"Lynelle!"
Upon seeing Lynelle after so long, Stelle immediately cheered and threw herself into Lynelle's embrace.
However, just as Lynelle thought Stelle would whisper some sweet reunion words, Stelle instead curiously poked Lynelle's unfeeling legs and said...
"Come on, Lynelle, while your legs are out of commission, let me take you to play soccer!"
"..."
A muscle twitched at the corner of Lynelle's mouth.
Behind her, Fu Xuan, who had been pushing the wheelchair and was just about to discreetly step away from their intimate moment, nearly choked on her Startaro Bubble Tea, almost spitting it all over the ground.
"Alright, Stelle, stop fooling around..."
Welt let out a weary sigh. "Besides, unless I'm mistaken, Lynelle's current ability seems to be fluid control... Even if you did play soccer, you'd definitely lose."
"But... Lynelle, has your world reached the Wendy incident yet?"
"Not quite, I just made a trip to Oceania ahead of schedule. And... Uncle Welt, the Wendy in our world is far stronger than the one you remember."
Lynelle offered a mysterious smile.
"She didn't get obsessed with researching tornadoes for groups. Instead, she mastered fine control over air currents and chose a sniper rifle as her weapon."
"Ssssp—"
Welt sharply drew in a breath.
As someone with over a dozen degrees, arguably the pinnacle of knowledge among Herrschers, he understood all too well the sheer weight behind Lynelle's few simple words.
"No wonder you managed to wipe out the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus outside the camp so thoroughly... But what exactly is the current situation?"
"Ahem, regarding that, allow this one to explain."
Fu Xuan cleared her throat.
"Last night, this one led the Cloud Knights to the Alchemy Commission. After establishing the camp, we began purging the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus members within the commission."
"However, shortly after the fighting started, the more senior Cloud Knights began showing signs of mara-struck transformation."
"Considering the recent frequent cases of premature mara-struck transformations across the various star-skiffs of the Xianzhou, this one immediately consolidated our forces."
"According to the accompanying physicians' diagnosis, this thin mist currently enveloping the Alchemy Commission is the key trigger causing Xianzhou natives to succumb to mara prematurely."
"Therefore, to avoid unnecessary sacrifices, this one had no choice but to order the Cloud Knights to temporarily withdraw to the camp."
"However, not long after we returned to camp, Lynelle arrived at the Alchemy Commission first. After learning of our predicament... she chose to utilize this remarkable power."
"With her assistance, we temporarily established a complete process, from pinpoint eliminations to body disposal, hence the situation you see now."
"But..."
Lynelle took over: "This method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. After suffering heavy casualties, the remaining Disciples of Sanctus Medicus members have all turtled up. Furthermore, my ability has a time limit. Once it ends, I'll enter a period of significant weakness."
"So, before my ability's duration runs out, we must break the stalemate—that is your task."
"So... what exactly do you need us to do?"
March 7th looked eager, ready for action.
"Currently, it seems this poisonous mist only affects Xianzhou natives. The vast majority of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus forces have already been eliminated by me."
"Next, Fu Xuan will order the Cloud Knights to launch a feint attack. Your mission is to take advantage of this diversion to penetrate deep into the Alchemy Commission and shut down the three furnaces sustaining the poisonous mist."
"During this time, I'll provide remote support for you from the camp. After all, as you can see, my mobility is rather limited right now."
"As for after shutting down the furnaces..."
"Rest assured, this one certainly will not let you fight alone!"
Fu Xuan quickly added, "The moment the furnaces are shut down, this one will immediately rendezvous with you at the Aureate Elixir Furnace... After all, the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus is likely there as well."
"Find her, and the mastermind pulling the strings behind everything will naturally surface."
--+--
"Master Diviner Fu Xuan."
After all the Express crew members had departed, Lynelle glanced at Fu Xuan standing beside her and suddenly spoke.
"Regarding General Jing Yuan... can you contact him right now?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes and no..."
Fu Xuan sighed. "That scoundrel, he clearly receives my messages, but his status is always 'read-unreplied.' Who knows what he's actually thinking."
"Well... Jing Yuan probably has his own considerations, right?"
Lynelle chuckled softly. Fu Xuan was being kept in the dark, but Lynelle saw the situation clearly.
That fellow Jing Yuan had undoubtedly already noticed the peculiarities about Tingyun.
The 'read-unreplied' status was likely to prevent Phantylia from detecting their plans.
However, considering Phantylia would probably reveal herself of her own accord in about ten minutes, that particular concern was now moot.
"Master Diviner Fu Xuan, there's actually one more thing I need to ask for your help with."
"Right now?"
Fu Xuan was taken aback. "But, Stelle's side..."
"It won't take long, just a few minutes."
Lynelle smiled mysteriously. "Besides, right now is the safest possible moment."
"What do you need me to do?"
"It's simple, Master Diviner. You only need to..."
"...Lynelle."
After hearing Lynelle's plan, the expression on Fu Xuan's face shifted several times.
But, after a moment of contemplation, she finally spoke seriously, "Although this one was not previously acquainted with you, this one has witnessed your actions here today."
"This one recalls you mentioning that after your transformation ends, you enter a period of weakness... The great Xianzhou Luofu is not so short-handed that we need a war hero fighting while injured. Therefore, this one cannot agree to your request."
"Moreover, and most importantly, this one just cast a divination for you. The hexagram... was extremely inauspicious."
"If this one failed to stop you today, leading to you being severely wounded or even near death, this one would carry that guilt for a lifetime."
"Master Diviner, since you bring up the hexagram, you must also know that your divination results are destined to come true."
Lynelle gave a faint smile. "Aren't you afraid that keeping me in the rear might further contribute to the occurrence of a tragedy?"
"Agreeing to my plan, at the very least, means my fate remains in my own hands. Rather than sitting in a tent, anxiously waiting for disaster to strike... Besides, my plan isn't particularly dangerous, right?"
"Precisely because your plan doesn't seem particularly dangerous is why this one cannot agree!"
Fu Xuan was grinding her teeth in frustration. "You and the General are cut from the same cloth, you scoundrels! Even if I can't see it clearly, I can guess it—you're definitely hiding other plans from me, and that plan is full of risks, isn't it?"
"Ehehe..."
"Don't you laugh!"
Fu Xuan stared angrily at the sheepishly grinning Lynelle. After a moment, she deflated like a pufferfish losing its air, slumping softly onto the table.
"Fine, fine. If you want to throw your life away, this one won't stop you... Here's the terminal. Talk to the General yourself. This one won't play along with you."
"Just looking at the two of you scoundrels for one more second would probably shave years off this one's life!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.