Chapter 25: Run Away~ You Can’t Catch Me.

No, he can’t find out.’

“One.”

Her palm rested on the mask. She hesitated…

Suddenly someone shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

It was an old woman carrying a bucket of water. There were soap bubbles on her apron as she squinted over at them.

Her voice was hoarse, heavy with a local accent. “You’re not letting people sleep in the middle of the night.”

The night in this coastal town was always quiet. The sounds of the earlier clash were even more conspicuous in the empty night.

It had clearly woken up the residents here.

A few young people also came.

Someone raised a phone and turned on the flashlight, shining it on the broken steel bars on the ground. He Sheng knelt there, covered in blood, looking wretched.

“Holy shit, what’s that…”

“Call the police! Hurry up and call the police!”

Some were shouting, some were stepping back, some were moving closer.

Lin Xincheng’s expression shifted slightly.

“It’s dangerous! Get away from here!”

His voice was loud. The young people holding phones were startled and stepped back two paces.

But it was too late.

He Sheng slowly lifted his head.

“I wonder if your Governance Bureau,” he said in a low voice, “cares about the safety of ordinary people?”

The instant his words faded, several blood-colored figures lunged out of the darkness.

Their bodies were pale gray, their pupils hollow, and they had grown fangs and sharp teeth.

Blood Slaves—humanoid weapons driven by evil power.

From front and back, left and right, from different angles, they all lunged at those ordinary people at once.

Before the old woman even had time to scream, a Blood Slave had already spread its arms and lunged at her.

The bucket in her hand fell to the ground, soapy water splashing everywhere.

Lin Xincheng moved.

A crashing sound.

The Blood Slave lunging at the old woman was struck in the chest by a scabbard, and it crashed into a roadside tree thick as a bowl, breaking it.

He turned sideways, raised his elbow, and swung the scabbard horizontally.

Second.

Third, fourth, fifth…

His movements were clean, every blow landing precisely on vital points.

Bang.

In an instant, the last Blood Slave had fallen.

The old woman stood there, trembling all over.

A young man sat slumped on the ground, his phone dropped at his feet, the screen still showing the “011” dialing interface.

Lin Xincheng didn’t look at them.

He turned his head and looked at the spot where He Sheng had been kneeling.

It was empty now, only a pool of blood slowly diluting in the rain.

He looked at where the Squirrel Mask girl had been.

Also empty.

The young man stood there, rain falling on his shoulders.

He lowered his head, looking at something on the ground by his feet.

A few strands of white hair, gleaming with a silvery luster in the light of the streetlamp.

He bent down, picked them up, and placed them in the palm of his hand.

“Is it you?”

—

Bang!

The moment Bai Fan pushed open the door of her home, the yellow dog guarding the doorway bristled and barked a warning.

But when it recognized the arrival was Bai Fan, its tail started wagging again.

“I’m back!”

Bai Fan crouched down and played with it for a while, then checked its injuries.

There was indeed nothing serious.

She breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Phew… scared me to death,” she said, taking off her soaked black coat and tossing it aside. “Why did he come?”

‘Recalling what had just happened, I still feel a lingering fear.’

‘When those Blood Clan members burst out, I was even secretly glad that the chaos gave me a chance to escape.’

“He’s from the Security Bureau, right? I almost got caught. So unlucky.”

Her snow-white hair drifted silently in front of her face. Her Jiejie poked her head out from behind her.

“No, it’s not. If that young man hadn’t come over, you would have been in danger. Rather… he arrived just in time.”

Bai Fan was taken aback. “Are you saying… I was saved by him?”

“You’re still no match for that Three Scar man.”

“Three Scar Man?” Bai Fan almost choked on the nickname. “What makes you think I can’t beat him?”

Jiejie tilted her head, like she was looking at a child who still didn’t understand.

“If I hadn’t been supplying you with spiritual power at the time,” she said, “your body would have been drained dry by that sword in an instant.”

Bai Fan’s eyebrows jumped.

‘She recalled the moment she had grasped Poison Feather. Her spirit, Spiritual Essence, blood energy… were all flowing out along the sword hilt.’

“But looking at the final result, it’s not bad. We gained a lot.”

Bai Fan nodded.

Indeed, this trip not only yielded new Ethereal Crystals, but she also collected the debt accumulated over nine years from Brother Feng and got news about Master Mo.

Not a loss.

“This knife,” Bai Fan hesitated and asked, “is it very dangerous? I felt like I gained a very strong power when I held it.”

“Of course it is. This Relic was used by a Fourth Order Sublimator when they were alive. Its quality is at least Profound Rank. Even though it’s been lost for so long and corroded by the Abyss’s aura… its foundation remains.”

“Profound Rank Relic?”

Bai Fan had just formed this question in her mind when Jiejie asked first.

“How are you feeling now… physically?”

Bai Fan then began to carefully sense her own body condition.

But the moment she started, her head felt like someone had hammered it from the inside.

The world spun, and darkness swam before her eyes.

“I… what’s wrong with me? Why am I suddenly so tired?”

She supported herself on the table, her knuckles white.

“It’s actually already a testament to your strong will that you didn’t collapse on the way back.”

Jiejie’s voice drifted down from above her head, tinged with helplessness. “This sword has almost completely drained your spiritual power.”

‘So this was the price.’

‘No wonder, when I held the sword, I even felt I could match that guy named He Sheng.’

That kind of power was never free.

“But… congratulations.”

“After this battle, you’ve grown stronger again.”

“That wanted criminal… seemed to keep saying that I haven’t fully awakened yet, haven’t even reached First Order Sublimator… What am I missing?”

The snow-haired girl propped her chin on her hand and studied her.

Pale face, soaked hair, still stubborn eyes.

“If we convert it to experience points from a game, before this auction, your Experience Points were 200. You need 1000 to level up. After purifying that guy called Brother Feng… your Experience Points have risen to 300.”

Bai Fan looked up in surprise. “Brother Feng’s ‘Experience Points’ are that high? One person equals all those patients I purified in the ward these past few days?”

“The dose of Blood Agent he obtained was clearly drawn from a high-order Blood Clan member. It’s not on the same level as the Blood Thirst Syndrome spread by Blood Slaves.”

The girl’s eyes lit up.

“So… if I can purify the high-order Blood Clan member behind him, I can quickly cross the threshold to First Order Sublimator?”

“I already told you that before.”

Bai Fan thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, “This Blood Descendant, could it be Master Mo?”

“Definitely not.”

“Why?”

“To create a pure Blood Descendant that maintains normal mental faculties, the creator needs to be at least Second Order or above. The Master Mo in your memory, from what I can see, only just became a First Order Blood Descendant not long ago. With his current ability, he can at most create a few low-order Blood Slaves. He’s not even worthy of carrying the shoes of a true high-order Blood Clan member.”

Bai Fan’s gaze sank slightly.

“So, there’s someone behind Master Mo?”

A small smile lifted the corner of Jiejie’s mouth.

“That’s right. There’s likely a Second Order or even Third Order Sublimator behind him.” She paused. “Are you scared?”

The room was silent for a moment. The sound of rain outside suddenly became very clear.

“Afraid of what? No matter who’s behind him, if they mess with me, I’ll deal with them all together.”

“Big talk,” she said. “Then when that young man came just now, why did you run away with your tail between your legs?”

A thin layer of pink suddenly bloomed on Bai Fan’s snow-white cheeks.

“Mm… it’s called a strategic retreat,” she mumbled, her voice getting quieter. “Yeah… strategic.”

Bai Fan changed the subject. “By the way, that sword…”

“It should have been pulled out of the Abyss not long ago,” Jiejie took over the conversation. “There should still be a trace of its owner’s contaminated Spiritual Essence left on it.”

“If you purify it, you can also harvest a batch of Spiritual Essence.”

Bai Fan’s eyes lit up, and she looked back at the pitch-black sword on the table.

She sensed an uneasy aura. Inside the sword, something seemed to be curled up, whimpering softly.

An eagle spirit, corroded by defiled Spiritual Essence for who knows how many years, was wailing in sorrow.

It was a Sky Eagle trapped in the darkness.

“You… can you hear its voice?” Jiejie seemed to sigh. “Set it free.”

Bai Fan closed her eyes.

Perception flowed out of her body like water, surging along her fingertips toward the sword.

The white flame in her hand appeared once again.

She gently pressed it onto the sword hilt.

The White Flame covered the entire blade like sunlight melting snow in spring.

Twisted black Spiritual Essence floated up from the blade, turning into smoke and dispersing in the air.

Shriek!

But at that same instant, something surged into the depths of her spirit.

Boom.

Before Bai Fan’s eyes, the world suddenly shattered apart.

The sky was broken.

‘This was the first thought that appeared in her mind.’

It was as if someone had reached out from behind a curtain and tore a hole in the entire sky.

The stars were hidden in the light of that crack.

Behind that opening, a solemn and majestic silhouette faintly emerged.

That figure seemed to be condensed from all phenomena itself, carrying absolute authority.

Just catching a glimpse of a blurry outline, her mind was shaken.

Bai Fan heard a voice from behind her.

“Captain, don’t go alone! Take us with you!”

A man’s voice, desperately holding back tears.

Bai Fan seemed to have entered someone else’s body, looking at the world through that person’s eyes.

She heard herself—no, the owner of this body speak.

“I’ll leave the rest to you all.” The voice was slightly cold. “Here… let me go first.”

“Captain Qianyu!”

“I’ve already made my decision.”

“But…”

“Your solitary courage should be placed in a more suitable place.” Her tone was gentle but firm. “For now… let’s first preserve a batch of precious seeds.”

The man’s voice became choked with sobs.

The woman spoke like she was bidding farewell to a friend about to embark on a long journey.

“The wings that have journeyed with me until now,” she said, “I entrust to you.”

She handed the sword out.

The hand she extended did not tremble. The person who took it was trembling.

The woman let out a breath and slowly revealed a smile.

Like someone who had walked a very, very long road and finally saw the finish line.

Then she pressed her right hand over her own heart.

“May humanity be ever victorious, may the Federation endure forever.”

Her voice spread like ripples on the water, carrying far, far away.

“Cangdu… the future is up to you.”

After saying that, she turned around.

Ascended into the sky.

Flew toward the vast figure in the sky.

She didn’t look back.

Bai Fan suddenly opened her eyes.

The sound of rain hitting the window glass rushed back into her ears.

Everything was still there.

But the sword in her hand suddenly felt very heavy.

She remembered: the owner of this sword was one of the Vanguard Team members who entered the Abyss during the fall of Cangdu.

When it was dug out of the ruins by tomb raiders, the blade was still stained with the soil from back then.

In the memory that surfaced just now, facing the colossal existence that caused Cangdu’s fall, they advanced fearlessly.

It seemed… the Vanguard Team from back then had been completely annihilated. Everyone was buried in the hollows of Cangdu.

Unexpected.

Unexpectedly, it was the weapon of such a hero.

Bai Fan lowered her head, looking at the pitch-black sword in her hand.

Most of the filth on the blade had been purified. The original pattern of the blade could faintly be seen, like eagle feathers.

She suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, as if speaking to the sword, or to the woman who had already disappeared at the end of the sky, “I never expected… it would end up in the hands of someone like me.”

The rain outside the window had lessened at some point.

Jiejie floated in midair, saying nothing.

She watched Bai Fan quietly, watching her wipe the sword bit by bit with white flames, as if wiping a tombstone.