Inner City Disappearances

The moment the squad leader gave the order, all the Night Watcher on the field drew their silver-plated weapons from beneath their robes.

Bang bang bang!

Several large-caliber single-shot weapons opened fire in succession. Flame and smoke from the gun barrels swirled deep into the alley.

But the man in black robes in front of them was unharmed!

They withstood the impact of the bullets with their bare bodies, their black robes blasted with holes by the Silver-Plated Bullets, revealing their hidden bodies beneath.

The black skeleton was connected by a dense array of Gear, with remnants of human tissue clinging to its bones, gleaming with an eerie reddish-black luster under the dim light emanating from the Bronze City.

Clearly, all the Night Watcher were stunned by what they saw.

"What is this thing? Isn't it a Transcendence?"

"Everyone, step back!" The squad leader standing at the front spoke again after a brief moment of surprise. His voice was steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable authority.

Then he raised the ornate Short Shotgun and pulled the trigger at a group of Lesser Ascender clustered together.

With a loud bang, a large number of projectiles spread out in a fan shape, hitting the three Lesser Ascender at a distance of more than ten meters.

One of them took the brunt of the impact head-on, and the force of the impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the wall and knocking off a large chunk of rubble.

It is still alive.

It slowly stood up from the pile of rubble, its black robe torn to shreds by the bullets, the flesh on its chest completely rolled up, and several Pipeline ruptured, oozing dark liquid.

It tilted its head slightly, as if thinking about something, and then continued walking forward.

At the same time, all the other Lesser Ascender moved.

The black robes fell off, and instead of attacking the Night Watcher in scattered formations, they all rushed in one direction.

Witness.

They stopped hiding their true intentions and their target instantly became kidnapping people.

"Stop them!" The squad leader, wielding an ornate Short Shotgun, advanced while ejecting spent cartridges.

At the same time, more footsteps could be heard from the distant streets. From the moment the gunshot rang out, all the Night Watcher in the vicinity were rushing towards this location.

The Revolver in Lu Yuan's hand spat out flames once more.

The bullet, accompanied by Flame effect, exploded at the knee joint of a Lesser Ascender. This shot finally worked— the Gear at the joint was knocked off balance, and its right leg instantly lost its support, causing it to fall forward.

But then it used its hands to support itself on the ground and dragged its crippled leg toward the witness.

The squad leader loaded a new bullet into the chamber, drew his short sword from his waist, and charged to the front.

Three Lesser Ascender lunged at him simultaneously. He dodged one in quick succession, then struck the second on the neck with the hilt of his short sword. The third pounced from the side, and he kicked it in the chest, using the momentum to leap backward.

It's strong, but it can't hold out for long.

Two more Night Watcher, armed with weapons, rushed in from the alleyway.

"Stop them!" the squad leader roared, and the Short Shotgun opened fire again.

Being shot at such close range, the Lesser Ascender's chest instantly caved in.

But it was clearly transformed so thoroughly that no matter how it was attacked, as long as it wasn't completely dead, it would get up and continue moving forward.

They also have the advantage in terms of numbers.

"Retreat!" the squad leader judged quickly. "Take your men and retreat towards the Alchemy Workshop!"

The Lesser Ascender did not stop.

One Night Watcher supported his companion, who had been shot in the shoulder, while another clutched a wound in his calf and walked away.

The moment Lu Yuan realized the limitations of his weapon, he had already propped up the witnesses in the corner and prepared to evacuate.

The squad leader covered the rear, firing as he retreated, working alongside the newly arrived Night Watcher to halt the Lesser Ascender's advance. Silver-Plated Bullets struck the Lesser Ascender's joints precisely, aiming only to slow them down.

The Lesser Ascender chased him for two blocks.

As more and more footsteps approached, they finally stopped at the same time as they turned a street corner.

They stood still, no longer moving forward.

The torchlight couldn't reach them; only the faint glow emanating from the Bronze City illuminated their bodies.

After pausing for a few seconds, they turned around, walked back in unison, and disappeared into the night.

The squad leader held his gun up for a long time, making sure the Lesser Ascender was completely gone, before slowly lowering the muzzle of his gun.

"Let's go," he said, his voice a little hoarse.

Lu Yuan, carrying the witness, ran at the front.

The person being supported was trembling.

He glanced back in the direction where the Lesser Ascender had disappeared.

The Ascension Society even gotten involved; it seems the matter of the Tower of Erudition is more complicated than expected.

The second floor of the Alchemy Workshop.

Laurina has already cleared out the workbench.

All the alchemy equipment was pushed aside, and a row of potion bottles, clean bandages, a basin of boiled water, and a few small bottles that she had hastily prepared were placed on the table.

When the wounded were carried up, Lu Yuan was already examining their wounds.

His gaze swept over the Night's Night Watcher with an arrow in his shoulder, and grayish-white text appeared at the edge of his vision:

[Target detected: Night Watcher (penetrating wound, arrowhead lodged, mild alchemical Contamination)]

[Recommendation: Remove the foreign object, clean the wound, and treat for Contamination.]

Lu Yuan frowned and looked at the arrow.

The arrowhead has a unique shape; once it enters the flesh, its head blossoms open, and its barbs are firmly embedded in the muscle.

Pulling it out forcefully will definitely tear the wound open.

But there was no other way but to cut it open.

"The arrowhead is made of an alchemical alloy," Laurina said calmly, leaning closer for a look. "It has barbs; you can't pull it out by force."

She turned and took a small glass bottle from her toolbox, which contained a pale blue liquid.

"This softens the tissue around the arrowhead; I prepared it beforehand." She handed the bottle to Lu Yuan. "Drip it onto the joint, wait about ten seconds, and you can remove it."

Lu Yuan took the bottle.

[Detection Target: Tissue-Softening Potion (modified version)]

[A cleverly improved potion, perhaps, might have unexpected effects when used on ordinary people.]

Lu Yuan's eye twitched involuntarily when he saw the notification.

Laurina is indeed a genius.

Putting aside the random thoughts in my mind, I carefully poured a drop onto the junction of the arrow and the flesh.

A pale blue liquid seeped into the edges of the wound, and the muscle tissue around the arrow began to soften.

"Hold him down," Lu Yuan said to the other Night Watcher around him.

The Night Watcher held down the wounded man's shoulder, and Lu Yuan used tweezers to grip the arrowhead and steadily pulled it out.

The wounded soldier groaned, but didn't make a sound.

Lu Yuan cleaned the wound with disinfectant, then glanced at the gray-white warning message: "Mild Alchemy Contamination."

"Do you have any Holy Water or anything? Something that can Contamination will do."

"Yes." The squad leader beside him took out a small bottle that emitted a blue light from his waist.

"Holy Water of uniform specifications."

Lu Yuan took it, carefully applied a layer of medicine around the wound, then bandaged it.

The movements were performed in one smooth motion.

After treating his shoulder injury, he turned to the Night Watcher whose calf was injured.

[Detection Target: Night Watcher (Tear, Mild Blood Loss)]

[Recommendation: Stop the bleeding, clean the wound, and suture.]

The injury was relatively simple, and Lu Yuan treated it quickly.

Laurina stood by, handing over tools and preparing the medicine.

The two worked together very well.

The witness huddled in a corner of the room, hugging his knees, curled up in a ball.

While Lu Yuan was tending to the wounded, Laurina placed a blanket and a cup of hot water over there without saying much.

As the treatment was nearing its end, footsteps could be heard downstairs.

Very quickly, very urgently.

The door was pushed open, Hogger walked in.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his brows were furrowed tightly, indicating that he hadn't slept in a long time.

He glanced around the room, his gaze lingering on the witness for a moment before turning to Lu Yuan.

"Everyone's alright?! That's great!"

He didn't stand on ceremony.

"I'm taking the witness with me and moving her to a safe place." Hogger's tone was quick, as if he were handling several things at once. "I already know about tonight's events. You were involved in the backup; your points will be counted."

He paused, then said:

"One more thing."

Hogger's expression was somewhat complicated.

"Someone has recently gone missing in the Inner City. It's been reported. You're on my task list. I'll have someone contact you tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the witness, squatted down, and patted the man on the shoulder.

The witness flinched, but didn't move away.

"Let's go," Hogger said softly. "You can trust me."

He led the witness downstairs, and the Night Watcher also left with him.

The footsteps quickly disappeared.

From entering to leaving, it took less than two minutes.

The Alchemy Workshop fell silent again.

Laurina was tidying up the used instruments and medicines, and washing the bloodstains off the bandages with water.

Why were you chosen for their mission?