WHIRRR—
The air vibrated with a sound like dragonfly wings.
A silvery, shuttle-shaped aircraft descended silently from the night sky, like a peregrine falcon.
The hatch of the futuristic and technologically advanced aircraft opened.
A small team quickly disembarked.
Leading them was a young woman with short hair, a tapered face, and exquisite features, exuding an air of sharp competence.
She wore a fitted black combat suit that accentuated her nearly perfect physique.
Emblazoned on her ample left breast was the emblem of a white bear, glowing faintly.
"Clear the area. Rescue any survivors," the short-haired woman issued the command icily.
Behind her, a group of equally black-clad, ard, and capable-looking n imdiately dispersed, moving with practiced, military precision.
The young woman, however, remained in place. A beam of blue light projected from her left eye, sweeping across the entire area as she turned her head.
"I can’t find that Strong Divine Servant you ntioned," the short-haired woman said, as if speaking to soone remotely.
"Definitely not. You were too slow; he’s likely long gone by now," a sowhat dejected voice replied through her earpiece.
"Hold on."
The young woman’s gaze suddenly locked onto a specific spot, and she strode quickly towards it.
"I think I’ve found him after all."
"Team Leader."
The short-haired woman approached a large mass of mangled flesh and gore. A Yellow Bear mber, already stationed there, pointed to a cold corpse nearby and reported to her.
"We’ve found Team Leader Zhou Ling’s remains."
"Mm."
The short-haired woman nodded but rely glanced at it before dismissing it from her attention.
Instead, she crouched, reaching out to poke at the limbs and fragnts within the gory ss on the ground, murmuring, "You said the Crow God Sect’s Strong Divine Servant is dead, his body shattered beyond recognition, as if... he had been beaten to death."
"What?!" a disbelieving gasp ca from the earpiece, followed by an urgent question, "Who killed him?"
"I’d like to know that myself."
The woman stood up, glanced around, her expression relaxing slightly.
"Most of your comrades can still be saved. It seems your luck held out; the mission can be considered sowhat accomplished after all. You can apply to our superiors for reimbursent for the new body’s reconstruction costs, and you might even get a reward..."
The voice in the earpiece cut off abruptly.
After a mont of silence, the voice resud, noticeably calr this ti.
"Can anyone else be found at the scene?"
"Who are you referring to?" the short-haired woman asked casually. "That rookie from the Heaven Water Sect’s Crane Faction you ntioned earlier?"
"Yes, him."
"No."
The short-haired woman noticed a small, pale red stain on the ground nearby and walked over.
"Collect a sample from this."
She casually ordered a subordinate nearby.
"Yes, ma’am."
After giving the order, the short-haired woman resud her conversation with the earpiece.
"You don’t seriously think that kid killed the Crow God Sect’s Strong Divine Servant who nearly wiped out your Group 8, do you?"
"I doubt it."
The voice from the earpiece hesitated for a mont before continuing, "Although his strength is considerable, almost at the Martial Arts Skin Training level, perhaps even approaching the Flesh Training stage. But to turn the tables and kill a Strong Divine Servant who still had strength to spare... absolutely impossible."
"My guess is an elder from the Heaven Water Sect’s Crane Faction intervened. Although the Heaven Water Sect’s Crane Faction has been in decline for a long ti, they still have a few masters. Dealing with a Strong Divine Servant who had little power left would be easy, especially with a sneak attack..."
"That’s what I figured," the short-haired woman nodded, then asked, "Did you manage to retrieve any video footage from the scene?"
The voice in the earpiece sounded sowhat helpless.
"This area is still affected by a Power Field set up by the Crow God Sect. The Old City Circle’s satellites couldn’t capture a complete video signal. There are only so fragnted fras, and wouldn’t you know it, the part right after I... died... is missing. It started working again after you all arrived. Dammit!"
The man on the other end sounded like he slamd his fist on a table in frustration.
"Never mind, as long as the problem is solved," the short-haired woman said, sounding unconcerned.
"Oh, right. That kid did have contact with the Crow God Sect, so the necessary procedures must be followed. And you seem keen on recruiting him... Want to reach out to him for you?"
The voice on the other end paused briefly, then said, "No need. I’ll contact him myself later. It’s not urgent anyway. You focus on your current mission."
"As you wish."
The short-haired woman touched her right ear. "I’m hanging up then?"
"Mm."
Her slender, pale fingers tapped her earpiece gently, her attention returning to the scene before her.
A Yellow Bear mber hurried over to report, "Team Leader, we found three survivors under the house. Initial scans indicate they’re ordinary civilians; vital signs are weak..."
"Get them out. Take them back."
"Yes, ma’am."
"Team Leader, what should we do with Team Leader Zhou Ling’s body?" another team mber asked.
The short-haired woman glanced at Zhou Ling’s corpse, then said thoughtfully, "Take both his thighs; send the rest of his remains back. Say they were destroyed by the Crow God’s Divine Servant. That fellow spent a fortune on skeletal modifications—all top-grade materials. We’ll consider them our fee for providing assistance."
"Yes, ma’am."
The team mber’s expression turned quite odd. After acknowledging, they went to carry out the order.
Having given her instructions, the short-haired woman casually surveyed the area.
The target of this trip, the Strong Divine Servant, was dead. There was nothing much to see in this ruined wasteland.
Eventually, her gaze returned to the mass of mangled flesh and gore at her feet.
She seed entirely unfazed by the stench and gruesoness of the remains. Instead, she scanned them with keen interest, the blue light from her left eye repeatedly sweeping over the gory ss.
Streams of data and information continuously scrolled and updated in her vision.
The woman murmured to herself.
"What martial arts master? What Heaven Water Sect? Just so third-rate school. This fist technique is far too crude. The power behind it is barely adequate..."
***
Lu Yuan gradually stirred, erging from unconsciousness.
Exceptionally bright moonlight spilled onto his face. He sensed red shadows flickering before his eyes.
He pushed himself up abruptly.
The next mont, the sight before him left him utterly stupefied.
He found himself in a sea of blood-red flowers, carpeting the mountains and plains as far as the eye could see.
A wide, ink-black river flowed peacefully before him.
In the distance, a colossal full moon hung, about a quarter of it subrged in the dark river.
It looked as if the river flowed towards the moon, or as if the moon was where the river ended.
Lu Yuan stared blankly at the magnificent, beautiful, yet deathly silent vista.
Gazing at the blood-red flowers, shaped like lamps and exuding a bewitching allure, he murmured, "Manjusaka?"
Manjusaka, also known as the Other Shore Flower, the Flower of the Netherworld, or the Netherworld Flower.
Though shrouded in mystery, the flower itself wasn’t particularly rare.
Lu Yuan casually plucked one and crushed it in his hand, reducing it to a crimson pulp.
The crushed flower felt sticky and damp in his palm, like the remains of a swatted, oversized mosquito.
Lu Yuan slowly wiped his hand clean on his clothes. Staring at the low-hanging full moon in the distance, he murmured to himself, "Such a realistic dream. It’s just like activating Imaginary Enemy..."
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