian smiled coldly. "Too late..."
Teleport.
She appeared directly beneath the queen. The Void Greatsword's blade angled upward, targeting its skull.
Softly, she whispered, "This time, it's really goodbye..."
Shu~
With a gentle hum, a beam of crimson energy—concentrated into a single line—pierced straight through the queen's brain with no resistance. It was dead before it even fell.
The still-potent energy shot skyward, as if threatening to pierce the heavens themselves.
Boom~
The corpse, lifeless the moment it reached mid-air, plummeted from over 200 meters high. Weighing several dozen tons and standing over ten meters tall, its impact shattered hundreds of square meters of ground. Even its incredibly durable carapace burst open on impact, spraying blood that instantly began corroding the street beneath.
"It's over..." Chu Lian sighed softly. She lifted her gaze toward the sky. Her body began to shimmer and blur. With her butterfly wings unfurling, she soared into the sky—and vanished.
Of course, her departure was merely an illusion. The commotion here was far too massive to cover up, and someone capable of singlehandedly defeating all those xenomorphs would undoubtedly attract widespread attention. Even national agencies with deep intelligence networks wouldn't let her go unnoticed.
Fortunately, she'd prepared for this. Before engaging, she had altered her appearance. And with the chaos of battle and the overwhelming number of xenomorphs, no one had clearly seen Inori leap over or Chu Lian draw the sword. As long as she patched up a few lingering clues, she could safely hide her identity.
Naturally, she didn't believe government agencies or hidden powers would be unable to track her down eventually—but by then? Who knew what she'd become. Their threats might not matter at all.
Those monitoring the situation closely felt a wave of unease rise within them when they saw the massive creature emerge from the explosion and confront the girl wielding a greatsword. But none could have predicted the abrupt shift in events. Within just ten seconds, the Xenomorph Queen had been slain—its corpse now lying not far from where they stood.
The butterfly-winged girl, who had become a Valkyrie in their hearts, vanished into the clouds right after defeating the monster. Her abrupt departure left them filled with regret. They longed to see her true face, but it seemed she had no intention of acknowledging anyone who wasn't a monster.
And who could blame her? Walking on air, flying with butterfly wings, wielding a greatsword to slay beasts—none of these were things ordinary humans could do. In that moment, many people's understanding of the world shifted. For the first time, they began to believe that gods might actually exist.
Footage of the battle was soon uploaded online. No one knew what kind of device had been used to record it, but the resolution was absurdly high. Apart from Chu Lian's face—still too distant to see clearly—nearly every other detail was captured in stunning clarity, leaving viewers awestruck.
The government's response to the incident was strangely reserved. They made no attempt to suppress the spread of the footage, nor did they fan the flames. They simply focused on handling cleanup and post-crisis procedures.
This sort of neutrality was unprecedented in Huaxia's recent history. It sparked heated discussions nationwide, and even foreign media and netizens dove into speculation and analysis.
Huaxia netizens, known for their boundless imagination, provided commentary ranging from absurd to eerily insightful. Conspiracy theorists, rational analysts, and truth-seekers all battled it out in forums across the web.
Still, the general consensus was this: the world was changing.
Abroad, conspiracy theories reigned supreme. While respected outlets like Eagle Daily, Reuters, AFP, and The Times offered more grounded analysis—examining the biological nature of the creatures, the identity and power of the mysterious girl, and questioning the nature of the towering white light and the possibly space-busting weapon she used—others weren't so restrained.
Sensationalist tabloids like The Sun, the Underworld Press, the Fifty-Star Gazette, and the Bunbunmaru Newspaper churned out wild theories. Some claimed the monsters were Huaxia's new bioweapons. Others insisted the girl was part of a rumored weaponized girl program, able to convert energy into weaponized limbs. The Underworld Press went so far as to claim the girl had their nation's bloodline—how else could she be so strong?
As for the Bunbunmaru Newspaper, that was pure chaos. It had been planted by Chu Lian herself to further muddy the waters. The article was an unfiltered mess of bizarre theories, internet memes from her past life, and ridiculous "truths" she'd made up herself. She was quite pleased with the result.
Of course, all this was just background—mentioned here only in passing.
Back to Chu Lian. She had spent 1,000 Dream Points to have the system generate a dramatic "departure effect," making it appear as though she had returned to her original room on the 37th floor after vanishing.
By now, all xenomorphs—no longer under control—had died automatically. Even the two mutated ones were not spared. Their corpses lay sprawled on the ceiling, claws jammed into the stone from the moment of death. Having stiffened instantly, their limbs had bent and lodged into the concrete, leaving their final positions grotesquely intact.
Thankfully, Qingping Grand Hotel didn't install any hidden cameras in its rooms like certain other shady establishments. If anyone had recorded what happened inside, Chu Lian's identity would've been exposed on the spot.
Previously, Chu Lian had charged from the 4th to the 33rd floor via the stairs. With the crowd density and her small stature, she was likely invisible to most onlookers. Only in less populated areas might a glimpse of her have been caught. These were the loopholes she now needed to close.
Another vulnerability lay in the corridor between the 33rd and 37th floors—there, she hadn't made any effort to conceal herself. Though she'd changed her appearance to resemble Kuroyukihime, it was still possible someone might have seen through it.
And then there was the final hole in her story—what happened right after she burst out of Room 4027 at the moment of the explosion. If explained simply, she could say, "I got lost in the crowd." But without any witnesses, that excuse was shaky.
Grasping Inori's hands as she lay in bed, Chu Lian stared at her in silence—until she stirred, slowly opening her eyes.
"Lian..." Inori smiled gently, reaching out with her tiny hand to caress Chu Lian's cheek. Her voice was soft and warm. "You're back?"
"Mm, I'm back..." Seeing that she was only a bit weak physically, Chu Lian finally relaxed. It wasn't that she hadn't cared about Inori's condition earlier, but her second persona had unconsciously taken over during the heat of battle. In such extreme circumstances, she had to eliminate the nearby xenomorphs first.
Now that her original self had returned, her concern was clear—those she cared for always came before herself. That's why her worry now was so intense.
Inori seemed to understand something but, looking into those deep, starry eyes, she didn't voice it. Instead, she simply whispered, "Lian, take me down… be careful."
Chu Lian nodded, then used her teleport ability to descend to the next floor via one of the cracks caused by the earlier destruction.
The intense explosions and battles had left the building on the verge of collapse. Even a well-constructed structure couldn't endure that much abuse—multiple detonations, monster rampages, and a multi-ton beast standing on the roof. The fact that there were only cracks and not a total collapse was a miracle.
Still, Chu Lian was thankful for those fissures. Without them, she wouldn't have had a line of sight, and thus no way to teleport. They would've had to descend floor by floor on foot, greatly increasing their chances of being discovered.
After her series of spiritual bursts—ring, arrow, and the final energy beam—Chu Lian's power was nearly drained. Supporting Inori while teleporting more than thirty times in a row had taken its toll, and fatigue began to weigh on her.
By now, all civilians had been evacuated. The area within 100 meters of the hotel had become a restricted zone, with no one allowed in. This quiet environment made it the perfect opportunity for Chu Lian to destroy evidence.
Of course, she couldn't do it alone. The system had extorted 10,000 Integrity Points from her to clean everything up. According to it, this was a discounted rate—since it had handled Inori's situation as well and could guarantee that the deleted footage would be nearly impossible to recover for several years. The odds of anyone identifying her through video were now very low. That gave her some peace of mind.
Using teleportation to silently bypass all surveillance and return to the hotel's main plaza—where people had once gathered—Chu Lian now saw countless wounded sprawled across the ground. Medical staff bustled about, overwhelmed volunteers scrambled to help. It took her a while to finally locate her classmates.
As she approached a quiet corner of the plaza, dozens of eyes turned to her at once. Chu Lian sighed inwardly and forced a faint smile. "I went to find Inori. She was still upstairs—but luckily, she's fine."
Chu Chu stood and walked over, gazing at her sister's face. In a low, melancholic voice, she said, "Big Sis... Zhang Feng is dead."
"Dead?" Chu Lian's heart jolted. What... happened?