Dead by Daylight

The truck suddenly made a sharp U-turn and charged back at them even faster than before.

The three of them were startled and hurriedly vaulted over the guardrail. A split second later, they heard a thunderous crash as the truck violently sent the Jeep Wrangler flying, then burst through the guardrail itself and plunged nose-first into the roadside ditch.

"Get ready. They're here!"

Jude spoke softly, then activated his invisibility belt. Firefly took off her gloves, revealing a pair of badly burned palms, while Ivy stood quietly where she was. This was the wilderness, surrounded by endless plants. This was her home ground.

The truck's rear doors were pushed open, and dozens of men in black suits jumped down with all kinds of firearms in hand.

A man in a gentleman's hat, a cigar clenched between his teeth, stepped out from the crowd. He looked at Firefly and Ivy and noticed one person was missing.

The intelligence provided by the Court of Owls immediately surfaced in his mind. The man named Jude Herbert likely possessed some kind of invisibility technology, perhaps even something more advanced.

Unfortunately, the Cobblepot Family had not joined the Court of Owls and was unwilling to provide information on that matter.

"Mr. Jude Herbert, I'm James Carrell, the man behind the depths of Arkham. I came specifically to have a talk with you today. How about showing yourself?"

Jude said nothing, while Firefly angrily demanded, "You're the one behind Arkham?"

As she spoke, she swept both hands forward. Flames burst forth, and a long river of fire instantly surged toward the crowd.

"FUCK! Open fire!"

The man in the hat hurried behind the crowd. Dozens of guns were raised in unison, just about to fire.

But just as they were about to pull the triggers, slender vines that had somehow already wormed into their clothes wrapped around their arms. No matter how hard they struggled, they could not move an inch.

The vines continued to weave and grow, quickly binding the entire group and leaving them completely immobilized.

The man in the hat was caught around the neck. Breathing became difficult, his face reddened as he struggled to say, "Let... let me go. Defy the Court, and you'll regret it."

But before he could finish, his head exploded with a bang. A laser pierced straight through the top of his skull, killing him beyond any doubt.

"What do we do with these people?"

Bridget snapped, "Of course we kill them all! Have you forgotten the torture you suffered in Arkham?"

Ivy hesitated. She had run with street gangs before, but she had never killed anyone. Even if they were enemies, she could not simply bring herself to do it.

Then Jude's voice sounded beside her ear.

"Don't be afraid, Ivy. If we don't kill them, they'll kill us. This is a fight to the death. Close your eyes. All you need to do is use a little force."

Listening to Jude's encouraging voice, Ivy slowly calmed down. Then, as if she had finally made up her mind, she clenched both fists tightly.

The vines binding the crowd immediately began to contract. The cracking of breaking bones rang out without end, and moments later, the whole world fell silent.

Ivy seemed as though all her strength had been drained away, collapsing into Jude's arms.

"It's nothing. You only did the right thing. You'll get used to it."

"Remember, from today onward, you are both Ivy Pepper and Poison Ivy."

Bridget checked the truck and called out, "This truck's engine is broken. We might need to steal another vehicle."

"It's fine. I can fix it."

Jude walked over as he spoke and was about to lift the hood when the thudding roar of a helicopter suddenly came from overhead.

"Prepare for battle! The enemy's second wave is here!"

Jude shouted as he drew his Laser Gun and fired three shots in succession. One beam struck the front cockpit glass dead-on. The pilot's arm instantly exploded, and the helicopter lost balance, trailing smoke as it began spiraling downward.

Three black figures jumped from it. They were not even secured with ropes, yet they dropped straight to the ground from more than ten meters up. The earth cracked beneath them, but they rose without the slightest injury. They were three Talons.

All three wore Owl Suits, fully equipped with goggles, armored gloves, grappling hooks, throwing darts, and more. They were far more professional than the ones they had encountered in Arkham—and naturally, far more dangerous.

"Ah..."

Bridget roared and spewed flames. The three Talons moved at once, dodging in three different directions.

One of them flung out a grappling hook that wrapped around Bridget's left leg, then yanked hard, instantly dragging her to the ground.

Another threw more than a dozen ninja darts, sealing off every possible direction Bridget could evade.

The third stomped down and charged straight at Ivy, his wrist blades slicing toward her side with a whistle through the air.

Bridget fell and hurriedly unleashed flames to burn through the grappling hook, but whatever material it was made of showed no reaction at all. With the ninja darts less than two meters away, she was almost ready to close her eyes.

But the darts seemed to hit an invisible wall, stopping in midair before clattering to the ground.

Jude had stepped in front of her when he saw the danger, activating the protective device on his clothes. Then another laser shot out, severing the grappling hook in half.

The Talon who had been pulling hard on the hook suddenly lost the resistance and staggered backward.

Bridget regained her freedom, quickly rolled to her feet, and charged at him. Using herself as the pivot, she spun her arms. Two streams of fire erupted, instantly forming a flaming tornado that engulfed the grappling-hook Talon.

Jude aimed his gun at the second Talon. This guy seemed to sense something as well. His eyes darted around as he assumed a defensive stance, not daring to make any rash moves for the moment.

Elsewhere, the Talon attacking Ivy was blocked by suddenly exploding vines. He swung both hands to either side, and his sharp wrist blades shredded the vines. Just as he was about to continue his attack, his feet were somehow bound again.

Daggers then extended from his shoes. He slid both feet sideways, cutting through the vines once more. At the same time, he reached to his waist and flung out several black balls. Large amounts of yellow gas spewed from them, and the surrounding plants rapidly withered and collapsed upon contact.

"Ivy Pepper, we searched 18th Serenity Street and found that lily. The experiment performed on you was a success. Surrender and become a member of the Court of Owls."

"Nice offer, but I refuse!"

Ivy stared fiercely at the Talon before her. The surrounding plants immediately went wild, evolving thorns in moments and wrapping around him again.

"That's unfortunate. Then I can only knock you out and take you away. This is going to hurt a little."

As he spoke, the Talon struck repeatedly, shredding the attacking plants apart. At the same time, he threw out more black balls.

After several pops, yellow smoke surrounded Ivy. She immediately felt short of breath, her whole body weak, and everything before her began to spin.

The Talon seized the chance to rush to her side. His wrist blades pierced straight through her arms, and his knee slammed hard into her abdomen. A trail of blood scattered through the air as Ivy was sent flying more than ten meters away.

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