Ding—
Chen Mo didn't answer Patriot's question right away. Instead, while keeping his guard up against the Wendigo in front of him, he glanced at the status panel that had suddenly appeared in his vision.
[Name: Chen Mo — 100%]
[Race: Draco]
[EXP: 100/100]
[Equipment: Longsword "Ashes"]
[Identity: Son of Edward Artorias]
As the experience bar—now completely filled—began to fade away, the tension in Chen Mo's chest was instantly replaced by exhilaration.
Why would he come to Chernobog to solo Black Snake Talulah for Chen Huijie, even knowing he might not win?
Because the thing he was relying on—without fear—was this low-presence "cheat" of his.
Before coming to Chernobog, aside from helping his little sister, his biggest thought was: What happens when EXP hits max?
A ruined city like Chernobog was the perfect testing ground. He wouldn't have to worry about the system suddenly going insane and causing some massive explosion that harmed civilians.
Of course, if—besides Patriot, the current EXP dispenser—he spotted some other ancient monster rushing over, and it looked like he'd be facing two of them at once… then he'd run without hesitation.
But now, after a brief exchange with Patriot, his EXP had jumped to full. And yet the cheat still showed no reaction at all.
Which only left Chen Mo confused.
This thing is useless as always—no prompt, no notification… and what's with the "100%" after my name?
"Draco," Patriot's voice grated out again. "You have not answered… my question."
Patriot was strangely honorable. He didn't take advantage of Chen Mo standing on guard and zoning out. He simply continued, steady and measured.
"Although I already believe… you have an unavoidable connection to Talulah…"
"But that is not… the reason you infiltrated Reunion."
"If you refuse… to answer…"
"Then I can only… continue my advance."
Patriot's halberd slid into his grasp. Seeing the old monster was about to resume the fight, Chen Mo quickly raised his sword crosswise in front of his chest.
"You're not going to manage your subordinates?" Chen Mo shot back. "They can't endure my heat the way you can."
As he spoke, he cast a glance past Patriot.
Just as he said, the shieldguards were clearly unable to withstand the overwhelming heatwave. They stripped off their heavy armor and tossed away extra thermal layers to keep themselves from overheating and passing out.
A moment ago they'd looked imposing, unstoppable. Now, they were reduced to wearing only enough underclothes to preserve modesty—while still gripping their massive shields with stubborn discipline.
Chen Mo's expression turned subtly strange. He forcibly looked away and re-centered his focus on Patriot.
…I'll give them this. Great figures.
Crack—
Patriot yanked the halberd out of the shattered ground, making it clear he had no intention of stopping. His jagged, stuck-record voice followed.
"They… already possess the resolve. They do not need… your concern."
Chen Mo clicked his tongue.
Just like the original story—stubborn as a rock, incapable of listening to anyone.
Patriot didn't notice Chen Mo's inner commentary. He stepped forward again and brought the halberd down toward Chen Mo's head.
Chen Mo, still preoccupied with figuring out his cheat's "new function," had no interest in dragging out a duel with Patriot. He'd been planning to bolt from the start; he raised his sword to meet the strike, looking for a window to slip away from the battlefield.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The metallic impacts rang out in rapid succession. The sheer force of their exchanges even stirred the surrounding heatwaves, rolling them outward in turbulent bursts.
Blades and shadows interwove into a suffocating spectacle—too fast for FrostNova, watching from nearby, to see more than the rough outlines of each movement.
And neither of them bothered to lower their voices.
FrostNova heard every word.
Staring at Chen Mo as he fought her father, an image suddenly flashed through FrostNova's mind: a blonde Feline with an insufferably arrogant attitude, the kind who opened his mouth and called people "Your Highness" like it was breathing.
"…Could it be that guy…?"
Boom—
Flames surged again, swallowing the battlefield centered on the two of them. This time the blaze was fiercer, denser—strong enough that even Patriot had to yield ground, lifting an arm to shield his face.
Perfect.
Chen Mo's eyes lit up.
Patriot had been forced back beyond the edge of the inferno, vision disrupted. Chen Mo—who had only just barely held off Patriot's lightning-fast assault—felt a surge of relief.
He planted his toe, and in a blink, he rode the smoke and heat straight into the distant Reunion crowd.
"Aaah—so hot!"
"That monster got in! Run!"
"Get out of here!"
The scene instantly collapsed into chaos. Reunion fighters scattered in every direction, screaming and clutching at their burning backsides.
Patriot, who'd been about to hurl his halberd, stopped.
The Draco had used the crowd as cover. Shrouded in thick smoke, he rapidly retreated—until he vanished entirely.
And Patriot was not about to butcher every panicked infected just to flush one man out.
"Dad… should we chase him?" FrostNova asked, baffled.
Patriot slowly lowered the halberd, turned away, and began walking off.
"Go… see Talulah."
FrostNova nodded. She wanted answers too. She had never heard Talulah mention anything like that man.
Still, compared to her father—who looked ready to walk up to Talulah and ask point-blank with zero restraint—FrostNova preferred to start with someone who might be easier to pry information from.
Far away—
"Holy—since when is there a monster as insane as Talulah?" W muttered from a rooftop, still shaken after watching the show.
Now she understood why that man hadn't attacked her earlier. It wasn't mercy.
It was because he was worried the bombs she'd set off for fun would draw the kind of trouble nobody wanted—like Talulah and Patriot showing up at the same time.
Staring at the battlefield that looked like a volcanic eruption, W realized the situation in Chernobog was spiraling out of control. She quickly grabbed her communicator and shouted into it.
"Ines, you—[Sarkaz profanity]—find Hoederer and regroup! Stop running around everywhere!"
"What? You and Hoederer are busy ganging up on Scout and can't get away? I'll—[Sarkaz profanity]—he can kill Garson and be done with it, don't waste time on him!"
"And you're asking how we'll report back? Tell Theresis to eat shit! Look at Chernobog—he'd have to be blind not to understand what's happening. If you don't want to die, stop stalling!"
She cut the call in a foul mood, glanced once more at the apocalyptic battlefield in the distance—and then, in one fluid motion, jumped down from the rooftop and disappeared at full speed.
...
Boom—
"What's going on—has the Ursus army already pushed in?" Dobermann frowned tightly at the pillar of fire and smoke rising in the distance.
"Amiya. Still no connection with Dr. Kal'tsit?"
"…No." Amiya shook her head, her rabbit ears drooping. "Our external communications have been cut."
But it wasn't all bad news.
From communicators taken off Reunion members, they'd learned that Scout—who they'd lost contact with earlier—was injured but alive, and was now making his way toward them.
And—
Amiya turned and helped support the Doctor, whose body was still weak. She lifted the frail white-haired woman's arm and set it over her own shoulder.
"Rest a little, Doctor," Amiya said softly. "We'll wait here for Operator Scout."
The Doctor nodded.
Like the others, she turned her gaze toward the far end of the city—toward the landscape that looked like it had caught fire, choking the sky with rolling black smoke.
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