MTLNOVEL Chapter 104 - YouYu's plan
“Thud!”
Before Liu Meng could recover from the shock and collapse of her mental state, a sudden sound of something crashing to the ground echoed from behind her.
Accompanying it was a repulsive yet deeply unnerving aura.
“…”
Hearing the sound, Liu Meng swallowed nervously, taking a deep breath to steady her emotions.
Once she calmed herself somewhat, she tensed her body, gripping the yellow gemstone hanging around her neck tightly in her right hand before turning around.
What she saw was Gray Shadow, its outstretched hand aimed squarely in the direction of her and YouYu.
“It’s over, you pathetic mongrel who is nothing at all.”
Gray Shadow ignored Liu Meng standing beside YouYu and spoke arrogantly.
“Even though you wield the power of a Negative Beast… in the end, you’re just a fragile human.”
“And now, die!”
As it spoke, the hand it had raised began to emit a green glow, growing ever brighter against the darkness.
Geay Shadow began to gather as much power as it could muster, intending to end YouYu’s life with a single strike, leaving no chance for survival.
Once this was done, its mission would be complete…
“…”
Whoosh—
Slash!
“Wha… How can you still move?!”
“YouYu?!”
Yet at that critical moment, the supposedly “dead” YouYu suddenly adjusted his posture and started moving!
Under the shocked gazes of Gray Shadow and Liu Meng, he appeared completely impervious to pain as he grabbed the sword impaled in his abdomen. With a grunt of effort, he yanked it out in one swift motion!
Blood splattered across the ground and onto Liu Meng, who stood beside him.
After tossing the sword aside—embedding it into the nearby wall—YouYu quickly crouched down, slamming his palms to the ground. A wooden barrier sprang up in front of him.
Silently, YouYu picked up the bloodstained golden card on the ground, pressing it against the wound in his abdomen.
Then, with a swift motion, he grabbed the stunned Liu Meng, pulling her behind him while positioning himself as her shield.
“Y-YouYu…”
Dragged into position, Liu Meng finally snapped out of her daze. She opened her mouth in a panic, trying to speak.
“BOOM!”
But before she could utter a word, a deafening explosion erupted from behind YouYu. Along with it came an intense green light, blinding her.
Reflexively, Liu Meng closed her eyes, shielding them from the overwhelming brilliance.
“…”
When the terrifying commotion subsided, she cautiously opened her eyes, her gaze landing on YouYu, who had intercepted the attack for her.
Although he appeared outwardly intact, the amount of blood pouring from him only increased.
Liu Meng stood in silence, wanting to say something but finding every word in her throat hollow and meaningless.
“Liu Meng…”
At that moment, he finally spoke, his voice low.
“I’m sorry… for worrying you. I wasn’t actually dead—I was devising a plan to defeat him.”
“Now, I’ve managed to temporarily knock him away with the trees I summoned. So I want to discuss how to defeat him. I have a plan… but I need your help.”
Hearing YouYu’s words, Liu Meng hesitated. She still felt uneasy but, seeing that he seemed relatively stable, sighed and composed herself before speaking calmly.
“Alright. What can I do to help, YouYu? What’s your plan?”
After a brief pause, as if realizing something, Liu Meng added,
“If your plan hinges on risking your life, I’m not helping. The way you looked just now… I really can’t take that.”
“…”
YouYu was momentarily taken aback by her words, hesitating before responding in a halting tone.
“My plan… is to hide the card you gave me inside my body. Then… you’d need to imbue the card with even more mana.”
“After that, I’ll face that monster in direct combat and feign a mistake, pretending to get caught—”
“At that moment, you’d detonate the card inside me. That should be enough to defeat him.”
“But that would kill you!”
Liu Meng’s voice rose sharply as she furrowed her brow, her tone tinged with anger.
“Do you really think self-destruction is enough to solve this? Why would you fight with your death as the premise? Didn’t you say before you left that you weren’t just going to throw your life away?!”
“Even if you self-destruct, the only one who’ll die is you! Cadres rarely act directly. This thing is likely just a puppet!”
“So even if you did that, it wouldn’t achieve anything!”
“Which is why…”
“…”
After a long pause, Liu Meng finally spoke,
“This battle will be mine—”
“But that’s only the last resort, and I have another plan.”
YouYu shook his head, interrupting her mid-sentence.
He sighed, raising a hand in front of her.
“Take a look at this, Liu Meng.”
As he spoke, his raised hand began to glow with a yellow light. Subtle changes began to ripple across his arm.
“This is…”
Liu Meng stared at YouYu’s arm, her voice filled with shock.
“Wait… This can’t be… Why is my mana merging with you?”
“Let me ask you something, Liu Meng. Answer as simply as you can.”
“When you gave me that card, what were you thinking? Was it really just to help me suppress myself?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Liu Meng replied,
“No… it wasn’t. I was thinking more about using it to protect you.”
“Hmm… Then my guess was right.”
Relaxing visibly, YouYu nodded, a hint of relief in his voice.
“The Mana’s effects seem to change based on the wielder’s desires. Since you wanted to protect me, this card didn’t ‘attack’ me. Instead… it shielded me, taking the brunt of that creature’s attack.”
“Otherwise, I’d already be dead…”
“Which is why, Liu Meng, I need your help.”
YouYu’s voice grew resolute.
“I need your help… to let this card—your mana—merge with me seamlessly so I can harness its power.”
“If you can do that…”
“I might just have a chance to defeat him and survive.”
And… create a new path forward.
An opportunity to grow stronger.