Chapter 540: Staying Behind

"Guh—" Running in the darkness, Tina suddenly let out a muffled groan, her body stumbling involuntarily. Fortunately, her reflexes were quick, and she stabilized herself in time, preventing a fall.

"Th-this, what is happening?" Tina covered her chest with one hand and steadied herself against a wall with the other, barely managing to keep from collapsing.

She clearly felt some unknown power inside her body roaring frantically, wanting to break through her physical form and manifest externally. This power felt somewhat familiar to her; it was exactly what had previously assisted her in exerting strength beyond her limits. However, now this power made her feel an inexplicable panic.

"Gastrea-fication? I clearly remember that the erosion rate wasn't nearly this high before!" Tina said, gritting her teeth.

"Ha, ha—" Tina gasped heavily, her body slowly crouching down; she could already feel the scenery before her beginning to blur.

"Is this the punishment for a bad child?" Tina gave a bitter smile and slowly closed her eyes.

When Lingyun rushed into the alley, what he saw was Tina lying on the ground, her breathing weak.

"Tina?" Lingyun felt a shock in his heart; he flashed to Tina's side and pulled her into his arms.

"What is this?"

As soon as Lingyun's hand touched Tina's, his brow furrowed instantly. In his perception, the Qi inside Tina's body was extremely chaotic, and the erosion rate of the Gastrea Virus had shown an abnormal increase, nearing the 50% Boundary.

"How could this situation occur?"

Lingyun's brow furrowed slightly. He remembered that the last time he saw Tina, he had specifically checked the Gastrea Virus erosion rate in her body, and it was still within the safe range at that time. But now, Tina's body was actually showing a trend toward Gastrea-fication.

"Could it be?"

Lingyun suddenly recalled the situations during his two previous battles with Tina; in both of those instances, Tina had displayed strength beyond her current stage at critical moments.

"Could it be that she increases her strength by raising the Gastrea Virus erosion rate in her body? What a reckless method. An Rand, who researched this method, truly deserves to be humanely eliminated!" Lingyun said with a helpless expression, simultaneously pinning the blame on the completely oblivious An Rand.

His right hand pressed against Tina's back, and he slowly channeled the Purification Light into her body. Before the Purification Light, the previously arrogant Gastrea Virus shrank back in an instant. Lingyun's Purification Light circulated rapidly within Tina's body, continuously strangling the Gastrea Virus inside her until the virus's erosion rate dropped to the safety line before stopping.

Subsequently, Lingyun withdrew his Purification Light and channeled a wisp of Source Power into Tina's body, allowing the Source Power to repair the parts of Tina's body eroded by the Gastrea Virus.

After Lingyun channeled the Source Power, Tina's face, which had been revealing pain due to the Gastrea Virus erosion, slowly relaxed, and a look of relief appeared on her face.

"I really can't do anything with you!" Lingyun said with a helpless expression as he picked up Tina, his figure instantly turning into an afterimage and disappearing into the alley.

"Why hasn't Brother returned yet? According to normal circumstances, even if that sniper is a Cursed Child, she shouldn't be able to hold out for long in front of Brother!" Xiaona lay on the table and said somewhat boredly. "Could it be that some situation has occurred?"

"Rest assured, with Brother's strength, no matter what situation arises, Brother will be safe and sound!" Having witnessed a portion of Lingyun's strength, Senju Kayo said calmly from the side.

"I'm back!" Lingyun's figure appeared in the room.

"Brother, you're back? Was that sniper caught?" Seeing Lingyun, Xiaona jumped up at once.

"Eh, Brother, who is this? Tina?!" Senju Kayo's gaze fell upon the little girl in Lingyun's arms, and when she saw that iconic long silver-gold hair, she couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

Although she knew the answer she had arrived at was incredible, it was also the best answer Senju Kayo could obtain at the moment.

"Brother, that sniper who wanted to assassinate you and Seitenshi is Tina, right?" Senju Kayo asked cautiously.

"This, how could it be like this? Tina is clearly a good child, how could this happen?" Xiaona said with some disbelief.

"Have you forgotten? Last time, Tina once said she was a bad child; perhaps she was referring to this matter," Senju Kayo said calmly.

"Then what do we do now? We can't just hand Tina over!" Xiaona asked.

"Hand her over? That is absolutely impossible!" Lingyun said. "My idea is to let Tina stay, right here in Lingyun Town!"

"Stay? Is that feasible?" Xiaona asked, tilting her head.

"There will always be a way!" Lingyun said.

"Then, how is she now?" Senju Kayo asked, looking at Tina in Lingyun's arms.

"The Gastrea Virus in her body had an abnormal riot, and I have temporarily suppressed it!" Lingyun said.

"By the way, how is it over at Ye Xi's side?" Lingyun asked.

"Sister Ye Xi sent a message saying that they have finished their side, and she even brought a gift for Brother; Brother will definitely like it!" Senju Kayo said.

"A gift?" Lingyun raised an eyebrow; he was actually a bit curious now as to what kind of gift Luo Yexi and Busujima Saeko would bring him.

"Ugh, a strange ceiling—" Lying on the bed, Tina opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, feeling somewhat dazed.

"Hehe, little sister Tina, you're awake?" Xiaona lay on the bed with her chin in her hands, looking at her with a grin.

"Xiaona? Where is this, where?" Having just woken up, Tina was still a bit dazed; she shook her head and asked Lingyun.

"This place? It's Lingyun Town!" Xiaona said.

"Lingyun Town? Lingyun? Brother Lingyun!" Hearing Xiaona's words, Tina widened her eyes at once, and a trace of panic appeared in them.

She clearly remembered that after being discovered by Lingyun, she had fled in a panic to get away from him, and afterward, she had fainted in the alley due to the riot of the Gastrea Virus in her body. But now she was appearing in Lingyun Town, which could only mean that Lingyun had brought her back.

"Brother isn't blaming you!" Xiaona looked at Tina, who was curled into a ball, and said softly.

"Brother, he... isn't blaming me?" Tina said in a low voice.

"Tina, is your body alright now?" Just at this moment, Lingyun pushed the door open and walked in.

"Brother Lingyun..." Looking at Lingyun walking toward her, Tina's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

"Brother, why did you return from Seikyo so quickly?" Xiaona jumped up from the bed abruptly and skillfully hung onto Lingyun.

"Hmm, it was just to tell Seitenshi that the sniper had been killed and the threat had been lifted; there was no need to linger there for too long," Lingyun said.

"The sniper has been killed..." Tina lowered her head; naturally, she could not fail to hear that this was a statement Lingyun had given to Seitenshi in order to protect her.

"That's right, that Tina who was the sniper has been killed, so you are now just Tina!" Lingyun sat down by the bed and reached out to stroke Tina's head.

"Ugh—" Under Lingyun's stroking, Tina subconsciously squinted her eyes.

"Tina, I ask you, are you willing to stay in Lingyun Town?" Lingyun asked.

"Stay in Lingyun Town?" A look of wavering appeared on Tina's face.

What kind of place was Lingyun Town? After she had learned about it, she had felt a great yearning for it. The Hope Land for Cursed Children, the only region in this world that could allow Cursed Children to obtain happiness.

However, could she really stay in Lingyun Town? Her master, An Rand, one of the Four Sages, would absolutely not allow this matter to happen. Perhaps his hand would even reach into this place; after all, this place had a very large number of Cursed Children. And to him, these Cursed Children were all excellent experimental materials.

"My master will not allow me to do this; if I join Lingyun Town, it will only bring disaster to Lingyun Town!" Tina said, biting her lip.

"That is a problem for me to consider!" Lingyun said. "You children only need to consider how to live a happy life."

"Mm." Feeling the warmth brought by the large hand on her head, Tina squinted her eyes happily and leaned into Lingyun's embrace.