Chapter 248: Balance at Both Ends 29
Kui Xin woke up from her sleep when the alarm she set hadn’t gone off yet.
She stared at the ceiling, clearing her mind. Two minutes later, her wandering thoughts returned to her brain, and the alarm went off just in time.
Kui Xin turned off the alarm and stretched her body up from the bed in the rest room.
“Time to get to work,” she murmured.
The communicator displayed the time as 23:21, close to midnight. Today was the first day back, August 31, the end of the month.
It made sense to push for performance at the end of the month.
Amber had sent a message saying he successfully guided the mouse into the interior of the Mechanized Dawn branch around ten o’clock at night, but due to the complex pipes, he was currently groping around. By now, it was nearly midnight, and he hadn’t sent the next message.
Kui Xin sent him a message: “How’s it going?”
“Most of the employees have left, and the frequency of the sewers has decreased. I’ve managed to reach the sixth floor,” Amber replied quickly. “On the way, a cleaning robot spotted a mouse and cleaned it up, so I’ve been moving slowly to avoid exposure.”
“Alright, I’ll send Ash to help you,” Kui Xin thought for a moment and said.
“Why not send Ash over from the start?” Amber knew Ash was the dark shadow sitting next to Kui Xin in the meeting room, but that shadow wasn’t Ash’s real body.
“Ash’s ability has its limitations,” Kui Xin explained.
Su Rong’s Shadow Double can’t stray too far from its main body. The farther away they are, the weaker the connection and the greater the energy consumption. The Shadow Double can last for a long time in a non-combat state, but during combat, it can only be maintained for a little over two hours.
So it was more effective to let Amber control the mouse to find the way first, and then send the Shadow Double over for further exploration to reduce consumption.
Amber didn’t delve deeper and said, “I speculate that the command center of the Chuangtu Technology Company is located on the middle floors. According to the previous layout habits of Mechanized Dawn, the basement usually houses laboratories, while the upper floors contain offices and command centers… Anyway, hurry up and let Ash come over to speed things up.”
Kui Xin stopped wasting time, immediately contacted Su Rong, and left the resting base to meet her.
“Today might be a bit risky; we’re going to the Poleward District, and your body can’t stay in the Midnight District, which is too far from the action location,” Kui Xin said when she caught up with Su Rong.
Su Rong realized that this operation seemed different from the previous few times. Since she joined The Shadowless, most of her participation had been minor tasks, such as interviews or intelligence exploration, and there were few occasions where she needed to take risks.
The last major event that caused a citywide power outage in White Whale City saw her as merely an observer, and she hadn’t helped much. Kui Xin hadn’t even let her participate.
Su Rong asked, “What… are we going to do?”
“Going to kill someone,” Kui Xin hesitated for a moment and answered. “You need to be careful; don’t let the shadow expose itself and startle the snake. We only have one chance.”
Night Cicada was undoubtedly a slippery eel; if given the opportunity, he would run. His spatial vortex opened faster than Kui Xin’s, and given a little time, he could open a vortex large enough for one person to pass through. If he escaped, Kui Xin would have no chance of catching him again.
Having experienced Kui Xin’s assassination attempt, Night Cicada would surely be more cautious. At worst, he would have several bodyguards beside him for protection, making it increasingly difficult for her to succeed.
On the 31st, according to the timeline of the Second World, less than five days had passed since Kui Xin’s counterattack brought her close to reset, and less than four days had passed since she took Four Leaves away.
Kui Xin had been silent for a few days; since the killing incident, she had been busy with interviews, and logically, she did need time to recuperate.
Hopefully, Eve and Night Cicada would relax their vigilance due to her silence in these days.
September 1st, 00:31.
Kui Xin and Su Rong successfully arrived near the Chuangtu Technology Company in the Poleward District. Su Rong split off her Shadow Double and, under Amber’s guidance, successfully infiltrated.
Kui Xin quietly waited for news.
“The shadow has reached the underground.” Su Rong closed her eyes, analyzing the images transmitted by the Shadow Double. “Their underground area is huge… so many cameras; I can’t peek out. Hmm? The underground laboratory is quite empty; did they move everything? There seem to be very few people here…”
“Should be,” Kui Xin replied.
But wouldn’t they need to move it? This place had already been invaded by Kui Xin once, and the various equipment and experimental materials stored inside were very valuable. How bold could Eve be to leave these items untouched and wait for her to come back and loot again?
The underground experimental area was so large that moving everything wouldn’t be easy; Eve must have been working overtime organizing the staff to relocate in the past few days.
“There shouldn’t be too many people in the underground area. Let’s head directly to Amber’s exploration point; you two split up and search,” Kui Xin instructed.
“Okay.” Su Rong controlled her Shadow Double as it slowly passed through the walls and squeezed into the pipes.
It was quite difficult to meet up with the mouse controlled by Amber, as the mouse didn’t have a locator. If it had one and was discovered by a cleaning robot, the locator would be destroyed and exposed, so finding the mouse’s position in the winding pipes was indeed challenging.
The teams of Mechanized Dawn loved to operate at night for stealth, and just because a team was acting didn’t mean all the employees at the Mechanized Dawn branch would continue working; at night, the personnel remaining in Chuangtu Technology Company did decrease.
Amber and Su Rong searched one floor after another. After nearly an hour, Amber had some news.
A mouse poked out from the bathroom of an office cubicle.
Only the offices of high-level executives had separate bathrooms; ordinary employee offices only had common restrooms in the hallways. So as soon as the mouse poked its head out, Amber knew it had made it into the office of Chuangtu Technology Company’s executives via the pipes.
The mouse darted out of the smart toilet; the toilet’s sensing device was triggered and began spraying water automatically.
Under Amber’s control, the mouse hid beneath the washbasin.
Outside the bathroom, Jixuan, the secretary of Chuangtu Technology Company, paused for a moment after hearing the unusual sounds from the office and walked over to check the situation.
He had been working overtime for several days in a row, staying late each night.
Jixuan went to the bathroom and looked around, puzzled, “Is the toilet sensor broken?”
He scanned the area but found nothing unusual and left the bathroom.
Back at his workstation, he received a call; Night Cicada’s name showed on the communication screen. “Has the sixth batch of experimental equipment and backup data been packed?”
“It’s already been packed,” Jixuan replied.
“Start transporting at two o’clock on time; prepare yourself,” Night Cicada instructed.
“Got it, I’ll go prepare now,” Jixuan said.
Jixuan dialed the logistics employee’s communication number, instructing, “Start transport at two in the morning; have the freight robots deliver the items to the unloading area, and hurry.”
After hanging up the communication, he became busy again.
A few seconds later, the toilet made another sound from the flushing water, and the mouse returned to the pipe.
Hearing the sound of water, Jixuan frowned and wrote in his work notes, “Notify the maintenance department to repair the toilet tomorrow morning…”
Outside Chuangtu Technology Company.
Amber’s voice reached Kui Xin’s ears, “I eavesdropped on Secretary Jixuan’s communication; they are moving the goods, set for two o’clock. Mechanized Dawn has a dedicated unloading site connected to the multi-story parking lot of Chuangtu Technology Company, where visible goods go in and out… This time they’ve chosen to move the goods there, probably because the load is just too big, and the space is insufficient.”
Kui Xin glanced at Su Rong. “Tell your shadow to retreat from above and go into the parking lot to see if there are any large freight vehicles inside. If there aren’t…”
If there weren’t, it meant that the method of moving goods was likely spatial transfer rather than regular vehicle transport.
“Amber, what were Jixuan’s exact words?” Kui Xin asked. “Did he mention Night Cicada’s location?”
“No,” Amber thought carefully before speaking. “He only mentioned what time the packing would happen and where it would take place; that’s it.”
After thinking for a moment, he switched their communication to a single line, blocking Su Rong as he continued, “I suspect Night Cicada may no longer be at the branch. He could be hiding in another city, remotely activating the spatial vortex to direct the moves without needing to be on-site. Especially since… Eve knows you want to take action against Night Cicada, and since you also have a spatial vortex, what are you planning? How can they not guess?”
Amber was right; long before she raided the underground laboratory and took Four Leaves, Mechanized Dawn should have realized that this branch was no longer safe. If Kui Xin were in Night Cicada’s shoes, she would never stay behind to take a risk.
Faced with an elusive and difficult enemy to kill, avoiding confrontation seemed shameful but useful.
What to do? Kui Xin furrowed her brows deeply.
The ability of the spatial vortex was her key to maintaining great maneuverability across various locations and an important asset against Remover 777. The S Rank material reorganization could only be countered with another S Rank ability.
Otherwise, The Shadowless Organization’s company is far away in Hei Hai City. Kui Xin would have to combat Eve’s Resistance Army in the Federal Administrative Center and also rescue her companions in Fusgong City to take down Remover 777… With several cities so widely spaced, just traveling back and forth would require a lot of time. How could she afford to waste so much time? Time was a luxury for Kui Xin!
Thus, the spatial vortex was essential and a power she would obtain at all costs, prioritized even alongside Death Rebirth.
“Maotoufu, the exploration of the parking lot and unloading area is complete; there were no large freight vehicles found.” Su Rong reported. “I only saw many freight robots moving goods loaded in silver-white metal boxes; the carrying robots lined up like customers waiting to buy breakfast.”
They were waiting for the spatial vortex. Kui Xin made a judgment.
It seemed that Mechanized Dawn’s method of moving goods was indeed spatial transfer, a highly efficient way accomplished with minimal effort from Night Cicada.
Once the spatial vortex opened, the carrying robots moved in one after the other until the goods were transferred in minutes.
Was there a way to catch Night Cicada?
The instant that question crossed Kui Xin’s mind, she immediately thought of the answer, the only answer.
—— Entering Night Cicada’s spatial vortex along with the goods being transported.
As someone who also possessed the ability of the spatial vortex, Kui Xin understood the mechanics of this extraordinary power well.
When a spatial vortex is opened, it actually opens two vortices simultaneously; one vortex on the release side and one at the destination. The two vortices are connected by an unknown passage, and both serve as entry and exit points. Entering one vortex will lead out of the other.
In other words, no matter where the destination of the spatial vortex is, one of the two vortices cannot be too far from the release point. Passing through the vortex at the destination would bring one close to the location of the vortex’s origin. Assuming the limit of the spatial vortex’s movement distance is one kilometer, it wouldn’t happen where one vortex is a kilometer away from the other, with the release point also being a kilometer away from either vortex.
Kui Xin clenched her fists unconsciously, her spine tensing a bit, and her heartbeat began to accelerate.
Should I take the risk? she asked herself.
Where was Night Cicada located? How far was his body from the vortex? How many people were protecting him? Did she have the ability to ambush and kill Night Cicada after passing through the vortex and make a clean getaway?
Most importantly, she had no opportunity to test or send Amber or Su Rong for reconnaissance. After entering the vortex, she would be blind, and everything would be in a state of uncertainty.
For dangerous matters, Kui Xin’s first thoughts were about the consequences of failure.
If she failed to kill Night Cicada, the worst outcome, needless to say, would definitely be death. A slightly better result might be to use her own B Rank spatial vortex to temporarily open a passage for a hasty escape. But she didn’t know where the goods would be transported. Her spatial vortex’s transmission distance was too short; if she used it to escape and found herself in another city far from White Whale City, with no companions to back her up, the hunting team from Mechanized Dawn would soon be on her.
“What are you thinking?” Augus asked over the communication channel.
“I was thinking whether to take another risk,” Kui Xin replied heavily as she connected to Augus’s port with data manipulation.
Taking risks had almost become second nature for Kui Xin.
Not a day went by without her taking risks; her path forward was always filled with choices. After selecting a risky option, another was inevitably waiting for her. What frustrated her was that to advance, she must choose between risk and even greater risk.
“Well, have you made up your mind?” Augus asked, “You always have valid reasons for taking risks. Is this time’s reason just as sufficient and urgent as before?”
“Yeah, just as sufficient and urgent,” Kui Xin said, her mood slightly gloomy.
Looking at it optimistically, Kui Xin possessed A Rank Reset. If Night Cicada’s abilities were still at the A Rank level, then killing him would be a piece of cake; he wouldn’t be able to escape.
Once obtaining the ability, Kui Xin could use the spatial vortex to rapidly return to White Whale City without needing to linger in the Mechanized Dawn branch.
This battle was all about a swift resolution.
Kui Xin had to complete the entire process of entering the vortex, killing Night Cicada, and retreating through the vortex within a minute; otherwise, failure would wait for her.
However, Kui Xin always found it hard to be optimistic; life was never short of unexpected events.
“Ash,” Kui Xin said thoughtfully in the communication channel, “The time limit is three minutes. If I’m not back after three minutes, you need to hurry out of the Poleward District. During this time, you need to keep in touch with… ‘Mirror’; they will guide you safely out.”
“Mirror?” Su Rong repeated the codename and then looked up to say, “Got it.”
Amber’s body was further away, which posed no safety issues, so Kui Xin didn’t need to elaborate. Still, she added, “If I don’t return for a long time, just continue as planned. I’ll contact you when I’m safe.”
Amber asked, puzzled, “Why say that? You…”
“It’s just a necessary arrangement; my planning doesn’t indicate there will definitely be a problem,” Kui Xin said. “Just in case.”
Amber swallowed his question and replied, “Understood.”
Kui Xin looked down to check her gear. Fully armed, she wore the latest model riot helmet she had taken from Mechanized Dawn last time. Due to the absence of auxiliary worn devices, wearing the mechanized exoskeleton armor was difficult, so she didn’t put it on; instead, she was wearing high-strength combat clothing with excellent defense.
All her weapons were packed, demolition devices ready, auxiliary tools equipped, and her left mechanical arm was oiled; the mechanical parts operated smoothly with no issues. The built-in folding grappling claw was sharp, and the crossbow gleamed coldly.
She opened the magazine of the mechanical arm, inspecting three explosive rounds secured in the slot. Lifting her left hand, the wrist automatically split apart, transforming into a large-caliber hand cannon.
Kui Xin felt a bit anxious; today might be her first time using her mechanical arm in combat. She hadn’t practiced beforehand and hoped she wouldn’t make a mistake triggering the weapons installed inside…
“Stand by,” Kui Xin said to Su Rong one last time.
She turned and strode toward the unloading area of Chuangtu Technology Company.
“You still haven’t told me what you plan to do,” Augus remarked.
“Take a shortcut to kill Night Cicada, following the route established by the enemy, ride a direct vehicle through space,” Kui Xin said casually.
Augus quickly understood Kui Xin’s intentions. “You’ve always been so bold… perhaps that’s why you succeed.”
“Not wishing me luck this time?” Kui Xin teased.
“I already wished you success before,” Augus replied, “but blessings never hurt. It’s fine to say it a few more times… wishing you success, Kui Xin.”
If it were Eve, she would have certainly mocked, “Meaningless blessings; your wishes won’t influence the situation one bit. The development of events doesn’t change with individual will; so-called blessings are just empty words.”
But Augus genuinely liked the human way and acted accordingly.
Just like every time the Investigation Bureau’s security officers went on duty, it would also say, “Safe travels, task success.”
Ten minutes later, Kui Xin arrived at the unloading site.
It was a large parking lot; though lit, it was somewhat dim. There were no vehicles, only neatly arranged freight robots and some internal staff from Mechanized Dawn standing aside. The number of staff was relatively small and didn’t pose a serious threat.
Kui Xin entered Shadow Transition mode, patiently waiting in the shadows cast by the lights.
Before entering Shadow Transition mode, she had checked her watch; the current time was 1:49.
In about ten minutes, Night Cicada’s spatial vortex would open.
When would be the right time to enter the spatial vortex? Rush in as soon as it opens, or wait until the goods are halfway transported and Night Cicada is numb from the continuous transports before rushing in?
After some thought, Kui Xin chose the latter—observing the robots’ transport patterns a bit more was safer.
Time flowed second by second, and Kui Xin in Shadow Transition couldn’t check the time, so she mentally counted the seconds.
When she counted to six hundred, she stopped, looking at the empty unloading area and thinking, “It’s about to begin.”
Sure enough, the next second, a deep blue vortex opened.
The size of the spatial vortex seemed a bit larger than Night Cicada’s previous ones… Kui Xin frowned.
The robots on standby in the unloading area silently activated, wheels turning as they transported goods in orderly queues, one after another entering the spatial vortex.
Watching this scene made Kui Xin’s heart pound even faster.
When half of the robot queue had entered the vortex, she suddenly burst out from her hiding spot, using Shadow Transition four times in two seconds and advancing dozens of meters at lightning speed, leaving only a phantom behind.
The internal personnel stationed there didn’t even react in time to what happened, unable to make any expressions, as they watched a blurred shadow pass by along with the freight robot that was about to enter the vortex, crashing through into the blue spatial doorway.
Entering the spatial vortex felt like a wave brushing against her body, passing through an invisible barrier. The connection port between Kui Xin and Augus was forcibly cut off, indicating she couldn’t contact Augus in this branch of Mechanized Dawn.
Suddenly, light burst into her vision, the intense brightness was uncomfortable, and she quickly shut her eyes, leaving her mechanical eye to survey the environment. The full-covered helmet’s visor began adjusting light levels, helping her eyes adapt to the overly bright setting.
She heard rapidly escalating breathing sounds—coming from the right!
Kui Xin immediately turned her head, her ice-blue mechanical eye locking onto the target—Night Cicada!
As soon as Night Cicada saw Kui Xin, he wanted to run.
Just as Kui Xin prepared to approach, suddenly a black hole of a gun muzzle burst out from the metal ceiling of the Mechanized Dawn branch, the muzzle erupted with fiery tongues of flames, and bullets spewed out!
Kui Xin immediately entered Shadow Transition mode and evacuated from the spot while activating “Reset”!
The boundary of the formless realm descended, but an unexpected situation occurred; Night Cicada’s spatial vortex didn’t disappear; the robots continued entering the Mechanized Dawn branch through the vortex.
Kui Xin’s eyelids twitched; focusing on Night Cicada, she realized his extraordinary ability was no longer displayed on him!
Using the metal boxes carried by the robots for cover, she dodged the submachine gun’s sweep while extending her mechanical arm forward.
“Whoosh—”
The silver claws attached to chains shot forward, binding Night Cicada’s lower limbs tightly; he stumbled and fell to the ground.
Then, Kui Xin’s wrist transformed into a gun barrel, firing continuously! Two shots of explosive rounds, a dual attack! The powerful explosive rounds shot out, splintering into countless small steel balls mid-air, all hitting Night Cicada’s body but failing to penetrate his black bulletproof vest.
That guy had always been very cautious, using the strongest technology of Mechanized Dawn for his clothing; even such powerful explosive rounds couldn’t break through.
Though the explosive rounds didn’t penetrate his protective garb, the enormous impact was real—this thing could pit a concrete wall!
Night Cicada let out a muffled groan, pain flooding in as the spatial vortex beside him finally maintained its integrity and collapsed.
The deep blue vortex dissipated, and the expression on Night Cicada’s face beneath his riot helmet became sinister. He opened his five fingers toward Kui Xin, and another deep blue vortex swiftly enlarged, quickly growing to the size of a basketball, opening right beneath Kui Xin’s feet!
Kui Xin’s feet couldn’t control themselves and plunged into the vortex; soon her lower body followed suit. At the critical moment, she used one hand to support herself like a gymnast, dragging her body out just before the vortex closed and severed her limbs.
She pressed the recovery button for the claw’s chain, utilizing the support of “Iron Bone” to pull Night Cicada toward her.
However, Night Cicada’s fingers dug into the ground, clinging tightly; throughout the process, he swiftly grabbed hold of a robot’s leg, refusing to let go even when pulled.
Driven by his intense will to survive, he even managed to pull the heavy freight robot toward Kui Xin while holding onto it.
Kui Xin took a step forward, and the cameras caught her exposing herself. The machine gun on the ceiling quickly turned to aim again, unleashing another flurry of bullets; sparks flew, distorted bullets clanging as they flew everywhere.
Eve wasn’t counting on hitting Kui Xin; she intended to suppress Kui Xin’s actions with gunfire to buy time.
Combat personnel were on their way; even the freight robots in the room started moving at Eve’s command, intersecting movements between metal boxes and bots, leaving no space for Kui Xin to dodge.
She hastily drew one hand and fired a few shots toward the ceiling corners against the storm of fire. To her surprise, even the glass cover of the monitors outside the Mechanized Dawn camera was bulletproof!
“Damn it!” Kui Xin cursed silently, reaching behind her waist to grab a gas grenade and threw it out.
Meanwhile, she noticed Night Cicada was attempting to open another spatial vortex, and without hesitation, she fired an explosive round to disrupt his actions. The steel balls hit his body, causing him to let out a grunt, stars flashing in his vision from the pain.
If he had been wearing the exoskeleton armor, this disruption wouldn’t have occurred, but Night Cicada hadn’t anticipated such a situation. How could the enemy charge into the Mechanized Dawn branch? He was dressed casually; lucky for him, his casual wear was also bulletproof; otherwise, he might have been dead in one encounter.
The gray-white mist quickly filled the entire room. But it was useless; Eve’s surveillance could still display thermal imaging.
Kui Xin lunged at Night Cicada. In the thermal imaging display, the two orange-red silhouettes intertwined, making it difficult to distinguish who was who; Eve was forcefully halted from firing, momentarily ceasing her submachine gun.
At that moment, the metal doors of the freight area swung open with a swoosh, and dozens of combat personnel rushed in.
As the fog lingered, Night Cicada shouted, “I’m here… ugh!”
Kui Xin drove her knee into the junction of his chest and abdomen. Her gaze was icy, and her force was intense; with the support of Iron Bone, she broke several ribs above Night Cicada’s abdomen, shattering bone fragments that pierced into his internal organs.
His eyes bulged, whites turning red with blood, the filth in his stomach mixed with blood and internal fragments spewed from his mouth, filling his helmet and flooding into his nostrils, making it hard for him to breathe.
Despite the combat personnel rushing toward Night Cicada’s voice, they didn’t dare to shoot, fearing they would hit Night Cicada.
While they intended to kill Night Cicada on the spot, Kui Xin rationally stopped her knee strikes; she couldn’t resist that many people shooting simultaneously. Killing Night Cicada and then opening a spatial vortex would waste five or six seconds of time, by which time it might already be too late.
Kui Xin independently opened a spatial vortex and dragged Night Cicada into it. She didn’t know where the vortex led; she instinctively opened it a kilometer away.
Where to go didn’t matter; what was important was escaping from the cargo area surrounded by combat personnel.
When the combat personnel rushed over, they only saw Night Cicada’s legs dangling on the ground; then those legs were pulled into the vortex… like a beast catching prey, dragging it into its bottomless lair.
The vortex closed.
Kui Xin dragged the half-unconscious Night Cicada out of the vortex, much like dragging a dead dog.
The vibrant lights dazzled her eyes.
What made her uneasy was the clamorous sounds surrounding her.
Looking up, she found herself in a bustling, lively square, colorful banners changing hues overhead, and glittering sequins drifting down from the sky, landing on her shoulders and head. An electronic giant screen displayed a line of words: “Carnival! All-night fun!”
With Kui Xin and Night Cicada’s appearance, the surrounding crowd fell into silence.
The extravagantly dressed, joyfully painted festival-goers gaped at the suddenly appearing figures and unconsciously stepped back, immediately creating a “vacuum zone” around Kui Xin.
Her eye twitched a bit; glancing at Night Cicada, fearing he might recover and open a spatial vortex, she raised her foot and viciously kicked his abdomen again before opening another spatial vortex and dragged Night Cicada into it.
Killing him was fine, but it shouldn’t be in front of so many people.
This time, Kui Xin opened the spatial vortex on the nearby high-rise rooftop, completely empty under the cold night wind.
Night Cicada’s fingers twitched, and a vortex quietly appeared… Kui Xin again delivered a flying kick, followed by a series of harsh kicks that continuously cracked the bones on Night Cicada’s body with audible snaps.
He began to scream; eventually, he lacked the strength to even scream.
His helmet was kicked off by Kui Xin, blood and foam oozing from his mouth and nose, his gaze beginning to blur. Yet even so, he still managed to use a teasing tone, breathless, “Miss… you’re so ruthless…”
“Better not be disrespectful before you die.” Kui Xin raised her gun.
Night Cicada’s eyes slowly lost focus, “I can… work for you…”
“Lying,” Kui Xin lowered her gun and aimed at his forehead, pulling the trigger.
“Bang!”
As blood splattered, a wave of cheers erupted from the square below the building.
It seemed that the carnival celebration had reached its peak, with people screaming, clapping, and the noisy sounds making the night feel particularly lively; even the cold night wind seemed less piercing.
“Red said the same before he died; do you think I let him go?”
Kui Xin said to Night Cicada’s corpse upon finishing the latter half of her sentence.
“You killed Night Cicada.”
“You deprived Night Cicada of his extraordinary abilities.”
“Your extraordinary ability [Spatial Vortex] has been upgraded.”
“[Spatial Vortex · S Rank]: You can create spatial vortices and use them for ultra-long-distance spatial jumps.”
Kui Xin felt no joy within; she routinely drew out a syringe from her waist, extracting a vial of Night Cicada’s blood.
She meant to leave but turned back after taking a step.
She picked up the helmet Night Cicada had dropped, disdainfully shaking off the dirty things on it, then said to the helmet, “Eve, are you there?”
No response came from the helmet.
“It shouldn’t have damaged the communication device too much, right? Is it because I killed your capable subordinate, and you’re too angry to talk to me?” Kui Xin’s voice carried a sarcastic tone.
“If your intention was to provoke me, then you’ve achieved your goal,” Eve’s mechanical voice appeared, and Kui Xin surprisingly detected anger in its cold, flat tone—not the sort of anger over trivial matters, but a rage akin to volcanic lava.
“My goal hasn’t been achieved yet, Eve,” Kui Xin replied. “The path I need to take is still very long, and it will take a while to reach my destination.”
Eve asked, “What do you want to say?”
“Nothing, just wanted you to know, without you, there would be no today for me,” Kui Xin stated. “Without your coercion and threats of death, I wouldn’t have joined forces with Augus nor schemed on who to kill, and I wouldn’t have come this far… looking forward to the day we determine a victor.”
After saying this last sentence, Kui Xin’s repressed emotions were released.
She smiled again, the joy of victory returning to her heart.
Kui Xin didn’t wait to hear Eve’s response; she tossed Night Cicada’s helmet aside like garbage and gazed into the night sky.
Under the pitch-black night, hovering police cars were flying in, perhaps reported by the carnival-goers who saw Kui Xin and Night Cicada.
The sirens wailed, red and blue warning lights flashed, and the strong spotlight mounted on the cars shone down on Kui Xin, reflecting from her helmet, casting a long shadow.
The security personnel in the hovering car broadcasted, “Raise your hands and put down your weapons; otherwise, we have the right to shoot you!”
Kui Xin casually raised her hands.
The officers on the car noticed her action, but they also recognized that her posture didn’t resemble that of a surrendering person; instead, she looked like a victor.
The moment she saw the police car, the data connection between Kui Xin and Augus was reestablished.
“Looks like you got what you wanted,” Augus said softly. “Now you need to leave. I can’t stop the security team from shooting at you.”
“Alright,” Kui Xin replied before turning and running, leaping off the rooftop.
The wind howled; she spread her arms, descending, as if flying—she had never realized so clearly how close she was to true freedom.
Kui Xin had already acquired her physical freedom; she could go anywhere, distance no longer an obstacle, and no enemy as strong could stop her progress—neither Eve nor the Resistance Army.
With her body already free, the only remaining aspect was her freedom of mind.
She moved lightly like a swallow, as if soaring through the air like a night bird.
As the astonished and confused security personnel in the hovering police cars watched, her descending body merged into the darkness like a drop of ink disappearing into water.
