Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Even as everything and everyone went still, the three armed men remained as the exception.
This was because when time was stilled, only the targets would be locked in their current states. This meant that no external attacks could harm the targets. Pandora did this to protect innocent people from being hurt. As for those three armed men, they were in no need of protection.
It looked like Pandora knew how to avoid creating trouble for me. This was so no matter how much she did not understand why I wanted to avoid trouble.
The sudden change caused the three armed men to go from being extremely arrogant to being in a complete daze in a split-second. This kind of scene that they only saw in movies caused them to be at a complete loss as to how to react.
The strongest man in the middle was the first to react. He realized that the skinny hostage now weighed as much as a huge mountain; there was no way they could move him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not even move the man a single inch. Thus, he decisively let go of his hostage and retrieved another handgun from his waist belt. He was now a macho man holding onto two guns, looking around warily.
“Emperor,” Pandora’s voice sounded in my head once again. “Since I don’t have support from a Xyrin Outpost, this false stillness can only be maintained for fifteen minutes.”
“Alright,” I answered Pandora in my head. (This way of speaking was very convenient indeed.) “What is ‘false stillness’?”
“Halting everything at the critical time,” Pandora said. She seemed to swing her leg, but she patiently explained, “I’ve halted the interaction of information in this area, creating a phenomenon similar to halting time. However, it does not directly interfere with the time axis. It can only stop operations. That’s why it’s called false stillness.”
“Alright, I don’t understand it.” I nodded profusely and said confidently, “They are very confused now. Our next step is…”
“For the Empire!” The normally emotionless Pandora suddenly shouted passionately. Without waiting for me to react, she charged over in a flash of white light.
Wait! What’s the situation now? The emotionless Lolita was now a violent and passionate teenage lady? No, no, no. This was not the main problem… what was my battle plan?! The only value in my existence was to make the battle plan clear. Why did you rush out before I could do that!
Pandora’s movements immediately attracted the attention of the three violent men. While everything else remained silent and still, a young girl dressed in silver battle armor and wearing a mask suddenly appeared. It was hard for them not to notice her.
They were already extremely tense as it was. They could not afford to think about what was happening around them or who this little girl was. Almost subconsciously, all three of them raised their guns and pointed them at the white figure charging towards them.
Bang, bang, bang! There were several gunshots. I tensed up and thought, “Sh*t!”
Pandora, who was moving at top speed, completely violated the laws of motion as she suddenly halted where she was and lifted her right hand, her palm exposed. She straightened her arm, looking like a statue. The strong contrast between her action and inaction made me wonder if I had just been imagining the way Pandora looked earlier.
Pandora released a wave that spread outwards like a ripple in the water. A few already-deformed metallic cylinders were blocked out by this protective layer. They fell to the ground.
… I should have expected this. How could the Xyrin Empire, which was several times more advanced and educated than the human race, be afraid of humans’ primitive and simple thermal weapons?
The three armed men were stunned. The strange things happening around them and the even stranger Lolita in front of them were making them doubt that they were living in real life.
At that exact moment, Pandora’s emotionless voice was heard.
“Confirmation of attack with a near-zero threat level. Taking deterrent measures…”
As Pandora’s emotionless voice sounded, her extended right hand began to transform. Black metallic structures with rigid lines began to appear in midair, forming a giant rectangular cannon at a mind-boggling speed. Several complex parts began to appear on the body of the cannon. A light blue energy network—which resembled veins in a body—began to pulse. The energy network started from the mouth of the rectangular cannon and stretched all the way to the back of the cannon. They formed long, thick cables which merged with the right half of Pandora’s body.
“Pandora’s one-meter Phantom Warship Cannon preheating before launch…”
The three people in front of Pandora were stunned.
In fact, even I was stunned…
“This… is a monster!”
The burly man in the center exclaimed in shock and turned to run but just as he turned around, Pandora’s left hand transformed into a Triple Six-Barrel Cannon. As the cannon fired, there was a loud, explosive sound. The legs of the men armed with two guns turned to jelly as he fell to the ground. The entire lower half of his body became drenched.
Ignoring the horrified looks of everyone else present, I studied the two huge weapons in the hands of Pandora, the Lolita. The rectangular Phantom Warship Cannon aside that resembled an entire pillar aside, the Triple Six-Barrel Canon alone was bigger than Pandora’s entire body. Now, I was finally certain that Pandora’s unassuming exterior hid a violent and war-hungry heart. It was a good thing that I chose to bring her out and not leave her alone at home. Otherwise, she might well have run out to conquer the world in her idleness.
Apart from this, Lolita armed with huge weapons was extremely and unexpectedly eye-catching.
“You… you are… what are you… you are…” A red-haired young man among the three armed men kept stuttering, at a loss for words. The gun in his hands dropped to the ground with a ‘bam’. Compared to the supernatural weapons Lolita had, this thing was nothing more than a toy.
Pandora totally ignored the man’s question. The huge weapons in her hands began to make clicking noises. Almost immediately, ‘Pandora’s One-Meter Phantom Warship Cannon’ shot out blinding blue and white light from its mouth like an engine.
“Enough, Pandora.” At that moment, I finally understood what Pandora was trying to do. As a ‘Xyrin General’, killing enemies was as ordinary to her as drinking water and eating food. If I still refused to speak up to stop her, the three unlucky bastards in front of me would become the first batch of humans who were destroyed by warship weapons.
Although the men were clearly crooks and criminals and were probably deserving of death, killing them like that would cause chaos once the time-halting effects wore off.
“Orders received.”
Once Pandora responded, the two huge weapons immediately folded and disappeared into thin air. Pandora’s partially mechanized body had reverted to normal.
At that moment, the three mentally-disturbed men finally noticed that there was one more human being who could move. Although he looked very plain and average, one command from him made the ‘monster’ obey. This meant that this person was no ordinary human being.
Thus, the next second, the three of them all turned to me as if I was their savior.
Being stared at by three ferocious-looking, strong, older men… made me feel like I was in hell.
The man who had been frightened stiff by Pandora’s first round of attacks was now crying as he exclaimed, “Let us go! You’re a magnanimous man; you will forgive us and not take what we—ordinary humans—did to heart…”
… Were they hinting that I was not human? Although it was completely normal to think that way after seeing the way Pandora and I acted… Brother, I have to tell you that you’re mocking…
“Stupid carbon-based being.” Pandora’s cold voice sounded, accompanied by strange electronic static. “Don’t try to confuse the Emperor’s judgment!”
Keke… Pandora, you’re making matters worse…
First, they thought that I should not be considered human. Now, my own little sister was despising me subconsciously. I awkwardly said, “Let’s not talk about the issue of species first. Pandora, let’s not kill them. Else, once time resumes, we will have a lot of problems to resolve. Do you have any other way to wipe out their memories or…?”
“Or make them dumb?” I said this last portion in my heart, sending it to Pandora using our mental connection.
Pandora nodded and took big strides towards the three confused crooks. As she walked, her right hand became an inch-long blue and white conical object. At the tip of this conical object was a long needle, flashing blue and white.
The three men let out a desperate cry.
From then on, these three men became dumb.