Zhang Yuanqing followed the orange cat with his eyes, watching it swiftly reach the villa's entrance, slip through the gap in the iron gate, and disappear behind the enclosure wall. A few seconds later, trees poked over the top of the wall, growing madly until they reached the height of a two-story building.
Blossoms hung from the corners of the wall and the branches of the trees, competing in splendor. In an instant, that villa and its courtyard were transformed into a vibrant garden.
Guan Ya leaned in and whispered, "Hold a detoxification pill in your mouth. If you wait until we get inside to take it, it'll be too late."
Zhang Yuanqing glanced around at his companions and saw that everyone had tacitly taken out the secret pills crafted by Baihui and placed them in their mouths.
He looked back at Guan Ya. The veteran tease had popped one in as well; her left cheek bulged slightly, adding a touch of cuteness and charm to her radiant, oval face.
She was still dressed in her white button-down, black stockings, and pencil skirt suit. Two holsters were strapped around her slender, shapely thighs, and the zipper on her skirt hem was undone all the way to the base of her thigh to give her ease of movement. Modesty aside, pulling off a spinning roundhouse kick would be no trouble at all.
Of course, Zhang Yuanqing suspected she was definitely wearing safety shorts underneath, but he couldn't lift her skirt to verify, so he had no proof.
"Can this stuff actually block a Witch Doctor's poison?" he asked, popping the fragrant pill into his mouth.
"Of course not. How could a Witch Doctor's poison be countered so easily? But it can weaken the toxicity so it won't be life-threatening." Guan Ya's pretty face was stern, lacking her usual teasing smile. "Night Wanderers possess formidable vitality, so you should be the least worried of anyone."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded and swept his gaze over his comrades. Aside from the five captains, himself, and the seasoned vixen, the other eight were two Water Ghosts, two Fire Masters, two Earth Monsters, and two Wood Demons.
The distribution of professions was very balanced, aimed at leaving no weaknesses.
Furthermore, these members were all Level 2 walkers; Level 1 walkers were not qualified to take part in this operation.
Against a peak Level 3 evil profession, a Level 1 orthodox profession was practically no different from a baby chick.
At that moment, the flora stopped growing. Captain Qingteng whispered:
"Move out!"
The fifteen Spirit Realm walkers moved through the quiet, deserted streets of the residential community, swiftly and silently closing in on the villa.
As they approached the villa, Captain Qingteng slowed her pace at the front. Da Jiba stepped forward with two burly Fire Masters; they gripped the lock of the villa's main gate and exerted force silently.
After a flash of faint reddish light, glowing molten iron splattered softly to the ground.
The three Fire Masters stepped back two paces. Tang Guoqiang brought two Earth Monsters from the rear and led the way into the villa courtyard.
'The tanks lead the charge, so next should be the warriors...' Seeing this, the thought naturally flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind. Sure enough, Da Jiba led the two Fire Masters, following right on the heels of the three Earth Monsters.
'After the warriors should be mages, and then healers!' Zhang Yuanqing mused.
The Water Ghosts and Wood Demons entered right after.
'Scouts are ranked even lower than healers...' Zhang Yuanqing looked back at his Decurion and Guan Ya. Sensing his subordinate's strange look, Li Dongze leaned on his walking stick, maintaining his elegance as he whispered:
"We Scouts devise strategies from behind the lines and monitor our surroundings."
'Decurion, you don't have to force an excuse to save face!' Zhang Yuanqing decided to play along, saying solemnly:
"Understood. True sight wards are crucial during team fights."
Li Dongze's expression froze. Remembering his subordinate's earlier "humiliation," he glanced at the lush vegetation by the wall corner. "I'm considering whether I should plant you right over there."
By this time, the official walkers had drawn their handguns and reached the security door of the villa's main foyer.
Because a barrier covered the courtyard, there was no need to disperse and encircle the building. Moreover, since the enemy was a Level 3 evil profession, splitting up could easily lead to casualties, so everyone had decided to breach through the front door.
Tang Guoqiang pressed one hand against the security door lock. The wall connected to the lock rapidly turned to sand, rustling as it crumbled away.
He didn't enter immediately, instead turning to look at Zhang Yuanqing.
The dark of night was the home ground of a Night Wanderer; in pitch-black darkness, a Night Wanderer was like a fish in water.
Understanding implicitly, Zhang Yuanqing vanished under everyone's watchful eyes.
He swiftly slipped into the entryway. To guard against potential ambushes, he deliberately spun and leaped, entering in style—after all, in his Night Walk state, he could suppress all sound.
Zhang Yuanqing paused at the junction between the entryway and the living room, his night-piercing gaze slowly sweeping across the area. The villa's living room was spacious: in the center sat a sofa and coffee table for entertaining guests, to the left was an open kitchen and dining table, and to the right was the staircase leading to the second floor.
The living room had a soaring vaulted ceiling, and the villa's interior was arranged in an open square mezzanine, allowing anyone standing by the second-floor railing to look down into the living room below.
After advancing to Level 2, his Night Walk duration had extended to thirty seconds, but that was still not enough time for an exhaustive search of the living room. Having preliminarily determined that there was no immediate danger, Zhang Yuanqing retreated from the living room and reappeared in the sights of the official walkers.
"The first floor is clear. I don't know about the second floor," he said in a low voice.
Tang Guoqiang made an immediate decision: "Move!"
With that, he was the first to enter the living room, and the others filed in orderly, well-trained.
Just as everyone entered the dark living room, a sharp snap rang out. The crystal chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling blazed to life, casting light across the interior of the villa—and illuminating the official walkers who had infiltrated it.
The hearts of the official walkers seized.
"I've been waiting for you for quite some time, ladies and gentlemen!"
By the railing on the second floor appeared a man of medium build with a gaunt face, slanted eyes, and sword-like brows. It was none other than Unbridled.
The Witch Doctor rested both hands on the railing and looked down at the official walkers on the first floor, a mocking smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Fifteen orthodox walkers. Tsk, tsk, you really think highly of me. It must have taken quite an effort to mobilize such a force just to catch me. Then again, who can truly say where the line between prey and hunter lies...?"
Before he could finish, Guan Ya, dual-wielding handguns, interrupted him with gunfire.
The first bullet gouged a deep crater into the second-floor wall, while the second anticipated Unbridled's roll to evade and struck true, ringing out with a crisp metallic clatter.
Flattened against the wall, Unbridled stubbornly finished his lines, laughing maniacally: "I love taking risks. I love trampling rules! The reputation from slaughtering fifteen orthodox professionals is well worth the risk. Enjoy the feast of slaughter I've prepared for you!"
The ceiling overhead shattered violently in response, glass shards raining down like a storm.
The spacious living room was plunged into darkness once more.
Amid the clattering shower of falling glass shards, Zhang Yuanqing caught a faint, almost imperceptible buzzing—soft yet dense, like countless mosquitoes fluttering their wings.
Immediately following was Li Dongze's warning shout:
"Above our heads!"
Da Jiba and the two Fire Masters inhaled deeply, puffing out their cheeks, then threw their heads back and exhaled their breath. With a whoosh, blazing flames flared out, illuminating the darkened living room.
Countless sparks drifted down like snow as a pungent, acrid burning stench filled the air.
The falling black specks were some kind of venomous insect. The smell of them burning was nauseatingly sharp; after accidentally inhaling a few breaths, Zhang Yuanqing felt lightheaded and dizzy.
A slight commotion stirred within the official squad—not everyone could see in the dark.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Fierce flames surged up as searing fire ignited across the bodies of the three Fire Masters, dispelling the darkness and providing light.
The group looked around the living room. What they saw made their scalps prickle with dread.
Across the living room floor, countless bizarre bugs had appeared without anyone noticing: worms with hideous mouthparts, locust-like insects, palm-sized spiders, and others of entirely unrecognizable species. They all shared one common trait: strikingly vibrant coloration.
The leaping flames, while providing light, also cast dancing shadows and offered only limited illumination. Under such conditions, it was difficult to ensure they wouldn't be attacked by the venomous insects.
His mind racing, Zhang Yuanqing hunched low and darted toward the open kitchen. With a click, he flipped on the lights over that side.
In a living room this large, there was no way a single chandelier was the only source of light.
"Nicely done!" Bailong, carrying a long black blade on her back, breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "Smash the faucets! We need water!"
Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing smashed the faucet with a punch. To his surprise, rather than spraying out violently, large surges of clear water gushed from the broken pipe, flowing through the air as if alive.
The clear current swept across the floor, over the sofa, and through every corner of the living room, sweeping away the myriad varieties of Gu insects before coalescing in midair into a water sphere the size of a water vat, with countless trapped Gu floating and sinking within it.
Bailong spread her palms and clapped them together hard.
Boom!
The water sphere exploded, spraying water droplets mixed with the mangled carcasses of Gu insects all over the living room.
'Impressive...' Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Truly worthy of a mage profession; their skills were flashy and versatile. If it had been him dealing with this situation, the best of the thirty-six stratagems would have been to run.
After all, at the Transcendent stage, a Night Wanderer's role was that of an assassin.
At that moment, Li Dongze, acting as a Scout, snapped his head up. Sensing dangerous power surging rapidly on the second floor, he urgently called out a warning:
"Danger on the second floor! Four energy signatures..."
The official walkers' hearts sank. Experienced as they were, they finally confirmed one thing: they had been ambushed.
From Unbridled's words, his attitude, and his response, it was evident that he was prepared for this raid.
'We've walked right into their trap...' Although Zhang Yuanqing lacked experience, he was not stupid. He glanced at his comrades, whose faces were solemn yet silent, and swallowed his doubts.
Now was not the time to ponder this.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the quiet space as a tall, humanoid monstrosity appeared beside the railing.
It looked hideous beyond measure, with sharp, insectoid mouthparts, a flat nose, and amber vertical slits for pupils. Standing two meters tall, its dark-brown body was covered in scale-like keratin, as though it wore a suit of solid armor.
Its claws were pitch-black and razor-sharp, effortlessly carving gouges into the railing.
"My poor insects gave their lives valiantly, but they didn't die in vain—they bought me enough time. Come out, my companions," Unbridled's voice issued from the mouth of this humanoid monster.
From the other three sides of the square mezzanine corridor, three monsters slowly walked out.
They were:
A seductive woman with a human torso and a spider abdomen. Her upper body was that of a fair-skinned, unclad woman, her plump, bare breasts exposed, her features strikingly glamorous. Below her navel was a bloated, bulbous spider body, its eight iron-spike legs easily piercing into the floor tiles and walls.
A muscular insect-man standing upright like a human, with chiseled abs and pecs, backward-hinged knees, and powerfully muscled legs that harbored terrifying jumping power. On his back were hard elytra gleaming with a cyan sheen.
A monster with a human head and snake body nearly ten meters long, coiled in heavy loops covered in dark-green scales. He leaned over the railing, flicking his tongue at the crowd below.
All three monsters shared a single common trait: eyes brimmed with savagery, entirely devoid of human reason.
"They are all servants of the Deceitful Eye Judge, tormented by the power of the Fallen Holy Grail. To survive, they willingly let me modify them so they can hunt you down and earn merits," Unbridled sneered.
'Servants of the Deceitful Eye Judge? Servants like Ou Xiangrong?' Only one word remained in Zhang Yuanqing's mind: Fuck.
Qingteng, Tang Guoqiang, and the others blanched.
"I love those expressions. Every single one of you dies today. No one can save you—I said it!" Unbridled parted his grotesque mouthparts.
***
Fenghua District, an abandoned factory.
Fu Qingyang, clad in a white suit, stood on the second floor of the administration building and gazed down at the convoy surrounding the factory, frowning. "This factory has been abandoned for years, with no signs of human activity. Are you certain Hei Wuchang appeared here?"
Behind him stood Ling Jun, sporting a loose shirt and messy hair, alongside a square-faced, middle-aged man wearing a white judogi.
The middle-aged man frowned, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Baihui's informants spotted him. To be safe, I pulled the surrounding surveillance footage, and Hei Wuchang was indeed seen..."
Fu Qingyang shot him a frigid side-eye. "Hei Wuchang would let himself get caught on surveillance?"
The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly.
Ling Jun lazily scratched his head and shrugged. "We've been played. Hei Wuchang deliberately drew us here—or rather, whether it's even Hei Wuchang himself remains to be seen. But why lure us here?"
Fu Qingyang pondered for a few seconds before his cold, stern face suddenly shifted. "Ling Jun, come back with me. Now."
He leaped straight down from the second floor.
Ling Jun froze for a moment. He had rarely ever seen Fu Qingyang look this alarmed and tense.
Chapter 74