Chapter 116

Chapter 116

That guy Golden Scorpion...

Unable to directly confront Lei Qie and Xi Xiang, he instead targeted Li Baizhi and Xiya.

Unaware of Fangzhou's true identity and her role as the spy Yinshui within the Defense Bureau, Golden Scorpion couldn’t be intending to restrain her with this move. He probably didn’t even realize his location had been exposed.

Li Baizhi and Xiya, living normally in Paradise, had taken on disguises, so Fangzhou wasn’t worried about the Defense Bureau recognizing Xiya upon arrival.

But their primary target was Golden Scorpion. If she killed him, they might shift their focus to Li Baizhi and Xiya, whom Golden Scorpion was seeking.

Last night, Fangzhou had Xianmang warn Lei Qie, unsure if he had taken any measures based on her tip.

Fangzhou tried to contact people at Ye Zhi headquarters through Xianmang but received no immediate response.

The few people she trusted were not always at the Ye Zhi headquarters.

"Yinshui?" Noticing Fangzhou hadn’t reported the location promptly, Rui Pan asked, "What’s the status? Where is he?"

"I'm recalling the map," Fangzhou quickly decided, then reported Golden Scorpion’s location, "Near the Jintai District, Block A-2."

After Fangzhou disclosed Golden Scorpion's location, Rui Pan immediately had the intelligence department connect to the real-time surveillance footage near the Jintai District, focusing on the area Fangzhou mentioned, and quickly narrowing down based on her live coordinates.

"Target person identified." The camera zoomed in swiftly, focusing on a man in a black suit, disguised.

"Good, I'll arrange for the area to be cordoned off," Rui Pan turned to them and instructed, "You go change into protective gear for close capture. His Poison Fog can spread up to fifty meters from him. Inhalation causes rapid poisoning, and even skin exposure can lead to chronic poisoning through pores."

Getting to the point, Rui Pan ceased her long-windedness, adding, "Try to capture him alive; he's more valuable that way."

"Roger that," they all responded in unison.

It seemed they indeed wanted to extract information about her and the organization Ye Zhi behind her from Golden Scorpion, hence the directive to capture him alive.

Fangzhou quickly donned protective gear with the others, armed themselves, and headed in the direction she had indicated.

Once Golden Scorpion's original identity was thoroughly investigated, he became an open book to the Defense Bureau.

Their lightweight protective suits and the thermal imaging devices in their helmets indicated the Defense Bureau had adequate measures to counter Golden Scorpion.

Xiang Meng drove the vehicle, with Fu Ning Le in the passenger seat, while Fangzhou and Wu Yuanbai sat in the back.

Fangzhou leaned in close to Wu Yuanbai and whispered, "Captain Wu, did you have prior knowledge of this mission's specifics?"

Wu Yuanbai frowned and tilted her head to the side, distancing herself from Fangzhou, "...No, I only found out after arriving here."

"Then what do you think Director Jiang is planning?" she asked.

Wu Yuanbai sharply turned to look at her, her light coffee-colored eyes narrowing as she uttered just four words: "Be cautious with words."

Fangzhou shrugged, "Okay, then."

Wu Yuanbai's ignorance didn't mean Jiang Ou was unaware. If Jiang wanted to suppress them, assigning such a critical mission wouldn’t make sense. There seemed to be more to it.

"The target has entered the building." Rui Pan, constantly monitoring Golden Scorpion through nearby surveillance, matched him with Fangzhou's location.

When Fangzhou pinpointed him, he was just arriving near the residential area, leisurely searching for the building where Li Baizhi lived. Their rush from the Defense Bureau was swift, taking less than ten minutes. Now, Golden Scorpion had already entered the building.

Meanwhile, Golden Scorpion had people keeping watch on the surroundings, who immediately informed him as soon as the Defense Bureau personnel arrived.

"Boss! The Defense Bureau's here, and they've sealed off all the exits nearby! How do we get out now?!" His subordinate's voice trembled, witnessing such a large number of Defense Bureau agents for the first time.

"Don't panic! What kind of behavior is this? Just keep an eye on their movements," Golden Scorpion chided, despite his own heart pounding upon hearing the news.

He walked to the stairwell entrance and peered out the window. Defense Bureau agents had surrounded several exits, wearing protective gear to block his poison fog, and their guns were trained on the exits. They were definitely here for him.

He was surrounded!

Golden Scorpion knew his identity exposure was inevitable, but how did they find his location so quickly? He had only returned to Qianjiang City within a day, and he didn’t even understand why the Defense Bureau was pursuing him on such a large scale, blocking all the exits - a treatment he hadn't received even when he first became a criminal.

Having experienced the Defense Bureau's tactics before, Golden Scorpion knew that if he and his companions tried to leave through the main entrance, they would be shot immediately. And surely, transcendents specialized in capturing him must have already entered the building.

Facing such an all-encompassing capture operation, escaping seemed virtually impossible.

Cursing inwardly, Golden Scorpion glanced at the ring in his hand.

It was a ring that could open a portal to Xi Xiang, but its three charging opportunities had long been used up. Since his falling out with Boss Wang, Xi Xiang was unlikely to recharge it for him, and it had been merely an ornament for a long time.

This reminded Golden Scorpion of the purpose of his visit.

—If only he could find Butterfly, her ring would definitely have enough charge. Then he could simply use Xi Xiang's portal to escape.

This made Golden Scorpion's goal clearer. He headed towards the apartment number of Li Baizhi he had obtained, praying that Butterfly hadn’t noticed the Defense Bureau's activity downstairs and opened the portal to leave early.

Upon reaching the apartment number of Li Baizhi that he knew beforehand, he unleashed his ability on the lock, releasing a purple fog that seeped through the crevices into the room.

……

Meanwhile, Ark and Wu Yuanbai, as one team, and the veteran partners Tong Meng and Fu Ning Le, as another, entered the building from two different directions. Unlike the cautious approach in capturing her, the joint defense bureau was determined to apprehend Jin Xie.

The two reached the fifth floor via the stairs, where Jin Xie’s released poison fog had already spread to their location, surging down from the stairwell like a tidal wave. Ark frowned and stepped back as the purple wave swept towards her.

At that moment, Wu Yuanbai suddenly raised his gun towards Ark's direction and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The bullet grazed past Ark and landed behind her, a body collapsing from behind a wall with a thud, its head pierced by the bullet, splattering blood everywhere.

Ark hadn’t detected this person's presence beforehand. Wu Yuanbai seemed to have predicted their location precisely. She narrowed her eyes, certain that from Wu Yuanbai’s position, it was impossible to see the enemy. It was as if he had timed his shot perfectly with the enemy’s appearance.

Was this her transcendent power?

Predictive ability? Or perhaps x-ray vision?

Ark speculated about the nature of her abilities.

"Impressive, Captain Wu," Ark commented, patting her chest. "Next time, please give me a heads-up, that scared me."

"Be careful, pay attention to your surroundings."

Wu Yuanbai holstered his gun without checking the identity of the person. The purple fog had completely enveloped them, obscuring their vision and covering several floors. Rui Pan, observing from the joint defense bureau via the floor’s surveillance, couldn’t see clearly inside.

As Jin Xie's poison fog obscured their vision, Wu Yuanbai and Ark activated the thermal imaging in their helmets, which allowed them to see silhouettes in the fog, preventing sudden attacks.

Consequently, the surveillance cameras installed in the floor could no longer provide clear images. Rui Pan could only sync up the thermal imaging from their helmets.

Wu Yuanbai asked through the communication device in his helmet, “How many floors has the poison fog spread to?”

Rui Pan: “It started from the tenth floor and hasn't spread upward. The target is likely on the tenth floor. Yinshui, where is the location you obtained?”

“Also on the tenth floor, Team Rui.”

“Then it’s confirmed. Be cautious as you head up.”

The tenth floor – that’s where Li Baizhi was.

Ark glanced at Wu Yuanbai. The timing of Jin Xie’s release of the poison fog was impeccable. Without paying attention to Wu Yuanbai in front of her, she quickly deployed her 'Sit-and-Wait Prison' to pinpoint the locations of Li Baizhi and Xi Ya.

In Li Baizhi’s room on the tenth floor, there was only one figure, likely Jin Xie. Li Baizhi and Xi Ya must have moved before his arrival.

Given this, she was in no rush to find Jin Xie.

Aside from Jin Xie, Wu Yuanbai, and the others like Tong Meng and Fu Ning Le, some unexpected individuals had infiltrated the building. Ark could sense them on their floor.

She thoughtfully scanned the surroundings. In the approximate location of her sensing, she saw no one, not resembling Jin Xie’s accomplices—

Recalling Jiang Ou's arrangements, Ark had a rough idea. It seemed she should leave to clear the space for these people.

“Yinshui?” Wu Yuanbai’s voice came through the communication device in her helmet.

She realized that the communication to the outside of the joint defense bureau was cut off. She had experienced such abilities before. What’s going on? Was Eris here too?

“What is it, Captain Wu?” Ark, sharing the same space with Wu Yuanbai, could still communicate with him through the device.

“Can you still contact Team Rui?” Wu Yuanbai asked.

“No, Captain Wu. This feels familiar, could it be…” The person releasing the ability hesitated, “Do we still need to go up? Never mind, I’ll go ahead and take a look.”

Without waiting for Wu Yuanbai’s response, Ark headed towards the staircase. Wu Yuanbai: “Wait—Yinshui!”

As she disappeared around the corner, Wu Yuanbai no longer saw Ark’s figure in his thermal imaging.

Damn! They were separated by the spatial maze.

Yinshui’s actions at this time seemed suspicious, and she did not follow Wu Yuanbai’s plan to continue.

Similarly shocked by this turn of events was Rui Pan, who found that all surveillance connections to the joint defense bureau, including her communications with the officers surrounding the building, were cut off.

Rui Pan couldn’t help cursing in her mind, grabbing her hair in frustration: “How is she everywhere?!”

How many times has this happened now! Why does every mission recently get disrupted by Eris!? And her damned spatial maze – aren't the people at the Tower supposed to be competent? How have they not figured out a countermeasure yet!

But then she thought, the very reason they were capturing Jin Xie was due to his connection with Eris. The previous times she appeared were at companies managed by Jin Xie, so her appearance here was not entirely unforeseen.

Feeling powerless, Rui Pan knew she had to report this development immediately.

Eris’s appearance complicated the entire situation. What initially seemed like a sure success became perplexing and uncertain. No one knew what she intended to do this time.

With Yinshui gone, Wu Yuanbai was left alone in the space. She tried walking up and down two floors, but, as expected, ended up back in the same place.

Did Jiang Ou anticipate Eris appearing at such a time?

No, she likely didn’t know; this must have been beyond her expectations too.

Pondering this, Wu Yuanbai suddenly stopped and stared at her feet. She raised her gun as a red and green human figure appeared in her thermal imaging. A figure suddenly emerged from the shadows at her feet, and she instinctively dodged backward. A blade of light grazed her neck, leaving scorch marks on the adjacent wall.

Wu Yuanbai fired at the location where the figure appeared, but the shot missed. The enemy reacted quickly, likely having undergone specialized speed training, and immediately retreated back into the shadows, causing her bullets to miss.

The close encounter allowed Wu Yuanbai to see the person's attire – they too were wearing protective gear against the poison fog.

Wu Yuanbai frowned, pondering. An accomplice? Did they have the ability to hide in shadows?

Golden Scorpion's poison fog cast shadows everywhere, aiding this person in concealing their form. Wu Yuanbai's helmet-mounted thermal imager couldn't detect them once they slipped into the shadows, making this ability even more challenging to counter.

This surprise attack made Wu Yuanbai extra vigilant. She kept a close watch on her surroundings and, after a few seconds of standoff, the assailant reappeared, this time with a gun, extending an arm from the shadow on the right wall.

Wu Yuanbai, as if anticipating the attack, moved to the side, narrowly avoiding the gunshot.

After the failed attack, the assailant quickly withdrew their arm.

This person didn’t attempt a second attack after striking but instead quickly retreated to their safe zone, defying normal combat logic.

—They were aware of their own ability.

Not to mention, if they didn't reveal themselves, Wu Yuanbai wouldn't even know of their existence. They could have stayed hidden instead of making a sudden appearance and attempting to kill her after the first strike failed.

This behavior was unlike Golden Scorpion's typical style. Wu Yuanbai had thoroughly reviewed Golden Scorpion’s file and knew his subordinates wouldn’t be this reckless.

Their boss had always been evading the Defense Bureau. Why would a stealthy subordinate not flee but instead pursue her? Such a scenario was unlikely.

Quickly, Wu Yuanbai realized this person was not an associate of their target but had specifically come for her.

Sent by Jiang Ou? Was she dispatched to Qianjiang City just for this moment?

She hadn't expected Jiang Ou to resort to such direct methods, choosing to eliminate her – an obstacle to Jiang Huai'an's ascent.

The assailant was likely one of the "Nameless" transcendents cultivated by the Jiang family, with no identity or record, used specifically for such tasks.

On reflection, perhaps they had long intended to kill her, hindered by the impracticality of doing so in Mingang City. Now, this opportunity presented itself; if she died, they could blame it on their current target, attributing her death to her inadequacy.

If she survived, it would be considered normal resistance from the enemy. Such "Nameless" individuals leave no traces, and if the target died, they could easily be associated with the target's faction. If the target survived, they could leave the battlefield without a trace.

—Jiang Ou!

Wu Yuanbai’s expression darkened.

Her palms became sweaty with tension. She was exposed, while the enemy was hidden, and this person was knowledgeable about her abilities and had countered them accordingly.

Wu Yuanbai successfully evaded several of the attacker's strikes, and the assailant likewise prevented her from gaining the upper hand.

Suddenly, the assailant emerged halfway from a shadow above, targeting Wu Yuanbai’s head with a laser blade and quickly retreating back into the shadows after the strike.

It was Wu Yuanbai’s blind spot; she couldn’t completely dodge in time.

“Click—” Her helmet was cracked by the specially-made light blade, and the thermal imaging lens in front was destroyed. The poison fog outside seemed to find an entrance, eagerly trying to seep in.

This was bad!

Wu Yuanbai covered the cracked area with her hand, holding her breath to prevent inhaling the toxins, though some still managed to slip in during that brief moment.

She knew she couldn't last long; Golden Scorpion's poison fog could penetrate skin pores, and soon she would become disoriented from the toxins.

At that moment, Wu Yuanbai wondered if she had made the wrong choice.

Wu Yuanbai's transcendent power, which awakened when she was eighteen, was unlike most straightforward abilities; it was the power to see the “probability” of life goals.

Centered around herself, it showed the probability of achieving life goals, defined as an A-grade power.

It seemed like an absurd transcendent ability. Even Wu Yuanbai was unclear about her actual goal, her power making decisions for her.

Initially, she didn’t know how to use it. It appeared in every small decision-making moment, in life choices and in combat.

In combat, the probabilities were straightforward, showing on either side during dodges or predicting enemy positions. These real-time decisions often had overwhelmingly high probabilities.

It was like marking the enemy's next move, providing Wu Yuanbai with cues. After becoming familiar with it, she learned to utilize these probabilities for prediction in battle.

However, life's choice probabilities differed greatly, always showing two close numbers without a decisive edge. Initially, Wu Yuanbai would choose the higher probability, tasting some success by making high-probability choices.

But she soon paid the price for this, taking a hard fall due to a wrong decision that negated all her efforts, serving as a harsh lesson.

This made Wu Yuanbai realize that life choices have a long formation process before reaching a result, with changing probabilities due to various factors.

She couldn't just make thoughtless decisions based on higher probabilities; every numerical choice was a gamble.

At this moment, Wu Yuanbai understood that her life was destined to rely on gambling to achieve desired outcomes.

Due to her ability, she was well-suited to be a strategist commanding battles from behind the scenes. It was her consistent ability to make the right choices that had propelled Wu Yuanbai to her current position.

Like the time when Rui Pan asked who should lead, the probability displayed for Rui Pan was "75%." Such a high figure was rare, so Wu Yuanbai didn’t hesitate to choose Rui Pan as the commander.

Did she make the wrong choice? Should she have gambled on the 25% probability?

Wu Yuanbai suddenly remembered that when deciding whether to recruit Yinshui, the probability displayed was "50%" – a number that made decision-making difficult.

Should she maintain the status quo, or opt for a "change" with only a fifty-fifty chance?

Adding a new person to her life's journey could lead to many possibilities. The butterfly effect triggered by their joining could rapidly shift the number she saw, either upwards or downwards.

Many people choose to stick with the status quo, fearing change and making more conservative decisions, especially when faced with such unpredictable, evenly split numbers.

But Wu Yuanbai was a daring gambler.

Over the years since awakening her ability, she had often chosen the lower probability options. It was these choices that had brought her to where she was now. 50% wasn’t low enough to deter her from choosing.

New possibilities always represented opportunities, and Wu Yuanbai believed that "Yinshui" would be her opportunity.

After making her choice, Wu Yuanbai could no longer see these numbers, so she couldn’t confirm what the figure on Yinshui had become.

Was it lower or higher now?

Wu Yuanbai didn’t know why she was thinking about this at the moment. Was it a kind of life-flashing-before-eyes moment?

She felt her face start to go numb. Her reflection in the damaged thermal imaging mirror appeared mottled and dark.

After her helmet cracked, the person who attacked Wu Yuanbai didn't reappear. She knew he was waiting, waiting for the toxin to invade her body and render her powerless.

Just then, Wu Yuanbai felt a breeze, creating a faint rustling sound against her protective suit, an unusual occurrence in an indoor environment.

"Whoo—"

Just as Wu Yuanbai thought it was a hallucination caused by the toxin, a stronger wind swirled around her, continuously spinning and sweeping away the toxic fog engulfing her.

It also split the purple fog ahead, carving a new path. A figure approached her—it was "Yinshui."

What’s happening? Whose ability is this? Wind?

"Yinshui...?"

In a flash, Wu Yuanbai connected all recent events. Her light coffee-colored eyes widened slightly as she recognized Ark's true identity!

How could she be "Yinshui"?

If she is Yinshui, then where is the original, the real Yinshui?

“Captain Wu,” Ark’s voice came from the disconnected communication device. She approached and pressed her hand against the crack in Wu Yuanbai’s helmet, her tone tinged with amusement: “As a repayment for the loan you gave me, how about I deal with Jiang Ou and Jiang Huai'an for you?”

“Rather than being the captain of the special squadron, I think the position of director of the Mingang City joint defense bureau suits you better. Don’t you think?”

At that moment, Wu Yuanbai realized Ark had intentionally left earlier, purposely placing her in the same spatial maze with the assassin, exploiting the struggle between her and Jiang Ou.

But what good is knowing, when Wu Yuanbai this time made no choice.

She saw the possibilities appear on Fangzhou, representing whether she could relentlessly pursue her life goals. It was the highest probability Wu Yuanbai had ever seen in her power's predictions outside of combat, a number that was...

——99%。