Chapter 90: Ferocity Within Protection

In the same extremely spartan room, Nangong Yuchen sat on the edge of the bed with his upper body bare, while beside him, Nangong Kexin sat with tear-filled eyes, sobbing in a low voice.

"Wuwu~ Why did it come to this?"

Ever since the two of them returned home together and Nangong Kexin noticed the black veins continually spreading across her younger brother's body, she had not stopped crying. For over an hour, the tears had flowed without a break, leaving her limpid, beautiful eyes completely red and swollen, making her look utterly heartbroken.

"Alright, Kexin, aren't I still doing fine right now?" Nangong Yuchen felt a twinge of heartache. Had he known it would turn out like this, he never should have told his elder sister about the truth he sensed in his heart.

"Wuwu~ You still say you're fine, you're about to turn into a monster... and later, wuwu..." The very thought of what kind of monster Nangong Yuchen might transform into made Nangong Kexin cry even more bitterly. Before she knew it, she was choking so badly that she could no longer speak.

"...Kexin!" Nangong Yuchen did not know how to comfort her, but seeing his elder sister reduced to a weeping mess ached deeply in his heart. He could only gently pull her into his embrace and comfort her, saying, "What I said earlier was just a guess. Didn't I tell you? For the past few days, I've dreamed of myself turning into a monster, but maybe that isn't real at all!"

"Wuwu~ Maybe not, but..." Nangong Kexin could not process his words at all. She only knew that when Nangong Yuchen's entire body became covered in black veins, the catastrophe she dreaded and refused to see would truly happen. As these thoughts raced through her mind, the tear-stained, pretty face suddenly filled with remorse, and she sobbed, "It's all my fault... Wuwu~ If only I had agreed to let you take Ningxue and leave Ruxia City back then, none of this would have happened. Wuwu~ Lili wouldn't have died either, and Yuchen... you... you wouldn't have ended up like this because of it. Wuwu wuwu~ It's all my fault!"

Hearing her self-reproach, Nangong Yuchen felt a sudden tremor in his heart. The girl whom he had once cruelly rejected yet deeply buried in his heart—he was the one who had failed her. Not only did he break his original promise, but he had also pushed her into an abyss of misfortune. If he could turn back time, he would definitely take her and his elder sister away from this place, and only after breaking through to the First Tier would he return to rescue his parents...

"Sigh..." It was a pity there were no ifs, and especially given his current state, how could he ever stand before her again?

Unconsciously, his free left hand clenched tightly into a fist. He felt hatred; he was clearly on the verge of breaking through to the First Tier and had seen the light of hope. Once he reached that level, using his monstrous three-attribute potential to rescue his parents, reclaim his beloved, and exact revenge was entirely possible. What a pity that he had turned out like this.

The black veins, like blood vessels, had gradually spread from his face down to his upper body, and they still showed no signs of stopping. He could deeply feel that soon, when the veins covered his entire body, he would inevitably transform into the monster with bat wings upon its back that he had seen in his dreams over the past few days. This sensation was bizarre; although it had not happened yet, his heart seemed entirely certain of it already.

"Knock, knock!"

Right at that moment, cutting through Nangong Kexin's heartbreaking sobs, a series of knocks echoed in the small room.

"Who is it?" Nangong Yuchen shouted alertly. The crying of Nangong Kexin in his arms ceased abruptly, and both of them turned their gazes toward the door.

"Knock, knock!" There was no reply, only the continued tapping on the door.

"Kexin, step down for a moment. I'll go take a look!" Nangong Yuchen pushed his sister away, threw on a jacket, and walked toward the doorway.

"Yuchen, you... be careful!" Nangong Kexin warned anxiously from behind. Perhaps due to crying for so long, her voice sounded somewhat hoarse.

Reaching the door, Nangong Yuchen did not open it immediately. Instead, he asked, "Is something the matter so late at night?"

However, the person outside remained silent, continuing to tap softly.

"Screech—" With no other choice, Nangong Yuchen slowly pulled the door open while tightening his grip on his nerves, preparing to strike instantly should any danger present itself.

When the wooden door was pulled open, Nangong Yuchen froze. Within his line of sight was that excessively familiar, classical oval face, accompanied by those autumn-water-like, gentle eyes.

"Chen, I've come to see you!"

Mu Ningxue stood quietly outside the door, still wearing the school uniform she had not yet had time to change out of. As the door opened, she gently placed both hands behind her back, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents as she spoke gently to Nangong Yuchen.

"N-Ningxue!" Nangong Yuchen stared in a daze at Mu Ningxue, who looked entirely different from her usual self at school. His heart leapt into his throat, for the gentle expression in her eyes was precisely the Ningxue of his memories from the past half-year. Before he had a chance to absorb her gentleness, Nangong Yuchen hurriedly turned his back and bolted into the room.

To call it running would be an understatement; fleeing described the panic etched on Nangong Yuchen's face far better.

"Chen..." Mu Ningxue had just opened her eyes, wanting to say something, when she saw Nangong Yuchen scramble away in a panic into the house.

Left abandoned at the doorway, Mu Ningxue felt a pang of disappointment. Yet, recalling the purpose of her visit, she stepped inside anyway.

"Yuchen, you?" Seeing her younger brother's panicked expression inside the room, Nangong Kexin was just about to ask when Mu Ningxue followed right behind her.

"Mu Ningxue!"

"What are you doing here?" Nangong Kexin's voice naturally turned icy.

"...Kexin!" The disappointment in Mu Ningxue's eyes deepened. Although she had mentally prepared herself beforehand, she still found the reactions of both Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin deeply heartbreaking at this moment.

"Please don't call me that. The relationship between the three of us was severed half a year ago!" Nangong Kexin stepped forward immediately and shoved her toward the doorway.

"Kexin..." Seeing the resolute look on the other girl's face, Mu Ningxue had to abandon the illusions in her heart. Instead, she said urgently, "Chen, take Kexin and run quickly! Lu Shijie has discovered you at the Mecha City—you sold Cheng Tianyou's mecha!"

As her delicate voice faded, the sentence exploded in Nangong Yuchen's ears like a thunderclap. He spun around instantly and asked in disbelief, "What did you say?"

Perhaps due to the shock, he momentarily forgot about the black veins on his body. Only when he noticed Mu Ningxue staring straight at him did he realize the truth and hurriedly turned away.

Yet it was too late. Mu Ningxue's pupils constricted, and her lips trembled as she said, "Chen, y-what on earth happened to you?"

With those words, no reply came, while Nangong Kexin stood frozen, still processing the mention of selling a mecha.

She had no idea what any of this meant, and while she was dazed, Mu Ningxue pushed past her.

"Chen, answer me, what is going on? Why are you..."

"Tap, tap!" Reaching the bedside, Mu Ningxue discovered that the black veins had spread all the way to Nangong Yuchen's neck and the roots of his ears, forming a terrifying pattern. Tears immediately welled up and spilled from her eyes.

"You're in this state, and you still don't plan to tell me... Wuwu..." Mu Ningxue walked behind Nangong Yuchen with reddened eyes, seeing that he still kept his back turned to her. Overcome with sorrow, she stepped forward and tightly embraced his familiar yet strangely distant back.

"Mu Ningxue, let go of me right now!" Nangong Kexin panicked. Even she did not understand what was wrong with her, but she simply could not bear to watch this girl embrace Nangong Yuchen!

Just as Nangong Kexin rushed forward to pull Mu Ningxue away, a commotion arose outside the door.

"Lu Shijie and the others are here! Chen, Kexin, you guys have to run!" Putting aside her own attachment, Mu Ningxue anxiously pushed Nangong Kexin and Nangong Yuchen toward the window.

As the commotion outside grew louder, Nangong Yuchen realized the gravity of the situation. He hurriedly pushed the window open, grabbed Nangong Kexin, and prepared to leap from the windowsill.

"Chen, promise me! No matter what you turn into, please make sure you live a good life!" Mu Ningxue cried out to Nangong Yuchen, who had already stepped onto the windowsill.

The reluctant plea came from behind, causing Nangong Yuchen's body to shudder before he finally leaped into the night.

Yet, the moment he fell, he could not help himself. He turned his head back, using his scarlet pupils to gaze at the girl he had loved deeply in the past, and loved deeply still!

"Chen..." Mu Ningxue stood in the room with tear-filled eyes, her hands folded over her chest, watching Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin vanish entirely. She felt no fear at the sight of Nangong Yuchen's terrifying, menacing visage, because she had seen tenderness within those eyes.

Just as before, that gaze belonged solely to her.

"Bang!" The door was kicked open. Lu Shijie and Cheng Shiyu rushed in, followed by the Lu brothers and old man Mu.

"Mu Ningxue! Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Lu Shijie's grim voice rang out.

She did not answer. Instead, she used her fingers to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes, then whipped her body around, fixing her tear-reddened, beautiful eyes in a fierce stare upon Lu Shijie.

"Clack, clack, clack!"

Her right hand snapped upward. Due to the force of the movement, the lingering tears flew from her fingertips. Instantly, pitch-black crystal blocks erupted densely from her skin, converging, intertwining, and taking form! S-ArNB11-99 Model—S-Bombardment Sniper!

Gripping the meter-long bombardment sniper rifle in her right hand, Mu Ningxue aimed it directly at the bridge of Lu Shijie's nose, her voice brimming with murderous intent as she declared: "You promised me you wouldn't hurt Nangong Yuchen!"

The usually silent girl, at this very moment, finally bared her fangs in defense of what she cherished in her heart!