Chapter 237

So far, Saori and Fushihara Ayaka's guesses about the girl are entirely based on the characterization of her Codename H, and they know absolutely nothing about the girl herself.

A power is neither good nor evil; it is only the person who uses it who possesses it.

However, Saori did not lower her guard because of a sliver of hope in her heart. Ultimately, regardless of whether the girl was an enemy or not, she posed a very high threat to Saori.

I thought you hadn't noticed me.

"Hehe... your scent gave you away long ago."

"Smell?" Faced with the girl's mockery, she sniffed her collar and said expressionlessly, "Are you a dog?"

The direct mockery had no effect; the girl simply waved her hand stiffly, neither approaching Saori nor intending to leave.

"Is this how you talk to a stranger?"

You look suspicious.

"Fine, so you only see me as 'suspicious'?... But I advise you not to provoke me yet, I don't want to fight you right now," the girl's gaze fell on the weapon in Saori's hand, the chain blade gleaming faintly, "You... are 'Lily', right? Why are you following me?"

Saori frowned slightly.

Lily, that was the code name she missed, but things are different now.

However, Saori also gleaned another meaning from the girl's words: the girl didn't seem to be referring to her, but rather had some understanding of the agent's system.

"You killed our target, your actions have ruined my mission," Saori, feigning a wary yet suspicious look as she bided her time since the other side hadn't attacked immediately. "So I'm curious, who exactly are you?"

Saori tentatively asked.

"Oh? You really don't know who I am? Then why are you so nervous?"

The girl curled her lips knowingly, "As for those uncles? I just wanted to ask them something, but it seems they don't know anything?"

"Killed without knowing?"

"I only used a little force to interrogate him, and he died. How can you blame me?"

This was clearly mockery; the girl had no intention of giving a serious answer.

Saori pursed her lips.

If the girl were any other enemy, Saori would probably have already rushed in and started fighting, but now she can only use this nonsensical conversation to buy time.

"Those people are all cadres from 'Black Zone.' What can you possibly get from them?"

"It seems you know nothing... Those people still smell of that guy, though it's faint, but I know they must have been in contact with her."

"'That guy'?"

Saori frowned.

The girl gave Saori a strange feeling—despite the delicate balance between their positions, this casual conversation made Saori somewhat uncomfortable.

Saori softened her tone and tentatively asked, "What do you want to say?"

"By the way, since you're the agent here... does this person remind you?"

The girl took out a photo, Saori frowned after only one glance.

"You know them." The girl read a hint of seriousness in Saori's eyes, then grinned. "It was definitely the right decision to come to you."

"How did you find out about her?"

"A little guy you arrested."

"What is your relationship with her? Why are you looking for her?"

Why are you asking this?

"She is our enemy, so naturally I need to ascertain your purpose. I cannot stand by and watch another enemy be added to my ranks," Saori retorted naturally.

"Oh, that makes things much simpler," the girl said, a cold smile playing on her lips. "I have to kill her."

This answer was somewhat unexpected for Saori, but upon closer reflection, it wasn't impossible.

"Then we can join forces," Saori said.

She didn't know what the girl had done in Maesakagawa, or rather, even if she did, Saori would use such words to buy time.

The girl shook her head.

"First, only I can kill her. I don't like anyone touching my things."

She spread her fingers, "Secondly, rather than cooperating with you cumbersome humans and obtaining limited, concealed, and filtered information, I would prefer to take you hostage in exchange for undisclosed intelligence."

As she spoke, a stream of light rose around the girl, pointing towards Saori.

"Little girl, the pleasant chat is over. Now it's time for the less pleasant hunt."

163. Escape

It seems that the time we can afford to delay has run out, and this battle is inevitable.

Saori is not the type to sit idly by and wait for her fate.

The moment the girl raised her hand, Saori seized the opportunity and burst forth with a burst of energy. A silver-white streak of light pierced through the dark alley, and the chains shredded the air before slashing down at the girl in an instant.

At the same time, Saori turned around and threw the other end of the chain behind her, which wrapped around the pipes between the buildings, pulling Saori backward as she leaped.

Saori had no intention of engaging the girl in direct combat.

The girl faced the chains without flinching, yet the chains, which could almost slice through walls, only created a narrow Fracture in the ground in front of and behind her—the girl was unharmed. A transparent, azure light barrier stood between Saori and the girl, firmly blocking Saori's attack.

"Unlike that guy..."

Saori gritted her teeth.

The barrier Codename H was different from the girl in front of her. The barrier Codename H could only defend one direction, so Saori thought she could find a chance by relying on the special properties of the chains.

But the girl in front of her was able to cover her entire body completely, extinguishing Saori's last bit of hope.

This means that as long as Saori's attack cannot penetrate that layer of azure light, it will be impossible for her to harm the girl.

Saori had not participated in the battle against Codename H, and her understanding of Codename H's unreasonable strength was limited to records and reports. Now, she finally experienced firsthand the helplessness of facing an enemy far stronger than herself.

"'That guy'?" The girl walked gracefully towards Saori, smiling. "Her direct combat strength is even greater than mine."

Only this one word remained in Saori's mind.

The girl raised her hand and held it flat, the ground shattering inch by inch, then crashing towards Saori like ocean waves.

Saori retreated sharply, gripping the chain tightly, using it to quickly escape. However, with a gentle wave of her hand, the pipes wrapped around the chain, along with the buildings on both sides, suddenly exploded and collapsed—the chain lost its footing, Saori, who had just leaped up, lost her balance, becoming like a kite with a broken string. She barely managed to regain her footing in mid-air before landing somewhat awkwardly on the roof.

It must be said that Saori's weapon type is extremely troublesome against such an enemy. The girl's attack range is even farther than Saori's chains, and Saori can't even see where that strange power will appear.

Her weapon, which had been her greatest advantage, had now become her fatal disadvantage.

At the same time, an invisible force suddenly hooked onto the chain—before Saori could react, the immense force tightened the chain, pulling Saori down and slamming her to the ground like a hammer.

Bang--

The hard ground was smashed and cracked. Amidst the flying debris, silver light flashed. The chain's blade pierced through the dust like a bullet, aiming for the girl. However, a vibration came from the air, the blade deflected, and embedded itself in the wall beside them, sparking a burst of sparks.

"Damn it, I really can't see it!!"

Saori remained crouched; the fall hadn't injured her, but it had cut off her escape route, forcing her back to the ground.

Using Stairway and chains to move quickly in mid-air is Saori's forte, but the girl clearly saw through this and pulled Saori back to the ground, effectively cutting off Saori's escape route.

The girl raised her hand and Saori to tumble sideways in a sorry state, barely dodging the attack.

"Don't run, little girl."

The girl chuckled lightly, raising her hand to grab the chain that Saori had swung, pulling Saori's body up once more.

Saori gritted her teeth and removed the chains just before losing her balance. At the same time, she spun around in mid-air, pulled two pistols from behind her waist, and pulled the triggers on the girl.

A series of sparks exploded on the azure light screen, illuminating a small patch of ground. The next instant, the sparks suddenly exploded in front of Saori's eyes— Saori's heart skipped a beat. Before she could react, a terrifying force, like a train crash, suddenly surged into Saori's chest.

"--!!"

Saori let out a painful groan, feeling as if the sky and the ground had turned upside down in an instant, followed by a surge of intense pain from her back.

She smashed through a corner of a building, and a piercing alarm blared from inside.

People inside the buildings on both sides had noticed the unusual activity. Some peeked out curiously, while others ran down the stairs in fear and fled the area.

A sweet, metallic heat flooded her nasal cavity and throat, causing Saori to cough up blood. An irresistible force struck her once more, Saori felt as if her entire body was breaking apart, experiencing excruciating pain. Then came the familiar feeling of weightlessness, and her vision rapidly receded—just as she was about to fall to the ground, Saori used all her strength to step down the Stairway.

Having been directly hit by the attack, she had already lost her balance and her foot slammed into the back of a low wall. The next second, the wall, along with the nearby cables and iron fence, screamed in agony. Spiderweb-like Fracture appeared on the wall before it collapsed, the iron fence creaked and twisted and broke, and the cables snapped with sparks.

It's like an invisible hydraulic press is compressing the area where the Saori is woven, inch by inch.

At that moment, the air vibrated and trembled as the long chain whip suddenly lashed out horizontally from behind the wall towards the girl. Saori's figure burst out from behind the wall, her feet flashing with silver light as she stepped onto the Stairway, firing at the girl while leaping rapidly backward along the ground towards the end of the alley.

The last bullet was fired, but it was all easily blocked by the azure light barrier. Saori slammed into the iron fence at the end of the alley, and at the same time, she threw a flashbang, which exploded at the girl's feet.

The blinding light overshadowed the evening glow, and with flashes of electricity, Saori, tethered to the cable, swung like a pendulum and disappeared around the corner of the alley.

Saori gritted her teeth, released the cable, and the chain shot out again, pulling her body and rapidly changing direction between buildings, weaving like a fish.

"Did they shake her off...?" Saori looked behind her but didn't see the girl following. "No, it can't be that simple."

Blood streamed down her cheeks, staining the chains crimson; Saori was already severely injured.

Two or three ribs were broken, my hand was fractured, one leg was unresponsive, and I was experiencing waves of excruciating pain and dizziness.

That brief one-minute battle had almost exhausted all of Saori's strength.

"Wait— Saori, where are you going!?"

Fushihara Ayaka's voice came through the earpiece—she discovered that Saori hadn't retreated towards the direction where the special forces reinforcements were gathering; instead, she was running in the exact opposite direction.

"This guy is very unusual..."

Saori was panting.

"Special forces can't handle her... Even if I retreat there, it will only increase casualties..."

Saori leaped up the Stairway, swiftly crossing between the two buildings that were barely wide enough for one person to pass each other, gritting her teeth, "I promised my senior I wouldn't do that again!"

Moreover, this area is all commercial streets, and the further back you retreat, the more concentrated the number of innocent civilians will be. Saori is currently retreating towards an unfinished building behind the commercial streets, where there are far fewer people.

Even so... what about you?

"I'll stall for time, Eve..."

A piercing wind howled through the air. Saori paused in her speech, and the instant she sensed danger, she swung out her chains, securing them to the building beside her. The chains pulled her body sharply to one side in an almost right-angle arc. The spot where she had been standing collapsed, shattering the walls and the solid ground into chunks of concrete.

A hazy dust filled the air. Sweating on Saori forehead, Saori felt a chill run down her spine. She looked up with lingering fear, only to find the girl standing on the rooftop staring straight at her, her hand still pressed down.

"Got you?"

The girl curled her lips into a smile, slapped her hand, and Saori flying backward.

"Saori!!"

Fushihara Ayaka's voice was still calling out, but Saori had already lost consciousness.

164. Transaction

Emergency evacuation announcements echoed throughout the commercial street, which was once bustling and lively, but was now deserted.

The afterglow of sunset gradually painted this once peaceful and stable city with night, its colors seeping into Efnir's eyes.

"Was it still too late...?"

Efnir stood against the cool breeze atop a tall building in the commercial district, with a clear view of the battle between Saori and Codename J, including the last place Codename J appeared, retrieved from surveillance footage.

An hour has passed since Saori lost contact.

"Efnir," Fushihara Ayaka's voice came through Efnir's earpiece, her tone heavy, "We still can't find her signal. Saori's terminal is blocked. Codename J has also disappeared from our surveillance. It seems she has kidnapped Saori and is deliberately hiding her. Street surveillance has been paralyzed by their battle. My people are urgently retrieving data."