273: Chapter 273 You're in a mecha to snatch someone? Lin Yuan dismantles it with his bare hands.

A silver-white mechanical longsword pointed toward the master bedroom.

Tang Qiqi hid behind her faceplate, her voice amplified through the speaker, causing the walls of the second-floor corridor to tremble.

"Listen up, Great Demon King inside!"

"Release Princess Qin Yumo immediately!"

"Lay down your arms and surrender!"

Jiang Xiaowan leaned against the doorframe, looking down at the breach module on Tang Qiqi's back.

"You call this a demand for surrender?"

Wang Ya stood on the other side, holding a water cup.

"She's leaving herself an exit strategy."

Captain Han Xue crossed her arms and didn't respond.

Su Xiaonuan stood against the wall, the tablet in her arms already having hacked into the second-floor defense system.

After seeing the message from Mr. Lin giving his consent, she raised her hand and unlocked the master bedroom door.

Click. The latch sprang open.

Tang Qiqi paused for a split second.

Su Xiaonuan looked down at her tablet.

"Begin."

"The damaged walls, doors, and floors will be deducted from your contribution points."

"Housekeeper Su, you're so ruthless!"

Blue flames erupted from the thrusters at Tang Qiqi's feet.

She crashed through the bedroom door, mecha and all, holding the mechanical longsword horizontally before her.

Only the bedside lamp was on in the room.

Qin Yumo was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing one of Lin Yuan's oversized pajama tops.

Her red hair hung behind her shoulders, and her long legs rested on the carpet.

Lin Yuan, wearing trousers, stood beside the bed.

Tang Qiqi raised the mechanical longsword.

"Don't be afraid, Sister Yumo!"

"I'm here to save you!"

Qin Yumo looked up.

"I'm not afraid."

"I'm saving you anyway!"

Lin Yuan walked toward the blade.

Tang Qiqi pushed the power lever.

The mechanical arm raised, and the blade blocked his path.

"Don't come any closer."

"This mecha has a force output of 1.6 tons."

Lin Yuan raised his hand and clamped his fingers onto the chest armor.

The thrusters let out a high-pitched whine.

Heat pressed into the carpet, scorching two burn marks.

The silver-white body tilted forward, the stabilizing teeth at its feet biting into the floor, while the motors and gears whirred in unison.

Lin Yuan stood his ground.

Only his trouser legs fluttered slightly from the air current.

Inside the faceplate, Tang Qiqi bit her lower lip.

"Overload mode."

Electric arcs crawled across the mecha's joints and converged into the core on its back.

Power output climbed steadily.

120 percent. 150 percent. 180 percent.

In the corridor, Jiang Xiaowan lowered her arms from her chest.

Captain Han Xue took a half-step back.

Su Xiaonuan held her arm out, blocking Yu Qingyi, who was preparing to approach.

"Everyone, step back."

Tang Qiqi stared at the power gauge.

She dialed the power output back down to 70 percent.

Lin Yuan saw it.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Who's afraid of you?!"

Tang Qiqi pulled the control stick.

The mechanical longsword switched to a horizontal sweep, its blade unsharpened.

She intended to force Lin Yuan back and then use the mechanical arm to whisk Qin Yumo away.

Lin Yuan dodged to the side, his palm sliding along the chest armor to the ribs, where he clamped onto a hidden protective plate.

Tang Qiqi's breath hitched.

"Wait, don't touch that!"

Lin Yuan tightened his fingers.

The metal plate collapsed inward.

The fastening bolts flew out one by one, hitting the wall.

The wires were ripped, and blue electric arcs sputtered from the breach.

He pulled outward.

The entire power module came away from the body.

The humming stopped. The thrusters extinguished.

The mechanical longsword thudded onto the carpet.

The mecha lost its support and toppled forward.

Lin Yuan caught the mecha's waist with one hand, steadying it back into an upright position.

He tossed the sparking power module to his feet.

"Is this what you're using to defeat me?"

Tang Qiqi gripped the control stick, only the sound of rapid breathing remaining inside the faceplate.

She pressed the emergency cockpit release button. No response. She pressed it again.

A red light turned on. [Emergency lock malfunction.]

"I'm done for."

Qin Yumo walked over barefoot, her hands gripping the edge of the cockpit.

The metal plate flipped outward under her hands. The safety belt snapped.

She reached in, grabbed the back of Tang Qiqi's pajama collar, and hauled her out of the cockpit.

Tang Qiqi's blue and white pajamas were wrinkled from being pulled.

As soon as her feet touched the floor, she ducked behind Qin Yumo.

"A test."

"I was just testing the master bedroom breach capability of the light armor."

Jiang Xiaowan poked her head in from outside the door. "Did Qiqi get taken out?"

Wang Ya took a sip of water, her gaze lingering between the three of them for a few seconds.

Yu Qingyi hadn't yet figured out what was happening before she was pulled away by Su Xiaonuan.

Captain Han Xue glanced at the broken door lock, her ears flushed with heat, and turned back to her room.

Qin Yumo kicked the door shut. Bang. She blocked the door gap.

"The princess doesn't need saving."

She turned the deadbolt. "The knight is now the Great Demon King's prisoner."

Jiang Xiaowan's voice came from outside the door. "Does the prisoner need me to prepare a nutritious meal for tomorrow morning?"

Su Xiaonuan walked toward the stairs, clutching her tablet. "Ms. Jiang, you have a prenatal checkup tomorrow."

The footsteps faded away.

Inside the room, Tang Qiqi leaned against the wrecked mecha and looked down to straighten her pajamas.

Qin Yumo stood before her. "Qiqi."

"Are you actually here to snatch me, or to find him?"

Tang Qiqi opened her mouth. No words came out.

She looked down and saw the mecha she had designed dismantled into scrap metal, and then saw Lin Yuan's pajama top on Qin Yumo.

She suddenly couldn't recall a single one of the jokes she had prepared.

She hid her hands in her sleeves, her palms pressed into crescent-shaped marks through the fabric.

"Sister Yumo can fight. Housekeeper Su can manage the entire Heavenly Palace."

"Sister Wang Ya can split the sea, and Yu Qingyi, who just arrived three days ago, has already taken over the outer perimeter."

She poked the broken safety belt with the tip of her toe.

"I only know how to take things apart, eat snacks, and cause trouble."

Qin Yumo crouched down in front of her and took the hands she had hidden in her sleeves.

"The titan no. 1 punched through the artillery formation in Wan City."

"The shadow protector no. 2 cut off the Holy Sound."

"Who do you think Iron Arm King and Tank relied on to come back alive?"

Tang Qiqi hunched her shoulders and tried to pull her arms back.

Qin Yumo didn't let go. "How much longer are you going to keep up the act?"

The electric arcs in the room extinguished. Coolant dripped onto the carpet along the cracks in the mecha.

Tang Qiqi kept her head down and blinked twice, her eyelashes sticking together, but the tears never fell.

She still wanted to force that usual smile, but her lips wouldn't lift no matter how hard she tried.

Qin Yumo pulled her to the edge of the bed and retreated toward the door.

Tang Qiqi lifted her face and looked at Lin Yuan.

"I didn't not want to... I was just..."

Lin Yuan patted her head.

"You feel like you aren't good enough. That's why you came here making a scene in an iron shell, not daring to walk up to me."

Tang Qiqi's back pressed against the edge of the bed. Her throat bobbed twice.

Qin Yumo gave her a push from behind.

"Qiqi is best at building doors. And she's also best at building doors for herself."

"Today, Sister Yumo will let you have this one."

Tang Qiqi collided into Lin Yuan's arms, her body tense, her hands hovering at his waist.

A few breaths passed. She grabbed the hem of Lin Yuan's clothes and pressed her forehead against his chest.

Lin Yuan didn't tighten his arms around her.

"If you leave now, there's still time."

Tang Qiqi raised her hand and clamped onto his wrist.

"Great Demon King... You're not allowed to return me."

Lin Yuan looked down at her.

"Last time you said you drink coffee all the time, and your urine is yellow? Let me check for you."

Tang Qiqi buried her face deeper, her voice muffled against his chest.

"You really are a Great Demon King. Don't make me electrocute you!"

Qin Yumo opened the bedroom door and walked into the corridor. The door closed behind her.

[Ding! Target Tang Qiqi (Appearance 86), emotional fluctuation has reached an extreme!]

[Favorability critical hit +16%! Current: 35%!]

...

East Sea.

Of the United States fleet, only one main vessel and two frigates were still able to maintain their course.

The deck was covered in scratch marks. The close-in weapon system tilted toward the sea, its barrel jammed with half of a mutated sea snake.

Below the hull, swarms of sea beasts rammed the armor plating, and seawater poured into the lower deck through the breaches.

Three high-level Espers stood on the deck.

The three of them secretly rejoiced that the Red Moon had finally passed.

But the next second, the sea surface rose.

Water locks coiled around their hands and feet.

Just as the naval guns finished turning, a wall of waves engulfed the muzzles.

The flames extinguished. The radar lost its signal.

The King of the Deep Sea rose from in front of the fleet, gray-white water currents swirling around his severed arm.

"My lord has given an order. Don't kill them all."