"Miss Sarah, we've been attacked! The enemy's firepower is overwhelming—"
"Their attacks are strange! Miss Sarah, requesting backup! Miss Sarah, do you copy? Miss Sarah—?"
An injured soldier gritted his teeth, enduring the searing pain in his leg as he struggled to his feet, desperately calling for Sarah.
But as he looked around—
Scanning the battlefield, he couldn't find any sign of his commanding officer.
The next second—
A bullet whizzed through the air, striking his leg once more. With a cry of pain, he collapsed back to the ground.
Suddenly, Sarah's voice crackled through the comms.
"Don't worry. Reinforcents are on the way. Just hold him off."
Hearing her voice, the soldier grabbed his radio with renewed urgency.
"Miss Sarah, requesting imdiate retreat! I repeat, we need to fall back! Miss Sarah—?"
No matter how many tis he called—
There was no response.
It finally dawned on him—
Sarah had abandoned them.
A wave of panic surged through him as he shouted, "Covering fire! Fall back! Fall back—!"
As a seasoned rcenary, he had been through countless battles in the Outer Ring. But never had he encountered sothing this bizarre.
First, the bullets were blocked by a mysterious golden light—
Then, those sa bullets turned back on them—
It was like sothing straight out of an old horror film. Those eerie, inexplicable events… perhaps only the fabled Ethereals from Zero's Hollows could do sothing like this.
Ethereals?
Yes—Ethereals!
In the horror movie Ethereal Terror, Notoriety Ethereals could take on human form to deceive people.
And the man standing before them…
Had to be an Ethereal.
The soldier's gaze locked onto Sam Li, his terror deepening. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he beca—this was just like the movie.
Staggering to his feet, he turned to flee.
"Retreat—! Get out of here—! He's not human—!"
But he didn't need to say it.
Most of the rcenaries had already co to the sa realization. They didn't stand a chance against Sam Li.
But—
It was too late to escape.
Bright lights flared ahead, cutting off their retreat.
"Wait… Where are those lights coming from? Who's shouting?"
"Could it be the Security Bureau? No way, we locked down all communications. There's no way they found out—"
"Soone's coming… A lot of them… They're chanting sothing—'Down with Vision Corporation'—?"
...
Before they could react—
The group had already crossed the tunnel, stepping into the floodlights outside the command center.
Leading them—
Nicole, Anby, and Billy.
And behind them—
Hundreds of Canvas Lane residents.
Nicole raised a gaphone.
"Vision Corporation tramples on human lives! Down with Vision Corporation! Justice for Canvas Lane!"
Billy shouted into his own gaphone, voice fierce.
"Down with Vision Corporation! Every drop of blood they've spilled stains this city—"
Nicole followed up.
"You are surrounded! Drop your weapons and surrender!"
Seeing so many people arrive, Nekomata's eyes widened in disbelief—then lit up with joy.
"It's Nicole and the people of Canvas Lane! They're alive!"
Perlman, on the other hand, was completely stunned.
"We're dood—"
The rcenaries who had been preparing to retreat froze.
They had seen Sarah trigger the explosion.
The people of Canvas Lane should have been obliterated.
So how were they standing here—alive?
On one side, the supposedly dead residents of Canvas Lane.
On the other—Sam Li, an unstoppable force with inhuman defenses.
What was supposed to be their battlefield had suddenly turned against them—they were the ones surrounded.
"Fall back! Fight our way out—!"
The rcenaries gritted their teeth, raising their guns, determined to carve an escape route.
But just as they prepared to engage—
WEEEOOO! WEEEOOO!
A chorus of blaring sirens pierced the night.
One. Two. Three. Four—
Dozens of police vehicles surged onto the scene.
From the mont the sirens were heard—
It only took seconds for them to arrive.
In the blink of an eye—
Dozens of police cars surrounded the scene.
Light machine guns, heavy weaponry, tear gas, flashbangs—everything was ready.
And it wasn't just the Security Bureau.
Reporters, lawyers, human rights organizations—even Belobog Heavy Industries, one of Vision Corporation's biggest competitors, had arrived. They had even brought a helicopter.
Zhu Yuan stepped out of a patrol vehicle and approached Nicole, Anby, and the others, speaking seriously.
"Leave the rest to us."
Qingyi let out a sigh. "What a huge case. Once we get back to HQ, we'll be stuck in endless etings over this."
With the influx of security personnel, it didn't take long to bring the situation under control.
All ard combatants were swiftly apprehended and disard.
However, sothing puzzled Zhu Yuan.
Most of the rcenaries bore injuries—gunshot wounds on their arms, legs…
Had they turned on each other?
Zhu Yuan frowned. "Where did these injuries co from?"
One of the captured rcenaries, pale with fear, stamred, "A monster… He's a monster…!"
Qingyi raised an eyebrow. "Monster? Where?"
The soldier's terrified gaze darted behind him.
Following his line of sight, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi imdiately spotted Sam Li.
They hadn't expected him to be involved in such a major case.
Qingyi smirked. "You guys are really unlucky to have run into Sam Li. I know how strong he is, but if we're talking about monsters, you heartless criminals fit the description better."
As soon as he finished speaking, she effortlessly pulled out a pair of silver handcuffs and secured the rcenary's wrists.
Then, he turned toward Sam Li.
...
Not just Qingyi—
Nicole, Anby, and Billy also called out Sam Li and Nekomata's nas, running toward them.
Nicole grinned. "That's our ace at the Hare's House for you! I knew it—you wouldn't go down that easily in the Hollows!"
Billy wiggled his hips as he walked over, laughing. "Hahaha! Brother Sam Li, we finally found you! Nicole and I went through hell getting into the Hollows to save you—we had to dodge both the Dead End Butcher and the Security Bureau! It was not easy…"
Anby corrected him. "The Dead End Butcher is dead."
Billy froze. "...Wait, what? He's dead?! Who killed him?!"
Qingyi walked up casually. "No clue. So say it was a housekeeping agency. Others say it was a burglar. And then… there are those who claim you guys—the Hare's House—chased him down and hacked him to death."
His gaze sharpened. "So? Anything you want to say about that?"
Billy blinked, completely lost.
The Dead End Butcher was dead?
And they were the ones who killed him?!
He had been with Nicole this whole ti—how did he not know about this?!
Billy turned to Qingyi, looking utterly bewildered.
Just as he was about to ask—
Nicole suddenly shoved him aside, flashing a confident grin.
"I wasn't gonna bring it up, but since you already know—"
She crossed her arms smugly.
"Yeah. That's right. We killed the Dead End Butcher."
Billy: "Huh???"
Qingyi's smile widened.
"Oh? Tell everything."
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