Ice-blue hair, eyes so cold they seemed to freeze one's soul, and the mechanical device shimmering with light behind her ear.
And the massive cracked sword she held in her hand.
This was Lacy, known as the "Angel" within the organization, the same person who had shattered Ning Yu's weapon on that rainy night.
The one who had said, "We will meet again."
"It's you."
Ning Yu narrowed her eyes. This person claimed to want to help her but had set up an ambush to attack her.
She ignored the now motionless mutated zombies on the ground and fixed her ruby-like eyes on Lacy.
"We meet again."
Lacy smiled slightly, her previously expressionless face melting like ice, a bright gold beginning to spread through her eyes, replacing the icy blue.
Ning Yu remembered—this was the sign of Lacy entering her second phase. In this state, it was as if her entire personality had changed.
Before Lacy could say more, Ning Yu sidestepped into the mist, activating [Mist Walk].
Shen Yiyue's sniper rifle was also in action, its barrel spitting fire as bullets imbued with time manipulation flew toward Lacy.
"It's a misunderstanding. I'm not here to fight you."
Lacy spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
But neither Ning Yu nor Shen Yiyue listened to her. After all, she had set the ambush first, and now they couldn't trust her.
Shen Yiyue's bullets halted in front of Lacy, a faint blue ripple shield appearing, the bullets creating ripples across its surface.
Ning Yu's figure appeared behind Lacy, and Blood Kite pierced into the barrier.
It was no longer the original [Crimson War Blade], and its tip easily broke through Lacy's shield.
Though Lacy hadn't directly attacked Ning Yu to trigger [Moon's Moment], Ning Yu had no intention of stopping her assault.
She swung Blood Kite, slashing at the barrier countless times in a flurry!
Lacy's barrier trembled violently, shaking until it finally shattered with a crisp sound.
Her supposedly impenetrable shield was broken by Blood Kite!
Lacy's expression remained unchanged, still wearing that mysterious smile as she shook her head slightly in resignation.
Now, Ning Yu's blade and Shen Yiyue's bullets were no longer obstructed.
Lacy dodged Shen Yiyue's time-stopping bullets, but Ning Yu's blade followed her like a shadow, relentless in its pursuit.
"Clang!"
Lacy placed her massive sword in front of her chest, blocking Ning Yu's fierce strike.
"You've grown much stronger. I wasn't wrong about you."
Ning Yu frowned. Her attacks with Blood Kite were like a storm, yet Lacy didn't engage in a direct confrontation, instead opting for a passive defense.
It seemed as if she truly had no intention of fighting.
Was she really not here to ambush them?
"What about these mutated zombies?"
Ning Yu glanced at the now motionless cyborg-like zombies on the ground. It seemed they had truly stopped attacking under Lacy's control.
"Just a test of your strength."
Ning Yu's attacks grew faster, leaving only afterimages in the air.
To keep up, Lacy sprouted a pair of blue light wings from her back.
Unlike Ning Xuan's mechanical wings, these were genuine light wings, resembling the delicate wings of a fairy, composed entirely of some kind of energy.
The energy flowing through them rippled backward, as if burning, gently swaying with Lacy's movements.
"Clang!"
Their weapons clashed once more, and Lacy still didn't take the initiative to attack.
Shen Yiyue suddenly noticed Ning Yu raising her hand behind her back, signaling her to stop attacking.
"You really want to help me?"
Ning Yu slowly retracted Blood Kite, her eyes still locked on Lacy, wary of a sudden attack.
Lacy released her grip, sending the cracked sword back into an invisible space. She spread her light wings and flew to the massive portal.
After manipulating it for a moment, she closed the portal and then turned back to Ning Yu.
"Of course."
"Why?"
Ning Yu pressed immediately, leaving no room for evasion.
This was Ning Yu's biggest question. She had been watching her for so long—what did she want?
"We still have time. Your dear sister is tracking Chen Xing's trail. We can talk slowly."
She walked over to the destroyed altar in the center and placed a small soul gem on it.
The altar reactivated, the surrounding light paths glowing again, though far less effectively than with the original large soul gem.
But it seemed enough for Lacy. She manipulated the altar, and the devices on it began to shift and move.
A screen slowly rose from below, the energy from the soul gem flowing into it, seemingly powering it.
"The soul gems, these altars—are they your work?"
Ning Yu frowned, staring at her, unable to imagine that someone so beautiful could create such an evil, even cruel, energy extraction mechanism.
"It is me, and yet it isn't."
She seemed to have finished her work and turned to look at Ning Yu. Shen Yiyue, realizing the fight was over, slowly walked over as well.
Ning Yu was speechless.
"I suggest you start speaking plainly."
She was barely holding back the urge to punch this riddle-spouting person.
"Hahaha, you're still as fiery as ever."
Lacy couldn't help but laugh softly, her golden eyes sparkling with a crystalline light.
"The me you're seeing now is the real me."
She pointed to her eyes, signaling to Ning Yu.
"What you usually see is my protective personality, which you can simply understand as a program I designed."
"The one who attacked you initially was also my protective personality."
Ning Yu listened, only half understanding:
"So androids don't dream of electric sheep, but they can have split personalities??"
Shen Yiyue almost burst out laughing beside her, while Lacy was nearly choked by her words.
"First, I'm not an android. Second, this isn't a split personality."
Lacy rolled her eyes at Ning Yu in a very vivid manner, then pointed to the altar below.
"These altars were also designed by my surface personality."
"Why do something like this? This isn't William's goal. Why are you betraying him?"
Ning Yu began to speculate.
At the mention of 'William,' Lacy's eyes trembled, as if the name stirred something deep within her.
"How do you know that name?"
u serious?" Chen Feng watched helplessly as his painstakingly trained disciple, fresh off a championship victory, publicly abandoned him. "You had your chance, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now, face the consequences of your choice!" Chen Feng possessed the "Master System," a treasure trove of supreme martial arts techniques, capable of molding ordinary individuals into peerless prodigies. "Legs like yours? A shame not to train in the Crippling Kick." "Ever heard of a palm strike that descends from the heavens?" "Auntie! I see extraordinary bone structure in you—a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand." The once-defiant senior disciple, now watching her juniors rise to fame one after another, dominating the internet, was consumed by endless regret.
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
