Chapter 67 - Chapter 67 - Clockwork Night (Part 4)

"I activate 's effect, adding to my hand!"

Luo Bai slapped the card onto the duel disk, his gaze resolute and fiery, his body leaning forward, pupils narrowed, displaying an uncontrollable passion.

"I activate , adding to my hand!"

When the name Cyber Dragon Herz was mentioned, Melonica visibly trembled, her fists clenched tightly. The ground emitted a dark red-black aura of death; this monster seemed to have special significance for her.

"I discard to activate 's effect, allowing me to Special Summoning him."

"'s Special Summon lets me activate his effect, adding another from the Deck to the hand, and 's graveyard effect lets me retrieve a from the graveyard to the hand."

"Again!"

"I discard , Special Summon !"

"Two Level 5 monsters..." Melonica's breathing became rapid, her lips trembling slightly, her eyes glistening with tears.

Her hand was on the face-down card . If she activated it, she could destroy one of the Galaxy Soldiers and prevent the Xyz Summon.

The countdown for the chain inquiry ticked away second by second.

Each tick tugged at her hesitating heartstrings.

When the 8-second inquiry time was up, the chain was automatically canceled.

"Not interrupted? Was it not ?" Luo Bai was a bit surprised.

If she didn't interrupt, she wouldn't have any further chance!

"I overlay the two Level 5 !"

"Oh New Hope for the Cyber Stream!"

"Clear the chaos, and pave the way for the future!"

"Xyz Summon! Bring your radiance into this world!"

"Level 5, !"

In the skies of the dim and eerie Vampire Empire, blinding lightning and thunder suddenly erupted. The power of the world was gathering, and as the energy grew more intense, a massive vortex of lightning formed in the sky, accompanied by roaring and mechanical thunder.

The lightning vortex twisted and morphed, revealing a finely crafted mechanical dragon serpent.

In the vast night sky, the new star representing hope shone with a captivating yet cold metallic gleam.

"Cyber Dragon... Nova..." Melonica gazed at the sky, her eyes flickering.

With a complex emotion even the gods couldn't understand, she shivered slightly.

[ACTIVATE ?]

A prompt appeared on the system, visible only to her.

"Nova..."

"Infinity..."

Melonica was stunned, her breathing erratic, whispering softly.

[8... 7... 6...]

The 8-second chain prompt ticked down second by second.

Meanwhile, Luo Bai's hand was on his Extra Deck. As soon as the 8 seconds were up, he would immediately proceed with an Xyz Change.

Nova's effect wouldn't even need to activate its effect!

[DING!]

No actions from the opponent.

Luo Bai regained the priority to act.

"I win!"

Having such a thought in mind, he drew the card symbolizing victory from his Extra Deck.

"I use as material!"

"Xyz Change!"

"Level 6,

Just as he was about to place the card down, a crisp ticking sound echoed in his mind.

It was like tears falling onto cold machinery.

A mournful sensation from the fingertips holding the card caused Luo Bai's summoning motion to abruptly stop.

With a whoosh, the world changed.

His soul was transported back to that night.

"Where... is this..." Soul-state Luo Bai drifted into what appeared to be an electronics laboratory.

Computer servers with blinking lights can be seen everywhere, orderly and complex electronic components, precision circuit boards, and various forms of , , and patrolled the corridors...

He passed through a glass wall and entered the laboratory.

Two people stood in the middle of the hall with their backs to him, with only the hum of damaged machinery.

The woman was dressed in a magnificent black evening gown, with long gray-white hair and holding a black parasol.

The man wore a neat white lab coat, with his hands in his pockets and a blue LED-like light flashing at the corner of his left eye.

They both gazed straight ahead, showing no signs of intimacy.

There stood a massive mechanical construct, a battle-damaged , with mechanical parts falling off and having degenerated into its Nova form, its power core dim and lifeless.

[I need a powerful soul.]

"He" slowly opened his mouth, and the dead silence was broken by a cold, mechanical voice.

"Hehe, that's quite an honor." She chuckled self-deprecatingly.

The Vampire Queen, a Zombie , had a soul strong enough.

"He" stopped speaking.

Silence, still silence.

The air was frighteningly quiet.

came to her feet, affectionately rubbing against her. She crouched down, smiled slightly, and spread her hands to let climb into her palm, gently stroking its cold mechanical head with her warm fingertips.

"He" did not intervene.

Their relationship was not superficial.

They don't know how much time had passed within such silence but...

"It's time for me to go." she smiled softly to .

She slowly stood up and resolutely walked forward.

"You owe me for this."

Her back turned to "him", her voice betraying no emotion.

The woman's figure moved step by step towards the soul-charging device.

Holding her umbrella in hand, she sat in the soul-transference chair, countless soul-draining iron threads attaching to her body, like a net tightly binding her.

The output end of the soul-draining threads was connected to the power unit of .

The core of the power unit was the energy-depleted, dim .

She turned around, facing "him".

Luo Bai finally got a clear view of her exquisite features.

The soul-draining threads emitted a blue glow, highlighting her deep red eyes.

A few gray-white strands of hair fluttered back and forth between her eyes, showing her unease.

She tightly gripped the umbrella in her hands, clutching the handle to her chest, like a homeless person holding a warm blanket on a winter night.

"Bzzzzzzz————"

The soul-draining machine increased its power.

Her brows furrowed to a frown, her face showing pain, but she didn't utter a single "Don't".

"He" had set up a program in the soul-draining machine; as long as a single "don't" was detected, the machine would automatically cease operation.

One word.

As long as she utters any word with that intent...

"Bzzzzzzz————"

The soul-draining machine continued to increase its power.

gradually began to glow with a blue light.

's systems resumed operation, automatically assembling and repairing damage. An unstable halo hovered above, with a blinding red light emitting supreme majesty.

"Fwoooosh———–"

was fully charged.

The black umbrella fell from the girl's hand.

Until the very end, she still did not say a single "don't".

"He" looked at her, lifeless in the soul-transference chair, a single tear quietly sliding down his right cheek.

To be promoted as the Machines' , one must possess a mechanical heart.

No "joy".

No "anger".

No "fear".

No "sorrow".

Clearly...

"He" had failed again.