February 6, 2023, Early Night, Two hours less before the Lantern Festival begins
"What are you doing here, snake shengxiao?"
Lang Zen said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. An just stood silently, wearing his typical thin smile. Looking cunning.
"I saw a participant with an inverted cross rune run this way. But unfortunately, he was very fast. Like a sewer rat."
Lang Zen grinned. He walked past An towards the exit, sensing something was not right.
"Make sure you kill the followers of that heretical organization. I'm going upstairs."
Lang Zen quickly stepped forward towards the underground exit stairs.
His steps stopped when he saw someone standing in the middle of the stairwell.
"Who are you? Get out of the way before I draw my sword, kid."
A man in a black mask, he was carrying something in his hand, a heavy-looking plastic bag. He also held what looked like a detonator with a red button.
"For true eternal life... For true eternal life... For true eternal life..."
"Are you whispering something, kid? I can't hear it." Lang Zen tried to walk closer. But his steps stopped when he saw the man raise his face and hand, ready to press the button.
"Ah!" An Haocun ran to catch up with Lang Zen from behind. "He's the man with the inverted cross rune I was chasing!" He quickly stepped forward.
Hearing that, Lang Zen stepped forward even faster, severing the hand of the man who was about to press the detonator button, and from behind him, An decapitated the strange man who kept shouting;
"FOR TRUE ETERNAL LIFE!"
At that very moment, after Lang Zen caught the detonator that fell to the floor, after An successfully severed the strange man's head using a wire net from his glove.
A tremor. Accompanied by the sound of an explosion from above the underground stairwell, it echoed. Spewing hot flames at Lang Zen and An Haocun, both of whom instinctively stepped back quickly before being hit by the blast.
BOOM!
In the underground lobby of the Hunter headquarters. There was only black smoke billowing.
Slash!
A single slash accompanied by blue flames. Burning the black smoke that filled the entire underground lobby of the Hunter headquarters. Now, the stone rubble blocking Lang Zen and An Haocun's exit was clearly visible.
"It seems the detonator and the bomb in the plastic he was holding were just a decoy. The real detonator was when he died. The bomb above the corridor exploded when he died. Collapsing the ceiling of the exit stairwell."
Lang Zen sheathed his sword back while letting out a long, heavy sigh. Wiping the dust-smeared face.
An Haocun was slightly injured by flying rock fragments that hit his cheek. He didn't expect the explosion to be that big. Fragments of the unknown man's flesh were scattered on the floor along with gravel and concrete fragments of various shapes.
"Anddd we're both stuck here." An scratched the back of his head, which wasn't itchy, while grinning. "I didn't expect the bomb to explode after he died. I didn't think it through because elder Lang told me to kill him immediately when I saw him, ehe."
Lang Zen just snorted softly and walked into the underground corridor.
"Does Elder know another way out?" An asked while walking alongside Lang Zen.
Although walking with a firm and confident stride, Lang Zen actually had no idea how to get out of the underground.
"No. But a man will make a way out no matter what."
An grinned. "Truly a wise elder."
***
CTAR!
A clap of thunder roared in the middle of the night. Jianying didn't want to slash his opponent, but rather leaped quickly like lightning towards the main Hunter headquarters building. The fifteen-story pagoda.
As he was about to enter through the pagoda building's window.
Nathaniel.
He was already there first, appearing out of thin air, catching Jianying's hand, and snapping his fingers.
Click.
Both were immediately in the sky in the middle of nowhere.
"My task is not to let you disturb Paulus's work. You are the one we are most wary of, the chosen one."
Thud! Jianying kicked Nathaniel in the stomach, then he shot after him using sword techniques as they both plunged rapidly from the sky like meteors.
Jianying delivered a slash aimed at Nathaniel's neck as they both fell.
Slash!
Click.
Jianying only slashed at empty air, then he pulled out a talisman from his black suit pocket, seeing the ground in front of his face.
"Axel!"
A transparent protective sphere shielded Jianying from the impact of gravity. Rolling in the middle of ankle-high grassland.
Looking around, Jianying had truly been taken very far from the Qincheng mountains.
"Judging by my surroundings. It seems I was hit by a teleportation technique."
Click.
"Correct."
Nathaniel appeared five steps in front of Jianying. He smiled faintly, looking seriously at Jianying.
"Let me guess." Jianying adjusted his loose square glasses. "I'm ten kilometers from Qincheng. An open valley in the lowlands of Chengdu. In other words, we are at the foot of the hill."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Nathaniel clapped his hands.
"Correct. I knew you'd be able to guess it at first glance. You must also be able to guess my magic ability."
"Teleportation magic technique, activation condition, finger flick. For a distance of about one kilometer around, you don't need a marker, but beyond that, you need a marker to teleport accurately. You can carry anything with you during teleportation as long as your hand touches it. A troublesome ability."
Jianying assumed a katana stance beside his face. Blue electricity crackled around its white blade.
Nathaniel smirked. "It will take you about thirty minutes to run back to Qincheng with your lightning magic sword. In other words, I only need to hold you here for thirty minutes. Paulus said he only needs one hour."
"One hour from now?"
CTAR!
Jianying appeared behind Nathaniel's back, and the doctor-robed man immediately flicked his fingers before it was too late.
Slash!
Click.
Splashes of fresh red blood fell onto the ankle-high grass. Nathaniel grinned, seeing his scratched shoulder.
"So the point is, I just have to be faster than your finger flick, right? That's easy. The next attack is the neck."
Just as Nathaniel blinked once, Jianying, without a sound and without taking any preparatory steps for a lightning-fast move, appeared in front of his face and had already slashed Nathaniel's neck.
Slash! Splat!
Slitting half of his front neck, red blood gushed high and profusely, drenching the grass. As he throw himself back.
"Interesting."
***