Yes, I did all of this!

"If you can't beat them, you can't beat them. Why make so many excuses?"

Watching his retreat, Duanmu Mo spread his arms, revealing his dissatisfaction.

"..."

Without answering, the Wild Poisonous Vine retreated and quickly disappeared into the night.

After seeing him leave, Duanmu Mo lowered his hand and silently closed the handle of his belt.

The transparent lens that showed the belt slot was blocked by the combined parts on both sides. The ability card of the evening sun also came out, shooting out of the slot with steam, and was caught by Duanmu Mo.

After doing all that, he looked around to make sure there were no other enemies before shaking the card: "Hiss—it's so hot, so hot. This card's heat dissipation isn't very good."

The card was radiating intense heat, but Duanmu Mo casually tossed it on the ground to cool it down, showing no concern that this important card would disappear.

The flames dissipated from his body, and Duanmu Mo shivered, feeling as if he had been tied to a fire and roasted, every part of his body filled with the pain of burns.

However, being a cyborg, such injuries will heal in no time.

Now, he needs to consider another important matter.

"Xia Yan..."

Duanmu Mo's script had to be revised, but in the end, it was more convenient.

In short, according to the current plot, he should have been rescued by Xia Yan and left the battlefield, and is on his way home.

"If this continues, I feel like I'm destined to win an Oscar."

After deactivating his transformation, Duanmu Mo rubbed his facial muscles, feigning weakness, and then complained before picking up the card and disappearing into the shadows.

Chapter 100: Sleep

"Yoriya-senpai..."

Huangyi carried Xiri on his back, feeling the weak aura behind him, as if Xiri would fall into eternal sleep at any moment.

Xi Ri's injuries were extremely severe; his body was covered with wounds from thorns piercing him, and blood was still flowing continuously.

Anxious, flustered, and at a loss, Huang Yi unknowingly brought Xi Ri to Duanmu Mo's office.

"Mr. Duanmu! Mr. Duanmu!"

He kicked open the door and looked around, searching for news of Duanmu Mo's injury.

"Where has Mr. Duanmu gone at this time...?"

Helpless, tears began to flow uncontrollably.

Standing behind her, Cangyi's words were tinged with disappointment: "Can't you even stay calm at a time like this? You always rely on others, have you forgotten how to think for yourself at a time like this?"

"What...what are you trying to say...?"

"There's no use in being anxious. If you really trust him that much, why can't you even ask where he is?"

"Yes... I'll go right now!" Hearing Cangyi's words, Huangyi regained some composure and immediately placed Xiri in Duanmu Mo's position.

"Hey... Mr. Duanmu, where are you right now?"

—While Huangyi was asking questions on the phone, Cangyi slowly walked up to Xiri, looking at her sleeping face with a complicated expression.

With a bang, Cangyi turned around and saw Huangyi burst out of the door and leave the agency.

With a somber expression, Cangyi sighed and looked at the setting sun, whispering, "Thank goodness, I finally saved you..."

Before long, Duanmu Mo was carried back to the agency by Huang Yi and saw Xi Ri's appearance.

His gaze met Cangyi's, and Duanmu Mo walked to the bedside with a serious expression:

"Xia Yan is seriously injured... I will do my best to heal her."

Duanmu Mo thought for a moment, then turned to Huang Yi and took out his notebook from his pocket: "Yu Zhi, leave for a moment and go to a nearby 24-hour pharmacy to buy these medicines. Don't rush. After you bring the medicines back, wait on the first floor. I need a place to calm down."

“I understand, but Cangyi…” Taking the torn paper from the notebook, Yuzhi looked at the bloodstains on it. She had questions in her heart, but felt that now was not the time to talk about them, so she could only keep them to herself for the time being.

“I need an assistant.” Duanmu Mo looked at Cangyi: “Nice to meet you, Miss Cangyi.”

"Enough with the useless greetings, let's get started."

Cangyi spoke calmly, sensing a hint of impatience in her tone. Huangyi nodded, deactivated her transformation, and quickly left the area.

At this point, only the unconscious Xi Ri, Duanmu Mo, and Cang Yi remained in the agency.

After Yu Zhi left, Duanmu Mo took a deep breath, stretched his body, took off his trench coat and casually threw it aside, revealing the torn clothes on his chest and back.

"Phew—let's get down to business."

Standing in front of the bed, Duanmu Mo sat down and placed his hands on her body to check on Xi Ri's physical condition.

"Xi Ri is only seriously injured; there is no risk of her dying," Cang Yi said calmly from behind.

“So, Yu Zhi is still too nervous.” Duanmu Mo said with his eyes closed, “The only problem is the life force she consumes when using the black flame, but this situation is not easy to cure.”

As he spoke, Duanmu Mo raised his hand and took out the ability card that Xi Ri had taken from him.

"...Is this what you've gained today, and is it the key to changing our future?"

Looking at the card printed with burning black flames, Cangyi sighed, "With this, Xi Ri won't have to die."

"Even if we take a step back and assume that this thorny monster named Huang Yu desperately wants the power of the Black Flame, he doesn't need to swallow Xi Ri," Duanmu Mo nodded.

This card is essentially a substitute for Yuhi. From Aragami's perspective, he has two choices: one is Yuhi's own black flame, which requires various complex conditions to obtain, and the other is Duanmu Mo's card, which can grant him power by simply swallowing it.

When the sunset was no longer a necessary choice, the pressure on her was greatly reduced.

Of course, this card, which was only recently taken from Yuhi, also has other uses.

—Duanmu Mo placed the card on Xi Ri's chest, and it returned to her body.

The previously weak Xi Ri immediately regained her composure. Duanmu Mo explained this to Cang Yi behind him:

“Her missing vitality can be replenished in this way, but of course I also need to use this card, so it’s not a long-term solution.”

When a blank card leaves the body, it will cause the host to feel weak for a period of time, and their strength will also decrease. However, the way the blank card records abilities is relatively gentle, so the host's strength will recover on its own after a while.

Of course, the used card can return to the host's body, skipping the process of restoring power, and retaining most of its original effects—the only problem is that it can no longer obtain power from the host's body.

Duanmu Mo turned to look at Cangyi: "What are your thoughts on her vitality?"

"Shouldn't you ask yourself this question?"

Cangyi stared at Duanmu Mo and said calmly, "You said that Xi Ri's power healed you just now. I have never seen Xi Ri have the power to heal others."

"Hmm...about that."

Duanmu Mo raised his hand and placed it on Xi Ri's chest, feeling her heartbeat:

“I can feel that there is indeed a force protecting her, but it is too vague, and even the blank card in her body could not detect this change.”

"This is a completely new power that no other world in the past possessed."

Cangyi's voice was low and deep: "The black flames burn with despair as fuel, but because of your appearance in this cycle, hope rose in Xi Ri's heart—I think that's why this power was able to protect her life and heal you."

"Because there is hope..." Duanmu Mo pondered for a moment, then took out some medicine from under the bed and bandaged her up. Seeing that Xi Ri showed some signs of waking up, he raised his hand and pulled out Xi Ri's ability card, leaving her unconscious again.

"Unfortunately, tonight I was more excited about getting a new card."

Since Xi Ri's new power could potentially heal her own problems, Duanmu Mo no longer needed to keep this powerful weapon within Xi Ri's body. Instead, he placed a blank card inside her.

But compared to gaining power from Xi Ri's body, Duanmu Mo values ​​this card more in detecting changes within Xi Ri's body to confirm the existence of her healing flame.

"But in the end, you still saved Yuhi," Cangyi said. "This is the key to changing the future, even though the monsters have also become stronger..."

"You mean that thorny monster?" Too lazy to repeat the tongue-twisting name, Huang Yudu Man, Duanmu Mo asked while bandaging Xi Ri.

"Having a part of Huang Yu's soul, he will recklessly squander the life force within the Poison Vine, which makes him even more dangerous."

Cangyi hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and took out a stone.

"This is..." Duanmu Mo looked at the stone, which was shaped like a heart and wrapped with red and blue lines, and seemed to be pulsating slightly as if it were alive.

Clearly, this is the Key to the Underworld that the Poison Vine desperately needs.

"Originally, I didn't plan to take it out, but since Yuri has shown power that no other reincarnation has, I'll let you try it out."

Cangyi held the Key to the Underworld and said to Duanmu Mo, "Try to put it into your card."

"What do you want to do?" Duanmu Mo raised his hand and placed it on the stone.

This was the first time he had touched the stone. A slight change came from his waist. Duanmu Mo knew that this was a reaction from the same material. He ignored the change and used his ability as Cangyi had instructed.

Unexpectedly, the stone did not turn into a card; it merely emitted a slight vibration before lying peacefully in Cangyi's palm.

Duanmu Mo frowned, and quickly understood why:

"This small stone contains quite a bit of power. With my current abilities, a single card can't contain it all, unless I try to split it into two forces..."

"—Let's leave it at that."

Cangyi put away the card and said bluntly, "You know the composition of the Key to the Underworld, right? It's the product of the conflict between the powers of magical girls and monsters in ancient times over a long period of time. And part of this Key to the Underworld is made of Arayu's power. He can feel the existence of his own power."

"So, in that thorny monster's eyes, this stone is equivalent to a locator?"

"Theoretically, that's correct. This is the first time that Huang Yu has possessed someone for such a long time before his resurrection. Since he personally intervened, next time he'll probably try to snatch it from me directly." Holding the Key of the Underworld, Cang Yi spoke in a low voice:

“I will not let his scheme succeed, so during this time I have done some things to the Key of the Underworld to stop his actions to some extent, but in doing so, you will still face a difficult battle, and that will be left to you.”

As Cangyi spoke, he silently gripped the driver on his arm.

"Methods?" Duanmu Mo glanced at the Key to the Underworld in her hand with suspicion, but did not ask what her methods were:

"It sounds like you're preparing a backup plan."

"I am either a remnant from the future or the past. If the future truly changes, then I have no reason to exist in this world," Cangyi said calmly.

"..."

She removed her mask, turned it around to examine herself, and smiled serenely: "I am trapped in an endless cycle of failure. If I can witness the end of my own cycle, that would be a kind of luck for me."

She raised her head and looked at Duanmu Mo.

Chapter 101: Awakening

—In a drowsy mind, chaos is ever-present.

Just like the hopeless dreams I've had over the past decade or so.

It felt like an endless abyss from which there was no escape; every second of endurance was torture.