### Chapter 93: Artificial Soul 20
There were a total of ten people on the 132nd floor. After eliminating two, eight remained.
Among these eight, two were C-rank Awakened. One of them was named Li Ran, whose ability was a melee-type snake body that could make all his bones as flexible as a snake. He used this physical characteristic to evade damage and strangle his enemies.
The other C-rank was named Wang Lin, whose extraordinary ability was the Magnetic Sword, which allowed her to manipulate metal weapons with magnetism and levitate them.
This C-rank Awakened was an expert assassin. Her limbs were fitted with mechanical prosthetics, and she had offensive-type mechanical limbs, making her a dangerous individual, comparable to a B-rank Awakened. The information indicated that Wang Lin had high potential for abilities and could very likely be promoted to A-rank; she was part of Meng Jing’s faction.
However, C-rank abilities were still C-rank. The metal weapons she controlled had to be lightweight and her effective range was only about ten meters around her. Operations like blocking bullets with her abilities were very difficult, as bullets traveled too fast to intercept.
When Kui Xin saw the intelligence on these two given by Augus, he was somewhat surprised. He had crossed paths with both of them multiple times during his work but had never spoken to them. Now, wearing a full-cover helmet and fully armed, they probably wouldn’t recognize him.
The two bodyguards he had just dealt with were responsible for patrolling the stairs. The two C-rank Awakened were guarding the entrance to the staircase leading to the roof, while the remaining six were divided into two three-person teams, patrolling in different directions down the circular corridor.
In the dark building where the power was cut off, the guardians lost Augus’s support and could only rely on themselves. They were as tense as startled birds.
“They’re scared,” Augus said softly. “They depend on me like children depend on their mothers; without their parents’ support, they can’t even walk independently. Without my auxiliary judgment, they don’t even know what to do.”
The artificial intelligence Augus revealed its true nature beside Kui Xin. Its words carried no emotion, yet Kui Xin sensed disdain and mockery from it. It was mocking humanity’s reliance on machines, on their own creations, which ultimately controlled and killed them.
Everything in the Investigation Bureau was done with Augus’s assistance, from something as small as a ventilation system to notifications, staff scheduling, and up to the operation of drones, sniper targeting data compilation, and confidential schedules of high-level leaders. Without Augus, the Investigation Bureau was like a disabled person who had lost their eyes, hands, and feet, unable to accomplish anything.
Kui Xin planned to take action against one of the two patrol teams first.
She slipped into the corridor, climbed onto a vintage metal chandelier on the ceiling while no one was around, and patiently waited for the three patrolling members to approach.
Just as expected, a patrol team appeared around the corner not far ahead. They wore goggles equipped with night vision, held their guns with precision, with two facing forward and one covering the rear. The infrared beams used for aiming swept around in the dark.
There was a downside to wearing goggles and helmets: it limited their field of vision. With Augus’s help, they could use their additional visual gear to monitor their surroundings, and Augus would alert them to dangers.
However, that was not the case now; they couldn’t easily notice blind spots, especially above.
As they passed beneath the chandelier where Kui Xin was positioned, she timed her descent perfectly, leaping down and landing on the shoulders of the last bodyguard in line. She twisted her legs, taking him down to the ground, and simultaneously gripped his chin, snapping his neck.
All of this happened in an instant, but the two bodyguards in front quickly turned around and raised their guns to shoot.
Kui Xin didn’t dodge the bullets; she wore a bulletproof vest and a full-cover riot helmet. The impact from the bullets would bruise her all over but wouldn’t take her life, and those bruises would fully heal in just over ten seconds due to her regenerative abilities.
She pushed herself off the ground with her left hand, sweeping her legs horizontally and taking the two bodyguards down. Even as they fell, they still clutched their guns and didn’t let go of the triggers. Bullets spray-painted the ceiling with two rows of bullet holes as dust, bullet heads, and wall debris rained down.
Next, Kui Xin rolled on the ground and drew two guns from her lower back, placing them against the jaws of the bodyguards. Bang! Bang! Two gunshots rang out, and blood splattered several meters away.
The other team of patrolling bodyguards quickly noticed the gunfire and rushed toward the sound. Kui Xin heard their footsteps thundering in the corridor.
Her expression remained unchanged as she hid around a corner on the bodyguards’ route, waiting for their footsteps to get closer before pulling the bomb’s pull ring, counting down the seconds silently before tossing it. In a tremendous explosion, several screams mingled in the blast, lighting up the corridor.
After the explosion subsided, Kui Xin casually walked into the corner, cocked her gun, and delivered several finishing shots to the moaning survivors of the explosion.
All the minor nuisances on the 132nd floor had been cleared, leaving just the two C-rank Awakened.
“They heard the commotion but didn’t leave their post,” Augus said. “The sound of the explosion alerted Lin Xinji and the Meng family, and the Meng family is accelerating their evacuation. Lin Xinji’s turn is expected in about five minutes.”
“Looks like we need to speed up.” Kui Xin said, checking her equipment.
The powerful individual weapon she carried was a hand cannon, along with various types of ammunition. Augus had opened a backdoor for her to take the expensive electromagnetic interference bombs to deal with Wang Lin.
The hand cannon was also a highly sought-after weapon on the black market. Some arms dealers were keen on manufacturing such powerful weapons. In fact, the weapons used by the Investigation Bureau were all procured from arms dealers, so Kui Xin didn’t need to worry about suspicion for using the hand cannon.
The staircase leading to the roof was situated in the center of a long corridor. If Kui Xin wanted to confront the two C-rank Awakened, she had to pass through the open corridor.
Security officers could manually switch the modes of their night vision goggles. Augus had difficulty aiding them now.
Kui Xin crouched in the corner and reloaded her hand cannon, inserting one electromagnetic interference bomb, one explosive round, and one armor-piercing round. Aside from the hand cannon, she had plenty of bullets left, one bomb remaining, one dagger, and two grappling guns—one of which she kept as a spare in case she encountered trouble climbing the elevator shaft.
But it still wasn’t enough; her opponents were two C-rank Awakened!
Kui Xin possessed many trump cards; some of which she had never used before, and now might be the right time to employ them.
The C-rank extraordinary ability “Blood Fire” she had deprived from the Python Sphere!
She slightly closed her eyes and activated this extraordinary ability.
Blood-colored flames rose almost transparently from her body, her temperature rose sharply, her blood circulation sped up, and her muscles felt heated. In just a moment, her physical qualities and power level underwent a dramatic transformation.
She stood up, one hand holding the hand cannon and the other a dagger, her legs springing forward more rapidly than ever as she shot down the corridor like an arrow.
Facing her were jets of fiery tongues and bullets!
The two C-rank Awakened fired bullets to disrupt Kui Xin’s charge, but she had already undergone a profound change. She didn’t brace herself or retreat; instead, she rotated her body sharply, leaped, and landed on the wall. Using the small frictional force of the wall, she flew forward, dodging this wave of bullets.
The bullets struck the expensive carpet, not touching her at all.
A knife flew at her, spinning through the air. Kui Xin raised her dagger to block it, but this knife had a sharp turn in its flight path. After blocking, it came at her from an even more devious angle. Three blades darted toward her from different directions! Just then, a second wave of bullets followed closely behind.
Kui Xin crouched and dashed sideways, avoiding the blades above while also evading bullets. However, the second blade grazed her thigh. She quickly grabbed the blade and flicked it away with a clanging sound.
Kui Xin raised the hand cannon, and the light blue electromagnetic interference round shot out, hitting Wang Lin’s torso directly. Electric currents released from the impact; her mechanical limbs equipped with interference resistors were only momentarily delayed, but that moment still bought Kui Xin time. Moreover, Kui Xin’s goal in firing the electromagnetic interference round was not to disable her mechanical limbs but to disrupt her magnetic field, preventing her from manipulating metals.
The second explosive round followed closely behind, scattering steel balls that directly covered the bodies of the two C-rank Awakened, the powerful impact causing them to stumble back and interrupt their attacks.
Finally, the third armor-piercing round! Kui Xin aimed for Wang Lin’s head!
With a loud bang, the armor-piercing round pierced through Wang Lin’s helmet, causing her to fall to the ground. Taking advantage of the momentum, Kui Xin moved in, swapping her empty hand cannon for another standard firearm.
Kui Xin raised her knee and struck, hitting Li Ran’s head backward, exposing his vulnerable throat. She held the gun against his throat and fired, the bullet piercing through his neck, causing blood to spurt from his ruptured artery.
Two people, dealt with!
Before Kui Xin could relax, she suddenly heard a whistling sound cutting through the air. Reacting swiftly, she raised her hand to block another flying knife, her gaze locking onto Wang Lin, who was still alive.
She wasn’t dead yet, trembling as she raised her gun toward Kui Xin.
“Ha,” Kui Xin nearly laughed at the irony of the moment.
Wang Lin had undergone cranioplasty, sporting an iron skull that saved her life, just like Kui Xin. Even better, they both escaped the imminent death from the bullet thanks to that iron skull.
The armor-piercing round had penetrated her helmet and alloy skull, nearly reaching her brain. Though the bullet didn’t cost her life, it caused a severe concussion, leaving her unsteady, barely able to hold her gun.
But that didn’t matter. Kui Xin was determined to accomplish her goals, no matter the cost.
She turned and grabbed a manual fire extinguisher next to the staircase, smashing it down on Wang Lin, knocking the gun from her hand before closing in, raising her weapon, and filling her with bullets to the vital areas.
“They’re dead; life signs have disappeared,” Augus said. “The helicopter will be here in two minutes to extract Lin Xinji.”
It didn’t urge Kui Xin; it knew that she was more anxious than anyone else, her murderous intent almost uncontrollable.
“You have acquired the extraordinary ability [Snake Body · C-Rank].”
“You have acquired the extraordinary ability [Magnetic Sword · C-Rank].”
Kui Xin had no time to check the game system prompt flashing in front of her; she was reloading her hand cannon.
At that moment, she heard the sound of a door opening—the door leading to the roof was suddenly pushed open.
A muscular figure walked in from behind the door, closing it and locking it behind him. His hulking stature exuded a palpable pressure.
“Is it just you?” Captain Yu’s voice was filled with surprise and anger. “You alone killed everyone on the 132nd floor?”
Captain Yu was the last guardian.
Kui Xin calmly sized him up.
He was different from the previous two C-rank Awakened. Those two had a physical quality far superior to ordinary people but were still just that—ordinary. They primarily relied on various weapons, and getting shot would kill them. Captain Yu was different; his body was a weapon in itself, strong and indestructible.
Kui Xin did not deactivate the effects of Blood Fire; it consumed the energy within her, while the regenerative powers filled the energy gap to some extent, preventing her from collapsing soon.
The moment Captain Yu made a move to attack, Kui Xin struck first.
She didn’t take the hand cannon or a gun; instead, she pulled out her grappling gun, and with a whoosh, it zipped through the air, entangling Captain Yu’s legs! Empowered by Blood Fire, Kui Xin unleashed her full strength, pulling Captain Yu down to the ground.
Captain Yu roared in anger, his muscles swelling as he tried to break free from the ropes. However, the rope from the grappling gun was made from nanomaterial, capable of withstanding over ten tons of weight without breaking; Captain Yu couldn’t escape with sheer brute force.
Kui Xin forcefully swung the rope, wrapping it around Captain Yu’s arms and pulling tightly. Veins popped from her forehead, her temples pulsing, and the muscles in her arms strained to their limits, resembling a tug-of-war between two strongmen.
They were locked in a stalemate for over ten seconds, with Captain Yu gradually gaining the upper hand. At that moment, Kui Xin suddenly freed one hand and pulled out her last remaining powerful bomb from behind.
Using a bomb at such a close distance could lead to them both meeting their end, leaving even Captain Yu stunned by Kui Xin’s recklessness.
With ease, she pulled the bomb’s pull ring and, in Captain Yu’s dazed expression, tossed it!
A bright flash erupted, followed by a deafening explosion.
Kui Xin was hurled away by the shockwave, crashing against the wall and landing on the ground.
Her ears rang, her internal organs were shaken, but her body had no external wounds. The regenerative powers repaired her injured body. She suppressed the urge to vomit blood and quickly rushed toward the staircase, the door to the roof already blown open.
Captain Yu lay on the ground, bloodied and unmoving.
“He’s not dead,” Augus reminded. “His bodily defenses are incredible; he can barely withstand an explosion, but his internal organs are vulnerable.”
Kui Xin certainly knew he wasn’t dead, as she hadn’t received any prompts from the system.
She stepped over Captain Yu’s body, raised her hand cannon, and shoved it into his mouth, firing an armor-piercing bullet.
Stepping out onto the roof, she saw the helicopter about to take off, with Lin Xinji boarding.
Just then, he turned and caught a glimpse of a scene that struck fear into his heart.
“Extraordinary ability of flesh and blood regeneration, extraordinary ability of Blood Fire, extraordinary ability of Shadow Transition… Deception Skill… Magnetic Sword… Snake Body… Iron Skull!” Lin Xinji had never seen someone with so many extraordinary abilities. His pupils dilated, and his lips trembled, nearly losing the power of speech. “This… this is the Remover!”
He widened his eyes and shouted into his communicator: “Augus! Augus! Notify headquarters!”
The static from the earpiece filled him with despair.
Augus: “ZZZZ… Please repeat the command… Communication…”
The helicopter took off! The rotor blades whipped up a fierce wind, and Kui Xin could not hear the noise of the helicopter; the explosion had left her ears ringing, and her hearing had not yet fully recovered.
There were security officers inside the helicopter aiming at her, but Kui Xin didn’t care. She made no effort to dodge, calmly pulling out her remaining grappling gun and aiming at the helicopter to fire.
The hooking claw shot forth, and the resilient rope wrapped around the helicopter’s tail rotor, resulting in a malfunction. The rear part of the helicopter exploded into a fireball.
It lost power and began to fall, tilting awkwardly at the edge of the helipad, smoke billowing from its tail.
Kui Xin walked to the edge of the helipad, looking down.
Lin Xinji reached out a hand, dangling at the edge of the cabin, six hundred meters above the ground. The cars below looked like crawling beetles, and just one look from such a height made one dizzy.
The desire to survive compelled Lin Xinji to struggle until the end.
He managed to say, “Who… who are you?”
The answer to him was the black gun barrel.
Kui Xin pulled the trigger of the hand cannon, and the explosive round fired! The scattering steel balls exploded like blooming fireworks.
Lin Xinji was engulfed in a cloud of blood, his hand letting go of the cabin. His body fell, and at that moment, the helicopter hanging at the edge of the helipad also plummeted.
The human body and the smoking tail rotor of the helicopter both fell from the tallest landmark of Hei Hai City.
After several seconds, a muffled sound of something heavy hitting the ground came from the base of the Emerald Eye.
“You have killed Lin Xinji.”
“You have deprived Lin Xinji of his extraordinary ability.”
“You have acquired the extraordinary ability [Investigative Eye · B-Rank].”
