Lock and Erwin Smith stared at each other in silence.
But at the same time, he was listening to every subtle movement in his surroundings.
Levi Ackerman must be nearby... For the strongest combatant in this world, even though he knew the other's leg injury hadn't fully healed, Lock still maintained sufficient respect.
The sound of breaking air suddenly came from behind, and Lock instantly hardened the skin on the back of his neck.
"Clang!"
The crisp sound of a blade shattering reached Lock's ears, but he felt his lower limbs go weak instantly, and his pupils shrank slightly.
Two people?!
The tendons in both his legs were severed, and Lock knelt on the ground in a pathetic state.
A large net descended from the sky. Lock knew the current situation allowed for no hesitation.
He broke free directly from the back of the neck, and the Female Titan's entire body instantly began to evaporate, releasing a large amount of white mist.
This was the result of Lock forcibly accelerating the process.
As the white mist spread, Lock escaped the large net used for capturing Titans and prepared to flee the scene using his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.
Lock guessed the other person must be Hange Zoe; he hadn't expected Erwin to set a trap right next to himself.
How could he have known he would take Central Street?
Lock didn't choose to fly toward the main gate because the Captain was surely waiting there.
While the white mist had yet to dissipate, Lock relied on his hearing to avoid the Survey Corps Soldiers who had entered the mist to search.
Carefully listening to the orders being passed between the perimeter Soldiers, Lock chose a direction and burst out of the white mist.
Lock used the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to reach the rooftop of a nearby building, where only one Soldier was stationed.
Seeing Annie appear, the other person was about to raise the flare gun in his hand...
"Wait, Armin!"
Armin Arlert stopped his movement.
"Annie..."
Lock looked at him with a slightly resentful gaze and said aggrievedly:
"To think I trusted you so much, in the end, you still lied to me, Armin."
Armin gave a bitter smile:
"Hasn't Annie also lied to us for so long?"
Lock looked at his trembling hand, then suddenly smiled sweetly:
"Thank you, Armin."
He turned and jumped from the other end of the rooftop, using Annie's ring to slice his thumb, transforming once again!
Golden lightning once again reflected in everyone's eyes!
"It's the Female Titan!"
Hearing the commotion from the next street, Levi immediately flew to the top of the building.
Armin lowered his head and said:
"Sorry, Captain, I couldn't stop her."
"Tch!"
Seeing Armin's guilty expression, Levi said coldly:
"Don't let it happen again, do you hear me!"
"Yes!"
"Roar!" A Titan's roar suddenly came from the other side.
Armin said in surprise:
"It's Eren!"
Hearing the commotion, Lock looked back and found Eren Yeager rushing straight toward him at an incredible speed!
"Boom!"
Lock was tackled directly by Eren, and the two Titans slid nearly thirty meters along the ground, destroying most of the slum buildings built against the wall.
Lock glanced at the high wall close at hand and kicked the entangling Eren away.
He stood up, hardened his five fingers, and began to climb the giant wall.
[Replicate original plot, main storyline changes prohibited]
With only this one mission in mind, Lock slammed his fingers into the wall.
Higher, higher...
Lock suddenly felt his body grow heavy.
Looking down at Eren, who was hanging on and gnawing at one of his legs, he directly abandoned that leg and kicked Eren down.
Just a little more...
Successfully reaching the designated position, Lock reached out and gouged out a piece of the stone wall, successfully seeing the Titan's face hidden inside the wall.
The skinless Titan had its eyes closed, clearly deep in slumber.
The sound of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear came from behind.
Lock made no move, allowing Mikasa Ackerman to sever his fingers.
Lock fell from the air.
He stared at Mikasa, who was stepping on his forehead, his expression calm.
And in the back of the neck, his original body suddenly opened its eyes.
Lock murmured:
"Lin Youde!"
[I'm here]
[Detected elevated adrenaline levels in the Host, System scanning]
[Levels meet standard, System starting up]
[Host: Lin Youde]
[Age: 17/30]
[Stamina: 35]
[Strength: 25]
[Agility: 20]
[Talents: Martial Arts Prodigy, Power of the Female Titan, Ymir's Curse]
[Skills: Eight Extremes Fist (7), Form-Intention Fist (4), Great Spear Technique (5), Grand Ultimate Fist (2), Fusang Technique (3), Diting Technique (3)]
[Special Skill: Taotie Technique (1): Annie Leonhart]
[Deactivate Taotie Technique?]
[Yes]
[Next time, you don't need to call me]
"Tch!"
Lock allowed Eren to ravage his fallen Titan body on the ground and began to switch back to his original identity within the neck.
A vertical crack slowly opened in "Annie's" body, and Lock crawled out completely intact; it was unknown how his physique had been hidden inside Annie's body.
Lock quickly put on the clothes and her Omni-Directional Mobility Gear that he had prepared and hidden behind "Annie's" back.
As Eren prepared to bite down on the Female Titan's nape, he activated the Titan tissue's dissolving-crystallization ability in advance.
Immense light and heat were instantly generated between the two Titans, blinding everyone surrounding them.
Lock took advantage of the chaos to leave the merging Titan bodies.
He didn't fly around aimlessly but used the Titan flashbang behind him as cover to slip into the nearby Wall Sina through the gap he had just gouged out.
The space inside was barely enough to accommodate one person.
Next, there was only waiting.
He closed his eyes, and soon, the sound of his steady breathing after falling asleep came from the darkness.
When he opened his eyes again, Lock could sense that the crack had been temporarily covered with cloth by the Survey Corps.
Through his extraordinary hearing, Lock found that there was no one guarding the area.
Lock recalled the timeline of the original story and realized that the news of Titans appearing in the southern part of Wall Rose must have already reached here.
Eren and the Survey Corps were likely already preparing to set out for the south.
Lock pushed the cloth and found that the tension wasn't as great as he had imagined.
He breathed a sigh of relief; this way, he wouldn't have to destroy the cloth and cause unnecessary trouble.
Lock hooked his grappling line and slowly slid down upside down through the gap between the cloth and the wall.
Poking his head out from the bottom of the cloth and confirming no one was on guard, he quickly descended to the ground and left the scene.
He found the Guild Owner in the Stohess District who delivered things to him and asked him to help mail a letter to the Reiss Farm.
Then, he went directly to where the Survey Corps was currently stationed.
After briefly proving his identity to the Soldiers at the gate, he was taken to Erwin's temporary office.
Only Erwin and Levi were in the room at this time.
"Reporting!"
Lock saluted the two.
Levi looked at the uniform on Lock and clicked his tongue:
"Confidential files? So you just entered the Central Military Police."
"Kid, did you know all along that your little girlfriend was a Titan?"
Seeing Erwin also looking toward him, Lock spoke calmly:
"No, she always disguised herself very well in front of me. But she's been off ever since she discovered Eren was a Titan. I only started having suspicions from then on."
Levi mocked:
"Then we really must thank you for your timely report, after so many of our people died."
Erwin said:
"Then what have you come for this time?"
Levi continued his sarcasm:
"What else could it be for? Surely he wants to see his Titan girlfriend, who's sealed in a crystal coffin. Maybe this Sleeping Beauty will be awakened by his true love's kiss."
Lock ignored Levi's sharp tongue and said solemnly to Commander Erwin:
"Please allow me to join the Survey Corps!"
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A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
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