The Curtain Falls

The golden spear pierced through the Honkai Beast's Honkai core, and the Ballista-class Honkai Beast collapsed. After the Honkai Energy that had mutated it dissipated, it revealed its true form.

Zhu Yufeng didn't pay attention to what it was before it mutated. After he dealt with the Honkai Beast, he immediately turned around and prepared to go support Sakura.

The smoke that filled the field was gradually dissipating, and the figures of Sakura and Xila fighting could be seen. However, the two were almost too close together, which meant that the soldiers who were still able to move could not fire their guns indiscriminately.

If we could capture him alive, that would be the best outcome, but...

Xila cannot openly join the Fire Moth; Zhu Yufeng and Mobius's plan requires Xila out.

Because her advantage had disappeared and her condition was deteriorating due to the gunshot wound, Xila judged that she had to retreat the Present.

Before the smoke cleared, she let Sakura cut her own hand, then abandoned the military knife and threw a flashbang.

In addition to causing temporary blindness, flashbangs can also cause temporary deafness, and even stun trained individuals.

Because of the smoke, Sakura didn't immediately realize what Xila had thrown, but the assassin's skill still allowed her to distance herself from what Xila had thrown.

When the dazzling light pierced their pupils, everyone realized it was a flashbang.

"Using a flashbang at such close range..." Sakura's nerves tightened after being temporarily deprived of her sight and hearing. Then she sensed a deadly danger and instinctively dodged. A sharp pain shot through her left shoulder.

Seeing that his attack had failed, Xila did not hesitate and immediately entered the Dark Cave, leaving the area.

After regaining some of his vision and hearing, Zhu Yufeng rushed to Ying's side. He had a bad feeling when Xila threw the flashbang, as he had been hit by that move before.

The reason why Xila is not afraid of flashbangs may be because she has strong physical fitness and one of her eyes is basically covered, so the flashbangs can only take away the vision of one eye at most.

Sakura pressed her left shoulder wound, still shaken. If she hadn't dodged that attack, she probably would have been stabbed right through the heart by Xila.

"Do you want me to help you with this?" Zhu Yufeng took out bandages and medicine.

Sakura tried to move her left hand, but she could no longer use it freely. All she could say was, "Please."

"I can only do some simple treatment for you." Zhu Yufeng reached out and unbuttoned Ying's clothes. The wound on Ying's left shoulder was deep and penetrating.

"Compared to Xila, my injuries are minor." Ying turned her head to look at her wounds and Zhu Yufeng, who had given her temporary treatment. "Her left hand is broken, and she has at least a dozen wounds on her body."

"Are you exchanging injuries for injuries?" Zhu Yufeng looked at the other wounds on Ying's body that weren't too serious. Ying's injuries were concentrated on her upper body, and she also had several wounds on her waist and abdomen.

"She traded her injuries for my injuries," Sakura said with a bitter smile. "She acts as if she doesn't feel pain. Once she realized she had to be my opponent, her only goal was to kill me at any cost."

Sakura looked at the other soldiers bandaging each other and the corpses on the ground. This time, Xila almost single-handedly held off the fighting force of more than a dozen people from the Fire Moth. Although she could not be said to have escaped unscathed, she at least survived. The Fire Moth suffered more than half of their casualties.

After Zhu Yufeng gave Ying a quick first aid, he opened the communicator and said, "We encountered a mutated Ballista-class Honkai Beast and an assassin at one of our training grounds. Six warriors have been confirmed dead, one wounded, and five slightly wounded. We request that a medical team be dispatched immediately."

"Received. Elysia has already gone. What about the assassins and Honkai Beast?" Hen asked from the other end.

"The assassin escaped, Honkai Beast has been confirmed dead," Zhu Yufeng said.

"I underestimated Xila. As an enemy, she is a very troublesome and deadly one." Sakura said softly, "She is very similar to Qianjie, but she is much weaker than Qianjie. However, with that fearless fighting style of exchanging injuries for injuries... I would rather fight Qianjie."

"Because Qianjie is obviously strong, but Xila is the kind of person who, even if you're about as strong as her, would have to fight as hard as she does to win." Zhu Yufeng sighed. Looking at where Xila had retreated to, chasing after her was impossible. First, he didn't know what she might be waiting for him. The Present, there were only four people left, including himself, who could still fight at their normal strength. If he chased after her like this, Xila was prepared to fight to the death, maybe even throw a grenade and die together with her, he had no interest in that.

Moreover, the Fire Moth have already surrounded this area, and even the sewers connected to the research institute are guarded by soldiers. Even if one takes the dark route, it is unlikely that one can escape the Fire Moth's encirclement.

Xila was the strongest force encountered in this mission. The suppression of the other teams went smoothly. Some were injured but no one died. Afterwards, Hen confirmed the details of the battle with Zhu Yufeng and others, and did not criticize it. After all... no one would have thought that this assassin could be so crazy.

After evacuating the research institute, the remaining work is no longer relevant to Zhu Yufeng and his team. After resting here for a few days, they can return to the Fire Moth Division.

Zhu Yufeng and his two companions returned to the hotel. Kevin and Hua were taken by Hen to handle some matters, while Pardo and her two companions were unaware of their plans.

"Xila, she's really dangerous. In my previous life, when she was my comrade, I only remembered her reliability. I never imagined she would be so troublesome as an enemy." Elysia said, looking at Sakura, whose left shoulder was carefully bandaged and whose left hand was bandaged.

"I also told Mobius that when normal people are hurt or hit, they will instinctively feel fear and back down because of the pain, but Xila doesn't. She doesn't have that kind of fear." Zhu Yufeng said to Elysia, "Although we captured the relevant experimental personnel in this operation, Xila still managed to escape."

How to put it... Xila is somewhat like a humanoid super beast? Ace was overjoyed?

"It's normal for most people to be scared, right?" Elysia said. "Why is Xila ..."

"When a person is killed, they die." Zhu Yufeng looked at Yu Ying again. "Once a person dies, they will never see the people they love or who love them again. Therefore, when faced with the threat of death, most people will be afraid."

"Yes, if they die, we'll never see them again..." Elysia leaned back. "But sometimes people aren't afraid to sacrifice themselves."

"Being afraid of death and not being afraid of sacrifice are two different things, right?" Zhu Yufeng said. "It is precisely to protect the people you love and the people who love you, or to uphold your unwavering beliefs, that people, when necessary, are not afraid of sacrifice or death."

"So, Feng, in your previous life, before the Finality battle, what were you thinking?" Sakura asked Zhu Yufeng. "And what kind of person were you?"

"It should be the deceased," Zhu Yufeng said after thinking for a moment. "Believe in the future of humanity, believe in your potential. The deceased pave the way for the living, and the living sing a lament for the deceased. That's enough."

Sakura paused for a moment, then said, "I've never thought about these things. I've always... just wanted to see Rin grow up. As long as I'm with her, I don't really care how the world changes."

"That's why I said back then that rather than you taking care of your sister, you were more dependent on Ling, right?" Zhu Yufeng said with narrowed eyes. "Although I can understand it, Ling has become your whole life. Isn't that a bit... In this respect, Ling is more like an older sister than you are."

Cherry. "..."

Indeed, she had long wanted to take Rin away from the Fire Moth, but when she first prepared to leave with Rin, Rin refused her and chose to trust humans instead, even turning around to educate her.

She was the former that Feng mentioned, but this time, besides Ling, there was another person she wanted to protect.

Elysia looked at Zhu Yufeng, his unwavering belief... She actually hoped that Feng was the former, but obviously, at least for now, he wasn't.

"Sister Elysia, we've come to see Sister Ying!" Pardo's voice rang out from outside the door, and Zhu Yufeng got up, went over, and opened the door.

Pardo stood at the door carrying fruit, with Kosma and Disaster behind her. Pardo said, "We're staying at this hotel now too. Ah, those days really reminded me of the days on Dusk Street."

"Amo and I are also finding it a bit hard to adjust. Once people get used to a different kind of life, it's hard to go back to the life they used to be." Disaster said, peeking inside. "I saw Sakura injured before, but I didn't have time to ask her carefully. Is she alright now? Will there be any lasting effects?"

"For at least a month, her left hand will have to stay like this." Zhu Yufeng said, making way for the three people. "This is only because Lu Weiying dodged that blow; otherwise, that military dagger would have been aimed directly at her heart."

"Is that assassin really that terrifying?" Disaster exclaimed in astonishment.

Pardo wore an indescribable expression. She had witnessed the terror of Sister Xila, which was why she was so timid. Knowing her meant that Xila was just a bit naive, but not knowing her was truly a death sentence.

Kosma crossed his arms and frowned.

(Even with one hand pierced by a bullet, she could still fight on par with Sakura, and even escaped the encirclement of the Fire Moth. Xila... as the third among the Fallen Angel, she is truly not to be underestimated.)

"The world is so big, there are always some people who are even more outrageous than you think," Zhu Yufeng said. "However, this time Fire Moth suffered unexpected losses because of her, and the organization behind that assassin may also be dealt with by Fire Moth."

"The prerequisite for the cleanup is that we find that organization, right? Aren't assassin organizations all underground?" Disaster said with a bitter face. "By the way, Sakura suffered a penetrating wound, right? Will she still be able to use her left hand in the future?"

"If there are no problems, he should be fully recovered in about a month. After returning to the base, Mobius will take another look, and I estimate that there won't even be a scar," Zhu Yufeng said.

"It's all thanks to Feng's timely intervention." Elysia said with a smile. Wait, she seemed to be thinking about something. Zhu Yufeng treated Sakura's left shoulder wound, Sakura needed to take off her shirt, right?

So she squinted at Zhu Yufeng.

Zhu Yufeng kept his eyes down and his mind focused. He wasn't thinking about anything at the time, nor was he looking anywhere else. Now, even if someone wanted to settle scores with him, they would have no reason to do so!

"That's a penetrating wound!" Disaster exclaimed in shock. "It's a really serious injury, isn't it?"

But this really falls within the scope of minor injuries...

Zhu Yufeng wanted to say that, but before he could, Pardo spoke up first, "Oh, it only looks serious. If handled properly, it won't be a big problem. We've seen this kind of thing a lot back in Dusk Street."

Well, after all, Dusk Street is a place where talented people emerge, and every day is filled with joyful gunfights.

"Little Pardo, what kind of environment did you grow up in?" Disaster twitched her eye.

"... Dusk Street is like a place where the law can't reach," Kosma said. "The security there is terrible... I've heard that."

"Speaking of Dusk Street, Pardo, aren't you planning to go back and take a look?" Zhu Yufeng asked Pardo.

"What's there to see?" Pardo tilted her head, then clapped her hands and said, "Oh right, Sister Nia is still on Dusk Street!"

"Sister Nia?" Disaster looked at Pardo. "Is she your older sister, little Pardo?"

"Uh, she's not my sister, she's more like an acquaintance... well, not quite right, friend... but not quite that close..." Pardo thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, she's someone we know, a very... well, you know."

Somewhere.

"I really didn't expect the military to send so many people this time." Modesti looked through the glass at Xila, who was encased in a medical device, and said to a man beside her, "The enhancement of Xila is not yet complete, and the research results and related data have not been obtained. I really didn't expect that those useless people would be discovered so quickly. Should we consider rescuing Nathaniel?"

The man looked at Modesti and said, "Someone I know in the military told me not to get involved in this. He can't get involved in this, so... Nathaniel can't be saved. But there's definitely more than one Nathaniel in this world. We have plenty of time to find a replacement."

Then he looked at Xila: "As long as we still have Xila, according to your report, Xila said that she fought with that long-lost Crimson Night Sakura?"

"Yes, that's what she said." Modesti nodded. "Xila wouldn't lie."

"She wouldn't lie, but the person relaying the story might not." The man glanced at Modesti. "Crimson Night Sakura has joined the military... she's assassinated quite a few political figures, would the military approve of that?"

"But Xila is definitely not mistaken, and I haven't hidden anything from her," Modesti said.

Inside the treatment room, Xila stared blankly at the sky, lost in thought.

That young man... why did she feel a sensation she'd never experienced before the moment she looked at him? Who exactly was he? What was this feeling she was experiencing? Did she want to kill him? Or something else?