Farewell Ceremony (3)

"How do you want to play?" Natsu Kuri stared intently at Xu Xiaoyou.

"How about we compete in assembling firearms for the first game?" Xu Xiaoyou gestured toward the two piles of gun parts.

"As long as you can assemble the gun before I do, you're even allowed to kill me."

Saying this, Xu Xiaoyou took off her gloves. Natsu Kuri recalled then that the other girl had never taken them off in front of her before, likely to avoid leaving any traces of herself in daily life.

Cautious as a lone wolf; she should have noticed these details long ago.

Natsu Kuri shook her head, pushing those thoughts away; none of that mattered now.

Observing the countless fierce and mocking gazes around her, she concluded that it was unrealistic to try and take her companion away alone. These thugs all had guns. Facing the firepower of hundreds of barrels, even a grade 4 fixer who wasn't skilled in frontal defense would be like a trapped beast in a cage. Their divine endowment would be easily shattered, followed by flesh torn apart by bullet holes, and then they would be disassembled into countless pieces.

She had to defeat the girl in front of her to win a chance to breathe.

"Are you ready?" Xu Xiaoyou raised both hands and asked with a smile.

"3.."

"2.."

Natsu Kuri held her breath, focusing all her attention on her opponent's every move, her eyes fixed on the slightly closed then parting lips.

M1911. She knew this pistol model very well. Even though she had never truly disassembled this firearm due to her upbringing, she had watched disassembly videos of it countless times. She dared to say her understanding of some components' functions even surpassed that of veterans in the Universal Heavy Industries' army.

Amidst Natsu Kuri's high-tension state of mind, the blonde girl's last syllable fell. She quickly reached down to find the key parts. The disassembly videos she had seen in the past replayed in her mind, every detail clearly outlined.

Time seemed to slow down countless times in her eyes. If one looked closely, they would find that the dark red pupil of the girl's left eye had split in two, like bubbles forming on the water's surface.

The gun being assembled in the video seemed to be spread out before her eyes. Every thread and every iron-blue notch was so distinct. All details and steps were clearly presented. She followed these steps and began to assemble rapidly. The pale light poured down from above. Natsu Kuri fitted the barrel into the chamber, then snapped the mainspring into the catch, her hand quickly reaching for the grip on the side.

During the assembly, Natsu Kuri stole a glance at Xu Xiaoyou. The latter unhurriedly picked up the chamber and examined it as if thinking about something. A light laugh came from behind the mask. She wasn't in a hurry to start, forming a sharp contrast with Natsu's urgent and rapid movements.

Natsu Kuri breathed a sigh of relief. At this rate, she could win.

Just as Natsu Kuri finished assembling the upper half of the gun and was fitting the assembled chamber onto the lower frame, preparing to reach for the bullets in their original position to load the magazine and complete the final step, her hand grasped empty air.

Looking up again, she found Xu Xiaoyou looking at her with a half-smile, holding a brass bullet between her fingertips.

"Are you looking for this?"

Natsu Kuri was stunned and reached out to grab it.

Xu Xiaoyou lightly stepped back, making her miss. Then, she composedly completed the rest of the assembly, loaded the bullet into the magazine, shoved it into the magazine well, and slowly aimed it at her.

"You lost, Meijiu."

"This isn't fair..." Natsu Kuri bit her lip again until it bled.

"This isn't fair, you're cheating..."

Xu Xiaoyou laughed out loud and spread her hands innocently. "The rules didn't say I couldn't take your bullets."

"Play again." Long hair obscured Natsu Kuri's face. In the darkness, the girl's expression was unreadable; only her humble, pleading voice could be heard.

"The rules also didn't say it was a single-match victory. Best two out of three."

"Alright."

Xu Xiaoyou quickly disassembled the gun in her hand and generously agreed to the girl's request.

The second round began quickly amidst the tense atmosphere. Having learned her lesson, Natsu Kuri stared at her gun parts and bullets like a protective wolf to prevent the other from cheating like last time.

With the previous experience, this assembly was even more proficient. Natsu Kuri subconsciously observed Xu Xiaoyou again. The latter still had that unhurried demeanor, but her assembly speed was clearly more than a little faster than before. Obviously, she was also very familiar with the assembly steps of this gun, and her progress matched Natsu's.

Just as Natsu Kuri secretly accelerated her movements, she caught sight of an unexpected scene. Xu Xiaoyou suddenly grabbed a bullet and stuffed it into the chamber while snapping the upper and lower gun components together.

Why did she do that? That didn't look like it was part of the standard assembly procedure. What was the purpose of that step? Why load the bullet into the chamber in advance?

This scene threw Natsu Kuri's mind into chaos, breaking her assembly rhythm. The pale light above was blinding, and the entire world seemed to spin. Cold sweat involuntarily accelerated its seepage from her skin. By the time she snapped out of her daze, the dark muzzle of the gun was already pressed against her forehead. The blonde girl's nonchalant voice rang out.

"You lost again, Meijiu."

Natsu Kuri froze. She had only just loaded the bullets into the magazine. Looking at her opponent, the area beneath the iron-black metal body was empty; the magazine lay on the table, unused, stinging her eyes.

She finally understood why the other had loaded the bullet into the chamber in advance. This way, she could skip all steps related to the magazine and finish the game before Natsu Kuri at a similar assembly speed.

Xu Xiaoyou's fingertip flicked off the safety. "Blindly following the rules only leads to self-destruction. Do you understand now?"

"Bang."

"Yuzu, wait!!"

Natsu Kuri reached out in a panic, but this time her pleas had no effect. Xu Xiaoyou snapped her fingers, and the Eight-Spider members above understood. She watched helplessly as the chain holding the Owl was released. It crashed heavily to the ground, making a "bang" sound just as the girl had said, like a heavy hammer smashing into her heart.

Witnessing the departure of another companion, the suffocating oppression and pain surged up, and all thoughts in her mind ceased at that moment. The unspeakable fear and confusion triggered a strong physiological reaction, making her stomach churn. She couldn't stop dry-heaving until her eyes were blurred with tears, unable to see the blonde girl's silhouette.

A devil...?

At least at this moment, the person before her was no different from a devil. Worse than a devil, she loved playing with people's hearts. She had guessed the outcome of this bet from the very beginning and only found pleasure in the process of toyed with her.

Inducing her with sweet words, leading her step by step just to let her fall from a greater height and savor her helplessness during her desperate struggle.

At this very moment, she must be very pleased under that mask, right?

The apple nourished by her pain was bright red, like a deadly ruby. Would it taste sweet and enticing?

If not, then why was she doing this to her?

She was in so much pain...

So much pain...