TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!
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Just then, a small figure suddenly whooshed through the air.
Paimon flew straight into Shao Yun's arms, clinging tightly to him as she burst into loud sobs.
"Shao Yun! Sob sob sob… Why did you only show up now?! I thought we were totally done for!"
Shao Yun looked down at Paimon in his arms with concern and asked gently, "Don't be scared, Paimon. Are you all okay?"
At this moment, Paimon's little face was flushed red with anger. She raised her tiny fists and pounded hard against Shao Yun's chest while shouting, "Not okay at all! Yanfei fainted! And Lumine got hurt too!"
Hearing this, Shao Yun initially thought it was just like what happened back in Sumeru, when Lumine had suddenly collapsed again.
A strange look crossed his face, and he muttered under his breath,
"Lumine fainted again? I thought Tighnari already treated her… Maybe I should seriously consider just taking you somewhere and starting a ranch instead!"
When Paimon realized Shao Yun had completely misunderstood—mixing up "Yanfei fainted" with "Lumine fainted," and reacting with such a careless, flippant attitude—her anger instantly flared.
Without another word, Paimon swung her fist straight into Shao Yun's stomach.
"You jerk! Were you even listening to me?! I said Yanfei fainted, and Lumine is injured! Did you play too wildly with Lumine last night and turn your brain all fuzzy?!"
Only then did Shao Yun suddenly realize he had gotten it wrong.
When he heard that Lumine was only injured and not unconscious, a thought flashed through his mind—had Yanfei taken a bullet for Lumine?
"What?!!!"
The next instant, he scrambled and rushed toward Lumine, who was standing nearby looking rather disheveled.
When he reached her, Shao Yun asked anxiously, his face full of concern, "Lumine, are you okay? Is the injury serious?"
Lumine covered her arm, which had been grazed by a security meka, and replied, "I'm fine. You should go check on Yanfei—she's probably in worse shape."
As she spoke, Lumine urgently cast her gaze toward Yanfei, who was lying unconscious in Eula's arms behind her.
Yanfei was curled tightly in Eula's embrace. Her once-rosy face was now pale as paper, her eyes shut tight, clearly fallen into deep unconsciousness.
Seeing Lumine tell him to worry about someone else first instead of herself, Shao Yun shook his head repeatedly, instinctively wanting to refuse, muttering,
"No, no… I need to take care of you first…"
"I only have a small scratch! It's nothing serious! Stop wasting time—go save Yanfei!" Lumine scolded impatiently.
Shao Yun glanced at Yanfei lying motionless in Eula's arms, her condition uncertain. Considering that she had blocked the attack, it really did make sense to prioritize her.
He then took out a Special Miracle Tonic, handed it to Lumine, and instructed her, "Drink this. Even scratches shouldn't be taken lightly. I'll go check on Yanfei right now."
On the other side, Eula stared anxiously at the unconscious Yanfei in her arms. All the exhaustion she had accumulated from working day and night was completely gone.
Holding Yanfei tightly, she cried out hoarsely, "Yanfei, wake up! You have to pull through—don't fall asleep!"
Fortunately, Yanfei was half-human, half-adeptus, and her physical constitution was far stronger than that of ordinary people.
Despite being blasted away by the shockwave from the explosion and taking several bullets during the fight, she was still alive.
Shao Yun hurried over, slowly crouched down, and examined the unconscious Yanfei.
On closer inspection, he realized Yanfei had been blown clean off her feet—her hat was gone too.
Shao Yun briefly glanced at Eula and asked, "How is Yanfei right now?"
Hearing his voice, Eula's body trembled involuntarily as that inexplicable, instinctive fear welled up inside her again.
Her lips quivered as she said, "Y-you… don't come closer! Stay away from me!"
Shao Yun ignored her resistance entirely, focused only on saving Yanfei.
He took out a bottle of powerful Special Miracle Tonic—after all, she had blocked a shot for Lumine. This wasn't something to be stingy about.
He pried open Yanfei's lips and poured the entire bottle down her throat.
The medicine flowed slowly down Yanfei's throat and into her stomach.
Perhaps due to the medicine's intense bitterness, the violent stimulation jolted Yanfei out of her unconscious state, and her tightly shut eyes snapped open.
Gagging, she spoke incoherently, "Ugh! Xiangling, your Qingxin Stir-Fried Slime is burnt!"
Shao Yun picked up Yanfei's hat, which had been blown away by the explosion, dusted it off, and handed it back to her.
"Feeling better? Can you say a tongue twister?"
Yanfei took her hat, placed it back on her head, and fixed her hair.
At that moment, the terrifying scene from before she lost consciousness resurfaced in her mind, and she murmured with lingering fear, "I'm… still alive… I thought I was already on the other side…"
Seeing that Yanfei had regained some energy and could speak again, Shao Yun couldn't help teasing her.
"I don't think Hu Tao would want your business. What exactly happened?"
Yanfei swallowed, struggling to endure the unbearably bitter taste lingering in her mouth from the medicine, and began to explain.
"It happened like this. I was planning to wait for Eula to get off work, then go home with her and help her review."
"But right after we stepped outside, we ran into Lumine, Paimon, and Navia."
"We talked about heading back to the Court of Fontaine together, when suddenly a security meka popped up out of nowhere."
"At first, we all thought it was just an ordinary patrol unit. But who could've expected that it would suddenly go bang and explode right in front of me!"
At this point, Lumine stepped forward and continued the story, "And that wasn't even the worst part! Right after it exploded, a whole swarm of security meka showed up!"
"They didn't hesitate at all—just launched a direct attack on Yanfei, who was on the ground, and Navia, who was standing nearby."
"If you and Clorinde hadn't arrived in time, Navia and Yanfei probably wouldn't have made it!"
As she finished speaking, Lumine patted her chest, still shaken.
Shao Yun turned around and asked irritably, "Why did you and Paimon come all the way to the opera house area in the first place?"
Seeing Shao Yun's slightly angry expression, Lumine clasped her hands behind her back like a child who had done something wrong and replied softly,
"When we first arrived at the Fountain of Lucine yesterday, I inexplicably heard some strange sounds."
"So, Navia accompanied me back here to try again."
"And I even prepared a potion that enhances sensitivity to Hydro, but before I could test it, this whole mess happened…"
As she said this, Lumine couldn't help shrinking her neck.
Shao Yun glared at her, clearly frustrated, and lectured, "Why didn't you call me for something this important? Don't you know how dangerous this was?"
Feeling wronged by his scolding, Lumine protested, "How was I supposed to know so many highly aggressive security meka would suddenly show up?"
"Especially in a place like the Opera Epiclese! Who would've thought Fontaine's security would be this bad…"
At this moment, Clorinde, having finished carefully examining the security meka parts scattered across the ground, addressed everyone with a serious expression.
"I've checked them. None of these security meka have serial numbers—they're not units used by the Maison Gardiennage for law enforcement."
"They were likely acquired illegally by some wealthy or powerful faction and stockpiled as private firepower."
She then frowned deeply and continued thoughtfully, "I suspect that today's trial made the mastermind behind the serial disappearances feel that Miss Yanfei was a major obstacle. That's why they went to such lengths."
At this point, Navia spoke up as well, her expression grave.
"And not only that. These carefully arranged meka clearly treated me as one of the targets too."
"They were coming for me and Miss Yanfei." She lightly bit her lower lip, fear flickering in her eyes.
After a brief silence, Navia spoke again in a low voice, "A force that possesses unknown security meka… is probably not one the current Spina di Rosula can contend with."
Compared to Navia's apprehension, a cold glint flashed in Shao Yun's eyes.
He muttered in a low, meaningful, slightly mocking tone, "Wealthy? Powerful? An unbeatable force?"
Navia, fully absorbed in her worries about the situation, failed to catch the deeper meaning in his words and simply nodded instinctively.
"That's right. This matter is likely far more complicated than we imagined."
At that moment, Shao Yun suddenly raised his voice, stating a fact in an icy tone.
"They may have power and wealth—but they only have one life."
Hearing this, Navia immediately felt the sharp, dangerous aura radiating from Shao Yun.
Unable to help herself, she asked softly, "Why did your tone suddenly become so…"
Before she could finish, Shao Yun's oppressive gaze forced the rest of her words back down her throat.
He lifted his right foot and kicked hard at the scattered security meka parts on the ground.
"I don't care if those bastards are filthy rich or wield sky-high authority! I'll make them understand—once they piss me off, the only thing left for them is to pray their death won't be too painful!"
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