The girl’s roar was not the only shout—two shadows echoed in response.
“My lover, for you, I will do anything! Let’s kill all of these things!”
“youareallgoingtodiehere!”
The foreign language came from the Sexually Repressed Shadow, seemingly a classic line from some zombie film of the Spirit Era, one that Chuyao had taught it.
Was the girl insane? No—at least, she felt she was not.
She saw Quail pull out a photo of Xu Chuyao, and she knew their target was his girlfriend.
In that instant, countless memories flooded her mind: the fear she had felt before, the unbearable speculations swirling in her head.
In just a few breaths, the girl understood what she must do—
Kill them all!
It wasn’t madness, just a stress response.
“The City Security Department are a bunch of useless insects. Letting them loose here is like letting the tiger back into the mountains. Chuyao has always been safe hiding in the Academy, but what if…” The Sexually Repressed Shadow tried to find reason, “Better to be safe than sorry.”
The Broken Shadow’s hair began to sway.
“Kill! Kill them all!”
Each of Shen Ning’s breaths carried a different resolve, but her own was the most direct—she aimed at the cover and released a Spirit Power Convergence.
Crack!
A hole the size of a fingertip appeared in the concrete step—at least it didn’t go all the way through, because this part of the step was a full two meters thick.
“You need a cover too,” said the Sexually Repressed Shadow.
Shen Ning immediately pressed herself against a massive pillar.
At the same time, the spot where she had just landed was struck by an unseen air cannon; the concrete floor shattered into a spiderweb pattern.
The enemy had ranged attacks as well.
“They have numbers, prepare for a war of attrition,” said the Broken Shadow. “There are only two low-wattage bulbs lighting this place. Break them and use ultrasonic pulses to locate your prey.”
At that moment, the two shadows finally got to work, fully utilizing their unique strengths.
One was an expert at exploiting the environment; the other, a master of skill and technique.
Thud! Crack!
Two low-intensity Spirit Power Convergences shattered the only two light bulbs on the ceiling, plunging the parking garage into total darkness.
The girl leaned against the thick pillar, grasped an invisible sword hilt, and slowly closed her eyes.
Spirit Power radiated outward like ultrasonic waves.
Kiss the throat, whisper the throat, kiss the throat.
Besides Shen Ning herself, only one person could hear this sound—the information position of the Long-range Bird Squad, Dove.
“She’s locating your positions, damn it! Be careful!”
Dove warned the others, complaining aloud: “How does this woman know everything?”
Agile movements, powerful ranged attacks, and the ability to locate multiple enemies in the dark—most likely, she wasn’t lacking in close combat skills either.
Compared to this, the members of the Long-range Bird Squad, for all their social skills, had a clear division of labor; to put it bluntly, they were somewhat cheating. But in reality, this was normal—Shen Ning was the abnormal one.
“At nine o’clock, twenty-three steps away, there’s a pillar. There’s someone behind it. Flank from the giant side,” Dove relayed.
Like a phantom, a figure surged forward on ultrasonic waves. But Dove caught the signal.
“Vulture, you’ve been spotted!”
Falcon quickly ordered the others, “Support Vulture!”
Then he rushed out himself, joining Quail on the other side to attack the girl caught in the ambush.
Boom!
Shen Ning was knocked back by the Spirit Power clash, retreating behind another pillar.
Individually, the Long-range Bird Squad members were not versatile, but there were five of them, and in equal ranks, five against one was too large a gap.
“They have a set tactic,” the Sexually Repressed Shadow instantly understood. “Each person’s position and movement route is fixed. Even their changes follow preset battle plans, allowing them to support each other seamlessly despite no line of sight.”
With tactics compensating and darkness aiding Shen Ning defensively, the only advantage left for the enemy was defense.
The enemies communicated with their communicators in a language she couldn’t understand, but she guessed they had called for reinforcements and several people were converging from different directions.
“The rear space is weak, you need to launch a sudden strike,” the Sexually Repressed Shadow advised. “Break through to the other side and then pull back.”
The Broken Shadow gave a suggestion as well: “Use the Spirit Blade to clear the way first. If a frontal clash happens, use a Spirit Storm to forcibly break through.”
“She’s coming! Your front!”
In the darkness, Dove once again demonstrated his skill, reporting fleeting battle opportunities. The three encircling enemies were prepared and launched a powerful strike toward the incoming storm.
Boom!
Unexpectedly, the girl’s goal was to break through; the three had not concentrated their Spirit Power, so the encirclement was shattered by the Spirit Storm.
But in this charge, the massive impact grazed Shen Ning’s head, nearly causing her to lose balance when she reached the other side. She had to support herself on the steps and crouch down.
The voices near her were noisy, like whispers in her throat.
“Well, the numbers gap is a bit big,” the Sexually Repressed Shadow admitted. “Let’s rethink the tactics.”
On the other side, Falcon, having failed the encirclement, glanced at his position and quickly asked,
“Dove, is she still there?”
“Yes, behind a cover on the other side.”
Falcon was somewhat speechless. Facing such a clear numbers disadvantage, when the first charge almost succeeded, they could have followed through from the corridor entrance—but she simply refused to go.
Was this woman really crazy?
“What exactly do you want? You’re not our target,” he said in Universal Language, “You really want us dead.”
The Long-range Bird Squad’s captain couldn’t understand how this madwoman’s sworn allegiance to a false god was at odds with their one true god.
“You keep yammering, but today your death will settle everything, right… huh?”
The Sexually Repressed Shadow noticed Shen Ning’s state seemed off: “What’s wrong? Were you injured just now?”
“The shockwave grazed my head, maybe I took some damage,” said the Broken Shadow. “Resting a bit should help.”
“Oh, I see. Have you recovered? Are you feeling better?”
Shen Ning heard them talking, but her head still buzzed, filled with various sounds—like the tinnitus of a throat, scattered winds, and intertwined voices from memories.
“Is it dark now?” she murmured softly.
“Yes, of course it’s dark,” the Sexually Repressed Shadow replied. “When we just caught up, it was already night.”
The Broken Shadow analyzed objectively: “That’s how winter is.”
“I know, it gets dark early, and the moon is out too.”
Hearing the girl’s whispered self-talk, the Sexually Repressed Shadow quietly raised its head to look.
No, sister, we’re in the underground parking garage; the walls sealed off all around. Where the hell is this moonlight coming from?
“I think your condition is a bit abnormal. How about we retreat to the Academy first and plan properly?”
Shen Ning’s nonsense silenced the Sexually Repressed Shadow’s composure: “The City Security Department are useless, but the Academy teachers are strong. Staying in school is definitely safe.”
But the girl shook her head, “No, I won’t go. I heard Xu Chuyao’s voice.”
The shadows were slightly taken aback.
“What did she say?”
“She sings so beautifully.”
The Sexually Repressed Shadow’s invisible face twitched in the dark: “Girl, your situation is what the medical field calls catatonia—or maybe that’s just a folk term. In any case, I think you’re pushing yourself too hard. Let’s withdraw and rest.”
But Shen Ning seemed not to hear it. She just stayed there, talking to herself:
“I also heard her say something else. She said… ‘Wind rises from the gentle grass.’”
“You’re mistaken. What she said that night was clearly ‘All things are born to nourish people.’ You’re already starting to confuse memories. Hurry…”
The Sexually Repressed Shadow wanted to continue persuading, but the Broken Shadow pulled it back, whispering, “Shh, listen.”
No lights, no shadows, but the darkness seemed to ripple like the breeze on a lake, gently spreading.
“I clearly understand, in my past life, the first fifteen years were spent waiting for something; the next three years were spent running away. Until that day, that night, when moonlight fell along the windowsill, my life truly began.”
At this moment, in the safe corner, Dove was still using his abilities.
“Captain, she hasn’t moved. Maybe she was hurt just now.”
As the information specialist, he could receive the ultrasonic-like waves Shen Ning emitted and could reverse-monitor the enemy’s location. The silent scream of the Scorpion Hunt sounded like a gentle, harmless low growl in his ears.
“I’m listening. She can’t run. She’s still… uh…”
Dove’s expression grew strange.
The ultrasonic waves became intense, like a frightened butterfly’s frantic wingbeats growing higher and faster, until the sound tearing through the air was no longer soft flesh but the sharpest claw tips.
Just as Falcon prepared to command the encirclement, he asked, “Dove, what’s wrong with you?”
“I, I’m fine… Aaaaaaah!”
A sharp sound sliced through Dove’s eardrums, tearing them apart.
Blood trickled down the side of his head.
“Captain! I’m hurt! Captain! Help me!”
He flapped his ears and ran out, desperate to call for aid from his stronger teammates.
“Damn it, don’t run around and don’t shout so loud,” Falcon held the communicator. “Get back and hide first!”
But Dove couldn’t hear. He didn’t even realize how loudly he was shouting, his ears throbbed with pain, and he ran around wildly like a headless fly in the darkness.
Until, by accident, he ran right in front of the girl.
“You, you are…” Dove shuddered, trembling, “I’m just a messenger, same as that big-chested woman. Please, don’t…”
Shen Ning raised her hand slightly and spoke into the air:
“Sexually Repressed, you were right. That night, Chuyao did say ‘All things are born to nourish people,’ but ‘Wind rises from the gentle grass’ is what she’s saying today… but the phoenix has also risen.”
Throat howl~!
The raging wind shredded Dove’s head, spraying his blood and tissue across every corner of the parking garage.
[Moonlight Ritual: Upon reaching the Bottleneck, break through the current level
Remaining uses: 1 (Unavailable).
The first exclusive Moonlight Scene (Noir Night of the Chamber) has been used; the second exclusive Moonlight Scene has not yet triggered. Upon obtaining the exclusive scene, it becomes available.]
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.