Xyrin Empire
Chapter 592: Lilina Returns

Chapter 592: Chapter 592: Lilina Returns

The woman known as the Boss was a very imposing figure.

Even though I couldn’t see her face, her domineering posture was undeniably impressive.

"Enough! You’ve given me enough reasons! But all I’ve seen so far is you spending money like water! If you really want me to continue approving your research, then get started on something that will actually make us money right now, otherwise go dig rocks in the mines!"

Her tone was like that of a heartless coal mine owner.

The man being scolded was a middle-aged man in work clothes, with salt-and-pepper hair and a somewhat tired look in his eyes. The mechanical equipment behind him suggested he was some kind of technician or researcher. He had been scolded by his own boss for who knows how long, and now all he could do was awkwardly rub his hair: "But Boss, you have to admit, these new combat robots are much cheaper than the expensive combat mechas we buy from outside, and their performance isn’t bad... "

"You idiot!" the Boss, hands on hips, spoke with a commanding force, "You did indeed manage to create this thing. It can run, it can jump, it has thick armor, and the firepower isn’t bad. Its mobility even exceeds the regular combat mechas, and I’ve heard it’s even easier to operate than the average mechas... But! Can you, you bastard, first explain to me why such an advanced, highly mobile unit needs to run on a thirty-five-meter-long industrial cable for power? Are you planning to let our mechanics drag a plug around to maintain world peace!?"

"...Uh... A miniaturized reactor might take a little more time..."

"Add that reactor, and we’ll already have enough to buy an actual registered trademark (beep) idiot! Get your mind out of your mecha-building fantasies, and go evaluate that bucket the Beckham brothers just dragged back! If it doesn’t cover the costs you’ve already wasted, then you’re going down to the mines until you’ve paid off the debt!"

The above conversation was what we heard within three minutes of pushing the door open.

The daily life of this private piracy group was quite... colorful indeed. A mobile suit powered by a thirty-five-meter-long industrial cable—so that uncle is actually trying to create the Prototype, huh?

"Tch, a bunch of money-drains," the Boss seemed to be in a better mood after lecturing her subordinate, and finally found the time to turn around, "Oh, it’s you guys? Came to talk business? Are you looking to sell that shuttle or its blueprints? If it’s the latter, you’ve got to ensure the military won’t come looking for trouble with us—take a seat, we aren’t very formal."

Indeed, it was a young woman, I noted when she turned her head our way. The so-called Boss was actually only about twenty-five years old, with a Eurasian mixed-race face common on Earth, but her eyes were a deep purple hue—an impossible feature for Earthlings—which gave her a captivating allure. Along with her symmetrically soft features and tall figure, she could definitely be called a pretty big sister. But having been toughened up among the uniquely beautiful women such as Sandora and the others, she was, to me, just another pretty sister.

Not as beautiful as Big Sister, anyway...

Seeing that she wasn’t a very formal person, just right for dealing with this irregular privateer group, I grabbed Visca and Big Sister, preparing to find somewhere to sit. But looking around, there was only a chair and her tidy bed to choose from. After thinking it over, I simply reached out... and still, the perpetual stool appeared. "We brought our own chairs."

"...Are you selling that technology, too?" Her eyes immediately lit up, "Personal space folding technology? I heard Roland Gale’s been studying it for nearly twenty years without success. Where did you get it from?"

"Racial talent," I glanced at the artillery shell casing under Visca’s butt and the high-backed chair Big Sister was sitting on, feeling like I really needed to switch mounts, "We can even take walks in the vacuum, as you probably already know—Also, to be honest, I didn’t come here to sell anything."

That was just a spur-of-the-moment excuse, a front to get in for a look.

"I know," there was no surprise on her face, "I’ve been in this business for many years, and I’ve never seen anyone who brings their family to negotiate with a private piracy group."

I was suddenly taken aback: Bringing family along?!

My neck felt stiff, and the first thing I saw was the sister, my wife, looking over here with a tender smile. Then my gaze drifted downward to Visca, who still clutched our arms—seemingly well-behaved but actually just bored and on standby. She’s our daughter.

Including Dingdang who was sleeping in my pocket, this made up the whole set: wife, child, and pet.

"Ga-gee," before I could even explain, a weird noise came from beside me, and Visca snapped out of standby mode. The realization that someone treated her like a little kid made veins pop angrily on her forehead.

"A family of three, huh, Ah Jun," Big Sister leaned over Visca and snuggled against my shoulder, apparently very intimately, while pushing down Visca, who seemed about to explode with fury. "Your big sister is feeling a bit nervous here."

Sis, my nerves are so shot I’m sweating bullets!

"Ah, sorry, sorry!!" The woman opposite us hurriedly apologized after witnessing our abnormal reactions and hearing my sweaty explanation. "I thought...turns out you are siblings, ah, I forgot to introduce myself. Bonnie, that’s my name."

With the classic yet effective method, Bonnie, the privateer group leader, successfully diverted our attention, leaving only Visca grinding her teeth so loudly it was thunderous.

"Okay, back to business," I tapped Visca’s little head to get her to stop grinding her teeth. "I’m here to buy two pieces of intelligence from you, if you deal in that kind of business."

"As long as there’s money to be made," Bonnie plopped herself onto a chair and casually lit a cigarette. Surrounded by three high-ranking Imperials and a privateer leader, we started discussing the sale of intelligence as casually as chatting, all within a thirty-square-meter Commander’s cabin. "But trafficking intelligence is a high-risk job, and you won’t get it for cheap. We only accept equally valuable information or new technology that would fetch a good price on the black market. In the war-ridden East Sky Region, information doesn’t come cheap."

"Really, Brother, you’re such a hassle," Visca grumbled through our Spiritual Connection, still seething at being mistaken for a kid in tow, her impression of the female leader before us dropping to rock bottom. "Just bomb their fleet for a minute, and this woman will spill everything. No need to come in person..."

But that would be bullying the weak... What about your military honor?

I ignored Visca, as the current atmosphere of backroom dealing had excited both me and Big Sister: "You must have seen the shuttle we brought. I bet you won’t find anything more advanced than it in the East Sky Region. I can give you its blueprints in exchange for two trivial tidbits of information for you. How about that?"

"Information has no high or low value; to those in dire need of it, all intelligence is invaluable," the shrewd female leader flicked her fingers. "But this deal seems fair. We always enjoy business with military personnel who dig into their own corners. I can provide the first piece of intelligence upfront. What do you want to know?"

"A fleet was active in the East Sky Region not long ago and then suddenly vanished. I’ve spotted traces of this fleet among your privateer group members. They might have called themselves the Holy Temple Army, or something similar. Let me clarify further: They were led by a mentally unstable young girl who was keen on preaching, and yes, she has approached you before. Now, I’d like to know where they last made an appearance."

"You didn’t have to go into so much detail; I already know who you’re talking about," Bonnie’s expression turned complex as she frowned slightly. "You’re after that fearsome Holy Temple Army? They have ties with the Imperial Army (in the East Sky Region, the Shepherd is referred to as the Imperial Army)."

"Yes, I want to know the movements of that army, their last location, and what they were up to. That’s what I need to know."

I nodded, feeling better.

The intelligence from the reconnaissance troop we sent to this region was accurate. Lilina’s last known activities took place within this Constant Star System, and it turns out that this private piracy group had direct contact with them in the last period. And now, it seemed that this leader named Bonnie knew detailed information about them.

"Alright, you want to know about their last activity? I can give you that information for free—it’s right here."

"The planet beneath this space station, I’ll call it Silicon Ore Star, is the only legitimate source of economic income for our privateer group. However, not long ago, it was occupied by others. Two pirate groups discovered this place and forcibly took the mining star from us. We were supposed to be doomed next, but at a critical moment, the pirate factions started fighting among themselves over the mining rights on the dark side of the star—you know, the side facing the sun is literally hell, no life could possibly survive there. So our privateer group, which should have perished immediately, got to live for another two months."

"Then, the Holy Temple Army arrived."

When Bonnie got to this part, she couldn’t help but take a breath, seemingly still traumatized by what happened back then.

"Arriving in the ships of the Imperial Army, but claiming themselves as the Holy Temple Army over the broadcasts, they took thirty minutes to burn up every man-made object capable of flight in the entire constant star system, including the pirate group’s flagpoles. Then, they spent fifteen minutes thoroughly cleansing the planet. The White Left-Wing Pirate Faction that had already occupied the surface of the planet was wiped out, not even a screw left after evaporation. The entire cleansing operation spared only this decrepit space station. In the end, those who claimed to be the Holy Temple Army forcefully landed on the space station and demanded that we all convert to their religion, handing out one piece of religious material per person. They declared that if a single person did not convert, they would exterminate every race that all members of our privateer group belonged to. But honestly, we later found that there were at least twenty different versions of the doctrine... Then, after staying for less than two days, they suddenly withdrew, apparently something had happened. The Imperial troops left in a hurry and even went through the entire constant star system before departure, cleaning up all traces of battle as if to prevent being tracked. They haven’t been seen since."

"As for us? We just treated it as the Imperial Army’s new method of harassment; after all, they often wipe out entire races for no reason at all. We took it as a farce. Those so-called teachings... some boring chaps are still treating it as a topic of conversation but no one really cares, as long as it doesn’t affect my income. Just to avoid trouble, I’ve kept their religious pamphlets."

"So, it’s like the Holy Temple Army just vanished as if someone was hunting them?"

"Hunted?" Bonnie scoffed, "How could that be possible, the Imperial Army being hunted in this universe? But you’re kind of right, they did seem like they were... hey, I’ve already said a lot. You’ll have to pay more if you want me to continue."

"You’re so obsessed with money you’ve gone mad," I shook my head, "so your brain isn’t quite working right. I know Lilina; she’s a sly little fox. If what you say is true, then—what else did that little girl leave you?"

Lilina never did anything unnecessary, and even when she acted on a whim, she had a purpose. Such a bold move was definitely not just about some religious revival. Clearly, she was trying to leave traces of her last actions in the hands of the locals, hoping that someone (like reinforcements from Shadow Fortress) would find her, and these traces couldn’t be detected by those hunting them. So, from the nature of the traces she left, the identity of those hunters was easy to deduce: the Imperial Rebel Army.

Only the rebels, already caught in faulty logic, would fail to notice something passed by word of mouth among the natives.

Although I didn’t know why Lilina took an interest in such a privateer group, this woman named Bonnie surely knew more. She might have even met Lilina in person.

"Don’t look at me like that, I’m just trying to make some money," confronted by our gaze, Bonnie resignedly raised her hands, "Just kidding, just a joke... Now it seems I can confirm your identities, sorry, I was just making sure you were the ones I was waiting for. That little girl named Lilina told me a fascinating story about the Empire, the rebels, the Emperor, the end of everything, like it was hypnosis. I promised her, for the ridiculous sake of... for the liberation of the universe, I wouldn’t voluntarily tell anything to any strangers, but she didn’t tell me how to decide who she was waiting for, so other than the method just now, what could I do?"

Big Sister and I exchanged looks, seeing both the unexpected and the delight in each other’s eyes.

Lilina, truly a cunning little fox.

The woman before us, Bonnie, seemed to have been in contact with Lilina early on, and had been trusted by her. I believed that the naturally clever girl wouldn’t make a low-level mistake on such a matter, so for now, we might as well trust this privateer group leader.

"Tell me how to contact Lilina."

"Don’t rush," Bonnie stood up, stretched her limbs vigorously, then went to rummage through her dressing table for something, "Only after roughly confirming your identities could I take this out. Lilina told me this thing could summon a magical little creature, and that creature would only stay with the person she’s waiting for. This is the last step to confirming your identity."

Having said that, the seemingly money-hungry female commander finally turned around, holding in her hand... a lollipop.

In the fractions of a second, I felt a slight movement in my breast pocket, then a green lightning beautifully made a big loop on Bonnie’s hand. The next second, the lollipop in Bonnie’s hand was gone, and on my shoulder sat a Little One excitedly tearing at the wrapper, grumbling, "Waha, it’s a lollipop, it’s a lollipop made by Lilina herself! I haven’t tasted one in such a long time..."

Surely you didn’t keep a Goddess priestess just to offer yourself candy, did you?

"Actually... it really appeared..." It took Bonnie five seconds to react, looking at her empty right hand and then at the little cutie nibbling on candy on the master’s shoulder, her eyes gradually lighting up, "So cute~!~!"

With a zipping sound, Dingdang dived into my pocket—compared to Little Baobao, who is used to using supersonic charges to catch Dingdang, Bonnie, your speed is too slow.

"Now that the identity is confirmed, take us to Lilina."

"Wait, there’s one more thing," unexpectedly, Bonnie frowned, then took off her jacket in front of us and removed the clothes from her shoulders, as if I, a male, didn’t exist, "Since you’ve come, could you remove this thing for me, as Lilina instructed before she left?"

A faintly glowing green triangular mark hovered a few millimeters above the pristine skin, and underneath the mark was a "plant body" that had transformed to resemble the texture of tree bark.

"I’m not afraid of dying, but if the end result is to become a tree-man, I’d rather die."

I was instantly stunned.

So... Lilina really wouldn’t trust people so easily, huh? Such a slow curse, which absolutely couldn’t be dispelled unless Dingdang personally interfered, used on a cautious privateer group leader. What an exaggerated shackle.

But then again, this leader Bonnie really is composed. She’s calm when seeing us, calm knowing our identities, and even remains composed under such a potentially deadly curse placed by Lilina... I’m starting to admire her.

"Although it may seem like a joke to you, but... I do have noble blood. I can’t bring shame to the Ge Wei’er family crest, my stubborn old father said so before he died," she answered my puzzled look, "Ha, why am I even talking about this? Anyway, I’m taking you guys to a place now."

I must say, all this talk of nobility, at this point, might as well not be mentioned... And really, to think that this leader Bonnie actually comes from a prestigious family? It seems aside from that heedless composure, you’ve nothing to do with nobility anymore, do you?

The shuttle was parked ostentatiously on the privateer group’s landing platform, naturally attracting a lot of attention. Of course, there were those who had designs on it; it wasn’t about being dishonorable, just the privateer group’s innate character to seek advantage. When we arrived at the platform, there were already privateer group members lying around the shuttle.

They’d been knocked out by the anti-theft lock.

"Get lost, get lost! You bunch of unprogressive rascals!"

Naturally, such ignominious behavior from her subordinates left Bonnie feeling disgraced, forcing her to vent her frustration with a series of scoldings. The privateer group members around, upon seeing their boss in a spacesuit on the platform, were extremely surprised. But Bonnie had no intention of explaining anything to anyone, she just followed us into the shuttle, leaving behind only one sentence: "Your boss is going to discuss a big deal with these few friends, watch the house well, and we’ll share the money when I get back!"

"You still have some authority." I started the shuttle to leave the space station, glancing at Bonnie who was in the process of taking off her spacesuit behind me.

"They’re all honest people, relying on unity to survive in this hellhole to this day. They know their place," Bonnie said with a somewhat melancholic expression, leaning back in her seat, "If it wasn’t for staying alive, who would want to do this? Making money off the dead, trading away conscience... Our family used to be royalty in another universe..."

I frowned and fell silent. Big Sister sighed softly, "Don’t worry, everything will get better."

"I hope so... Um, where are we going?"

"Return to the mother ship first." I activated the autopilot and began uploading the coordinates Bonnie provided us to the Void Wanderer and the Imperial Admiral.

A few minutes later, following the end of a short-range jump, the gleaming golden hull of the Void Wanderer, which had been sunbathing on the plasma star’s sunny side, appeared outside the porthole.

"...I knew it," Lilina, the formidable person mentioned by Lili, couldn’t possibly be gallivanting across the universe in a tiny plane... Your military folks really are accustomed to deception."

Once back on the Void Wanderer, the whole ship immediately entered super space-time acceleration, heading for a nearby constant star. According to Bonnie, the last coordinates Lilina gave her were there, the "door’s" entrance, inside the constant star.

As for the missing Protos army, we did inquire about it along the way, but unfortunately, the information Bonnie could provide was scant at best. She had even heard about the attack on the base through the grapevine from someone else, so finding the missing Protos vanguard had to be temporarily put on hold. Finding Lilina was more urgent.

"Wow, so tall!"

Standing beneath the crystal giant statue, Bonnie, who had nothing better to do, began attempting to greet the massive sculpture, "Hello, I’m Bonnie, a human. You’re so tall! What race are you from..."

Let them play.

The warship eventually stopped 60 million kilometers from a lonely, medium-sized, aging constant star. This was the location marked by Bonnie. Lilina had hidden her fleet in deep space, which was locked and could only be opened from a node. And this aging star was the node. The surrounding universe was vast and lifeless. As we could see, this star had no star system of its own and there was nothing substantial within a light-year’s distance. It spread its waning light and heat, an inconspicuous place, no wonder our search troops had been unable to find any trace of the Holy Temple Army for so long.

"So what’s next? How do we open the door to deep space?"

I called over Bonnie, who was trying to negotiate with Sakura about climbing onto her pedestal to play. Although Bonnie was unlikely to know advanced deep-space knowledge, Lilina must have told her how to open the door.

"An incredible approach: trigger the collapse of this star," Bonnie shrugged. "Lilina said this would be easy for you, no wonder she’s not worried about the door being accidentally opened by others. It’s not something an ordinary civilization could manage."

"Alright, I got it. This time it’s a constant star-level affair, I’ll need a few minutes to prepare..." I murmured to myself, but my response alarmed Bonnie, "Hey! You’re not saying you can really do this, are you? Was Lilina not joking? You don’t have a reliable method to open the door?"

"Don’t think of a constant star as too sturdy," Visca scorned as he glanced at Bonnie, our guide and ’hostage,’ the privateer group leader. "It’s just a large fusion reactor. We have a hundred ways to destroy it."

At this point, I had already calmed my mind and was no longer paying attention to the noises outside. Instead, I was in contact with Avalon in another world through a highly encrypted channel.

Destroying a star required an immense energy output. If the Imperial Admiral and its fleet were to carry it out, even a super space-time strike might alert the rebel army, leading to an onslaught of Imperial Fleets from across the universe. Therefore, I had only one option: to employ another superweapon for the task. This would be the first time Avalon was used for attack.

"This is the control center of the Leaving World Garden, honored to respond to your summons, great Emperor."

"Good, prepare the Law Interference System. I’m giving you an other-plane coordinate, upload it through the Crystal Saint Mother."

"Coordinates confirmed. The target is a constant star."

I took one last look at the dazzling fireball on the holographic projection and came up with a plan of action.

"Remove the principles of hydrogen fusion reactions within the range of this constant star, set the speed of light in its range to ten meters per second after five seconds, and return to normal after ten minutes."

"Leaving World Garden understands, the target constant star will be destroyed, and your spaceship will have enough time to avoid it."

"Hey..." Bonnie hesitated and spoke behind me, "Has your attack begun?"

"Yes, I have already ordered the destruction of this sun, now just wait quietly."

The female privateer group leader, puzzled, could only widen her eyes and watch the scene on the holographic projection.

About three minutes later, the image of the constant star shook slightly; of course, it could have just been an illusion, the shake was so imperceptible. Though it was occurring everywhere in the entire constant star, the towering flames obscure the star’s minor and swift tremors.

But the collapse had begun.

The two forces that maintain the constant star, its own gravity and the repulsive force of its internal reactions, had lost their balance, or rather, it was no longer possible for it to produce reactions.

Hydrogen elements could no longer produce nuclear fusion under any circumstances. This was the new rule set by Leaving World Garden for this constant star, and so, it could only begin to collapse under its own gravity, then detonate its heavier internal elements; becoming in one helium flash either a giant star or a dwarf star.

This process likely would take millions of years, but for us, the beginning of the collapse was sufficient.

The spaceship’s spatial detection equipment was already scanning the curvature oscillations around us, and even the dimensions that should be in a state of equilibrium were becoming misaligned. Some regions’ dimensions were falling from three dimensions to two, while near that constant star, dimensions were making an inverse ascension. This abnormal situation indicated that a deep space hidden beyond dimensions was breaking through the barriers made up of eleven dimensions to enter the main material plane. Only when the "alien object" from this deep space returned to the main material plane and filled the spatial defects would the dimensions stabilize again.

The collapse of the constant star and the energy shock would be delayed for ten minutes due to the locking of the speed of light. The Void Wanderer had already started to accelerate and was retreating to a safe distance while Bonnie still had no idea what had happened. It was not until the constant star’s image on the holographic projection, transmitted through superluminal communication technology, visibly and dramatically fluctuated that she exclaimed in shock, "You...you really made it collapse?!?!"

No one answered her; everyone on the spaceship was busy with their work. Within a few minutes, the Void Wanderer arrived at a safe position from the collapsing constant star and then began to set up guiding beacons. We did not know from where Lillina’s Holy Temple Army would appear, so it was necessary to establish such a beacon to guide them to a safe area. The more important function of this beacon, however, was to guide the Holy Temple Army’s spaceships to the location of the Red Giant Base. Such a massive disturbance of ghost energy could not be concealed from the eyes of the Rebel Army, which permeated the entire universe; they were watching like tigers for the Holy Temple Army to appear. There likely wasn’t more than a dozen minutes left for them; they had to find another safe place within that time, like the Red Giant Base hidden behind the magnetic storm information screen.

There was no need for Bonnie to continue to be involved in the remaining matters; she knew this herself. With a look that said "I’ve gained some new knowledge," the privateer group leader took the initiative to ask to return.

Although it was just a brief encounter, this woman had also been a great help. Vis gave her a crystal chip with some outdated technologies integrated into it as compensation for this mission. Even though they were things we no longer needed, these technologies were definitely hot commodities in the black market of the East Sky Region. However, it wouldn’t be long before those who paid a high price for the data would discover their futility...

After sending Bonnie back to the space station, Vis called the Asida Asidora sisters, having these two high-level commanders personally transport the Void Wanderer to the Red Giant Base. This was a very wasteful act, but no one cared about that now.

That was because information had already come from the Red Giant Base, the Holy Temple Army had opened a teleportation gate to the Imperial First Legion’s location through the beacon channel of the East Sky Region a few minutes ago; Lillina had returned.

The Red Giant Base was definitely the most magnificent place I had ever seen, with no comparison. The endless sea of fire pervading the sky was the Red Giant Star’s burning outer shell, billions of kilometers thick, as if it were a deep red cloud that had replaced the entire world. At the center of this boundless cloud was an even more eye-catching sphere, the core of the Red Giant Star, a young White Dwarf Star, the central structure of the Red Giant Base. This incredibly dense celestial body was streaked with mottled black lines, similar to the veins on an eyeball, which were the energy extraction conduits and White Dwarf Star remodeling facilities of the Empire Base. They were attempting to rekindle this dead constant star, perhaps to turn it into a weapon or at least a more useful energy well, rather than the current heat-raging furnace. Around the White Dwarf Star were the Imperial Admiral, now dismantled into a base form, and a series of military fortresses, along with layers of sentry lines and beacons. The core part of this base alone spread across a space with a radius of millions of kilometers and was still expanding.

Red Giant Base was thus established within the greatest furnace in history, a grand existence.

"It’s truly blinding." Even with a robust constitution and the protection of the spaceship, the light from the white dwarf star spilling in through the porthole was still deeply uncomfortable for me, forcing me to seal off all external light. Only when the spaceship entered "General City," which had been unfolded by Imperial Admiral, did I get a bit of relief. Here, a vast energy barrier existed, and astonishing ghost energy was transformed into a barrier nearly reshaping space itself, creating a sky within General City similar to that on Earth.

Such a huge consumption was just to make the human leaders visiting the city feel a bit more at ease. If this had been a complete Xyrin Base, they wouldn’t have cared whether the environment was harsh or not.

"Where is Lilina?"

The first thing I did after returning to General City was to find the person in charge, Sivis, who was recently transferred from Shadow City due to the imminent battle with the rebel army, and this was the first question he asked.

"Area A-00, the first rest room."

Without letting Big Sister come with me, I rushed to the first rest room alone, knowing this was the wisest decision given my understanding of a certain natural-born troublemaker.

In the clean and tidy room, the little girl in a white princess dress sat quietly in the chair, her eyes staring blankly at the dressing mirror in front of her, quiet and obedient, and she looked like a good child if she didn’t speak.

Hearing the noise at the door, the petite girl immediately leaped from the chair, as if she had guessed who was there, not needing to look up to confirm, and flung herself at me.

This was Lilina, always a natural troublemaker in image, yet sincere to the point of terror when among her own people.

But if there were others around, this being, whose mind was far more mature than her physical appearance, would definitely not reveal her emotions freely, would she?

"There, there, I’ve finally found you, my little troublemaker."

Even though I knew she was a fake lolita with a psychological age mature enough to be a sister, it was really easy to feel like I was comforting a little sister when clutching a little girl who was almost too heavy for me to lift by the waist. After all, there were already plenty of lolis at home with ages capable of going through the entire evolutionary history of Earth life from beginning to end, and Lilina was still an infant among them...

Lilina didn’t answer, just silently clung to my waist, struggling to hang there. So many times has she used this approach to act cute and clingy, but this time, the fake lolita was genuinely reluctant to let go. I didn’t quite know where to put my hands. If this were Little Baobao, I should be bending over to pick her up, hold her in front and pat her for comfort, if this were Visca, I should be stooping down to rub her head and offer care, if this were Pandora, I should be pulling her to watch an entertainment film like "2012" or "World War", but the one in front of me was Lilina, who, although intimate with me, spent most of the time with a sour face, bickering and quarreling, suddenly becoming this fragile and leaving me at a loss.

They say the scariest natural airheads have their occasional moments of insight, that the most frightening natural pinks are when they’re suddenly cut open, and natural blacks? It’s when they suddenly become clingy and bird-like.

It all leaves one so perplexed.

"Stupid boss, hug me."

As I was still struggling with which mode to use to deal with this fragile version of Lilina, she took the initiative to speak in muffled tones, with a cry in her voice, as well as a damp sensation on my pants.

In an instant, I stooped down and scooped Lilina into a baby cradle hold.

Then both of us fell silent for a few seconds, until Lilina’s head thudded against my chest, "I didn’t ask you to hug me like this—I’m not a child!!"

The problem was, given her size, how else was I supposed to hug her!! If you can, grow twenty centimeters taller!

As expected, a minor commotion ensued upon our reunion, which seemed to be mine and Lilina’s exclusive mode of interaction. But thankfully, the awkwardness had dissipated into thin air thanks to this comical episode. The Fake Lolita who had landed on the ground was now somewhat glumly adjusting the disheveled hair and lace collar. Occasionally, she would look up at me with dampness still lingering in the corners of her eyes.

This girl, she really cried, huh? At first, I thought I was seeing things—or maybe she was just wiping her nose.

"What are you looking at!" Lilina sprang up as she caught my gaze, "You think a beauty with tears is easy on the eyes, huh?"

I instinctively raised my hand for a karate chop but paused, considering her current delicate state. As soon as Lilina breathed a sigh of relief, my hand shot out with a chop—Bam!

"Ow! What are you doing?!"

"Just checking the hand feel," I replied expressionlessly. Yes, it was Lilina’s unique hand feel: precise to a millimeter, just one meter and nine, a single centimeter shorter than Baobao, that little runt of a girl.

What followed was another round of tumultuous action; Lilina seemed livelier than I had expected, which was reassuring. As a result of this ’inspection,’ my arm bore a series of bite marks worthy of a Rolex. If I hadn’t managed to fight her off with frantic karate chops, this girl was ready to add a dozen or so matching straps to the collection.

"I thought you guys had forgotten about me."

Releasing her pent-up grievances and the excitement of our recent meeting, Lilina took a deep breath, carelessly tossing herself onto the bed and rolling around. Although she had the mindset of a mature lady, she insisted on emulating the actions of a Lolita, "It’s been such a long time. I almost gave up, almost ready to burst out and fight those madmen."

"Silly girl, how could I give up on you." Watching Lilina roll about, I felt so at ease that I joined her by throwing myself onto the soft bed. The moment I sat down, I heard Lilina shriek. Turning my head, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter: The elasticity of the special bed in this human officers’ lounge was too much—Lilina, with a cry of alarm, was bounced into the wall and then with a flop landed on the floor. I nearly wanted to snap a commemorative photo.

Was that incident just now due to the principle of leverage?

The next second, the furiously upset little miss came at me with claws bared—it was all an accident!

"You big idiot ah ah ah!!!" Lilina, furious, grabbed my collar and threw herself onto me. Her forehead was a bright red from the knock, but just when I resigned myself to her sinking her teeth into me to leave a bite like a pocket watch, Lilina suddenly fell silent. After a while, she whispered softly, "Thank you for coming to get me... Really, this feeling of being stranded in another world with no way to return—never again..."

After a long silence, I still didn’t say a word. Instead, I reached out and gently stroked the hair of the "Little Loli" who had been panicked from getting lost and now tearfully happy at seeing a family member.

"Hey, you big dummy, tell me the truth, did you really have no ulterior motives just now?"

"What do you mean?" I kept still, leaning against the bed, allowing Lilina, who occasionally wanted to show a softer side, to rest on my chest like a little sister. But her remark caught me off guard.

It was then, with a cheeky chuckle, Lilina said, "Like when I was holding your waist just now," and she gloated, "And for cheaper than ever, I rubbed my head against you for quite a while there..."

...Oh my Dingdang, this Fake Lolita with the soul of a mature lady is too much!! (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com where more Chapters are available to support the author and legitimate reading!)