Pluto Research Institute

"The researchers always said I was destined to be killed by a monster."

"So, I ran away."

"I will prove to them that no one can kill me!"

BOOM!

Zhuge Yue's voice echoed from within the smoke. A moment later, it was followed by a roar of pain.

"Shut up, Yan Shuangying! I'm going to kill you!"

The words had barely left her lips when a ghostly figure materialized before Wu Wang.

He recognized the familiar, piercing cold and savagery in her eyes.

Before the 【Relic Scramble】, he had spent ten full days with this madwoman, giving him some insight into her various personalities.

Her primary personality was the crazy, unhinged Zhuge Yue.

Then there was the one who was like an ice cellar, radiating pure killing intent. That was "Zhuge Yue (Battle-axe)".

Another had the naive mind and actions of a child, "Zhuge Yue (Jade)".

Two others appeared less frequently, "Zhuge Le" and a different "Zhuge Yue". Wu Wang had only met each once. They were quiet and reserved, so he hadn't been able to get a good read on them.

But the woman before him now was clearly "Zhuge Yue (Battle-axe)".

Just like her namesake, she was an avatar of slaughter.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Surprisingly, the battle-axe persona used no weapons. She simply raised her fists and smashed them at Wu Wang.

Her speed was normally far beyond what he could track.

But with the future sight from the 【Eye of the Prophet】, plus a ninety-percent boost to his reaction speed and dynamic vision from the 【Xidiao Special Drink】, he could just barely react.

In the split second before her fists landed, he managed to block his vitals with 【A Certain Lio's Pipe Wrench】.

What surprised him even more was the power behind those fists, which far exceeded his imagination.

Each blow felt like being rammed by a high-speed train. The shockwaves that traveled through the pipe wrench were enough to make his organs churn.

This madwoman's punches hit harder than most weapons!

Every strike sent Wu Wang flying several meters.

If not for his 【Big Dipper Seven Star Steps】, which allowed him to adjust his trajectory mid-air, he would have been slammed into the wall like a nail, impossible to pry out.

"Still acting so tough? Weren't you going to kill me? Why aren't you fighting back?!"

"As if trash like you could ever kill me!"

The battle-axe persona's voice was dripping with hostility as her fists flew, leaving afterimages in their wake. She suppressed him completely, leaving him no room to maneuver.

But in the next second, a blurry image of a building flashed through her mind.

It was a semicircular structure, standing like a fortress against a harsh, blizzard-wracked wind. The compound was nearly the size of a small village.

A girl, no older than ten and wearing only a thin patient gown, lay prone in the snow.

Her eyes, like those of a frightened rabbit, were fixed on the building.

She knew that if the people inside discovered she had escaped, death would be her only reward.

"Pluto Research Institute. The place I was born, the place I lived."

"I used to love everyone there. I thought this was how all people lived."

"Then I discovered I was just a test subject they had cultivated to find a certain monster. My ultimate purpose was to be killed by that monster."

"They weren't my parents. I wasn't even human."

"Because I've seen the other monster... the one that gave birth to me..."

Memory fragments flickered through the battle-axe persona's mind, and her entire body trembled as if in immense pain.

Above her, the 【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】 hovered with a mocking gaze. It was affecting her mind, forcing her to speak the painful truths buried deep in her heart.

Clap!

In the instant she was lost in her memories, a pair of strong hands clamped down on her fists.

With a sudden pull, Wu Wang yanked her into an embrace.

They were pressed tightly together. She keenly sensed something between their chests, rapidly growing hotter.

【Ion Melting Agent (Epic)】. After use, it performs a high-temperature melting process on any object it touches. It is suitable for melting and shaping metallic materials that are difficult to alter. Duration is one minute.

【Note. An outstanding and rare support item for equipment forgers! Feel free to call the Goblin Green-Skin Shop to make a purchase!】

It was an item for forging equipment, meant to melt materials too tough for other methods.

Now, Wu Wang was using it to melt a human body. It was a bizarre and chilling sight.

Clatter!

In the blink of an eye, Zhuge Yue's figure vanished. She had clearly used some kind of escape skill.

Only half of Wu Wang was left on the ground.

He had already melted halfway. When he lifted his head, his face was devoid of flesh, leaving a bare white skull whose empty sockets stared up at the skyscraper.

The next second, his heart completely dissolved. The vial of 【Ion Melting Agent】 fell to the ground.

Then, he was standing there again, perfectly intact.

"Find, oh~ find, oh~ find a friend~"

"Found myself a good friend!"

As Wu Wang neurotically sang the nursery rhyme, he vanished from the spot.

He reappeared instantly on top of the skyscraper, right in front of the escaping Zhuge Yue.

He raised the tattered sword in his other hand and brought it down in a vicious arc.

"Eat shit!"

【Xiaochuan Broken Sword】!

【Special Effect 2 (Fated One)】. The sword locks onto a target. For the next ten minutes, the user gains three instant teleports to any location within a two-meter radius of that target.

Even though he had appeared right behind her, his broken sword less than five centimeters from her head, his swing was still too slow in her eyes.

"Hmph! An attack this slow could never…"

But as she easily sidestepped the swing, her body moved on its own.

Her hands flew up uncontrollably. In the next second, she dropped to one knee, her hands clasping together.

【100% Caught Bare-handed】!

The moment her palms touched the blade of the broken sword, a powerful shock coursed through her mind.

Compounded by the mental harassment from the 【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】, the battle-axe persona fell to the ground in a wretched heap.

Her mouth began to speak against her will.

"ZG2233. That was my first name. A ridiculous serial number, but it was the only one I had for my entire childhood."

"The monster that gave birth to me is called 【Irmyui of the Abyss】."

"The people from the Pluto Research Institute brought her out of an Instance World."

"I am the child of an Instance Creature. No, a product."

"Because before me, she had many other children."

"Unfortunately, they all died."

"I am the final creation."