Uninvited Guest

They wasted no words, swiftly scanned their surroundings, and headed straight for the man on the operating table.

"Stop."

Lu Yuan stood in front of the operating table, his gaze icy. "This is Night Watcher territory."

Lu Yuan did not know who they were, but he decisively invoked the Night Watchers' name.

The leading Gray-robed Man stopped. His eyes behind the goggles showed no trace of emotion.

He slowly raised that grotesquely shaped Steam Blunderbuss, its black muzzle aimed directly at Lu Yuan's brow.

"Move."

Filtered through the Gas Mask, his voice was muffled. "Anyone who obstructs the Ascension Society from reclaiming its assets dies."

There was no room for negotiation. The gloved finger had already begun squeezing the trigger.

At this distance, no one could dodge a bullet.

Click.

Expressionless, Lu Yuan flicked the hands of Time Bestower with his thumb at incredible speed.

[Ability One: Reversal · Acceleration (Activated)]

[Sanity being deducted... -1... -1...]

His Sanity began to drain, and the hands of the Pocket Watch began to tick.

The colors in Lu Yuan's vision started fading, the world gradually turning gray and white.

Raindrops outside the room hung motionless in midair.

The flame bursting from the muzzle looked like an orange flower blooming with agonizing slowness.

The spinning brass bullet was clearly visible to Lu Yuan as it left the barrel; he could even see the Flame reflected on its surface.

"Too slow."

Watching the slowed world before him, Lu Yuan stepped to the left and evaded the incoming bullet.

At the same time, his peripheral vision caught movement outside the window.

Several pitch-black shadows pierced through the rain curtain and shot into the room—Alchemical Crossbow Bolts.

Runes meant to break magic gleamed on their arrowheads as they streaked toward the Gray-robed Men's throats.

It was support from the surrounding Hidden Sentries.

Can they kill them? No...

Within this time slowed severalfold, Lu Yuan sharply noticed a detail.

Those Gray-robed Men truly had not reacted in time.

Yet the muscles beneath their coats bulged unnaturally, and faint sparks even burst from their joints.

Their bodies had actually taken countermeasures in the face of this "certain death."

Click.

To conserve Sanity, Lu Yuan decisively snapped shut the watch cover the instant he dodged the bullet.

Bang!

The bullet that had been aimed at his brow shattered the medicine cabinet behind him, sending glass fragments flying everywhere.

The crossbow bolts that had burst through the window also struck the Gray-robed Men with full force.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Instead of the dull sound of flesh being pierced, there came sharp metallic clangs.

The Alchemical Crossbow Bolts, powerful enough to penetrate rock, were actually deflected.

The immense impact only tore their coats, revealing metallic skin underneath.

"No weapons allowed in Night Watcher territory!"

Though the two Hidden Sentries were shocked by their opponents' defenses,

they still burst through the window at once. After shouting a warning, they swung their longswords toward the enemies' vulnerable joints with flashing cold light.

"Full-body armor? They're all Augmented?!"

Lu Yuan frowned, but did not panic in the slightest.

He immediately flipped behind the solid wooden counter and fired twice. The Enchanted Revolver erupted with explosive flames, and the shots struck the leader's goggles with precision.

Bang! Bang!

The goggles exploded on impact, and the leader's head snapped back from the blow.

Yet the next moment, he shook his head and looked toward Lu Yuan's position as if nothing had happened.

Damn it, are these people all tanks?

Looking at the group that could withstand bullets head-on, Lu Yuan could not help grumbling inwardly.

Then he glanced at the Sanity bar in the lower-right corner of his vision.

[Sanity: 68/73 (Total)] (To clarify: things like Sanity +III are experience. Values without levels are totals. The maximum experience value equals the maximum usable Sanity.)

That last burst had only consumed 5 points.

He still had a decent reserve, but the Revolver could not handle this bunch of canned meat.

Defense was not as practical as acceleration, and he could not afford to use offense.

He could only stall for now.

But the battle in the Clinic gave Lu Yuan no time to respond. Within moments, it became completely one-sided.

Though the two Hidden Sentries were agile, they could not fully maneuver in the cramped Clinic against a group of can-like Augmented.

"Argh!"

One Hidden Sentry groaned as a Tactical Knife slashed open his abdomen, blood immediately spilling across the floor.

With one teammate out of commission, the other Night Watcher was also sent flying by a punch and slammed heavily into the wall.

After several attempts, he still could not get back on his feet.

The leading Gray-robed Man looked indifferent, as if he were swatting flies.

He then loaded another red High-Explosive Round and once again trained the muzzle on Lu Yuan behind the counter.

"Come out immediately, or die!"

The leader issued his final warning.

Lu Yuan's hand pressed against Time Bestower again, ready to flee at any moment.

Just then.

A slow set of footsteps suddenly sounded at the entrance.

The sound was not loud, yet it carried a suffocating pressure that made the Gray-robed Man about to pull the trigger stiffen for an instant.

"I believe I said that this district forbids indiscriminate gunfire."

Along with that hoarse, aged voice, a slightly hunched figure blocked the wind and rain at the doorway.

Old Morgan, wearing a somewhat worn black trench coat and holding half an unlit cigarette between his lips, walked in with a grim expression.

He did not even glance at the black muzzles. He looked only at the Hidden Sentries lying on the ground and Lu Yuan behind the counter.

A flicker of anger passed through his clouded eyes.

"Put down that piece of trash in your hand."

Old Morgan spat out the cigarette, his voice low as thunder.

"Otherwise... leave your life here."

The leading Gray-robed Man clearly recognized that face. A flicker of wariness crossed his eyes behind the goggles.

But there was even more arrogant confidence.

"Captain Morgan."

The Gray-robed Man said coldly, "This is an internal matter of the Empire's Ascension Society."

"We are reclaiming escaped assets. Under the Imperial Special Act, the Night Watchers have no authority to interfere."

He pointed at the man on the operating table, then at Lu Yuan.

"We're taking that man. And we're taking this meddlesome Doctor back for questioning too. He saw things he shouldn't have."

Old Morgan glanced at the unconscious man on the operating table, then at the completely unharmed Lu Yuan, and flicked his fingers.

"You can take the asset."

His tone allowed no argument. "But the Doctor belongs to the Night Watchers."

"So there's no room for negotiation?"

The Gray-robed Man abruptly raised his gun and actually pointed it at Old Morgan. "Old man, today's Empire is no longer what it was twenty years ago. The Ascension Society is conducting business, and you dare block us? Calling you Captain is only out of respect for your age!"

Old Morgan smiled.

"Now that people think I'm old, every stray cat and dog dares to climb all over me?"

The instant his words fell,

the withered skin on Old Morgan's exposed neck and the backs of his hands suddenly took on a dark silver sheen!

A terrifying, invisible pressure instantly swept through the entire Clinic.