Another Test of Strength

It was 11:00 AM when Ping Chengcheng returned home.

Having confined Song Ning for two days, and with the operation set to begin the day after, the girl planned to end her captivity.

‘I’ll keep her locked up again when Big Sister is disobedient~ Big Sister has been so well-behaved these past two days.’

In the master bedroom, the girl placed a set of new clothes on the bed, as Song Ning watched in surprise.

“Chengcheng?” Was Ping Chengcheng planning to release her?

It seemed Chengcheng’s mental state had improved slightly.

‘I’ll find a time to have a serious talk with Chengcheng about separating…’

The girl’s eyes were gentle as she said sweetly, “Big Sister has been very good and obedient these past two days…”

“I’ll let Big Sister go today, but… Big Sister must always be obedient, okay? You’re not allowed to leave me, and you’re not allowed to get close to anyone else.”

Ping Chengcheng approached the young woman, reaching out to stroke her long hair with a look of infatuated devotion.

“Otherwise…”

The girl’s voice turned cold, but she quickly changed her tone:

“Hehe, Big Sister is the best. You’ll definitely be obedient, right?”

But these words sent a shiver down Song Ning’s spine.

When she saw that Ping Chengcheng was going to release her, she had thought the girl’s condition had improved enough to bring up the topic of separation.

But now it seemed that it was still impossible.

“Mm… I understand,” Song Ning managed to squeeze out.

Ping Chengcheng’s love seemed too heavy, too terrifying…

“Click~”

The girl unlocked the collar around Song Ning’s neck, and the heavy alloy ring fell to the ground with a “clatter”.

Song Ning rubbed her collarbone, which had been sore from the pressure, and took a deep breath.

She felt much more comfortable. Wearing that collar for the past two days had made even breathing a little difficult.

She took the clothes Ping Chengcheng handed her and quickly put them on.

“Big Sister, the operation is starting the day after tomorrow. Have you tried the exoskeleton I gave you last time?”

Ping Chengcheng tilted her head.

“I haven’t been in a very good mood lately, so I forgot.”

Ping Chengcheng nodded. “Then let’s put it on and test it out. A City is very dangerous now, Big Sister…”

Song Ning hummed softly. “I think I put the exoskeleton in the closet last time.”

It had been taken away when the girl was tidying up the clothes a few days ago.

Ping Chengcheng retrieved the exoskeleton and the matching combat suit. Following the girl’s instructions, Song Ning quickly put it on. As the magnetic buckles clicked into place, the exoskeleton automatically conformed to her skin. The power unit on the back of the exoskeleton beeped and then flashed blue.

[First-generation [Night Age] successfully activated. Welcome, second pilot. Current energy level at 90%. Please state your name.]

“Hello, my name is Song Ning.”

[Welcome again, Miss Song Ning.]

Song Ning was amazed by the enhancements the exoskeleton provided.

It was clear that it had an extremely powerful strengthening effect on individual combat units.

Song Ning moved around casually, taking a few steps and lightly jumping.

Song Ning had the illusion that she was filled with endless power.

Perhaps it wasn’t an illusion.

Song Ning suddenly remembered that when Xiao An was worn by the girl, Xiao An’s voice could be heard by the people around her.

“Xiao An, is there an earpiece mode?”

“Yes, Miss Song Ning. Earpiece mode activated.”

A small earpiece gently covered Song Ning’s ear. This way, Song Ning could not only hear Xiao An’s voice, but it would also not affect her auditory awareness of the surrounding environment.

“By the way, how does this exoskeleton maintain its energy?”

Song Ning looked at Ping Chengcheng.

Ping Chengcheng had actually forgotten about this issue, but at this moment, Xiao An answered Song Ning’s question.

[Miss Song Ning, there are spare power cells stored in the two magnetic buckles on the sides of your waist. Tap the sides of your waist three times to open the spare energy core storage compartment. Xiao An can sustain “combat mode” for 72 hours, or “light load mode” for 96 hours. Remaining battery life: 93 hours and 21 minutes.]

Song Ning looked at the magnetic buckles on her waist. To be honest, they looked a bit bulky. She had assumed they were armor, but she didn’t expect they would be used to store power cells.

Opening the storage compartment revealed two mineral water bottle-sized power cells glowing blue.

Song Ning nodded to herself. That battery life was ridiculously long.

“Want to go for a walk, Big Sister?” the girl suggested.

Song Ning hummed in excitement. “Let’s go.”

She wanted to see what level of power she could wield while wearing this exoskeleton.

Unlike the first time Ping Chengcheng had worn it, Song Ning didn’t feel any sense of obstruction. This was thanks to her perfect control over her body now.

Ping Chengcheng followed Song Ning, somewhat surprised. It seemed that Big Sister was very suitable for operating exoskeleton armor. She wondered if she would be able to perfectly pilot the ultimate single-soldier mecha in the future.

At the entrance of the villa, Song Ning activated the light load mode on the exoskeleton, and the entire surface of the exoskeleton shimmered with red light.

“Chengcheng, want to have another match?”

The girl readily agreed. She also wanted to see how strong Song Ning was now.

“Then, Big Sister… I’m going to start?” Ping Chengcheng retreated to a distance of ten meters from the young woman.

“Come on.” As soon as Song Ning finished speaking, the girl transformed into a blur, rushing toward her at lightning speed!

Song Ning’s pupils constricted. Her impression of Ping Chengcheng’s true strength hadn’t been very clear before, but now it seemed that Ping Chengcheng had become much stronger!

But with the exoskeleton armor, she was no longer the same as before!

Although Ping Chengcheng’s movements were very fast, so fast that ordinary people could barely capture her actions, in Song Ning’s eyes, time seemed to slow down!

Song Ning was shocked. She had felt this way before, but never this intensely!

This feeling of time slowing down… She looked at Ping Chengcheng. Although the girl’s movements were fast, in Song Ning’s eyes, they were no different from the speed of an ordinary person.

Ping Chengcheng was feeling somewhat elated. She had approached Song Ning at lightning speed, but she saw Song Ning standing there watching her, without any reaction.

‘It seems… I’m still better than Big Sister~ That way, Big Sister will never be able to escape from my grasp…’

A smug smile played on her lips, and a faint bloody light flickered in her eyes.

However, what happened next was something Ping Chengcheng hadn’t expected.

The young woman who had been standing still suddenly erupted with a speed that was inconceivable, no less than the girl’s own. An arm suddenly lashed out, grabbing the girl’s wrist!

Caught off guard, Ping Chengcheng was pulled behind the young woman by her wrist. She almost lost her balance, and her pupils shrank to pinpoints.

‘Big Sister, wearing the exoskeleton armor, is actually this strong?’

‘It seems I can’t let my guard down either!’

No longer holding back, a scarlet glint flashed in the girl’s eyes!

“Big Sister… be careful!”

Gathering all her strength, a strange aura emanated from the girl, instantly breaking free of the young woman’s restraints! She retreated dozens of steps, standing seven or eight meters away from the young woman.

Song Ning’s eyes were grave.

“Xiao An, enter combat mode.”

[Yes, Miss Song Ning. Activating [Combat Mode].]

A dazzling mecha helmet covered Song Ning’s head, and the opaque black visor shimmered with a cold light.

Ping Chengcheng’s cute little face fell. “Oh no… Big Sister, never mind!”

‘Was giving the exoskeleton armor to Big Sister a mistake? Dammit… I feel like Big Sister is slipping out of my control…’

‘Never mind, at least Big Sister will be safer with this exoskeleton.’

Ping Chengcheng roughly estimated that Song Ning’s current strength was not much different from her own. If the girl used her abilities with all her might, she should be evenly matched with Song Ning in [Combat Mode], or perhaps gain a slight advantage with the Egg-Laying One armor.