"Haha… so this is reality after all. What kind of daydream was I having? Or have I gone insane? I actually wanted to fight the Titans. Anyone with a normal human brain should understand—how could we possibly defeat monsters that huge…?"
Jean let out two dry laughs. A faint glimmer of tears showed at the corners of his eyes as he stared blankly at the two enormous Titan heads before him, standing frozen in place.
In a split second, a deafening bolt of lightning tore through the sky. It struck the two Titans head-on, blasting their heads apart. Half of each Titan's body exploded instantly.
Reiner's pupils trembled as he watched the scene unfold. A terrifying glint reflected in his eyes.
Is this the power of a Titan? Could it be… the Founding Titan?
Panic surged through Reiner. If it truly was the Founding Titan, then they were facing an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. He turned to glance at Annie beside him.
Beads of sweat dotted Annie's forehead. She stood tense and ready, teeth poised to bite into her hand.
"What?!"
Jean stood dumbfounded, Titan blood splattered all over his body. Bits of flesh had even flown into his mouth.
"What was that?!"
"Lightning! It was lightning!"
"Have the gods come to save us?!"
Some of the soldiers who had been hiding inside, frightened to the brink of madness, dropped to their knees in worship.
"Cough! Cough!" Jean snapped back to his senses and hurriedly spat out the filthy Titan flesh.
"Woohoo! Taking off!"
Riding the momentum, Chen Si flew straight into headquarters.
Is Chen Si the Founding Titan? Reiner gritted his teeth, his heart filled with vigilance.
Annie's pupils shrank as she stared fixedly at Chen Si. Is he… the target of our mission?
"Annie? Annie?" Chen Si waved a hand in front of her face.
"Staring at me that intently? Am I that handsome? Thanks to the hand-to-hand combat you taught me—look at me now. Pretty strong, right?" Chen Si flashed an innocent smile, showing eight neat teeth.
Annie narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue.
"Hand-to-hand combat isn't that powerful."
"That just proves your technique is special, doesn't it? What do you think… Miss Titan?" Chen Si leaned close to Annie's ear, lips curling into a teasing smile.
Annie's pupils contracted sharply. She threw a fierce punch at him. Chen Si quickly crouched and dodged.
"Annie!" Reiner called out anxiously.
"Hey, Annie, I was just joking. I meant you're as strong as a Titan," Chen Si hurriedly explained.
Annie took a deep breath.
"That joke isn't funny. I don't like people saying that about me."
"Well, well, my bad." Chen Si turned around, a faint smirk on his lips. Annie… you'd better side with me in the future.
This display had been meant to intimidate Reiner and the others—especially to show Annie his strength, so he could recruit her later.
"Chief Chen Si? Wasn't he dead?"
"Is Chief Chen Si a god?"
Chen Si smiled and waved at the crowd hiding under desks, behind chairs, piled on top of one another.
"God is smiling at me… ah… mm…" A female soldier flushed bright red, biting her finger as her legs trembled.
"Ghost! It's a ghost!" One of the stacked soldiers shrieked in terror. The human pile collapsed instantly, tables and chairs crashing down as people tumbled and scattered.
"Huh? There were this many people in here?" Chen Si blinked, then turned to Jean.
"Hey, Jean, what happened to you? You look awful. Why're you covered in blood?" Chen Si asked in confusion. "Did I come too late? Are you badly hurt?" He grabbed Jean's shoulder dramatically.
"Y-you… are you human or a ghost? Are you the dead Chen Si possessed by an evil spirit?!" Jean stared at him in horror.
"I just let off a little electricity. Look how scared you are. I'm alive and well—of course I'm human."
Chen Si leaned closer, touched his own face like checking a mirror.
"With a face this handsome, how could I not be human?" He brushed his bangs aside.
"You narcissistic jerk." Jean shoved him away. The Titan blood on his body began to evaporate with steam.
"But… thanks," Jean muttered, looking aside.
"We're bros!" Chen Si grinned, showing eight teeth again, and slapped Jean hard on the back.
Crash!
A window shattered as Connie and Mikasa burst in, carrying Armin.
"Mikasa… you're still alive," Jean said hoarsely.
Mikasa nodded at him, then hurried to Chen Si's side. She held his face, turning it left and right, examining him carefully before finally letting out a breath of relief.
Jean covered his face. Damn that guy.
"The lightning you used must have taken a lot out of you. Don't push yourself. Protect yourself first," Mikasa said gently, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.
Chen Si felt warmth in his heart. That last strike had indeed consumed forty percent of his energy—but it looked cool. He could've killed them with a tiny spark, but that wouldn't have been nearly as impressive.
For the sake of showing off, anything was worth it. Besides, his energy would recover in a few minutes anyway.
"Don't worry, Mikasa. I'm very rational—unless you're in danger," Chen Si said softly.
"Mm!" Mikasa's heart warmed, and she nodded.
"That was close. My gas tank's completely empty. Getting here was pushing it," Connie said, holding up the canister.
"By the way, what was with all that lightning covering you just now?" Jean asked, still full of doubt. For a moment, Chen Si had looked like a god of thunder descending to earth.
"Oh, that? It's a kind of biological magnetic field—you could call it bioelectricity. You have it too. I'm just stronger and faster, so mine looks flashier. Ah, forget it. You wouldn't understand anyway."
After spouting nonsense with a straight face, Chen Si waved dismissively and gave Jean a look as if he were illiterate.
"Tch. So what if you read more books," Jean muttered, turning his head aside.
Just then, another Titan appeared, trying to shove its massive, ugly face into the building.
Jean, Connie, and Armin looked terrified. Mikasa's gaze sharpened as she prepared to draw her blade. Chen Si casually zapped the bits of flesh still clinging to his shoes, speeding up their disappearance.
The Titan opened its mouth wide, baring its teeth as it lunged—
—and was suddenly sent flying by a massive punch.
Looking closer, it was Eren in his Attack Titan form.
"Armin! The operation you planned worked!" Connie shouted excitedly.
"Listen up, everyone! That Titan is an abnormal—it hunts other Titans and has no interest in humans! If we use that Titan properly, combined with Chen Si and Mikasa's strength, we can definitely escape!" Connie exclaimed, pointing at the Attack Titan.
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