Bodysuits Are The Best!

As Xia Wuyou advanced, Chen Fang's expression grew more ferocious.

"Why... Leader Shen trusted you so much!"

He removed his helmet and roared at the girl uncontrollably, "Why would you do this?!"

By now, he finally understood that all of this was due to her betrayal.

If it weren't for the false intelligence she provided, his team wouldn't have been annihilated!

Facing Chen Fang's questioning, Xia Wuyou seemed a bit lost, her sapphire eyes completely devoid of their usual sparkle.

It was clear she was in great pain.

Just two days ago, they were laughing and talking, and now they had to fight... If she had a choice, she would never have wanted this to happen.

But she had no choice.

Xia Wuyou didn't know how to explain it to him, nor did she have the inclination.

Because another problem lay before her.

Should she... let him go?

The self-reproach and guilt churning in her heart told her that this was the right choice.

However.

Just as she was about to step aside, a voice suddenly rang out.

"You think you still have a choice?"

!

What was going on?

Xia Wuyou knew this voice too well... but he clearly wasn't here now, so why was she still being interfered with?

The girl didn't know that this was the lingering effect of "Malice Entropy."

Those who had been planted with a seed by Xu Shi found it incredibly difficult to escape for the rest of their lives.

So, after a brief hesitation, she slowly drew the Alloy Battle Blade from her waist.

Seeing her assume a fighting stance, Chen Fang was stunned at first, then raised his warhammer, "Die!"

He actually knew very little about Xia Wuyou, nor did he care much about her relationship with Shen He.

All he wanted now was to smash this culprit into a pulp!

The warhammer fell heavily, the deep crater it created a stark testament to the terrifying power he possessed with the enhancement of his Ability.

However, facing such a fierce assault, Xia Wuyou lightly dodged by shifting her body slightly, then, at a strange angle, lunged in front of Chen Fang.

As her wrist flashed with an arc of light, the next second, Chen Fang discovered in horror that his body seemed rooted to the ground.

No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move an inch.

"You..."

Before he could speak, the battle blade in the girl's hand was already before him.

"Ching—"

The Alloy Battle Blade hummed, instantly shattering Chen Fang's battle armor.

He himself was pierced like tofu, slumping to the ground, his enlarged body deflating like a balloon along with his life force.

A single, fatal blow.

Xia Wuyou sheathed her blade and closed her eyes in pain.

"...I'm sorry."

"Spectacular, truly spectacular."

Another team of trucks slowly drove over. Xu Shi, half-reclined in his seat, admired the real-time footage from the drones while browsing information about Xia Wuyou.

[Name: Xia Wuyou]

[Identity: "Serpent Coil" Field Operations Department, Team 3 Leader]

[Ability: Gravity Manipulation (Effective range within a five-meter radius of self)]

[Ability Rating: A]

"A truly remarkable ability..." Xu Shi couldn't help but praise.

He had to admit, such an outward and intuitive Ability was a joy to watch, and the clean, decisive combat was also pleasing to the eye.

And at this moment, Xia Wuyou possessed a captivating charm that was absent when she wore her casual clothes.

The leather combat suit and the lightweight exoskeleton armor were a perfect match. The mask that covered her face and the Alloy Battle Blade at her waist made her look like a Valkyrie on the battlefield.

As expected, tight suits were the best.

And letting her intercept the deserter alone was, of course, Xu Shi's test.

This arrangement wasn't born out of concern, but rather to accelerate her descent.

"Indeed, after I return, I'll need to consider whether to re-evaluate her abilities."

Su Lin, standing beside him, didn't hide her agreement.

Although she didn't particularly like Xia Wuyou as a person, Su Lin highly approved of her abilities. Ever since joining "Serpent Coil," Xia Wuyou had never failed any mission she took on, regardless of its difficulty.

"Speaking of which, if you and she were to face off, what would your chances be?"

With the dust settled, Xu Shi was in high spirits. He closed the panel and casually asked.

"...It's hard to say. After all, I've never fought her, and our abilities focus on different aspects."

After a moment of thought, Su Lin replied, "But if she dared to make a move against you, I'm confident I could slit her throat in an instant."

"Oh," Xu Shi mused.

Abilities indeed had their own strengths and weaknesses, and their interdependencies were like a tangled mess.

Xia Wuyou was a vanguard type; once her domain was activated, she was a killing machine. Su Lin, on the other hand, was more of an assassin, appearing and disappearing without warning, making her impossible to defend against.

They weren't even the same type of soldier... and external factors had to be considered too.

Personal experience, combat terrain, and so on... Even an SS-class wasn't absolutely invincible.

Even setting aside complications, over the years, countless "Ascendants" had died at the hands of high technology.

In Xu Shi's opinion, abilities and technology were complementary.

The best approach was to master both.

He also couldn't quite bring himself to tell Su Lin the truth – in the original story, she had ultimately died at Xia Wuyou's hands... So, who was stronger then?

However, that shouldn't happen now.

And more importantly...

"Someone's going to lose sleep tonight."

Xu Shi knew that this failure would not only impact Shen He and "Spark" but also their backers.

Night Sin City and Sin City appeared to be rivals, but there was actually quite a bit of collusion behind the scenes.

To expand their power, gangs in Sin City often sought affiliation with corporations, and corporations were happy to nurture them to handle dirty work they couldn't do themselves.

"Spark" hadn't stayed out of it. Shen He's choice was a military enterprise, "Shark Tooth," just like "Serpent Coil," among the six major corporations.

"Shark Tooth," unwilling to remain perpetually second best, attempted to break through technological blockades in this manner.

Coincidentally, "Spark" had similar intentions, and the two parties readily agreed to a deal – "Shark Tooth" provided the funds, "Spark" provided the manpower, and they would split the profits 50/50 upon success.

And in the original story, "Shark Tooth" had gradually caught up to "Serpent Coil" through such collaborations, eventually exploiting an opportunity to successfully rise to power.

So, this was effectively killing two birds with one stone – not only crushing "Spark's" plan but also causing "Shark Tooth" to lose a large amount of weaponry and equipment.

This was enough to silence them for a considerable period.

And whether their fragile alliance could even hold was questionable... It was possible they might start fighting amongst themselves.

Trying to scheme with a tiger was inherently dangerous when it failed.

Not to mention the other gangs in Sin City – they wouldn't want to see "Spark" grow rapidly and would undoubtedly seize this opportunity to cause trouble.

"Send out the order to hang these bodies in the most conspicuous places in Sin City, so they can clearly see the consequences of opposing 'Serpent Coil'."

With that thought, he didn't mind adding fuel to the fire. "Also, inform the television station and make sure to create a major news story."

Watching others tear each other apart was incredibly satisfying.

"Yes... hmm?"

Su Lin responded, but then her brow furrowed. "Only 138 enemies eliminated? I thought the drone scans showed 140..."

"Shh."

Xu Shi smiled and made a shushing gesture. "Just pretend you didn't notice."

Letting one or two people escape was no big deal to him, but someone had to tell young Mr. Shen He what had really happened here.

For example, why they failed, and who killed Chen Fang...

Unless Xia Wuyou's escape route was completely cut off, he couldn't be entirely at ease.

Alas, being a villain was so tiring.