Hand it over?
Hand over the Divine Artifact that X and the School had paid such a heavy price to obtain?
Hand over a power that could trigger a catastrophe to people with unknown motives?
‘Never!’
Almost at the same instant the thought flashed through her mind, the heavily injured Tang Rou erupted with incredible willpower.
Enduring the tearing pain in her ribs, her body acted like a spring compressed to its limit as she lunged toward the shadows of the reef behind her!
Simultaneously, her right hand moved like lightning toward the spare holster on her outer thigh — there was a backup dagger there!
She didn’t need to defeat Yue; she only needed to create a split-second opportunity to activate Niying again.
Perhaps then she could flee into the complex terrain with the Divine Artifact and fight for a slim chance of survival!
This was the fastest, most instinctive resistance she could muster in this desperate situation.
However —
As fast as her movements were, Yue’s were faster.
It was a precision that transcended mere speed, as if she possessed some form of foresight.
Tang Rou had only just shifted into a retreating posture, her fingers not even touching the hilt of the dagger…
Yue’s figure didn’t seem to undergo any process of acceleration.
Like a skipped frame in a video, she appeared suddenly yet perfectly naturally right in the path Tang Rou intended to take.
The distance between them was erased in an instant!
‘Incredible speed!’
She had only ever seen such speed from X.
Tang Rou’s pupils shrank abruptly.
Before her shock could even fully register, a cold hand clamped onto her right wrist like an iron shackle, stopping her reach for the dagger.
*Crack!*
A sickening sound rang out!
It wasn’t the sound of bone breaking.
Instead, Yue’s fingers had used a strange angle and force to instantly press down on several key tendons and nerve bundles in Tang Rou’s wrist!
An intense numbness and searing pain surged through Tang Rou’s entire right arm.
Her strength vanished like air from a punctured balloon.
Her fingers loosened powerlessly, and the dagger fell onto the reef with a *clatter*.
Tang Rou let out a muffled groan, her left elbow reflexively striking toward Yue’s ribs in an attempt to break free.
But Yue’s other hand seemed to have been waiting there all along.
Her fingers curved like claws, moving second but arriving first, easily parrying the weak elbow strike and pressing down with the momentum!
An utterly irresistible, massive force surged forward!
*Thud!*
Tang Rou felt a burst of sharp pain in her shoulder blade as she was slammed violently against the rough, cold reef wall!
The impact of her back against the rock made her vision go dark, and she nearly suffocated.
Her already heavily injured body was pushed past its limit.
A metallic sweetness rose in her throat, and she nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
She still tried to struggle, her legs attempting a kick.
Yue’s knee, however, was already like a solid rock, pinning the back of Tang Rou’s legs and pressing her firmly against the reef, making her unable to move.
The entire process was as fast as a flash of lightning.
From Tang Rou’s explosive resistance to her complete subjugation, only two or three seconds had passed.
From beginning to end, Yue might not have even used her Divine Sense.
Relying purely on her peak Physical Arts and combat intuition, she had easily dismantled all of Tang Rou’s resistance.
The hand clamping Tang Rou’s wrist didn’t loosen in the slightest.
Her other hand slowly reached out, moving with a clear goal toward the hidden pouch at Tang Rou’s waist.
Cold fingertips touched the silhouette of the Eye of Ra through the fabric.
Yue looked down at Tang Rou, who was completely suppressed and trembling slightly from pain and humiliation.
Within those glacial eyes, there was no victor’s pride — only an eternal indifference.
“My dear lady, I think you wouldn’t want to throw away your life or the lives of other innocent people…”
Yue pointed toward the Old Man’s Shack.
“Let the game end here.”
“Who are you? What is your goal?”
Tang Rou managed to ask.
“Us? Hmph. We are the New Era… a New Era that everyone should look forward to.”
After Yue spoke, she neatly took the Eye of Ra and turned to leave, leaving the injured Tang Rou lying powerless on the reef.
***
The coastline, the edge of Area B7.
Under Christina’s command, Lin Yu was still maintaining a standard search formation.
Following the direction indicated by the Energy Detector, they cautiously advanced toward the bay filled with black reefs.
The sea breeze carried a salty, fishy scent, fluttering their clothes.
Aside from the sound of footsteps and crashing waves, the surroundings were deathly silent.
This excessive quiet made one’s nerves even more tense.
Lin Yu followed closely behind Christina’s flank.
On the screen of the cold detector in his hand, the curve representing something was climbing at a slow but steady pace.
He didn’t quite understand the exact meaning of the data, but he had a vague, nagging feeling that something was wrong.
Suddenly, Christina signaled for him to stop.
She crouched down, running a finger across a patch of sandy ground.
There were unnatural marks there — bits of sand that looked as if they had been instantly scorched by high heat, taking on a vitrified, glassy luster.
These intermittent marks pointed toward a deep cave hidden behind two massive reefs that jutted out like fangs at the far end of the bay.
“Unnatural traces detected, pointing toward the cave at the eleven o’clock direction,” Christina immediately reported in a low voice through the communicator.
At the same time, she raised her binoculars, carefully observing the cave entrance and any potential ambush points in the vicinity.
“Command Center, Second Squad has discovered suspicious traces. Requesting instructions.”
“Command Center received. Second Squad is authorized to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the target cave. First and Third Squads, converge on Area B7 to provide flank security. Stay alert.”
The order was issued, and the atmosphere instantly grew even more somber.
With a clear hand gesture, Christina signaled Lin Yu to take cover behind a large reef.
“Stay here and keep watch,” Christina whispered, her eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.
Lin Yu leaned his back against the cold, damp rock, his heart thumping heavily in his chest.
He instinctively glanced at the detector again.
The values on the screen seemed to have jumped a bit higher.
A strange, faint ‘sense of being called’ surfaced in his mind again.
The source seemed to be deep within that cave.
The sensation left him inexplicably uneasy.
Just as Christina prepared to slowly approach the cave entrance —
*Bang!*
A crisp, abrupt gunshot tore through the silence of the coast!
The bullet let out a sharp whistle, accurately striking the reef less than one meter in front of Christina, kicking up a shower of bright sparks and stone chips!
“Enemy attack! Ten o’clock direction, high ground! At least two snipers!”
Christina’s reaction was incredibly fast.
The moment the shot rang out, she had already dropped and rolled into cover.
Her calm voice instantly spread through the encrypted channel to the entire team.
Almost simultaneously, the communication channel exploded!
“First Squad is taking fire! Right reef zone! Heavy resistance!”
“Third Squad reporting! Multiple movement signatures detected on the flank! We’re pinned down!”
An ambush!
This was a meticulously prepared trap!
More gunshots rang out like popping corn!
Tongues of fire from automatic weapons spat out from behind reefs and bushes in different directions.
Bullets poured down on the area where the Second Squad was hiding like a torrential rain, pinning them down so they could hardly lift their heads.
The dull thuds of bullets hitting rock, the scream of ricochets, and the short, efficient counter-attack orders from the team members… the peaceful bay was instantly transformed into a deadly killing field.
Lin Yu curled up tightly behind the reef.
The massive roar of the gunfire made his eardrums buzz, and flying stone fragments clattered against the rocks nearby.
This was the first time in his life he had faced a real gunfight from such a close distance.
The scent of gunpowder and death hit him full force.
He gripped the useless detector in his hand, his knuckles white from the strain.
The attack had come so quickly and suddenly that his mind went blank.
Nothing remained but instinctive terror and a sense of unreality about everything happening before his eyes.
Relying on her cover, Christina put up a stubborn counter-attack.
Her shots were precise and efficient, temporarily suppressing the enemies from several directions.
However, the enemy’s firing positions were cleverly distributed, and their numbers seemed superior.
Clearly, they intended to nail her squad to the spot.
Right then —
*Whiz — Boom!*
A rifle grenade or some sort of man-portable rocket-propelled explosive trailed a tail of flame from the cliffs above.
Its target was the very reef area where Lin Yu was hiding!
“Look out!”
Christina’s warning cry rang out.
The fireball and shockwave from the mid-air explosion expanded like an invisible sledgehammer!
Although not directly hit, the violent tremors still sent sand and stones flying across the entire area.
Lin Yu was thrown off balance by the air blast, slamming hard against the rock. He nearly lost his breath.
In the brief chaos and smoke caused by the explosion, a lean and agile figure dressed in local clothing but wearing a black mask emerged silently like a ghost from the jagged rocks on the flank.
The rifle in his hands spat fire, its target being none other than Christina’s exposed flank as she commanded the counter-attack!
The attacker’s movements were ruthless and professional.
He had seized this fleeting opportunity!
Christina’s attention had been drawn by the explosion and the fire from the front.
She seemed completely unaware of this lethal threat!
The pitch-black muzzle was already aimed directly at her!
“Just surrender, lady,” the attacker said coolly.