Chapter 87
Efnir was stunned.
In that instant, Qinglan's dull pupils suddenly twitched strangely like rolling glass beads, and her gaze fell on Efnir.
A blinding light appeared in her palm, piercing straight towards Efnir.
All of this happened in an instant.
"!!?"
Boom--
Efnir groaned, and a blinding white light exploded between the two of them.
Almost all the equipment in the Garrison District was destroyed in that baptism of light, but some spare lights were found to still be usable, so the Garrison District gradually began to turn on the lights again.
Then, in a dark corner, two figures gradually emerged.
"Karina, Lily still hasn't arrived, and the Angel has left too. It seems this mission has been a complete failure..."
The burly man's face was grim, but his eyes were filled with ruthlessness.
Beside him, Karina chuckled softly.
"I told you long ago that she was unreliable."
"What's the use of saying all this now? Karina, don't you understand? We have no other way but to find a way to carry out those people's orders!"
The man was almost furious, a deep sense of helplessness filling his heart.
He was unwilling to accept it, yet powerless to do anything about it, or rather...
There is no way out.
120. Falling into danger
The man sighed.
The mission plan was originally flawless. With the help of the people "over there", their action team was responsible for setting up various Erosion Disaster points, and the Apostle Sakurai Sachi was responsible for taking the opportunity to destroy the Boundary Stele. Then the Angel could enter the Garrison District, and the subsequent mission would become extremely simple.
But for some unknown reason, the guys upstairs suddenly became interested in an Eligible.
Of course, the girl was a rare, Absolute Compatible Candidate, so it was understandable to develop an interest in her. However, they wouldn't let her be taken back, and later, in a neurotic manner, they sent Sakurai Sachi to take action against the strongest agent in Xijing City.
From that point on, their plans were completely disrupted.
The man sighed, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness. He was merely an executor, and no amount of complaining would change anything.
"Forget it, the mission has already failed, and we can't contact the outside world now, so let's leave as soon as possible..."
Karina glanced around and said.
"Now is the perfect opportunity to slip away."
The man and Karina's communication devices had just all failed, leaving them unable to contact the outside world.
Most of the Garrison District is still shrouded in darkness. Soldiers are directing the setting up of backup light sources. If this continues, the best opportunity to escape will soon be gone.
They're all wearing staff uniforms now, pretending to be locals, but if the Garrison District recovers and conducts a check, they'll all be exposed.
"Um..."
The man couldn't argue with Karina's suggestion and sighed.
He looked back one last time, in the direction where Efnir and the Angel had left.
"I wonder if those people up there will make any moves... That was an 'Angel,' after all, and she was actually driven back by a mere agent, tsk..."
The man still felt lingering fear when he recalled what they had just witnessed.
Before arriving in Xijing City, he believed that the power of Angel was absolute, and that Apostle were usually more powerful than agents. But today, he had to admit that there were also agents among them who posed a significant threat to those guys.
"Alright, let's go! We'll leave a signal so those two can get out of here as soon as possible."
Karina urged.
Just then, a gunshot rang out not far away, and even in the noisy Garrison District, the sound was particularly piercing.
The man and Karina simultaneously glanced around warily.
What happened?
"It's gunfire... You stay here, I'll go check it out."
Karina nodded, while the man picked up a box, pretending to be one of the other staff members, and crept behind the collapsed low wall.
Pretending to be nonchalant, he lowered the brim of his work cap. His gaze passed over the low wall and the soldiers gathered in front of him, and he saw a man lying in a pool of blood, groaning in pain, and a little girl standing in front of the man.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
He recognized both of them. The man lying on the ground was one of his other two companions, and the girl was Masaki Hina, the commander of the Orderkeepers Organization.
What is she doing here!?
The intelligence report made no mention of Masaki Hina being here, nor did it indicate that Masaki Hina had left the organization.
The man looked at Masaki Hina, his expression hesitant for a moment.
Rumor has it that this seemingly young commander is not as simple as she appears. According to intelligence, she and Fushihara Ayaka of the Special Disaster Division are among the people who need to be closely monitored.
After thinking for a moment, the man glanced at his teammate lying on the ground and decided to leave as soon as possible. Just as he and Karina wanted to take the opportunity to leave, there were also wolves in the Garrison District who wanted to hunt them under the cover of night.
Just as the man was about to leave, Masaki Hina suddenly turned her head slowly.
In just a moment, the man's gaze met hers.
"Oh no..."
His heart skipped a beat, and the man's muscles stiffened, but then he turned his head calmly, carrying a box in his hand, looking like an ordinary staff member.
Masaki Hina narrowed her eyes.
Although they were fifty paces apart, and the light was dim and gloomy, Masaki Hina's gaze was fixed on the man like a snake.
The man remained calm, pretending not to know anything, and continued carrying the boxes forward. He did not choose the direction where Karina was, but instead headed towards the tower where backup searchlights were being installed.
Until Masaki Hina's view was blocked by a building.
He breathed a sigh of relief, a light sheen of sweat appearing on his face... Though he didn't want to admit it, when he met Masaki Hina's gaze just now, this battle-hardened man wavered for a moment.
But then, a petite figure suddenly appeared in the shadows before him—it was Masaki Hina.
The man's face stiffened.
"Sorry, this way is blocked."
Masaki Hina spoke calmly, her expressionless voice clear and resonant, though not loud.
"So, are you an employee here? Tell me your identification code, I need to verify it."
As they were speaking, several more footsteps approached from not far away.
There was no way out—the man's expression remained unchanged, but in his mind, he was quickly planning an escape. Once the identification code was given to the personnel in charge, it would be easy to verify his forged identity. And once the footsteps behind him approached, he would be completely surrounded. Masaki Hina already suspected him and wouldn't let him leave so easily.
Then the only option is to strike first.
"Reporting, Commander... My identification code is..."
The man, dressed in a trembling manner, kept his head down, the brim of his hat obscuring his vision. The instant he finished speaking, he suddenly threw the wooden box in his hand at Masaki Hina, and a pistol appeared in his hand.
However--
Before the man could even see how Masaki Hina made her move, a bullet pierced the wooden crate with a bang, exploding into blood on the back of his hand. The intense pain and impact caused the pistol to fly out of his hand, followed by another shot. Blood splattered everywhere, and a sharp burning pain shot through his cheek, as if hot oil had been poured on it.
"Ahhh!!--"
The man clutched his ear in pain, but through his injured hand, he could no longer feel it—it had been severed by the bullet.
The wooden crate fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces. The man saw Masaki Hina's figure again.
Masaki Hina remained indifferent, except for two bronze-colored bullet casings at her feet, with wisps of smoke dissipating into the air.
"If I were you, I wouldn't act rashly, otherwise the next bullet might miss its mark."
Masaki Hina said.
A flurry of footsteps sounded behind me.
"Hands up!"
The man knew he was surrounded. His face turned ashen, and he slowly raised his arms.
At the same time--
A successful close-range sneak attack by Qinglan sent Efnir flying. Using the Stairway as leverage, she quickly regained her footing in mid-air. However, a dazzling beam of light followed. Efnir gritted her teeth, and as the silver light beneath her feet shattered, she forced herself to change direction and fall downwards, while simultaneously avoiding the beam of light.
The terrain where she landed was different from where Qinglan was, so she briefly escaped Qinglan's pursuit and caught her breath.
"Hiss..."
The cold night wind, carrying the stench of blood, filled his chest. Efnir swayed, then knelt on the ground, supporting herself with one hand on her spear.
Her right hand was covered in blood and hung limply; her right eye was also stained with blood and she couldn't open it.
"Qinglan..."
As Efnir murmured the name of her senior and friend, she looked up at the Angel that was gradually floating in the air. Without the mask covering her, Qinglan's appearance appeared in Efnir's vision.
Unlike her, the hole in Qinglan's chest did not affect Qinglan movements at all. She raised her palm again expressionlessly, and light gradually rose.
At that moment, a chilling, low growl echoed from behind the surrounding darkness.
This area is Beyond the Boundary, and the commotion caused by the brief clash between Efnir and Qinglan has already attracted other attention...
--Erosion Entity.
Although there aren't many Erosion Entity here because it's on the outer edge of the "Barrier Network" near the Boundary Stele, for Efnir at this point, the appearance of any enemy is a huge and heavy burden.
"Qinglan!!"
Efnir shouted at Qinglan, but as expected, she received no response from Qinglan. Instead, she was met with a blinding beam of light, which Efnir staggered to avoid.
Unable to communicate.
Qinglan's condition was very abnormal, and Efnir wasn't stupid; she understood.
It was not what one could call "human" at all—it seemed to feel no pain from the wound in its chest, expressionless, speechless, like a puppet, mechanically and rigidly performing the simple cycle of aiming and firing.
However, all Efnir knew was that Qinglan was in a bad state, but I didn't know why, let alone how to deal with it.
There were more than a dozen Erosion Entity around, drawn in from both sides.
Under the cover of night, there was Qinglan, a former friend and senior known as "Angel".
Efnir herself was also injured, with half of her right eye and right hand rendered useless, a condition that caused Efnir to frown.
The spear in her hand felt heavier than ever before, as if she were entangled in seaweed at the bottom of the deep sea, being dragged slowly into the icy water. The suffocation and the chill from blood loss made it difficult for her to make quick decisions.
At this moment, a ball of light rose once again from Qinglan's hand.
"Hateful..."
If we want to find out what really happened to Qinglan, now might be the best opportunity.
Efnir doesn't want to give up yet.
She gritted her teeth, gripped her spear tightly, and charged toward the nearest Erosion Entity.
She stepped on the top of the Erosion Entity's head, leaped to the side, and as her body tumbled in the air, her spear slashed down with a fierce blow, tearing through the starlight. The Erosion Entity's massive body crashed to the ground with a thud, dissipating into faint starlight amidst shattered rocks and flying dust.
But Efnir could clearly feel her strength weakening—her right hand was no longer as flexible as usual, and every movement brought her intense pain, which was constantly robbing her of her strength.
For Efnir, the arm injury directly deprived her of a large amount of combat skills, which rapidly weakened Efnir fighting ability.