The trio stepped out of the inner room, noticing Natasha and Leon still busy tending to the patients and injured, so they didn't interrupt.
Finding a secluded corner outside the clinic, Serval's expression grew complex.
"Little brother, were those words you said earlier your true thoughts?"
"Of course."
Gepard answered without hesitation.
"And it's not just a fleeting realization—it's what I've always believed."
"People can't always face their problems alone, nor should they always hide under someone's wing."
"When struggling, you shouldn't bottle everything up inside—at least… you should lean on those close to you when it's right."
Serval's nose stung a little: "…That's just like you, little brother…"
Gepard blinked: "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your sister's saying you're too proud… ugh, just spit it out already. No need to beat around the bush."
Stelle planted her left hand on her hip, her lips curling into an Elation-fueled grin.
"See? Even Stelle gets it."
Serval shot Gepard a playful glare, unable to hold back a chuckle.
"You've got the nerve to call me secretive when you're just as bad at being open."
"…"
Gepard's gaze instinctively darted away, awkwardly shifting to the side.
"What can I say? We're family."
Serval stopped teasing him, stretching lazily and letting out a relieved sigh.
"Stelle, little brother, I've changed my mind."
"Uh-huh, canceling the train departure plan, right? This gal saw it coming a mile away." Stelle's face was brimming with confidence.
Back when they parted ways yesterday, Leon had already predicted today's outcome.
Not surprised at all.
Maybe Leon was a therapist in a past life or something.
Having her thoughts read so easily, Serval didn't find it odd—her smile only grew brighter.
Before she could speak, Gepard jumped in with a serious look.
"Sis, I just wanted you to let go of the burdens from your past. I wasn't trying to force you to stay."
"Don't worry, little brother. I'm not staying just because I'm touched—it's a decision I've thought long and hard about."
Serval's gaze drifted toward the clinic, her tone noticeably lighter.
"This trip to the lower district, with you and Leon, made one thing crystal clear to me—"
"The reason I thought about leaving Belobog was mostly because I was running away…"
"That's a sign of immaturity, and it doesn't align with my rock 'n' roll philosophy of following my heart."
"Whenever I face messy relationships—whether it's Cocolia or family drama—I've always instinctively dodged them."
"Starting today, I'm going to be my true self. Step one: erase 'running away' from my dictionary."
"After all—I've got a broad pair of shoulders I can rely on, right, little brother?"
Gepard nodded without a moment's hesitation.
Serval's eyes fell on the guitar slung over her shoulder. She slowly took it off, her fingertips gently brushing its surface.
"Seeing the state of the lower district residents, I realized I might still have something to contribute to this city and its people."
"But before that…"
Serval gripped the guitar's neck with both hands and, without warning, smashed it hard against the ground—
A sharp, resounding crash echoed as the guitar shattered into pieces.
"Sis…" Gepard's lips tightened slightly.
Serval silently gathered the fragments from the ground, walked to a nearby trash bin, and dumped them all in.
She clapped her hands, her face radiating relief.
"Just a farewell ceremony. Didn't scare you, did I?"
Stelle spread her hands with a smile.
Gepard: "Feel good?"
"Feels great, haha. Only regret is I didn't get to see that woman's angry, ugly face."
Serval tossed her golden hair over her shoulder, flashing a radiant grin.
"Alright, from this moment on, the weak Serval is well and truly dead."
① "Once you accept your own weakness, you become invincible."
② "If Cocolia knew from down in hell, her whole face would probably turn red with rage."
③ "Shame. I thought we'd get another big sister on the train."
"Damn, I'm being attacked by long-dead memories!"
Seeing option one, Ah Xian couldn't help but slap her own forehead.
She was eating at the time and had foolishly trusted the chat's advice to check out the Chinese version.
Nearly choked to death from the shock.
"I still can't figure out the writing team's deal. When will I stop seeing memes and laughing my head off?"
[When Leon gets stabbed.]
???
"Goddamn…"
Ah Xian barely held back a curse, yanking open a drawer to pull something out and shove it in front of the camera.
"Kid, you really need to be kept in check… uh?!"
Realizing what she was holding, Ah Xian's eye twitched hard.
Oh, sh*t!
She'd gotten heated over that comment and grabbed the wrong thing.
Meant to pull out the AC remote…
At that moment, the entire chat exploded into a flood of question marks.
Dense, covering the whole screen.
Mixed in were a few sparse lines of text.
[Mods are ecstatic!]
[Hey, why'd my comment turn yellow?]
[Insane Ah Xian, you actually pulled that out?]
The mods were indeed thrilled.
But before they could issue a warning, Ah Xian's bold, almost-tripping-over-her-own-words defense hit them.
"What kinda barbershop are you guys running here? Never seen a purple microphone?"
"I used this mic for streaming last year. Why all the question marks? Unless…"
"You filthy-minded birdbrains thought it was a **stick?"
As she spoke, Ah Xian calmly stuffed the purple microphone back into the drawer.
All the way to the back.
To avoid grabbing it again by mistake.
"That was called Tang Seng's scripture page!"
This time, Ah Xian didn't mess up. She pulled out the AC remote, pointed it at the camera, and raised a peace sign with her other hand.
"Listen up—under my control, next time you're sewing, your family's gonna barge in!"
"Next time you're rushing to the bathroom, the toilet's gonna back up, and there won't be any tissue!"
[Holy—such vicious control!]
[If someone catches me sewing, my life's over (sad).]
[Insane ID! One dares to use it, another dares to read it.]
"Keep the memes coming, I love 'em! No way there's a knife when my hubby Leon gets stabbed—impossible!"
"Thanks to Still Being Stubborn for the Admiral sub!"
"Boss, you're the real deal. Wishing you riches to ascend the Path and lube up, or poverty to stare at screens and work your hands. Bang bang hard!"
Still Being Stubborn: [???]
You cheeky… fine, whatever!
Good thing he's not poor.
Leon's got a knife waiting for him.
When the white blade goes in and the red blade comes out, Ah Xian's gonna shut down, squat in a corner, draw circles, curse the writers, and cry little pearls, right?
Heh heh heh…
But—
Honestly, Leon's really good to the protagonist, and his character's pretty likable.
If he gets knifed, it won't feel good for anyone.
…Forget it, no use dwelling.
It's still early in the game's launch.
Heard the next map's Xianzhou with a Chinese vibe. No way they'd knife Leon in the Xianzhou arc.
At this moment, no one could've predicted.
There is a knife.
…