It wasn't that he had never fought alongside others, but Lin usually ventured into dangerous areas alone. Even in squads, he mostly acted as a commander in decentralized operations. The number of times he had truly cooperated with someone could be counted on one hand.
However, fighting with someone in such perfect, instinctive harmony was a first.
Lin ducked under a horizontal sweep, driving a knee upward into the Zombie's joint with a gust of wind.
Of course, this was useless. Not only was any attack from his current child-like physique like a mere tickle, but the Zombie's joints were special mechanical connections that were nearly impossible to dislocate.
Just as the Zombie raised its blood-colored blade again, a small, delicate fist slammed into its cheek. The weak force couldn't make its head explode, but it was enough to jerk the head aside and draw its attention.
In this gap, Lin raised both hands to aim the gun. Since a child's body couldn't withstand the recoil, he had to use the most disciplined stance to mitigate the force. After adjusting to the optimal posture in half a second, he pulled the trigger at the Zombie.
Bang!
The bullet was parried without suspense, and Lin heard his own body let out a groan of protest.
The battle wasn't over. Lin and Yama were as agile as two children shouldn't be, showing uncanny coordination. If Lin threw a right punch, Yama would never throw a left. When he performed an aerial sweep, she would go low for a leg sweep. When Lin needed to fire, Yama would distract the Zombie.
The two coordinated as if they were one person, yet they exerted power far exceeding two individuals.
However, a child's stamina ultimately couldn't compare to an adult's. They stayed in close-quarters combat because if they pulled away, they would easily be caught by the Zombie's superior speed. Thus, they could only use this method to entangle it while searching for an opportunity to observe and use their only lethal weapon—the handgun—to deliver a fatal blow.
Finally, in an almost imperceptible opening, Lin spotted a flaw in the Elite Ninja Zombie. He shot through its wrist. Yama grabbed the falling scimitar; like a lithe cheetah, she dropped low to the ground, one hand supporting her while the other held the blade in a reverse grip, her bright eyes locked onto the enemy in the darkness.
The Zombie let out a weird cry and slashed vertically, the cold air sliced apart by the blade.
In an instant, Lin saw Yama spring from the ground. First, she lunged sideways, the blade passing so close to her face that the fine hairs on her skin were severed. Then, she leaned her whole body back and to the side, concentrating all her power into her sword-arm, using inertia to "whip" the entire blade out.
Shing!
Pinkish-purple blood flowed from a hideous wound opened at the throat. This strike heavily damaged the Zombie.
But it wasn't enough. A lethal wound for a normal human wouldn't stop a Zombie. Lin clearly saw that the Zombie ignored its wound, its terrifying joints twisting to aim a thrust at Yama temple.
Snap!
Lin grabbed her hand and yanked her away from that dangerous position, then kicked the Zombie's shin hard, forcing it to its knees.
Two fists arrived almost simultaneously, knocking the Zombie to the ground. Then, with no further obstacles, Lin easily fired through the Zombie's head.
The two panted heavily, their lungs feeling as if they might burst. The exhaustion after such a high level of physical exertion and the subsequent adrenaline crash was almost more than a child's body could bear.
These two, who could gallop through Honkai disaster zones, had nearly been pushed to a dead end by a single Zombie. It was truly a dramatic irony.
"...The handgun, where did it come from?" After resting for a long time, Lin finally stabilized his breathing and asked Yama.
The handgun had been thrown to him by Yama, but Lin remembered she hadn't had such a thing, at least not when they first arrived.
"The study." Yama had also caught her breath. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, her attention remaining on the dark surroundings, wary of another Zombie appearing. "Your father's study. There was a handgun hidden there."
Father...
That man, always solemn yet with a hard-to-read greed in his eyes. It didn't surprise Lin that he kept a lethal weapon hidden. He even felt it was normal—so normal that when Yama told him the truth, he had already guessed it.
"Did you see where the Zombie came from?" Yama examined the corpse. Their strikes had been clean and efficient, leaving no extra injuries—just one neck wound and two gunshots—so they could clearly see that this Zombie was no different from what they knew.
"From above. It appeared suddenly."
What Lin had seen was the Zombie appearing directly above Yama without any warning, as if... it had been teleported there.
"Suddenly appeared... This Zombie's hand is wrong."
Yama and Lin looked together at the Zombie's undamaged hand. Lin then realized that the hand that hadn't been shot looked quite strange.
It was a withered, blackened forearm covered in sparse, thin fuzz. Its shape and the overly long nails immediately made Lin think of a certain animal's claw.
Is this... a Monkey's Paw?
As they watched, the black claw—resembling a monkey's—fell off the Zombie's arm and onto the ground. Then, the Zombie's body withered rapidly and vanished.
"..."
Finally, only that ominous black claw, which looked terrifying at a single glance, remained.
"Should we take it?"
It wasn't clear who asked, but Lin had already picked it up.
Whoever had trapped them here intended to do something to them, and Lin could only take it one step at a time.
"Let's take it for now," Yama added, then walked toward the door that led inside the clock tower.
But... where was the door?
Where the thin wooden door had been was now the same material as the rest of the wall. It was perfectly sealed, with no sign that a door had ever existed. If they hadn't both seen it, they might have questioned their own eyes.
Fortunately, even without a door, some mocking "hints" appeared on the surface.
"Give it a try. If you are both so full of regret, if you hate something, pray for something, hope for something to disappear or for something to return—then try making a wish."
"The first time is for 'Lin'."
"The second time is for 'Yama'."
"The third time is for 'You'."
"Only wishes are 'free of charge.' You can fulfill your heart's desire without paying any price. But likewise... not every wish can be granted."