No! Wait a minute!

At the Bai residence.

A crisp sound of the door opening came from the entrance.

In the living room, Third Mom’s eyes lit up.

She sprang from the sofa and hurried toward the door, calling out, “Why are you back so…”

Before she could finish, Third Mom reached the hallway and froze.

Standing at the door was not the Bai Long she had expected, but another familiar figure.

The girl wore a black-and-red JK uniform.

Her long, jet-black hair fell softly over her shoulders.

Her skin was startlingly pale.

Her face carried little expression, a bit cold.

Only her red eyes, when they fixed on someone, seemed to hold a strange magnetism that made hearts beat faster.

Bai Shuang looked at the stunned Third Mom and nodded lightly.

“Third Mom, I’m back.”

Third Mom was surprised, unsure what had happened.

But she didn’t press.

After Bai Shuang changed her shoes, Third Mom naturally stepped forward, took the shoes, and neatly put them away.

Then Third Mom led Bai Shuang to the dining room.

Seeing the cold dishes on the table and the coffee someone had been drinking like lifeblood, Third Mom turned and went into the kitchen.

She carried the cold dishes one by one to the stove to reheat, asking as she worked, “What’s wrong, Shuangshuang? You wouldn’t normally change back outside for no reason, right?”

Bai Shuang didn’t answer immediately.

With a thought, a halo emitting golden light suddenly appeared above her head.

She raised her hand, took off the halo, and placed it on the center of the table.

While drinking the cold coffee, she asked the halo, “What’s going on? Why did I suddenly change back on the street?”

The halo trembled slightly.

Its electronic voice carried clear caution.

[Master, you should remember that borrowing equipment has a cost, right?]

Bai Shuang nodded lightly.

“You said so.”

The halo paused, then tentatively asked.

[Then… you remember my full name, right?]

Bai Shuang blinked, a trace of confusion in her eyes.

“Isn’t your name Halo?”

Halo: […]

[Isn’t it?]

Halo’s electronic voice was thick with helplessness and grievance.

[I… I need some time alone.]

Bai Shuang tilted her head, confused.

Her long black hair slid over her shoulder, looking a bit cute.

Seeing that Halo had temporarily gone silent, she didn’t press further.

She simply reached out with her pale fingers and grasped the halo on the table.

After her fingertips touched the halo for a moment, a window lit up on its surface.

[Ability Name: Protagonist Halo]

Bai Shuang stared at the words, stunned.

The memories from before she became a soldier king had already fully merged, but now she was more accustomed to using Bai Long’s experience.

Seeing the full name now, she thought back.

It seemed Halo really was called that.

Bai Shuang withdrew her thoughts and continued asking, “So? What does that have to do with me suddenly changing back?”

Halo’s light flickered, and its electronic voice became clearer.

[Master, under the Protagonist Halo state, the mall lends you various melee weapons.]

[And do you remember what you need to do to become male?]

“Reverse the halo.”

[Yes, master,] Halo responded. [Under the reversed state, the Protagonist Halo becomes the Villain Halo.]

Bai Shuang was taken aback, a flash of blankness in her red eyes.

Then she nodded dully.

“Quite reasonable.”

Halo: [Different halo states consume different energy. Under the Protagonist Halo state, using abilities consumes ‘Protagonist Points’. Correspondingly, under the Villain Halo state, it consumes ‘Villain Points’.]

[During your previous battle in Eternal Night City, you used a large amount of Villain Points for the Villain Halo’s abilities, and you received no subsequent compensation.]

[Moreover, the Villain Halo’s continued existence itself consumes Villain Points. When the energy ran out, I was forcibly reversed back to the Protagonist Halo state, and your form reverted accordingly.]

Bai Shuang listened and nodded.

“How do I gain Villain Points?”

Halo: [There are two methods.]

[First, you are recognized as a villain in some people’s minds.]

[Whenever someone thinks of you as a villain or has a similar tendency in camp recognition, you gain corresponding Villain Points.]

Bai Shuang lowered her eyes, pondered for two seconds, then looked up.

“So… should I go rob a bank now?”

Halo: [???]

“I was joking.”

[You scared me…] Halo let out a long breath. [The other method is to consume your Protagonist Points. The Protagonist Points you consume will be converted into Villain Points at a rate of 1%.]

“How many Protagonist Points do I have?”

Halo projected a pale blue light screen, clearly showing a number.

Bai Shuang glanced at the screen.

She closed her eyes.

“Why so many?”

[Because as long as you are in this current state, you continuously generate Protagonist Points for yourself.]

Bai Shuang opened her eyes, bewildered.

“Why?”

[With looks like yours, if you’re not the protagonist, heaven wouldn’t allow it!]

Bai Shuang lowered her head, thought calmly for a moment, then nodded.

“Makes sense.”

She withdrew her thoughts and looked at Halo.

“Since I have so many Protagonist Points, can I just borrow a few weapons to use?”

Halo’s light wavered slightly, its electronic voice sounding.

[Master, borrowing melee weapons is a bit different from borrowing firearms. Just borrowing won’t make it easy to return the Villain Points.]

Bai Shuang tilted her head, her red eyes blinking.

“Why?”

[The borrowing cost of melee weapons themselves is not high. What’s really expensive are the skills attached to the weapons. Those skill costs are the bulk.]

“What do you mean?”

Seeing that verbal explanation wasn’t enough, Halo expanded itself.

The small halo instantly grew to the size of a table, and several melee weapons of various shapes appeared on its surface.

[Try borrowing that longsword.]

Bai Shuang followed the instruction, reaching out and picking up the longsword from the halo’s surface.

The sword’s hilt was pure blue, the guard a dazzling gold.

Near the hilt, the blade had a blue-gold fixed ornament, and the blade was engraved with a fine foreign inscription.

Examining the sword carefully, Bai Shuang frowned slightly.

‘Why did this sword look so familiar…’

Before she could think further, Halo introduced it.

[Item Name: Sword of Promised Victory]

[Item Description: This is not a man-made weapon, but…]

‘Okay, no need to look. It was that thing.’

[Master, flip further. The important part is later,] Halo’s electronic voice chimed in.

Bai Shuang raised an eyebrow and flipped the description further.

The borrowing cost of this Sword of Promised Victory was one hundred Protagonist Points per use.

Not expensive at all.

The returned Villain Points were only one point.

The important part was below.

[Inherent Skill: Noble Phantasm Release]

[Skill Effect: Gather surrounding magic power, convert it into light energy, and release it from the front of the sword swung downward like a beam of light, destroying everything.]

[Cost: 1000~10,000,000 (determined by release power)]

Every melee weapon had an inherent skill as a backup.

Releasing these skills could often overturn a battle.

However, there was a limitation: after the skill was released, the corresponding melee weapon would be automatically recovered by the Halo and could not be used again.

Bai Shuang held the Sword of Promised Victory, nodded lightly, and looked seriously at Halo.

“So do I need to use the skill to truly understand its effect?”

Halo’s electronic voice immediately responded.

[Naturally, but…]

Before the second half of the sentence could finish, Halo saw its master slowly raise the longsword in her hand.

[No! Wait!]