"It's you!" Hearing that familiar voice, Lin Zhiyuan, who had been busy, whipped his head around and instinctively retreated several steps.
"That's right, it's me, nya," Pardo said, arms crossed. "I just did a lot of restocking in your base for an item called Credits—about two million of them. Want to buy them back? I'll sell you one Credit for the price of two. With a twenty percent discount, that's just one point six Credits for every one Credit. Isn't that a bargain?"
Lin Zhiyuan's face twitched. This was the equivalent of using one point six dollars to buy one dollar; aside from losing zero point six Credits, there was no benefit whatsoever. Did this person really take him for a fool?
But before he could speak, his vision suddenly went black.
When he regained consciousness a second later, he found himself lying on the ground for some unknown reason. Before he could even scramble up, his eyes widened in shock as he heard a voice that should have been impossible to hear.
"Cifera is right here! Now, immediately, everyone go and capture her! Remember, I want her alive! I have used a special method to seal her abilities. Whoever catches her, I will reward that person with one million Credits!"
It was his own voice.
The moment those words left the speaker's mouth, every staff member—whether combat personnel or researchers—saw red. Their gaze toward Pardo Philitis was as if they were looking at a walking pile of treasure.
In the next instant, a massive crowd charged toward Cipher's location, grabbing and lunging with everything they had to snatch that million-Credit reward.
"The million is mine! Nobody get in my way!"
"One million! With that, I'll never have to work again!"
"I must be the one to get it!"
"..."
"Wait! He's a fake! You've been tricked! There is no million! Let me up... Argh!!! Who stepped on me?!"
After a few seconds, Lin Zhiyuan realized someone was impersonating him to incite chaos. He hurriedly looked up and shouted, trying to stop the frantic mob.
However, the crowd was far too noisy and chaotic. Because he had fallen to the ground, someone stepped squarely on his hand before he could even finish his sentence.
"Agh! My hand! Let go! Get off! I am the real Dr. Lin! Are you all blind?! If you keep this up, I'll have you all... Oowww!!!"
Before he could get up, Lin Zhiyuan was shoved off balance by the surging crowd and fell again. What followed was a barrage of trampling feet hitting his limbs, torso, and head, forcibly preventing him from speaking further.
"Yikes. That looks like it hurts."
Standing nearby, Pardo Philitis witnessed the entire scene and sucked in a breath of cold air.
She was currently leaping nimbly along the walls, observing the crowd below. She could have simply had Bartholos open a portal to leave, but for some reason, a fun idea had popped into her head.
What if she impersonated Lin Zhiyuan, told them to catch her, and promised a million Credits? How much of a stir would that cause?
No sooner said than done. First, she used divine power to trip the real Lin Zhiyuan. Then, she created a clone that looked exactly like him to stand in her original position. Finally, she deactivated Chrono Surge, leading to the scene just now.
In this manner, Pardo Philitis "led" the mob of people who wanted to catch her on a grand tour of the facility. They ran from the main hall to the research hall, then through the break areas, entertainment zones, and every other public sector in the base.
Whenever they encountered confused personnel, Pardo manipulated her clone to shout the same command. Instantly, those bystanders became part of the hunting party.
Throughout the process, she maintained a look of constant terror, stumbling occasionally or pretending to gasp for air. She even allowed the pursuers' hands to come within a single centimeter of her, making them feel like they were just one step away from success. No matter how hard they tried, however, they remained perpetually "just a bit short."
The chase lasted for an hour before Pardo finally stopped.
The original hunting party of hundreds had dwindled down to a dozen or so survivors.
"Huff... huff... You... you finally... finally can't run anymore... Just... surrender!"
The pursuers behind her, seeing Pardo stop, assumed she had finally hit her limit. They slowed to a halt, panting heavily as they yelled at her.
However, Pardo Philitis simply shook her head. She turned around and looked at the dozen or so exhausted men.
"Not quite, nya. I just saw that you were all about to die of exhaustion, and the game wasn't fun anymore. So, I'll tell you the truth."
"What... what truth? What are you trying to do!"
The pursuers were baffled, but seeing Pardo's relaxed expression, they immediately felt something was wrong.
"Haven't you noticed?" Pardo pointed her finger at the "Dr. Lin" who was still standing with the group. "Your Dr. Lin is only a C-rank ability user and a researcher. Why is it that after chasing with you for an hour, he doesn't seem to be affected at all?"
At her reminder, the pursuers finally reacted. They looked at the "Dr. Lin" who had been silently running behind them.
This Dr. Lin, who had been sprinting for an hour, showed no redness in his face, no shortness of breath, and a perfectly steady heartbeat. Meanwhile, these combat personnel were all panting like dogs!
"Could it be..." One pursuer realized, his eyes widening in disbelief. "This Dr. Lin is a fake?!"
"Bingo! You guessed right, nya. Too bad there's no reward." At that moment, "Dr. Lin" spoke again. This time, it wasn't Lin Zhiyuan's voice, but the familiar voice of the person they had been chasing: Pardo Philitis.
A cloud of white mist erupted, and "Dr. Lin" transformed into Pardo Philitis.
"This is my clone. Pretty impressive, right?"
With that, the clone Pardo walked over to stand beside the original.
"Alright, I'm done playing with you. I'll be taking my leave now. Oh, and as a friendly tip, the real Dr. Lin is right here." Pardo pointed to a middle-aged man in a dusty white lab coat who was currently lying face-down on the ground. "Bartholos, let's go."
As soon as she spoke, a blue portal appeared beside Pardo.
The two Pardos waved at the group of utterly bewildered pursuers and stepped into the portal.
The portal closed, leaving only Pardo's final words echoing in the air.
"I had a lot of fun. See you again if fate allows, nya~!"