“Chapter 151”

"Chapter 151"

"Now with dawn breaking, the mall was closed, and the city was still asleep. The helicopter’s searchlight shone down from above."

"Their identities were clear – it was Agatha and Mu'er. Fang Zhou quickly checked the surrounding surveillance; aside from them, there were no other enemies."

"As Agatha finished speaking, she seemed to sense something, her brown eyes thoughtfully looking towards the internal surveillance, as if locking eyes with Fang Zhou on the other end."

"The next second, Fang Zhou's connection to the helicopter's data source was abruptly cut off, a display of Agatha’s ability."

"Fang Zhou could feel a defensive layer enveloping the data network, blocking the intrusion of an unknown force."

"The opponent's level was higher than Wall Mouse's abilities, preventing her from breaking through the defense."

"Apart from the helicopter above, Fang Zhou, who had successfully hacked into the surrounding surveillance, was also pushed out, losing her ability to observe the ground situation!"

"From Agatha's statement, Fang Zhou quickly realized what was happening – the Central had learned from previous mistakes. Instead of a conspicuous encirclement after obtaining headquarters information, they sent Agatha and Mu'er first to ensure they were trapped."

"Fang Zhou hadn’t received a warning from Wu Yuanbai, indicating that even the Director of Mingang City's Joint Defense Bureau was unaware of their operation."

"The Central had always been aware of Xi Xiang’s presence, and by keeping the operation this concealed, they likely installed a spatial transmission jamming device in the building."

"With these preparations in place, the action was set in motion. If nothing unexpected happened, officers from the Joint Defense Bureau and the Tower would arrive within ten minutes."

"Fang Zhou's face was grave as she pressed her communicator. Before she could speak, Xi Xiang's voice came through urgently, 'What’s happening? My portal is closing! I can't control it!'"

"'World, where are you?!' Fei Xing’s anxious voice was faintly heard in the background."

"The worst-case scenario had still occurred."

"'Stay calm, Xi Xiang. Is the portal completely closed? How much is left to transport?'"

"Xi Xiang’s voice was strained, and Fang Zhou could feel her struggling to maintain control, 'My power is losing control; the portal is shrinking. Get back to the second floor quickly!'"

"Xi Xiang knew that Fang Zhou was the Central’s main target and that Ye Zhi couldn’t afford to lose her. She wanted Fang Zhou to leave first."

"Fang Zhou released the remaining uncontained alien creatures in an instant. Dozens of bizarrely shaped creatures surged from their cages, scrambling towards her."

"Before making contact with her, another wave of aliens separated from Fang Zhou’s body, colliding with the malicious wave."

"Fang Zhou let the two groups of aliens battle it out. Among those she released was an S-level Mother Face Demon. She left them to fight rather than containing them one by one, while she used the powers of the Invisible Worm to penetrate the connecting floors and ceilings, rushing to the second underground floor to check the situation."

"While still dealing with unfinished tasks, including undestroyed devices that could expose their information, Fang Zhou instructed Xi Xiang, 'I still have a lot to do. The remaining devices haven’t been destroyed yet. They could expose our information. Xi Xiang, you should leave here first.'"

"'I can’t leave. If I do, who will take you and Boss Wang away?' Despite being warned by Fang Zhou just a short while ago to follow her orders, Xi Xiang pushed this aside in the current situation."

"Fang Zhou was at a loss for words. The Invisible Worm's ability only allowed her to pass through walls, not to burrow underground. Even with Number One present, she’d still need to reach the ground to leave. Her desire to cleanly handle the aftermath for Ye Zhi and face the Central’s incoming forces was inevitable."

"While communicating with Xi Xiang, Fang Zhou activated 'Sit Ground for Prison' for the entire mall, temporarily blocking external personnel from entering the area, and quickly reached the second floor."

"Xi Xiang, unwilling to leave, along with Fei Xing and Number One, wouldn’t abandon Fang Zhou. Seeing her return, they all turned to her."

"Fang Zhou's gaze fell on the wall. To facilitate movement, Xi Xiang's portal had been opened very wide, almost covering a wall. Now, it had shrunk to the size of a head and, the next second after Fang Zhou’s arrival, the dark portal completely vanished."

"Though Xi Xiang and the others hadn’t left, they had managed to cram most of the members aiding in the move through the portal during this crucial moment. Not everyone had been successfully transferred, but the remaining number was small."

"'What exactly is going on?' Xi Xiang, with one hand against the wall, looked unwillingly at the disappearing portal."

"Her powers being obstructed, she had guessed the enemy had begun their move, but the specific situation wasn’t as clear to her as it was to Fang Zhou. Eighty percent of the transfer work was completed; it was so close to success, yet now, there was an unexpected hitch."

"Fei Xing’s face drained of color. He was well aware of the techniques to block spatial transmission, 'World, we need to find and destroy the blocking device.'"

"Number One, always slow to react, hadn’t yet sensed the grave crisis and merely waited for Fang Zhou’s orders."

"The device couldn’t be underground; Ye Zhi’s headquarters were completely detached from the upper levels, and ordinary members had to undergo device scans to enter, making it impossible to bring anything in."

"It was likely inside or outside the mall, with Fang Zhou leaning more towards an external location, like above on Agatha’s helicopter."

"'Fei Xing, Number One, go inside the mall to find the blocking device,' Fang Zhou instructed."

"Fang Zhou knew 'Sit Ground for Prison' wouldn’t hold them for long. They surely had means to counteract it this time, but it should keep them from breaking in for a short while."

"Receiving her command, both promptly geared up with auxiliary equipment and weapons, heading to the upper floors."

"Without ground-level surveillance, Fang Zhou was unsure of the movements above and could only rely on 'Sit Ground for Prison' to keep track of the number of people approaching from outside."

"Currently, besides Fei Xing and Number One who had gone up, there were no other people inside the mall. However, more and more people were gathering outside, knowingly entering the space despite Fang Zhou's 'Sit Ground for Prison' blockade."

"This only confirmed Fang Zhou's suspicion that they had found a way to counter her tactic."

"'Stay here and trigger the internal alarm, gathering everyone on this floor. Be ready to open the transfer portal as soon as your powers recover,' Fang Zhou instructed Xi Xiang."

"'Okay, be careful,' Xi Xiang responded."

"Fang Zhou had the wire pythons wrap around a pre-prepared time bomb, then took it to the lowest level meeting room for installation, carrying the remote control for the detonator with her."

"The crowd above was growing, and the mall was now surrounded, causing Fang Zhou's heart to sink further."

"She returned to the floor where the alien creatures were held. The message alerts had stopped; all the creatures had been contained, eagerly merging into her body."

"The number in her catalog had risen to '79' in this short time."

"Fang Zhou quickly reviewed the abilities of these alien creatures, including a few practical ones among the contained A-levels, one of which had 'Structural Vision.'"

"Thoughtfully, Fang Zhou activated the Structural Vision ability. Instantly, the structure of the equipment in the room became visible to her. Looking up and amplifying the ability, she could see through several floors like a 2D assistive view, with the movements of the people above clearly visible."

"She could see the movement of personnel within her line of sight."

"Fang Zhou was slightly surprised... this was a timely and far more useful ability than she had imagined."

"Within a few minutes, the situation outside the mall had developed as Fang Zhou anticipated. Vehicles from the Joint Defense Bureau were parked outside, and she could see the weapons and auxiliary equipment carried by the personnel."

"Despite knowing she had activated 'Sit Ground for Prison,' they still began directing officers into the confusing interior of the mall."

"Fang Zhou started moving upwards. She had done everything she could underground; now her goal was to destroy their blocking device, free Xi Xiang's powers, and evacuate everyone inside."

"The bomb she had installed on the lowest floor was powerful enough to destroy all the underground levels."

"'Fei Xiang, how's the situation above?' she asked through the communicator."

"'Sorry, World, I haven’t found it yet...'"

"Within just a few minutes, given the size of the mall, it was difficult for Fei Xing and Number One to conduct a thorough search. Fang Zhou understood this and reassured them, 'It’s okay, just do your best.'"

"Having said that, Fang Zhou quickly moved to the first floor of the mall, releasing the wire pythons and other intelligent alien creatures capable of movement to assist Fei Xing and Number One in a rapid internal search."

"Meanwhile, she looked up towards the sky, her vision penetrating the roof and the external structure of the helicopter, observing Agatha and Mu'er inside."

"The helicopter was a transport model, bulky in size. Fang Zhou could see countless weapons and equipment inside it, including firearms, ammunition, and various types of assault gear."

"Why were they carrying so many heavy weapons?"

"Before Fang Zhou could ponder why they hadn't directly bombarded the mall, she noticed the equipment inside the helicopter vanishing at an alarming rate."

"Someone was rapidly 'consuming' them."

"There were only four people in the helicopter – two pilots in the cockpit and then Agatha and Mu'er."

"After ruling out others, Fang Zhou realized that the person 'eating' the weapons was another elite force colonel – Mu'er."

"Was this his transcendent ability? Fang Zhou couldn't guess his power type from this action."

"Currently, due to her 'Sit Ground for Prison,' they were in a standoff, unable to reach each other in this spatial maze, moving around and lingering as if preparing, but not yet engaging in real combat."

"However, this situation didn’t last long. The alien creatures were reporting back to Fang Zhou the locations they had searched. Almost the entire mall had been checked, and there was a 90% chance that the blocking device wasn’t inside."

"Just then, a new presence entered the space."

"Fang Zhou felt a corner of her space as if torn open, a rip that was growing larger, being 'torn' apart by a force."