Visible to the naked eye, a dark red aura slowly rose from her body.
This power fully converged onto Su Shuang’er’s right arm, which was currently gripping the alloy javelin.
The blood-red light flowed slowly, appearing like a living creature.
A splitting pain began to throb in Su Shuang’er’s head.
It felt as if someone were driving a red-hot awl into her temple. She gritted her teeth so hard they creaked, and the veins on her forehead bulged.
Mu Yingying noticed her strange state.
“Shuang’er?”
Su Shuang’er did not look back.
Her gaze was locked onto the distant Giant Corpse Ball, never wavering for a second.
The javelin began to vibrate in her hand. At the tip of the weapon, black and red light intertwined and surged, making the compressed air emit a low hum.
“Yingying.”
Her voice was kept very low, sounding as if something were pressing against her throat. Every word carried a faint tremor.
“I will fall after I throw this.”
“Protect Little White Night.”
Mu Yingying stunned for a moment, then immediately nodded.
“Okay!”
She swung her Tang Dao, knocking away a lunging Gout Anomaly with a backhand strike, and stood firmly by White Night’s side.
Su Shuang’er took a deep breath.
She slammed her right foot onto the ground, pulling her center of gravity back violently as the javelin was drawn to its furthest point behind her.
Her entire body was like a bow drawn to its absolute limit.
The blood-red light and the Ink-colored Power on her right arm exploded simultaneously, wrapping around her arm like two twisted steel cables.
She stared intensely at the mass of corpses.
“Kill — !”
A hoarse roar tore from her throat, and Su Shuang’er, like a fully drawn bow, suddenly snapped forward.
The power of her entire body, driven by her right arm, converged at the point where her palm met the javelin.
The javelin flew from her hand.
Boom — !
It wasn’t just the sound of breaking air; it was a sonic boom.
The javelin, shrouded in intertwined black and red light, was like a cannonball leaving the barrel, moving so fast it left only an afterimage.
Upon impact, a massive gap exploded on the surface of the Giant Corpse Ball.
A shockwave rippled out violently from the point of impact, tearing apart the jumbled corpses.
Arms, legs, torsos, and heads flew in all directions like churned mud.
The layered wails merged into a single scream before abruptly stopping.
The Giant Corpse Ball was shattered.
The massive mass of flesh split into dozens of fragments, slamming heavily into the ground and splashing large amounts of pus and shredded meat.
It wasn’t dead.
It shrieked and wailed, unwilling to die just like that.
Those fragments continued to wriggle after landing, like severed earthworms, slowly and stubbornly crawling toward each other in an attempt to recombine.
However, it had temporarily lost its aggregated form. It could neither spray venom nor control other anomalies.
Inside White Night’s mind, the System’s notification sounded right on time.
[Core Threat Unit has been dispersed. Area control capability is temporarily disabled.]
[Emergency Escape Plan deployment time updated: 2 minutes.]
Two minutes.
Before White Night could even breathe a sigh of relief, she heard a muffled thud from behind.
Su Shuang’er had collapsed.
The moment the javelin left her hand, it was as if all her strength had been drained.
The blood-red and ink-colored lights extinguished simultaneously.
Her legs gave out, her knees hitting the sand first before her entire body toppled forward.
Mu Yingying rushed over instantly and caught her.
“Shuang’er!”
Su Shuang’er’s face was as white as paper. Her lips were devoid of color, and her eyelids were so heavy she could barely keep them open.
“I’m fine.” Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, her breath as thin as silk. “…Hold on for two minutes.”
Mu Yingying leaned Su Shuang’er against White Night’s Carbon Fiber Frame, letting her half-lie there to save some strength.
Then she turned around, facing the surging black mist, and raised her Tang Dao.
Without the control of the Giant Corpse Ball, the surrounding anomalies’ movements became visibly sluggish and chaotic.
They were no longer surrounding them in an organized manner.
Yet, they continued to approach instinctively, crawling over from every direction like jackals scenting blood.
Mu Yingying did not retreat.
Her left leg was already crippled, the burns on her cheek were still seeping blood, and the fingers gripping the sword trembled uncontrollably. But she stood in front of White Night and Su Shuang’er, not moving back even a single step.
A Toothache Anomaly pounced from the right. Mu Yingying dodged, her Tang Dao swinging upward, the blade precisely severing the exposed dental nerve.
Puff.
A mist of blood erupted.
A Gastric Ulcer Ghost crawled over from the left. She turned and drove her blade into the largest perforation in its abdomen.
Puff.
Another burst of blood mist.
Another one came.
Her sword swings became slower and slower.
Every time she raised her hand, it felt as if she were lifting a mountain. In a battle like this, she could not avoid taking more damage.
Soon, two new wounds appeared on her body.
One minute left.
Her vision began to blur, and her ears buzzed as if countless insects were chirping. A Calculus Ghost approached from the front, and her attempt to raise her sword was half a beat too slow.
The Calculus Ghost’s arm scraped harshly against her side. Corrosive pus immediately seeped into the wound.
“Sss — !”
Mu Yingying let out a muffled groan. her body swayed, but she forced herself to stay upright.
With a backhand strike, she smashed the anomaly’s Disease Focus into pieces.
The moment the blood mist scattered, she dropped heavily onto one knee.
“Auntie Ying!” White Night cried out in anxiety.
“I’m… I’m fine.” Mu Yingying supported herself with her sword, pushing off the ground bit by bit to stand up. She even managed a nonchalant smile.
“Auntie… hasn’t shown off enough yet… I can’t fall…”
She gritted her teeth and stood, continuing to fight based on pure instinct.
“Little White Night, your auntie has seen plenty of these near-death scenes. I’ve survived every single one.”
Mu Yingying grinned, and the scar on her pretty face seemed to grow a bit more distorted. However, looking at her, White Night felt no fear—only heartache and worry.
Mu Yingying managed to hold on for those two minutes. Her body swayed twice before she toppled straight forward.
Both aunts had fallen.
White Night’s Soul Body hovered over the basket.
The anomalies were still slowly closing in. The red light on the Compass was flashing frantically, while the Butterfly Knot had completely gone dark.
She had no weapons and no power. She was just a bicycle with no one to even push her pedals.
[Emergency Escape Plan deployment complete.]
The System’s voice rang out at that exact moment.
[Executing plan — Activating Emergency Braking Mode.]
White Night felt the bike frame shudder violently. An invisible force surged from within the frame, gentle yet irresistible.
Su Shuang’er’s unconscious body was hoisted up by this force and placed gently onto the seat.
Mu Yingying was also lifted and placed onto the rear rack. Both of their bodies were firmly locked to the frame by the invisible force.
White Night had no time to be shocked.
In her consciousness, she slammed down on the System’s control interface, pushing the movement joystick all the way to the bottom.
The bicycle moved.
The wheels began to spin on their own, and the Carbon Fiber Frame emitted a faint hum, as if some hidden power source had been fully activated.
The bike shot forward, faster than ever before. It maneuvered around the anomalies, sprinting toward the thinnest part of the black mist.
The uncontrolled anomalies still lunged frantically toward White Night. Lacking weapons, White Night could only dodge with everything she had.
The wheels rolled over gravel with a soft clack-clack.
One of the tires was sprayed by acid, causing the rubber to quickly corrode and dissolve.
White Night felt a sharp, burning pain in her ‘legs.’
Following an ominous crack from the bike frame, she looked down and saw that the front tire had blown.
The bike began to jolt violently.
Every time it rolled over a piece of gravel, the entire vehicle shook wildly.
The invisible force holding the two aunts in place also began to weaken.
Su Shuang’er’s body slipped, nearly falling off the rear.
White Night hurriedly adjusted the bike’s balance to stabilize her center of gravity.
As she continued to rush forward, her speed slowed noticeably.
The anomalies were about to catch up again, with the most troublesome ones being those capable of spitting pus and acid.
Fortunately, the Invisible Shield protected the two aunts; otherwise, they would have been dissolved. However, the shield could not protect the tires.
Both tires had now blown, the rubber corroded beyond recognition.
White Night felt a heart-piercing pain, one so intense she nearly lost consciousness.