Zongman: Collecting starts with Shiori

These words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly breaking Qin Li's composure.

She turned her head suddenly, her eyes fixed sharply on Shi Shoufeng, her face full of disbelief.

"you mean……???"

"I saw her the other day."

"!!!"

But after a slight shock, Qin Li relaxed as if she was convinced.

"Your appearance...has changed a lot..."

"Yeah..."

Shiki Shoufeng stared at the white figure that appeared in mid-air on the screen and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I don't know if I can change this situation. To be honest, fighting and killing is not something I like..."

Qin Li curled her lips imperceptibly.

"I advise you not to move for now. AST's policy towards elves is to destroy them completely. Although the Hermit is said to be gentle, her destructive power is actually very shocking. If you want to contact her... I think it's better to let AST's people consume her first."

To be honest, Kotori shouldn't have said this, because if she did so, both Yoshino and the AST team would definitely suffer damage, but Kotori still made this suggestion in order to better solve this problem.

Chapter 73: Confrontation Again

Hearing these words, Shi Shoufeng's face did not show any emotion, but there was a barely perceptible depth flashing in his eyes.

Almost at the same moment, obvious surprise appeared on Shiori's face, and his clear eyes were full of confusion and doubt towards Kotori, as if silently questioning how such words could come from the mouth of Kotori, who had always advocated peaceful coexistence.

"Kotori, how can you say that? Whether the other party is an elf or a human, shouldn't living in harmony be our common goal?"

There was a hint of disbelief and slight reproach in Shiori's words, and her eyes revealed a deep expectation, hoping that Kotori could give a reasonable explanation to overturn this sudden prejudice.

Facing Shiori's questioning, Kotori lowered her eyes slightly, and a complex emotion flashed across her ruby-like eyes.

She wanted to say something but stopped herself. In the end, she just turned her head slightly, avoiding Shiori's soul-piercing gaze, and cast her eyes on the screen not far away, choosing silence as a response.

This action seems to be an escape, but also seems to be hiding some unknown secret.

Shi Shoufeng saw this, although he had expected it, he still remained calm.

His eyes were soft and deep as he stared at Kotori quietly, trying to interpret her inner struggle and conflict from her every subtle movement.

He knew that even though Kotori's body was given to him by chance, it did not mean that he could fully understand or control Kotori's complex and profound inner world.

Everything seems to be making progress, but in fact it is still stagnant because true acceptance and trust have not yet been achieved.

The trust requirement of the quest issued by the card device is still as proud as a towering cloud peak, and there has been no progress at all.

At this moment, the scene on the screen switched, and the AST troops had a head-on encounter with the elf named Yoshino.

Just as described by Kotori Itsuka and the others, Yoshino's elf companion Yoshina displayed an almost gentle way of existence. She simply flew lightly in the air, dodging the fierce attacks from the AST troops with clever posture, and never took the initiative to counterattack.

In sharp contrast, the members of the AST force used heavy weapons without reservation, launching round after round of attacks on the petite elf with long blue hair, and each blow seemed so cold and ruthless.

The blue-haired elf who called herself Shiona seemed particularly vulnerable under the continuous attacks. Her figure seemed to be shaky after being hit accurately several times, and every collision seemed to be telling of unbearable pain.

This scene made Shikishou Feng's thoughts return to the moment when he first met the blue-haired elf - her trembling body, tearful eyes, begging him not to hurt her, that helplessness and fear are still clearly imprinted in the depths of his memory.

"That's why I hate living clearly... The so-called good and evil, when you stand on different sides, will lead to completely different situations..."

Shi Shoufeng scratched his hair helplessly, then walked out without looking back.

Sensing Shikimori Kaede's actions, Kotori did not stop him again, but instead gave orders.

"Open the hatch and let him go."

"Hoo hoo hoo..."

Shiki Shoufeng's ears were filled with the sound of whistling wind.

To be honest...this is the first time for Shi Shoufeng to experience jumping from such a height.

Not to mention, this heart-stopping feeling made him feel his own mood was agitated.

Shiki Shoufeng blocked the strong wind, squinted his eyes slightly, identified the direction, and then landed vertically in the direction of the battle.

"Tohka..."

Shikimori Kaede flipped her wrist and took out Tohka's card and summoned her out.

Since they had entered the battle area, whether Tohka had spiritual power was entirely a matter of Shikimori Kaede's thought.

So Tohka who appeared in the mid-air was just stunned for a moment and then she summoned her spiritual outfit according to the surging spiritual power in her body and flew in the mid-air and caught Shikimori Kaede beside her.

"maple?"

Tohka looked at Shikimori Kaede inquiringly.

"There... Could you please help me stop those guys? If possible, don't hurt them. Of course, if you do, don't show any mercy."

"I understand————Aoshagong!!"

The big sword appeared in Tohka's hand as she shouted.

Tohka brought Shikimori Kaede closer and swung out a sword energy.

The sword energy accurately drew a line of demarcation between Yoshino and the AST force.

The two took advantage of the pause to fly between the two groups of people.

"!! All units, attention! A second spirit reaction has appeared. It's the 'Princess'! Get ready for battle!!"

The people of the AST unit were worthy of being the ones who had been fighting against the elves all the time. They made the decision after a brief moment of surprise.

On the other side, Yoshino was frightened by the sword energy. She ran into a building without looking back.

Shikimori Feng just glanced at the direction where Yoshino fled and did not rush to chase her. Instead, he stood on the roof of a tall building and stared at the people from the AST troops.

不 ...

Or rather, looking into Origami's eyes.

"I'm here again."

Shikimori Feng looked at Origami and laughed heartily.

Origami looked at Shiki Morikaze quietly, with no expression on her face, but her hands involuntarily clenched their weapons.

"Don't stop me...Elf, damn it..."

"That's right..."

Shikishou Feng sighed.

He said to Origami with a smile.

"I think I said it before. If that's the case, you should walk over me first. Come on, I won't resist?"

Shiki Shoufeng opened his arms and pretended not to resist.

Origami looked at Shiki Morikaze's actions with complicated thoughts.

"I don't kill humans, I only kill elves. Why do you have to go against me..."

"Humph?"

Shi Shoufeng snorted softly.

"I am also a kind of elf, right? Have you forgotten?"

Shikimori Kaede appeared here just to complete the origami mission. Seeing that the provocation was almost over, he didn't want to waste any more time, otherwise it would be fun if he couldn't find Yoshino.

He waved his hand and said to Tohka.

"Tohka, please, just ask them not to disturb me, okay?"

"Don't worry, Feng, just leave it to me~"

Tohka said nonchalantly.

After all, in her eyes, AST's attack...is really not something to be afraid of.

"Ah."

Shikimori Kaede smiled and patted Tohka's head, then glanced at Origami.

"I've already said this. I need to subdue the elves. This is my position. And what you're doing is against me in my opinion. I won't let Tohka hurt you specifically, but I hope you won't make any unnecessary attacks. I don't want any casualties."

After saying that, Shikimori Kaede jumped off the roof, and then in the sight of everyone in AST, a fiery red figure flew towards the place where Yoshino had just disappeared.

Chapter 74: Conversation with Yoshina

On a certain floor of a building where it was so quiet that one could almost hear the dust falling in the air, Shikimori Feng slowly shed his flame demon form, like a flame gradually fading in the night. Every step he took on the deserted steps of the building made a clearly audible echo.

“Are you also… the one who came to bully Yoshino…?”

A weak voice but with a force that could not be ignored suddenly broke the silence like a ghost, causing Shi Shoufeng's heart to tremble violently.

He quickly raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see an incredible sight hanging in the void above his head.

At this moment, Yoshino seemed to have violated the laws of nature, suspended in mid-air in an incredible upside-down posture. Her long hair swayed gently, forming a sharp contrast with the still air around her. She looked like the most eye-catching bat in the night sky, mysterious and fragile.

However, it was not Yoshino herself who broke the silence, but the small puppet in her hand.

Its eyes seemed to contain life. After looking at Shiki Shoufeng, it continued in a joking tone.

"I can't do this. Yoshino is a good and kind child. I can't let her get hurt... Huh?"

There was a hint of doubt in the puppet's words, as if it had discovered something unusual.

At this moment, Yoshino's body seemed to be guided by an invisible wind, and she spun lightly, gracefully returning to normal from the inverted posture, and finally landed lightly on the ground.

"Oh wow, I was wondering why he looked so familiar, now I remember, it's that gentle big brother from a few days ago."

The hand puppet opened its mouth exaggeratedly.

“What’s the matter, big brother, you came here, have you finally made up your mind to do something interesting to Yoshino? Although it sounds a bit annoying to say this, it feels so exciting for some reason!”

"What are you stimulating..."

Shiki Shoufeng raised the corners of his mouth slightly, with a playful light flashing in his eyes, and asked softly to the puppet in his hand, as if he was having a relaxed and pleasant conversation with an old friend.

He looked at the hand puppet and answered with a playful smile.

"I said I'm here to take you away, do you believe me?"

Shikimori Kaede's tone was full of teasing, as if he was enjoying this little prank with the puppet.

“Pfft…Hahahahaha!!”

The hand puppet suddenly burst into a clear and loud laughter, the sound full of joy and undisguised happiness.

The laughter echoed in the quiet space, adding a bit of relaxation to the slightly tense atmosphere.

"Brother, why are you so humorous?"

The puppet continued to laugh, its tone full of admiration for Shiki Shoufeng.

"Although I welcome big brother to come and play with me, the outside world is not always so friendly. People there are holding sharp weapons. Once hit, the pain is unbearable! Shion doesn't want to be hurt, and as her guardian, Shion doesn't want anyone to be hurt, so we have to say sorry and refuse this adventure!"

"Yoshina...Yoshina?"

Shiki Shoufeng silently recited the two names in his mind. Although the pronunciations were similar, he keenly captured the subtle difference between the two through the changes in the puppet's tone, and couldn't help but feel a little curious.

"Can I ask a question before that?"

Shikimori's voice was gentle and full of patience. He decided to solve this little mystery first.

"Oh...? Are you concerned about Yoshino's three-dimensionality? I can tell you, B:73 W:55 H:78..."

The hand puppet began to count in a mysterious manner, with a hint of mischief in its tone, as if it was deliberately teasing Shiki Shoufeng.

When Shi Shoufeng heard this, an awkward and helpless smile flashed across his face, and he quickly waved his hand to interrupt.

"No, no, no..."

His movements seemed a little flustered, and his eyes turned to Yoshino beside him. Her little face was flushed with shyness, and her little hands were tightly covering the mouth of the hand puppet. She looked both cute and endearing.

"I've been wanting to ask this since the beginning. Yoshino and Yoshina...are they two names, right?"

Shikimori Kaede's voice sounded again, his eyes revealing genuine curiosity and concern.