The Rapture was cleaved in half by a sharp blade.
"Boom—!"
A violent explosion followed.
The Nikke in Mo Chen's arms was so petite that carrying her was effortless. However, her fluffy hair partially obstructed his vision, momentarily giving Mo Chen the strange impression that he was holding a dog.
The thought flashed through his mind for only a brief second.
In just a few seconds, Mo Chen moved like a phantom through the swarm of Raptures. Within moments, he had eliminated all the Raptures blocking the street.
Even Master-class Raptures couldn't stop him.
Finding a relatively safe spot, Mo Chen gently set down the Nikke, whose legs were still weak, and turned to leave.
"Wait, wait!"
The Nikke wanted to thank him, but Mo Chen's figure had already disappeared at the end of the street.
"Something's wrong!"
Just then, Shifty's panicked voice came through the communicator.
Mo Chen sighed inwardly.
"Speak."
Shifty was a magnet for trouble. Whenever she contacted him, it was never good news.
Her trembling voice came through intermittently.
"I… I think I'm surrounded…"
Surrounded?
Mo Chen froze for a moment, then his expression changed.
"Where are you?"
Though Shifty was unlucky, Mo Chen couldn't just leave her to die.
"I… I'm at the maid café… in the Rose District…"
Her words were abruptly cut off by a scream, followed by the sound of gunfire and explosions. Then, the communication went dead.
Mo Chen's heart sank.
This was bad.
She's human, not a Nikke—if she loses her head, it's over for good.
Without hesitation, Mo Chen turned away from the breach above and sprinted toward the maid café in the Rose District.
Fortunately, it wasn't far.
But as he got closer, more and more Raptures crowded the area, further deepening his sense of foreboding.
When he finally reached the café, the surroundings were in complete disarray. The ground was littered with the bodies of Raptures.
Mo Chen rushed into the café, thinking: "Too late. She's dead for sure this time."
But just as he stepped inside, a bullet whizzed past his head, grazing his scalp.
If not for his reflexive evasion, his forehead would likely have a bullet embedded in it by now.
Inside the café, behind the counter, sat a girl clutching a Gatling gun nearly the same size as her. The floor was covered in spent bullet casings, and the gun barrel was still smoking.
Surrounding her were heaps of destroyed Rapture remains.
Their bodies were riddled with holes, like beehives.
Mo Chen stood there, stunned.
What kind of absurdity is this?
Wait a minute—wasn't she supposed to be the one surrounded?
Looking at the scene, it seemed more like the Raptures were the ones trapped.
Before he could react, the girl noticed him. She dropped the Gatling gun and leapt toward him like a swallow returning to its nest, throwing herself into his arms and bursting into tears.
"You finally came to save me!"
The girl had long, light-blue hair adorned with cute headphones and a hair accessory. She wore a sailor-style outfit in light blue, paired with a short white skirt that barely covered her thighs.
Her appearance was stunning, so exquisite that she seemed like a porcelain doll.
It was indeed Shifty.
Although Mo Chen had only ever seen her through video calls, he recognized her immediately in person.
Shifty was clearly terrified. Her face was pale, her eyes rimmed red, and her delicate cheeks were streaked with tears. She looked as though she had just been through a harrowing ordeal.
Holding the soft and trembling Shifty in his arms, he couldn't help but lower his head to ask, "These Raptures… did you kill them all?"
Shifty sniffled, wiping her tears pitifully, and choked out a response. "Mm-hmm."
Mo Chen looked around at the littered Rapture corpses and then back at the fragile, tear-streaked Shifty. He couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
For a moment, he wondered if his arrival had been entirely unnecessary.
"How did you kill them?" he asked, still in disbelief.
Shifty lifted her head, her face filled with confusion, as though she were an innocent child struggling to understand the question.
"Huh?"
Great.
Not only was his presence unnecessary, but his question had been pointless, too.
"Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
A series of explosions echoed from outside. Suddenly, with a loud crash, a shockwave hit, shattering the café's doors and windows. Mo Chen quickly shielded Shifty with his body, protecting her from the flying debris and shards of glass.
They couldn't stay here any longer.
Time to retreat, he thought grimly.
Shifty, though just a human and more delicate than a Nikke, was undeniably beautiful. If she were to lose an arm or leg—or even end up with a scar on her smooth, fair skin—it would be a real shame.
Especially her figure. Despite being a little older than a teenage girl, she was surprisingly well-developed, with curves in all the right places.
On the surface, Shifty looked just like the sweet girl next door. But holding her in his arms, Mo Chen realized how surprisingly "well-endowed" she was.
Being this close, he could even catch the faint, alluring fragrance emanating from her.
"Bang—!"
The sound of shattering glass erupted!
Shards of debris flew in all directions.
Mo Chen burst out of the café, shielding Shifty as his tendrils extended from his hand, transforming into sharp spears that shot out in all directions, piercing through the Raptures gathered outside. He stepped on the shell of a Rapture, using it as leverage to launch himself further away.
Around the café, a large number of Raptures had somehow gathered, as if drawn to the area.
Mo Chen extended his hand again, his tendrils snatching the Gatling gun from the ground. With the weapon in hand, he unleashed a storm of bullets toward the Raptures below.
"Bang! Bang! Bang—!"
The bullets rained down like a torrential storm, riddling the Raptures with holes until they collapsed like torn-up puppets.
With Shifty in his arms, he landed gracefully on the ground.
But just then, a swarm of mosquito-like self-destructing Raptures dove down from above the café, targeting him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
The mosquito Raptures were shredded mid-air by a series of grenades. Sparks and debris scattered as they disintegrated and crashed to the ground in pieces.
Mo Chen looked up, realizing someone else had already taken the initiative to deal with them before he could.
He followed the trajectory of the grenades and spotted a familiar-looking Nikke. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Thanks."
The Nikke, lowering her grenade launcher, smiled warmly, her charming face lighting up. Seeing how formal Mo Chen was, she pouted playfully.
"Have you already forgotten me? I thought you'd at least remember a little bit about me."
Mo Chen suddenly remembered, his eyes lighting up.
"Noise?"
Wasn't this the Noise he had previously met at the café?
"Good to see you still have a conscience and didn't forget about your friend." Noise's gaze shifted to Shifty, who was still cradled in Mo Chen's arms.
"Is she… your girlfriend?"