Rose Blood

The chase continued. Crystal shards flew past them like a storm, sweeping and shredding everything in their path.

Angelina's legs were slashed by the shards, and crystal clusters quickly grew from the wounds. These dark red clusters were frantically draining her vitality, making her steps heavy.

However, compared to Xu Xiaoyou, these clusters were nothing. The girl on her back currently looked like a hedgehog covered in crystals.

Xu Xiaoyou let out a muffled groan but didn't respond. Angelina frowned slightly. "Hey, are you okay? Should I carry you instead?"

"Anya, Youyou was right." Xu Xiaoyou endured the pain of the crystals gnawing at her flesh. "You really should fix your habit of communicating through instinct."

"If it were you who was injured, do you think we could have kept running until now?"

As Xu Xiaoyou had expected, after their total score dropped to 80, Jason's actions also had more restrictions removed.

To be precise, Jason had successively removed two behavioral restrictions. For every 40-point drop in team score, the Label Catcher was enhanced once.

The most direct change was the extreme enhancement of his divine endowment trait. From initially only being able to attack via the chains wrapped around him, he could now fire parasitic crystal shards. Once they slashed a prey, they would grow by draining the target's vitality.

This ability was an extension of his Darwin Skin, evolved using Bai Youyou's Rose Blood as a template.

These were just improvements in offensive capabilities. As a support for the Slaughterhouse, Jason clearly had even stronger defensive abilities. Fortunately, they only needed to evade him, not kill him.

Angelina didn't respond, leaping to the flank to dodge the flying crystal shards.

"Don't worry, I know what you're concerned about," Xu Xiaoyou said calmly. "I'm very awake and can make rational judgments."

"My psyche value is much higher than you imagine. No contamination can erode my sanity. As long as I haven't fainted, I can maintain my ability to think."

As she spoke, a sharp spike suddenly plunged into Xu Xiaoyou's back. Blood poison invaded her body, and she let out a groan, burying her head low on Angelina's shoulder. Even now, she still cared about her image in front of the countless viewers, affectedly putting on a facade of being at ease.

"Keep running, Anya. I'm fine," she whispered, casually glancing at her bottomed-out health. A 【Godspeed Step】 card appeared between her fingers, and she pressed it onto Angelina.

"Get ready to dodge. That guy is about to use Blood Savage Charge."

Though surprised, Angelina trusted the girl's judgment and instinctively moved to dodge.

Jason roared, his galloping form suddenly coming to a screeching halt. His blood-red vision moved only with Angelina's figure. His gaze was completely locked onto the girl. He stomped twice, a deep red mist spreading as he leapt into the air. He suddenly accelerated at several times his previous speed, closing in on Angelina with extreme velocity.

Fortunately, Angelina was prepared. She leapt up, ignoring gravity to dash forward along the ceiling, dodging the rampaging chains and iron hooks. Crystal clusters bloomed continuously around her. A lance spun in her hands, dissolving every approaching attack.

The figure shrouded in blood mist sprinted beside her, ignoring everything. His aura was like a furious beast, erupting step by step.

Every stomp caused the carriage to shake violently. After another brief chase, Jason's explosive speed began to decay, and he was gradually left behind.

"How did you do it?"

Xu Xiaoyou's weary eyes closed slightly, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"It's not that hard. Just calculate the cooldowns."

"Calculate cooldowns?" Angelina was stunned. One must know that if Xu Xiaoyou's judgment had been even half a beat slower, they probably would have been crushed into blood mist by Jason by now.

Between different classes, there were subtle differences in cooldown times for every grade and level. The permutations were astronomical, yet the other person dismissed it so casually?

"Of course, it's not by rote memorization. There are patterns. For example, a berserker's Blood Savage Charge follows the formula: 'base cooldown time 0.9 - proficiency level 1 - 0.01 grade'. A ranger's green vine entanglement..."

"I didn't ask you for all that." Angelina stopped Xu Xiaoyou as she was about to continue. "Why do you remember such... meaningless things?"

"Meaningless?" Xu Xiaoyou let out a soft laugh. "Anya, these are the key skills of different classes. The combatant's Blood Savage Charge is a notorious lock-on skill. Its limit speed is determined by the target's agility, and it can even catch up to a stealth-class who has triggered Unchecked Rampage. I've watched many recordings. Many team battles have been overturned because of this skill."

"Besides, didn't it just play a critical role?"

"This is a basic quality a commander should possess, Anya," Xu Xiaoyou said. "You should really ask yourself, as the team's main attacker, if you are competent..."

"Hmph, don't talk in your current state."

"He will release his next Blood Savage Charge in 34.16 seconds. Remember that time. If I haven't regained consciousness, dodge it yourself." As Xu Xiaoyou spoke, her eyes slowly closed, and she slumped back powerlessly. "By the way, remember to block the live stream camera for me. That's the most important thing..."

"Hey, you were saying you were very awake one second, and the next you're fainting on your own. What is this!"

Angelina grit her teeth at the sight, kicking up her lance and turning around. Her legs, full of power, swept a semi-circle in the air. The Abyssal White Flower was like a sharp weapon, its tip suddenly exploding as it shot towards Jason.

At the same time, she leaned down to catch Xu Xiaoyou, who was about to fall clumsily to the floor, pulling her into her arms. Only then did she notice how severe the girl's injuries were. Her long hair was disheveled, her delicate face bloodless and transparent like a piece of cracked porcelain. Her once vibrant eyes trembled as they closed.

Her blood wouldn't stop flowing, soaking through her smart windbreaker. Half of her plain face was covered by crystals. Angelina suddenly felt that this girl looked somewhat more pleasant when she wasn't talking.

She hooked her arms under Xu Xiaoyou's legs and shoulders, letting her forehead rest against her chest. She glanced back at the pursuing Jason, took a deep breath, and exerted force in her legs.

Silver lightning flashed and vanished, stray electric arcs scattering everywhere.

Meanwhile, further ahead in the carriage, Akabane Tsubaki's situation was not much better. The four mechanical officers had locked onto her and wouldn't let go. She was also covered in wounds, with blood slowly trickling down her shoulders.

The girl's vision was wobbly, hot blood flowing into her eyes. Several charred bullet holes on her back looked hideous. She leapt forward, jumping down a flight of stairs to avoid the sweeping fire net.

The youth leading the charge crouched low, gripping a tang-sword. In an instant, he arrived in front of Akabane Tsubaki and swung his blade.

Akabane Tsubaki snorted. "Do you think I'm not fighting back because I can't beat you? I'm just afraid that if I use too much force, I'll smash you all into scrap metal."

As she spoke, she also raised Alice, swinging it violently towards the mechanical officer's face.

The two clashed three times in quick succession. The metal bat and the tang-sword struck each other in the air, sparks flying.

In the next moment, she was dumbfounded. She saw the mechanical officer's fingers brush over the tang-sword, and the blade suddenly split into three, attacking her from three different angles without any pattern!

Akabane Tsubaki hurriedly raised Alice to block one blade light. Her mechanical arm blocked in front of her neck, stopping the second and most lethal strike. Even so, her chest was slashed open, blood erupting.

The splashing blood was shredded by the hidden sharpness in the air. The youth's weary face was revealed. His windbreaker fluttered as he exerted force with his hand. Blood blossoms scattered like reed flowers. Blade lights and sword shadows extended from the long blade at his wrist, striking towards Akabane Tsubaki with a resounding clang.

Blood hit the ground. Before she could even feel the pain, Akabane Tsubaki quickly retreated to open up space.

After a brief exchange, Akabane Tsubaki was convinced.

Right now, she truly was no match for this mechanical officer.

Are you kidding me? Akabane Tsubaki roared in her heart. Any random mechanical officer has the level of a grade 4. This is clearly only the first round of the qualifiers!

The move the youth had used was exactly the Mind-Flow Sword Arts: Maple Frost's End. This classical sword style originated in Kowloon, later flowed to the East, and finally spread back to Chichutian. The East was deeply influenced by Kowloon culture, with similarities visible in many aspects. It wasn't until the Silver Age that the two cultures began to diverge significantly. As a transition zone, Chichutian saw both cultures flourishing simultaneously.

Of course, the Five Great Families that actually dominated Chichutian were still derived from the bloodlines of the great families of the old Kowloon era.

The original Mind-Flow sword style had evolved through generations into the current Mind-Flow sects: Two-Heaven Mind-Flow, Three-Heaven Mind-Flow, Calm-Mind-Flow, Moving-Mind-Flow, Ear-Mind-Flow, Breath-Mind-Flow, and so on. The core was to concentrate attention through secret breathing techniques, mobilizing the entire body's spirit to the limit, entering a state called 'Mind-Flow' within two cycles.

In this state, the practitioner maintains absolute focus. Everything in the world plays in slow motion, allowing them to perceive everything.

And Akabane Tsubaki had always had a secret.

She was a Hyper-Flow Syndrome patient.

To be precise, from the moment she was born, she could see the dewdrops dripping from blades of grass, the flies dancing in the air, and even hear the sound of waves tens of thousands of miles away. At a very young age, she demonstrated the ability of photographic memory. Everything she saw and heard throughout the day would replay in her mind every night.

This extraordinary ability was not something to be envied, for it had troubled her for a long time, even seriously affecting her mental state.

At some unknown point, as naturally as waking up one morning, she hazily mastered the ability to freely open this Mind-Flow state. The price was that, except for the period around her birth, her past memories became blurred and unclear.

Unlike others who needed to consume a vast amount of spirit to enter Mind-Flow and faced strong side effects, she didn't need any casting time. She could enter whenever she wanted, simpler than drinking water.

If one had to describe it, she had a memory palace in her mind. All her observations would become collectibles, sealed within this palace. She had always sat outside this magnificent palace. To open Mind-Flow, she only needed to stand up and gently push that door open, and the world would embrace her.

She never had much ambition. She just wanted to spend every day in a fulfilling and happy way. So, except for before exams, she never opened Mind-Flow, because that state was indeed unpleasant. One had to endure the pain of insect bites and the noise of a thousand worlds. More importantly, in this state, any sensation of pain would be magnified a hundredfold.

She was most afraid of pain.

She liked adventure and excitement, but she was very afraid of pain.

She claimed she wanted to experience bitterness before sweetness, but in reality, she didn't want to suffer even a bit of hardship.

She said she wanted to live every day to the fullest, yet she was often lost regarding the future, remaining stagnant.

For this little family head, these were but small facets of her contradictory nature.

Akabane Tsubaki's hand slowly pushed open that door. Amidst the rotting sound of "creak-creak," a continuous stream of thoughts bubbled up like murky bubbles beneath the water's surface.

Every time she opened the Hyper-Flow state, she inevitably recalled many things that had happened recently.

Of course, what she cared about most was that birthday song hidden at the end of the nursery rhyme. Once again, like a fool, she had sat in her room, babbling and singing the birthday song to herself for a whole afternoon. She finally sang it to her satisfaction, but in the end, she was still the only one who heard it.

Why couldn't Yuzu finish listening to that nursery rhyme? She still thought Tsubaki was only sixteen. She was already seventeen, okay!

Fortunately, she wouldn't be lonely anymore. For her coming-of-age ceremony next year, many people would attend, right?

Thinking of this, Akabane Tsubaki calmly pushed the door open, revealing a tranquil smile.

She really wanted to grow up quickly and see that scene.

Her thoughts returned to the cold reality. In her eyes, the youth's movements slowed down. Everything was slowing down. She turned around and swung her baseball bat again!

The youth's eyes widened slowly. In this extremely brief moment, he clearly realized that the girl had entered a state identical to his own.

No, her Mind-Flow was even stronger than his.

In a flash, the two clashed dozens of times, fighting from the end of the carriage to the front. The tang-sword and the baseball bat collided repeatedly, with the roar of heavy cannons occasionally ringing out. Their speed was beyond what the human eye could track, causing people to dodge in alarm.

In their perspective, however, everything was slowed to the extreme. The fire from the explosions bloomed into scarlet flowers behind them. The slow-motion duel required absolute focus; a moment's distraction would mean missing a change. The youth's chest was struck by the baseball bat, and three spiral-shaped blade marks appeared on Akabane Tsubaki's shoulder, chest, and waist.

In the next instant, the two separated simultaneously. The youth's eyes bulged. Akabane Tsubaki's strike had hit his central hub. Error messages were reporting from modules all over his body, leaving him momentarily unable to move.

"It hurts..." Akabane Tsubaki used the baseball bat to stabilize herself, clutching her wound tightly. Her trembling voice was faintly laced with suppressed frenzy. She slowly curled her lips. "Again, again!"

In an instant, she stood up and charged towards the youth, the metal bat closing in on his face. At this critical juncture, the other three mechanical officers arrived.

A woman in combat gear raised a stun gun, and a powerful current instantly surged through the red-haired girl's body. Ignoring her shrill cry, the mechanical officer dressed as a cowboy arrived, his long staff delivering consecutive heavy strikes to Akabane Tsubaki's shins. The crisp sound of bone snapping rang out.

Several cold metal spheres rolled to Akabane Tsubaki's feet and exploded with a boom.

Akabane Tsubaki was swallowed by waves of flames and fell backward. Her limbs were pierced by bullets flying through the interwoven net of fire, blood holes appearing.

The four mechanical officers stared coldly at where the girl had fallen, remaining deathly silent.

Soon, the dust settled.

They saw the red-haired girl, covered in wounds, swaying as she stood up amidst the ruins. Her face, covered in thick dust, was shrouded in shadow.

Under their heavy gazes, Akabane Tsubaki spat out a mouthful of blood. She slowly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her thumb and beckoned to them.

"Again."