The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

Ten people had come to subdue [Lee]. Minus Lihua, the tag-along weakling, it was nine powerful individuals. If they disregarded any sense of honor and ganged up on her, it should have been an easy victory. Or so they thought.

But before their rocket reached the moon, it was attacked, crashing onto the lunar surface. They quickly realized things weren't as simple as they'd anticipated.

"Wh-What the heck is this…?"

They were strong enough to survive a minor rocket crash unscathed. Even Lihua, shielded by the others, was just a little dusty—but that didn't stop them from staring dumbfounded at their attackers.

A group of rough, almost brutally blocky, robots stood before them.

"Leave now, and no one gets hurt…" the pink robot at the front said, wielding a bow and arrow, its voice muffled and unenthusiastic, as if reciting lines it didn't like.

The moment it spoke, Raiden Mei and Fu Hua's eyes widened in surprise. They knew that voice all too well.

"Elysia?!"

"You've got the wrong person!" Elysia's voice instantly became sharp, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "How could the adorable Psychic Elf, Elysia, ever be such a clunky metal box?! I'm just… I'm just an AI robot who admires her! Ha, hahaha…"

Nope, that's definitely her… Even those unfamiliar with Elysia's personality could guess the truth from her flustered denial.

Elysia realized this too, her forced laughter fading into a whimper. Her millennia-long image had been completely ruined today!

It's all Vill-V's fault! Couldn't she have made cuter robots, like the ELF from back then? Saying Blue Earth's materials and technology were limited, and she could only make these clunky metal shells…

Fighting in this robotic body wasn't much better than using an energy-condensed one. She might as well have fought in her true form!

Unfortunately, these decisions weren't hers to make. They followed [Lee]'s orders. To make their security work more effective, [Lee] had asked the three scientists to create these mechanical bodies they could inhabit for combat, using the materials and tools she had gathered from Blue Earth.

This saved [Lee] a lot of effort, as she no longer needed to expend energy condensing bodies for them—but they were stuck moving around in these unsightly metal shells.

Currently, except for the three scientists who used their own appearances, all the security personnel looked like this… While others might be able to accept it, for Elysia, it was a fate worse than death.

Especially now that she had been recognized… She wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Wait, if you're Elysia, then they are—?" Fu Hua looked at the silent blocks behind the pink metal box, her pupils shrinking.

The orange one is Kalpas, the green one is Su, the red one is Eden…

Matching her memories of her comrades with the boxes before her, Fu Hua fell silent, then a fierce rage surged within her. That vile creature! How dare she toy with the consciousness of her comrades?!

At this moment, Fu Hua was absolutely certain that the person with Lee's appearance and power wasn't the one she knew. The real Lee would never allow her comrades to appear in such a humiliating form!

She would not tolerate what this [Lee] was doing!

"Is the one controlling you over there?!"

Now that they were on the moon, [Lee] made no attempt to conceal her presence. Fu Hua easily sensed her nearby and immediately charged towards her, ready for a showdown with the defiler of her comrades.

But before she could take more than a few steps, she was stopped. The obstruction came not from [Lee], but from Elysia.

"Sorry, Hua. I can't let you pass."

Elysia raised her longbow, her voice solemn. "We're here to stop you."

Fu Hua stared incredulously at her friend of millennia. "What are you saying, Elysia? Don't you know what she's trying to do?! Is she controlling you with the Divine Key? Don't worry, I'll—"

"We know. She wants to implement the Stigma Project."

The unexpected answer stunned Fu Hua. She couldn't understand. If they knew how vile [Lee]'s intentions were, why would they agree?

They had fought together, risking their lives to seal Kevin in the Sea of Quanta precisely because he had wanted to do the same thing! Why had Elysia changed her mind in just a few months?

"Hua, you're not privy to that information," Elysia said calmly.

It was the truth. Anyone in the world might be able to learn the truth, but not Fu Hua.

Her mind would automatically erase those painful memories, preventing her from understanding the agonizing reality and the reason behind their seemingly insane actions… Just as they hadn't understood Kevin back then.

"Y-You must have been tricked by that fake Lee… She's not the real Lee. You shouldn't listen to her…" Fu Hua murmured, hoping Elysia would see through the imposter's facade.

Elysia's optical sensors flickered towards the dust-covered Lihua before shifting away.

"Real or fake, it doesn't matter… This needs to be done."

Yes, they also had a nagging feeling that the Lee they remembered wouldn't do this—but it felt so satisfying.

Regardless of whether this [Lee] was the person they knew, she was the Lee they wanted to see, a Lee with her own emotions, a Lee seeking revenge… Their actions couldn't change anything anymore, so they might as well help her get revenge.

After all, if she was the Lee they remembered, after experiencing so much pain and betrayal, how would she react to humanity?

Elysia could imagine the scene, imagine Lee waving to the crowd with her usual gentle smile, saying it was alright… But she found it hard to accept.

Why didn't good people have the right to be angry?

Now that there was a chance to vent their anger at humanity, why shouldn't they take it?

They couldn't hurt anyone, couldn't change anything… So why not let off some steam?

"I understand you, Elysia, but I won't condone your actions." Raiden Mei drew her weapon. "It seems words won't change your mind."

Silence fell over the lunar landscape. Then, in the next instant, a chaotic battle between over a dozen apex warriors erupted on the moon!