Chapter 277 Torch

"Don't worry. I can't say anything else, but the things I designed must have great sound insulation."

That being said, Wei Wei still took out a radio without thinking - in terms of practicality, this thing is probably not as good as a portable speaker or computer, and in terms of retro, it is not as good as the gorgeous phonographs and vinyl records that Eden often uses.

But Wei Wei likes to do this, just like that, there is no other reason.

She took out a cassette and put it into the radio, and then gently pressed the button on the top.

"Click--"

The sound was crisp and clear, and Mei couldn't help but recall something... emotionally very distant.

When she was a child, her father was entangled in various scientific research tasks, and he didn't have many opportunities to go home on time to accompany her.

So, when he looked at the schedule for the day and found that he might not be able to go home in time, he would leave a tape and hide it, and by the way, leave clues that are linked together everywhere in the house.

At that time, Mei, who couldn't even reach the table when she stood on tiptoe, had to find all the clues before the end of the day to get the tape left by her father and fall asleep listening to his voice.

Unfortunately... the sound of the tape being pulled was accompanied by the noise that was so common in the spiral workshop that it couldn't be more common.

Mei shook her head, walked out of the laboratory, and passed through two security doors before coming to the lounge of the fusion warriors.

There were only three figures in the huge lounge, and Mei's arrival didn't seem to cause much splash.

Yiwen Jielin and Hua reacted one after another, stood up, and were ready to accept orders - they also heard the alarm, even if they couldn't hear it, they should be able to see the blood-like light flashing tirelessly above their heads.

However, Kevin... only Kevin didn't react at all.

Mei didn't seem to care much about his condition, and she didn't care about Hua and Yiwen Jielin, but just stood in front of Kevin step by step.

Kevin lowered his head, holding Skyfire tightly in his arms. If he hadn't closed his eyes, he would have probably been able to see Mei's toes.

However, he still didn't move.

"Two minutes ago, the flight formation escorted by Aldemir was attacked by a large number of Tenth Herrscher individuals. Now it has completely lost contact and formed an attack formation, heading towards us."

"..."

"With the power of wind, this flight formation only needs 20 minutes to bring P-21 into the attack range, so we need someone to build an outer defense line."

"I understand."

Kevin's voice was as light as a dream, but it was undeniable that it was indeed a standard statement that could not be more accurate.

The biting cold and the overwhelming heat wave filled the closed lounge at the same time. Mei felt fine beads of sweat on her back, but they froze in an instant.

The Skyfire Greatsword was also covered with thick frost. Under the influence of the collapse energy, the color of the ice gradually deepened from azure blue to almost black.

But inside it, the originally dim blade of the Skyfire Great Sword gradually lit up until it burst into flames.

"I know, I'll go."

Kevin stood up without saying goodbye to Mei.

"The combat airship is in Room A-300."

Mei looked at his back and reminded him slowly.

"I know."

Kevin kept repeating this sentence until his back disappeared from Mei's sight.

"Hmph..."

Mei blinked and said nothing more.

She turned her head and saw Evelyn leaning against the wall with her mouth half open, expressionless, without making a sound.

Hua stood between Mei and Evelyn a little at a loss. For some reason, she felt that since that birthday, Mikael, Kevin and Mei's attitudes towards Evelyn were a little subtle.

A kind of... subtlety that was not very easy to capture in common -

Mikael seemed to have become more enthusiastic about Evelyn, and many confidential and non-confidential information would flow into Evelyn's ears through his mouth.

Mei and Kevin's attitudes were completely opposite. In fact, if you think about it carefully, their attitudes seemed to have been like this originally, but... Hua's intuition still made her feel a little weird.

Mei's footsteps were quiet. She stood beside Hua without knowing when. The two figures crossed each other. Mei looked at Yi Wenjielin and slowly said:

"Although it's a bit too early to say this now, I still hope you can... be mentally prepared."

Yi Wenjielin's throat kept making a "ho ho" sound. Mei didn't stay too long. As usual, she explained the cruelest reality with the most indifferent words and hurried away.

This method is of course simple and crude, but she seemed to have the same attitude towards Kevin just now, so it can't be blamed.

Moreover, this also corresponds to what Hua has learned now-there are more than 60 hours left, and Mei and Wei Weiwei need to complete the research and development of the blank key within these more than 60 hours.

Time was already tight, and now it seemed that the Tenth Herrscher had somehow found out the location of P-21, so the difficulty level suddenly soared, so Mei had to save every second, even if this approach would hurt everyone...

But I don't know if it was due to the same intuition, Hua always felt that something was still wrong.

Hua's thoughts ended here, and Mei's figure was no longer there.

The sobbing in my ears was extremely suppressed and extremely slight at first, but soon it broke out like a flood.

She turned around awkwardly and looked at Yiwen Jielin who was burying her head in tears, not knowing how to comfort her.

Just because you have experienced similar pain does not make you qualified to comfort others.

Because the pain borne by two different people is never exactly the same. In this case, the so-called "how did I do it when I first encountered this matter" is actually just a kind of self-righteous arrogance.

"Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock..."

Hua glanced at the clock on the wall. There were still forty-seven minutes until the Second Divine Key was fully charged.

She calmly found a seat and sat down again, clenching her fists and getting ready to fight.

Yiwen Jielin's crying seemed to never stop, which made it difficult for Hua to feel irritated.

But she also knew that this kind of irritation was wrong, and she had no right to deprive another person of the right to be sad.

In this case, she could only change her mind, close her eyes, and try to recall every punch she had made before, as if this could give her a moment of peace.

In fact, she did this every time she felt emotional problems in the past.

The effect is naturally obvious...

But only this time, amidst Yiwen Jielin's cries, her mind could not calm down, so much so that she even felt top-heavy and dizzy. But before she could open her eyes, a familiar yet unfamiliar call came. There was a sound in her ears:

"Girl? Girl?"

"..."

"Hey! This girl is so stupid, why don't you say anything?"

Hua snorted and took a deep breath quickly, feeling that his whole neck and chest began to tremble.

At this moment, she thought of countless possibilities, which all boiled down to one sentence——

"Could it be that... what I experienced all these years ago was just a dream?"

As long as she opens her eyes, as long as she opens her eyes, she will find that her experiences over the years, from her father's injury to going to Canghai City to study alone to the collapse, are all just a dream, right?

She knew this was impossible, but she felt like she was going crazy and couldn't stop thinking about it.

Fortunately...

"magnificent……"

There was another familiar and not unfamiliar voice, as if whispering in her ear, making her wake up instantly.

She opened her eyes and saw a hazy figure walking in front of her.

Hua narrowed her eyes and squeezed out the tears that blurred her eyes. As expected, the person standing in front of her was Yiwen Jielin.

"I...I'm sorry, I...I need to go to the bathroom..."

Yiwen Jielin covered her face, left these words, and left the lounge as if fleeing.

Hua looked at the empty lounge and suddenly began to gasp again——

You can’t go wrong! You can’t go wrong!

The father's voice just now was an illusion, but it was not an illusion!

Just now, Yiwen Jielin used the ability of a fusion warrior with mental perception on her, and even stood in front of her... What exactly did she want to do?

A cold feeling spread on her back, and then all the strength in her body quickly disappeared... Could it be that she was...

But regardless of these considerations, Hua quickly found a point where logic was inconsistent -

If Yi Wenjie Lin is indeed one of the individuals of the Tenth Herrscher, and stands in front of her with that purpose...

What about Mikael's voice that suddenly woke her up at the end?

Where did that come from?

"Mikael?"

She shouted tentatively, then turned around and looked around, but there was no one else in the lounge except her. As for what happened to Evan Jielin, Hua wanted to verify it. She wanted to stand up, whether it was to go directly to the bathroom to find Evan Jielin, or to inform Mei and Weiwei in the laboratory... But for some reason, His legs softened and he slipped again.

She wanted to turn around to check the time, but the clock hung above her head.

"Damn it...at this time!"

She punched her thighs twice, but it was not that simple to let go of the physical fear.

The only good thing is that Mei should have expected this, and since the bathroom and laboratory are on both sides of the lounge, it is impossible for her to directly hurt Dr. Mei.

Of course, facing Velvet... she shouldn't have a chance of winning.

So what would she do, what would she want to do?

Time passed by, and after she felt her body regaining some strength, she stood up holding on to the wall, and immediately looked at the clock on the wall.

There are still thirty-one minutes left before the Second Divine Key is fully charged.

Yiwen Jielin has been gone for fifteen minutes.

It was only then that she discovered that there was a surveillance camera in the lounge, and her worries about the possibility that Dr. Mei had no knowledge of it disappeared.

But they didn't make any reaction, so what happened?

Hua became nervous again and continued to hold on to the wall, preparing to enter the laboratory to find out.

But she had just moved two steps when the alarm above her head sounded again. As she felt excited all over, doubts could not help but arise in her heart——

If I remember correctly, this should be a fire alarm, right?

Is she going to... set a fire?

But then, the alarm light in the lounge turned red. At the same time, the fire alarm on the ceiling automatically turned on, and the mist-like water vapor instantly chilled Hua.

"this……"

Is this the destruction that the Tenth Herrscher wants to cause?

That's not to say it's completely useless, but... isn't it a bit childish?

Because she was in a weak state of physical discomfort, she did not notice the abnormality at the first time...

Until...she found that the sprayed water seemed to have a fishy smell...

"This is--"

Before she could say that noun, the door that Yiwen Jielin ran out of suddenly opened.

Hua turned around and met countless pairs of blood-red eyes.

No matter how weak her body was, she still instinctively showed off her boxing skills.

However, the individuals of the Tenth Herrscher were not in a hurry to step into the lounge, after all, there was still "serum rain" falling there.

The scene fell into a strange stalemate for a while. Hua's mind was empty and there was no sound. He just looked coldly at Yiwen Jielin who stood at the front of all the individuals and looked a little embarrassed like her teammates—— If what was expected was true, then the wounds on their bodies should be the price of opening Velvet's "back door".

The rain of serum above the head gradually became smaller, and the noisy "clattering" sound was changing to a "tick-tock-tick" sound.

Hua swallowed, wondering why Dr. Mei hadn't made the final move yet since he was prepared.

"Gulu...Gulu..."

She swallowed twice more.

…………

"This is it! This is the serum!"

Velvet leaned back on the chair, feeling weak.

On the contrary, Mei, who was sitting opposite her, looked no different from usual except that her whole body was soaked.

"I see."

Mei smiled bitterly.

She was still thinking, if she puts herself in someone else's shoes, assuming she is the Tenth Herrscher, no, to be precise, "Him", what method will He use to force her to wear the Blank Key?

The simplest and most direct method that came to her mind was serum.

But it's still a bit alarming that the Tenth Herrscher can collect such a large amount.

Unlike soul steel, soul steel is something that is difficult to create even if you know the technical principles. The principle of serum is very simple. As long as you know the principle, you can easily make a sample.

Although the efficacy may be a little worse and the cost may be a little higher, it is useful.

The premise is that so many corpses that died of Honkai Disease can be collected... But in this era, the money on these corpses is really worthless.

Therefore, it does not seem unimaginable that the Tenth Herrscher raided the warehouses of some big families and obtained so much serum.

It's just too extravagant...

and……

"Does it really have the power of the Second Herrscher? Otherwise, it would be impossible to mix the serum in so covertly."

"It seems...it's my turn to appear..."

Mei stood up, gently took off her glasses in front of Velvet, then took off her clothes one by one, and finally walked to the Blank Key.

"Although it's a bit rude to say this, this dress is not easy to wear alone. Velvet, can you help me?"

She stretched out her hand and gestured left and right at the blank key, regretting that she designed it like this.

But Velvet didn't respond for a long time, which gave Mei an ominous premonition.

She turned around quickly. Fortunately, Velvet was just dozing weakly on the chair. When she noticed her turning her head, she suddenly smiled.

"Oh, Mei, haven't you noticed it yet?"

"What did you find?"

The strange feeling in Mei's heart arose again, but the feeling was no longer "unknown", but a... dramatic feeling of being tricked.

She reached out to touch the blank key hanging in front of her, but Velvet's weak laughter came from behind her:

"Hahahaha... How can the Blank Key be hung on a clothes hanger... Hahahaha!"

Mei's brows furrowed quickly, but she smoothed them over quickly.

She didn't believe that Velvet would be tricking herself in such a matter. The greater possibility... no, the only possibility was...

All of this stems from Mikael's plan.

And how did the person who replaced her wear the Blank Key secretly come to P-21? Needless to say, it took Mei two hours to return to the headquarters base from the restraint barrier, which was exactly the time it took for the Second God Key to be charged once.

She rubbed the imitation of the Blank Key and asked curiously:

"So, who did Mikael arrange for? He is so confident, can that person withstand this fate?"

"Tsk, in his own words, he is a [person whose destiny has been changed long ago]. Tsk, tsk, to be honest, I didn't expect it to be her..."

Velvet tilted her head and winked at Mei.

But honestly, in this situation, May didn't notice it at all.

She pulled the clothes hanger and pushed open the small door behind the clothes hanger. She saw a small laboratory inside, with a petri dish in the middle and a wrinkled old-fashioned combat uniform thrown on the ground.

…………

"Tick tock...tick tock...tick..."

The last drop of water fell, but the ripples of the water did not stop.

"Should we start? I..."

Without waiting for any reinforcements from Dr. Mei, Hua clenched her fists. She was very scared, indeed very scared, but after thinking about it, she seemed not to be so scared anymore.

I want to live because I want something I care about but can't get it. It's more or less an obsession. I'm not afraid because, since I know I can't get it, why bother too much?

But whether she was afraid or not, there seemed to be no other way except to fight the Herrscher in front of her... until she heard a familiar voice coming from behind her:

"Hey! Mikael also arranged you here?"

Before she could turn around and say anything, the man grabbed her collar and threw her backwards.

"Sorry, I was a little rough this time."

There was still a body on the ground that suppressed the Honkai energy, but the purple Honkai energy in front of her was like a ribbon wrapped around the back of that figure.

Zaihua fell into the security door, and the last thing he saw through the crack of the door that was about to close was-

The flying ribbons were ignited like fire, and then the entire blank key was burned to the same red as that woman.

Then, the end of the black cloak also jumped with flames, as if announcing the return of the torch-like woman.

Captain!