"The place is too crowded. It would be too conspicuous for the four of us to go in together."
At the entrance to the comic convention, four middle-aged men in coats of different colors stood to the side like country bumpkins seeing the big city for the first time, watching the variety of cosplayers inside.
An ordinary-looking middle-aged man in a gray coat spoke to the hooded man beside him, "Quest, you go and capture the target. Knock her out by hitting her neck before you bring her out. You're permitted to use Class E Spells."
"Is one person enough?" asked another middle-aged man in a white shirt. "Won't it be very noticeable bringing the target out?"
"That's enough." The man in the gray coat pulled a black snakeskin bag from his trouser pocket and handed it to the hooded man. "The target is very small. Just put her in the bag and carry her out."
With the snakeskin bag in hand, the hooded man departed. At that moment, the middle-aged man in the blue denim coat chimed in, "Actually, I think it wouldn't matter if all four of us went in together. We can leave the outside support to those eight Class F Warriors."
"No," the man in the gray coat responded. "I kept you back not for support, but to adapt to any situation. The target is too agile. Even when all four of us went after her, she managed to escape three or four times. Therefore, we'll go in batches this time. We'll approach her from all directions, leaving her no room to run."
"It doesn't matter if Quest can't capture the target. The main goal is to make her underestimate him. That way, when she moves, she'll overlook pursuers from other directions. Then, we can gradually shrink her escape space and finally capture her without alerting anyone."
The man in the white shirt sighed. "If we were in the Federation, it wouldn't be this troublesome..."
"For the target to run to the Mysterious Country was beyond anyone's expectations," the man in the gray coat replied with a sigh. "Just make sure not to cause a disturbance, or it will be hard for us to leave through normal channels—I might manage to escape, but you would have a hard time getting away."
He lifted his wristwatch. Its face had no hands or numbers, just a dark background, a grid system divided by numerous green lines, and a red dot flickering on the grid.
"The target has stopped moving," said the man in the gray coat with a smile. "Maybe Quest will succeed in one go."
At that moment, Quest was also looking at his watch, carefully checking the coordinates. He had to acknowledge a fact: the target was in the women's restroom.
Only their squad of four were equipped with this tracking watch, a national secret prop. Even the eight Class F Warriors outside tasked with assisting them were not authorized to touch it. This tracking watch was developed in advance by the base, based on research of the Supreme Treasure and for its safety. Indeed, the base's foresight proved to be absolutely correct.
It was said the watch utilized Transcendent technology. Even if the Supreme Treasure fled to the ends of the earth, the watch could still detect the vibrational ripples of its Spiritual Energy, thereby pinpointing its location.
They had chased the target from New York to Lianjiang, relying on the powerful capabilities of this tracking watch.
Now that it had come to this, whether it was a women's restroom or even a police station, he had to tough it out.
However, Quest wasn't a fool. As members of the Federal Undertakers, unlike the Watchers, they also possessed some Spells suitable for covert operations.
Class E Spell—"Fatal Deterrence"!
An invisible threat rippled from him like waves. Everyone near Quest felt a bone-chilling shudder. It was like a mouse seeing a cat, a henpecked husband seeing his wife, or a collectible figure enthusiast seeing rambunctious relatives' children in their bedroom. An overwhelming Fear completely seized their minds, compelling them to subconsciously flee the area!
This Spell was mainly aimed at ordinary people, designed to make them flee in panic without a trace. It was one of the essential Spells for Pallbearers on covert missions.
Quest saw the women near the restroom rapidly leaving. Photographers, Skeleton Mages, and red-suited Painted Face People also turned away from the area.
Suddenly, no one was paying any attention to the women's restroom, allowing Quest to confidently enter.
There was nothing out of the ordinary in the women's washroom. Quest checked his watch and determined that the target should be in the stall at the far end. He felt neither sadness nor joy. The target must be exhausted, unable to run anymore, right?
The Pallbearers had pursued her for several days and nights without stopping. Even if the target wasn't human, she might not withstand such a prolonged state of heightened alertness.
And with the pursuers relentless, the target had no allies to rely on—Loneliness and helplessness were often most effective in crushing the prey.
But this made things easier for Quest.
Steeling himself, Quest took out the snakeskin bag and advanced deeper into the women's washroom. Halfway there, he suddenly sensed someone behind him.
Impossible! My "Fatal Deterrence" is a persistent area-of-effect Spell. Any ordinary person who comes near should automatically leave due to the implanted suggestion of Fear!
Without waiting to turn around, Quest felt a whooshing sound behind him and instinctively activated the Class E Spell "Iron Armor"!
At the cost of reduced speed, he donned an invisible steel armor made of Spiritual Energy!
Against any attack, the Spiritual Energy armor could deliver a significant kickback, drastically reducing damage!
However, in the next second, Quest felt a heavy blow to the back of his head!
Quest's heart sank. The Spiritual Energy armor was ineffective! It was even pierced directly by the attacker!
The enemy is a Transcendent capable of performing Armor-Breaking Magic!
Quest immediately activated his Awakening Technique, "Rock Fist." This coated his hands in an external layer of Spiritual Energy as hard as rock. His strikes would carry an additional 1.5 tons of force, yet his own attack speed wouldn't decrease!
If I hit them, even an adversary with a Protective Spell will be shaken to death!
However, Quest's ferocious, rotating deathblow of a punch hit nothing but air.
After he turned around, there was no one in front of him.
A deep, mocking voice, seemingly from within his own belly, instantly ignited Quest's fury!
"You've succeeded in making me angry," Quest said, his face dark with menace.
One minute later, Quest lay on the floor of the ladies' room.
Ren Suo, who had used the "Mage's Death-Defying Feather" no less than nine times, could no longer hold on. He slumped against the wall like a heap of mud.
The intense pain and physical trauma made Ren Suo's vision swim; it seemed he might pass out at any second.
Luckily, the warm energy from his 120% Determination Value wasn't just for moral and spiritual support. (Defeating a Pallbearer had permanently increased his maximum Determination Value by 20%.)
When Ren Suo was in critical condition, the warm energy not only rapidly repaired his damage but also guided his hand to his torn flesh, allowing him to cast "Pain-Relieving Therapy" and quickly heal the injured area.
At this time, Little Jiu, apparently hearing the fighting outside stop, peeked her head out the door. Upon seeing Ren Suo on the ground, she ran over, crying, and hugged him, her large, red-pupiled eyes shedding big tears. "Thank you, big brother, for protecting me!"
With a 120% Determination Value, the "Pure White Mini Holy Grail," and "Pain-Relieving Therapy" all working together, Ren Suo soon caught his breath. Trying to save face, he patted Little Jiu's head and said, "I'm only on the brink of death, not dead yet." Googlᴇ search noᴠelfire.net
Ren Suo looked at Quest on the ground, and a complex, indescribable emotion welled up inside him. His eyes involuntarily moistened.
It's like a high school senior just starting their final year, overwhelmed by the doubled academic pressure—realizing there's still such a long road to endure!
And for Ren Suo, it meant—there are still two more Pallbearers to fight!
Even though Ren Suo had "Gauze Clothing" to protect his body, when facing the bodily Tear caused by the side effects of "Mage's Death-Defying Feather," it could at best only reduce the damage!
The "Mage's Death-Defying Feather" allowed a game character to gain Teleport-like speed. However, if the character's physique wasn't strong enough, the excessive speed could inflict bodily harm. The prop also had a 'staunt' effect: if the character remained still for a period before activating it, they could use the high-speed movement without injury.
However, to avoid exposing himself to the Pallbearers' eyes, Ren Suo had to keep moving at high speed, never having the chance to 'staunt,' and could only Tough Out the damage with "Gauze Clothing."
In the game, Ren Suo had seen that after a Rebel used high-speed movement nine times consecutively, they would be severely injured and enter a near-death state.
Back then, Ren Suo, the cold and heartless Player, naturally didn't care about that problem. What did a Rebel's near-death state have to do with him?
So now it was his turn to be on the brink of death.
Femur, tibia, sternum, ribs, scapulae, clavicles, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae... trapezius, deltoids, latissimus dorsi... Never before had Ren Suo been so acutely aware of the location of these bones and muscles. These were the areas most severely injured during his high-speed movements.
Even if Ren Suo was confident he could heal himself, even if he had "Pain-Relieving Therapy," he couldn't stop the all-encompassing pain racking his body right now!
Feeling the pain from his little toes to the strands of his hair, Ren Suo's body couldn't help but tremble, hot tears nearly spilling from his eyes.
Can the tears fall now?
At that moment, Little Jiu looked up. Seeing the tears streaming down Ren Suo's face, she said with a cry, "I'm sorry... It's all Little Jiu's fault. I made big brother get hurt. I made big brother cry..."
"No, it's not," Ren Suo quickly wiped away the tears and forced a Smiley Face. "These are tears of Joy."
It was his own mess to clean up; Ren Suo couldn't blame Little Jiu, nor did he want her to feel guilty. Men get used to pain. It was his first time experiencing this, so the agony naturally brought tears to his eyes.
"Really?" Little Jiu stared at Ren Suo.
"Yeah, see how happily I'm smiling."
Ren Suo's laughter echoed in the ladies' room, and his red coat seemed to glow even brighter.