District 3 of the Hive District. Evening.
After putting down the book, Cerydra stretched lazily and muttered to herself:
"I've been waiting for several hours already. Even Cipher's side has completely messed up the Apex Entertainment branch, so why haven't the people from Arasaka Heavy Industries shown up yet?"
She originally thought Arasaka Heavy Industries would react quite swiftly, but it was already past midnight, and there was still no sign of movement.
Seeing this, Cerydra could only sigh.
"Forget it. If they aren't coming, they aren't coming. It's time to sleep."
After saying that, Cerydra took off her clothes and went to take a shower.
After showering, she put on the bathrobe someone had prepared earlier, then lay down on the bed, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.
...
Late into the night, 2 AM.
Several figures dressed in nightstalker suits appeared outside the church one after another.
They quickly noticed each other and then gathered together.
"Yo? Shadow? Ghost? And Poisonweed? We're all old acquaintances."
After gathering, one of the figures in night clothes immediately recognized the others.
"Tsk, Formless, shut your mouth." Hearing the man rattle off their codenames like reading a menu, Poisonweed glanced at him speechlessly. "Otherwise, no matter what you disguise yourself as, that trashy mouth of yours will expose your identity."
"Oh my, there's no need for disguises right now." The chatterbox called Formless waved his hand dismissively. "When it's actually time for me to disguise myself, I can guarantee with my reputation that you definitely won't recognize me."
"Also, Ghost, don't always be so cold all the time. Come on, say a few words."
Hearing Formless's words, Ghost simply turned his head, shot him a cold glance, and then turned back.
Seeing this, Formless, who was already used to it, simply muttered, "Stuffy jar."
"Enough." At this moment, Shadow spoke up. "Let's put the off-topic chatter aside for now and talk about the target this time."
After saying that, Shadow opened his Terminal, displaying Cerydra's appearance inside.
"Heh, a twenty million Credits bounty. Arasaka Heavy Industries is truly generous." Seeing the bounty amount on it, Poisonweed seemed somewhat excited. "If I had these twenty million... oh no, ten million Credits, it would at least be enough for me to buy thousands of slaves on the black market."
"Vulgar." Formless gave Poisonweed a sidelong glance. "What's so fun about slaves? Look at this target's face, so pretty."
Speaking of this, he licked his lips, his gaze turning dangerous.
"If I can peel off her facial skin, she will definitely become my most perfect collection."
"Alright, Formless, put away your disgusting twisted hobbies." Shadow spoke again. "I want you to look at the description in the commission, not the target's bounty and looks."
"What's there to see? Isn't it just that she can summon a few A rank guards?" Formless said uncaringly. "This doesn't affect us at all; instead, it's an advantage."
"I agree." Poisonweed also spoke up. "Because as for summoning-type Ability Users, they usually have to rely on their summons to possess formidable strength. However, once they lose their summons, they are generally just a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered."
"I feel she shouldn't be an ordinary summoning-type Ability User."
Seeing the behavior of the two, Shadow frowned slightly.
"Shadow, I think you're just overthinking things." Formless stood up, looking at him speechlessly. "Working together, we've even killed A+ rank Ability Users. This time it's just a summoning-type Ability User, why have you suddenly become so hesitant?"
"Sigh, I hope so." Shadow shook his head. After casting aside the unease in his heart, he looked toward one of the rooms in the church. "According to the intel, the target is in that room right now."
"I'll use my shadow ability to bring you guys over silently later. Ghost, observe if the target has fallen asleep. Remember, don't stare fixedly at the target while observing to prevent the risk of exposure."
With that, Shadow merged into the shadows on the ground. Immediately after, a puddle of shadow appeared beneath the trio's feet, enveloping all three of them.
Subsequently, this puddle of shadow sank into the ground and began speeding rapidly toward the target room.
Before long, the four arrived outside the room.
As soon as they emerged from the shadow, two of them immediately hid themselves, while Ghost instantly vanished into thin air without a trace.
After waiting for a few minutes, Ghost reappeared.
Following that, a low voice transmitted into the minds of the other three:
"Conducted three brief observations separately, no anomalies. Confirmed, the target has fallen asleep."
'Very good.'
Seeing this, Shadow made a hand gesture to the group:
'Prepare to move.'
After receiving the command, Poisonweed flipped his wrist. A wisp of colorless gas, nearly imperceptible to the naked eye, silently diffused and drifted accurately toward the sleeping blue-haired girl on the bed.
At the same time, Formless's feet silently transformed, beginning to turn into cat paws with soft pads.
The cat paws landed without making a single sound. Afterward, he quickly closed in on the bedside. His arm then hardened and stretched, instantly turning into a sharp spike gleaming with cold light, thrusting straight toward the girl's heart!
Shadow merged into the room's shadows. Subsequently, a sharp spear condensed from pure darkness emerged from the void, abruptly stabbing toward Cerydra's throat.
Clang—
Two crisp, ear-piercing sounds of clashing metal exploded almost simultaneously.
Right at the instant the poison spike and the shadow spear were about to touch the target, two cold-gleaming longspears swept out as if appearing out of thin air. They precisely parried this lethal attack. Powerful force transmitted along the spear shafts, forcefully knocking Formless and Shadow back several steps!
"What?!"
"Damn it!"
Incredulous horror flashed through both of their eyes simultaneously.
At this moment, two soldiers clad in heavy armor and wielding longspears were already guarding the girl's bedside.
Meanwhile, from the shadows of the room, six more similarly fully armed soldiers stepped out silently, their gazes quickly locking onto the intruders.
On the table nearby, an exquisite chessboard had appeared out of thin air at some unknown time. And on the chessboard, the piece representing the "Pawn" was emitting a faint blue glow.
"Mission failed! Retreat!"
Seeing the situation, Shadow reacted extremely quickly. He first shouted a stern, low command, and then shadows instantly surged to envelop the unsteady Formless, transforming into a rapidly flowing ink streak that sped toward the window.
Witnessing this scene, Ghost and Poisonweed outside the room didn't hesitate either, turning around and fleeing toward the outside of the church.
"Trying to run?"
At this moment, a cold voice rang out.
On the bed, the blue-haired girl had already sat up. There was no trace of sleepiness in her icy blue eyes, only bone-piercing coldness.
She coldly swept her gaze over these frantically fleeing assassins. Subsequently, a book woven from ancient brass silently materialized in her open palm.
Following that, the girl's majestic voice instantly echoed above the entire church.
"In this place, fleeing is forbidden!"
"Violators shall be judged by the [Law]!"
As her voice fell, the pages of the ancient brass book turned on their own without any wind. A solemn and cold glimmer diffused from the pages, instantly filling the entire space.