Two in the afternoon.
Xiao Ling had returned to the same mall he’d once visited with Denia.
But this time was different — he’d brought five beautiful girls from a game world with him.
“Heavens…
there’s actually a mall this— huge!” Linae scampered into the mall’s interior, staring up at the ceiling that stretched out of sight, utterly stunned.
Aside from Denia, who took it all in stride, the other four girls were clearly witnessing a spectacle of this scale for the first time.
Each displayed their own flavor of shock.
“Incredible…
was this really built brick by brick?!” Sigrika shaded her eyes with her hand, scanning the surroundings with deep amazement.
In her memory, even using the Smartprint Cubes invented by the Spacetrek Collective, a large-scale mall like this would still be a massively ambitious project.
(Giving the girls from Solaris a little shock from the infrastructure maniacs.jpg)
“A mall this big must have an amazing selection of goods inside!” Aemeath looked exceptionally excited.
Before, when money was tight, she’d never considered setting foot in a place so prone to overspending.
But now, she was someone with her own little treasury!
“Naturally, Amy.
The merchandise here — there’s only stuff you wouldn’t think of, nothing they can’t get.” As a local, Xiao Ling knew this mall inside and out.
Though e-commerce was highly developed now, there were still some things online retail couldn’t do.
This mall had undergone several expansions and had now become one of the go-to check-in spots for young people in this city.
The lovely girls around Xiao Ling were already itching to go.
Now that they each had their own disposable funds, courtesy of Her Majesty the Queen Mother, they naturally wanted to buy things they liked.
But before that, they were first drawn in by another matter.
“Senpai, um…
I think I just saw myself?” Chisa was the first to speak.
Her eyes were sharp.
She’d spotted a girl not far away whose silhouette bore an uncanny resemblance to her own image.
“Really!
I think I saw myself too?!” Sigrika followed the direction of Chisa’s gaze and also discovered a figure that looked very much like her.
Only then did Xiao Ling look toward the endpoint of the two girls’ line of sight.
He instantly understood what was going on.
“We’ve hit the jackpot.
There happens to be a small convention going on here.
The figures you just saw were cosplayers — people dressing up as you.”
“Why would they dress up as us?” Sigrika leaned in closer, those big, adorable eyes gazing at Xiao Ling full of thirst for knowledge, her elf ears twitching back and forth.
“Isn’t it perfectly normal for fans to cosplay the idols they love?” Aemeath smiled and explained to Sigrika.
“I know I’m pretty well-liked at the Academy, but being treated like an idol or something…” Sigrika scratched her head, looking like she still couldn’t quite accept the idol = herself explanation.
“Our Siggy is the future Heliodic Six successor, and also a super impressive honors student at the Academy.
Wasn’t resolving the crisis on the dark side your doing too?” Xiao Ling used concrete facts to explain why people in this world would admire her.
“No one could dislike a gentle, brave, kind, and especially adorable young lady.”
“While that’s true, Senior’s encouragement was also incredibly important to me.
If not for your guidance, I probably wouldn’t have been able to muster the courage to face the other me on the dark side!
And in the end, it was resolved perfectly because Senior and I fought side by side there!” Sigrika affirmed Xiao Ling’s point while also heavily emphasizing the role he’d played in that crisis.
Hearing Sigrika deliver these words of gratitude with such an earnest tone, Denia merely paused for a beat, then revealed a gentle, graceful smile with an air of release.
“Then shall our future Heliodic Six successor go hold a little fan meet-and-greet?” Denia walked up beside Sigrika, her eyes narrowed in a smile.
“Um, wait…
hold on, I need to prep— ehehe, Nia~”
Denia never played by the rules.
Whenever Sigrika tried to employ stalling tactics, she’d strike first and report later.
“Aiya, how could you join the fun without calling me too?!” Linae voiced a small note of dissatisfaction, but quickly broke into a cheerful smile again.
“I’ll head over first!
You guys catch up quick!”
And with that, Linae charged into the convention center right on the heels of Denia and Sigrika.
“Ah, seriously.
Weren’t we here to shop, shop, shop…” Xiao Ling watched the three of them suddenly rush in, helpless yet fond.
“What’s the harm~ it’s still early anyway~” Aemeath very naturally took Xiao Ling’s hand, and along the way threw a wink at Chisa on his other side.
“Don’t you think so, Chisa?”
“Mm…
I’d also like to meet that fan.” Chisa likewise expressed a desire to participate in this unexpected activity.
“You girls…” Xiao Ling sighed in resignation.
“Minority obeys majority.
Whatever you say.”
…
The sudden appearance of Sigrika and Denia stirred up quite the commotion at the convention, as expected.
It was like spotting a phoenix among a flock of common pheasants.
Your first reaction would be shock — so the legendary Pokemon truly exist?!
And the cosplayer dressed as Sigrika, the moment she saw the real deal descend before her, was so overcome with excitement she became utterly incoherent, nearly on the verge of tears.
Thankfully, Sigrika was quite adept at comforting people, and managed to soothe her properly.
Afterwards, the two happily took a photo together.
The cosplayer couldn’t stop thanking her profusely, to the point that Sigrika herself felt a little embarrassed.
Linae, meanwhile, dashed about everywhere, true to her free-spirited, wind-chasing personality.
When meeting fans who liked her, she’d take photos with them in her carefree way, the corners of her mouth stretched practically to the heavens.
Looked like she was actually enjoying this idol treatment quite a bit?
Chisa appeared far more demure.
After taking a photo with the cosplayer dressed as her, she chatted with her for a bit and discovered the other party was quite skilled in the kitchen.
The two of them found a quiet corner away from the crowd and began exchanging their respective cooking insights…
wait, isn’t discussing cooking at a place like a convention kind of missing the point, hello?!
Now let’s switch to Amy’s perspective.
Regrettably, she hadn’t been able to find any cosplayer related to herself.
But she did find two female cosplayers whose images closely resembled hers.
And so, three pink-haired beauties from three different games were magically gathered together.
“What a faithful Aemeath!” The cosplayer dressed as Cyrene lavished praise without reservation.
“This feeling — beyond doubt!” The cosplayer dressed as Elysia was even more worked up.
“It’s practically Aemeath in the flesh!”
“Ahaha~ it’s not that exaggerated~” Aemeath, at this moment, was surprisingly quite humble.
“Then can you sing?
That one — Voyaging Star’s Farewell!” The Cyrene cosplayer requested with great anticipation.
“Why would you perform Voyaging Star’s Farewell!!” The Elysia cosplayer voiced strong disapproval.
“Without you guys, I’d have moved on ages ago!
How about singing A Small Miracle instead?”
“Alright, alright.
I’ll sing both, both.” Aemeath waved her hand to signal they didn’t need to argue further.
“But don’t blame me if I don’t sing well, okay~”
The two cosplayers solemnly declared they would not fault Aemeath for singing poorly.
“Then I’ll begin now~”
Aemeath cleared her throat lightly and launched into her solo performance.
“That snowflake once fell on my nose.
Now flying backwards to last winter.”
In an instant, this gathering of 2D enthusiasts transformed into Aemeath’s personal concert.
Everyone set down what they were doing and rushed over to cheer on this divine cosplayer whose looks and voice were both flawlessly faithful. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Songs could convey emotion.
They could also pull people back into those unforgettable bygones.
To them, Aemeath’s resolute sacrifice was, of course, a plot point that couldn’t help but move one to tears.
However, when Aemeath reached A Small Miracle, everyone naturally switched to joyful smiles.
After all, this was a song expressing Aemeath’s happiness.
They even spontaneously started chanting and waving.
“Every light I’m giving all comes back to you.
Comes back to you.”
As the final lyric fell, this small impromptu concert drew to a close.
Everyone cheered with all their might for this heaven-sent, divine cosplayer.
And Aemeath gave two slight bows to thank everyone for their support.
This little interlude soon passed.
Aemeath was quickly surrounded by a huge crowd of fans asking for autographs and photos.
“Wuwuwu…
I never thought I’d get the chance to hear Fleet Snowfluff herself sing live.” After the temporary concert ended, Sigrika was so moved she cried.
That Sigrika cosplayer, while dabbing her own tears with a tissue, also handed tissues to Sigrika.
Bro Ling was naturally full of emotions too.
Back when he’d finished that part of the story, he hadn’t dared to listen to these two songs at all, afraid that hearing them would start another round of late-night musical depression sessions.
Of course, now he’d made peace with it.
Seeing Aemeath surrounded by a huge crowd of fans at the convention felt like returning to that scene after her fan meetup at Startorch Academy, when the fan club members had crowded around her asking for autographs.
But wait — had something seriously weird just blended into this crowd of fans?!
Xiao Ling squinted.
A massive, bulging figure strode up beside Amy, wanting to take a photo with her.
That familiar oppressive aura.
That imposingly powerful stance.
And those familiar Dualmare Capsem.
“Whoa, the King of Calamity!”
(I said Catastrom, are you deaf?!)
The moment Aemeath saw the King of Calamity, she was also startled.
But since this was a convention, she instantly understood that this huge thing before her was also a cosplayer — just a different form, that was all.
“Want to take a photo together?” Aemeath invited the other party with the unique enthusiasm she had as an idol.
The King of Calamity said nothing.
He merely assumed the opening stance of a rider kick.
Seeing the other party so full of fighting spirit, Aemeath also summoned her signature weapon and struck a battle pose alongside him…
wait, where did you pull that weapon from?!
With a click, the scene was frozen in time.
The King of Calamity took the freshly printed photo and departed.
Though his expression couldn’t be seen, Xiao Ling felt he was probably quite satisfied with this outcome.
…
Denia’s situation was not good.
Everyone had found things to occupy themselves.
Only she was off to the side with nothing to do.
Not only that, she seemed to have been cornered by a strange person.
“Hello, cosplayer!
This is a freebie specially prepared by our convention.
Please, you must accept it!”
The lanky, bespectacled man with a shoulder bag before her had already handed out this thing called a “freebie” — which was really just candy — to several cosplayers at the venue.
Denia had no idea why this guy had suddenly targeted her.
But Ling had strictly warned them via WeChat: photos and autographs were fine, but absolutely no accepting items from strangers.
The man before her clearly fell into the category of stranger.
So…
“No need.
I’m not hungry, and I don’t really like sweets anyway.” Denia lazily and politely declined.
“They cause cavities.”
“Just a small token of goodwill.
Even if you don’t like it yourself, you can take it home for your little brothers and sisters~”
“I’d rather not repeat myself.” Denia offered no pleasant expression whatsoever, waving her hand rather dismissively.
“You seem to be having a hard time yourself.
If there’s nothing else, don’t bother me.
Save yourself the cold shoulder.”
Yawning, Denia walked off into the distance, completely unaware of the flicker of malice that flashed through the bespectacled man’s eyes behind her.
“Come on, don’t be so stingy~ Look, everyone who’s accepted the freebies is really happy.
By refusing so bluntly, aren’t you being a bit…
ungrateful?”
The man’s voice was perfectly pitched for the entire venue to hear.
Those originally scattered crowds were now all drawn in by his accusatory words.
‘What a despicable tactic.’ Denia internally gritted her teeth.
So this was the rhythm of putting her on the roasting rack…
The surrounding stares fixated on her, whispering.
For the first time, she felt the existence of malice in this world.
‘Forget it.
It’s nothing new anyway.’ Denia had long grown accustomed to such malice.
She also knew how to strike back in her own way when facing it.
Not far away, Aemeath’s expression darkened.
Bullying someone all the way up to her, the Thundering Snowfluff?
Feeling like tasting an Exostrider’s greatsword?
Chisa said nothing.
She merely pulled out her phone silently and began recording video.
The female cosplayer beside her, seeing this, also began documenting the evidence.
Sigrika was terribly worried about Denia.
Several times she nearly rushed over directly to help, but feared she’d mess it up.
She could only fret helplessly on the sidelines, so anxious that tears were welling up in circles in her eyes.
And so, at this critical, hair-trigger moment, the blond girl made her move.
“Hey there, buddy.” Linae slung her arm around Denia’s shoulder without room for argument, flashing a big, carefree, harmless grin.
“Of course we’re really grateful you went out of your way to hand out little gifts for us!
But you see, we’re genuinely a bit concerned about the safety of these little gifts.
As the organizers, you’d take responsibility for the safety of the freebies too, right?”
“Of course they’re safe.
Otherwise I wouldn’t—”
“Eat it.”
“What?” The man froze for a moment.
“Was I not clear enough?
I said eat it!” Linae’s smile vanished, replaced by an entirely different demeanor — the demeanor she’d worn surviving as a mercenary in the New Federation, cold and sharp as a loaded pistol.
“This…
I…”
“What’s wrong?
You don’t dare?
I’ll help you!”
With lightning speed, Linae lunged forward, snatched the candy from the man’s hand, tore open the wrapper, and while he was still caught off guard, shoved the candy straight into his mouth.
The candy shattered under Linae’s powerful force.
Broken teeth, along with tiny blades, were swallowed down the man’s throat.
The blades also sliced open his tongue along the way.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The cosplayers who’d accepted the freebies turned pale with shock.
Some immediately threw away the candy in their hands.
Others carefully stored the candy away as material evidence.
“So, how was it?
What flavor?
Sweet?
Or fishy and salty?” Linae looked down at him and countered.
What flavor this candy was — the man before her now knew far better than she did.
“Heh…
hehe…” The man laughed wretchedly twice.
His expression gradually twisted with extreme rage.
He abruptly pulled a fruit knife from his shoulder bag and thrust it straight at Linae.
Too close.
No way to catch the blade barehanded.
Linae chose the safest option — jump away.
But his target wasn’t Linae!
Denia watched the razor-sharp fruit knife closing in on her at high speed.
Instinctively, she tried to activate her Resonance ability to block it, but there was no response at all.
Her expression instantly froze in panic.
If this were Solaris, she could use her power to thoroughly teach this blind fool a lesson.
But this was the real world.
She couldn’t even do the most basic activation of her Resonance ability, let alone block this malice-filled attack!
The crowd erupted into panicked shoving and fleeing.
Even knowing the attacker’s target wasn’t them, the cosplayer dressed as Chisa, jostled by the surging tide of people, still struggled to capture evidence of the assailant’s crime.
And in this moment of peril, there were those running against the tide toward Denia.
“What a lunatic!” Aemeath’s eyes blazed with uncontrollable fury, so intense it nearly solidified into killing intent.
If she truly couldn’t make it in time, she wouldn’t mind unleashing a little Amy-version of Fleeting Blood Oath.
Linae had no time for regret.
She immediately broke into a sprint, trying to stop that knife-wielding madman.
There were even faint signs she was about to forcefully activate her Resonance Power.
Chisa also abandoned recording evidence.
She flew through the packed crowd, wanting to save Denia, who was in the midst of crisis.
Sigrika, even more desperately, ran with all her might toward Denia.
Her tears scattered behind her like pearls as she ran.
But the true reaper arrived, bringing thunderous fury.
For the man in the act of violence, he tolled the bell that belonged to him alone.
“You motherfucker!”
At the moment Denia felt most helpless and terrified, Xiao Ling, with savage force, delivered a flying kick that sent the man about to harm Denia flying.
Xiao Ling could be a gentle big dog.
He could be the lowest-ranking Bro Ling in the household.
He could also, of course, be Old Ling, who had to earn every cent to put into his games by his own sweat.
But when the person he loved most fell into life-threatening danger, he would personally toll the death knell for that senseless bastard!
The man felt the sensation of fractured bones spreading through his entire nervous system.
His pain receptors were frantically sounding the alarm.
The knife in his hand had also been knocked several meters away by the flying kick just now.
The crisis was over.
Denia was saved.
Tears of relief after a brush with death welled up in her eyes unconsciously.
Her legs suddenly gave out and she nearly collapsed to her knees.
Sigrika was the first to rush up and support her, then threw herself into Denia’s arms, sobbing loudly.
Linae stood to the side, her expression extremely grim.
Even as she silently reproached herself inwardly, she stood beside Denia with an even frostier expression, like a blade-bearing guard.
Chisa gently patted Denia’s back, continuously reassuring her that it was okay, it was okay, she was safe now.
“Aemeath, call the police.
Keep a close eye on that fruit knife, but don’t touch it with your hands.
It’s evidence to convict this bastard.
If your fingerprints get on it, explaining things will be more difficult.”
After giving these instructions, Xiao Ling prepared to continue beating the crap out of the man who’d tried to harm Denia.
Aemeath answered with silent affirmation through her gaze, then immediately acted according to Xiao Ling’s directions.
The man had just staggered to his feet when Xiao Ling grabbed him by the collar and slammed two more brutal punches into him, directly shattering his glasses.
Perhaps due to excessive force, Xiao Ling’s third punch sent the man flying out, coincidentally knocking him right out of the crowd’s encirclement.
Seeing that his opponent had accidentally punched him out of the circle, the man was instantly overjoyed.
Just as he was limping and about to run out of the mall entrance, he ran headlong into an enormous figure.
He looked up.
Oh, dear heavens.
It was the King of Calamity.
We’re doomed.
The King of Calamity was merciful.
He couldn’t bear to see him suffer.
He simply grabbed him by the collar and, with two heavy bam-bam punches, smashed his hopes of fleeing the scene.
(The cunning Phantasm has disguised itself as one of my own kind.jpg)
These several punches left the man utterly battered, dizzy and disoriented, barely able to stay standing.
Xiao Ling, catching up, patted the King of Calamity on the shoulder in thanks, then proactively raised his fist for a fist bump.
The King of Calamity earnestly reciprocated his fist bump invitation.
This was his respect for Xiao Ling’s decisive action in protecting his family.
“Come on.
Let’s send this loathsome Phantasm on its way!”
As if sharing a telepathic link, the two of them struck the opening stance of a rider kick, ready to deliver the final blow to this pathetic clown.
The man, realizing things had taken a catastrophic turn, pleaded for mercy even as blood began seeping from his nose.
“You two…
I’ll never do it again…
spare me…”
“To hell with you!
Die!”
Catastrom Crusher!
Z!
Z!
Z!
(This is our blood-pumping combination attack!.jpg)
As Xiao Ling and the King of Calamity’s magnificent rider kicks precisely struck the man, this clownish figure finally collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.
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