Auralis Empire

As everything froze, everyone remained eerily still, except for the three armed thugs.

This was because when time freezes, it locks all the targets' states, meaning no external force can harm a frozen target. Bell had frozen time to protect the innocent bystanders from being harmed, but there was no need to protect the three armed thugs.

It seems Bell did at least understand my desire to avoid trouble, though she still couldn't quite comprehend why I was so averse to it.

The sudden anomaly left the three previously arrogant men stunned. This kind of scene, one only seen in movies, completely paralyzed their ability to react.

The biggest of the three, the one who had been holding the hostage, was the first to recover. Realizing that the frail student he was holding onto had suddenly become as immovable as a mountain, no matter how much he tried to pull, he couldn’t budge him. So, he quickly released the hostage and pulled another handgun from his waist, instantly transforming into a two-gun-wielding tough guy, scanning the surroundings warily.

"Emperor," Bell's voice echoed through our mental link, "Without support from the Auralis outpost, the false time freeze can only last for fifteen minutes."

"Got it," I mentally responded to Bell (this communication method was incredibly convenient), "What’s a false time freeze?"

"A secondary time freeze phenomenon," Bell explained patiently, though she seemed to stagger a bit, "The interaction of information within a frozen region creates an effect similar to a time freeze, but it doesn't interfere with the normal timeline. It can only perform freezing actions, which is why it’s called a 'false time freeze.'"

"Okay, I didn’t understand," I nodded forcefully, trying to sound confident. "Now that they’re in disarray, what's our next move?"

"For the Empire!" Bell suddenly shouted, an unexpected burst of passion from her, and before I could react, she dashed forward like a bolt of white lightning.

Wait a minute! What’s going on here? My emotionless little sister just turned into a violent, fiery warrior girl? No, no, that’s not the point… What about my plan?! My entire value here is supposed to be explaining the strategy, and you just ran off before I could finish! What the heck?!

Bell’s sudden action immediately drew the attention of the three thugs. In this time-frozen state, it was impossible not to notice a little girl in strange white armor and a mask rushing toward them.

Already on high alert, they didn’t have the luxury of wondering what was happening or who the girl was. Almost instinctively, they all raised their guns and aimed at the oncoming white figure.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The sound of gunshots rang out, and my heart skipped a beat. "D*mn it!"

In a manner completely defying the laws of motion, Bell, moving at high speed, suddenly came to a complete halt, her right hand stretched forward with fingers splayed, like a statue frozen mid-action. The contrast between her stillness and her previous motion was so stark, I almost thought her earlier dash had been an illusion.

A ripple, like waves on water, spread out in front of Bell, and several deformed metal cylinders were stopped by this barrier, falling to the ground uselessly.

… I should have expected this. How could anyone with Auralis technology, which is far beyond human civilization, be scared of primitive human firearms?

The three gunmen were completely dumbfounded. The bizarre phenomenon and the strange girl in front of them made them feel like they were no longer living in the real world.

At that moment, Bell’s emotionless voice echoed again.

"Confirmed, attack received. Threat level zero. Taking deterrent measures—"

With that, her outstretched hand suddenly changed. A large black metal object with hard edges materialized out of thin air, assembling at a dizzying speed into a massive rectangular cannon, over three meters long and half a person’s height. The cannon’s body was covered in complex parts, and blue energy strands, like veins, pulsated through it, running from the barrel to the rear of the cannon, converging into thick cables that merged with Bell’s right half.

"Bell 1000mm Anti-ship Phased Energy Cannon, entering firing preheat state…"

The three men on the ground were completely stunned.

In fact, I was stunned too.

"This… This monster!"

The big guy in the middle screamed, turning to flee. But as he spun around, Bell’s left hand quickly morphed into a triple-barrel, six-gun rotary cannon. With a deafening roar, the guns fired, and the big guy’s legs buckled as he collapsed to the ground, wetting himself in the process.

Completely ignoring the horrified looks of the other bystanders, I just observed Bell’s massive weapons with awe. Forget the gigantic rectangular anti-ship cannon, just the triple-barrel rotary cannon alone was bigger than Bell’s body. Now, I was certain that beneath her innocent exterior, Bell hid a heart filled with violence and a desire for battle. I was lucky I brought her with me instead of leaving her alone at home, or else she might have gone out to conquer the world in her boredom…

On top of that, a little girl + gigantic weapons? This was surprisingly eye-catching…

"You… What are you… Who are you…" One of the thugs, a red-haired young man, stammered, his gun falling to the ground with a loud clatter. That weapon seemed like a toy compared to Bell, the ultimate humanoid weapon.

Bell ignored his questions. Her massive weapon made a couple of mechanical clicks, and then a dazzling blue-white light began to gather at the front of the "Bell 1000mm Anti-ship Phased Energy Cannon."

"Enough, Bell," I finally realized what she was about to do. As an Auralis general, killing enemies was as natural to her as eating or drinking. If I didn’t stop her, these three unlucky guys would become the first humans ever vaporized by an alien anti-ship weapon.

Though they were criminals who clearly didn’t value human life, killing them like this would cause chaos once the time freeze ended.

"Understood."

With Bell’s answer, both weapons quickly folded up and disappeared into the air. Her body, which had become partially mechanical, returned to its normal state.

At that moment, the three men, already mentally broken, finally noticed that I was still moving. Though I appeared ordinary, the way I had ordered "that monster" to stop had made it clear to them that I wasn’t an ordinary person.

So, the next moment, all three of them looked at me like I was their savior.

Being stared at by three huge guys like that… It felt like hell.

The tough guy who had wet himself after being hit by Bell’s barrage now looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Please spare us! You’re a great person, you wouldn’t bother with us, ordinary humans..."

… Was he saying I wasn’t human? While it was understandable to make that assumption after seeing Bell, but buddy, I need to inform you— you’re mocking me...

"Foolish carbon-based lifeforms," Bell’s cold voice echoed, accompanied by an eerie electronic buzz. "Do not attempt to confuse the Emperor’s judgment!"

Ahem… Bell, you’re mocking them.

First, I was accidentally excluded from the human category, and then my own sister and subordinate casually disrespected me. Feeling a bit awkward, I said, "Let’s not discuss the whole species thing, Bell. We shouldn’t kill them, or there will be a mess once time resumes. Do you have a way to make them forget or…"

"Or turn them into idiots or something?" I switched to the mental link, asking Bell.

Bell nodded, then walked over to the three now completely soaked thugs. As she walked, her right hand transformed into a cone-shaped object about a foot long, and at the tip of it was a long probe glowing with blue light.

The three men let out desperate screams.

And so, three new idiots were added to the world.