"Job done. It was a bit simpler than I imagined."
Stelle casually stuffed the happy memory disc into her pocket and was about to leave with the two mascots when suddenly, a monstrous roar came from outside the door, followed by increasingly close, heavy footsteps.
Stelle's expression went: relaxed → confused → dazed → terrified → panicked → at a loss.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered what Ruan Mei had said before they came in:
"Miss Jingliu has already broken down. Her mindscape is full of dangerous monsters."
Along the way here, Stelle hadn't encountered any, so she had let her guard down. But now that the real danger was approaching, even someone like her who had seen big scenes couldn't help but feel flustered.
It wasn't that she hadn't fought Phantylia, Sunday, Hoolay, and the like before, but those were mostly group battles. With more people, there was less panic. Here, however, she was alone.
"Ding-a-ling!"
The Clockie old man was so scared he let out a loud chime and turned to hide inside Stelle's body, only to be kicked away by her. "Get lost! Don't even think about abandoning me!"
Hoolay tried to escape into the Memospore space but was slapped flying by Stelle. "You're the mighty Warhead of the Xianzhou, how can you be this cowardly?!"
The wolf and the clock protested together: "Your legs have been shaking the whole time. What right do you have to call us cowards?"
Stelle: "Bullshit! That's because I'm hungry, definitely not because I'm scared!"
"Can you even get hungry inside a mindscape?"
"None of your business—"
Bang bang bang—
While the three were still arguing, heavy knocking suddenly came from the door, as if some heavy object was slamming into it. Each impact felt like it was hitting Stelle's heart, causing violent palpitations.
!
The Clockie old man and Hoolay exchanged glances, then instantly started running around the room like headless flies, hoping to find a place to hide.
Unfortunately, this was just an ordinary screening room. Apart from a screen, a transparent coffee table, and a sofa, there was basically no other furniture. Finding a hiding spot was extremely difficult.
At this critical moment, Stelle remained calm. Her gaze swept across the room and finally locked onto a large plush doll by the wall. Without any hesitation, she unzipped the doll and hid inside.
Seeing this, the Clockie old man and Hoolay hurriedly tried to follow: "Friend/Master, take me with you!"
Stelle gave each of them a slap: "Get lost! It's already full in here!"
Crack!
At that exact moment, a crisp shattering sound rang out. As expected, the door was smashed open.
·····
Standing at the doorway was a "Jingliu" wearing a white long dress. Her gaze was vacant and hollow, and she held a wooden stick in her hand as she eerily "slid" into the room.
For now, let's call her "Grandma Jingliu."
"Aaaaah!"
The Clockie old man and Hoolay instinctively hugged each other and screamed on the spot.
"Ah—!"
Seeing living creatures, Grandma Jingliu instantly flew into a rage. She raised her wooden stick and charged at the two.
Hoolay reacted first. It roared, its body visibly expanding: "I am Hoolay, Warhead of the Xianzhou! Rather than dying in despair, it's better to—"
Grandma Jingliu swung her stick down—
Hoolay only felt an overwhelmingly unstoppable force coming from the stick, like a fully loaded steel truck charging at full speed. He couldn't even block it slightly before being sent flying on the spot.
Hoolay: "Aaaah—!"
Even after hundreds of years, Jingliu was still the tallest mountain in the history of the Xianzhou.
The Clockie old man saw Hoolay get one-shotted and was immediately shocked. "Watch me! Time begins to slow!"
Tick tock—
The BGM of slowed time played. Grandma Jingliu's speed instantly decreased, but it was only for a moment. In the next second, red light surged in Grandma Jingliu's eyes as she entered the "Eclipse" state and pulled her own turn forward.
Clockie old man: Nani?!
Bang!
Clockie old man: "Aaaah—!"
One wolf and one clock were one-shotted by Jingliu after just two swings of the stick. The unfortunate pair supported each other as they slowly retreated.
Jingliu looked at the two still-alive beings and muttered: "Ah… has my strength declined because I'm getting old?"
"But even if you luckily survived one hit, the damage should be enough."
The Clockie old man and Hoolay dragged their near-death bodies backward.
"Ah… I'm about to die."
Grandma Jingliu twirled the wooden stick in her hand: "Next, normally a mere Meme is insignificant, but since you've seen the memories in this room, I have no choice but to kill you."
"If that scientist outside finds a way to suppress the Mara-Struck State because of this, I won't be able to accept it."
"Prepare to die."
"······"
While Grandma Jingliu was speaking, the seemingly harmless plush doll that had been sitting by the wall was slowly moving millimeter by millimeter.
Especially when she approached the Clockie old man and Hoolay, completely ignoring the doll, the doll's movement became even faster.
Rustle rustle rustle—
"Hm?"
Grandma Jingliu suddenly turned her head and looked toward the plush doll by the wall.
"······"
The doll remained completely still, as it should.
Grandma Jingliu looked away in confusion and muttered: "Hmm, was I overthinking it?"
As soon as she looked away, the doll started moving again, getting farther and farther from her and closer to the door.
The Clockie old man and Hoolay, who were facing the doll's direction, saw this scene clearly. The same thought popped into both their minds: Is that guy… trying to…?
What kind of mentality is this? She actually wants to run away?
You haven't even fought yet!
Rustle rustle rustle— (sound of moving)
"Hm?"
Grandma Jingliu turned her head again, looking suspiciously toward the source of the sound. The plush doll was still quietly leaning against the wall, except… it seemed much farther away than before?
Was it "relativity"? Because she had been moving toward these two Mem, the distance to the doll had increased?
Was she overthinking it?
Grandma Jingliu turned her head back again.
Seeing this, the Clockie old man thought inwardly: She's even willing to pretend to be a doll just to escape. I really misjudged you, friend. Is this all the successor of Mikhail and the so-called Nameless has to offer?
It's fine if you abandon Hoolay, but you're even abandoning me! I've been your companion for over a hundred chapters! What a scumbag!
However, Stelle paid no attention to the Clockie old man's thoughts and continued inching toward the door little by little: As long as I can reach that spot, as long as I can reach that spot!
Once there, she could run at full speed!
In truth, she had planned to fight at the beginning. After all, setting aside the horror filter, she was a four-Path (pseudo) Pathstrider, the Clockie old man had time-slowing abilities as a super Stand, and Hoolay was the Warhead of the Xianzhou.
The three of them working together would have the power to escape even against an Emanator.
But probably because this was Jingliu's mindscape, this terrifying Jingliu was basically a mechanic boss! They absolutely couldn't win here!
The opponent didn't even show a health bar and her attacks were direct mechanic plot-kills. How could they fight?!
So, they could only run!