Considering the possible scenarios that could unfold shortly, Yvette glanced at Cromwell, signaling him to keep his distance.
In fact, he wasn’t in much danger. After the two lackeys had died, their identification badges had been removed and hung around his neck. As long as Yvette attracted enough attention, it wouldn’t be long before no one noticed Cromwell’s unfamiliar face amidst the chaos.
“Oh my God, what a pretty little girl! Where did you come from?”
“No wonder the boss suddenly called us over. Could it be that his little treasure has escaped?”
“So beautiful… Can we get a turn if the boss gets tired of her?”
“I don’t know, but as long as I get to have some fun with her, I’d be willing to give up five years of my life!”
Accompanied by playful, astonished, and lecherous banter, a dozen traffickers surged forward, surrounding the silver-haired girl in a striking black dress.
Prepared for confrontation, the traffickers were armed with weapons, including more powerful rune firearms, stun batons, and melee weapons used against ordinary people.
Yet, they did not move to attack, as at the upper end of the stairs, a massive black figure over two meters tall appeared. It was evident he was not a cyborg undergoing mechanical enhancements but rather someone enhanced with runic potions. His entire body was covered in a layer of organic-looking black armor, clearly the biological plating from Linde Development.
Behind him stood four cyborgs with apparent mechanical modifications, resembling cold, unmoving combat machines, their arm-mounted cannons radiating a disquieting cold light.Upon seeing the silver-haired girl, the black giant’s helmet split open like liquid, revealing a square-jawed face as he sneered, “Which mage has graced us with their presence without any prior notice?”
“Are you ‘Blackblade’ or ‘Dead-Eye’?” Yvette inquired, assessing him.
From the luxurious bio-armor he wore, priced easily above ten million on the black market, it was clear he was not just an ordinary trafficker or gang member.
If an ordinary person donned such a suit, they could possibly defeat even a third-stage elite aberration without injury.
From this, it seemed likely he was one of the two high-ranking members here.
“I am ‘Blackblade’ Okasi.” Okasi narrowed his eyes. He sensed that this young mage was not an ordinary individual who could appear at the “transshipment center” unannounced, raising his prudence slightly.
However, he also believed that no matter how strong his opponent was, they were still just one person, and this was his territory. It would be challenging for anything unexpected to occur.
So he contemptuously commanded, “Capture her.”
It was “capture,” not “kill.” Besides curiosity, there was also a degree of chivalry; after all, this silver-haired girl was a rare find, one that had never been seen before in terms of appearance alone. Given her identity as a mage, in certain markets, she could easily be sold for a fortune.
Even keeping her for himself wouldn’t be a bad idea.
With his words, the four cyborgs raised their guns, aiming at the silver-haired girl, seemingly warning her to surrender peacefully.
The surrounding lackeys immediately crowded in, attempting to pin the silver-haired girl down, their sly expressions indicating they’d take the chance to grope her.
Yvette stood her ground, seemingly oblivious to the imminent fate about to befall her. Meanwhile, Cromwell, hiding nearby and disguised as a trafficker, screamed internally, thinking to himself, I knew it! I knew this would happen! Why take such risks when we could just escape?
But just as everyone was convinced she would surrender, suddenly, a violent shockwave of electricity mixed with intense flames surged from nowhere, sweeping through everything around, as if a thunderstorm of fire had erupted in the narrow hallway!
Okasi’s expression changed, and he took a few steps back along with the four cyborgs. Protected by a magical barrier and standing at the edge of the spell’s AoE, they emerged unscathed.
But the lackeys were not so fortunate. They lacked the protective gear to withstand such an assault. The flames and electricity engulfed them, drawing out their agonized screams as they writhed like they had been thrown into an oven, eventually collapsing into charred remains.
Moments later, as the scorching winds and thunder faded, the acrid smell of burned flesh mingled with a deathly silence in the corridor.
Below, Cromwell was stunned. Given the sheer number of opponents, he had thought Miss Nameless would surrender, yet in a mere instant, she had wiped out all the traffickers!
What terrifying power is this?
She’s that strong?
Opposite her, “Blackblade” Okasi and the four cyborgs were equally dumbfounded. Even with their upgrades, they should not have been able to face such a massive slaughter in mere seconds… How did she manage to do that?
“Fire! Quick!” After regaining his senses, Okasi shouted, both astonished and enraged.
Brilliant beams of light erupted, as countless magical elements converged, forming a searing elemental dragon that hurtled toward Yvette. This was a high-purity fire elemental spell, far surpassing ordinary flames. The sheer temperature could easily melt steel, and it came with a pulse effect, making its physical impact formidable.
Four blazing dragons intertwined, encapsulating the position where the silver-haired girl stood. Theoretically, no carbon-based creature could survive under such high temperatures and pressure, which made Okasi somewhat assured. However, one thing puzzled him—why was she not trying to evade the attack at all? She seemed almost sluggish in her response.
Could it be that she didn’t realize the danger she was in?
But soon, following a span of several moments, with the dispersing flames, a sight that shocked Okasi appeared: the silver-haired girl stood untouched, with not a single hair out of place, not even a speck of dust on her clothes!
How could this happen?
…
Yet, while everyone was astonished by Yvette’s display, she herself felt somewhat dissatisfied after receiving a fire blast.
She could have avoided it; at that moment, she simply felt it would be too embarrassing to dodge. She did not want to appear weak against such threats, so she opted to absorb the attack with her crimson armor.
Now, the result was that she wasted over ten points of mana unnecessarily, making her feel frustrated.
Am I being a bit too reckless? Shouldn’t a cautious person act more thoughtfully?
Internally reprimanding herself, Yvette recalibrated her mentality, discarding her arrogance as she looked calmly at “Blackblade” Okasi and the four cyborgs beside him.
By this time, the five of them had been thoroughly stunned by her performance, left unsure whether to continue fighting or attempt negotiation.
But given how quickly the earlier confrontation had escalated into firearms being drawn, hadn’t they already missed their chance for dialogue?
Yet before Okasi could make a decision, he saw the silver-haired girl raise her hand, pulling out a long blade formed from coiling lightning and twisting elemental energy from a glowing rune circle at her side.
As she made this movement, a howling wind swept through the corridor, an overwhelming feeling of oppression pressed against Okasi, leaving him somewhat breathless.
Of course, Yvette had her reasons for drawing her weapon; she wasn’t doing it just to show off. She was concerned that using higher-powered spells might damage the building, risking the lives of the innocent captives.
Moreover, she sensed that her close combat ability should be sufficient to handle these guys, allowing her to brush off the dust and regain her previous dramatics, lest she forget her combat techniques after too long away from them.
As she turned her composed gaze back to “Blackblade” Okasi and the four cyborgs, ready to strike, she was taken aback to see all five of them turning and fleeing, scrambling towards the upstairs directions in a panic.
…
As the chaos unfolded on the lower floor, the supervisor of the transshipment center, “Dead-Eye” Bryce, was in his office, scanning the blacked-out surveillance feeds with his flashing red cybernetic eye while leisurely smoking a cigarette.
This transshipment center belonged to an operation called the “Ghost Hand Society” in the border region of the Rust Bone Free State, with the leader dubbed “the General,” a highly elusive figure. He maintained close ties with the government in Fus River and many other border cities and cooperated with the Holy Spirit Sect, effectively thwarting multiple covert anti-terror operations organized by the New Eden government.
Positioned within the hierarchy of the Ghost Hand Society, Bryce ranked in the second tier, just below the General, yet he was merely one of many supervisors, not privy to the core of power.
As he leisurely exhaled a smoke ring, Bryce paid little mind to the ongoing situations around him.
He was unaware of what the mysterious girl was up to but had observed that she was not heavily equipped, feeling that she seemed more like a naive intruder in their domain.
With “Blackblade” Okasi dispatched to handle the situation, Bryce presumed it would take mere minutes to subdue her.
He had great faith in Okasi; although rumors in the outside world suggested that he was the strongest in this area, Bryce understood all too well that Okasi was a master at hiding his true power, relishing in demonstrating weakness, only to spring a surprise attack that left his opponents shocked and scrambling just before their demise.
Bryce perceived Okasi’s behavior as exceedingly malicious; yet, on the other hand, he could appreciate it as a form of extreme caution.
Such caution among subordinates was undoubtedly a good thing, allowing Bryce to confidently delegate tasks without fearing unpredictable complications.
After silently indulging in five minutes of smoking, he stubbed out his cigarette on the ground, noting that the sounds of urgent footsteps were drawing closer on his floor. He guessed that Okasi’s operation was going well, and a lecherous smile crept onto his face.
Earlier, while on the surveillance feed, he had seen the fleeting image of the intruding girl, who was stunningly beautiful—she was truly a knockout.
Tonight, for some inexplicable reason, he had felt restless and unable to sleep, and the presence of a beauty should certainly make things much more enjoyable.
However, as the footsteps continued to approach, the more Bryce felt that Okasi and his crew were moving with an unusual urgency, almost as if they were fleeing.
A sense of doubt crept in as he pondered whether that fool Okasi had gotten tangled up in some situation beyond his control, causing such a hasty retreat?