Chapter 59: Nuo Ai’er-chan, the Captured

“Damn, no way I can win against this…”

In just a few seconds of exchange, Nuo Ai’er had already mentally tallied all the intel.

Forget the whip—just this lightning talent alone could electrocute Nuo Ai’er into a drooling mess.

A complete and utter lost cause…

Watching the twin-tailed girl’s figure advancing step by step before her, only one answer remained—

“Run! Run now!”

Nuo Ai’er, who had been sitting collapsed on the ground, suddenly pushed herself up from the cold cement floor and started sprinting.

The same ending as the last cycle…

Nuo Ai’er had no other choice. If she didn’t run now, she wouldn’t be able to escape later either.

But this time, she learned from her last mistake and didn’t run along the riverbank.

She had to quickly create distance now and find Leinata or Emilia—then she’d still have a chance to turn things around.

However, the Falcon Guild player on the opposite side gave her zero room to catch her breath.

“Short little legs, but you sure can run fast.”

Watching the tiny fleeing figure, the red-haired girl with an eyepatch licked her lips, suddenly feeling like toying with Nuo Ai’er.

She couldn’t even be bothered to get up and chase. She just lightly raised her wrist, her slender fingers flicking upward.

Shhh—!

The pitch-black, slender leather whip precisely locked onto the fleeing white-haired little cutie ahead.

The next second.

“Ehh? What the… something’s wrapped around me?!”

The supple, ice-cold black whip accurately coiled around Nuo Ai’er’s delicate, soft belly.

Then it tightened firmly in one loop, locking solidly!

“Ooh…”

The strong binding force suddenly hit, yanking Nuo Ai’er’s body to a halt.

Nuo Ai’er tried to pull the whip off her stomach.

But before she could act, electricity traveled down the whip.

Zzzz—!

The electric shock instantly covered Nuo Ai’er’s waist and abdomen, then spread through her entire body.

“Oh hoh hoh hoh~”

The shock made Nuo Ai’er let out a strange, girlish squeal. (x)

It wasn’t a lethal shock, but a relatively mild, paralyzing one specifically targeting human nerves.

After the shock ended…

“Haa… haa…”

Nuo Ai’er collapsed limply to her knees, a soft, sticky moan spilling from her throat.

Then her entire body lost all strength, tilting sideways and falling to the ground.

The numbing sensation from the electricity washed over Nuo Ai’er’s whole body.

All she felt was her mind growing dizzy, her limbs weak and limp, drool dripping from the corner of her mouth, completely immersed in a dazed, powerless state.

“Oh my, looks like I went a bit overboard. But I controlled the level of the shock—it should have been both painful and pleasurable, right?”

The red-haired twin-tailed girl finally leisurely stepped forward, stopping in front of Nuo Ai’er, who had completely lost the ability to move.

She bent down slightly, extending two slender fingers to gently pinch Nuo Ai’er’s small chin, lifting it with a little force.

Forced to look up, Nuo Ai’er’s eyes were slightly unfocused, her long lashes trembling weakly. Her cheeks were tinged with a faint flush from the aftermath of the shock.

Her lips parted slightly, and a glistening drop of drool uncontrollably slid down the corner of her mouth. She was completely in a dazed, stunned state from the electricity.

Seeing her like this—soft, obedient, and easy to manipulate—the twin-tailed girl raised an eyebrow slightly, then—

Slap.

A crisp slap landed on Nuo Ai’er’s soft cheek.

“Ah…”

Nuo Ai’er got hit…

“Weren’t you all cocky just now? Telling me to surrender nicely?”

The girl mocked Nuo Ai’er.

Nuo Ai’er’s cheek stung from the slap, but it actually snapped her dazed mind back to a bit of clarity.

Nuo Ai’er: ‘Looks like this cycle ends here…’

At least she gained something.

Even though the outcome was still being dominated by the opponent, she had figured out a few more of her cards.

First, the opponent was proficient in whip techniques, with extremely precise control—able to lash, bind, and combine with electricity.

Second, the opponent had a lightning talent that could be attached to weapons.

“Hmph…” Nuo Ai’er turned her face away.

That was enough…

Even if she lost now and got eliminated, as long as she remembered this information, in the next retrospect, she was sure to find a way to avoid the deadlock, or even counter the opponent!

Information was built up layer by layer. Nuo Ai’er had no combat ability, so she could only rely on her time rewind talent to gather intel and win against opponents…

“I lost. Eliminate me.”

Nuo Ai’er slowly closed her eyes, already mentally preparing to restart.

It didn’t matter.

She had time rewind anyway.

She could afford to lose and afford to die. Restarting countless times was fine.

She relaxed her body slightly, resigned to her fate, muttering in her heart.

Nuo Ai’er: ‘Just end this round quickly…’

…But the finishing attack she expected never came.

“What are you talking about, you dumb loli?”

“…Ah?”

Nuo Ai’er was slightly stunned, opening her eyes in confusion.

What came into view was the red-haired girl’s intrigued, thoughtful expression.

The girl looked down at her, without the impatience to eliminate Nuo Ai’er like in the first cycle, instead showing more curiosity and playfulness.

“Huh.”

“You’re ridiculously weak, and your body’s all soft like that, but just now—your prediction, your hiding spot, the timing of your ambush… all of it was unnervingly precise.”

“A loli this weak managed to sense my ambush at the start of the match and even counter-restrained me.”

“This means… the others in your Liuli Guild probably aren’t simple characters either.”

As her words fell, a glint of calculation flashed in the girl’s eyes.

“Eliminating you directly would be too wasteful.”

“Wha—what do you mean?”

Nuo Ai’er’s heart clenched violently, her whole body stiffening.

No way?

This development was wrong!

She had a bad feeling…

The twin-tailed girl spoke again:

“Anyway, I’ll capture you alive, tie you up, and take you away. I’ll thoroughly interrogate and train this dumb loli of yours until you spill all the information about your guild.”

“Interrogate and train?!”

Nuo Ai’er was completely stunned, her small body trembling uncontrollably.

This was bad! This was really bad!

If that happened, she couldn’t restart!

For Nuo Ai’er, whose time rewind talent only activated upon death or elimination, being bound and imprisoned was the scariest thing…

“Well, time waits for no one.”

Just as Nuo Ai’er was shivering and panicking internally, the twin-tailed girl flicked her wrist again.

That black whip flew out once more, this time not just a simple single wrap.

Shhh!

“E-ehhh!”

The whip precisely circled behind Nuo Ai’er, first firmly binding her slender wrists, pulling her hands tightly behind her back and locking them securely.

Then the whip wound up and down, layer upon layer, around Nuo Ai’er’s waist, arms, and body.

Soon, her petite frame was tightly bound and cinched.

“So tight… let me go…”

This specially made combat whip had a self-locking mechanism. The more she struggled and the harder she pulled, the tighter the knots became.

Nuo Ai’er instinctively squirmed slightly, trying to break free, but the next second, the taut whip instantly tightened, leaving her completely immobilized—she couldn’t even make the slightest movement.

Slap!

“Ow…”

Nuo Ai’er got slapped again.

“Behave, you dumb loli.” The twin-tailed girl said menacingly.

If Nuo Ai’er said another word, she’d get another slap…

Then, the red-haired girl looked with satisfaction at the little loli now completely bound and unable to move.

She bent down again, her fingertips lightly brushing Nuo Ai’er’s fair, delicate cheek.

“And honestly, this little loli of yours is pretty good-looking.”

“Mm… mm…”

Nuo Ai’er was hoisted up by the twin-tailed girl, ready to be taken away.

“Hehe, your body’s all soft too. If you behave and listen, I might consider using a more comfortable method of interrogation, you know.”

Nuo Ai’er: “Ugh…”

No matter how gently this girl talked, the combination of whip and electricity always gave Nuo Ai’er a bad feeling…

Just what kind of interrogation was she going to face…

And so, Nuo Ai’er became the enemy’s captive right from the start.