Chapter 197: Dark Boundless Realm 52
The power of guns varies; some high-performance sniper rifles can easily penetrate solid concrete walls, while ordinary models lack such power.
Everything that happened tonight was too sudden. Kui Xin had no preparation whatsoever and found a regular model gun from the Narwhal’s inventory at the last minute.
The first shot was aimed at the chest because she had never used this model of sniper rifle and could not determine the hit rate, so she chose the larger target area of the chest for a guaranteed hit. The second shot was adjusted in time to aim for the target’s eye, but unfortunately, it was blocked by Silverface.
Kui Xin hurriedly moved position using the Spatial Vortex, not daring to delay even for a second.
“Trajectory calculation complete, linear distance 0.3 kilometers, firing point is the rooftop of Building No. 369 Blue Street,” Eden announced.
Thorn Rose: “So close! Let’s go after him!”
“Reset is injured,” Silverface said as he tore off the broken armor from Reset’s chest, removed a bullet fragment, and then took out a healing potion to inject.
Reset had been seriously injured; he didn’t utter a word as he lay flat on the ground, while Silverface was busy treating him.
“You don’t need to chase; I will send someone,” Night Cicada ordered over the communication channel.
Kui Xin had not left the sniper position for five seconds when another blue Spatial Vortex opened.
Several fully armed combat personnel charged out of the blue Spatial Vortex, weapons at the ready, scanning the entire rooftop and then reporting, “Rooftop is empty; the sniper has evacuated! Two shell casings have been found on the ground, which are the casings for the 92-style sniper rifle. No footprints or other traces at the scene.”
After a short while, Night Cicada’s voice came from the vortex: “Understood, disperse, continue scanning the surroundings, and don’t overlook any details.”
Night Cicada contacted Thorn Rose: “How is Reset’s injury?”
“He’s still breathing. After injecting the healing potion, the estimated recovery time is six hours,” Thorn Rose replied, “If he lies in the treatment chamber, the recovery time can be shortened to three hours.”
“Good, just ensure it doesn’t affect the next operation. Tonight, you all rest for now,” Night Cicada said. “Later, I will open a Spatial Vortex at the designated location; you will go there and bring Reset back to the branch for treatment.”
“Understood,” Thorn Rose said.
She watched as Silverface lifted Reset and muttered tiredly, “Every day there’s just trouble!”
……
Kui Xin returned to the base and heard Augus say, “Ambereye has disappeared from the streets; he avoided surveillance.”
She sighed lightly at this bad news.
“Your disappointment is less than I expected,” Augus said.
“There are gains and losses. Tonight has already yielded results; I acquired some critical intel. If I can eliminate the enemy, that will be a bonus. If not, there is no need for regrets… both the Resistance Army and Mechanized Dawn are very troublesome adversaries; being easily dealt with would be abnormal,” Kui Xin replied, massaging her sore neck. Her bones cracked, “I’m exhausted.”
“You’ve worked hard these days,” Augus said. “Since I’ve known you, you’ve always been busy, with no idle moments.”
Kui Xin had originally intended to chase Ambereye, but just after two minutes of pursuit, Mechanized Dawn appeared on her surveillance, and besides the familiar Silverface and Thorn Rose, there was a new face with them.
The new face made Kui Xin feel uneasy.
After weighing the situation, she ultimately decided to temporarily abandon the pursuit of Ambereye and return to check things out, using the Investigative Eye to confirm the capabilities of the new member. She feared that the members of Mechanized Dawn would not stay at the scene for long, so she didn’t dare to pursue Ambereye before returning to the casino. Missing this opportunity to confirm with the Investigative Eye might mean she would never get another chance.
She used Shadow Transition to hide near the casino and successfully captured the figure of the new member when the Mechanized Dawn members appeared.
The new member’s ability information only displayed two words—”Reset.”
There was no specific ability description, just those two simple words, so he must be an A-class extraordinary ability user.
Reset? Zero represents nothingness, the absence of existence; does Reset mean returning to nothingness? Erasing the existence of something?
Kui Xin was startled by her own associations.
If Reset truly was that ability, then he would undoubtedly become her greatest enemy! Her vigilance surged, and a sense of crisis filled her heart; she quickly devised a plan to take action.
The two bullets in the sniper rifle carried both a killing intent and a test.
Kui Xin drank some water and ate a little something to replenish her energy at this makeshift base.
She sat down and closed her eyes to rest while sorting through the intel she had gained that night.
First, Ghost could sense her presence through mental coordinates, but the sensing had a range limit of only one hundred meters.
Second, there was a connection between the Narwhal and the Resistance Army, as well as Mechanized Dawn. Ji Xuan, who was responsible for facilitating the Narwhal’s development of its networks, was likely a double agent caught between the two organizations.
Third, Mechanized Dawn already knew she wasn’t dead; the new member Reset was highly likely the secret weapon Eve was preparing to deal with her.
She clarified her thoughts, rubbed her temples, and began to think of countermeasures.
“Are you going to sleep?” Augus asked. “It’s currently unclear where Ghost is. If he’s near you…”
“There’s no absolutely safe place in this city. I’ll change my resting spot every two hours,” Kui Xin replied.
Her communicator beeped twice; she looked down to see a message from He Kangshi.
He had sent a selfie, sharing his new look with her.
He Kangshi: “Sister, look! My new style is quite pleasing to the eye, right? The plastic surgeon designed my new face; though it’s ordinary, it’s quite approachable. I just finished the surgery and I haven’t fully recovered yet, so my face is still stiff. After a few days, my expressions will be natural!”
Kui Xin replied: “Alright. You can leave on your own; I’m tied up with something here.”
He Kangshi: “Okay!”
Barely two minutes after putting down the communicator, she stood up.
“Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” Augus asked.
“No, I can’t rest tonight; I need to take Su Rong for plastic surgery,” Kui Xin said. “Ghost has lost his body and will soon find a new one. This night is chaotic, but it may be the only gap for the next few days. Ghost and Mechanized Dawn will soon be able to stabilize the situation and turn their focus on me.”
As she spoke, she activated the Spatial Vortex and jumped to the underground Rest Room where Su Rong was located.
Su Rong was sleeping with a blanket, exhausted from her continuous use of Shadow Double.
As soon as Kui Xin approached her, she woke up, her shadow poised to strike, but when she recognized Kui Xin, it calmed down.
“You’re back!” Su Rong said, perking up. “Is it time for my surgery?”
“Yes,” Kui Xin replied briefly. “Let’s go.”
“Will the plastic surgeon be surprised by my face…” Su Rong expressed her concerns. “My face has been all over the streets lately; gossip magazines treated my incident as a side story, saying Dmitri and a female celebrity were kidnapped while out on a trip. Those media outlets even said I might be in serious trouble.”
“Don’t worry; he won’t speak of it,” Kui Xin reassured her.
Hearing this, Su Rong walked into the Spatial Vortex with ease.
Once Kui Xin brought Su Rong to the plastic surgeon’s small shop, she had Su Rong wait outside for half a minute. Then she entered and used Hypnotic Sound to control the plastic surgeon, thus completely eliminating the risk of exposure.
As Su Rong lay on the operating table, she looked at Kui Xin and said, “I’m a little reluctant. My parents said I inherited all their good traits… After looking in the mirror, the person I see won’t be me anymore, but someone else.”
“Let Su Rong fade from this world as the media has said,” Kui Xin said, “From now on, you’ll be the ash of the Shadowless.”
“Mhm!” Su Rong nodded firmly.
……
Ji Xuan thought long and hard but couldn’t comprehend how Ghost had suddenly appeared in front of him; he was always so elusive.
After a busy night, when he returned to the Mechanized Dawn Employee Dormitory, a familiar logistics staff member nonchalantly greeted him with a “Good night and sweet dreams.”
After Ji Xuan fell asleep, he entered a dream where he met Ghost and realized that the logistics staff member had been possessed, intentionally speaking the coded phrase.
Ambereye was familiar with everything about Mechanized Dawn; they couldn’t reach the core members, so they employed a roundabout strategy, focusing on peripheral members working at Creative Technology Company, allowing Ghost to possess one temporarily.
He said he needed a fixed body, a powerful body; the host’s willpower shouldn’t be too strong—rather high-level extraordinary abilities would be ideal. The person you mentioned in the information flow within Mechanized Dawn would be quite suitable.
He said he needed to meet him for a moment, to temporarily borrow his body and authority to infiltrate Mechanized Dawn and do some things.
“Is Mechanized Dawn suspicious of you?”
“I can’t tell if Night Cicada is blaming me for incompetence or genuinely suspects me. The incidents with the Narwhal gang are too coincidental; if it weren’t for the sudden emergence of a third party disrupting things, they would surely suspect me.”
Ghost smiled, “Don’t worry, Ji Xuan; you can pin all of this on Ambereye, the traitor. You have to act on very few matters; just stay in your position and provide us with intel. By the way, has Mechanized Dawn explained why they are hunting members of the organization code-named Lady Fortune?”
“No, they just said she betrayed them,” Ji Xuan shook his head.
“Good,” Ghost nodded. “Now, please step out of your room, get into the elevator, and pretend to go out for some shopping. I will meet you in the elevator.”
“What about the logistics staff member you possessed…”
“Ambereye altered his memory; after I leave his body, he won’t remember anything and won’t display any abnormal behavior that might alert Mechanized Dawn.”
“That’s good.” Ji Xuan relaxed.
He woke from his dream and followed Ghost’s instructions into the elevator.
He entered the elevator, which descended slowly, and when it reached the fifth floor, the logistics staff member possessed by Ghost squeezed into the elevator, bumping into him.
During that brief moment of physical contact, Ghost completed the possession.
Once he left the host, the logistics staff member stood dazed in place, appearing somewhat confused.
“Uh, what was I doing? Oh right, going out for a late-night snack.” He mumbled, noticing Ji Xuan, “Ji Xuan, you’re out for a snack too?”
“Yeah, work ran late,” Ghost controlled Ji Xuan to respond.
Ghost was patient; he used Ji Xuan’s body to buy a late-night snack, performing flawlessly. When it was time to work, he put on his work uniform and fixed his tie, moving seamlessly through Mechanized Dawn’s branch using the logistics group leader’s authority.
Finally, he arrived at the target destination of this trip.
The boy, appearing only fifteen years old but likely even younger, was following Silverface like a puppy.
Ghost approached and brushed past Reset, then pretended to accidentally bump against his hand.
Reset paused.
Silverface turned back with concern, “What’s wrong? Too weak to move?”
“Reset” slowly lifted his head and replied, “No, I’m just hungry.”
“I’m hungry too,” Silverface cheerfully said. “Come on, let’s go eat!”
