Artificial Core of Existence (Twenty-Three)
The hostage suddenly threatened the terrorists with the rescuers.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. With the appearance of the only casualty, the situation's complexity increased exponentially once more.
As elite members of the supernatural world, even under the influence of the frostbound Law Remnants, the two remaining Night Watchers seemed to have stubbornly grasped the essence of the situation.
At the same time, from Fu Qian's observations, they seemed to wish they hadn't.
After all, noticing a problem but being powerless to solve it wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Especially when the criminal, completely unmoved, was watching from the sidelines with interest, apparently looking forward to the law enforcers' reaction.
"Rescue him first..."
Under this added psychological pressure, the Night Watchers finally made their decision.
And, unsurprisingly, they chose the cautious approach.
At the order, the one surrounded by Electric Arc leaped beside the injured man and dragged him farther away.
The last man left behind held a short knife as he covered his teammate, keeping an eye on the old woman who had just attacked.
There was a simple reason they hadn't listed Fu Qian as someone to watch: that figure was simply too disorienting.
Even glimpsing him out of the corner of one's eye seemed to deepen that chilling sensation in the mind, making one slide toward the abyss of surrender.
"No wounds, and no unusual marks... Can you hear me?"
In the midst of this response, he soon received a report from his teammate.
It even sounded as though that terrifying blow had caused no actual injury—
"Something's... wrong..."
Unfortunately, that optimism was shattered almost instantly.
The injured man, recovering somewhat from his daze, wore a strange expression as he muttered to himself in an even stranger tone.
His body