"You've got to be kidding me!"
Melone's breathing turned ragged. His finger trembled uncontrollably on the trigger.
BOOM—!
The gunshot cracked through the night. The bullet tore through the air, streaking toward the distant white-haired woman.
Crack!
Yu Yachen tilted her head slightly. The round grazed her cheek, carving a bloody line and slicing off a few strands of hair before burying itself in the ground.
"…"
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
The sound of chains rattling suddenly exploded across the street.
Every member of the assassination squad clutched at their chest. Seven rusty dog leashes burst through their shirts, writhing like living things as they extended from each man's heart—then all snaked toward Yu Yachen's hand.
The Lock.
"What the hell is this?!"
Blood spilled from Formaggio's mouth as he dropped to his knees. With every inch the chain tightened, the torment on his face deepened. Risotto, Prosciutto, and the others, only just regaining consciousness, grabbed at the chains lodged in their chests. Up in the building, Melone rolled away from the shattered window and crashed to the floor.
At the same time, a strange sigil appeared on each of their arms.
The dog leashes converged into Yu Yachen's palm. Killer Queen raised its thumb and spoke:
"More accurately—it's Killer Queen's third bomb, Under Pressure."
"Now that you've all tasted despair… it's too late to resist."
"No matter how many of you there are—I can detonate you all at once."
Click.
BOOOOM—!
Explosions detonated at their necks. For an instant, everyone froze—then collapsed to their knees, heads hanging limply as if they'd lost consciousness.
"What just… happened?" Exusiai stared in confusion at the seven bodies sprawled across the street.
She couldn't see the chains. She couldn't hear Killer Queen's voice.
"It's over," Yu said.
"I'd like to know what happened too!"
Lao Li hobbled over, holding his waist. His coat was smeared with dirt, shards of glass and splinters of wood sticking out here and there—collateral damage from the warehouse Little Feet had thrown.
From the start of the battle to the moment the assassination squad was wiped, barely a minute had passed.
"Just think of it as me using a bit of divine magic and cleaning up the mess."
"More importantly, are you okay, Miss Yu?"
Exusiai looked at the nasty wound on Yu's neck from the scissors, worry written all over her face.
Yu let her go, and a golden humanoid Stand with wings on its back appeared. It pressed its hand lightly to her neck.
Gold Experience.
It infused her spilled blood with life, reshaping it into new skin. The wound closed in seconds.
"No problem."
Yu had always wanted Gold Experience. Its power went far beyond giving life to objects—it could send people's minds into overdrive, and even let dead people move around for a while.
This world had arts and spells related to souls too.
[Host, Host, tiny spoiler for you—use Gold Experience properly and it'll be very handy in your future simulation missions~ (*)]
The simulations were already basically teleportation missions. The system was surely talking about Talulah and the rest.
Why do you say that? Yu asked.
[You haven't played the game, so you don't know. The Talulah you see now is actually being parasitized by something. All it'll take is a moment of hesitation from her, and that thing will seize control of her body. Right now, she's still herself—but only just.]
[With Gold Experience, you might just be able to drive that parasite out~]
"…"
Yu could already guess where things were headed.
Talulah was the leader of Reunion, wasn't she?
Her very first simulation had shown the ultimate goal as "save Reunion from corruption." It probably had something to do with Talulah.
So I have to counsel Talulah now? she thought. First I had to be FrostNova's "big sister" in the simulation, and now I'm supposed to be Talulah's life coach?
"Eh? Your wound healed all of a sudden!"
Exusiai stared at Yu's smooth, flawless neck, utterly baffled.
"Magic," Yu said, putting a finger to her lips. Exusiai answered with a very dissatisfied look.
"Miss Yu's powers are definitely not just time stop and telekinesis. It's like there's something I can't see watching over us the whole time. Are you sure your Originium Art isn't controlling ghosts?"
She gave Yu a long, suspicious once-over.
"And I don't see a staff either. You're not even an Infected, are you?"
"But the worst part is…"
Exusiai's expression suddenly crumpled.
"I was totally useless! I only fired a few shots, they bounced right back at us, and then Miss Yu took down everyone all by herself. I feel like I was just a mascot…"
Lao Li: I've got no objections.
Yu looked at her fluffed-up red hair and reached out to ruffle it. "You provided covering fire and drew that blue-haired guy's attention. Otherwise I wouldn't have dropped him that fast."
"Eh? So those exploding rounds really were your doing!"
"Mm." Yu nodded, face still blank. "And you kept your footing. You didn't panic when things blew up all around you. Strong mentality."
"So perfunctory! Even if it is kind of true…"
Exusiai slumped, voice small.
Yu watched her shoulders droop. She pulled off her gloves and gently cupped Exusiai's face with both hands.
"You did great. I'm already really grateful you came to help. Besides, the enemy was loaded with wide-area attacks—it's not a favorable battlefield for you."
"Mm-hmm—ehehe… Miss Yu, keep petting me."
Her mood flipped instantly from cloudy to sunny.
You're literally just pretending to be upset so she'll pet you more, Lao Li thought, mouth twitching.
The Lung man rolled his eyes. "Yu Yachen, I need to deal with my wounds first. This old body of mine is about to fall apart. You two carry on."
Clutching his side, he grimaced. Blood seeped through his coat—glass shards had cut him earlier.
"No need. I'll treat you. Lie down."
Yu released Exusiai and turned toward him—earning herself a murderous glare from the Sarkaz.
"Huh? How are you going to treat me?"
Lao Li was nervous, but he still lay down as she asked.
Gold Experience floated up behind Yu, then knelt down beside him, pressing its hand to the wound where wood splinters had pierced his side. It turned the splinters into flesh and skin, filling the gap.
There was, however, one drawback to Gold Experience's healing.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Lao Li suddenly screamed, jerking like he'd been electrocuted.
"What did you do to me?! That hurts like hell!"
"Bear with it. It'll be over soon," Yu said.
"What's pushing on me?! Are you shoving a cactus into my flesh?!"
"Stop stop stop! It hurts, damn it!!"
"Gentler! GENTLER!"
"AaaooOOOHHHH—!!!"
His howls quickly degenerated into the kind of indescribable screaming that would have earned the voice actor hazard pay.
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it