"My name is Anne, and you're 13, right? There are some things I wanted to tell you in person, but I couldn't get away, so I had to write this letter. Today's duel was arranged unilaterally by the United States. We didn't consult you beforehand, which was quite abrupt, but for the future of the country, we had to inconvenience you this time. Please don't be angry. Take this duel seriously. The eyes of the world are watching. Your every move no longer represents just yourself, but your country. Of course, I hope you can give it your all, making the fight more exciting. If it ends too quickly, the audience won't feel anything. Your mission is to make them realize the world has changed. Modern battlefields are no longer won simply by large armies and clever tactics. As the representative of China's new power, you should understand. Under absolute technological equipment, absolute power can easily change the story's ending. Of course, I also know that due to your own limitations, you can't just unleash 100% of your power at will. So I'll give you a hand here...
Remember Angel? The girl you let go at the base. You later met her in the park, at Chen Bian's presidential palace, and now on this rooftop. Her name is Zhang Jie, a Chinese-American mixed-blood girl. I picked her up as a child and trained her to be part of God's Punishment. She is truly outstanding! She absorbed knowledge quickly and completed her missions beautifully. The only exception was being defeated by you. Perhaps because of this uniqueness, she seems to have developed subtle feelings for you. You are truly a charming boy. Just a few meetings, and you stole her heart. But fate dictated that she must be your enemy, until one of you dies...
How romantic! It's like watching a modern Romeo and Juliet. The protagonists carry the heavy burden of family feuds yet still love each other, only to both die in the end...
When she learned you were going to fight the Elf, she considered killing you herself. Compared to being painfully killed by a mech, ending her lover's heartbeat gently seemed better. This was her way of expressing love. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. At that moment, she realized how much she liked you, enough to betray her own country. This foolish girl actually wanted to kill me for you, the one who gave her everything she had! Thinking about it still makes me angry...
Right there in your hospital room, she picked up the knife meant for you and attacked me. It seems she wasn't as outstanding as I thought. I taught her that pointless resistance is unnecessary. But even after I pinned her hand to the wall with a knife, she still fought back. So much blood flowed, the wall turned red...
She was truly tenacious, I have to admit. The Elf broke her bones one by one, but she didn't even scream once. The power of love is truly great... don't you think?
The crisp sounds didn't make her yield. She still looked gently at you sleeping on the bed, confessing her love for you, even though you didn't know it then. She kept talking.
'It doesn't matter anymore, dying doesn't matter anymore… To die beside the person I love most, God has already been very merciful to me. Mom was right, there is a God in the world. He let me meet someone I really like in my short life. He has a smile like my father, a heart that never gives up… Although he was also lost, and thought about ending everything with death. But on the rooftop, when he blocked my knife, he had already learned to resist.
I really like this person, his every move, every word is imprinted in my mind. The night I was held in his arms was the happiest day of my life. Even though he didn't know…'
Such romantic words! Just like Shakespeare's love poems. But the fact is she betrayed me, no matter how touching, I had to kill her. So the Elf cut open her chest. Blood spurted high, some even landed on your face. Did you feel it? Just like that, Angel died. She didn't have many precious things in life, I wanted to find a few mementos for you...
Luckily, I'm quite clever. I kept one of her eyes in this box, consider it a souvenir...
She had the same beautiful sky-blue eyes as me, I hope you like it...
Alright, focus on the battle now. I estimate that by the time you read this, the audience will be able to enjoy a spectacular performance...'
The wind on the rooftop was strong. 13 didn't hold the letter tightly. It danced away into the blue sky...
He just stared straight at the familiar pupil in the box, the one he had seen in their previous duel. Now 13 finally understood why his emotion-executing self had spared the enemy back then. It was because this eye always flickered with hope, as if telling people, "Don't fear fate, you can change it..."
"Ah!!" Putting the box behind him, 13 suddenly threw his head back and roared, venting the sorrow in his heart. There was nothing to be angry about. Death was the fate assigned to people like him. This was just the sorrow of fate...
"Anne..." 13 stopped his piercing cry and looked at a nearby camera. "Wherever you are, wait for me to finish off this piece of trash, then I'll come kill you! You must wait for me..."
After speaking, his gaze returned to the motionless mech.
Just a simple sentence from 13, yet it shook the souls of people worldwide. Such confident words made the mech seem like mere scrap iron, and the woman named Anne already sentenced to death...
"If you can, I'll wait for you." Looking at the four bright eyes on the screen, Anne smiled and muttered to herself. Liu Tao noticed the change in 13; he carried killing intent. Normally, even when carrying out massacre missions, 13 wouldn't show any personal emotion. Killing was more like a job. But now it was different. He himself craved slaughter, uncommanded, undirected. It was entirely his personal will.
"A stronger path of the king!" In front of the TV, Nie Yun saw 13's reaction and shouted excitedly. But after the excitement, Nie Yun was plunged into infinite fear. Because when 13 walked this path of the king, it was also when he gained complete self-awareness. Could China still control the current 13? These were all question marks...
13 didn't speak. There was still a minute before the antidote took full effect. His body trembled, fists clenched unconsciously. Blood circulation accelerated, every cell greedily breathed in the fresh oxygen from his blood. Adrenal glands secreted large amounts of hormones. The direct effect was that 13 broke free from the drug's restriction ahead of time.
Suddenly, the majestically standing 13 vanished from the camera's view. The camera switched to the mech; 13 had unexpectedly appeared right in front of it, facing it.
He pulled out the COOL-FIRE from his back, aiming straight at the mech's only weak point – its eye.
He pulled the trigger. The bullet roared out of the barrel but was blocked by a black palm.
"Woo!..." The mech let out an angry low growl. Exactly 5 minutes had passed...
"It's starting!" Anne shouted inwardly.
"It's starting!" Nie Yun shouted inwardly.
"It's starting!" Liu Tao shouted inwardly.
"It's starting!" The hearts of people worldwide shouted!
The mech activated, headbutting towards 13. He blocked with one hand, but the impact wasn't over; the force grew stronger. 13's feet were forced apart into a perfect split on the ground.
It seemed the mech possessed immense strength, but 13 skillfully distributed the pressure evenly onto the floor. The Elf couldn't advance further.
Swinging his free right hand, he punched towards the mech's head. Instinctively, it tried to lift its head to dodge, but 13's blocking hand turned into claws, gripping the retreating mech. The solid punch made the mech step back half a step.
"Hiya!" 13 leaped from the ground, a standard right 360-degree spinning kick aimed again at the head. But luck wasn't with him this time. The mech firmly caught the flying leg with one hand. With a spin, 13 was thrown out like a discus.
Eyes flashing, the mech accelerated, chasing 13. Before landing, 13 struggled to regain balance in mid-air. Stopping with a straight punch, 13 blocked with both hands. A shocking scene occurred. The Elf seemed to hit a ball in mid-air; 13 crashed violently against the back wall, raising countless dust particles.
Bewildered... Watching the replay on TV, it was no less impressive than a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster. The series of actions was almost too fast for the naked eye.
The bottom right corner of the screen showed the slow-motion replay.
The dust gradually settled. The initially disheartened Chinese audience started cheering again.
13 was seen gripping a water pipe on the wall with one hand, his body half-squatting against the wall. Suddenly, he pushed off with his feet, launching himself towards the standing mech. Still not landing, a follow-up elbow strike, again aimed at the head. The mech blocked with one hand, but simultaneously blocked its own line of sight. An opportunity appeared. A knee strike shot up, hitting the lower jaw squarely. Left leg exhausted, the right leg followed up. Back and forth, as natural as pedaling a bicycle. The Elf pushed hard. 13 broke away, and finally, 13 landed on both feet.
The mech stopped attacking. Multiple blows to the head, even for a machine, caused some concussion, requiring a pause for self-adjustment. 13 took the chance to stand far away and rest. After all, he was flesh and blood. Although the mech's mid-air punch was blocked, the immense force left his hands numb. Both knees felt weak, almost buckling.
"Woo..." The habitual low growl reminded 13, time was up.
The mech recovered, starting to charge towards the still motionless 13. Taking a light breath, he also stepped forward to meet it.
Side kick, 13 attacked the mech's waist. Side kick, the mech's target was the same. Their feet met unexpectedly in mid-air. But the result was different. The mech didn't move, but 13 jumped back two steps to absorb the impact.
Everyone gradually understood 13's difficulty. Thinking carefully, expecting a single human to defeat a machine was always wishful thinking.
The cheering from the Chinese audience grew weaker.
13's right foot had lost sensation. "It's different," he thought.
The current Elf was operating at a much higher power level. Compared to the battle at Black Dragon's villa, it was like two different classes. Even though he had hit its body many times, all were frontal attacks on the hard Titan metal. Often, injuring the enemy by seven points meant injuring oneself by eight.
"The development so far is good, we can probably move to the climax. Deploy..." Anne spoke into the small microphone on her collar.