A cold numbness seemed alive as it crazily crawled up along the wound in Lin Xiao's right leg, devouring what little strength he had left.
Every time he dragged that nearly numb leg, it felt like pulling a rusted iron block across coarse gravel. The searing pain of the potent poison mixed with the soul-rending agony of depleted Source Energy, almost dragging him into darkness.
The dim glow of -0.159 Source Energy Points flickered deep within his consciousness like a candle guttering in the wind. Every pulse brought a wave of dizziness.
Behind him, Viper's cold aura, like a venomous snake locking onto its prey, pierced through the narrow, filthy back alley and clamped onto him, drawing closer and closer!
His hurried, soundless footsteps pounded over slippery garbage and sewage, splashing up nauseating sounds.
Lin Xiao's vision repeatedly went black. His lungs heaved like a broken bellows, and every breath carried the thick smell of blood mixed with the stench of rotting garbage.
He lunged toward a corner piled with battered cardboard boxes and discarded tires, trying to use the complicated terrain to shake off his pursuer.
"You little bastard! Stop for me!"
Viper's hoarse, twisted roar carried a furious rage as he pursued relentlessly, like a maggot burrowing into bone.
The cold gleam of a short alloy spike traced a fatal arc through the dim light, stabbing straight toward Lin Xiao's poison-slowed lower back!
There was no way to dodge!
Lin Xiao's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and death's icy touch seized his heart. He desperately tensed his remaining strength, trying to twist aside—
At this critical moment!
"Bang—!"
A crisp, abrupt gunshot that tore through the night sky exploded without warning at the mouth of the alley!
The sound was not loud, but it carried a cold precision that pierced the soul!
The high-speed bullet tore through the air with a sharp whistle. It grazed the outside of Viper's raised arm and slammed into the mottled red-brick wall beside him!
Pfft!
Brick chips and cement dust burst outward!
A searing pain instantly shot through Viper's nerve endings!
His charging figure abruptly halted, as if someone had pressed a pause button!
The spike aimed at Lin Xiao stopped in midair by the narrowest margin!
Who?
Viper's dark-green pupils instantly contracted to their utmost, like a startled viper. He whipped his head toward the direction of the shot, his eyes filled with shock, fury, and disbelief!
The sudden turn of events also caused Lin Xiao to lose his balance. He crashed heavily onto the cold, wet ground, splashing up a sheet of dirty water.
He struggled to raise his head.
Under the dim streetlamp at the mouth of the alley, a tall, stern figure stood silently.
She wore a crisp black Special Operations uniform that perfectly outlined her athletic, powerful physique.
Her black combat boots stood in the sewage, yet somehow carried an odd sense of cleanliness.
Her jet-black hair was tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, revealing a smooth forehead and a beautiful face so cold and striking that it was almost sharp.
It was Qin Bing!
She held a sleek black pistol level in her right hand, its matte surface gleaming faintly. A wisp of pale blue smoke still lingered at the muzzle.
Her icy gaze locked onto Viper with the precision of a scalpel. There was not the slightest ripple in it, only the oppressive presence of someone in complete control.
"Special Operations Ninth Division! Drop your weapon! Now!"
Qin Bing's voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced the chaos and silence of the back alley. Her tone brooked no argument, and every word struck the ground like an ice bead.
Viper's face beneath his hood instantly turned hideous.
He stared fixedly at the special insignia on Qin Bing's shoulder representing the Special Operations Ninth Division. His dark-green pupils flickered violently, filled with wariness, fury, and a trace of barely perceptible hesitation!
The Special Operations Ninth Division! The government's strongest attack dog!
Why was it here?
Coincidence? Or... had they come specifically for the World-Erosion Seed fragment?
He looked at Lin Xiao, sprawled on the ground and barely breathing, then at the policewoman at the alley entrance, who radiated lethal chill like an iceberg. His teeth clenched tightly.
The other's pinpoint marksmanship, unshaken gaze, and uniform symbolizing absolute authority all placed immense pressure on him.
Fight head-on? The cost was too high!
And revealing himself to the Special Operations Ninth Division was an even greater taboo for the organization!
"Tsk!" Viper let out a deeply unwilling growl, like a viper's hiss.
He took a long look at Lin Xiao, his gaze so venomous it seemed capable of freezing his very soul.
In the next moment, he shrank backward without hesitation. Like a melting shadow, he retreated into a narrow side passage piled with discarded furniture. After several strange flickers, his presence vanished completely into the tangled depths of the back alleys, leaving only a lingering chill of killing intent.
The crisis seemed to have been temporarily resolved.
Lin Xiao lay sprawled in the cold sewage, gasping violently. Every breath tugged at the tearing pain in his right-leg wound and the burning numbness of the spreading toxin.
He struggled to raise his head and look at Qin Bing as she approached step by step.
Qin Bing did not immediately pursue Viper. Her gaze swept over Lin Xiao's entire body like a searchlight.
When she saw his right calf soaked in blood, with strange dark-green venom still clinging to his trouser leg, a tiny tremor flashed through the depths of her cold pupils and vanished.
She holstered her gun with smooth, professional movements, then quickly crouched beside Lin Xiao. Her voice remained cold and hard as ice, but carried an unmistakable note of scrutiny. "Lin Xiao? You again! Explain this. In the middle of the night, in a place like this, you were hunted by a professional assassin of at least two-star level?"
Her gaze felt almost tangible as it locked onto Lin Xiao's eyes, as if trying to pierce through every disguise he wore.
"That assassin clearly had you as his target. Why? And the wound on your leg—what kind of poison is that?"
She reached out, apparently intending to examine the wound, but her movements carried the scrutiny characteristic of a criminal investigator.
Alarm bells rang in Lin Xiao's mind!
Qin Bing's appearance was far too "coincidental"!
So coincidental that it made his heart tremble!
Zhao Hu, Scarface Qiang, Poison Scorpion, the Blood Wolf Gang, the World-Erosion Seed fragment... this string of events, combined with tonight's lethal Shadow Alliance assassin, Viper... He was like a light bulb in the darkness, growing brighter—and becoming more dangerous to handle.
Qin Bing's suspicion was practically written across her face.
Play dumb! He had to play dumb!
At least for now, he absolutely could not expose the existence of the modifier!
Lin Xiao endured the dizziness and agony, forcing out a pale smile tinged with his usual roguishness. There was even a trace of blood foam at the corner of his mouth. "Cough, cough... Officer Qin? What a coincidence! We even ran into each other here... hiss..."
He deliberately sucked in a sharp breath, baring his teeth in pain as he tried to change the subject. "I... I don't know what kind of bad luck I ran into... I just wanted to take a shortcut home, and who knew I'd run into some... lunatic! He started chasing me with a blade without even saying a word! I... what did I ever do to him?"
His eyes held just the right amount of fear, confusion, and lingering dread. He did his best to play the part of a completely innocent, unbelievably unlucky victim, even making his body tremble slightly in cooperation with the pain.
Qin Bing stared coldly at him. Her beautiful, icy face showed no expression, as if she were examining a piece of evidence.
Her gaze passed over the wound on Lin Xiao's shoulder and back, which had already split open and been torn apart again by the impact of the steel beam's shockwave. It passed over his paper-white face and the slightly unfocused pupils caused by depleted Source Energy, finally settling on the clearly abnormal wound on his right calf, which gave off a sickly sweet odor.
"Take a shortcut?" Qin Bing's voice held not the slightest warmth and even carried a trace of mockery. "A shortcut can take you to an abandoned factory in the old district? It can make you run into an assassin of this caliber? And get you infected with such a rare neurotoxin?"
She extended a finger and swiftly dabbed at the residual venom on the edge of Lin Xiao's calf wound. She brought it to the tip of her nose and sniffed. Her brows instantly drew tight, and her gaze grew even sharper and graver. "'Viper's Kiss'? High-grade merchandise leaked from the black market... Would a 'lunatic' assassin use poison worth a fortune on a student who was merely 'taking a shortcut'?"
Her doubts were like cold needles, striking straight to the heart of the matter.
Lin Xiao's heart tightened as he silently cursed the policewoman for having such a keen sense of smell.
He could only brace himself and continue. He blinked "innocently," his voice weak and slightly aggrieved. "I... I really don't know, Officer Qin! That guy... that guy was like a ghost! I... I just wanted to find somewhere to shelter from the rain... Right! Shelter from the rain! And then..." He rambled incoherently, trying to muddy the waters.
Qin Bing said nothing more. She merely stared coldly at him, her gaze seeming capable of freezing the air.
Silence descended over the back alley once again. Only Lin Xiao's heavy breathing and the faint sounds of the city in the distance remained.
The air was thick with the smell of blood, the stench of garbage, and the sickly sweet odor of the unsettling dark-green venom.
Just then, the piercing sound of sirens approached from afar. Red and blue lights tore through the darkness of the back alley, flashing urgently and casting the garbage-strewn walls in a bizarre, shifting glow.
Several vehicles flashing police lights, along with a black SUV marked with the insignia of the Special Operations Ninth Division, charged roughly into the alley entrance and screeched to a halt.
The doors flew open. Several fully armed Special Operations agents with formidable auras rapidly emerged, spreading out in a tactical formation as their guns warily covered every direction.
The lead agent hurried over to Qin Bing. "Team Leader Qin! The target?"
"He got away. A professional assassin whose code name and characteristics match Viper, an outer member of the Shadow Alliance. He fled southwest into the depths of the old district. Notify the lockdown team to establish a cordon. Focus on searching abandoned buildings and underground passages. His right arm may have a graze inflicted by me. He is extremely dangerous."
Qin Bing issued the orders rapidly. Her icy voice carried unquestionable authority, yet her gaze never left Lin Xiao.
"Yes!" The agent immediately acknowledged the order and quickly relayed it through his communicator.
Another agent ran over carrying a medical kit. "Team Leader Qin, the injured party?"
Qin Bing finally shifted her gaze from Lin Xiao's face to his horrifying right leg. Her tone was decisive. "He's been poisoned! Viper's Kiss compound toxin! Inject a general neurotoxin inhibitor immediately and perform emergency debridement! Move! Call an ambulance!"
"Understood!"
A cold needle pierced Lin Xiao's arm, and a drug carrying a faint numbing sensation was pushed into his body.
Next came the sound of scissors cutting through his trouser leg. Cold disinfectant touched the torn wound, bringing a bolt of excruciating pain.
Lin Xiao groaned under his breath, and cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.
He lay on the cold, filthy ground, watching the narrow sky overhead turn red and blue beneath the police lights. He listened to the Special Operations agents' hurried commands and the electrical static from their communicators, felt the searing pain of his roughly treated wound, and endured the boundless exhaustion brought by the stubborn -0.159 flickering in his mind.
Qin Bing stood to one side with her arms folded, watching the medical team work with cold eyes.
Her figure stretched long beneath the flashing police lights. Her eyes, which saw through every detail, were like two blades tempered in ice, hovering over Lin Xiao's head from beginning to end.
Lin Xiao closed his eyes as fatigue surged over him like a tide, almost drowning him.
He knew the pursuit had temporarily ended, but falling into the hands of this cold-faced policewoman meant that his troubles... might only have just begun.
Could playing dumb and feigning ignorance get him through this?
He did not know. He only knew that he had to hold on. He had to survive.
Under the effects of the agony and the medicine, his consciousness gradually sank into the abyss of darkness.
The ambulance's shrill siren seemed to come from somewhere far away...
Before you continue