"Thud, thud, thud!"
The gloomy dark clouds gradually took on a blood-red hue. The swaying trees around her trembled wildly, constantly retreating in the eyes of the sprinting Ye Shiyu, resembling wailing ghosts.
Ahead, amidst the obscure gloom, the edge of the shrine was faintly visible.
And besides the shrine's courtyard wall, she also saw a figure holding a walkie-talkie.
"I don't see anyone here... Alright, Xiong Yan, just co quickly. It seems Sakayori Mina's side is also..."
'Is that a killer from the Sakura family?'
Thinking this, Ye Shiyu's pace grew even faster.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
"Wait, soone is coming!"
The approaching footsteps prompted the speaking man to quickly turn his head.
In the darkness, his panicked and helpless expression was illuminated by the feather pendant hanging from his neck...
The pendant did not originally emit light, but at this mont, an abyssal purple glow lit up before him, casting a reflection.
The instant the purple light flared, the man's eyes imdiately grew hollow, and he stood frozen like a wooden puppet.
At this mont, his walkie-talkie was still emitting sound.
"Xiao Chen! Xiao Chen! What happened to you?"
Seeing this, Ye Shiyu coldly snatched the walkie-talkie, turned off the microphone, and asked the hypnotized man before her,
"Where is Yan Huan?"
"I... I don't know... I am looking for him too..."
"Tch!"
Ye Shiyu clicked her tongue with an ugly expression and glanced at the weapon tucked at his waist, the humanity in her heart increasingly crumbling.
'Since the target of these killers is Xiao Huan, then I might as well...'
"..."
After a brief mont of thought, when she raised her eyes again, Ye Shiyu's gaze no longer looked as if she were viewing a human being.
"I command you..."
Just as Ye Shiyu was about to speak, a gentle breeze blew from behind, lifting a strand of her black hair ends.
In an instant, Ye Shiyu broke out in goosebumps all over her body.
'Danger!'
She did not even turn her head before the mobile phone in her hand lit up with a purple glow.
"Hum!!"
The mont she turned around, the mobile phone was instantly raised in a zero-fra activation.
However, what entered her vision was only a flash of silver light and blood-red long hair.
"Bang!"
Ye Shiyu had not even managed to react. The blade flashed like lightning, and the mobile phone in her hand was cleanly sliced into two halves.
The sharp edge brushed precisely past Ye Shiyu's palm but did not touch her skin in the slightest.
"Hiss!!"
Instead, the sudden explosion caused by the severed mobile phone battery burned Ye Shiyu's palm, making her quickly retract her hand.
Ye Shiyu gasped in shock and subconsciously wanted to fight back.
However, her previously invincible martial arts seed to have been completely seen through.
Before she could even raise her hand, the person holding the sword forcefully stepped forward, breaking right through Ye Shiyu's center guard.
In mid-air, the silver light drew a semicircle in the void, indicating that the sword grip had shifted from a standard hold to a reverse grip.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Ye Shiyu's gaze caught up to where the silver light stopped, the reversed poml struck her abdon like lightning.
"Thud!"
With a muffled sound, Ye Shiyu instantly stumbled back several steps. She forcefully suppressed the urge to vomit, but unable to avoid the excruciating pain, she clutched her stomach and collapsed to the ground.
"Cough, cough... Cough, cough..."
'I couldn't even withstand a single move?!'
'Who exactly is this person...'
'If the Sakura family sent a killer like this...'
'Xiao Huan!'
Ye Shiyu trembled all over, raising her eyes in disbelief to look at the person before her.
The next second, she was surprised to find that it was an acquaintance.
Her red long hair was tied into a ponytail, and her usually listless eyes were now as terrifying as an evil spirit.
It was as if in the very next mont, she would suck the marrow from her bones and devour her entirely.
It was Tong Yingying.
"It's you?"
Seeing that the person looking up at her was actually Ye Shiyu, Tong Yingying frowned, and her fierce aura withdrew slightly.
She glanced at her companion, who had collapsed to the ground the mont the mobile phone was slashed and exploded, and felt a twinge of suspicion.
Tong Yingying knew Yan Huan was in danger, so she had personally brought a sword to find him.
On the way, she heard her subordinate's anxious shouts over the walkie-talkie with no response. Thinking sothing had happened, she ca over to help.
She never expected that the one who successfully attacked her subordinate was Yan Huan's... sworn older sister?
Tong Yingying narrowed her eyes to examine Ye Shiyu. She vaguely felt as though a terrifying spider was crawling in the darkness before her.
Furthermore, when this girl raised her mobile phone just now, she actually felt an uncomfortable, sinister chill...
That was definitely not an illusion, because Tong Yingying had never felt such a sensation before.
"..."
'Why does Yan Huan always attract these weird girls?'
'Last ti it was that peeping tom from the Sakura family, and this ti it's this sworn older sister who knows so superficial martial arts and seems to harbor ulterior motives toward him.'
'It's a good thing he has a normal person like by his side, otherwise, that silly boy would suffer imasurable losses.'
"Aren't you Xiao Huan's boss? How could you... Who exactly are you?"
Ye Shiyu's forehead was slightly sweating. She looked at Tong Yingying with lingering fear, filled with disbelief.
However, upon hearing this, Tong Yingying rely gave her a detached glance.
"None of your business."
"You..."
"Also, do not think that just because you are Yan Huan's sworn older sister, you have any right to ddle in his private affairs. Stop having such pointless possessiveness."
Tong Yingying held no scabbard, only the bare blade, as if corresponding with her sharp, imposing aura at this mont.
As she spoke, Tong Yingying raised a hand to rub the pearl necklace hanging around her neck, a gift from Yan Huan, and cast a sidelong glance at Ye Shiyu, speaking flatly,
"You should know, when he and I first t, a sworn older sister like you was still stuck in so unknown corner!"
"..."
These words made Ye Shiyu freeze. She wanted to stand up and retort, but found that her stomach was in excruciating pain.
"Bang!"
Right at this mont, a loud noise erupted from the distant woods.
It was a gunshot!!
That sound jolted Ye Shiyu out of her frustration, and she quickly looked up.
But before her eyes, Tong Yingying was already nowhere to be seen.
"Xiao Chen! Xiao Chen! What happened to you?"
In the forest, another Feather Gang man nad Xiong Yan, who also wore a feather pendant around his neck, looked at the unresponsive walkie-talkie, his expression involuntarily growing tense.
"Fuck! Just how many subordinates does that rat have around him? Even Li and Xiao Chen..."
In reality, there were a total of three groups of people in this forest.
They were Yan Huan and the several Modifier Hosts.
Tong Yingying and the nurous subordinates she brought to hunt down that rat.
The killers from the Sakura family, totaling only three people.
Aside from the leader who encountered Yan Huan, of the other two, one was knocked unconscious by a single punch from Spencer, and the other was subdued by Tong Yingying's group.
But because it was too dark and communication was poor, the Modifier Hosts and Tong Yingying's group were unaware of each other's existence, both assuming the other party were killers from the Sakura family.
The person An Le initially took down with her tentacles was Li.
The one Ye Shiyu had just knocked down using hypnosis was Xiao Chen.
Both were Tong Yingying's subordinates.
"Gurgle..."
Just as the man held the walkie-talkie, intending to report the situation to Tong Yingying, a sudden gust of bloody wind howled from behind.
Xiong Yan's eyes shrank, and he subconsciously rolled to the ground, drawing a gun from his waist.
"Boom!"
Looking back, a large crater had instantly appeared where he had just been standing...
It looked as if it had been whipped into existence by so invisible object.
Xiong Yan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, fine cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.
Turning his head, he saw An Le suspended in mid-air like a Teru Teru Bozu doll, her hair disheveled.
Setting aside her eerie posture, she had just learned that Yan Huan might be hard by the killers...
Her eyes were hollow, resembling a pair of spectral flas in the dark night. It was unspeakably terrifying.
"Ahhhhh! Are you... a human or a ghost?!!"
That single glance nearly made the gang mber wet his pants in fear.
Primarily, to a normal person oblivious to the existence of Modifiers, the visual impact of the scene before him was simply too overwhelming.
"Gurgle..."
"Killer..."
An Le assud the person in front of her was a killer from the Sakura family, so she imdiately controlled her tentacles to take him down.
Feeling the surging bloody scent around him, Xiong Yan's legs went weak with fear, but his thumb still pushed off the safety as he instantly aid the gun at An Le.
"Watch out!!"
Little Finger instantly appeared, calling out a warning.
"Bang!!"
At the exact mont the gun fired, An Le raised a tentacle to shield herself.
"Pfft!"
As ntioned before, every ti a tentacle was severed, aside from causing imnse pain, the regrown tentacle would beco even harder and more powerful.
This ti, forcefully taking a handgun bullet, the tentacle only suffered a small puncture and was not pierced through.
Although the handgun's caliber played a role, it was obvious that An Le's tentacles were no longer as soft as they were at the beginning.
"A gun... The people hunting Xiao Huan have guns..."
With the tentacle injured, excruciating pain imdiately surged through her otherwise numb body.
An Le paid it no mind, looking around the dark jungle in a panic as images of Xiao Huan being pierced by bullets inevitably surfaced in her mind.
"No... Xiao Huan... where exactly are you..."
"Gurgle..."
That tool of fear for Yan Huan's safety bred deep desire, its intensity comparable to a Modifier exposing itself before Yan Huan.
Little Finger, sitting on her shoulder, felt the desire within An Le's body rising exponentially and was instantly terrified.
"An... An Le! Stop, stop, stop! You can't keep going like this! Evolving twice in one day, you... you will..."
"I will what?"
Hearing this, An Le imdiately turned her head to look at Little Finger.
Her eyes stared dead at Little Finger, forcing all the words it wanted to say back into its stomach.
"You... you will..."
Looking at Little Finger before her, An Le smiled helplessly.
In reality, she knew everything; she just wanted to silence the noisy Little Finger at this mont.
After leaving Little Finger speechless, she turned her head back.
Yet the next second, Little Finger beside her gritted its teeth and, throwing caution to the wind, hastily blurted out,
"You will die, don't you understand!!"
"..."
Hearing Little Finger's voice, An Le paused slightly and cast another glance at it.
She stayed silent for a second, the smile on her face fading a little.
Blinking, she still did not pause,
"I know."
Those words were like a clap of thunder, leaving Little Finger completely dumbfounded.
"You... you know? But..."
"But... what if sothing happens to Xiao Huan? They have guns, and their skills are so good. Xiao Huan doesn't have any superpowers. If anything bad happens to him... I..."
"But..."
Little Finger didn't even flick its tongue anymore. Looking at the agonized expression on An Le's face, it couldn't help but feel burning anxiety.
One step further, and it would evolve again.
After evolving, it would enter the Modifier's high-tier state!
As the phase prior to a Modifier's final form, the high-tier state would trigger a qualitative change, granting it abilities on the level of "reshaping the world into a more suitable form."
But when that ti ca, the side effects would undoubtedly undergo a qualitative change as well.
Right now, due to An Le's overwhelming, tsunami-like desires, its level was already leaps and bounds above the other Modifiers.
If they continued like this, An Le would absolutely be unable to endure the side effects!
"I can endure it, Little Finger."
However, An Le suddenly spoke up, interrupting Little Finger's thoughts.
Little Finger grew completely furious. It hurriedly flew to An Le's side, wrapping its tail tightly around her neck in an attempt to restrain her.
"So what if you can endure it?! Stop right now!!"
But Little Finger was rely a Modifier; it could not stop An Le's desires from affecting it.
The next second, the surrounding tentacles seed to receive nourishnt from her desire, and the invisible aura expanded once more.
The Modifier's original maximum effective range of 15 ters began to grow...
15 ters, 20 ters, 30 ters, 40 ters, 50 ters!!
"Gurgle!!"
As the tentacles' reach expanded, their vitality was further enhanced.
And as the range broadened, she finally sensed the presence of other people at the very edge, roughly 50 ters away.
That person seed to be fighting soone else. An Le could even hear his furious roar,
"Yan Huan!!"
'It's Xiao Huan!!'
At this mont, An Le—whose left eye had completely morphed into a serpentine slit and whose side profile was gradually being covered in white scales—suddenly looked up toward that direction.
She intended to completely dispatch the person in front of her, and then hurry over to save Xiao Huan!
"Gurgle!!"
Nine—no, twelve tentacles writhed madly, their invisible bloody scent converging into a tsunami.
Below, Xiong Yan tried to raise his gun again, but the next second, he was utterly engulfed by the tentacles.
"Rumble!"
Unable to let out even a single scream, he was swallowed by waves of pleasure and completely lost consciousness.
Having casually dealt with this man, An Le imdiately turned around to leave.
"Stop it! Stop! Did you hear !!"
Around her neck, Little Finger squeezed tightly and shook her frantically, trying to halt the continued surge of her desire.
But this was ultimately a futile effort.
It was only a Modifier; it could not override its Host's decisions.
"Whoosh!"
Yet, at this exact mont, an intense jolt of pain suddenly struck.
"Ugh!!"
An Le's small face instantly scrunched up, and she quickly turned to look behind her.
She saw that the tentacle which had engulfed the man was already severed, revealing the foaming figure of the man below.
"What the hell are you?"
A terrifying female voice suddenly rang in her ears.
An Le imdiately looked back, only to see a cold-faced red-haired woman standing on a tree branch, gripping a Daito.
At this mont, Tong Yingying clearly saw the bizarre spectacle of a young girl suspended in mid-air, entangled by tentacles, with more continuously sprouting around her.
'She...'
'Can see my tentacles?'
"..."
An Le stared at Tong Yingying in astonishnt. Even Little Finger, wrapped around her neck, imdiately lifted its head.
The mont she saw the white snake, Tong Yingying's expression changed.
"You're that talking snake I t at the bar the other night!?"
An Le's gaze instantly shot over, causing Little Finger's expression to stiffen.
"Uh..."
"Little Finger, how does Xiao Huan's boss know you?"
"Well... this... I originally wasn't planning to choose you as my Host. She was my originally intended Host..."
Flustered under An Le's scrutiny, Little Finger dodged her gaze and mumbled this explanation.
'So...'
'Even for a superpower, I was rely a backup.'
"I see..."
An Le's eyes dimd slightly, and she pursed her lips as she spoke.
Just then, Little Finger caught a glimpse of Tong Yingying out of the corner of its eye, and suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration, its expression turned evil.
It cast a sidelong glance and scoffed disdainfully at Tong Yingying,
"Old maid!! What are you looking at? We're going to snatch Yan Huan away right now and fuck him to death!! Stop us if you have what it takes!!"
"Eh?"
An Le cast an incredulous look at Little Finger, but it just kept laughing an evil "Jie-jie-jie", looking exactly like a villainous elder.
Up on the branch, the mont Tong Yingying heard this, blue veins bulged on her forehead, and her expression turned utterly dangerous.
"What... did you say..."
"N-No, Boss Tong, I-I didn't..."
"Nyah nyah nyah, old woman, co and hit ! Yan Huan belongs to us young girls! Why is a nopausal old woman like you joining the fun?!"
"Swish!!"
The next second, the sword grip in Tong Yingying's hand tilted slightly as she fiercely aid it at An Le.
An Le was clumsy with words and couldn't explain herself properly in ti, so she simply raised her hand to unleash her Superconductor on Tong Yingying to stop her.
However, it had no effect whatsoever...
'How could this be?!'
'Could she also have Resistance?!'
"... I was previously half-bound to Tong Yingying, otherwise I wouldn't have been so heavily injured when I left her."
"Therefore, she also bears my Host mark. Just like how you cannot use your superpower on yourself, you cannot inflict pleasure upon her..."
Seeing the situation, Little Finger sighed, glanced at An Le, and explained.
But An Le gritted her teeth and suddenly interrupted,
"... But against physical ans, she has no way to defend, right?"
"Ah?"
Hearing this, Little Finger blinked, completely dumbstruck.
'That's right!'
'Even though she can't infuse sensations, if she simply uses her tentacles to physically knock Tong Yingying out, wouldn't that achieve the sa result?'
"Gurgle!!"
So, before Little Finger could react, An Le raised her tentacles and sent them swarming toward Tong Yingying.
"Heh."
Watching the howling tentacles approach, Tong Yingying rely let out a cold laugh.
Then, she leaped high from the tree branch.
This jump left both An Le and Little Finger dumbfounded. Because they actually had to raise their eyes to even see how high Tong Yingying had jumped.
"Whoosh!!"
But in the mont they were stunned, a fierce glint flashed in the leaping Tong Yingying's eyes.
The silver light in her hand, along with her initiating posture, rained down like falling blossoms.
That silver light outlined the shape of petals, plunging swiftly beneath the dark clouds, swiftly carving dazzling arcs right before An Le's eyes.
"..."
"Gur... gurgle..."
The instant the silver light slashed past, the surrounding tentacles broke off in response and collapsed with a crash.
Only three tentacles wrapping around An Le's body survived.
It wasn't just An Le who was left frozen in place...
Even Little Finger, perched on her shoulder, was astounded as it watched the severed tentacles scattered around.
'No way...'
'This fierce?!'
It turned its head blankly to look at Tong Yingying, who had landed behind them, truly feeling an imnse sense of regret.
Little Finger originally thought that when soone was drunk, their willpower would waver, making them easy to trick... ah, no, easy to be moved by it.
It never expected that this drunk Tong Yingying was a madman. No matter how enticing its words were, they were useless, and instead, she had slapped it so hard it couldn't even care for itself.
If it had known earlier, it would have approached her while she was sober.
Even if it had to pester her relentlessly, it should have made her its Host!
"..."
'But this is fine too, at least it stopped An Le from evolving further for now.'
'It's just...'
'It just hurts a bit.'
"Ugh!!"
Having nine tentacles chopped off sequentially, An Le's small face instantly went deathly pale. The remaining tentacles seed unable to support her, causing her to crash to the ground.
The surrounding tentacles turned into fine powder and vanished completely in an instant.
And Tong Yingying took a deep breath, squinting at Little Finger on An Le's shoulder.
"What exactly are you? Why do you give off a sensation so similar to that of Yan Huan's sworn older sister and that little girl from the Sakura family?"
Little Finger flicked its tongue and was just about to speak when An Le, lying on the ground, struggled to look up at Tong Yingying, her voice trembling,
"Over there, about 50 ters away. Xiao Huan and the Sakura family killers are over there... Save Xiao Huan first... I beg you, Boss Tong..."
"You..."
Tong Yingying gazed at An Le's pale-as-paper expression and found herself montarily speechless.
She pondered for a second, then took out her walkie-talkie.
She spoke a few words to her companions through it, and then bent down to help An Le up.
eting An Le's bewildered gaze, Tong Yingying said expressionlessly,
"I don't know how many people that rat brought. It's unsafe for you to stay here in your current state. I'll take you with ."
"... Thank you."
"But after this is over, explain everything about yourself and that snake on your body clearly to . Otherwise..."
"..."
Hearing this, An Le did not reply.
"Thud, thud, thud."
Not far away, the sound of hurried footsteps caught Tong Yingying's attention.
She looked in that direction and quickly reached a conclusion.
"Let's go. There are others hurrying over there too."
Sowhere in the forest.
'Nothing went wrong over there, right?'
Yan Huan slowly inhaled the freezing night air into his lungs. The instant the thought popped into his head, a fierce roundhouse kick ca whistling toward his temples from behind.
"Smack!!"
Yan Huan didn't turn his head, but his right arm locked onto the incoming leg like lightning.
This sudden grab was like iron pincers welded onto the attacker's calf, impossible to pull free.
Imdiately after, he violently headbutted the killer squarely in the face.
With this whole-body thrust, the killer's center of gravity instantly shifted, forcing him to hop on one leg to clumsily maintain his balance.
"Fuck!"
The killer gritted his teeth and roared furiously. Instantly flipping his dagger to a reverse grip, silver light rained down toward Yan Huan's face.
Seeing this, Yan Huan sharply extended his hand, throwing the killer away.
However, before the killer even steadied his footing, a domineering black shadow instantly smashed toward Yan Huan again.
This attack was extrely insidious—the killer had launched a surprise strike without even finding his balance.
"Thud!"
Unable to dodge this kick, Yan Huan raised his hand and smashed a punch into the killer's knee.
This punch sent the man spinning half a circle in place, yet he repeated the trick, viciously thrusting out his right foot again.
The kick landed squarely on Yan Huan's chest, and the killer used the montum to kick off, leaning against a tree.
"Boom!"
Just as he felt lucky for his success, a roaring punch hurtled right at his face.
He barely managed to tilt his head and dodge. The tree trunk, however, had a massive dent punched straight into it.
Wood splinters flew out, piercing his eye. The pain made him gasp sharply, and he swung his dagger wildly.
Seeing this, Yan Huan quickly took a few steps back to maintain his distance.
The killer, clutching his splinter-pierced eye, also hurriedly retreated to keep his distance from Yan Huan.
"Good, very good..."
He nodded with an evil laugh. Looking at the bare-chested Yan Huan in front of him, he couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration.
"The heroes of this world are truly like carps crossing the river... First that Red-Haired Demon, and now you, an inhuman freak... Where on earth are all these masters popping up from?!"
"..."
'Red-Haired Demon?'
'Who?'
'Judging by the na...'
'It sounds like an ugly, short-tempered character.'
'I surely couldn't be like that whatever-it-is Red-Haired Demon...'
"However! Don't celebrate too early, Yan Huan!! I originally didn't want to use this, but now, I just can't swallow this frustration..."
The killer chuckled maliciously, then imdiately dropped his dagger.
Reaching for his waist, a handgun instantly appeared in his right hand.
He flashed an evil laugh at Yan Huan, spinning the gun as he asked,
"Look here, what is this?!"
"..."
Upon seeing the handgun, Yan Huan paused slightly, his body freezing in place.
But the very next second, he suddenly thought of sothing, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
The killer originally wore a triumphant smile on his face, but upon seeing Yan Huan smile as well, he was imdiately filled with rage.
"Click."
He gripped the gun handle tightly, then slowly raised the muzzle, aiming it at Yan Huan.
"Go to hell, Yan Huan!"
Ahead in the darkness not far away, Yan Huan stood bare-chested, more than half of his body hidden in the shadows, leaving only his smiling face gazing at him.
"ow~"
But the next second, within the thick darkness beside him, a pair of erald-like green cat eyes slowly opened, staring directly at him.
As the cat eyes gradually widened, the dark clouds in the sky parted little by little, revealing a galaxy of stars above.
It felt as if...
... the entire starry sky was, just like those green cat eyes, gazing directly at him.
Water-like moonlight poured down through the rifts in the clouds, falling exclusively upon this patch of earth, illuminating Yan Huan's figure.
The darkness dissipated; the surroundings turned dead silent.
Under the moonlight, the entity opening its eyes on Yan Huan's shoulder was no longer just part of the darkness, but a plump black cat revealing its form.
'There isn't...'
'A sll?'
In the brief mont the killer was stunned, Yan Huan raised his right hand.
The scattered moonlight cast layers of shadows over his muscles.
And from within the young man's scent, the sll of gunpowder manifested out of thin air.
'Out of thin air?!'
The killer's eyes widened, even beginning to suspect his nose had betrayed him.
But even if his nose betrayed him, would his eyes betray him too?
Because he clearly saw a dazzling burst of fiery light instantly appear in Yan Huan's hand.
That was the color of fireworks.
"H-Holy shit..."
Watching the rapidly expanding sphere of fireworks, the killer was utterly dumbfounded.
At the exact sa mont, Sakuramiya Hitomi, being carried on Spencer's back, had just arrived nearby.
"Go to hell, Yan Huan!!"
Through the water-like moonlight, shielded by layers of forest, she didn't see Yan Huan; she only saw the killer with his raised gun and heard his roar.
Sakuramiya Hitomi's mind instantly went blank as she stared at the raised muzzle.
Because she knew that right after, the killer would disengage the safety and shoot the president dead on the spot.
'No...'
'Don't...'
'Is there any way to save the president...'
'I...'
'I...'
'Only have the Barrier.'
"President!!"
The next second, without even thinking, Sakuramiya Hitomi scread and violently slapped a passing tree trunk.
"Crack, crack, crack!!"
In her desperation, she actually chose to activate her Barrier in the open air.
An invisible wave instantly spread out, causing Spencer, who was carrying her, to be uncontrollably blasted away.
"Ugh!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi also tumbled twice on the ground, yet enduring the pain, she roared at the Barrier,
"Common sense altered, shooting is not allowed!"
The expanding Barrier imdiately received Sakuramiya Hitomi's command. Within its encompassing range, any thought of firing a gun instantly beca a grave taboo.
"Crack, crack, crack!!"
Seeing her Barrier encompass the killer, Sakuramiya Hitomi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness... The president... is saved..."
However, the very next second, her heart leaped into her throat again.
Because she realized that, not being indoors, she was entirely unable to retract the Barrier or stop its continued expansion.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The instant it exceeded 100 ters, a mask suddenly flew out of Sakuramiya Hitomi's body.
It was the mask of Cold Hitomi.
The mont that mask appeared, the Barrier expanded by another 100 ters.
Looking at the mask dropped on the ground, Sakuramiya Hitomi felt a faint sense of foreboding in her heart.
From within her body, another mask fell out.
It was the mask of Petite Hitomi.
The Barrier instantly expanded by another 100 ters.
Imdiately following were Lazy Hitomi, Lewd Hitomi...
With all four masks out, the Barrier had already enveloped a massive 500-ter radius!
Yet the Barrier still didn't stop expanding.
"Waahhhh!!"
After all four masks had fallen out, as the area continued expanding, Sakuramiya Hitomi's pupils shrank abruptly, and she shrieked in agony.
She clutched her head, only to realize that her head was actually growing larger...
"Sakura... Sakuramiya, your face, ah!!"
In the distance, Spencer rubbed her head and turned around, only to be startled by Sakuramiya Hitomi's appearance.
As the Barrier exceeded 500 ters, her face surprisingly gave off the sensation of splitting apart, much like Tomie.
A new set of facial features... or rather, a new Sakuramiya Hitomi was splitting off from her body.
"Haha... Where's Yan Huan? I thought you couldn't open a Barrier outdoors?"
Behind them, a heavily perspiring Bai Yi hurried over, leaning against a tree.
"Bai... Sakura... ow..."
Arriving, Bai Yi saw Spencer's terrified, pale face and was also stunned.
What could possibly make a demon lord like Spencer show such an expression?
"Spencer, what happened?"
"It seems Sakuramiya Hitomi used so superpower of hers to save Yan Huan, but she herself..."
Hearing that Yan Huan was saved, Bai Yi sighed in relief.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
But right after, the shrieks from Sakuramiya Hitomi beside her caught her attention.
Taking one look, Bai Yi's legs instantly gave out, and she slumped to the ground.
"Sakura... Sakuramiya Hitomi, are you alright?"
"Rustle..."
But Sakuramiya Hitomi could no longer speak, only moaning in pain on the ground while clutching her head.
Bai Yi instantly realized: this was definitely the consequence of deploying her Barrier in the open air!
'What do I do, what do I do...'
No matter how unreliable Bai Yi usually was, looking at the suffering Sakuramiya Hitomi before her, her mind was cleared of any distracting thoughts.
She had to save her!!
She swallowed a mouthful of near-dry saliva, turning her head to watch the painstakingly expanding Barrier, and quickly formulated a plan.
'I have to...'
'I have to stop the Barrier from expanding, right?'
'Sakuramiya Hitomi can't stop it. If this continues, she might actually split apart... literally split apart!!'
'Think of a way, Bai Yi!'
'You're the smartest...'
'Ah! I got it!!'
The next second, Bai Yi's starry eyes suddenly brightened.
She imdiately stood up and pulled the pocket watch from her pocket.
Glancing at the stationary hour hand, Bai Yi revealed a troubled expression.
"Ahhh, whatever!! Saving her is more important!!"
But imdiately after, her face filled with resolution, and she pressed down firmly on the hour hand.
"Tick... Tock!"
In an instant, the hour hand spun wildly.
Ti Stop was activated.
An invisible wave, like a nuclear explosion, erupted from Bai Yi's pocket watch, causing her hair to whip frantically around her.
Originally, the mont it contacted the outside world, absolutely everything would be frozen.
But at this mont, coming into contact with Sakuramiya Hitomi's Barrier, it only delivered a devastating blow.
The Ti Stop and the deployed Barrier cancelled each other out.
"Crack, crack, crack!!"
As the entire Barrier was destroyed, Sakuramiya Hitomi's splitting stopped instantly, gradually returning to normal.
The scattered masks floated up one by one, flying back into Sakuramiya Hitomi's body.
Perhaps...
Soday in the future, when Sakuramiya Hitomi has enough masks and the range of each Barrier is vast enough, she will be able to completely deploy her Barrier outdoors, even enveloping the entire world?
But at least, that day wasn't today.
Just like last ti, the expanding Barrier shattered, revealing five scattered points of light around them.
Those were points of light representing other Barriers.
And between those points of light was a thin, distorted space leading to who knows where.
"Spencer, hurry! Co to our side, or else you'll fall into so other place!!"
Gripping the pocket watch, Bai Yi called out in panic.
"Okay!"
But just as Spencer ran over, Bai Yi's expression suddenly stiffened in the next second.
"Blegh!!"
The mont the Ti Stop effect destroyed the Barrier, Bai Yi instantly clutched her lower abdon and began vomiting uncontrollably.
It wasn't just stomach acid; it felt as if her internal organs and her blood were going to be puked out too.
The intense pain rendered her unable to rise, leaving her only able to curl up on the ground, continuously groaning.
"It hurts... wu wu wu... it hurts so much..."
"Myau-chan, watch the fireworks!"
"ow~"
Rewinding ti slightly, as the "launching firework" ford in his hand, Yan Huan let out a cold laugh. With a casual flick, the firework flew out instantly.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
An invisible wave flew toward the killer alongside the firework. The killer wanted to flick the safety off and fire, but in reality, it was already too late.
Furthermore, he panickedly realized...
He actually couldn't disengage the safety.
Because flicking the safety off to fire a gun was contrary to common sense.
'Common sense?'
The killer froze. Watching the incoming firework grow larger and larger as it flew closer, he instinctively turned and fled.
"Tick... Tock!!"
But the mont he turned his head, the surrounding space was overlaid by another wave resembling a nuclear explosion.
The surrounding Barrier instantly collapsed, reducing everything in front of him to nothingness.
Turning his head to look, he realized he had already lost his balance and was being sucked in by a vortex beneath his feet.
Below, an ancient-looking room impressively appeared.
The ever-growing firework behind him followed suit, flying out alongside him from the turbulence generated by the collapsing Barrier.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"
"Crack, crack, crack!!"
anwhile, at the Sakura family's main residence.
Sakura Ji, who was about to fall asleep, seed to hear a strange noise.
He opened his eyes, only to see the space before him developing faint cracks, as if in a hallucination.
He rubbed his eyes, wanting to take a closer look.
"What... is this?"
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The next second, the cracks gradually expanded, and from within the ever-growing fissures, the face of a familiar person abruptly appeared.
It was the killer he had employed.
"How... how are you back?"
"Ahhhhhh!"
However, the killer gave no response. He rely let out manic screams continuously as he plumted onto the floor beside Sakura Ji's bed.
And behind him, an impossibly massive firework rushed out closely behind, plunging straight down onto the killer's back.
The instant that dazzling fireball, which was about half the size of a person, made contact with the killer's back...
An explosion was born.
"Holy shit..."
Seeing this, Sakura Ji's eyes widened. He didn't even have ti to marvel at the bizarre sight.
Colorful gunpowder instantly engulfed him, along with the entire room.
"BOOM!!"
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