Alice Returns

"If this logic really holds." "Then, suppose Tangtang chooses to commit suicide right now..." Sometimes, possessing too much strategic brilliance and acumen didn't seem like a blessing. As long as something was effective and advantageous, cruel and unconstrained solutions would pop into mind instantly. Wen Jifei naturally wouldn't make such a choice, and he believed Qingzi wouldn't either. On second thought, though, He Tangtang himself was another matter. The moment that guy learned that doing so would protect them completely, and realized he had an absolute opportunity to take out Ne and go down in history right alongside Old Man Chen, his brain might short-circuit and he really might turn his blade on himself right away. "Is this broad really Ne?!" He Tangtang vaguely overheard the conversation behind him and shouted over his shoulder while fighting. "Right now, yes!" Wen Jifei replied. Worried that this might shake Tangtang's morale or mindset, he prepared to add: *But he can't beat you right now, don't worry.* "Fuck!" He Tangtang's hands didn't stop, though his brain momentarily froze. After spitting the curse, his mouth stayed shut for two seconds. Without waiting for Wen Jifei's follow-up, he barked, "All right, I've got this." "..." That guy didn't have a shred of confusion or self-doubt. Well, looking at it that way, if Pegmont's trait belonged to Tangtang, it probably wouldn't fare any worse. When an apocalyptic disaster struck, this world truly belonged to that small fraction of abnormal human beings. Wen Jifei couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Weapons cleaved the air as arrogant jeers drifted from up front: "Don't worry, just stay behind me! No one can touch you—not even Ne!" "Watch me dice him up one-on-one!" "Run, your uncle! You're Ne, aren't you?! If you've got the balls, trade slashes with me head-on!" "..." He Tangtang's chatter suddenly surged. His phrasing was awkward, his voice grew even louder, and the whole performance felt distinctly deliberate. "Why is he... suddenly acting like that?" Rusty Sister looked up and asked, bewildered. She had never seen anyone fight like this before—not even He Tangtang himself in the past. *Could this be some kind of tactic?* she wondered. "Probably because he's afraid the world doesn't know yet that the person across from him is Ne," Wen Jifei said with a wry smile. "Autumn 1995, at the South Pole: Stream Blades' He Tangtang duels Snow Lotus's Ne one-on-one, his fighting spirit surging like a tide, holding the overwhelming advantage. This kind of event probably has to be recorded in history textbooks." "...Oh." Her thoughts clicked, and Rusty Sister understood, nodding with an identical chuckle. *Honestly, we're clearly still in grave danger. Why do things have to be so unserious, and why does it actually feel funny?* Thinking this, Rusty Sister looked down at the iron armor encasing her body. It was still holding together, but dense cracks covered it, as though a casual pull could peel it open, revealing her body... *That would never do. There are so many people here, not just a certain someone carrying a small mirror.* *Whew, good thing I'm injured and can't fight. Otherwise, if I kept battling and the iron armor suddenly shattered into pieces... Bah! What ridiculous nonsense are you thinking about, Shen Yixiu?!* *This is clearly a dangerous situation! Focus, Shen Yixiu.* The battlefield where the geniuses of the new generation took on Ne's throne as the strongest head-on for the first time should have been, in everyone's imagination, cruel and despairing. Even in defeat or death, it ought to have been heroic and worthy of reverence... Yet He Tangtang had completely derailed it. To the point where the entire world was currently in a collective freeze, struggling to process this fresh flood of information: Ne had turned into a woman! And then, while he could overpower Major Qing and Lieutenant Wu Xu fighting together, he couldn't beat He Tangtang! So He Tangtang, rumored to be the weakest core commander of Stream Blades, was actually stronger than Major Qing and Lieutenant Wu Xu?! Could he be even stronger than Legion Commander Chen? Maybe about the same. The world's twin invincibles? Humanity's dual gods of war? ... "Ha!" He Tangtang suddenly let out a sharp shout. It wasn't laughter, but the kind of lunging roar meant to startle someone half to death. The Great Spike civilization didn't seem to have such childish games. Nikola was momentarily thrown into confusion. On high alert, Nikola assumed it was some special technique and waved the blade wildly in defense, only to discover that absolutely nothing had happened, leaving him looking dazed on the spot. He was currently caught in a dilemma. On one hand, he was unwilling to leave empty-handed and wanted to take Rusty Sister with him; on the other hand, he was entangled by He Tangtang in a confined space that left no room to maneuver, while the time limit for dominating this body on his own was drawing ever closer. Seizing that split second, He Tangtang swiftly swapped the source energy block in the metal box on his back. His source energy blocks were spent. And that was only because, after his return, he had switched to an Azure peak super's source energy device and concentrated source energy blocks. *Clack!* The sound of colliding dead iron echoed, yet He Tangtang's left hand remained behind his back, frantically fumbling. "Damn it! It's jammed!" "Watch out, guys!" With panic and terror in his eyes, He Tangtang turned his head and shouted. An opening? Nikola glanced toward Rusty Sister, and just as he moved— *Swoosh!* A dead iron battleblade, so swift it blurred into a phantom, thrust straight into Nikola's path, perfectly predicting the trajectory. With He Tangtang's current peak super strength, if his opponent were of equal caliber, there was a ninety-percent chance they would never have dodged this meticulously planned ambush. However, even though he was piloting Alice's body, Nikola himself possessed Ne-level power after all. He dodged it. It was a close call, but he didn't seem to exert much effort. "Oho, you really do have some moves!" He Tangtang praised Ne in a peer-to-peer, or rather slightly condescending, tone. The metal box hadn't jammed, of course; that had just been an act. Even after becoming a peak super, He Tangtang retained the battlefield cunning he had displayed since his recruit days, including plenty of petty, underhanded tricks, which still proved unexpectedly useful from time to time. Unfortunately, this time the gap between the two sides was simply too vast. The sneak attack had been effortlessly avoided. As he offered his taunting praise, He Tangtang swept his blade and twisted his torso, continuing to hack after Ne. The purpose of this slash wasn't to kill. If a sneak attack hadn't landed, how could such an obvious follow-up strike possibly hit? He Tangtang aimed to cut off positioning, driving Ne back into the opposite corner to ensure Qingzi and the others behind him remained safe. To be honest, he had no idea how long this bizarre battle would last or when it would end. *Clang!* The sound of colliding dead iron rang out. Then came a rip as combat gear was torn. It was merely an upward flick of the battleblade carried by inertia after the clash—a strike that should have posed no threat whatsoever. Yet it landed, slicing through the combat uniform and slashing Ne's shoulder. "..." *What the hell?* He Tangtang thought to himself. *If I'd known that would hit, I would've unleashed my trait right away!* "Die!" Regardless of whether it was too late or not, He Tangtang roared, bursting forth with his trait as he swung his blade toward Ne once more. Yet the "Ne" at this moment stood there, seemingly oblivious to He Tangtang's incoming strike, head tilted as she stared blankly at the blood-drenched Liu Shiheng on the ground. The instant their eyes met, Liu Shiheng froze, then snapped back to his senses. "Don't, Tangtang!" From that single look, Liu Shiheng knew: the one standing there right now was Alice.