The Soft-Hearted Ran Jiuyi

The visceral sensation of the strike confirmed it: Ran Jiu’yi’s blow had precisely pulverized Ken’s heart.

“You…”

Ken struggled to speak, but Ran Jiu’yi gave him no opening. Countless sharp spikes erupted from her arm embedded in his chest, beginning to swirl and churn. In an instant, the serrated flow shredded Ken’s torso from the inside out.

With such a devastating blow, Ken collapsed weakly to the ground.

“Looks like I won the bet,” Meng Shan said with a weary smile as he watched Ran Jiu’yi arrive. “I knew you’d show up and take care of him like it was nothing.”

Ran Jiu’yi didn’t say a word. She moved silently to Meng Shan’s side and began fumbling with the exoskeleton, trying to find a way to open it. After struggling for a while without success, she snapped impatiently, “Hurry up and open this tin can! Fast, fast!”

“Don’t be so restless, I’m doing it. System, open armor.” At Meng Shan’s command, the suit used its final dregs of power to pop the rear hatch. “See? I’m out.”

“And you even used your Ascension Form. You must have been in quite a hurry.”

Ran Jiu’yi remained silent, wordlessly hoisting Meng Shan out. Seeing him covered in blood, she swiftly jabbed an Eclipse Needle into his arm. As a massive surge of vitality poured in, Meng Shan felt the agonizing pain and weakness recede significantly.

Looking at her treating him, Meng Shan spoke up quickly: “I’m fine, go treat the girls first! Their injuries are much worse!”

“You’re a bit late; I’m already channeling life force to them. Magical girls have incredible self-healing; they’ll be fine.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Meng Shan let out a long breath of relief. “As long as they’re okay. You came just in time.”

Ran Jiu’yi’s expression darkened slightly. “Yeah… just a bit late.”

Meng Shan nodded. “True. It would’ve been better if you’d arrived before my suit and sniper rifle were trashed. You have no idea how expensive those two things are.”

After that battle, both the exoskeleton and the electromagnetic rifle were total scrap. These were high-precision instruments; Meng Shan didn’t even know who could fix them.

While transferring life force, Ran Jiu’yi scanned Meng Shan’s body. “Looks like you just took a few bumps. Nothing life-threatening.”

“Yeah, I got lucky this time. A blessing in disguise.”

“Do you feel any discomfort anywhere else?”

Meng Shan stretched his limbs. “Much better. Your treatment is quite effective.”

Ran Jiu’yi nodded. “Good. That means I can hit you without worrying.”

“?”

Before Meng Shan could react, Ran Jiu’yi delivered a sharp slap across his face. “Are you out of your damn mind?! Didn’t you know to wait for me?!”

“You could clearly see this enemy was stronger than expected, yet you still chose to fight! Look at the mess you made! If I hadn’t come, I’d be picking up four corpses right now!”

Although the slap looked forceful, Meng Shan didn’t feel much pain; she had clearly pulled her strength at the last second. Faced with her fury, Meng Shan stammered, “…Uh, I wasn’t sure you’d come. I apologized to you before, and you didn’t answer me.”

“Then come find me! Let me ask you—do I look like the type of person who leaves people to die? Am I someone who ignores everything just because I’m angry?”

Recognizing she was genuinely livid, Meng Shan answered diplomatically: “Not really, but we haven’t known each other long, so I couldn’t be certain.”

This answer only added fuel to the fire. “What do you mean you ‘couldn’t be certain’?! If you weren’t sure, couldn’t you have come and checked in person?!”

“Ken was already on a killing spree in the city. I was afraid the girls would charge out without me if I didn’t stay to lead them, so I couldn’t go looking for you.”

“So instead, you took those three weaklings to go commit suicide? Even if you didn’t know at first, with your experience, you should have realized you couldn’t beat him the moment you traded blows. So tell me—why didn’t you take them and run?!”

Recalling the sequence of events, Meng Shan explained, “It was like this: when we first engaged Ken, he was strong, but I was confident I could take him down using the traps and the plan I’d prepared.”

“Who knew that after taking a bullet to the brain, he’d just lock his health, resurrect, and transform? I’ve never seen that before, so I didn’t arrange a retreat immediately.”

Ran Jiu’yi interrupted, “You mean after you dealt a fatal blow, he entered a near-death state and started healing while refusing to die?”

“Not exactly,” Meng Shan shook his head. “It felt more like an evolution.”

As they spoke, Ken’s body—despite the massive hole in his chest—began to throb again. Wafts of blue steam rose from his skin once more, and the wound began to knit together visibly.

Meng Shan pointed at the body. “See? Exactly like that.”

“Hmm… you’re right.” After a careful look, Ran Jiu’yi reached the same conclusion. “It seems to be an ability that violently consumes mana to boost strength and recovery in a short burst. But an ability like that should be triggered consciously. Why is he triggering it while unconscious?”

“I don’t know,” Meng Shan said. “I thought you might. Anyway, can you make sure he stays down this time?”

“Easily.”

Using the corrosion points left behind from when Ken was wounded by her armor earlier, Ran Jiu’yi began to relentlessly drain Ken’s life force. Before long, his body stopped throbbing, and the steam vanished.

“Though, this is the first time I’ve seen this too. How could I possibly kn—” She stopped mid-sentence as Cheng Ya’s face flashed in her mind. “Damn. Actually, I might know. I’ll tell you after I confirm it.”

Meng Shan didn’t pry. “Fine, we’ll talk about that later.”

“Anyway, to beat him, we used up almost all our mana and conventional firepower. Who knew he could do ‘power-up sit-ups’ like that? By the time he got back up, the girls were tapped out and my gear was broken. Running wasn’t an option.”

Hearing this, Ran Jiu’yi’s anger dissipated significantly. “Then it really wasn’t your fault. In a freak situation like that, it’s normal for things to go sideways.”

Meng Shan continued, “True. I actually had a few escape plans ready, but because Ken threatened to kill the citizens, the girls refused to leave. I had no choice but to engage.”

“So it is your problem!” Her fire flared up again. “If they wouldn’t go, couldn’t you have lied to them?! Or be firm and tie them up if you had to!”

“The situation was urgent,” Meng Shan replied. “I saw they were about to rush out and throw their lives away. To buy them as much time as possible, I rushed out first to draw Ken’s attention.”

This explanation failed to convince her. She fumed, “You were the first to rush out? Don’t you realize that out of the four of you, you’re the easiest one to kill?! And you still went first!”

“I know. I understand everything you’re saying,” Meng Shan’s voice lowered. “But I’m also the one with the most combat experience. Against an enemy this much stronger than us, I’m the only one who could stall for time effectively.”

“And what were you stalling for?! To die a few minutes later?!”

“To wait for you. Because I believed you would come.”

This answer silenced her. After a long moment, Ran Jiu’yi finally spoke: “Stop trying to trick me with sweet talk. You just said you weren’t sure I’d come.”

Meng Shan didn’t answer immediately. He stared at her visor. He couldn’t see her eyes, but he knew she had looked away.

“I said that because I thought there were things you didn’t want to hear. Because what I have to say is the same thing that made you leave in a huff last time.”

Without hesitation, Ran Jiu’yi gestured for him to continue. She didn’t think he could say anything new. “Go on. Whatever it is, I’ll listen.”

“Fine. I’ll say it.” Meng Shan continued, “Just like I guessed back then, you once abandoned your teammates out of a fear of death, and they died because of it. For someone who is actually gentle at heart, that must be impossible to accept.”

Ran Jiu’yi laughed. “Gentle? Me? Where do I look gentle?”

“In every way. You have the power to run rampant in this country, yet most of the time you are incredibly restrained, always pulling your punches.”

“Especially with the trio. You fought them twice; they were trying to kill you, but you only gave them light injuries. I think, rather than fighting, you were tempering them—showing them how dangerous being a Magical Girl really is.”

“And then there’s me. Even though you’re far stronger, you didn’t do anything to me when I was being provocative. It would be easy for you to crush me with force, but you never have.”

Ran Jiu’yi fell silent. Meng Shan pressed on: “Back to the point. Your teammates died because of you, and you can’t live with that. I think you never want to see that happen again for the rest of your life.”

“So, the reason I believed you would come is because, in your heart, we already carry a fair amount of weight, don’t we?”

A thousand arguments rose in her mind, but they all dissolved into a single sigh.

“Sigh… fine. I don’t really want to admit it, but you’re right. I might actually… like you guys.”

Meng Shan added helpfully: “Plus, I was at my wit’s end. I had no one else to count on but you.”

Ran Jiu’yi glared at him. “That last part was unnecessary! Do you even know how to read the room?! I was finally having a touching moment, and you ruined it!”