After a few seconds of silence, Bronya suddenly turned her head away. The tension in her tone eased quite a bit, replaced instead with a blunt hint of disdain,
"But after meeting you, the image I had of you has shattered down to molecules.
You, are nowhere near as perfect as Kiana☆ and Sister Mei☆ made you out to be! Just how thick was the filter they put on you in their minds?!"
Fu Lin nodded as if taking her words seriously, though his gaze had already drifted to the leg she still had braced against the wall, "Filters, huh. Probably about… a billion layers thick. But anyway, could you put your leg down first? Isn't it uncomfortable keeping it raised like that?"
Only then did Bronya belatedly realize she was still in the posture of a "leg-slam." A faint blush skimmed the tips of her ears. She jerked her leg back, the heel of her boot knocking loose several flakes of wall dust as it left the surface.
Trying to act composed, she brushed her clothes with a calm motion, attempting to mask her earlier slip with a cold tone, "You still haven't explained how the Honkai-energy erosion on Squad Member Adam was cleared."
Fu Lin straightened up, casually flicking the dust off his shoulder, sounding a little helpless, "I really can't explain that in detail, I don't even understand the principle myself. I just did this, then that, and the erosion on him was gone."
Bronya was about to press further when a sharp monster screech rang out from afar. She turned abruptly, drew her weapon, and said, "How persistent!"
"Probably because you just made too much noise a moment ago." He glanced at Bronya with a teasing note in his voice. "Judging by the footsteps, it's not just small fry. Seems like a 'big guy' is following behind them too."
He paused, then added, "Big Duck, want help later?"
A cold glint flashed in Bronya's blue eyes. Not only was she not nervous about the approaching monsters, she even turned and glared at him, "Big Duck? This is our first meeting. Who gave you permission to make up nicknames?"
"Isn't it fitting?" Fu Lin shrugged, sounding perfectly justified. "You were called 'Little Duck' when you were young, so 'Big Duck' now that you've grown. Flows right off the tongue. What's wrong with it?"
Bronya was choked by his confident tone. She inhaled deeply to suppress her irritation and swept her blue eyes over Fu Lin, "The two members of Squad Two are currently scouting nearby. I've already sent them the coordinates. They'll arrive shortly. So just stand aside and watch."
"Sure you don't need help?" Fu Lin leaned forward a little, his tone deliberately coaxing. "Call me big brother and I'll help you dismantle that 'big guy' right away. How about it?"
Kiana☆, …Fu Lin is acting up again!
"Childish."
Bronya commented without mercy. As soon as her words fell, the "big guy" finally appeared from around the corner.
Fu Lin instantly dropped his playful expression as his gaze settled on it, "Hm, it really does look like Schicksal's Aesir Heimdal. In that case, why not have a 'True vs. Fake' showdown? Let's see whether the imitation made by those sky-folk is stronger, or if bona fide Schicksal tech comes out on top."
As he spoke, he shrugged. A blue glow spread across his palm, the light swirling, and then a massive, snow-white mech thundered onto the ground, the actual Aesir Heimdal.
"How do you have the Herrscher of Reason's ability?" Bronya's face instantly hardened, grey eyes filled with shock.
"Don't look so surprised." Fu Lin lifted his gaze to her, lips curved in a lazy smirk. "My abilities exceed your imagination."
Almost at the same time, the Code IV - The Emperor lit up with a piercing red glow in its eye sensors. As if locking onto a target, it began advancing heavily toward them.
"Oh? Not running away but walking toward me?" Fu Lin's tone held amusement.
Before the words finished, he lifted his hand in a miming grasp.
The Heimdall mecha immediately mirrored the action, marching forward to meet the "counterfeit."
In an instant, the two similarly-built mechs, one white, one black, faced each other from a distance, their metal shells reflecting starkly different lights in the gloom.
The opposing pressure filled the air, freezing even the atmosphere from the tension.
Bronya ignored the mech standoff and instead turned toward the swarming lesser monsters, speaking calmly, "I'll deal with these small fry."
Before she finished, the Quantum Hand Cannon in her palm had already gathered a pale-blue energy sphere. She sidestepped a charging monster, rotated her wrist, and aimed precisely at its core.
With a muffled bang, the sphere detonated, and the creature dissolved into scattering particles.
Adam had also sensed the battle outside and rushed out with his weapon.
But the monsters seemed endless. Even after clearing wave after wave, before either could catch their breath, another monster slipped behind them, its claws gleaming coldly as they lunged straight for her back.
At that critical moment, a gunshot cracked from high above. A bullet drilled right through the monster's core, dropping it instantly.
Moments later, a pink figure landed from above.
The girl moved swiftly, her ice-coated boots sweeping out, dispatching the monsters gathering around her with crisp, practiced motions, still tinged with a bit of youthful earnestness.
"Hello~" From above, a boy whistled, slinging a sniper rifle over his shoulder as he waved excitedly.
Bronya glanced at the two of them. Her voice remained steady, but it carried a faint touch of relief, "You arrived at the perfect time."
The pink-haired girl, Timido, flushed at the ears and nodded nervously, "Th-thank you for the praise, Captain! I'll keep working hard!"
Fu Lin's gaze drifted to the pink-haired girl. The moment his eyes froze for two seconds at that… remarkable scale, a sudden chill swept across the back of his neck.
In that chill, he sensed a familiar hint of reproach.
Fu Lin quickly averted his eyes toward the moon, swallowing, Kiana☆ isn't watching this, right?
"Silly Fu Lin. I have that too! Just… not as… big as hers…" Kiana☆'s indignant voice rose, and she subconsciously patted her own chest, clearly dissatisfied.
But when she actually saw the pink-haired girl's generous figure, she froze for a moment, unable to help staring as well. Then she mumbled softly, full of confusion and frustration,
"H-how did she grow that big?"
Sure enough, whether male or female, seeing something fair, soft, big, and sweet… it instinctively draws the eyes.
Back in the Bay, the boy from Squad Two was completely captivated by the distant mech standoff.
His eyes were wide as saucers.
"Whoa, this scene is insane! Captain, where did you get that Heimdall!?"
"Cadet Collodi, focus on the battle."
Bronya's firm, unquestionable tone cut through his curiosity.
The boy immediately straightened up, resetting his sniper rifle stance, voice turning serious,
"Yes, Captain! Leave suppressing fire to me, I won't let any monsters reach you!"
In the next second, he pulled the trigger again, the bullet piercing another monster attempting to ambush Fu Lin.
Fu Lin glanced at the dissolving particles at his feet, then looked up and gave the boy a thumbs-up with a playful tone, "Nice shot. Let's play games together sometime, little bro."
Lyle flicked his hair and replied, "Sure."