Capítulo 15: Chapter 15: Untimely Death?
"Commander, I'm alright. You can put me down now; the others are here," Rapi whispered softly.
Only then did Mo Chen realize he had been staring a bit too long and carefully set Rapi down.
Just as she steadied herself, Anis leapt forward, hugging Rapi tightly.
"Haha! We took down a Tyrant-class Rapture!"
Since becoming a Nikke, Anis had always been on the front lines, mostly dealing with regular Raptures, and hardly ever encountering even a Lord-class, let alone a Tyrant.
This time, she had narrowly escaped death and defeated a Tyrant-class Rapture, leaving her ecstatic.
Meanwhile, Mo Chen was evaluating the outcome of this battle.
First, the over 20,000 points earned were worth mentioning, but the real prize was the bullet-dodging chip.
Now, he had a measure of safety and didn't have to worry about getting taken out by stray bullets from who-knows-where.
Then there were the 14,000 points from the Black Smith, plus the odds and ends gathered from nearby, bringing the total to around 20,000.
And then, there was Marian.
Mo Chen approached Marian and patted her on the shoulder.
The red gleam in her eyes faded, returning to their natural color as she looked around, seeming confused.
When she saw Mo Chen, her eyes lit up, and she lunged, clinging to him.
"Commander!"
A question mark slowly appeared above Mo Chen's head.
"…Marian?"
Her pale arms wrapped around him, hugging him like an oversized plush doll.
Their bodies pressed closely together.
The soft, supple sensation was unmistakable, like fine silk, full of resilience, and forming a surprising curve.
A faint fragrance wafted from her, seeping through her thin clothing.
Mo Chen froze.
Marian, seeming not to hear him, nestled against him, her arms encircling his neck as she nestled further into his embrace.
The proximity allowed him to feel her warm breath against his skin.
"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Anis's protesting voice cut through the strange atmosphere.
Uh-oh.
Marian's mind seemed to be malfunctioning.
Mo Chen snapped out of the moment, a bad feeling creeping in, and quickly pulled her back by the shoulders, putting some distance between them.
"Marian, are you okay?"
Pulled back, Marian looked puzzled for a moment, then beamed with joy.
"Marian loves the Commander the most!"
Those crimson eyes blazed with intense light.
"Ah, so bright," Anis muttered, feeling like the glow might blind her.
Likes him?
Mo Chen froze.
What was even happening here?
Before he could process it, Marian broke free from his grasp and pounced on him, tackling him to the ground.
"W-wait a second…!"
Still unclear on the situation, Mo Chen tried to wriggle free.
But how could a scrawny little guy like him match the strength of a girl-next-door type with Herculean might?
He was promptly flattened.
"W-wait!" he protested, only to be completely ignored.
Marian's beautiful face was pressing against his, rubbing his cheeks with such force that it felt like he might lose skin.
Her arms wrapped around him tightly, making him feel like a tiny chick, with every bone in his body creaking under the pressure.
They're gonna snap!
"How bold of you, in broad daylight. You two are so close—I'm a little jealous," teased Anis, watching from the sidelines with exaggerated astonishment.
Jealous?
He was about to die!
As he teetered on the edge of suffocation, Mo Chen used all his strength to turn his head, painfully muttering two words to Rapi and Anis, who were still watching the spectacle:
"Help… me…"
This was humiliating!
Only then did the two snap out of it, rushing over to free Mo Chen from Marian's vice-like hug, just in time.
Barely able to catch his breath, Mo Chen leaned against a wall, wheezing, and looked at Marian, who was still curled up against him, her arms stretched out to the sides in an awkwardly stiff posture.
He dared not move, afraid that any wrong gesture might trigger Marian's "affection."
"This wasn't how I imagined things would go!"
Mo Chen couldn't make sense of it: in theory, the Punishing Virus should've overpowered the Rapture virus.
That's how it worked with other Raptures he'd encountered.
He was at a loss, and Rapi and Anis were equally bewildered.
"We've never seen anything like this happen before," Rapi said thoughtfully.
"Once the Rapture virus begins its corruption, it's almost impossible to stop."
"The only known solution is a complete memory wipe and body reformatting, but very few survive that process."
Rapi speculated that Marian's willpower was exceptionally strong, preventing the Rapture virus from fully taking over.
But the virus's partial corruption had clearly influenced her brain, leading to this drastic shift in behavior.
She cast a curious glance at Mo Chen.
There was something unusual about him… he didn't seem all that surprised.
Raptures suddenly turning on each other, Marian's infection with the Rapture virus…
It was as if all these events had been within his expectations.
"So, that's how it is…"
Mo Chen realized that getting a concrete answer right now was unlikely.
The good news, though, was that Marian's memories were intact.
The virus hadn't severely impacted her consciousness.
The bad news? Marian's memories were intact.
After this incident, Marian's affection for Mo Chen seemed to have skyrocketed.
No, it had likely shattered through the ceiling.
She clung to him constantly, trailing behind him like a clingy little kitten. At every opportunity, she'd try to give him a hug or lift him up playfully.
Except it wasn't a cat but Mo Chen who ended up being lifted into the air.
Facing Marian, with her strength capable of delivering punches with several tons of force, Mo Chen's resistance was negligible.
For the first time, he realized…Being hugged could actually be a lethal technique!
In just a few days, Mo Chen was utterly exhausted from all the attention.
With panda eyes, disheveled hair, and wrinkled clothes, he looked like someone drained of vitality.
Sure, having a beautiful woman fawning over you is something a lot of people would dream of. Marian's appearance and figure were top-tier, no doubt.
But the problem was... she could kill him!
Even pleasures in life require the right circumstances.
Mo Chen was worried that one day, if Marian wasn't careful, he'd end up shattered.
To avoid an untimely end, he very seriously taught Marian a few rules: no hugging, no clinging, and definitely no pouncing without his permission.
Can you imagine getting hit by a 30-ton train going 200 kilometers per hour?
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