Finding the small courtyard where Zero and One were staying did not take Yvette much time, after all, they were two young girls from out of town, beautiful and without adult supervision, making it easy for them to attract attention in a small place like Shalin Town.
As she folded her umbrella, raindrops dripped steadily from its surface. Yvette stepped into the courtyard and fixed her gaze on the two little girls, greeting them, “Hello.”
“Big sister, who are you?” asked the blonde girl.
She glanced at Yvette and then at her silver-haired companion, obviously wondering if these two resembled each other so closely in appearance due to being long-lost relatives.
Recalling One’s name, Yvette asked, “Are you Lianna Renee?”
“Yes…” Lianna responded anxiously.
“Yvette Loxvia?” Yvette then looked at the silver-haired girl, confirming that she was indeed Zero.
Zero did not respond, maintaining a look of disdain on her face as if she naturally looked down on anyone in the world except for Lianna. Even though the girl before her bore a striking resemblance to her, she showed no interest in acknowledging it.
After waiting for a moment without receiving an answer, Yvette took a couple of steps forward.
But in that instant, the situation changed suddenly. Zero shot forward, transforming into a blur of snowy light, and dashed to Yvette’s front. Her delicate little hand opened, claw-like, and lunged straight toward Yvette’s neck.This was an action executed at lightning speed; ordinary human retinas would only perceive a series of blurred remnants, and before realizing what had happened, one could easily be killed.
Yvette, of course, was able to react. Although she wanted to stand still and appear imposing, her ingrained caution instinctively prompted her to raise her arm defensively.
In the next second, sparks flew! The slender arm made contact with her pale fingers, producing a sound akin to metal welding—a sharp metallic screech!
A strong sensation of pain radiated through her, causing Yvette to lower her head and see that in just a few breaths, the surface of her crimson armor had been scratched, leaving visible cracks from those delicate, slender fingertips.
A sense of alarm surged within her, and without hesitation, Yvette unleashed her strongest ability. Her silver hair danced wildly as if engulfed in a massive avalanche, surrounding Zero from all sides. This time, the effect was significant; Zero was instantly bound into a cocoon, resembling a giant silkworm, with only her small head exposed.
After taking a few steps back, Yvette saw her body glowing brightly, instantly reinforcing all four layers of her crimson armor, which alleviated some of her unease but still left her somewhat astonished.
To be able to breach the defenses of her crimson armor so easily!
Although it was only a single layer of magic, not four layers combined, it was still unbelievable!
Could it be that she possessed an incredibly powerful ability to break through defenses? Something akin to the corrosive black magic of Abela?
…
From Zero’s sudden strike to being restrained by Yvette’s hair, the entire process had only taken a few breaths. Lianna stood by, still in shock, struggling to comprehend how things had escalated so quickly. Had Yvette discovered something? Was this silver-haired sister not a good person? Or was there some misunderstanding?
But as a companion, she couldn’t stand by idly at this moment and immediately exclaimed, “Let her go!”
As she spoke, three shadowy tendrils emerged from her dress, resembling dark serpents. She rarely used this method since Zero was too powerful; anything that posed a threat to her would be annihilated without hesitation. This was the first time she had seen Zero bound, making the moment feel surreal.
The shadow tendrils lunged at the silver-haired girl, and without hesitation, Yvette countered with her own pure white tendrils. While the power and defense of the pure white tendrils seemed inferior to the shadow ones, their sheer numbers prevailed; the opponent only had three tendrils, while she commanded dozens.
Quickly, the pure white tendrils moved collectively, binding and constricting the dark tendrils until they firmly ensnared the three powerful black appendages, causing Lianna’s expression to falter slightly, paling in shock.
“How is this…?” Lianna murmured. Although she rarely utilized the shadow tendrils, she understood their fearsome power; they were practically unstoppable. She had never expected her own shadow tendrils could be defeated so easily.
Who exactly was this silver-haired sister?
Was she also an experiment?
Or perhaps, was she a “hunter” specifically created by Black Tower Pharmaceuticals to target them?
Watching the shadow tendrils tightly gripped, Lianna’s mood gradually grew somber.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t sever the connection and escape by sacrificing some of her magic power. However, that would be severely damaging, leading to a significant loss of recoupable power. Moreover, she couldn’t just flee; what would happen to Zero?
In the heavy silence, it was Yvette who broke the standoff first, saying, “Wait a moment, I’m not here to make enemies with you.”
Lianna urgently said, “Then let her go first.”
Let her go… Yvette turned to look at Zero, who, despite being bound like a dumpling, still wore a mocking smile, as if enjoying the spectacle and completely unfazed by her predicament.
Was she doing this intentionally?
Or did she have an invincible trump card up her sleeve?
Speculating, Yvette told Lianna, “I can release her, but can you promise that she will calm down?”
Lianna nodded and then turned to Zero, asking, “Yvette, why did you suddenly attack?”
As a rational person, she felt this situation couldn’t possibly be blamed entirely on the silver-haired sister. Zero’s sudden assault without a word was an undeniable provocation.
“Strike first to gain the upper hand,” Zero replied, with only her head able to move as she shook it, smiling as she said, “This clearly looks like a clone created from my genes. There’s no doubt she’s a pursuer from Black Tower Pharmaceuticals; is there a problem with that?”
Clone?
Zero’s tone was filled with mockery, as if merely speaking offhandedly, but those listening picked up on the implication. Yvette immediately began to explore that line of thought.
Indeed, despite looking alike, she might not be Zero herself; perhaps she was simply a clone created by Black Tower. And the fact that she had stopped developing at age 16 seemed to align with the notion of gene engineering technology.
But how could she explain that during her first entry into the dream, she was Zero, inheriting the original host’s social identity?
It’s true that beginning from the second entry into the dream, she had entered with her physical form… Yet this was likely a result of bringing Rosalyn into the dream, causing her to create a “new identity” in the dream world. It did not mean she was no longer Zero.
Moreover, there were no large-scale equipment associated with clones remaining in the Abyss Base…
Disliking the suggestion that she might be a “clone,” Yvette quickly dismissed the possibility in her mind to prevent distraction, stabilizing her focus.
Lianna also did not support this theory, asking in exasperation, “Why must it be a clone? Couldn’t she just be your long-lost relative?”
Then she angrily added, “And regardless of whether she is or not, you should have asked questions first before attacking!”
“Okay, then it was my mistake.” Zero made a face that seemed to imply, “What can I do about it?” Then she turned toward Yvette, sneering, “Hey, hurry and let me go. I won’t kill you for now.”
Yvette hesitated for a moment but chose to comply and decided not to pursue the argument with this little brat for now.
Next, she thought about the identity she had created for herself and introduced, “My name is… Rosalyn Loxvia. As you can see, I should be Yvette’s sister.”
“Ah, so you really are her sister! I knew it!” Lianna immediately believed her, a light flush appearing on her exquisitely crafted face, making her look incredibly cute.
Zero’s response was somewhat ambiguous; her lips curled up slightly before she collected herself, looking at Yvette with a smirk, “Oh, so that’s how it is~”
Yvette caught the sarcastic tone in her voice but chose to remain silent.
It was clear that Zero did not believe her, but given her young age, having been wandering alone while being chased by super corporations, it seemed logical that she would be highly sensitive, neurotic, and aggressive.