"A spatial... mage?"
Looking at the staff in the old man's hand not far away, Firefly felt somewhat puzzled.
Based on the old man's attire, he looked more like someone from a Western fantasy world.
"Forget it, let's see what he's capable of first."
Although she wanted to observe for a while longer, seeing that Lin Zhenyi seemed unable to hold out, she decided not to keep watching.
The armor on Firefly's legs began to vent crimson flames. Then, she leaned forward and clenched her fist, her cold gaze locking onto the old man.
Boom—!!!
With a massive roar, Firefly punched straight through the alloy wall. Without losing speed, she charged directly toward the old man.
"What?"
The old man turned his head alertly toward the source of the noise, but in that instant, he saw only a flame-wreathed fist rushing toward his face.
Boom—!
The explosion rang out again, though slightly quieter than the first.
The fist smashed through the old man's body, and then the flames swept through, instantly consuming him.
"Hmm? He didn't die?"
Firefly withdrew her fist. Even though there had been physical feedback from the hit, her scan picked up the old man's trail once again.
Seeing this, she clenched her fist again and charged at his location.
Swish—
The scorching fist swung through empty air.
Sensing his position, she found the old man had moved behind her, so she swung again.
Swish—
Accompanied by the sound of air being torn apart, Firefly missed once more.
"Phew... That was close... almost a disaster." The old man's figure emerged nearby. A doll charm at his waist turned to ash, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. "What terrifying strength..."
"A substitute plus teleportation?" Firefly muttered to herself upon finding her attack had missed again. Her tone turned somewhat unfriendly. "Then let's see how many more times you can teleport."
Having said that, she stopped prioritizing power and instead made herself even faster.
She didn't believe that under such a rapid offensive, his ability wouldn't show a flaw.
Swish, swish, swish—
Faced with attacks falling like a rainstorm, the cold sweat on the old man's forehead increased.
He dodged clumsily, the light on his staff flickering unsteadily.
"Stop! Stop now!" After a while, he began shouting at Firefly. "If you keep attacking like this, I will directly detonate this Spiritual Tide and let this entire building be swallowed by it!"
Hearing this, Firefly paused and withdrew her hand.
Even if she were swallowed by the Spiritual Tide, it would at most mean going to another world, but she didn't want Firefly to go there for the time being.
"Huff... huff..." Seeing her stop, the old man bent over, panting. He stared at Firefly with sinister eyes. "What do you want? Are you here for that woman too?!"
Firefly nodded.
Seeing this, the old man managed to steady himself and explained with forced composure:
"That woman broke into the laboratory. I just wanted to capture her, but she ran straight into the Spiritual Tide herself!"
"Cough... cough... All lies!" At this moment, Lin Zhenyi, who had just broken free from the restraint, staggered over. His voice was hoarse. "If you hadn't intended to kill her, she never would have rushed inside!"
"Humph." Hearing this, the old man let out a disdainful snort. "She destroyed so many instruments when she broke in! I'm not allowed to have killing intent?! Who knew the girl would be so easily spooked that she'd run right in?"
"You!"
Lin Zhenyi wanted to say more, but Firefly stopped him.
"You don't look like a person from this world. State your purpose."
Firefly stared at his attire and spoke flatly.
"I am indeed not from your world. As for my purpose..." the old man answered frankly. "I simply wanted to see if I could use this thing called a Spiritual Tide to return to my original world."
"So, what are the research results?" Hearing the old man's statement, Firefly continued to ask. "If one accidentally falls into the Spiritual Tide, what are the consequences?"
"Well..." The old man paused and then shook his head. "I'm not sure."
"Aren't you the one specifically researching this? How can you not be sure!"
The moment those words left the old man's mouth, Lin Zhenyi grabbed him by the collar and shouted with a face full of distrust.
"Do you expect a person from another world to understand your technology?!"
The old man shot back, refusing to back down.
He first broke free from Lin Zhenyi's grip, then raised his staff to emphasize his point.
"What we study over there is magic! Not the things called technology in your world!"
"Then how did you research the Spiritual Tide?"
Firefly immediately identified the contradiction in the old man's words and asked calmly.
"I found their leaders and had them research the Spiritual Tide for me. In exchange, I had to step in and help when necessary."
"Every time they researched something, I had them encrypt and store the data so I could view it upon my return."
After saying that, he pointed to a console next to the small observation room.
"That data requires multiple verifications, such as my fingerprints and face, before it can be displayed."
Hearing this, Lin Zhenyi looked toward Firefly, though he was anxious.
"Mr. Sam, do you think we should let him operate it? What if it's a trap?"
"Let him go," Firefly said calmly. "Even if it is a trap, it's useless against me."
Seeing this, Lin Zhenyi looked at the old man and signaled him to go over.
The old man used his staff as a cane and walked slowly to the console.
Upon reaching the console, the old man began pressing his hand against it and then made several expressions at the screen, appearing to undergo facial recognition.
Buzz—
Almost the instant the authentication was completed, the high-strength transparent material covering the observation room was rapidly obscured by heavy alloy, and all the door seams became perfectly sealed.
Immediately after, a layer of invisible energy fluctuations suddenly spread out, completely isolating the small observation room.
Seeing this, Firefly frowned slightly, about to demand an explanation.
But in the next moment, she heard a cry of alarm from Lin Zhenyi.
"The spatial fluctuations of the Spiritual Tide have vanished?"
The spatial fluctuations vanished?
He wants to escape!
Hearing those words, Firefly reacted immediately.
Because the violent spatial fluctuations severely limited Lin Zhenyi's spatial abilities, the old man, who used the same spatial power, certainly wouldn't be unaffected.
Thus, if the old man suddenly shielded the spatial fluctuations of the Spiritual Tide, he most likely intended to use that opportunity to escape or counterattack.
The facts were exactly as she expected.
The moment the shielding vanished, the spatial power around the old man began to fluctuate rapidly.
"He wants to escape through spatial teleportation!"
Sensing the spatial fluctuations, Lin Zhenyi also reacted quickly and shouted a warning.
He immediately teleported in front of the old man to stop him, but his grasp caught only air.
Firefly's follow-up punch also passed right through the old man's body.
"It's useless!" the old man shouted arrogantly. "My body has already entered sub-space. Don't even think about hitting me!"
"I'll take my leave now. As for you, you can go to the grave along with this building!"
After saying that, the light from the staff in the old man's hand flared intensely. Then, the Spiritual Tide fluctuations that had mostly been shielded began to penetrate the isolation and vibrate violently.