Watching Xia Wuyou close in step by step, Chen Fang's expression grew increasingly twisted.
"Why... Leader Shen trusted you so much!"
He tore off his helmet and roared at the girl in rage, "Why did you do this?!"
At this point, how could he fail to realize that all of this had been caused by her betrayal?
If not for the false intelligence she had provided, his entire team would never have been wiped out!
Faced with Chen Fang's accusations, Xia Wuyou seemed somewhat dazed. The light had completely vanished from her aqua-blue eyes.
It was obvious that she was in great pain.
Just two days ago, they had been chatting and laughing together. Now they had to meet blades... If possible, she never wanted something like this to happen.
But she had no choice.
Xia Wuyou did not know how to explain any of this to him, nor did she have the heart to.
Because another question stood before her.
Should she... let him go?
The guilt and self-reproach surging within her told her that it was the right thing to do.
However.
Just as she prepared to step aside and clear a path, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Do you think you still have a choice?"
!
What was going on?
Xia Wuyou knew that voice far too well... But he clearly was not here, so why was she still being affected by him?
The girl did not know that this was the lingering influence left behind by "Malice Entropy."
Those who had been planted with Xu Shi's seed would find it difficult to escape for the rest of their lives.
Thus, after a brief hesitation, she slowly drew the Alloy Battle Blade from her waist.
Seeing her take up a fighting stance, Chen Fang froze for a moment before raising his warhammer. "Die!"
He actually knew very little about Xia Wuyou, and cared even less about her relationship with Shen He.
Right now, all he wanted was to smash this culprit into a pile of meat!
The warhammer came crashing down, blasting out a deep crater that starkly proved just how terrifying his strength had become under the enhancement of his ability.
Yet against such a ferocious attack, Xia Wuyou merely shifted aside and dodged with ease. Then, from an uncanny angle, she burst forward and closed in before Chen Fang.
As a gleam of light curved around her wrist, Chen Fang discovered in horror the next second that his body seemed to have taken root in the ground.
No matter how hard he strained, he could not move an inch.
"You..."
Before he could speak, the girl's battle blade was already before his eyes.
"Sshhk—"
The Alloy Battle Blade hummed as it instantly shattered Chen Fang's armor.
His body was pierced through like tofu, and he dropped weakly to his knees. His swollen frame deflated like a balloon along with his life force.
A one-hit kill.
Xia Wuyou returned her blade to its sheath and closed her eyes in pain.
"...I'm sorry."
"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful."
Another truck slowly drove over. Xu Shi reclined halfway in his seat, admiring the real-time footage sent back by the drones while browsing Xia Wuyou's information.
Name: Xia Wuyou Identity: Team 3 Leader of the Field Operations Department of "Serpent Coil" Ability: Gravity Manipulation (effective within a five-meter radius around herself) Ability Rating: A
What an incredible ability... Xu Shi could not help but marvel.
He had to admit, these straightforward abilities that could be projected outward were simply satisfying to watch. Her clean, decisive fighting style was also a feast for the eyes.
And at this moment, Xia Wuyou possessed an extra touch of irresistible charm compared to when she wore ordinary clothes.
The leather combat suit and lightweight exoskeleton armor were a perfect match. The mask concealing half her face and the Alloy Battle Blade at her waist made her look like a valkyrie on the battlefield.
Sure enough, skintight suits were the best.
Of course, sending her alone to intercept the fleeing enemies had also been Xu Shi's test.
This arrangement was not born of concern. Rather, it was meant to accelerate her descent.
"Indeed. When we get back, I should consider whether her ability needs to be reassessed."
At his side, Su Lin likewise did not hide her approval.
Though she did not particularly like Xia Wuyou herself, she fully recognized her abilities—since joining "Serpent Coil," Xia Wuyou had never failed a single mission she accepted, regardless of its rank.
"By the way, if you and she fought, Su Lin, what would your odds of winning be?"
With the dust settled, Xu Shi was in high spirits. He closed the panel and asked casually.
"...That's difficult to say. After all, I've never fought her, and our abilities have different focuses."
After thinking for a moment, Su Lin replied, "But if she dared harm you, I'm confident I could slit her throat immediately."
"Oh." Xu Shi fell into thought.
Abilities truly each had their own strengths, and their mutually reinforcing and restraining relationships were tangled like a mess of threads.
Xia Wuyou was a vanguard type. Once her field opened, she could slaughter enemies with ease; Su Lin, on the other hand, leaned more toward an assassin, elusive and impossible to guard against.
They were not even the same type of fighter... And external factors had to be considered as well.
Personal experience, combat terrain, and so on... Even an SS-class ability did not mean absolute invincibility.
Even setting aside the issue of complications, plenty of Ascendants had died to high technology over the years.
In Xu Shi's view, abilities and technology complemented each other.
The true path was to grasp both with equal strength.
He could not quite bear to tell Su Lin the truth—in the original novel, she had ultimately died at Xia Wuyou's hands... So who was stronger, then?
But now, something like that probably would not happen.
And more importantly...
"Someone's going to lose sleep tonight."
Xu Shi knew very well that this defeat had dealt a blow not only to Shen He and "Spark," but also to the partner backing them.
Night City and Sin City appeared to be opposed, but there was no shortage of secret collusion between them.
To expand their power, Sin City's gangs often sought the backing of conglomerates, while the conglomerates were more than happy to keep them around to handle dirty work they could not conveniently do themselves.
"Spark" had not stayed above such dealings either. Shen He had chosen "Shark Tooth," a military-industrial corporation like "Serpent Coil" among the Six Great Conglomerates.
Unwilling to remain second best forever, "Shark Tooth" had attempted to break the technological blockade through such means.
As it happened, "Spark" had similar ambitions, so the two sides quickly struck a deal—"Shark Tooth" provided the money, "Spark" provided the manpower, and they would split the profits evenly afterward.
In the original novel, "Shark Tooth" had gradually caught up to "Serpent Coil" through this partnership, before seizing the opportunity and successfully taking its place.
So this killed two birds with one stone—while crushing "Spark's" plan, it also caused "Shark Tooth" to lose a large amount of weapons and equipment.
That would be enough to silence them for a while.
Whether their fragile alliance could even endure was another question... They might end up beating each other's brains into pulp.
Seeking profit alongside a tiger was inherently dangerous.
Not to mention the other gangs in Sin City—they certainly would not want to see "Spark" rise so quickly, and they would surely take this chance to stir up trouble.
"Pass the order along. Hang these people's corpses in the most conspicuous place in Sin City, so they can see exactly what happens when they oppose 'Serpent Coil.'"
Thinking of this, he did not mind adding more fuel to the fire. "Also, give the television station a heads-up. Make sure they turn this into a huge story."
Watching dogs tear each other apart was simply too enjoyable.
"Yes... Hm?"
Su Lin answered, but immediately frowned. "Only 138 enemies eliminated? I thought the drones scanned 140..."
"Shh."
Xu Shi smiled and made a silencing gesture. "Just pretend you didn't notice."
Letting one or two people go did not matter to him, but someone had to tell little Shen He what had happened here.
For instance, why they had failed, and who had killed Chen Fang...
Unless Xia Wuyou's escape route was completely cut off, he could never truly rest easy.
Sigh, being a villain was exhausting.
Before you continue