Nyx’s slender fingers pressed against the bruising flesh along Bai Chunian’s neck and jaw.
Behind him, Eris toyed with Bai Chunian’s thigh bone, casually tossing his tactical dagger. The blade traced along Bai Chunian’s leg, slicing through cloth and leaving a streak of blood on his skin.
Bai Chunian licked the iron-tasting blood from his lips. His body’s self-healing could not keep pace with Eris’s destruction, and his strength was nearly spent; injuries to his chest and abdomen were severe.
“Is this all the power a Curse Master and Puppeteer combined can muster…” he muttered, struggling to prop himself up as he gripped Nyx’s wrist.
“I never recognized my name. You can’t annihilate me,” Nyx scoffed. “Electric Phantom—he probably went down the water chutes for the reagent. I’ll tell you this: the deep-water storage is one-way. Without iris and fingerprint authentication, you can go down but never up. Over a dozen one-way radiation gates are installed; the HD reagent is at the bottom. Even the communicator signal is blocked, right? You’ve lost contact. Even if we kill you here, he won’t hear it.”
“Lan Bo… is…” Bai Chunian’s eyes curved sharply. “Behind you…”
Nyx instinctively glanced back—but saw nothing. As he turned again, Bai Chunian opened his mouth. Two canines extended; his black eyes faded, replaced suddenly by a brilliant sapphire blue. His hair, from roots to tips, bleached white. From his throat came a low, resonant roar like a lion.
A dense, pungent scent of brandy-like pheromones burst from his damaged glands, spreading outward in a shockwave.
Nyx immediately released his grip. Yet his fingers stiffened, unbending, and a layer of gleaming glass spread from his fingertips up his forearms.
Eris, closest to him, reacted quickly, raising his hands to block—but the glass spread from his elbows downwards, freezing his lower body as if rapidly solidifying ice.
Imperial Crocodile, stationed fifty meters from Bai Chunian at the cultivation pod, felt the oppressive force. His outstretched hand froze and shattered, coalescing into a glass orb that shattered on the floor.
The corpse of Samael beneath the pod crystallized directly into a glass sphere.
Mourn, crouched in the corner seventy meters away, was only forced to his knees by the weight; he was not annihilated.
All of this happened in a flash.
Even several seconds later, Imperial Crocodile realized his right hand had been severed. Agonizing pain pierced to the bone as he screamed, clutching his arm, and fell into the scattered reagent tables with a tremendous crash.
Bai Chunian’s wounds were healing as he slowly stood, supporting himself on his knees. His deep sapphire eyes, once wild with fury, regained clarity.
The fishbone mineral embedded in his ear flickered with a dim glow, whispering the calming sound of waves crashing on a shore.
His fangs, approaching the size of a lion’s, had shortened, and the vicious gleam in his eyes was replaced by lucid light.
“Then I’ll deal with you first…” Bai Chunian slithered forward like a predatory beast toward Nyx’s position.
Nyx vanished suddenly. Eris appeared in the spot Bai Chunian had just occupied, taking the brunt of Bai Chunian’s sweeping kick. The moment Bai Chunian made contact, a layer of glass began forming over Eris from the point of impact.
Eris staggered back, crashing into a toppled reagent table. The glass shattered, and his skin erupted in a spray of blood.
It seemed the Puppeteer’s differentiated ability allowed him to swap places with someone, letting them absorb damage once.
“Trying to die together? That’s not cost-effective.” Nyx appeared where Eris had been, brushing off dust and glass fragments. His cold gaze fixed on Bai Chunian as he silently measured the pheromone concentration to estimate Bai Chunian’s level and differentiated abilities. If he could discern the Envoy’s A3 ability from this battle, it would be worthwhile.
No record from the Institute or intelligence reports had ever observed the Envoy using his A3 ability. Until now, even his differentiation level was uncertain.
The pheromone concentration from Bai Chunian far exceeded M2 level, but had not yet reached A3. Nyx decided this was not the Envoy’s A3 ability; he was controlling it—or something was restricting it.
Moonlight streamed through the glass dome, bathing Bai Chunian. He clenched his fists, fangs reflecting the cold light.
“Die together? Why would I do that? Then no one would be left to collect your corpses.”
Nyx regarded him deeply. “Why not use a higher-level ability?”
Bai Chunian smiled lightly. “Do I need it against you?”
Nyx looked through him. “You’re afraid of losing control… unable to rein it back, can’t master it.”
“…“ Bai Chunian licked his fangs, his smile vanishing.
“Pain… should I take this seriously?” Eris tore away the remaining glass from his body, moving his neck with the clicking sound of gears.
Suddenly, a sticky bomb adhered to the laboratory dome. A one-second countdown later, it exploded, cracking the glass dome. A shadow slammed onto the dome, shattering it and tossing two black spherical objects downward.
Bai Chunian shielded his eyes and dove behind a reagent table. The two flashbangs detonated—blinding light and a piercing hum amplified by the acoustics of the lab. Anyone caught in it immediately lost their vision.
The second was an explosive flash grenade, the light solidifying into countless sharp shards. Nyx covered his eyes and leapt backward to the edge of the cultivation pod.
The dome was torn apart by frenzied black vines. Agents wearing IOA-marked bulletproof suits descended along the vines, landing in sequence, holding submachine guns and firing at anyone nearby.
Lu Yan leapt beside Bai Chunian, tilting his head. “Huh, you dyed your hair.”
“Bleaching really wrecks your hair,” Bai Chunian muttered, casually shaking his head. His hair and eyes returned to black as he turned to Bi Lanxing. “Timing was good, and the route you picked was solid.”
Bai Chunian spoke openly to the team: “Imperial Crocodile excels at defending weak points and speed; Mourn has strong control but weak attacks—don’t get close to him. The blonde in the suit can swap places; I’ll handle Eris. If there’s a chance, blow up that cultivation pod.”
The agents had been working together long enough to anticipate Bai Chunian’s style. Upon learning the enemies’ strengths and weaknesses, they instinctively spread out and engaged independently.
There was still one minute until the chimeric bone finished cultivating.
Imperial Crocodile’s severed right hand had regrown. He intended to secure the cultivation pod but was blocked by a small, floppy-eared rabbit-like figure.
Gasping, Imperial Crocodile laughed. “Where did this mini teacup rabbit come from? Move, don’t get crushed.”
Lu Yan wasn’t new to being underestimated. Twin tactical daggers in hand, he appeared behind Imperial Crocodile in an instant, plunging both blades toward his glands.
Imperial Crocodile’s skin was as hard as steel, including the back of his neck—there was no easy way for daggers to penetrate, no matter the strength. But Lu Yan didn’t rely on brute force in melee.
He twisted, dodging Imperial Crocodile’s grasp. With his small frame and supersonic companion ability, he was untouchable. Lu Yan didn’t overcommit; each time he appeared behind Imperial Crocodile, he struck two quick cuts, then vanished like a wily rabbit, reappearing from an unexpected angle to stab again.
Imperial Crocodile’s thick hide could not withstand thousands of repeated strikes. After several cycles, Lu Yan’s daggers sank deep into his neck, using the M2 differentiation ability “four-dimensional splitting.” Dozens of rabbit Omegas, each wielding twin daggers, surrounded him in a dizzying display.
Tan Qing and Tan Yang combined their hydroxy glands for remote blasts, targeting Mourn’s hourglass from a distance without approaching. Mourn, carrying the hourglass, could not counter their attacks.
Bi Lanxing’s vines split the lab into multiple isolated sections, preventing the enemies from regrouping.
“You’ve got too many of you! It’s unfair!” Eris braced on a table, spinning his body, sweeping his legs toward Bai Chunian’s face. Bai Chunian dodged. “When it was four on one, you didn’t complain. Who doesn’t have a convoy of breadmen?”
“Hmph.” Eris interlocked his fingers, extending a golden thread from between them, winding it around Bai Chunian and connecting to the other IOA team members. “I kill you, they die too.”
The Curse Master’s companion ability, the “Curse Line,” can link up to ten targets; when one linked target suffers damage, all others receive the same intensity.
Bai Chunian laughed. “Planning a war of attrition against a team with medics?”
From her perch atop the vines, Han Xingqian spread her wings slightly, nullifying Eris’s Curse Line and simultaneously resetting Bai Chunian’s stamina.
One Bai Chunian was already difficult enough to handle; adding another A3-level alpha made the situation uncontrollable. Seeing this, Nyx quietly commanded, “Take the chimeric bone and retreat.”
“Fifteen seconds left!” Imperial Crocodile growled.
“Not waiting,” Nyx replied. “Move out.”
“Eris, go after Electric Phantom and bring back the HD reagent,” Nyx indicated with a slight nod. Eris glared at Bai Chunian, curling his lips in a provocative smirk. “Then I’ll go play with your wife. Nyx said she drops pearls when she cries—I’ll pick up a few.” With that, he leapt into the deep-water chute.
Imperial Crocodile hoisted the cultivation pod, tearing off the supply tubes. The chimeric bone, still five seconds from awakening, went with the pod. Clutching his injured neck, he crashed through the vines and thick lab walls, carrying the pod away.
Bai Chunian wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. “Go after them. I’ll find Lan Bo.”
Lan Bo was trapped in the deep-water storage. The steel-coded doors blocked his return; he hammered on the closed gates, finally breaking one, only to face another barrier.
At the bottom, communicator signals were completely blocked—he couldn’t hear Bai Chunian.
His heart thudded violently. The piece Bai Chunian had made into an earring resonated with his own heart.
Lan Bo steadied his hand over his chest, feeling a sudden, disquieting pulse. “Randi… it hurts,” he murmured, rubbing his chest, whispering reassurance, “It’s okay, wait for me.”
He clutched the HD reagent-filled case in his teeth, swimming deeper. The water pressure increased as he descended, eventually revealing the filtration system at the bottom.
Bai Chunian climbed the dome and leapt from the lab, pursuing Eris from outside.
Sliding from the lab dome to the ground, Bai Chunian slowed. One hand pressed against the wall, the other bracing his knee, he bent over coughing, vomiting a pool of blood-tinged foam. His glands had not healed; the blood soaked his collar and seeped into his clothes.
Even enduring the combined attack of Curse Master and Puppeteer with a controlled puppet was barely manageable for Bai Chunian. Without his teammates’ timely support, the outcome would have been uncertain.
Supporting himself against the wall, Bai Chunian made his way toward the shore.
“Controlled objects…” That unique, connected sensation was remarkable.
A pang of inexplicable jealousy crossed him. Whispering to himself, he murmured, “I want… would Lan Bo have something like this? If not… could I still… be his Envoy? No… if not, forget it. I don’t want… to be controlled by anyone else.”