[Despicable Tactics]

"Feels good. But I should check it first, just to make sure there's nothing wrong, right?"

Jie Xing nodded in satisfaction and looked at Night Cloud.

"Go ahead."

Night Cloud merely shrugged, indicating that Jie Xing could do as he pleased.

After all, they hadn't tampered with anything.

"To show our sincerity and trust, I'll inspect them right in front of you. You don't have to worry that I'll pull anything."

Jie Xing beckoned to the warriors behind him.

One of them understood what he meant.

He quickly brought over a computer and handed it to Jie Xing.

Jie Xing plugged all three chips into the computer and ran some tests. He nodded in satisfaction, but to be safe, he still found three warriors with compatible chip slots and inserted the chips into their intelligent bodies to verify they were genuine.

"Good. They're real. Release them."

After confirming that there had been no forgery, Jie Xing beckoned to the warriors behind him, signaling them to release the hostages.

The warriors received their boss Jie Xing's order.

Without hesitation, they quickly released Zhuo Ran and Qi Yang, who had each been struck twice with a rifle butt.

"What do you mean?"

At that moment,

Ye Yun, who had been treated like an invisible person, glared at Jie Xing in anger.

They had only one Intelligent Being Chip, but Night Cloud had now taken out two more.

And yet you only released two people.

What did you mean?

"Miss Ye, I've only received the chips, so of course I can only release two people. Without the Intelligent Firewall Program, there's no way I can let all of you leave with the hostages. You understand the principle of exchanging goods for payment, and settling both sides' accounts, don't you?"

Jie Xing shrugged noncommittally and began lecturing Ye Yun.

Seeing this, Night Cloud shook his head slightly and waved his right hand. "Two people it is."

Even though Ye Yun was furious at his gesture, there was nothing she could do.

She could only go and take the two of them away.

"No! Xiang Mao—Xiang Mao hasn't left yet!"

After his restraints were removed, Zhuo Ran saw Qin Yan still in the enemy's hands and cried out in agitation.

He even tried to break free of Ye Yun's hold and run toward Qin Yan.

Seeing this,

Night Cloud's expression turned cold. He spun around and swept out a fierce roundhouse kick, striking Zhuo Ran in the face and sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious.

"You..."

Qi Yang stared at him in disbelief, fury filling his eyes.

Night Cloud didn't even spare the unfamiliar young man a glance.

"My leg's feeling a little stiff, so I'm stretching it. I didn't inconvenience you, did I?"

Night Cloud forced a faint smile onto his cool face and looked at Jie Xing with a knowing expression.

"Hahaha, not at all, not at all. That was my oversight. I forgot to invite my old friend to sit down and have a chat. Someone, bring a chair! We're being terrible hosts."

Jie Xing laughed heartily and called to his subordinates.

"Come on, hurry up. Don't make trouble."

Ye Yun shot Qi Yang an impatient look and whispered in his ear, "We're already surrounded by a large number of Duyizhi Warriors."

"Okay."

Qi Yang gave Night Cloud a long, hard look, as if trying to imprint him in his mind. Then he crouched down, picked up Zhuo Ran, who had been kicked unconscious, and hurried toward the exit.

Jie Xing merely glanced at them and paid them no further attention.

They had already paid the "ransom." What else was there to do but let them go?

Besides,

they still hadn't gotten the most important thing.

"How have you been these past three years, old friend?"

After a Duyizhi Warrior brought over a chair, Jie Xing sat down and spoke as if catching up with an old friend.

"Not well."

Night Cloud shook his head.

"Oh? Care to tell me about it?"

Jie Xing asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Every few days, some thief comes knocking on your door and rummages through your house looking for things. How could you possibly be doing well? Don't you agree?"

He spoke pointedly.

"That's true. You're right. I hate people like that, too. If I ever ran into one, I'd definitely kill him."

Jie Xing nodded along.

There was nothing wrong with making small talk.

"Exactly. Yesterday, I chopped that guy's head off in no time, and he stopped bothering me. I even slept in until ten this morning."

Night Cloud's mouth was dry as he said, "Old buddy, you have a guest here. How can you not offer him some water? Your hospitality leaves a lot to be desired."

"Haha, true enough. But I was afraid that even if I poured you a glass, you wouldn't dare drink it."

Jie Xing laughed, his words dripping with mockery.

"Is that so?"

Night Cloud looked at him in surprise.

"We're safe now."

At that moment,

Ye Yun's voice came through Night Cloud's Bluetooth earpiece.

After hearing her, he immediately ended the call with Ye Yun.

"Here's the item. Release her."

Now that he knew the others were safe, Night Cloud had no intention of wasting any more time talking to Jie Xing.

This time, he'd taken a huge loss.

"Bring her over."

Jie Xing beckoned to the warrior guarding Qin Yan in the distance.

After getting permission,

the Duyizhi Warrior quickly brought her over.

"Untie her." Jie Xing looked up and told his subordinate.

As soon as her restraints were removed,

Qin Yan immediately ran behind Night Cloud and clutched his arm nervously, terror filling her eyes.

"Now..."

Jie Xing began, then stopped.

"I'm giving you the item. We have other business, so we'll be leaving. Don't bother seeing us out."

Night Cloud rose from the chair, patted Qin Yan on the head, and tossed the computer in his hand toward Jie Xing. Then he grabbed her and headed for the exit.

"Don't look back."

When Qin Yan started to turn around, Night Cloud firmly held her in place, forcing her to face forward.

Jie Xing watched them leave, a cold smile curling his lips.

He wasn't in a hurry. He calmly opened the computer and checked its contents.

"Good! Hahaha, excellent!"

Seeing that it was indeed what the Father of the Duyizhi wanted, Jie Xing excitedly handed the computer to a nearby warrior and said, "To prevent the humans from activating the backup firewall, get this to the Father of the Duyizhi as soon as possible."

There was something they didn't know.

The Duyizhi had gone to such lengths to obtain the firewall program not to patch more vulnerabilities in the Intelligent Beings' backend systems.

It was all for today's Supersonic Messenger.

They weren't worried at all about anyone activating the backup firewall.

"Yes." At Jie Xing's order, the ordinary Duyizhi Warrior immediately took the computer to the Father of the Duyizhi.

"Old friend, since you're here, why are you leaving so quickly? We haven't seen each other in three years. It wouldn't hurt to catch up, would it?"

Seeing Night Cloud and Qin Yan already outside the library, Jie Xing summoned a rapidly spinning Spiral Blade into his palm and hurled it at Night Cloud's back.

The Spiral Blade was incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, it was right behind Night Cloud.

"Hold on tight."

The moment Jie Xing threw the Spiral Blade, Night Cloud also flung the electromagnetic grenade in his hand and immediately activated his Energy Shield. Following his instructions, Qin Yan wrapped both arms tightly around his neck.

Night Cloud quickly slipped his right arm beneath her legs and ran for the exit.

Thud!

A heavy sound rang out.

The Spiral Blade struck the shield with a sharp clang.

"Old friend, stop running. You can't get away."

A whistling sound came from behind them.

Jie Xing chased after them like a phantom, launching Spiral Blades one after another from his hand.

"I—I'm scared." Qin Yan looked at Night Cloud, who was holding off the attacks while carrying her to safety. Her face was full of fear, and her voice trembled.

"I'm scared too."

Night Cloud's expression was grave. He glanced at Jie Xing, who was rapidly closing in, then at the Energy Shield's countdown, which was almost over. "Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Vrrrrrm!

As soon as he spoke,

a deafening engine roared in the distance.

A black supercar raced toward them.

"When I tell you to let go, let go. Got it?"

Night Cloud saw the oncoming supercar and spoke to Qin Yan in a low voice.

"Why?"

Curiosity appeared in Qin Yan's wide, misty eyes.

"If you don't want to die, do as I say."

As soon as he finished speaking,

the supercar drifted at high speed in the distance, its doors already opening as it slid.

The shrill squeal of tires against the ground echoed across the abandoned library's sports field.

"Let go."

Hearing Night Cloud's command,

Qin Yan immediately released her grip.

At that very moment,

Night Cloud seized his chance.

He threw Qin Yan out of his arms.

She flew straight through the open door of the supercar.

The car never slowed down for a moment.

After correcting its course, it sped away.

Whoosh.

Night Cloud rolled across the ground to shed his momentum and dismissed the Energy Shield, which was nearly depleted. A Laser Sword appeared in his hand, and he stared coldly at Jie Xing.

"You've finally stopped running!"

Jie Xing clapped as he looked at Night Cloud. "Are you ready to face death?"

"I should have been unafraid of death. But after experiencing true death, I gradually became afraid of it. Death is just another new beginning. It's all bullshit."

Night Cloud looked at Jie Xing in silence, gripping the Laser Sword tightly as he sensed the dangers trained on him from all around.

This time,

his chances of escaping seemed pretty slim.

"Are you planning to surrender?"

Jie Xing looked at him in surprise, the Spiral Blade spinning constantly in his hand.

"I remember my teacher once told me, 'Warrior, your only destiny is to die in battle at the hands of your enemy.'"

Night Cloud slowly walked a few steps across the sports field and looked up at the sky, as if he could see the dazzling sea of stars.

He wondered if he would ever make it back.

"It seems I know what you've chosen."

Jie Xing felt a strange sense of respect for him.

But

there was no mercy in war.

"Fire."

As Jie Xing lunged at him, he coldly issued the order over his communicator.

Today.

No matter what, he couldn't let this guy return alive and unharmed.

Letting him return alive would be his own failure.

It would be a disaster for Duyizhi.

And—

He truly hadn't expected this young man to show up.

"Rat-a-tat-tat."

The assault rifle rang out especially loudly across the athletic field.

Bullets, like messengers of death from hell, waited for the flowers to bloom, streaking through the air and leaving ripples in their wake, as if celebrating the moment the flowers would soon blossom.

"Clang, clang, clang."

The Laser Sword in Ye Yun's hand swept out a series of afterimages, swift as lightning, blocking every one of those messengers of death from hell.

"Clang!"

A clear, resonant sound, like the tolling of a morning bell, rang across the athletic field.

The Spiral Blade and Laser Sword collided, scattering sparks.

The force of the impact sent Jie Xing stumbling back seven or eight steps. He stared at the young man, who was still fending off the attacks.

This guy had gotten even stronger.

"Bzz!"

Ye Yun's arm trembled slightly. A metallic sweetness rose in his throat, but he forced it back down, his hand moving faster and faster.

He bent his body forward, ready to fend off the enemy's attacks at any moment.

Although he hadn't taken a step back just now, he had already sustained a serious injury.

"Again."

Jie Xing's electronic eye blinked, and he attacked Ye Yun once more.

He refused to believe it.

With so many weapons attacking, on top of his own assault, there was no way they couldn't take down the human blocking their path.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

The Spiral Blade whirred as it grew larger and larger in Ye Yun's sight.

It seemed to carry tremendous force, pressing down on him and making him feel stifled and miserable.

"Clang!"

Just as the Spiral Blade neared his face, Ye Yun raised his Laser Sword at the last possible moment to block it.

A vacuum formed behind him.

"Boom!"

The two weapons crashed together with a sound like thunder.

Ye Yun and Jie Xing met each other's strength head-on.

Faint cracks gradually appeared in the ground beneath their feet.

Waves of force seemed to burst from the blade of the Laser Sword and the Spiral Blade, sending ripples through the air.

"Bang!"

Just then,

a dull gunshot rang out.

A bullet shot toward Ye Yun's head.

Sensing a bone-chilling danger closing in,

he immediately pulled away, abandoning the contest of strength with Jie Xing and dodging the sniper round that whistled toward him from behind Jie Xing.

"Chhk."

The instant he dodged the sniper round, Jie Xing naturally didn't just stand there doing nothing. He thrust the Spiral Blade in his hand toward Ye Yun's chest.

Blade met flesh.

Flesh could not withstand the blade's assault.

In an instant,

one of the four blades on the Spiral Blade in Jie Xing's hand had pierced nearly two centimeters into Ye Yun's chest.

But then,

no matter how hard Jie Xing tried, the blade could go no farther.

Looking closely,

Ye Yun's Laser Sword was braced firmly against the joint connecting the Spiral Blade's blade.

"Still not dead?"

Jie Xing's voice was cold. Then an ordinary Intelligent Being soldier walked out from behind him, carrying a sniper rifle. It aimed at Ye Yun and pulled the trigger again.

"Coward!"

Ye Yun kicked at Jie Xing.

Jie Xing reacted just as quickly.

He kicked back, his foot colliding with Ye Yun's.

In an instant,

Ye Yun was sent flying by Jie Xing's strength, like a kite with its string cut.

And—

the Spiral Blade that Jie Xing had driven into Ye Yun's body was pulled back out.

A drop of crimson blood ran down the gleaming blade, strikingly vivid beneath the sunlight.

"Whoosh."

At the same moment, the Laser Sword flew from Ye Yun's hand, shooting toward the Intelligent Being soldier carrying Sharp Eye's Chip.