“Can you make this play take a turn?” the artist said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
Without excessive preamble, the two rushed towards each other, engaging in their first clash within an extremely short time. The magic scissors pieced themselves together, cutting forward, while Xu Xiaoyou’s longblades crossed and rested on her shoulders, forcefully blocking the attack.
After a brief collision, a second clash quickly began, followed by a third, and a fourth. The overflowing aftershocks caused the buried ruins underground to sway precariously, and a cluster of rebar from the ceiling crashed down like the sharp claws of a giant dragon.
With each impact, countless wails of agony emanated from the magic scissors, echoing through the dark underground space.
Ordinary people couldn’t possibly discern the movements of the two figures; only sparks constantly erupted in the air, and invisible blade edges continuously struck the fractured walls and exposed rebar, shattering the surrounding environment. A gust of wind blew, and the hill-like architectural debris was severed at the waist, collapsing with a roar.
The collision speed between the magic scissors and the dark execution blade exceeded the limit of what ordinary human eyes could endure. Xu Xiaoyou made no attempt to defend; every attack was solely aimed at inflicting a fatal wound on the artist.
Often, before one blade could even descend, Xu Xiaoyou’s other blade would strike the back of the first with fierce power, forcing it to embed into the magic scissors’ blade. The blade would then descend at a speed that almost bent it to breaking point, plunging forcefully into the artist’s neck and carving two wounds downwards.
As for the magic scissors, which would mean certain death for someone at her stage, Xu Xiaoyou increased the force in her hands, pressing the artist back step by step. Just before the opponent’s attack could land on her, she would use an 【Attack Deflection】. It was nothing more than a massive burning of her accumulated resources; after going bankrupt once, she had come to terms with it.
Money earned through desperate struggles was meaningless if not used for battle, if not spent where it mattered most.
All combat was for better survival. Xu Xiaoyou’s eyes were calm. To provide a better future for herself and the important people around her, as long as the name “Dark Gold Rose” held sway in the world, a steady stream of wealth would flow towards her, the gambler.
The artist hadn’t expected the girl to suddenly unleash such formidable combat capabilities, which caught it somewhat off guard.
Just as it was about to reach out and cut an attendant, whose lower half was missing and was crawling with internal organs dragging behind, into clothing to mend its wounds, the girl’s gun barrel pointed at the attendant’s head one step ahead of it.
“My apologies.”
Blood splattered.
After ending one person’s suffering, Xu Xiaoyou quickly turned her gun, pointing the grim reaper that takes human lives at all the survivors. They lifted their dull eyes, each bearing more or less grievous wounds from the earlier catastrophe. Some looked hopeful, some were numb, while others showed fear, pointing at the girl and cursing vile words. More still pleaded in sorrow.
“My apologies.”
Undoubtedly, none of these people would leave the underground ruins alive today. Even if Xu Xiaoyou didn’t act, they would die in more painful ways, either from blood loss or by being cut into clothing.
Yet, she considered such justifications, such ways of absolving herself, shameless. At least for now, she was merely acting for her own benefit, nothing more.
Blood splattered one after another. Before the artist could reach out to those people, they stared wide-eyed in terror. They had believed this dazzling blonde girl was their savior, but no one expected her to be the grim reaper who would personally take their lives.
“My apologies.” Xu Xiaoyou pulled the trigger one last time.
In an extremely short time, the last attendant also fell lifelessly to the ground. There were no more materials left around that could be cut into clothing by the artist.
Having done all this, Xu Xiaoyou exhaled, then turned and forced the heavily wounded artist back with a blade. The artist, injured again, spun its body, trying to escape to find more materials to repair itself.
But Xu Xiaoyou gave it no such chance. Her longblade pierced straight through its shoulder, pinning it firmly to the wall. At the same time, she swept back, batting away the magic scissors that ambushed her from behind.
“As expected.”
The artist looked up, its eyes burning with unprecedented fanaticism and excitement: “You will be my most anticipated masterpiece.”
“I imagine our next meeting will come soon. I will find you then; you cannot escape this city….”
“Don’t compare me to yourself.”
In the next three seconds, with 【Bad Girl Workshop Lite】 fully activated, Xu Xiaoyou unleashed dozens of consecutive strikes at an unmeasurable speed, severing the artist’s hands, flaying its knees, and finally thrusting her longblade into its bothersome mouth, completely shattering the artist’s silent mask.
Upon discovering an absolute void of blackness beneath the opponent’s mask, Xu Xiaoyou’s brow furrowed slightly, then quickly smoothed out.
The battle, as she expected, didn’t last long. Within a few brief rounds, she cleanly killed the revived artist by herself.
The trolley problem, in Xu Xiaoyou’s view, had always been a meaningless debate. If saving a single person was more beneficial to her, she would save that single person. If saving more people could enhance her reputation, then she would save more people.
If there was no benefit in either, and it was merely an incidental act, she would unhesitatingly choose to save more people.
If saving people would harm her interests, then after weighing the consequences, she would watch with her own eyes as the train ran over them.
If there were no further variables, she needed to leave before the association’s people arrived.
Just then, Xu Xiaoyou heard shouts from behind the nearby building. As she regained her senses, the wall had already been smashed down with a kick, and three figures appeared in Xu Xiaoyou’s line of sight, bathed in dazzling white light.
“This is….”
Black Dog, who entered the ruins first, widened his eyes. A thick smell of blood assaulted his nostrils. Amidst the scattered bodies, a blonde girl in a windbreaker and mask stood, and before her, pinned to the wall, the artist’s body was shattered, its broken silent mask shockingly vivid.
“Dark… Rose.” Black Dog immediately recognized the blonde girl’s attire.
The blonde girl’s gray-black windbreaker was stained with blood. She sheathed her blade, wiping the blood from her mask. This scene formed a stark contrast with the blood-red scene in the room, silently recounting what had transpired within.
Iris, following closely behind him, was also stunned. Seeing the scene of widespread carnage, her face instantly paled, almost unable to stop herself from throwing up.
Last to enter was Katina, the tuner’s office director. Wielding a scarlet greatblade, she cleared obstacles in her path. The moment she saw the blonde girl, she recognized her true identity, and her gaze immediately turned grave.
“Dark Gold Rose.”
What horrified the two was not only that Dark Gold Rose had single-handedly executed the artist, but also the scene of gruesome chaos in the room.
Xu Xiaoyou remained silent, pulling the dark blade from the artist’s chest. She simply turned to leave past the three, but a scarlet greatblade blocked her path.
“Did you do all of this, Dark Gold Rose?” Katina asked in a low voice, her face hidden in shadow, her expression unreadable. “Did you kill them with your own hands?”
“Why?”
“Just because you’re powerful, a luminous prism grade fixer?”
“You’re all like lunatics such as Deep Blue Tide.”
Facing this grade 5 fixer who questioned her, whose aura rapidly intensified, Xu Xiaoyou’s heart remained unruffled. A sound escaped from beneath her mask.
“Don’t block my way.”
“If we fight,” Xu Xiaoyou glanced at the trembling Black Dog and Iris beside Katina, “these two beside you will be very troubled, won’t they?”
With that, Xu Xiaoyou ignored the scarlet greatblade blocking her path and vanished into the darkness before the three of them.
Rate on N.U.
