"Mr. Sam, please do not resist!"
At that moment, Lin Zhenyi flickered continuously, first pulling Buck back before flashing to Firefly's side.
"I will teleport us out!"
Having said that, Lin Zhenyi's spatial power surged, intending to forcibly teleport the three of them outside the building.
However, after a flash of black light, the three had moved less than ten meters from their original position.
"Humph, you want to run now? Too late." Seeing this, the old man spoke mockingly, "The Spirit Tide has already been incited by me; the spatial fluctuations are even more violent than before."
"I am currently in sub-space, so I will not be affected by the fluctuations. But what about you? You think you can escape with two people under such fluctuations? You're dreaming."
"Just stay here and become sacrifices for the Spirit Tide eruption!"
After speaking, the old man raised his staff with both hands. Dark purple light flared intensely, and his figure began to disappear rapidly.
Click!
A very faint yet exceptionally clear sound of metal interlocking rang out.
The triumphant smile on the old man's face suddenly froze, and unbelievable terror welled up in his eyes.
Because he could feel that, in an instant, he was actually unable to mobilize the spatial magic within his body!
Furthermore, the Spirit Tide, which had been fluctuating violently, began to regain its calm.
"Oh my, oh my~ In our world, there is a saying; I wonder if you have heard it?"
At that moment, a playful, crisp voice abruptly rang out from behind the old man.
"That is, villains die because they talk too much~"
After saying that, Cipher playfully poked half her body out from the shadows behind the old man, her fingers nimbly twirling a pair of exquisite handcuffs, a cat-and-mouse cunning smile on her face.
"You... who are you?! This... this is impossible!" Looking at Cipher, who had appeared in sub-space like a ghost, the old man's voice became somewhat sharp with fear. "My spatial magic?! And the Spirit Tide... what on earth is going on?!"
"Take a look at your wrists."
Facing the old man's question, Cipher did not answer directly but instead pointed at his wrists.
Hearing this, the old man immediately turned his head to look at his wrists.
Only then did he discover that, at some unknown point, a pair of silver handcuffs shimmering with a faint, eerie light had already firmly locked his wrists.
"These are called Mana-blocking handcuffs." At this time, Cipher kindly explained, even swinging the handcuffs in front of the old man for effect. "This thing can prevent you from mobilizing the mana within your body, turning you from a Grand Mage into a helpless old man. It's a specialized cure for all sorts of defiant master mages. How about it, amazing, right?"
"Isn't your world full of superpowers?! How can such a thing exist?!" The old man roared in a bit of a breakdown. "And... I was clearly in sub-space, how did you use this thing to cuff me?!"
"Because I can go in too, dummy!" Cipher rolled her eyes, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "While you thought you were hiding in that sub-space Turtle Shell, I just strolled in after you to prepare your little gift!"
"You..." The old man still wanted to struggle.
"You what you! Shut up!"
Cipher impatiently launched a kick, precisely striking the old man in the kidney area!
The old man let out a miserable groan before falling out of the sub-space state like a tattered sack, slamming heavily back onto the ground in reality. The staff in his hand also fell with a clang and rolled away.
Seeing this, she finally patted her hands in satisfaction and turned toward Firefly, proudly flashing a V-sign.
"Done! The timing was perfect, right?"
Firefly nodded slightly.
"Very timely."
"Of course~" Cipher wagged her tail proudly, "I've been waiting nearby the whole time. He'd never see it coming."
As she spoke, she paced over to the old man slumped on the ground, crouched down, and poked his face with her fingertip, saying with a wicked grin:
"I waited so long just to see you, you old fogey, at the very moment you thought victory was in your grasp and lost yourself in conceit... bam! Give you a surprise! Tsk tsk, this expression of yours really didn't disappoint me!"
"You are... a devil..."
Hearing her words, the old man lying on the ground stared at Cipher and squeezed out those words through gritted teeth.
"Wrong!" Cipher stood up and looked down at him, her tail swaying slightly and happily. "I am a thief, an elegant thief! I wouldn't take on an unrefined profession like a devil."
Before her voice had even faded, she accurately kicked the old man's temple.
With a muffled groan, the old man's eyes rolled back, and he fell into a deep coma.
Only then did Lin Zhenyi completely snap back to reality from this dramatic reversal.
He looked at the cat-girl before him and subconsciously muttered:
"Ci... Cipher?"
"Mm-hmm? Is there something you need me for?"
Hearing someone call her name, Cipher turned her head to look.
"No... it's nothing..." Lin Zhenyi opened his mouth, hesitating, and finally just let out a bitter sigh.
"You have nothing to say to me?" Cipher crossed her arms, her cat tail stopping its sway as her tone suddenly turned cold. "But I happen to have something to ask you."
"What?"
Lin Zhenyi was startled by her sudden change in attitude. After all, he and Cipher had never met before.
"I should be asking you, why didn't you tell me when something happened to Lu Zhaoran?" Cipher said with her arms crossed, looking somewhat angry. Her voice wasn't loud, yet it was very clear. "You're from the Countercurrent Alliance; it's not like you had no way to contact me!"
"...I don't know you."
Listening to Cipher's words, Lin Zhenyi avoided her gaze and spoke in a low, dry voice.
"Do I need you to know me?" She was extremely displeased and directly activated Godspeed to reach Lin Zhenyi's side. Then, deactivating Godspeed, she delivered a forceful punch to Lin Zhenyi's abdomen.
"Ugh—"
With a muffled thud, Lin Zhenyi let out a groan and staggered back several steps while clutching his agonizing abdomen, his face instantly turning pale.
But even so, his eyes revealed a look of shock.
Such speed—it was almost like teleportation.
"You clearly knew I was Lu Zhaoran's friend, and you clearly knew I was stronger than you."
"So!" Cipher slowly approached Lin Zhenyi's side. "So, why would you rather post a commission on the Mercenary Association than contact me?"
Lin Zhenyi clutched his stomach and pressed his lips thin, falling into silence once more.
"Humph, if it weren't for the fact that you are Lu Zhaoran's senior, and the fact that you truly did want to save her."
"Otherwise, it wouldn't have been as simple as just one kick."
After throwing out those words, Cipher walked toward Firefly.
"How do you plan to handle this old man?"
Walking in front of Firefly, she pointed at the unconscious old man to the side and asked.
"Let's wake Buck up first." After thinking for a moment, Firefly replied, "The Countercurrent Alliance should have specialized interrogators; we can see if we can hand him over to them then."
"Fine." Hearing Firefly's words, Cipher nodded. "Then I'll wake him up now."
As she finished speaking, a half-finished cup of coffee appeared in her hand.