Crossing the Gate of Hell is a truly mysterious experience.
Mendos sat on the wheel, relaxing his mind and letting Balf relax as well. Soon, his consciousness began to fade, his last sight before closing his eyes being the masked man using all his strength to push down a small hourglass.
His body seemed to float upward, all emotions and desires leaving him. Past memories grew fuzzy. Only after passing through a mud-stained white door did those things return to his mind.
“Arrived, sir.”
No one answered, but in Mendos’s heart, he was certain—the sight before him matched the report: Bai Ling Realm.
Everything was milky white, visibility almost nonexistent. You could barely see anything around you, only the occasional shadow flickering in the mist.
And most importantly, he couldn’t feel any spirit power!
Mendos wasn’t alarmed—this had been mentioned in the report. Soon, there would be a second transfer, after which everything would return to normal.
So he didn’t rush to act, just stood in place, collecting himself and enjoying the peculiar sensation of being without spirit power. Without the burdens of flesh, everything felt wonderful.
A successful escape, then?
So he thought, when suddenly a door opened above him and several ropes dropped down, binding him.
Mendos didn’t resist; he even spread his arms out in cooperation, silently chanting, Let the second transfer begin.
A few minutes earlier, in a nameless valley at the southern tip of Indonesia, in the number one training field of the Equator Defense Line, a woman who had been unconscious for a long time was slowly waking up.
There were countless shouts all around: “That damned Lilith! Said we’d be evacuated, but there was never any plan for that!” “He just wants us to die here!” “They’re coming, it’s the regular army, run!” and many others, all kinds of cursing and the sounds of fierce fighting.
But who am I? Why am I here?
Nayun slowly regained consciousness, struggling to open her eyes, propping herself up with great effort, glancing at the moon in the night sky, then at the unfamiliar surroundings, and finally at the sea a short distance away. She was completely confused.
Where is this? Why am I here? Help me… Salier Lord, help me!
As Mendos’s secretary, she had been with him for more than ten years and was a trusted confidante. No matter what happened, her first thought was always to rely on him.
If she broke the law while driving, she’d report Salier Lord’s name. If she ran into trouble, she’d ask one of his subordinates for help. If her family needed to arrange a marriage, she’d ask Salier Lord for help.
Now, abandoned and left in an unfamiliar place, her first thought was still her Salier Lord, and she truly believed in him with all her heart.
Help me! Salier Lord!
She was so distraught she didn’t notice the small crystal beside her, glowing with a faint green light.
“First Squad, check nine o’clock! Second Squad, check twelve o’clock! The rest with me, start searching the training field interior… Who’s that?!”
Some people ran in from outside and quickly surrounded the woman.
“Who are you? Who let you into this military area? Surrender immediately!”
Nayun didn’t speak, only continued praying. Just as the others were about to act, a doorway of light appeared where the crystal was.
The next moment, the Salier Lord she’d longed for appeared.
砌 环 PJ
The next three wind blades sent her way were all blocked by Wang Li. She seemed to be a bit relieved and looked at the white-haired girl:
“I say, you really think I’d just let you go and…”
“I get it. Yeah,” Xu Chuyao hurried to say, “With the way your organization raises its people, you’d never see others as human.”
This time, Wang Li scrutinized the girl, extending her palm and condensing an ice crystal in it, ready to end this Spirit Power User’s life for good.
But then she caught the girl’s next words—“I’m not talking about the Supreme Society.”
Wang Li’s hand snapped back as she stared at Xu Chuyao in alarm.
“A unit that doesn’t exist, right?” The girl tilted her head adorably. “I have a friend—a curly-haired guy—he loves conspiracy theories. According to him, there’s such a unit, reporting directly to the highest council of the Peacemaker’s Assembly. They refuse to use their real names, act without oversight, and every mission they do is erased from the records. Their only task—rob, assassinate, eliminate anyone in their way.”
Wang Li’s expression flickered several times.
“I don’t know if your squad has a name,” Xu Chuyao said, folding her hands and looking at her. “If not, my friend came up with one for you: the Ghost Unit.”
“Xu Chuyao, do you know? Some of my people, when they talk about you, use a word to describe you—‘uncanny.’ They’re right.”
Wang Li walked a few steps closer, closing the distance suddenly. The atmosphere turned tense.
“You’re right. We really don’t see others as people, because we’ve done things like this so many times already.”
A squad like that was built for killing and arson, regardless of reason. As long as you had money, or if the higher-ups didn’t like you, they’d take action. Of course, in the years of their missions, sometimes they’d just follow their own whims and do things outside their assignments.
If they wanted to rob, they’d rob. If they wanted to kill, they’d kill.
Later, once their work was done, the Ghost Unit disbanded. They were all parachuted into mid-to-high-ranking government positions, but after getting used to living without limits, how could they stand this life now?
Did the rest of humanity even deserve to be called the same species?
To be born human—I’m not grateful.
“You’ve given me plenty of surprises, like watching an exciting movie,” Wang Li walked up to Xu Chuyao. “But the movie’s over now.”
At this moment, the white-haired girl raised her hand and sent another wind blade toward her.
Trying to protect the girl you love? How laughable, this weak power… What?
As the wind blade neared, Wang Li suddenly sensed something was off. Among the weak elemental energy, there was a trace of genuine physical force.
Band
The wind blade, infused with cutting properties, sliced through the unbreakable ice crystal, cut through three layers of cotton-padded coat, and left a deep gash in Wang Li’s shoulder. Blood gushed out.
“Ah ah, damn it, and that little bastard—damn it!”
Finally, it triggered. She succeeded, but Shen Ning felt no relief at all.
“Look, she’s hurt!” Xu Chuyao exclaimed excitedly, grabbing her girlfriend. “There’s still hope—if we get another chance!”
Shen Ning’s mouth twitched: “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I don’t know if we’ll get another chance.”
“…”
“Fenghua, that mission—don’t you want to go?”
The Team Captain led her to a safe place, but she was already at her limit.
“Captain, our mission… it’s already…”
“Failed?”
She looked up in shock.
“Not at all, Fenghua.” The Team Captain smiled gently at her. “You never were the goods. Your mission isn’t over yet.”
“My mission…” She bowed her head low. “Is almost failed, too.”
At the edge of the world, ice crystals and snowflakes quietly spread, as if to remind her of her true predicament.
The Team Captain walked up to her, his figure growing blurry.
“Fenghua, do you remember why our squad is called Starfire?”
She smacked her head, thinking.
“In the quiet, long night, even the tiniest firefly can light the road ahead,” the Team Captain chuckled. “That’s how I first thought about it. Pretty positive, right? But later, I realized the night is longer and darker than we ever imagined. A few sparks won’t help.”
“Later, I decided, in a world like this, it’s not bad to be a bonfire—at least, when you refuse to give up, you can keep burning, carry yourself and what matters forward, even if you’re the first to be burned.”
Then the Team Captain asked, “Fenghua, do you have things you’re unwilling to let go of?”
Yes.
To uncover the truth from years ago, to avenge all the comrades who died, and… a wish so close she could almost touch it.
The girl’s determination only needed a little more time. Before that day came, all obstacles blocking the path needed to be burned away by a bonfire.
“Fenghua, what’s that unfinished task you mentioned?”
Bang! Crack! Bang!
Arms fully covered in metallic color collided fiercely with tough stone. Every blow was answered by sharpened leaves and tough vines, making Cheng Qin miserable.
Damn it!
Outnumbered, and worried about Yu Jing’s safety, Cheng Qin finally made a mistake during a scuffle and was entangled by vines.
“Stop struggling, I finally caught you, strongman,” Bill danced triumphantly toward him. “Tell me your name, tough guy—this is the ultimate pleasure!”
“Quit the chatter and finish this,” Swina said. “Once we’re done, let’s go catch Lord Penguin.”
“What’s the rush? Lord Penguin doesn’t need us, I’m sure she can handle it. I think we should…”
Bill was saying, when suddenly he frowned and sniffed the air.
“What’s that smell?”
Swina wanted to retort, but as he turned his head, he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye. Something strange was happening.
The airport was already in ruins. The exposed steel beams were glowing red-hot and quickly softening. The water pooled on the ground was beginning to boil and steam loudly.
Sweat poured down Swina’s back, half from the heat, half from foreboding. This abnormal heat had already exceeded the limits of physics—or perhaps, the limits of the Three Defense Spirit Power User.
He suddenly remembered something and looked toward the ice-sealed ruins—only to find the ice sculpture had already vanished. In its place, a mass of boiling water and flames soared into the sky. On the ground, a few blurry women’s footprints steamed with heat.
Following the footprints, he saw a vague figure in the shimmering air. The vision was blurry, but spirit pressure radiated out in waves.
“I want…” the figure said, “to bring everyone home.”
Yu Jing, burning once more.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.