It wasn’t just Lin Jiu’s power. Although her ability rank was only A-rank, her physical strength was ridiculously strong. Even stronger than most S-classes.
And as her sister, Ling Ling’s physical strength naturally surpassed ordinary S-class as well.
But more than her power, what truly terrified him was her unique fighting style. There was no strategy, no rhythm to follow.
She fought like a wild beast, attacking with every part of her body. Every strike landed on the same spot—the small hole pierced through his chest.
She was widening the wound. In the most primitive, most savage, most unreasonable way.
“Madman!” Artyom roared as he swung his right fist.
Lin Jiu didn’t dodge. She charged forward. Her left shoulder took the punch head-on; the crunch of breaking bones was clear. But at the same time, she grabbed Artyom’s right arm, opened her mouth, and bit down on his wrist. Her teeth pierced his ability-enhanced defense, severing the radial artery.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, splattering across Lin Jiu’s face, neck, and black combat uniform. Her entire body was drenched in Artyom’s blood, but she didn’t care.
She kept tearing, clawing, and slamming into the ever-expanding wound.
Artyom was pushed back step by step by the girl. Before he knew it, his back slammed hard against the wall. He had no room to retreat.
The small hole in his chest had now become a fist-sized cavity. The defense of Absolute Rigid Body was being peeled away layer by layer; the muscle tissue inside was exposed to the air, contracting and expanding with each breath. And Lin Jiu stood in front of him.
Soaked in blood. Her left arm hung limply at her side, and at least three ribs on her right side were broken. Her face, neck, and clothes were covered in Artyom’s blood, yet her azure eyes still burned with a mad flame.
“Almost there,” she said softly. “Just a little more.”
She took a step forward. Artyom instinctively retreated, but behind him was the wall.
Then he heard a sound. It was Lin Jiu humming. A very soft melody, like a lullaby—a stark, bizarre contrast to her blood-soaked appearance.
“Jiu.” Ling Ling’s voice came from the other side. “Stop playing around.”
Lin Jiu stopped and tilted her head.
“Sis, you’re done on your end?”
“Mm.”
Lin Jiu turned to look at Artyom. The Iron Wall, whom she had pinned against the wall and beaten for so long, now had a blood hole in his chest where white ribs and a beating heart deeper inside were visible.
She tilted her head, thought for a moment, then reached out and gently poked the edge of the wound with her index finger. Artyom trembled like he’d been electrocuted.
“That’s enough for today,” Lin Jiu said with a smile. “Let’s play again next time.”
She turned and walked toward Ling Ling, leaving Artyom alone, leaning against the wall as he slowly slid to the ground. His chest still bled.
As an S-class, his body, strengthened by ability feedback, was slowly repairing the wound, but it wouldn’t fully heal anytime soon.
He watched the two girls’ figures disappear into the darkness of the emergency exit. Then, with his last ounce of strength, he spoke into his communicator.
“Headquarters… ‘Bai Ye’ isn’t one person—it’s two. No…” He paused. “Two monsters.”
—
Underground Level Four
Ling Ling supported Lin Jiu as they moved down the emergency staircase. Both were injured. The carbonized burns on Ling Ling’s left shoulder were slowly being repaired by Ability Adaptation, while Lin Jiu’s broken arm and cracked ribs would take longer to heal.
“Sis,” Lin Jiu said, her voice a little weak but her tone still light, “did you get the Divine Relic?”
“Mm.”
“That’s great.”
Ling Ling turned her head to look at her sister’s face, which was covered in blood yet still wore a smile. She reached out with her relatively clean right sleeve and wiped the blood off Lin Jiu’s face.
“You’re hurt.”
“You too, sis.”
“Mine’s a light injury.”
“Mine’s light too,” Lin Jiu blinked. “Just a fracture. It’ll heal in a few days.”
Ling Ling was silent for a few seconds. Then she reached out and flicked Lin Jiu’s forehead.
“Ow.”
“Next time, don’t fight like that.”
“But—”
“No means no.”
Ling Ling’s tone was flatter than usual. “That fighting style of yours is trading your life for damage. S-class physical stats are stronger than ours. If your fighting method hadn’t suppressed his judgment, you could have died.”
Lin Jiu lowered her head and said nothing. Ling Ling sighed.
“But you did well.”
Lin Jiu’s head shot up, stars lighting up her azure eyes. “Sis praised me!”
“I did not praise you.”
“You totally did!”
“…Suit yourself.”
The two continued down the emergency staircase. According to the Countermeasures Section’s intel, Underground Level Four was the deepest part of the facility and the storage site for the Divine Relic prototype. Even though they had already obtained the Divine Relic crystal from the Carrier, Ling Ling felt that something else had been overlooked.
The entrance to Underground Level Four was a heavy alloy door, painted with the Cradle’s Möbius Snake emblem. The door was unlocked. Ling Ling pushed it open gently.
Then she stopped.
Underground Level Four was a massive spherical space, about fifty meters in diameter. The walls were covered with dense rows of cable ports and monitoring equipment.
And suspended at the exact center of the sphere was something.
A crystal.
It was larger, purer, and far more unsettling than the one they had taken from the Carrier. It floated in midair, slowly rotating, emitting a kind of “light” that defied description.
The true core of the Divine Relic.
And beneath the crystal stood a person. White hair, crimson eyes, about 153 cm tall, wearing the same black combat uniform as Ling Ling, and a black mask covering her face. It was another “Ling Ling.”
The real Ling Ling looked at her counterpart. A glint of light flickered in her crimson eyes.
“Interesting.”
Lin Jiu sighed. “Sis, you said ‘interesting’ again.”
“Because it really is.”
The other “Ling Ling” spoke. Her voice was identical to Ling Ling’s—flat, emotionless but with a heavy mechanical undertone.
“Identification. Ability fluctuation match rate: 99.99%. Identity confirmed: ‘Killing Angel’ Project experiment body code name: ‘Zero’.”
It tilted its head.
The real Ling Ling shielded Lin Jiu behind her, her crimson eyes calmly meeting those of her counterpart.
“What are you?”
The other “Ling Ling” was silent for a second. Then it removed its mask. The face beneath was identical to Ling Ling’s, but those crimson eyes held not a trace of living light.