Chapter 24: Part (2): Man-made Disaster

“Uninvited guests… are they all this rude?”

A cold, mechanical voice sounded behind her without warning. Only then did Lin Lan’s armor’s warning system belatedly alert her.

A sudden chill ran down her spine, but years of combat instincts kicked in faster than thought—

Without turning, Lin Lan rolled sharply to the side!

Her heavy metal frame scraped across the floor, sparking brightly, scattering papers into the air.

When she came to a stop with a thunderous impact, she was already kneeling on one knee, having slid several meters.

Twisting her torso and raising her arm, the cannon on her arm extended, locking onto the doorway in a single fluid motion.

In the previously dim hallway, several cold beams of light now shone down from the ceiling, illuminating the tall figure standing silently in the doorway…

—It was a suit of exoskeleton armor, silver-white and perfectly sleek.

Unlike the aggressive, ferocious design of the Valkyrie, every detail of this armor exuded carefully crafted industrial aesthetics, as if it were from the future…

Shoulder plates, chest armor, leg guards…

Every piece was smoothly and perfectly cut, fitting together seamlessly to form a body without excess.

Most astonishingly, despite being modular, the silver armor showed no obvious seams or joins…

Every plate fitted tightly, as if molded from a single piece, a work of art.

The silver armor reflected the light with a sacred, icy sheen, like the legendary clothing of angels…

On the streamlined helmet, hundreds of tiny hexagonal cells were arranged neatly, like a honeycomb, with faint icy light flowing over them, resembling the compound eyes of a dragonfly…

The Valkyrie’s database could not identify this armor’s model!

But this mysterious exoskeleton was undoubtedly a match for the Valkyrie…

Lin Lan tensed as she faced it, but the other party showed no concern, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Should I say—long time no see?” The mechanical voice sounded again from within the armor, carrying a sense of arrogance Lin Lan knew all too well:

“Seems your intelligence network is still utterly incompetent.”

That tone… that posture…

It was engraved in her bones.

“Seraphina…?”

How could she be here?!

Lin Lan’s visor continuously analyzed the data from the silver armor—technologically, it surpassed the Valkyrie, but most of its components weren’t designed for heavy combat…

She had the upper hand.

“Surprised?” The other lowered her arms. “I was planning to see how long it would take you to find me.”

Yet, according to Morphethia’s intelligence, the Seraphina wearing the Valkyrie had long been lured tens of kilometers away!

An exoskeleton of this level demands extreme physical aptitude and precise body proportions. It was essentially custom-made…

And considering the strategic value of such a priceless combat unit, there should only be one in all of Eisenberg.

No one but her could wear it…

Yet…

Someone who should have been outside… suddenly appeared inside the palace?

Impossible…

Absolutely impossible…

“That little gray-haired girl’s plan is… interesting.”

“Luring me out, diverting attention, using the transport convoy as bait, and trapping my guards with the main forces of the Divine Court…”

“Too bad.”

Seraphina tilted her head, her voice playful, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting the data boards’ blue glow and Lin Lan’s shadowy form.

Lin Lan’s breath caught.

Then who was outside now?

Her mind quickly ran through everyone near Seraphina…

Officers…

Guards…

Someone of roughly the same build…

—Evelyn?

The captain of the guards?!

They must have prepared countermeasures all along!?

If Seraphina had never left Eisenberg, then her infiltration operation had been monitored by the enemy from the start…

A trap.

She had been waiting, waiting for her and Morphethia to fall into it…

“You…” Lin Lan forced a word through gritted teeth, her arm cannon’s power indicator flashing. “Where’s Millie?!”

“Hmph.” The woman did not answer, her voice suddenly cold.

“Then I’ll keep firing until you answer!”

The Valkyrie’s arm cannon powered up fully, the barrel charging rapidly.

She had to break through!

“Want to try?” The silver armor emitted a soft, almost amused mechanical laugh, as if Lin Lan’s cannon was no more threatening than a water gun.

“You can try.”

Seraphina’s gaze passed Lin Lan and landed on the wall, where the room was in disarray and photos were scattered across the floor.

“You dare attack here…”

“I’ll make her live in a doghouse.”

A few words instantly froze all of Lin Lan’s murderous intent.

Lin Lan stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the silver armor.

“You could level this place, I wouldn’t care,” the woman said, looking down at her. “But her living conditions… depend entirely on how you behave tonight…”

“Or I could lock her in the deepest, darkest prison underground?”

“It’s safe there, though perpetually dark and a little damp…”

“I don’t think she’d like it.”

The glow on the Valkyrie’s cannon dimmed.

Lin Lan clenched her fists under the armor until her knuckles cracked.

She knew the woman was serious…

Seraphina was counting on her…

Counting on her never risking Millie’s safety…

“Come out.” Seraphina turned, her back leaving Lin Lan no room to argue. “We’ll talk outside.”

Lin Lan froze, but eventually lowered her weapon and followed, suppressing all impulse.

The two walked through the dark corridors and returned to the strange garden.

Amid the withered ruins, the carefully tended plants and flowers stood out vividly.

The night wind brushed past, and Lin Lan belatedly realized—

As long as she could find Millie and leave, who cared about a doghouse?

But the thought passed in an instant.

She couldn’t gamble.

She couldn’t afford it.

Seraphina removed her helmet, sliding the faceplate open, letting the night wind stir her silver hair.

She approached a thriving tomato vine, her fingers clad in gauntlets brushing lightly over a leaf.

The motion somehow conveyed a tenderness Lin Lan had never seen…

“I’ll give you one more chance, Lin.” Seraphina broke the silence first. “Join me.”

At this point, there was no reason to hide anything.

The woman’s heterochromatic eyes glanced at the black Valkyrie.

“Bring your people, and merge into Eisenberg.”

“Dream on…”

“If it were before, I wouldn’t bother asking a second time.”

Seraphina turned again. “I don’t waste time on needless trouble.”

Lin Lan was confused, but Seraphina said:

“She wants it.”

Hearing this, Lin Lan’s protest froze mid-word.

“What did you say…?”

“Millie.” Her voice remained calm.

“She mentioned you more than once, worried about your safety, and missed the days at Oasis.”

“She said: ‘Lin Lan, will you be safe out there alone?’”

“She said if Oasis and Eisenberg had united back then, maybe the tragedies wouldn’t have happened…”

Seraphina had reconsidered.

“If it were before, it would have been impossible between us.”

“But now it’s different, Lin—times have changed.”

“Millie is here.”

Seraphina’s words were intoxicating, piercing Lin Lan’s softest, most painful spots.

Lin Lan knew Seraphina was lying, twisting Millie’s words…

But… Millie could indeed say such things…

“Impossible!” Lin Lan shouted. “She wouldn’t…”

“Why not?” the woman countered. “She said it herself.”

“If you saw what you’ve become, Lin, how upset would she be?”

“You can ask her yourself. I can take you to her.”

—All it took was a nod.

Lin Lan fell silent, fists clenched tightly under the armor.

But she couldn’t respond.

Was it a lie?

Or… was Millie really…

“Using her!” Lin Lan ground out.

“Using?” The woman raised an eyebrow.

“She never complained to me, nor asked to leave.”

“She comes here every day. She planted all of this herself. She said she wanted to improve everyone’s life…”

Before Lin Lan could react, a thunderous BOOM erupted from deep underground.

The entire palace, even the ground beneath them, shook violently!

The explosion wasn’t from the distant south wall—it came from within Eisenberg…

From underground!

Pots in the garden toppled, soil and debris spilling everywhere.

Seraphina’s eternal, unchanging face showed shock for the first time.

She looked up sharply toward the source of the explosion, her pupils shrinking, her face paling…

She knew exactly what was in that direction.

The shelter she had prepared for Millie—the safest place…

Her trump card…

And now someone had blown it up!?

Morphethia…

That death-stick!

How far had she infiltrated?!