# 1796
Chapter 1789: Takishiro's Plan
Gymnasium interior.
"Suspended between life and death~ Grasping breath within my hands~ Dead situations aren't worth mocking~ Soul-Severing blade drawn for whom~~
Declare to the world~
The general has returned victorious~ Build the strongest fortress~~"
Mei Meimei held the microphone in one hand, her light grass-green skirt fluttering in the wind, her passionate and uplifting singing spiraling above the venue.
"What song is this?" Lin Qiye stood shoulder to shoulder with Shen Qingzhu below the stage, the former raised an eyebrow and asked doubtfully.
"...I don't know, but it sounds pretty good."
Shen Qingzhu shook his head.
"No matter... follow Takishiro's designed strategy." Lin Qiye's eyes sharpened, his figure swiftly leaping from the crowd, landing steadily on the stage.
The moment Lin Qiye stepped onto the stage, the floor's LED screens quickly turned red, crimson light shining from below up onto Mei Meimei's face in the distance—her originally cute and charming features suddenly took on an inexplicable sinister air.
"No fan interactions accepted during the performance~~"
Mei Meimei's voice rang out, followed by a blink. Lin Qiye was prepared, timely shifting his gaze elsewhere.
—Skill 1 judgment in progress... Judgment failed.
Until now, everything followed the same procedure as when Shen Qingzhu first stepped onto the stage earlier. The beautiful girl in the distance was like a BOSS program executing commands on schedule, with completely identical skill activation intervals.
Lin Qiye charged toward Mei Meimei!
"Don't hurt Meimei!"
"Meimei, I'll protect you!!"
Several voices rang out. On both sides of the long T-shaped stage, several audience members fearlessly stepped onto the stage, some shielding Mei Meimei while others charged directly at Lin Qiye's body!
But this time, Lin Qiye didn't use any weapon at all, even raising both hands in a surrender gesture.
Several audience members formed a wall, crowding the narrow stage walkway. Just as Lin Qiye was about to act, a dark golden hand, resembling a millstone, grabbed his shoulder from behind.
Lin Qiye turned to see the bald security guard had approached him from behind, his expression twisted with malevolence.
Lin Qiye swung his fist directly at the guard's face, but the latter blocked it with both hands. As the guard prepared to counterattack, a slap landed precisely on his cheek!
Slap—!
The slap dealt almost no damage, but the humiliation was intense.
The bald guard froze, feeling like one side of his face was swelling. He stared furiously at the mocking Lin Qiye before him.
Lin Qiye didn't linger. He turned and jumped off the stage toward the indoor arena, the bald security guard trailing closely behind him!
On the other side of the stage, Yuzuri Takishiro's lips curved slightly upward.
The first phase of the plan was executing flawlessly. By displaying and attacking, Lin Qiye had drawn the most troublesome bald guard away from Mei Meimei's side, weakening her defenses... As Yuzuri Takishiro put it, this was the tank opening the engage, building maximum threat while kiting the enemy.
Mei Meimei's singing continued uninterrupted through the commotion, her voice filling the venue as the stage lighting stabilized.
Once the audience members descended from the stage, Shen Qingzhu exchanged a nod with Yuzuri Takishiro across the distance. Takishiro then slipped away into the crowd and vanished.
Mei Meimei's singing faded with the music's end. After the song concluded, she wiped the sweat from her brow once more, smiling and waving continuously to the audience below, drawing numerous cheers.
"Everyone, did you enjoy 'Before the Masses'~"
"We did!!"
"Everyone follow Meimei's lead—look at the camera and capture this precious moment~"
With those words, Mei Meimei's figure appeared on the massive screen alongside the audience members, a countdown timer beginning to flash.
"Three... two..."
Even from the indoor arena, Lin Qiye could hear the synchronized countdown and the audience's unified chanting ringing through the venue.
He slashed a blade across the bald guard's arm, drawing blood as a small number floated above the latter's head:
-7430
Blocked by the bald guard's defense, this strike's damage was underwhelming. Two dark golden millstone-like fist shadows howled toward Lin Qiye's face, but he dodged them consecutively.
Lin Qiye glanced toward the venue countdown, his eyes narrowing slightly. He had no intention of entering the photo area for the group picture.
"One~ Ca..."
The instant the 【Group Photo】 countdown reached zero, the entire venue plunged into darkness. The massive screen's photo display vanished.
Beside the main electrical panel, Yuzuri Takishiro set down his pistol, his star-patterned eyes gleaming with brilliance!
He turned and sprinted toward the venue!
Step two... interrupt the BOSS skill cast!
Almost simultaneously, a figure with gray wings rose from the crowd into the air!
In the dim venue, confused audience members only felt a gust of wind whistle past their heads as Shen Qingzhu crossed over the crowd, arriving directly above Mei Meimei!
During the first probe, because he hadn't known the skill, Shen Qingzhu had stepped onto the stage at its edge, maintaining a small distance from Mei Meimei. This was what had allowed audience members to climb onto the stage... But this time, Shen Qingzhu wouldn't make the same mistake.
Utilizing his flight ability, he could bypass the T-shaped stage entirely, landing directly in front of Mei Meimei at close range. With the power outage's timing, confused audience members wouldn't be able to react fast enough to rush to Mei Meimei's side to protect her.
Those ten seconds of darkness were their best window to eliminate Mei Meimei!
Bang—!!
A crisp gunshot rang through the venue. Sparks erupted from behind Mei Meimei as a bullet etched with crimson markings hurtled straight toward Shen Qingzhu's face in mid-air!
Even though Lin Qiye had lured away the bald guard, and the audience below was left behind, there was still a gunman security guard protecting Mei Meimei nearby. As the gunshot echoed, Shen Qingzhu immediately twisted his body to dodge. A red line grazed past him, exploding into a burst of scorching flames behind him!
The gunman guard showed no signs of stopping. Twin pistols fired in succession, a storm of bullets flooding toward the six-winged Shen Qingzhu in the air like a relentless tide.
Shen Qingzhu wasn't Lin Qiye—he couldn't tank these bullets head-on. The gunman guard's damage numbers were the highest among the three security personnel. Even Shen Qingzhu couldn't withstand more than a few shots... It was precisely for this reason that his figure was forcibly halted in mid-air.
If given time, Shen Qingzhu could certainly deal with this gunman guard, but the power outage state would only last ten seconds.
Shen Qingzhu couldn't use large-scale destructive skills in this state, nor could he tank the bullet storm. He could only keep flying and dodging in the air. Eight seconds had already been consumed.
But Shen Qingzhu's heart wasn't flustered, because he knew that holding back the gunman guard was his original mission all along.
Bang bang bang—!!
Three more shots rang out, but this time, the direction of the gunfire wasn't from the gunman guard.
At the arena's edge, a white-clad figure drenched in sweat, holding a silver-white pistol, appeared as if刚从一场激烈的短跑中挣脱一般 simultaneously, wisps of blue smoke curled from the gun barrel...
The next moment, three bullets respectively pierced through Mei Meimei's temple, heart, and abdomen!
-182
-190
-201
Mei Meimei's health bar was instantly cleared!