Chapter 24: Instant Kill
Page (1/3)
“…”
Hearing the scar-faced man’s words, Xia Tong’s heart sank. Yet in the next instant, she began considering what to do.
She had originally intended to hide and muddle through, but since they had shown her no mercy, why should she show them any?
“A few low-tier brats. You’re practically begging to die!”
Xia Tong’s eyes narrowed slightly, radiating a chilling coldness.
There was no salvaging the situation now.
“In that case, I’ll use the lot of you to warm up. It seems the skills I learned in my previous life have grown a little rusty!”
…
As the silence dragged on, A Mo wasted no time. His face, concealed beneath his hood, lifted slightly, and his figure glided toward Xia Tong like a ghost.
He moved without making a sound, as though he had merged with the shadows on the ground. Only when the distant searchlight shifted could the faintest, blurred outline of his body be detected.
Nor did his teammates intend to turn off the searchlight. Once it was extinguished, things might not work out any better for them, since they still needed their eyesight to observe the situation.
Xia Tong’s glassy, catlike eyes contracted sharply. Every muscle in her body tensed as she fixed her gaze on that indistinct silhouette.
She certainly would not surrender meekly and let these people use her as cannon fodder!
They wanted to use her as bait?
What a pipe dream!
“Heh. Do you really think I’m harmless?”
She sneered inwardly, her expression remaining impassive. Yet a cold glint flashed across her glassy cat eyes.
The instant A Mo was about to draw near, she moved!
From the very beginning, she had never considered running. She knew all too well that against an elite squad like this—especially with an esper skilled in tracking and concealment—fleeing blindly would only get her killed faster.
Meeting them head-on was the only correct choice!
It might be troublesome, but to Xia Tong, they were nothing more than a few low-tier brats. They probably had not even had time to properly train in developing and comprehending their abilities.
In other words, these people were merely using their powers in the most rudimentary, instinctive manner.
The victor was still anyone’s guess!
What she had never expected, however, was that the elite combat training from her previous life would be put to use against “her own people” first in this life.
Page (1/3)
There was something rather ironic about that.
But… no one was going to use her as cannon fodder!
…
“Meow!”
A cat’s cry, entirely different from before—sharp and provocative—suddenly rang out.
In the next instant, Xia Tong pinpointed A Mo’s position. Moisture swirled around her body, and a condensed water arrow appeared out of thin air, shooting toward his face with astonishing speed!
…
A Mo had never imagined that this seemingly harmless cat would launch an attack of its own, much less that the attack would be so fierce.
His hooded figure paused slightly. The hand he had extended snapped back like lightning, while his body twisted sideways at an impossible angle, narrowly avoiding the water arrow’s edge.
Bang!
The water arrow grazed the edge of his hood and struck a moss-covered metal shelf behind him, exploding with a thunderous blast.
“Oh? This is rather interesting.”
Seeing this, the scar-faced captain did not become angry. Instead, he grinned, a playful glint appearing in his eyes.
“Looks like we’ve found a treasure. This cat’s ability is water-based? Its attack power isn’t bad.”
Ke Ji adjusted his glasses, and new data instantly refreshed across the tablet in his hands.
“Energy fluctuations have increased dramatically. Confirmed water-based ability. Rank… preliminary assessment: mid first-tier. However, its cohesion and control far exceed those of others at the same rank.” A trace of surprise colored his voice.
This was hardly a technique an ordinary mutated cat could master, especially not a low-tier mutated beast.
Xiao Ling merely snorted, her gaze growing even colder.
“Overestimating itself. Does it really think this is enough to resist?”
“A Mo, stop dragging your feet and take it down!”
They still had a mission waiting for them. They had no time to play with a little cat.
Xia Tong had no interest in listening to their nonsense.
Her first strike had missed, so she immediately adjusted her stance. She understood both her strengths and her weaknesses.
In terms of sheer destructive power, she might not match the scar-faced man, whose fire ability and physical strength had both been enhanced. As for strange footwork, she was likewise inferior to A Mo, who controlled shadows.
But her water ability excelled in flexibility and variety. Moreover, she possessed human intelligence and abundant combat experience!
“Finish this quickly!”
Xia Tong hardened her resolve. Today, she intended to see exactly how capable these so-called elites truly were!
A Mo’s attack had missed, and it seemed to kindle a spark of anger in him. He no longer tested her cautiously as before. Instead, the aura beneath his hood suddenly turned dangerous.
Page (2/3)
Then his figure blurred, once again transforming into an indistinct black shadow. Like a parasite burrowing into bone, he wound around Xia Tong, moving several times faster than before.
Xia Tong did not dare relax. At that moment, a cat’s natural agility was pushed to its absolute limit.
With a light tap of her paws, she darted nimbly between collapsed shelves and drooping vines, constantly evading A Mo’s pursuit.
At the same time, her thoughts raced. She manipulated the flowing water around her into a series of tiny blades, sending them shooting toward A Mo from time to time in an attempt to disrupt his movements.
A Mo’s figure, meanwhile, flickered back and forth through the shadows like a true ghost. Every appearance carried a lethal threat. Now and then, a ghostly hand would reach out from the darkness and slash toward Xia Tong’s vital points.
Xia Tong vaulted and dodged among the obstacles, while the water blades, guided by her will, attacked every corner where A Mo might appear with treacherous precision.
For a time, water splashed throughout the hall, accompanied by an unending clangor of metal striking metal.
“This is interesting. This cat has remarkable combat instincts.”
Ke Ji pushed up his glasses as streams of data raced across the tablet.
“A Mo, stop wasting time with it. Use Shadow Bind and restrain it directly!”
The scar-faced captain also frowned, clearly displeased that A Mo had yet to subdue a single cat.
“Finish it quickly!”
At the command, A Mo’s aura abruptly became even more frigid. With a low shout, the surrounding shadows seemed to come alive, transforming into several pitch-black tentacles that coiled toward Xia Tong from every direction, sealing off all her escape routes.
“Now!”
Xia Tong shouted inwardly.
She had been waiting for this moment—the instant A Mo committed himself completely and his defenses became weakest!
Faced with the overwhelming shadow tentacles, Xia Tong did not retreat. Instead, she advanced. Her body transformed in midair into a stream of deep-blue water, completely ignoring the shadows’ frontal assault.
At the same time, she compressed the moisture swirling around her to its absolute limit. A deep-blue water spike, condensed almost to a solid state and no thicker than her little finger, emerged with a razor-sharp aura that made the heart tremble.
It shot forth like an arrow loosed from its bow, aimed directly at A Mo’s throat.
He was exerting his full power, and his figure had momentarily stiffened within the shadows.
The attack was swift, precise, and ruthless!
It embodied Xia Tong’s ultimate control over her water-based ability.
A Mo had clearly never expected this. The cat’s intelligence was not to be underestimated; it had actually calculated everything to such a degree.
But all his attention was focused on controlling the shadows, intent on subduing the cat in one decisive move. By the time he sensed the lethal danger rushing toward him, it was already too late.
Page (3/3)