Does this work too?

“Miss Machima, I’m escorting that guy right now.”

"Yes, I know. But I must remind Qiu Jun that the poison won't kill him."

"What! It was clearly already..."

"The heart has stopped beating? The blood has stopped flowing? But is he really dead?"

"I understand."

"Although we don't know what he's thinking, we must be careful. Get him to the agreed location as soon as possible."

"I see."

Paji.

Hayakawa Aki hung up the phone and looked at Leng Mo on the stretcher with fear on her face.

He knew he was faking his death. He knew he was faking his death.

But no one said anything, just like a shy boy who didn't have the courage to confess to the person he liked, filled with unease and fear of the unknown.

The car sped along.

Speeding along the extended road.

The sky was very blue, with few clouds.

In this kind of weather, is Leng Mo really dead?

The answer is definitely no.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he could tell that someone was targeting him.

They decided to play along and feign death, waiting for the real culprit to reveal themselves.

This was a murder, just like a gunshot wound to the back being ruled a suicide—something that had been premeditated.

As for what it is, Leng Mo has no idea.

We must seize the opportunity to find out the truth behind this, and such a coincidence is definitely not simple.

I just dealt with the game demon yesterday, and this morning when I went out for breakfast, someone poisoned me.

This situation is definitely not a coincidence, and even if it were, he wouldn't admit it.

There must be some connection between them.

Soon, the bumpy van came to a stop.

It stopped in an abandoned port warehouse.

It had been abandoned for a long time, so long that the walls and containers were covered with a thick layer of rust.

Many people got out of the van.

There were Hayakawa Aki and Pawa, as well as soldiers wearing black tactical gear.

The moment they got out of the car, they pushed Leng Mo out onto an open space.

There was no one in sight on the open ground, but soon people arrived.

The person who came was Machima.

She stood with her hands behind her back, wearing her unchanging black trench coat, which looked large and somewhat ill-fitting, but it accentuated her petite figure.

Machima walked a few steps to the stretcher and looked at Leng Mo on it.

Leng Mo looked peaceful, as if he were asleep, and in reality, he was indeed asleep.

Although the journey was a bit bumpy, it was no problem for Leng Mo, who easily fell asleep while remaining still.

Machima noticed Leng Mo's sleep and her smile softened.

She looked at Leng Mo and said in a gentle voice, "You're so carefree, you can even fall asleep like this. Aren't you afraid of missing any clues?"

At that very moment, Leng Mo, who was on the stretcher, slowly opened his eyes, and a pair of bright eyes appeared before Machima.

Machima frowned, somewhat surprised, when Leng Mo opened his eyes at that moment.

Is this a sign that they're not going to pretend anymore?

Chapter 597 Leng Mo: "I am a dam-type!"

When Leng Mo opened his eyes, Machima hesitated.

It's like being caught red-handed doing something wrong; even Machima feels a little flustered.

Leng Mo paused upon seeing Machima in front of him, then his mind raced as he frantically pondered a question.

What was I supposed to do?

I suddenly fell asleep and woke up feeling a bit dazed, wondering what had happened before.

Emmmm......

After a brief silence and reflection, Leng Mo realized a truth: never fall asleep when you're doing important business.

"Miss Machima, what was I supposed to do?" Leng Mo asked Machima with a humble and eager-to-learn attitude, just like a good student looking at the teacher's lesson on the podium.

"???"

Machima was stunned, completely unaware of what was going on, filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Looking at the dazed Leng Mo, she felt a subtle sense of déjà vu, as if he were still half-asleep and didn't understand what was going on. There was even a feeling that he didn't care what happened, but was that really the case? She frowned, raised her hand to pinch her chin, bent down, and looked at Leng Mo in the stroller with a smile.

"What do you think?" she asked softly.

"Let me think... what happened before?"

Looking at Machima's friendly demeanor, Leng Mo lowered his head in deep thought, carefully recalling the previous events, and then suddenly realized. He clenched his fist in his palm, filled with surprise.

"Was I ambushed by someone?!"

"That's right, you were ambushed. I just rescued you."

Machima said kindly, her face full of smiles, as if she had gone through great hardships to save Leng Mo, and had a sense of wanting credit.

Sitting on the stroller, Leng Mo was filled with a subtle feeling, a sense of "I'm not well-educated, don't try to fool me." His heart was also filled with an unprecedented sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep emotion/reflection).

You really are a bad woman. If I hadn't remembered, I would have definitely been fooled by you.

But it doesn't matter!

Since you're so shameless, then I won't be shameless either!

Leng Mo looked at Machima with suspicion and asked, "Who wants to harm me? Do you know?"

Machima said gently, "I don't know, after all, I don't know you at all. What kind of person do you think you are?"

Leng Mo pondered for a moment, then looked at Machima with the most sincere eyes: "Someone like Machima."

"..."

For a moment, Machima was speechless, even feeling a strong sense of déjà vu about the words and expression, as if she had seen them somewhere before. Then it dawned on her—wasn't this a scene from a manga she'd read at the hot spring resort?

Machima immediately realized she had been exposed, but now that she was so close to Leng Mo, there was nothing more to say. The smile on her face gradually disappeared, becoming devoid of emotion, as she simply stared at Leng Mo: "Leng Mo-kun, are you just not going to pretend anymore?"

Leng Mo said, "I heard from a friend that dogs that are not useful are euthanized where I'm from."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Machima's pupils contracted, and she fell silent. She stared at Leng Mo, unable to utter a single word, but she could sense the atmosphere had changed.

Although Leng Mo spoke in a very calm tone, it was precisely this calmness that brought forth a completely different kind of fear.

She was speechless for a moment, and even felt a sense of disorientation.

So that's how it felt back then?

This moment feels just like that moment back then.

If it weren't for Leng Mo, Dian Ci would probably feel the same way.

She suddenly realized what was happening to her at that moment, and felt the surprise and shock that Leng Mo had brought her.

Machima smiled, a gentle smile. She hated any creature she controlled because she couldn't be friends with them. But now it was different. Looking at Leng Mo in front of her, she knew it from the very beginning.

She could never be friends with Leng Mo and the others because she couldn't fit in.

Machima looked at Leng Mo and said, "Leng Mo-jun, it's such a pity."

Leng Mo said, "What's a pity?"

Machima said, "It's a pity we can never be friends."

Leng Mo asked, "Why?"

Machima said, “Because… I am completely different from you. I have never viewed any living being as an equal, and when I come into contact with any living being, I subconsciously want to dominate them. All my actions are aimed at dominating the other party, so I have found that I can’t be friends with any living being.”

Leng Mo said, "Hey, your self-awareness makes things difficult for me!"

Machima was speechless.

After a moment of silence, she straightened up and slowly pulled a transparent glass ball from her pocket. She held the glass ball, glanced at it, then looked at Leng Mo before speaking, "Leng Mo-jun, do you know what this is?" As she spoke, she held the glass ball up to the sun, letting the sunlight shine through it.

Leng Mo glanced at it, pondered for a moment, and said, "I don't know."

Machima placed the glass ball in front of Leng Mo's eyes, smiled, and said, "Actually, I don't know either. I just know that this was given to me by the person who hit me, something to use to kill you."

Leng Mo immediately showed surprise and said, "What?! I didn't expect you to be one of that guy's subordinates too!"

Machima gripped the glass ball tightly, looked at Leng Mo, and said in a calm tone, "Want to know? If you want to know, I can tell you. But, I really want to see Xiao Yan one last time, is that alright?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Mo took out his phone: "I'll just make a call and have her come over."

Machima said, "Thank you, Leng Mojun."

The call connected, but there was no sound.

Homura Akemi didn't speak because she thought Leng Mo had called to ask her for the disc, so she remained silent.

Leng Mo didn't remain silent and spoke directly: "Hey, Xiao Yan. Machima is in my hands. In her last moments, she wants to see you."

There was a moment of silence on the phone, as if Homura Akemi had already slowly typed out a greeting.

Homura Akemi: "What's going on? Didn't you come to ask me for the disc?"

Leng Mo: "What?! You're going to give it back to me?"

Homura Akemi: "No."

Leng Mo: "..."

Homura Akemi: "So what's the situation with Machima?"

Leng Mo: "Machima wants to kill me."

Homura Akemi: "And then?"

Leng Mo: "She wanted to see you before she died. After seeing you, she told me about that person."

Homura Akemi: "Ugh... this is really a headache. I understand, I'll be right there."

Leng Mo: "OK!"

Beep.

Leng Mo hung up the phone, looked up at Machima with a bright smile, and even proudly gave her a thumbs up.

Machima, who was on the other side, smiled and looked at Leng Mo with great tenderness.

Just then, a gust of wind swept in from the side, ruffling Leng Mo and Machima's hair. The two turned to look and saw Homura Akemi, dressed in a high school girl uniform, standing beside them.

Machima smiled broadly and said, "Little Flame, you're here."

Homura Akemi looked up at Makima upon hearing this, unsure of what to say, but still managed to ask, "So, what do you want from me?"

Machima said happily, "I know I can't beat you, and I can't fight back against the people behind me."

Homura Akemi crossed her arms and looked at Makima, her feelings a mix of emotions, and asked, "Do you need my help?"

Machima: "I can't help anymore, that's enough. I... don't really want to continue."

Homura Akemi: "But, being alive is better than..." Before she could finish, Makima interrupted, "No need. After I die, let another version of myself continue. Demons don't die; they'll be resurrected in Hell. I want to return to the human world soon. If you really want to help me, then fulfill my dream. You know that."

Homura Akemi fell silent. She could tell that Makima was carefree, but there was a hint of weariness in that carefree attitude. From the beginning, Makima hadn't done anything, as if she didn't care about anything. From the moment she met her, she wanted to be friends. Homura Akemi tried to accept that, because she understood Makima's feelings.

Loneliness, no one can understand, I am all alone on a parallel line, and I will never be able to interact with others.