The group arrived at the border between Zones C and D.
As Naya tapped the ground with his cane, the black tentacles blocking the path were dispelled.
As the tentacles gradually faded, Shabu stood up from the light and shadow, glanced at everyone, then crawled over.
“Ah… I was wondering why I hadn’t seen her all this time,” Xin said, as if suddenly realizing.
“So she’s been hiding here all along?”
Naya nodded.
“Shabu merged with these black tentacles from the very beginning. She used her Flesh Divine Power to support this tentacle barrier, all to prevent the New Truth Organization from going back for reinforcements.”
“You’ve worked hard…” Noah said with emotion.
Shabu seemed pleased by Noah’s praise.
She waved her tentacles and gently brushed against Noah’s ankle.
A long corridor appeared before them.
It was wide but dimly lit.
The group peered inside—it looked like the throat of a monster, deep and bottomless.
Naya looked up at the flickering fluorescent lights above and smiled helplessly.
“Let’s go, everyone. Gexiusi already knew we were coming. There’s no need to hide.”
“Let’s move!”
Xin resumed her role as the vanguard, gripping her spear as she stepped into the corridor first.
Noah put on the uniform soaked with Naya’s blood, tucked the Tarot Deck into her pocket, and supported Naya as she followed Xin.
The corridor was eerily quiet; aside from their footsteps, the only sound was the buzzing short circuit of the light fixtures.
All members of the Primordial Organization were ready for battle—they knew this was the final battle.
After passing through the corridor, they arrived at a meeting room.
Though wider than the corridor, it was just as dim.
There was a second floor, with a huge projector lying discarded like trash.
The chairs and tables were scattered about, clearly left behind in a hasty evacuation.
Items unnecessary for combat had all been abandoned here.
A few members stepped onto the tables, intending to walk straight across, but they had barely taken a few steps when Xin shouted from below:
“Enemy attack! Get down!”
Those members didn’t understand what Xin meant, but instinct made them drop to the ground immediately.
A sniper bullet whizzed past their heads, blasting a large hole in the wall behind them.
The member who had almost been hit went weak in the legs.
He rolled off the table in a panic, but before he could stand, another sniper bullet shattered the table he’d just been on.
In the dim light, no one could tell which direction the bullets were coming from.
Xin raised her head and looked around.
Aside from scattered obstacles, there was no sign of the enemy.
“Come out!”
Xin gripped her spear tightly.
Her pupils contracted as she used the Cat Tribe’s night vision to scan the surroundings.
The meeting room was cluttered with all sorts of debris; she couldn’t pinpoint the enemy’s position.
She leaped onto the table, using herself as bait to draw fire.
“Got the guts to ambush, but no guts to show yourself?!”
The words had barely left her mouth when a sniper bullet came straight for her forehead.
Xin sidestepped to dodge, then looked toward the direction the bullet came from.
“There! Where do you think you’re running?!”
Xin raised her arm, channeled her strength, and hurled the spear.
With unstoppable force, the spear embedded itself directly into the wall of the second floor.
Xin leaped up, landing on the second floor in one bound.
She pulled the spear out, only to find no one behind the pile of debris.
‘He’s fast!’
Xin used her spear to push aside the surrounding clutter, then called down to Noah on the first floor,
“Beauty, give us some light! I know you can do it!”
Noah nodded immediately.
She drew the Magician Card and ignited it with Star Divine Power.
The flames grew brighter, gradually forming a glaring holy light sphere.
Noah threw it up to the ceiling of the meeting room.
In an instant, the holy light illuminated every dark corner.
Xin quickly scanned the area, trying to find the ambusher in the light.
But a single sniper bullet pierced the light sphere directly, plunging the room back into darkness.
Right next to the projector across from Xin, a figure slowly stood up.
He held an exquisite sniper rifle and spoke in a calm tone:
“Go back, everyone. I have orders. I can’t let you pass.”
Xin immediately locked onto him.
Through her night vision, she saw a young man.
He wore a long, loose coat, had black hair and brown pupils—clearly not a local.
The man noticed Xin staring at him and met her gaze.
He smiled, then retreated back into the darkness.
“As I said, everyone,” his voice came from the darkness again, “those shots earlier were just probes. If you interfere with my mission any further, don’t blame me for being rude.”
Noah gathered Star Divine Power and summoned the Magician Card again.
She lit it and held it in her hand, looking toward the man’s hiding spot.
“Who are you, exactly?”
“Personal Guard of the New Truth Organization Leader, Ska,” came the sound of reloading from the darkness.
“Looks like you’re not going back on your own, huh?”
Xin flexed her arm and said coldly,
“A sniper? I’d like to see what you’re made of. Beauty! Do that move again!”
Noah nodded and threw the holy light sphere once more.
Xin raised her spear and moved behind the projector, only to find Ska had vanished without a trace.
Xin kicked the projector off the second floor and shouted to the group:
“Spread out! Everyone spread out! Find cover! He’s gone again!”
One of a sniper’s creeds is to never engage in close combat.
Ska knew this well.
He moved like a specter, darting back and forth across the second floor.
The holy light sphere was shot through again, but the bullet’s trajectory also revealed Ska’s position.
‘He’s across from me!’
Once she confirmed Ska’s current location, Xin melted her spear and reforged it into a chain blade.
She hurled the chain toward the ceiling, used the momentum to swing herself like a pendulum, and vaulted directly into the pile of debris where Ska was hiding.
This maneuver startled Ska.
He quickly rolled to the side to dodge Xin’s flying kick, then leaped backward while raising his sniper rifle.
The scope, equipped with night vision, locked onto Xin’s head.
A flash of fire erupted—unable to dodge in time, Xin was sent flying by the bullet.
But there was no headshot.
Though Xin clutched her head in pain, she seemed mostly unharmed.
She picked up the bullet that had fallen to the floor and found it was made of rubber.
She stared at Ska across from her with astonishment, then shouted angrily:
“Damn you! Do you think this battlefield is a game?! Toying with me using this kind of crap!”
Ska landed softly, loaded another rubber bullet into the magazine, and stepped back while speaking mockingly:
“Haha, did the kitty get its fur all ruffled? If I didn’t go for the kill, is that my fault?”
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