Chapter 20 Water Cooler Melancholy
"here it is?"
When Beichen regained consciousness, he found himself on an open-air stone platform. Xiangying and the twin claws were nowhere to be seen. Stone pillars of varying sizes lay all around him, engraved with words Beichen couldn't understand. Through these words, faint twinkling stars shone. The moon hung high overhead, and the air felt unusually fresh.
[This way. This way…]
The voice that sounded directly from his mind was like a gentle elf, softly calling Beichen.
Feeling a little uneasy, she shouted through the telepathic communication channel:
"Xiang Ying! Black Disaster! Su Jie! Where are you?!"
No one responded.
“…What’s going on…”
Feeling even more uneasy, Beichen took a breath and looked around.
Don't be nervous, don't be nervous.
The situation when I first came to this world was much more terrifying than it is now.
She comforted herself like this—but compared to her own situation, she was more worried about the three warriors who didn't respond to her at all.
"Xiang Ying!! Black Disaster!! Su Jie!!! Are you okay?! Did you hear me?!"
I called out again, but still no one responded.
“…”
A rare feeling of helplessness surged from the depths of her heart, and she turned around on the platform helplessly.
[This way, this way…]
The calling voices rang out again, and Beichen shook his head vigorously to dispel the voices.
Only then did she realize how much she had come to rely on these three weapons.
The gifts and food were all in their storage space. After just a short separation, the anxiety and panic in her heart had completely disrupted her thinking.
──Even before I met them, I was used to living alone, but now I have become like a child who can't stand loneliness.
"Xiang Ying... Black Disaster, Su Jie..."
She recited their names somewhat bitterly, took a few deep breaths, and calmed herself down.
Tried to use the long-range summoning ability to summon the twin hooks, but failed.
It seems I can only rely on myself.
It’s no big deal, she clenched her fists - even if they are not by her side, she must survive!
However, as if mocking Beichen's determination, the grass in front of the platform moved.
"Who?! Is it Xiang Ying?! Or Hei Huo and Su Jie?!"
She looked towards the bushes happily—then froze with a delighted expression on her face, and her face immediately turned pale.
A huge tiger-like body, red eyes, white crystals—
──It’s the Emperor of Disaster!
“No… That’s not the case…!”
Even if he was confident that he could defeat a low-level possessed Moon Envoy with his bare hands, it would be unacceptable for the Disaster Emperor to do so, right?!
The Disaster Emperor's gaze fell clearly on her because of her voice.
Beichen swallowed his saliva and took a few steps back, desperately looking for cover to protect himself with the corner of his eyes, but──
Roar!!
How could the Disaster King give its prey a chance to evade? It roared excitedly, then suddenly ducked its body and pounced towards Beichen! !
“Woo—!”
Beichen threw himself to the side and avoided the attack of the Disaster Emperor. His huge body fell onto the platform, and several stone pillars were instantly broken by his huge body. Many small stones flew everywhere due to the wind pressure generated by the impact.
When the Disaster King saw that his attack missed, he made a gurgling sound, turned his body around to face Beichen again, and then greeted him with a claw!
Beichen took a deep breath and jumped back to avoid the attack - damn, if Xiang Ying was in his hand at this time, it would be a great opportunity to counterattack!
Seeing that the prey had dodged the attack again, the Disaster King became a little impatient. He used his two front paws and his huge head to swing and bite Beichen continuously. Although Beichen had no weapons to attack, her dodging skills were very good. After dozens of rounds, the Disaster King didn't touch a single hair of hers.
The Disaster King roared impatiently as if in protest, shaking the earth and mountains nearby.
Beichen was a little breathless and anxious, concentrating on watching the other party's actions - her physical strength was no match for the Disaster King, and if she continued to waste time like this, she would be completely finished!
Weapons—she needed weapons to fight back!
When dodging the Disaster King's concentrated attack, she took advantage of the few seconds when the Disaster King turned around to look around - not far away there were the remains of a stone pillar that was smashed by it, and there were a few sharp stones in it that seemed to be useful!
She crouched down and ran to the pile of stone pillars, then turned to look at the Disaster King. After meeting her eyes, the Disaster King rushed towards her again -
"drink!"
With a brief cry, her feet swept a huge semicircle on the ground. The debris of large stone pillars and the dust that had accumulated on the surface of the platform for a long time were lifted high and headed towards the huge head of the Disaster Emperor!
Awooo!
The Disaster Emperor was caught off guard, his eyes blinded by sand, gravel and dust.
Good opportunity!
She immediately bent down and picked up two sharp stones of the target, ran to the side of the Disaster King's head in an arc trajectory, then jumped suddenly and grabbed the hair on its neck - the next second, just like the last time she dealt with the Disaster King, she climbed up to its back with force while the Disaster King was shaking, and stabbed the sharp stone in her hand downwards, piercing the Disaster King's skin and becoming a strange handrail.
Well, if I can get on its back, I’m halfway to success!
Just as Beichen was thinking this, a black shadow suddenly appeared in her sight, coming towards her from below. She reflexively leaned back to avoid it, and when she looked closely, she saw that it was a bone-like spike emerging from behind the Disaster Emperor.
laugh!
Just as he was thinking that something was wrong, he felt a huge pain in his right shoulder, right chest and abdomen at the same time. Something pierced his body - it was indeed the same sharp thorn.
“Woo—”
Because the pain was too severe, she couldn't help but scream. At this moment, the Disaster King retracted the sharp bones on his back, bringing another wave of severe pain that almost made her faint.
No longer able to resist, she fell limply from behind the Disaster Emperor.
This time it's really over - fighting this thing with bare hands is really too much of a stretch. Beichen, whose brain was in a mess due to the pain, just instinctively covered his abdomen with a big hole in it, staring blankly at the Disaster King who was lowering his head to bite him -
I won’t accept this──!
"Beichen!!"
At the moment when Beichen completely gave up hope, a familiar voice rang out. At the same time, the Disaster Emperor's scream and the earth-shaking sound exploded at the same time, causing the surroundings to roar!
She struggled to open her eyes, and only vaguely saw a blue-purple figure blocking her way, with bits of star power shining wildly. The Disaster Emperor opposite her had been riddled with holes by the star power cannons.
"Art, Lars—"
After trying hard to shout out the name with joy, Beichen could no longer hold on and fainted.
The visitor's red mechanical eyes swept over the girl lying in a pool of blood, and then looked at the Disaster Emperor who was dying not far away.
"There's no need to leave even an atom of anything that could harm Beichen."
The figure protecting Beichen flashed, and his long hair with a bright blue glow drew a strange and beautiful stream of light under the moonlight. His wings stood up high, and in an instant they turned into an overwhelming rain of arrows of light that flew towards the Disaster Emperor, pierced into its body, and then exploded at the same time!
The Disaster Emperor's screams were drowned out by the sound of the explosion, and when the surroundings became completely quiet, there was no one on the platform.
──Whether it was the Disaster Emperor who was blown to dust, or the injured and unconscious Beichen,
Or maybe it was a humanoid possessed moon messenger that descended from the sky.
“…Wu…”
"Beichen, you're awake."
When he woke up again, the surrounding scenery had changed. It seemed that he was in a small cave. Beichen was lying in Atlas' arms. Although the wounds on his body still hurt from time to time, it was obviously not as painful as before.
"Atlas...long time no see."
She forced a weak smile at the possessed Moon Envoy who was leaning over and looking at her intently.
"I'm glad to see you again."
"Beichen. I'm thirteen seconds late. I'm sorry."
Atlas's face remained expressionless, but her tail was tightly wrapped around her left leg.
"It's not your fault. How is my injury...?"
"I injected you with an enhanced regeneration potion. You're out of danger now. But regeneration requires biological energy, and Beichen needs to replenish his strength."
"Well," Beichen nodded with difficulty, "Could you please find me some water? My throat hurts a little."
"As for water, I have distilled water stored. Do you need it now?"
"Yes."
Beichen nodded a little puzzled - strange, Atlas didn't have any water container in his hand?
"Okay. Immediately."
As soon as Atlas finished speaking, Beichen felt the back of his head being grabbed, and then he felt a soft touch on his lips, and then a cool and sweet liquid slid smoothly into his throat.
“…Wuwu!?”
An inarticulate whimper escaped her mouth.
This, this, this, this, this...what is going on?!
Why was I kissed out of nowhere?! Grandma, your granddaughter has been faithful to her husband for eighteen years, and now, for no apparent reason, she lost her first kiss. Uwaa ...
Wait! — Beichen struggled (of course, completely ignored by Atlas's incredible strength) while his mind raced — the problem wasn't just this, it was a kiss, but where did all this water coming down his throat come from?! Is his body a water dispenser?!
The kiss continued, and more and more water poured into his throat. Atlas was originally just honestly performing the task of a water dispenser (?), but as the kiss continued, a look of curiosity and freshness flashed across his red mechanical eyes. He moved his tongue and licked Beichen's lower lip like a puppy.
“!!!”
Beichen was so frightened by his actions that his whole body tensed up.
You're pushing me too far! She was so angry that she reached out and pinched Atlas' chest muscles!
Atlas finally understood and let her go. Then, as if still unsatisfied, he tilted his head and smacked his lips expressionlessly.
"Peak comfort level increased, with body temperature rising by 1.1 degrees."
“You…you…you pervert—ow!!”
Beichen was so angry that his wound was pulled, and Atlas was so scared that the tip of his tail stood up, and then another white light shot into Beichen's body.
"Does it hurt? Beichen."
“…I…*&(*&#@&%(*￥%￥!”
Not knowing whether to be angry or grateful, Beichen stared incoherently at the expressionless face that was looking at him seriously - with a hint of innocence.
"Forget it." She sighed helplessly - the other party seemed to not understand any of this at all. Don't bother with him, just change the subject.
"Atlas, why... where did you get your water from?"
"Oh, I have a water storage device in my chest cavity. It collects water vapor from the atmosphere to dissipate heat. Don't worry, it's drinkable distilled water."
"Oh, oh...thank you...are you a robot?"
"No, I am a living weapon, not a disembodied entity."
Beichen didn't quite understand: "So you're also a living being, but your structure is different from humans, right?"
"Yes."
After Atlas answered, he looked at her for more than ten seconds, then smacked his lips again.
"No kissing! I don't need water anymore! And if that's cooling water, save some for yourself. Overheating is bad for both computers and people!"
"oh."
Atlas nodded honestly, but for some reason Beichen heard a hint of grievance in that calm voice.
"Anyway, something like lips touching—"
"It was kissing. I know it's in the database."
"I know you're still messing around! That's something only people who like each other can do!"
"...Beichen, don't you like me?"
When asked, Atlas still had a blank expression, but his tail shook slightly.
Beichen felt a little scared by that innocent look:
"I like you... but not the kissable kind! I think you're cute and reliable—I consider you a friend!"
"……oh."
He looked even more aggrieved──Beichen once again had the illusion of bullying a small animal.
"Well... Anyway, you're just curious about this because you're a male. You should wait until you find your destined partner."
"?"
Atlas tilted his head slightly at her.
"My destined partner is the guide Beichen."
“…”
Beichen felt a little at a loss for words.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Where are we now?"
"Coordinates 11245.351.10921.1."
...I didn’t understand at all!
"Then can you find out where Xiang Ying and the others are?"
"Okay, scanning. ...Scan completed. Roughly located thirty-five sangmars east."
"Thirty-five Sanmars is so far?! I guess we're out of range. No wonder we can't get in touch..."
Beichen thought for a while and decided to find a way to replenish his strength and heal his injuries first, and then set out with Atlas to join Xiang Ying and the twins.
"Atlas, could you please find me some human food?"
"Can."
Atlas nodded, carefully lowered her to the ground, and stood up.
Because he stood there for more than ten seconds without moving, Beichen looked at him in confusion.
"……What's wrong?"
"Beichen."
"……yes?"
"If kissing doesn't work, is it okay to be horny for you?"
“…”
Finally, Atlas was driven out by the furious Beichen to find food with a puzzled look on his face (?).
Beichen squatted in the photon barrier that Atlas had built for her, covering her wound with her hands, feeling extremely confused.
She recalled how her foot slipped.
As we passed that hillside, we heard a voice coming from the dark shadows of the trees at the bottom of the valley.
I couldn't hear the specific content, but it seemed like it was ringing directly in my mind, with an inexplicable pulling force.
Because of the traction, she took a step forward and rolled down the hill.
But she remembered that Xiangying and the twins were nearby when she fell down, but when she woke up, they were nowhere to be seen. Even Atlas said that they were more than thirty sangmars (kilometers) away.
They would abandon her and run this far? No matter how you think about it, it's impossible.
So... what happened on the way down that valley that caused them to separate?
“…”
I thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out, and at this moment, the sound started again.
[This way, this way... Please come this way, Lady Red Moon Priestess.]
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