This time, "time travel" felt different for Fang Zheng.
If his previous experiences of time travel felt like he was on a speeding train or a similar vehicle, racing at high speed, then this time it felt as if something around him was gradually expanding. It was as if the space they were in had broken through some barrier and connected with other dimensions.
Not long after, Fang Zheng felt as if the space around him had closed up again, and then, the pitch-black world that was before his eyes changed into another scene altogether.
Fang Zheng turned his head to look around, and as the lights faded, a city filled with exotic charm appeared before him...
Where is this? It seems like some country in Europe...
While making sarcastic remarks, Fang Zheng took another careful look around. Unlike the dead silence of the previous world, it was evident here that people had lived, and the streets were filled with cars. However, from the state of these vehicles, it seemed their owners had abandoned them in the face of some sudden crisis. Some were even left with the car doors open, and if it weren’t for the absence of bodies and blood, Fang Zheng might have thought this was a scene from Resident Evil.
But besides that, Fang Zheng noticed something else.
"What’s going on here?"
When he lowered his head, Fang Zheng realized that everything within a few dozen meters around him and Yoshino seemed as if it had been shattered by an explosion. At the same time, Fang Zheng could sense the space around them had clearly trembled.
"Ah... Mr. Fang Zheng..."
Just then, Yoshino, who was in Fang Zheng’s arms, also opened her eyes and smiled happily upon seeing Fang Zheng.
"I’m so glad... you’re still here..."
"I told you, I’d be by your side."
Looking at Yoshino before him, Fang Zheng smiled and reached out to pat her head, then looked forward again.
"But you said someone was going to attack you? Where are they?"
At that moment, following Yoshino’s words, Fang Zheng quickly saw a cluster of black dots appear on the distant horizon. Seeing those black dots, Fang Zheng stepped forward to stand in front of Yoshino while flames erupted from his body, quickly forming the armor of the Farron Undead Legion.
As Fang Zheng focused to see the true faces of these enemies, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
In the sky were a group of teenage girls, roughly high school age around sixteen or seventeen, dressed in strange battle armors that looked both embarrassing and impractical. They wore something similar to a one-piece swimsuit, tightly covering their bodies, then equipped with strange, armor-like appendages at various places. Each of these girls was armed, showing a menacing intent as they rushed toward Fang Zheng and Yoshino.
Seeing the girls before him, Fang Zheng stood frozen. When Yoshino had mentioned it earlier, Fang Zheng had imagined that those pursuing her would be a group of vile-looking men in black or muscular types, and now a group of youthful girls wielding weapons to bully a child... Was there something wrong with this script?
As Fang Zheng doubted life itself, these girls in unique battle armor had already reached not far ahead of them. Upon seeing Fang Zheng and Yoshino, the girls were shocked.
"There are two elves at once!"
"Attack immediately, eliminate them!"
Watching the girls, Fang Zheng initially raised his hand to signal and wanted to say something to them, but these girls seemed to have no intention of communicating with Fang Zheng. Instead, as Fang Zheng raised his hand, they also immediately aimed their weapons at Fang Zheng and Yoshino and launched an attack.
Countless bullets rained down, enveloping the pair. Faced with the bullets flying toward them, Fang Zheng reluctantly waved his hand, and as he moved, flames suddenly soared up, forming a wall in front of them.
Upon hearing the dense gunfire, Yoshino softly cried out and hid in Fang Zheng’s embrace.
"Mr. Fang Zheng... let’s leave... I’m scared..."
"Don’t be scared... What did you do before?"
"I... I always just ran away..."
This would not solve the problem.
Seeing Yoshino with tears welling up in her eyes, Fang Zheng also shook his head. He had asked Yoshino before why she was being attacked, but the young girl herself could not clearly articulate the reasons. However, given Yoshino’s personality, trying to inquire about these matters was somewhat challenging.
But for Fang Zheng, this was not a problem.
Just as Fang Zheng was asking Yoshino these couple of sentences, suddenly, a series of explosions erupted around them, frightening Yoshino into trembling and shrinking back into Fang Zheng’s embrace. At the same time, she also lifted her head, looking anxiously at Fang Zheng.
"Mr. Fang Zheng... you’re not hurt, are you? Let’s leave this place quickly, I don’t want to fight them... because it will definitely be very painful..."
"Don’t be nervous, Yoshino, this level of attack can’t hurt me."
Upon hearing Yoshino’s request, Fang Zheng soothed her a bit, telling her not to be so tense. At the same time, deep inside, Fang Zheng was infuriated with this group of girls who inexplicably came to stir up trouble. Hey, what’s going on with you girls? I just showed up and haven’t even spoken a word, and you block me and start attacking out of nowhere, even using missiles?
I do have a face to lose!
"Close your eyes, Yoshino."
Thinking this, Fang Zheng was defending against the girls’ attacks with Primordial Fire while he spoke to Yoshino. Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Yoshino obediently nodded, then hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.
"... Brother Fang Zheng, if possible, please don’t be too rough on them..."
"Don’t worry, I won’t let their bodies suffer any harm."
Hearing Yoshino’s request, Fang Zheng sighed deeply inside. This young girl was simply too kind-hearted; others treated her as a mortal enemy and wished to beat her to death, yet she was still worried about whether they would get hurt. But Fang Zheng had not planned to physically torment those girls; after all, he was the incarnation of a Giant Dragon, the sovereign of the Zerg, and bullying a group of high school girls here was just too beneath him!
To deal with them, Fang Zheng didn’t even need to lift a finger.
The innocent Yoshino obviously did not think too much. Seeing that Fang Zheng had agreed to her request, Yoshino happily nodded and obediently closed her eyes, burrowing back into Fang Zheng’s embrace. Meanwhile, Fang Zheng, with one arm holding Yoshino’s delicate body, looked forward, then his expression darkened, and he snorted coldly.
Fang Zheng’s voice was not loud, but those girls who were still furiously attacking the ground targets felt as if a thunderclap had exploded right next to their ears, penetrating deep into their souls. The sudden burst of Dragon Might made these girls almost lose resistance instantly, and then one by one, they fell unconscious, tumbling to the ground.
Within just a few seconds, those girls who had been striking impressive poses in the sky were now lying all over the ground, unresponsive.
"It seems these girls are not simple either."
Looking at the unconscious girls on the ground, Fang Zheng commented. One must know that these girls were previously flying in the sky. After losing consciousness, they fell down, and usually, a fall from such a height would be deadly or crippling, but these girls seemed to have some sort of protective device that cushioned the impact. So although they had lost consciousness and fell to the ground, they did not seem to have sustained any obvious injuries.
Of course, whether there were psychological traumas was another matter.
But Fang Zheng was not going to consider the feelings of those who brandished weapons and attacked others without a word.
"Alright, open your eyes."
Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Yoshino then opened her eyes, but when she saw the situation before her, she was startled.
"Mr. Fang Zheng? What happened to them..."
"Oh, I just put them to sleep."
Fang Zheng appeared quite calm.
"We can’t just let them chase us, so I used a little trick to put them to sleep, and now we can leave... But before that," Fang Zheng said as he walked over to the unconscious girls, narrowing his eyes to scrutinize them closely.