Chapter 176 : Fighting Girl
Although Lonis wanted to help others, she actually wasn't reckless.
The girl knew she had virtually no combat ability. If she rashly left the magic ship, any random monster could defeat her... Even if she wouldn't die, if a monster dragged her away to its lair, things would become extremely terrible.
So, Lonis put on that thing.
More precisely, it was called the "Girls' Single-soldier Male Combat Suit," the one Lonis had worn at the Autumn Arts Festival.
For this transport mission, this suit had also been placed in a wooden box... Lonis skillfully removed her high heels and, within 10 minutes, had fully equipped herself.
However, because Elucia wasn't by her side, Lonis didn't dare rashly put on the helmet, making her look somewhat particularly ridiculous—a female head, muscular masculine body and muscles. Anyone would find it very discordant.
"Little Lo, this, this is..."
"Yes, I'm going out now."
Feeling a unique sense of power, Lonis pushed open the door and ran outside.
How to describe the air of the Boundless Lands?
There was a rusty, corrosive scent, and also a peculiar fragrance of soil.
Like walking to an abandoned factory overgrown with vegetation during a night rain, the pattering rainwater didn't slide down the girl's beautiful hair but dripped onto the ground.
If it were the usual Lonis, she would probably have trouble trekking long distances on such soft ground. But with the suit's help, each step covered several meters, and within 2 minutes, she had sprinted directly to the distressed woman's side.
"Aba, aba..."
The situation was much as Lonis had expected—her pupils were dilated, her consciousness unclear, only able to make mumbling sounds.
"Are you okay? I'm here to help you."
Lonis wanted to embrace the woman and bring her back. But strange things happened at this moment.
The ground loosened slightly, and then a twisted, elongated object wrapped around Lonis's ankle.
At first, Lonis thought it was a tentacle monster, but she quickly discovered... this object looked very hard, more like some kind of root.
Lonis lifted her toes, and the suit exerted power far beyond the girl's own, breaking free from the root's restraint in one go.
But simultaneously, the woman in the white coat also went berserk, suddenly attacking her surroundings out of control... Those fists viciously struck Lonis's skin. Fortunately, she was wearing the suit, or just this one punch would have knocked the delicate Lonis into the mud.
"Don't attack, I'm here to help you."
"Nutrients, existence, assimilation, cycle..."
The woman spoke meaningless words, continuously attacking Lonis.
But fortunately, the woman wasn't a combat personnel either. Even in her mad state, her strength was quite limited... Relying on the hero's memories, after just a few rounds of combat, the silver-haired girl turned around, pressed the woman down with her knee, and knocked her unconscious.
"Hah, hah... What's going on?"
Despite achieving victory, Lonis felt no joy of triumph.
She only felt something eerie. Her instincts told this girl hero... perhaps something very remarkable was quietly happening on this pitch-black soil.
......
......
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
......
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Using the authentication card Yi Cheng carried, Elucia and Bai Ye entered Boundless Research Institute.
The light that greeted them was very dim, with only pale green emergency lights illuminating the outlines of the circular corridor.
But fortunately, whether Elucia, Yi Cheng, or Bai Ye, none were ordinary people... With almost no communication, they determined the goal of this trip.
"Bai Ye, which floor is the archive room?"
"Third floor, next to the laboratory."
"Mm, lead us there."
......
Beep, beep, beep...
The piercing alarm still echoed inside the research station.
Pushing open the archive room door, a decaying odor filled their nostrils, and the scene before them stunned even the usually calm Elucia.
As if abandoned for over a decade, the cabinets here had completely rusted.
Those books and notes that originally recorded data had all molded and rotted, making it impossible to discern what was written on them.
"Bai Ye, what's going on?"
"I, I don't know..."
This girl doll stared in amazement. In her data, this archive room had clearly been tidy just a week ago—she had even brought coffee to provide warmth for the researchers.
And now...
"Captain Elucia, outsiders have invaded here."
"Eh?"
"Confirmed to be demons. They used acidic spray to destroy all the materials here. The purpose seems to be preventing the rescue team from knowing what happened."
Even with her eyes covered, Yi Cheng still detected some information.
"Destruction... Looks like someone wants to eliminate evidence?"
"I think so too."
"Hmph, then you search from the east, Bai Ye from the west, and see if there are any remaining clues... I don't believe they could destroy everything so thoroughly!"
Elucia frowned—she was born with this unyielding personality.
However...
"Captain, no need. Leave this to me."
"Ah?"
"As an inheritor of Clear Temple, I was born to handle such matters."
......
While speaking, Yi Cheng removed the black cloth from her eyes.
What came into Elucia's view were pupils completely devoid of luster, looking as if they'd been broken, dark-colored pupils... As if those weren't a pair of eyes but two abysses that could absorb all light.
"Yi Cheng, you..."
Seeing such an orange-haired girl, Elucia also gasped.
Yi Cheng smiled faintly, saying equally without sorrow or joy:
"That's right, so Elucia, we've actually met before."
"Hah, so the one who challenged the abyss was actually you... No wonder the Pleasure Device in the underground commercial street retained such memories."
"Regrettably, I didn't succeed, and my eyes, having experienced too much, became like they were blind and can't be used normally."
"Haha, though you say regrettably, why do I feel like you're bragging? Being able to penetrate General Caster's castle and kill your way through is already quite an accomplishment~"
"This ability doesn't compare to even one ten-thousandth of Master's. Master personally slayed a Demon Lord and plundered all his abilities."
"Hmph, don't flatter me! That was just good luck, happening to borrow the power of the Land of Ends. How about it, did you find any useful materials?"
"Found it. Everything starts from 10 days ago, when researchers at the research station excavated a peculiar tree seed."
Gazing at a notebook that had long since decayed, Yi Cheng said thus.