Chapter 234

The soldiers responsible for guarding them.

"Quick! Quick! There's an intruder!"

"Don't let her come any closer!"

Several more gunshots rang out.

"Killed!"

"Wait! Not yet!"

"She's coming! Stop her!"

"Fire!"

The soldiers, fully armed and carrying black firearms, ran nervously in a certain direction. Then, one of the soldiers stopped in front of the room where she was and suddenly rushed over.

Bang--

A soldier seemed to use the narrow area in front of Hatsukawa Fuka's door as cover as he rammed into her, and Hatsukawa Fuka was able to see him clearly.

Then the soldier poked his head out and raised his gun.

Before he could pull the trigger, with a thud, in Hatsukawa Fuka's wide eyes, the soldier's head, along with his helmet, was crushed and flattened from the side in an instant. Hatsukawa Fuka stared blankly as the soldier's body suddenly shuddered, and as a large amount of blood gushed from his burst skin, nostrils, mouth, ears, and eyes, the soldier's hands fell limply, and he knelt down like mud, leaning against the door and sliding down in front of Hatsukawa Fuka.

Less than a second.

Hatsukawa Fuka clearly witnessed the soldier's death, which took less than a second.

However, the soldier's head had been crushed into pieces by something, and a viscous, foamy substance resembling jam was sprayed on the walls on both sides, while a nauseating stench of blood wafted in from under the door.

Just then, the sound of sticky footsteps, as if stepping on something, drifted closer.

157. Bloody Girl

Hatsukawa Fuka stared in astonishment at the blood-soaked corpse.

She still couldn't comprehend what she was seeing.

What just happened? How did he die?

The sirens blared, followed by shouts and fierce gunfire. Soldiers roared and opened fire. Bullets rained down like a storm, striking the walls and doors. Sparks flashed across their vision, and acrid smoke was pierced and dispersed. Hatsukawa Fuka immediately looked away, covered her head, and hid in a corner to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

"She's coming!"

A desperate scream came from outside, and the sound of an impact came from the wall behind her. Hatsukawa Fuka was pressed tightly against the corner of the wall and could even feel the vibration.

Bang--

The sound of the explosion assaulted our eardrums, a shower of sparks flew overhead, the alarm stopped abruptly, and the bright lights immediately turned red as emergency lights shone through the cracks in the door.

The gunfire quickly ceased.

Instead, there was the clear yet chilling laughter of a girl.

"Giggle~"

Have you seen this person before?

Have you seen this person before?

A girl's voice came from outside, repeatedly asking the same question. Hatsukawa Fuka stared wide-eyed for a moment, a jumble of thoughts swirling in her mind—could it be that the organization hadn't abandoned them? Had they sent someone to rescue them?

No... that would be too naive. She knew the organization's modus operandi all too well; they would never risk their lives for people like them who had little use to them.

It's important to understand that the current Maesakagawa Garrison District is not a place where you can come and go as you please. A few days is enough for Xijing City to take control of the entire Garrison District. Putting aside that terrifying agent, Efnir, the garrison here is not something that can be easily dealt with. Moreover, Suzuda City has now interfered. Even if Angel came, he would surely perish here.

But if it wasn't someone sent by the organization, then what exactly is going on? Who are these soldiers fighting?

A series of dull knocking sounds came from the ventilation duct. Hatsukawa Fuka knew that Fujisaki Ryoka was calling her, but she gritted her teeth and pressed herself against the crack in the door again, cautiously peeking out.

The footsteps from before could be heard again.

Thick and hard.

Hatsukawa Fuka's eyes widened as a girl in a blood-stained uniform came into view.

The girl's hair was pink, whether it was an illusion caused by the emergency lights or it was naturally pink, she held a card in her hand, and simply by extending her hand, the soldier, who was only half-dead and barely alive, was lifted up by an invisible force and forced to face the white card in the girl's hand.

Have you seen this person before?

The girl asked the same question again.

The soldier's eyes were unfocused, and his mouth and nose were covered in blood. How could he possibly answer the girl's question? His blood-soaked hand trembled as he reached down, only to find nothing—his lower body was no longer there, and his pistol had fallen to the ground along with the dismembered lower body.

"Cough..."

The soldier raised his hand again, drawing a dagger from his chest, but the next moment the girl tilted her head and made a pinching motion with her hand, and the soldier's neck immediately collapsed.

Blood spurted out, but it didn't touch the girl; instead, an invisible wall blocked it.

This scene left Hatsukawa Fuka stunned; she had never seen such power before.

She felt an immense sense of crisis—this intuition from her body was undoubtedly a primal instinct.

The girl looked around, seemingly only then realizing that there were no survivors among the soldiers. Just then, she suddenly turned her head in a strange posture, as if she had broken her own neck, and stared straight at the direction of Hatsukawa Fuka's room, meeting Hatsukawa Fuka's gaze directly.

Her heart skipped a beat, Hatsukawa Fuka instinctively trembled. She immediately averted her gaze and hid in a corner beside the door, forcefully covering her mouth.

Now is not the time to consider who the other party is. Whether that guy is a new weapon in the organization or not, he is definitely not an easy person to get along with.

Moreover, Hatsukawa Fuka now has to consider another possibility—these soldiers were clearly fighting the girl without their knowledge, meaning that the girl's existence was unknown to the Xijing City garrison.

The girl must have bypassed the garrison's Defense Line and surveillance, heading straight for this place; her purpose was very clear.

This place, the eighth basement level of the Boundary Stele Administration Office, is an ordinary place, neither a control center nor a headquarters. If there is anything special about this place, it is only because of them—she, Fujisaki Ryoka, and the other Apostle Girls.

In other words, the other party is very likely targeting them.

That leaves only two possibilities—they came to rescue people, or they came to kill them.

Fujisaki Ryoka had already analyzed their situation; the possibility of being rescued was almost zero, and the only way out was to find a way to escape.

Simply put, there's absolutely no way the organization would expend the effort to rescue them.

So...

Would they bother to kill them?

Hatsukawa Fuka couldn't be sure, but she couldn't help but think about it in this direction.

Bang--

The not-so-thick iron door was ruthlessly blasted open, the ear-piercing sound shattered by the flying sparks. Hatsukawa Fuka cowered in the corner, warily watching the doorway. Her hands were hidden behind her back, tightly gripping a thin piece of aluminum metal torn from the ventilation duct. This useless "blade" might be able to kill, but would it really be of any use in this situation?

Hatsukawa Fuka pursed her lips.

One second, two seconds later, the girl slowly appeared in front of Hatsukawa Fuka.

Only then did Hatsukawa Fuka finally see the girl's face clearly. A dark purple glint flickered deep in her eyes, and her cool cheeks were stained with blood. She looked more like a porcelain doll than a real person, and it was precisely because of this that the girl's blood-stained face looked particularly eerie.

"Who are you?"

With her back pressed tightly against the wall, Hatsukawa Fuka suppressed the trembling in her heart and spoke first.

The girl simply tilted her head, the light streaming in from the door behind her casting a long shadow of her, her red eyes fixed intently on Hatsukawa Fuka.

She walked towards Hatsukawa Fuka, who felt a tightness around her neck and was then lifted up.

Hatsukawa Fuka opened her eyes wide and struggled to twist her body, trying to push away the invisible hand that was pinching her, but she was too weak to do so.

"Are you Apostle?"

"..."

Hatsukawa Fuka gritted her teeth, her head throbbing.

"What... do you want to do?"

"Hehe..." The girl laughed, revealing her snow-white teeth, a sickly smile curving at the corners of her eyes. "Apostle, ah... you are things she created, so you must have seen her before, right?"

As she spoke, she held the card in her hand up to Hatsukawa Fuka's eyes.

Hatsukawa Fuka saw what the white card was—a photograph of a black-haired girl wearing a hood, who looked no different from an ordinary person except for her reddish eyes.

If Efnir were here, she would easily recognize the girl in the photo, Codename H.

158. Arrival

Tinkering with...? What...?

"I... have... never... seen..."

Saori spoke in a hoarse voice.

Her neck was being choked so tightly that she could barely speak, but she was absolutely certain that she had never seen the girl in the photo.

"... Never seen it before?"

The girl frowned and loosened her grip slightly. Hatsukawa Fuka tried her best to breathe, but she still couldn't break free from the invisible force, as if a strong and heavy steel clamp was locking her in place.

The girl's expression remained unchanged, but her tone was slightly puzzled, "That's strange, she should have been here before..."

Just then--

With a bang, the gunshot exploded—the blinding flash illuminated the narrow room.

"Wind and Flower!"

Fujisaki Ryoka's staggering figure appeared outside the door, her hand tightly gripping a blood-stained gun. She shouted loudly as she pulled the trigger hard, firing fiercely at the girl.

The girl didn't even look back. With a casual wave of her hand, a fierce gust of wind suddenly appeared out of thin air. Hatsukawa Fuka watched helplessly as Fujisaki Ryoka's body flew backward and landed on the ground motionless.

Fujisaki Ryoka, who had already been interrogated and tortured and was on the verge of death, was now even more exhausted.

"Liang Xiang!!"

Hatsukawa Fuka struggled fiercely, but no matter what she did, she couldn't break free from the girl's grasp.

She called out her friend's name, but Fujisaki Ryoka just lay there, her fate unknown.

"Eh? Another Apostle?"

The girl seemed surprised that Fujisaki Ryoka hadn't been crushed by her attack, and frowned as she looked at Liang Xiang.

"But it doesn't seem like it?" she said, seemingly lost in thought. She released her grip, looked around, and said, "You all reek of her. Are you all just bait?"

"Cough cough..." Feng Hua felt as if all her strength had been squeezed out of her body, and her whole body ached as if it were falling apart. After being released, she immediately fell to the ground, gagging and coughing.

I don't know what you're talking about!

The girl gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

Feng Hua lowered her head, struggling to make out the girl's figure through her blurry vision, and quickly considered the current situation.

Without a doubt, this mysterious girl is extremely powerful. Kazama has never seen such a mysterious and intangible power before. As for how this girl compares to the agent Efnir and the agent captain of Suzuda City, it is still unknown, but she is definitely not someone Kazama can defeat head-on in her current state.

She gradually loosened the aluminum sheet hidden in her palm.

This kind of thing can kill ordinary people, but against an enemy with such unreasonable power, it will only dig its own grave.

If strength isn't enough, then we have to think of other ways.

This mysterious girl seems to have appeared here in search of someone.

The person she is looking for seems to be a member of her own organization, and is suspected to be the person the girl refers to as having "the Apostle-Creation Technology." Obviously, if this is the case, then the person the girl is looking for must be a high-ranking member of the organization—based on this and the girl's actions, her identity becomes somewhat suspicious.

He's definitely not from Xijing City, nor does he seem to belong to the Human Federation or the Apostle Organization. So, could he be one of the other "Exiles"?

"Fine, looks like you guys don't know anything either. Tsk, you're really good at hiding things—but whether you're lying to me or not, I'll go ask your friends."

With a soft chuckle, the girl turned and walked towards the other room.

"Etc!"

Feng Hua covered her neck with one hand and used the other to support herself as she stood up. She glanced at Liang Xiang and gritted her teeth.