It was pure instinct for Liu Shiheng to recognize Alice's return at a single glance. He was all too familiar with that look in her eyes—especially now, when they held something more: heartache.
So shouting those words immediately was instinct as well.
Yet in truth, killing Ne while they had the chance was unquestionably the best choice. After all, as the far stronger entity, he could return at any moment.
Wen Jifei thought of this in a flash, his brow furrowing.
Fortunately, he didn't need to make an explicit choice between reason and emotion this time. In the battles of the source energy world, close-quarters clashes never granted enough time for someone like Liu Shiheng to finish what he had to say.
*Clang!*
At the final instant, the blow was blocked.
Her gaze remained fixed on Liu Shiheng, but the corner of her mouth curved slightly into a smile. The combat blade in Alice's hand lifted impossibly fast, parrying He Tangtang's strike.
She merely blocked it with an air of effortless nonchalance. Without retaliating, she stepped two paces to the side, looked at He Tangtang, and said, "Don't be rash. Let's talk about how to resolve this problem."
"..."
Those words caused everyone present to hesitate in utter bewilderment.
The words themselves weren't particularly unusual; the issue lay in the demeanor Alice displayed, as well as her tone and emotion when she spoke.
Steady, gentle, calm. That state of emotional composure was potent enough to infect others, inexplicably cooling the atmosphere of this desperate, blood-soaked battle to the death.
It felt as if a refined, middle-aged history professor, dressed in a light-gray trench coat, were pacing across a sunlit classroom on a spring day, serenely recounting a piece of long-buried history.
"...Ne!" Liu Shiheng stared blankly, murmuring in a daze. "This... this is the real Ne."
He was all too familiar with this cadence and manner of speaking. Back in that little blue chapel, the two of them had shared a long history of conversations. What was more, had it still been Alice just now, her strength could never have parried that blade.
So, Alice, Ne...
"Then who was that just now? Who is the other one?!" Young Master Shiheng suddenly realized. He had thought there were two, but in truth, there were three!
*What?* Everyone present, including Wen Jifei, was momentarily lost.
The corner of Alice's mouth curled into a smile again—no, it was Ne... He smiled and said:
"That is a very ancient Great Spike. However, having gone through death and resurrection, it has become quite warped. Much like myself—I mean, I too have experienced death in the conventional sense, though I haven't become warped."
It sounded like a joke, yet Ne delivered it with an inflection that made it seem genuine, devoid of any mocking humor.
If anything, it carried a touch of ease.
There was no doubt now that the one opposite them was Ne. So *this* was the real Ne. Han Qingyu struggled to sit up and looked over at him.
"Major Qing?" Ne tilted his head, his gaze bypassing He Tangtang as he took the initiative to ask.
"Yes, Mr. Ne," Han Qingyu replied, simultaneously straining within his body to summon his Yanxiu... but there was no response. After the molten dragon had shattered moments ago, it seemed to have truly dissipated completely.
"You see, how should we resolve the matter today to... Hand over the only successful experimental subject to us, and you may leave!"
A single sentence, but the first and second halves possessed completely different tones and temperaments.
The damned Great Spike was back!
*Boom!* He Tangtang's source energy erupted instantly as he braced for battle.
"Young Master Shiheng, are... are you all right?" Alice took a slow step forward, appearing as if she wanted to walk toward Liu Shiheng, but taking in the situation around them, she knew she couldn't.
He Tangtang froze, and she halted in her tracks.
"I... I'm fine. Just probably dying soon." Liu Shiheng offered a cheeky grin, thick blood brimming from his mouth.
"I'm so—I..." Alice began, her eyes reddening.
"Oh? What is this? It seems to be affecting me... Well then, love. It has been a very, very long time since I experienced love," Ne said with a warm smile.
"Could you leave me alone for a moment?" Alice said, her expression sinking.
"Rest assured, Nikola has no way of speaking again for now. Its consciousness is exhausted," Ne replied.
"I meant you, Mr. Ne," Alice said.
"...Ah. So that's how it is." Ne's tone held a touch of wry embarrassment. After a pause, he said politely, "However, at present, there seem to be matters more pressing than romance that need resolving. Alice, look..."
Young Master Shiheng: "..."
Even though it was neither the right time nor the right place, he couldn't stop himself from frantically combing through his memories, wondering if once or twice, the object of his tender affections hadn't actually been Alice, but Ne or that damned Great Spike...
The thought was downright chilling.
"You can protect them," Alice suddenly turned to He Tangtang and said. "I'm sorry, I can't protect you all, but you can. We don't dare kill you. If we kill you, we will all die."
He Tangtang: "Huh?"
"We don't dare kill you. Even right now, if you were to kill yourself, all of us would likely die." Alice was not stopped. Ne seemed unconcerned and indifferent to her revealing this life-and-death crux. Thus, Alice's persona earnestly continued, "Please protect your friends—including Young Master Shiheng."
So it really was true! Hearing this, Han Qingyu and the others were astonished, while Wen Jifei's eyes filled with sudden apprehension as he glanced toward He Tangtang.
"Heh!" He Tangtang sneered. "Trying to trick me into killing myself?! You think I'd fall for such a stupid trick? You damned Great Spike, it's you, isn't it?!"
With that, he raised the combat blade in his hand, his special trait surging... But halfway through, his hand froze. This time, it was entirely on his own initiative. He Tangtang swept his gaze across the group, though he was looking primarily at Liu Shiheng.
"What do we do now? Do I cut or not?"
"Is there any way to separate them?"
"After that, I can just devour both Ne and that damned Great Spike."
"Then this little sister-in-law... your woman will be fine, right?"
Their eyes met. Liu Shiheng hesitated for two seconds. "I don't know."
"You can try," Alice said urgently. "You're saying you can devour the energy and consciousness of Yanxiu, right? Come!"
With her wounded shoulder thrust forward, Alice threw caution to the wind and lunged toward He Tangtang.
Among the three, Ne possessed Yanxiu; he had inherited Nikola's Yanxiu, including the complete remains. Nikola itself was a Yanxiu, having evolved into a unique Yanxiu after returning from the dead. Only Alice was not.
If those two were devoured, there was at least a ninety percent probability that Alice would die along with them, being the more fragile one... And yet, she was willing to take the chance.
Her future had already been sealed in death anyway. Rather than living like this, she would rather seize this opportunity and gamble everything on a single roll of the dice.
"Both of them are Yanxiu." Those were Alice's final words. As she spoke, she turned her head and looked back at Liu Shiheng.
Chapter 856