"I don't really know why... I guess it's because of that simple saying, 'With great power comes great responsibility,' or maybe I just don't want to see others suffer in front of me..."
As Ying pondered, Tore suddenly attacked, lunging at the scouting unit who was staring at Ying, knocking him to the ground. He then quickly ran to Ying's side.
"Heh~ such a huge opening, it would be a shame not to strike, right~"
The scouting unit quickly got up, his gaze full of killing intent fixed on Tore.
"You damned fellow..."
Ying, whose train of thought had been interrupted, also reacted. She quickly summoned a black sword from her spatial inventory and severed the ropes binding Tore.
"Heh heh, don't rush, the real show is yet to come!"
Tore twisted his wrist, and a fierce wind erupted from him, sweeping through the room and forcing the scouting unit and others to shield their eyes.
Seeing they were preoccupied, Tore turned and said to Ying with a smile,
"Go quickly~"
"Huh? Whoa?!"
Before Ying could speak, Tore grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room.
"Huh?! Wait, I'm not... I..."
Ying tried to explain to Tore, but before she could, she was already being dragged out of the room.
After they left, the scouting unit no longer held back, directly controlling his energy to quell the wind Tore had created.
Watching the direction they fled, he couldn't help but mock,
"Heh... If Tore knew what his own clone was doing to disrupt his meticulously crafted persona, I wonder what he'd think... I'm really looking forward to it~"
It wasn't until Tore pulled her out of the manufacturing plant that Ying finally snapped out of the sudden scene. She was about to explain to Tore again when she suddenly felt her body behaving strangely.
"What's wrong?"
Hearing the distress in Ying's voice, Tore smiled and immediately turned around, asking with concern.
"I... I don't know... I feel... a bit... hot..."
As she spoke, Ying tugged at her clothes. She felt as if she were in a furnace, her entire body about to catch fire, making her breathing increasingly rapid.
"Are you having a fever?"
Saying this, Tore placed his hand on Ying's forehead. This seemingly ordinary action made Ying's body feel even stranger.
Ying immediately bit her lip, her eyes narrowing slightly, trying to calm her thoughts. She looked at him and asked,
"Stay away from me. This feeling... it's definitely not a cold..."
With that, Ying was about to run towards the sea, hoping to clear her head with cold water, but Tore grabbed her wrist again.
"Did you forget I'm a doctor? Can such a small matter trouble me?"
Tore said casually, refusing to let go of her wrist no matter how much Ying pleaded. This obvious action naturally made Ying suspicious. Enduring the burning sensation, she questioned him fiercely,
"You... you're not... Tore..."
"Heh heh heh... Of course I'm Tore. What? Did I get a little younger, and now you don't recognize me~"
"You... let go... (≧﹏≦)"
Sensing her body growing weak, Ying hardened her heart and bit her tongue hard. Using the pain to regain a sliver of consciousness, she immediately unleashed her Geo element, repelling the Tore in front of her dozens of steps away.
"No... not good... after all that fuss... the effects of the medicine are getting worse... When did it..."
Shaking her head, Ying dared not stop. She quickly used her Electro element to sprint towards the sea. Although it was her first time being affected, the feeling in her body told her this drug was no good.
"Heh heh heh... It's been a while, are you in such a hurry to leave me?"
Seeing Ying try to escape, Tore chuckled and, mimicking her style, used Anemo to accelerate his pursuit.
While Electro should logically be faster, Ying's current condition made her quickly fall behind. She narrowly dodged Tore's grab, managing to evade him but blocking her path.
"Damn it..."
Ying forced herself to concentrate her dwindling reason, retreating again and again, dodging his grasping hands.
Who is he... he feels exactly like Tore, and he doesn't have that energy signature of the scouting unit, but why has he become like this?
Feeling her body growing weaker and weaker, yet the sea was still so far away, Ying had no time to think. Gritting her teeth, she stood her ground and unleashed a powerful Electro blast at herself.
"Ah!!"
Tore, who was about to attack Ying, was stunned by what he saw, staring in disbelief at the girl being ravaged by lightning.
"Hah... hah..."
The intense pain significantly weakened the drug's effect, making Ying's senses hyperactive. Even so, Ying dared not let her guard down, warily watching Tore standing before her.
"Even though I don't know who you are, if I'm not mistaken, you're the one responsible for my condition, aren't you..."
Seeing that Ying still didn't recognize him as the real Tore, the young man in front of her couldn't help but laugh.
"Heh heh heh... You're right, it was me. Think about it, if Tore likes you so much, wouldn't he do anything to have you?"
Ying retorted stubbornly.
"Hmph... Feelings aren't something one person can decide. Moreover, you're not him, and you have no right to make decisions for him!"
"..."
"Pfft..."
"Hahaha~ Honestly, you're quite foolish, can't even tell if someone is genuinely good to you or faking it." Tore shook his head helplessly, finding Ying's words both amusing and exasperating.
Looking at Ying's hostile gaze, the young Tore pondered for a moment, a smile creeping onto his lips.
"Do you want to know where the Tore you know is now? Oh no... I should say it this way..."
"Do you want to know why your sister hasn't arrived here after so long..."
Upon hearing Tore's words, Ying froze. She immediately tried to contact Paimon for an update but found that the cooldown period for contacting Paimon had not yet passed. She could only demand,
"What did you mean by that?! What happened to Lumine and the others?!"
"Heh heh heh... What could I mean? I'm just kindly offering you a little bit of information..."