Chapter 99 - 34: [Mo’an] (Side Story, Skippable)

Chapter 99: Chapter 34: [Mo’an] (Side Story, Skippable)

"A certain student hasn’t even opened his textbook."

The old professor’s voice rang out beside him, causing Xia Mo’an to flinch.

"You there, answer this. What is the impedance of the equivalent model?" The old professor patted his shoulder. "And what is the voltage vector at this point?"

He stared blankly at the classroom in front of him.

His roommate sitting next to him wrote a string of complex electrical vectors on a blank sheet of paper and carefully nudged it over with his elbow, but the old professor pressed a hand down on it.

"Sit down," the old professor said. "Pay attention to the lecture."

Noon soon arrived.

Carrying a steaming plastic lunchbox and a few containers of hot meat dishes, he hurriedly squeezed through the cafeteria crowd and rushed back to his rented apartment.

"Nannan?" He yanked open the door to his apartment, only to find a wall behind it.

A towering wall forged from Nether Copper. Up, down, left, right—it stretched endlessly in every direction.

"Nannan!" Panic set in. He raised his fists and viciously pounded against the wall of Nether Copper. The wall shattered. He charged into the room, where the sound of breaking glass and a terrified scream echoed from the center of the dim space.

ZZT— A scrawny girl huddled in the dark center of the room. She hugged her knees tightly, curled up into a tiny ball, her face buried between her knees as she sobbed.

Pitch-black Armor, a blood-red, tattered cape, a Hammer Spear, and dim crystals lay scattered across the floor.

"Brother... am I just a burden to you?" A muffled voice echoed from within a helmet. "I can’t do anything right..."

ZZT— It sounded like rusted copper grinding together.

"Dad got lung cancer. It’s all my fault. I’m the one who made him angry..."

"I need to go home and see..."

"Mr. Xia Mo’an, could you come here for a moment..."

"Please prepare yourself..." ZZT!

"Your parents and sister..." ZZT!

"Fatigued driving..." ZZT!

"Were involved in..." ZZT!

"An accident..." ZZT!

"Samael!" Two hands grabbed his shoulder armor, shaking him vigorously.

[Consciousness State Disorder Detected]

[Consciousness State Disorder Detected]

[Consciousness State Disorder Detected]

[Consciousness State Disorder Detected]

Hundreds of eerie blue warning pop-ups flooded the UI window of his helmet. Between the alerts, a familiar face came into view.

"Ah. Yes." He raised a hand, trying to push Talia’s Hand Armor off his shoulders, but failed.

His Hand Armor was trembling slightly, the Nether Copper joints lightly colliding against each other with soft CLINKS.

"Are you okay?" Talia gripped his shoulders tightly.

RUMBLE. The wheels bumped slightly, accompanied by the rhythmic clopping of hooves. The two of them were still swaying inside a long-distance carriage. Outside the window lay the hilly slopes and plains of the Ederic Empire, with birds chirping in the verdant shade of the trees. From the front of the carriage drifted the driver’s absentminded singing of an Empire folk song, acting much like a car radio playing in the background.

Talia wasn’t wearing a helmet, her steel-gray eyes gazing at him with concern. Her arrest warrant had been issued by the Adventurer’s Alliance and the Demon Monarchs; very few people within the Empire’s borders knew about it. Besides, it was safe inside the carriage cabin.

"What just happened to me?" he asked, struggling to clear the warning pop-ups from his helmet’s UI.

"At first, it seemed like you fell asleep, resting your head on my shoulder. Then you started struggling and screaming... shouting a name," Talia replied softly. "Nannan."

"My sister," Samael answered.

"Is she..." Talia hesitated.

"Gone," Samael said. "Just like my parents."

"Then you..."

"I don’t know how any of this happened." He slowly covered his face with his Nether Copper Hand Armor. "I said I died suddenly from playing video games, but the truth is... I was just sitting in front of my computer, staring blankly. I don’t know how much time passed. It might have been three days, maybe five. I just don’t know.

"All I know is that when I regained my vision, there was a scrawny, haggard girl with dark circles under her eyes, hugging her knees and sobbing with her face buried between them... I..." He trailed off.

He slowly leaned back against the carriage seat. The driver was still singing the Empire folk song over the rhythmic CLIP-CLOP of hooves:

"Autumn brings the fall of the old leaves, and summer the sprout of the new!

"Oh gods, oh gods, why do you ignore the old leaves’ sorrow?"

Talia reached out with her claws, grabbing his shoulders and pulling his freezing body into a tight embrace against her chest.

His helmet was pressed against her collarbone, and the curve of Talia’s jaw rested firmly against the side of his helmet.

"I’m not your sister," she whispered. "But you can rely on me every now and then."

Xia Mo’an didn’t struggle, nor did he hug her back. He simply sat there quietly, feeling her arms tightly wrap around his cold form. The sheer strength of her hold was so great that it actually brought a hint of warmth to the surface of the Nether Copper.

"Thank you, Talia," he murmured.

"Not calling me ’ally’ anymore?" Talia teased.

"Is it really necessary to hold a grudge like that?" Samael asked.

"No, but I like to." She pressed the side of her face against the top of his Nether Copper Helmet.