Li Mu set Eden down and looked at Spade Four, whose cold sweat was practically streaming.
For actors already written into his personal script, Li Mu had long since locked down their identities and locations.
Even with the mask and without the distinctive fox ears, he recognized her instantly.
One of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era.
Sakura.
Just as Li Mu was about to have a proper chat with her, a sharp whistling cut through the air.
Li Mu tilted his head and looked toward the fleeing assassins.
By now, those well-trained professionals had already put considerable distance between themselves and the battlefield. Freedom was just one step away.
Then he saw it.
A dense scatter of sparks appeared in the sky, the whistling growing louder.
Missiles.
In the next instant, they rained down with pinpoint precision onto the escaping assassins.
Boom boom boom!
Continuous explosions erupted, fireballs soaring skyward, along with fragments of bodies torn apart by the blasts.
"Tsk. Wiped out completely."
Eden, standing beside him, had seen it too. She frowned slightly at the carnage, but showed no real discomfort.
"Elysia, it seems the local government finally reacted. Those missiles are clearly standard military issue."
As if confirming her words, the roar of ion thrusters followed. Towering autonomous mechs, several meters tall like small buildings, rapidly closed in.
Seeing the United Government insignia on them, Eden finally relaxed.
"Looks like today's farce is over. Elysia, thank you for your help."
Li Mu shook his head.
"Over? No. This is just the beginning."
Eden looked at him in confusion.
"These are military mechs. They are usually stationed at United Government bases."
"The nearest base is over fifty kilometers away. That does not even count reactor startup time, authorization procedures, and the Far East's legendary bureaucratic drag."
"So tell me, my dear Eden. We have not even been out here ten minutes. How did they arrive so fast? Teleportation?"
Eden's relaxed expression slowly turned serious.
"For them to arrive this quickly… there is only one possibility."
"These mechs were already nearby."
"They knew I would be kidnapped?"
"But if that is true, why would they allow it?"
Li Mu stepped closer and lifted her chin with a finger.
"My dear Eden, you really have no awareness of your own value."
"As the wealthiest and most famous person in human civilization, your favor is the greatest prize of all."
"Think about it. Rescuing you at the critical moment, like a storybook hero saving the beauty. A life-saving debt… that is an enormous favor."
Feeling the warmth of "Elysia's" fingertip, Eden felt a faint current pass through her heart, leaving it tingling, something unfamiliar stirring inside.
Meeting those reddish-brown eyes, Eden spoke softly.
"A staged rescue?"
"Bingo."
"My dear Eden, you're so smart."
Li Mu leaned in and whispered near her ear.
"My dear Eden. For people who treat you like a bargaining chip, so full of themselves… don't you want a little payback?"
Up close, the scent was unmistakable.
Eden could clearly recognize her friend's presence.
And yet, she was equally certain that this was not the Elysia she knew.
If the Elysia she knew was a fairy of joy from the Elysian Realm, then this one was a demon that tempted the heart.
This pale-purple Elysia was more dangerous, more alluring.
And carried an attraction entirely opposite to the one she knew.
Eden had to admit it.
She was tempted.
She smiled, fingers brushing through her hair, elegance unchanged, but her voice carried a strange excitement.
"Being a bad girl once in a while… that does sound novel."
"But Elysia… I will call you that for now. Are you really confident you can escape from all these mechs?"
By now, the mechs had fully surrounded them.
"Do you doubt me?"
"That hurts. It really hurts."
Eden laughed softly.
"Then, my dear Elysia, I leave it to you."
Li Mu stepped back, spun gracefully, and bowed to Eden like a knight swearing fealty to a princess, or a magician about to begin a show.
"Then please witness the finale of this performance."
A mechanical voice echoed from the mechs.
"Dangerous individual. Step away from Miss Eden."
"Final warning. Dangerous individual. Step away from Miss Eden."
The moment they reached the combat zone, the mechs' fire control systems locked onto Li Mu and issued stern warnings.
He had no doubt that if he were not standing so close to Eden, they would have opened fire immediately.
But after the warning, the combat AI suddenly lost its lock.
The pale-purple figure vanished from Eden's side.
Fortunately, the next instant, the system reacquired the target.
Unfortunately, the target was now above the mech.
"Hey there, big guy."
Li Mu crouched atop the mech's cannon, greeting it through its cameras and combat AI.
Then he punched straight through the outer armor, grabbed the control core, and crushed it.
"Bye."
The mech collapsed.
A massacre with no suspense began.
On one side stood steel armor, cannons empowered by chemistry, engineering, and physics.
On the other, what looked like a frail human body, pretty clothes useless in combat.
Anyone would assume the outcome was obvious.
Yet Eden watched "Elysia" shatter steel armor with slender fists, rip cannons off with seemingly delicate arms and smash reactors with an elbow, kick entire mechs like toys with long, lean legs.
Fortunately, she had already seen her friend's absurd physical strength before, so she was only mildly surprised.
Before long, every mech that had come to "save the beauty" lay destroyed by the final boss known as the Faded Fairy.
Li Mu glanced back to where Sakura had been.
She was gone.
While he was busy tearing through the mechs, Sakura had fled.
No matter. He already had the location of her and her sister's residence. No need to rush.
Now, there was another matter to settle.
Standing amid the wreckage, Li Mu turned and smiled at Eden.
"The annoying pests are finally dealt with."
"Now then, my dear Eden. You have been kidnapped by the great Far East outlaw, Miss Faded Fairy."
He raised his hands like claws and grinned wickedly.
"Scream all you like. No one is coming to save you."
Eden laughed.
"Then, my dear kidnapper, are you after money… or something else?"
Li Mu blinked, then smiled.
"Alright. Enough teasing."
"I want to make a deal with you."
"With something… you might really like."
…
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