"Actually, They're Not After You..."

The squad behind the man formed a seamless black wedge, operating with the precision of a finely tuned machine. The twelve individuals were like twelve gears of an engine, exuding an impersonal, cold aura of war. Every one of them wore a tactical helmet, their faces completely obscured by balaclavas and black goggles, projecting an innate, chilling lethality. They were dressed in matte dark-gray combat gear—a shade designed to effectively absorb light, making them look like twelve indistinct silhouettes gliding through the swirling mist. To be precise, this silent unit escorting the man deep through the school truly resembled a band of perfectly coordinated wraiths! Emblazoned upon their chests was the same bauhinia emblem as his, but unlike that of their leader, theirs was entwined in razor-sharp iron thorns. *Something's wrong—* Bai Zhou keenly sensed danger. Seizing the moment while they were still navigating the mist, he spun on his heel and altered his course. For a group of thirteen to swagger through the school grounds without being devoured by the students or teachers meant they undoubtedly possessed sinister means beyond Bai Zhou's understanding! Above all, the inscrutable man in the suit at their helm triggered a shrill alarm in Bai Zhou's spiritual intuition as a Destined. *Dangerous! An open clash must be avoided at all costs!* Fortunately, the school uniform Bai Zhou wore granted him vision far clearer than that of ordinary people, allowing him to spot them first. *Tap—* Decisively taking a detour, Bai Zhou headed in another direction. Yet before he had taken more than a few steps, a piercing drone grated against his ears once more. *Again?* Bai Zhou glanced up, his eyes blinking in momentary bewilderment. *Bzzzz—* Emerging from deep within the mist and surging toward him was a dense swarm of black specks. Only a closer look revealed that every single one of those specks was an enchanted-weapon-equipped drone! And that was not all. *Clack-clack-clack! Clack-clack-clack!* Beneath the drones ran a pack of mechanical hounds, bounding forward like a dark, crushing tide. Every crimson-eyed mechanical hound carried a matte-black enchanted submachine gun strapped to its back, the cold gun barrels as spine-chilling as their mechanical gaze. *Did aliens invade?* *Why didn't the aliens bomb the Federal Administration Building first instead of blowing up a school?* Cursing under his breath, Bai Zhou let his legs act before his brain could finish debating. He took off in a dead sprint. Trailing behind the mechanical hounds were a dozen-odd living men clad in heavy bomb suits and fitted with snout-shaped gas masks! Where had all these people come from? Why had they suddenly launched a full-scale offensive and encirclement—were they coordinating with the three Extraordinaries from the outside? Surrounded on all sides, Bai Zhou realized breaking out right now was going to be nearly impossible. Since things had come to this— *Rumble! Boom! Boom! Boom!* Expressionless, Bai Zhou doubled back toward the vicinity of the roaring battlefield. Here, a savage blizzard shrieked and whirled. The Principal's folding knife grappled with the elements, clashed with the flames, and traded blows with the armored knight. Even with a considerable distance between them, Bai Zhou still felt far from safe. After a moment's thought, he climbed back into the classroom building and crouched in a corner to contemplate his next move. "Senior... where did you go?" The girl, Number 9, had noticed his absence. In fact, the instant Bai Zhou had stepped out of the building, she had sensed an inexplicable shift around her. It didn't feel like an illusion. Ever since she stood beside "Senior Zhou," her Fate Principle and Pathway had both grown unusually active. Even with her secret arts, many perplexities she had once failed to grasp seemed to resolve themselves effortlessly. Though she had no idea how it worked, the wondrous sensation was addictive, instinctively drawing her closer to "Senior Zhou." The moment he vanished, a strange emptiness had hollowed out her chest— "Someone... someone's coming!" Number 42, who had been peering out the window the entire time, trembled so hard the fat on his cheeks shook. Pushing up his thick glasses, he stared intently at a mysterious unit filing slowly out of the depths of the mist. "It's—" As the figures of this unit grew clearer, Number 42's pupils shrank to pinpricks, as if he had laid eyes upon something unspeakably dreadful. Through his lenses, his gaze locked from afar onto the steel-entwined bauhinia crest upon the squad's chests. "It's... Iron Thorn!" Number 42's lips quivered. His hushed cry sent a violent shudder through the other two. "The Iron Thorn squad?! The Iron Thorn squad from Zijing Group?!" "Isn't this area under FZDC control? What are they doing here?" "I don't want to see them—" At the mere mention of "Zijing Group" and "Iron Thorn," the trio seemed paralyzed with dread, their vehement reaction far exceeding Bai Zhou's expectations. On the surface, Bai Zhou remained silent and blank-faced, looking entirely indifferent to their discussion, but his ears were pricked, drinking in every word. *Zijing Group—* Toward this mysterious entity that had inexplicably placed a citywide bounty on his head and consistently lurked behind the Major, Bai Zhou had always maintained keen interest. Soon, from the fragmented pieces of information let slip by Number 9 and the others, Bai Zhou pieced together the tip of the iceberg that was Zijing Group for the very first time— In Tinghai City, Zijing Group's tentacles reached into every corner. The products people bought for daily entertainment, the communications network they used, the transit they rode, and even the food and medicine they purchased—Zijing Group held shares behind almost all of it. And in the world behind the curtain, to ordinary Extraordinaries, Zijing Group was an even more colossal monolith casting a shadow over the entirety of Tinghai! When wild Extraordinaries first stumbled upon the mystical and the supernatural, most assumed they were special and could do whatever they pleased. Yet what followed in short order was an invitation for "tea" from official authorities, bluntly informing the fledgling Extraordinary that they were nothing special. They would make it clear that nobodies like them could be dredged up by the dozen at a moment's notice. From then on, they would be placed under official supervision—and if they dared leak a whisper of information about Extraordinaries to ordinary people, they were dead meat! Then, after the chastened Extraordinaries hurried home proclaiming they were law-abiding citizens, giant conglomerates like Zijing Group would immediately come knocking to offer a warm, neighborly hand. Those who believed their newfound extraordinary power made money-wielding corporate oligarchs negligible, thinking they could just "borrow" a little pocket money whenever they pleased, were sorely mistaken. Behind the curtain, the giants remained giants! Zijing Group would first dispatch business development reps tailored in Armani suits. Cordial to the point of fawning, they would present the fledgling Extraordinary with an offer of sponsorship too lucrative to refuse, using unimaginable sums of money to buy out the rights to any future ability development and research. They would nurture the Extraordinary's growth, supplying every resource needed for their training. All they asked in return was a verbal loan agreement, a few vials of blood drawn each day, and routine medical checkups. As for those who refused— Those like Number 9, who craved freedom and harbored heavy misgivings, would find themselves in a dire predicament the moment they turned down the olive branches extended by Zijing Group and similar powers. Not only would they be ostracized by the mystic community at large, but even their mundane life in the ordinary world would unravel. They would find their credit status mysteriously revoked, blacklisted and denied service by company after company, until taking a single step forward became impossible. Zijing Group did not have to lift a finger— It simply ceased to offer any products or services under its corporate umbrella to those who declined, starving them of clothing, food, housing, and transit. A megacorporation so tyrannical naturally had no shortage of enemies. —And the Iron Thorn squad had been born for precisely this purpose! The sole reason for this unit's existence was to utilize Tinghai City's cutting-edge technology and tactical doctrine to counter, suppress, and apprehend Extraordinaries who defied conventional logic. Their strength lay in the collective, functioning like a precision-engineered killing machine that prowled the dark alleys of Tinghai City year-round, harvesting countless Extraordinaries. No wild Extraordinary had ever not heard the name of the Iron Thorn squad, and none failed to dread the thought of waking in the dead of night to find themselves surrounded by gray-clad brutes bearing the iron thorn crest upon their chests! These corporate lapdogs were like natural predators to Extraordinaries, their methods bizarre and utterly incomprehensible. One thing was certain: their appearance invariably signaled a bloodbath. Every pore on their skin reeked of pungent gore. The sheer pressure they exerted on bottom-rung Extraordinaries like Number 9 went without saying. *So this is the kind of enemy I'll be facing down the line—* While Bai Zhou kept a straight face, his eyes were rolling internally. He and the Major were already locked in a fight to the death, yet he hadn't anticipated such a behemoth was backing the Major without having even flexed its muscles. If they decided to come after him, wouldn't they open with a Level 5 monster right out of the gate? —Then again, it wasn't as if they hadn't flexed their muscles at all. Like right now. Bai Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing the group, his gaze fixing particularly on the suited man leading them. This was an area cordoned off by the FZDC. What business did Zijing Group have meddling here? Don't tell him they just happened to be passing by. Would a dog come panting over if it hadn't caught the scent of shit? Others might be blind to whatever foul play was at work, but could Bai Zhou not see through it? These uninvited guests who had suddenly materialized—they were either reinforcements called in by the Major or a cleanup crew wiping his backside. Either way, it was tied directly to the Major! They hadn't come in peace! Just as Bai Zhou was turning this over in his mind, the man in the suit cast a brief glance across the battlefield. Frowning, he sized up the Principal for a moment, then shifted his gaze directly toward the classroom building. "Not good!" Noticing the man's gaze, Number 9 and the others ducked beneath the windowsill, clutching their heads in fright. Number 31, the hulking muscle-bound man, threw himself flat against the floor to keep his head from poking out, adopting a comical posture. "He... he-he-he's looking over here!" "That man has to be a big shot from Zijing Group!" "Don't notice us... please don't notice us—" The three of them muttered like a broken record, shivering in terror. Yet the suited man's gaze had never lingered on them for a single moment. He was locking eyes from afar with Bai Zhou. Then, a chilling smile curled onto his lips. "An anomalous individual... possessing the potential to evolve into a King of Wicked Desires?" "I trust Old Han's judgment. This anomaly holds tremendous research value!" With that, he glanced at the savage battlefield that looked like a myth come alive, curled his lip enigmatically, and gestured to the squad beside him. "That battlefield over there isn't our turn to step onto yet." "While we have a free moment, move out! Bring that anomaly in!" *Clack-clack—* The sound of bolts chambering echoed. Ghostly and silent, the Iron Thorn squad sprang into motion, flowing toward the classroom building like water. *Here they come—* Bai Zhou's brow furrowed faintly. His fingers twitched beside his leg, preparing to draw a weapon. *Rumble! Boom! Boom! Boom!* At the same moment, a thunderous roar erupted from another direction. A cluster of dark silhouettes emerged from the gray mist. The mechanical legion Bai Zhou had spotted earlier arrived at the fringe of the battlefield. The dozen-odd figures trailing behind the mechanical army faded in and out of the fog, resembling necromancers directing the undead in Bai Zhou's eyes. *Don't tell me these guys are also—* Bai Zhou's heart skipped a beat, a bad premonition gripping him. Sure enough, moments later, a gaunt, withered man stepped out from the ranks. Standing at the forefront of the mechanical hounds, he surveyed the battlefield, his eyes quickly meeting those of Bai Zhou, who was standing by the building ledge in his school uniform. Then, the gaunt man spotted the Iron Thorn squad charging toward Bai Zhou. This seemed to send him into a furious rage. Spitting a string of curses, he raised his arm and swung it down. *Rumble, rumble, rumble—* The mechanical legion mobilized. The drone formation blotting out the sky pitched down, diving straight for Bai Zhou's position. *Wait a minute—* *Do all these people have some weird obsession with me?* A chill ran through Bai Zhou. His left hand immediately dropped to the short baton at his hip, while the concealed purple-gold saber buzzed against his waist, its frigid edge stinging his thigh. Yet to Bai Zhou's surprise— The trio beside him reacted far more violently than he did. "Oh no! They're really coming for us!" Seeing the Iron Thorn squad rushing toward the classroom building, the girl, Number 9, hissed like an arched cat. She whipped around, glaring with wide eyes at the two beside her, and demanded sharply, "Spit it out! Did either of you screw up lately?" "Otherwise, why on earth would Zijing Group hunt us all the way into the Reflected Ruin Realm?!" The chubby Number 42 threw his hands up in despair. "I'm innocent, Boss! You know me—I'm scared of mice! How would I ever dare cross those monsters?!" "Boss, what do we do now?" Number 31 hurriedly dragged a buzzing chainsaw from the pack on his back, though it offered him not a shred of reassurance. "Now that it's come to this, can we even run? We're completely surrounded—" The three Explorers anxiously debated what to do. "Uh, actually..." A sudden soft murmur cut through their panic. Bai Zhou, who had been standing in the corner observing their frantic pacing with a bizarre expression, blinked. Unable to hold back any longer, he spoke up: "Actually, they're not after you..." With that, Bai Zhou raised a finger toward the window, pointing at the special operations squad crossing the athletic field like loosed arrows, sprinting straight in his direction. And at the mechanical legion blanketing the ground and sky. "I think—" Facing the trio's blank, stunned stares, Bai Zhou let out a faint sigh. "They're probably here for me."