Wang Ran did not act rashly but remained on guard.
He took cover behind a dump truck, extending his perception around him.
"One at the third layer, one at the First Layer."
Through the gaps of the dump truck, Wang Ran covertly observed the young girl who was an ability user of the Wood Series. She was the one with third-layer strength.
"With third-layer strength, if I were to drain her life force, my injuries should fully recover, very good..."
He clutched his arm, the severe injury had greatly diminished his strength.
Using the secret technique "Life Drain" required restraining the opponent's movements.
With his current strength, killing wasn't difficult, but controlling was not secure enough.
"First, I'll use an 'Imprisonment Technique' to control the opponent, then commence the 'Life Drain'. The stored power inside my body is running low, but just enough for two minor secret techniques... Damn, I ran too hastily earlier and couldn't take the travel bag carrying those heads. Without bringing back the souls, he won't help me replenish my power. I can only rely on that power to absorb Source Power and slowly refill."
His mind raced, considering possible contingencies.
He planned to keep a low profile after recovering from his injuries, strengthen his powers, then seek revenge against the Security Bureau.
Wang Ran burst forth from behind the dump truck.
His lips slightly parted, uttering two words, "Imprison."
Accompanying his words, a mysterious force descended upon the two girls not far away like a downpour.
Chen Xiaojia was showing off the new ability she had developed to her best friend.
After absorbing a large amount of soul power from several soul power containers, Chen Xiaojia's life tier had leapt qualitatively. From a newbie at the First Layer, she had become a third-layer awakened posing as a veteran.
The increase in strength made her handling of abilities increasingly adept.
Under her cousin's guidance, Chen Xiaojia had also begun consciously training her powers.
In her palm, a tender green sprout continuously changed shape, intertwined with others, forming into a green paper crane.
Her friend Xiong Qianqian turned away, her little face puffed up like a bun.
...She was annoyed that Chen Xiaojia had yet to introduce her cousin, making her rather upset.
Even though she was now a student at Extreme Martial Arts Hall and had seen many masters there, she had only met the Hall Master, her big cousin, during the grand opening.
Talking back and forth, neither of them noticed the imminent danger.
A dark purple light post descended over them.
Being close to each other, they were both enveloped by the Imprisonment Light Shield.
In an instant, it was as if time stood still.
Xiong Qianqian's face clearly showed panic and fear.
Chen Xiaojia was stronger; she struggled, but couldn't move even a finger.
She noticed a ragged-looking figure rushing out from behind a dump truck, clearly aiming for them, and couldn't help feeling panicked.
Wang Ran scanned the two girls and licked his lips.
He closed the distance swiftly, already channeling the power within his body to prepare for the secret technique "Life Drain."
It sounded like the shattering of glass.
In his eyes, the necklace worn by the young Wood Series ability user suddenly emitted a dazzling golden light.
The power stored within it was involuntarily triggered and burst forth.
The dark purple light post, which had seemed impossible to shake even slightly, shattered instantly, vanishing into nothingness.
He found it unbelievable.
This script was too unscientific!
An Imprisonment Power that even a fifth-tier awakened, or even more powerful entities, couldn't break free from, was shattered by a young girl. What was that fleeting flash of golden light he had just seen?
Chen Xiaojia was also shocked.
She nearly scared herself silly.
Unable to move, unable to take out even a scroll, at one point she thought everything had gone terribly wrong. Only now did she come to the sudden realization that perhaps some of the equipment on her... was trigger-activated?
In that instant, she saw the strange person not far away change expression, pausing slightly before charging fiercely towards them.
Their face became even more ferocious, like a fierce beast choosing its prey!
Behind them, strands of black silk, cold and horrifying, shot towards them with a whoosh.
Their speed was extremely fast.
She could barely catch them, and lacking combat experience, she panicked instinctively at that moment.
The black silk threads were blocked by a white transparent light shield that emerged from the bracelet on her wrist. Chen Xiaojia patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Ran's face turned from green to white, "It must be an illusion, definitely an illusion."
His blood churned within him.
His throat was clogged with countless silent curses, wanting to point to the heavens and shout them out.
After Wang Ran had escaped, the Security Bureau, including Captain Lei, and several members quickly gave chase.
"The blood trail disappears here."
Wang Ran was severely injured, but apart from bleeding profusely at the time of injury, as they pursued him, the blood drops they found became fewer and fewer, and here they had disappeared entirely.
"How about it, can you smell anything?" Captain Lei asked.
Huang Yu squatted down, dabbing up some of the blood with a white handkerchief, "His blood is strange, it doesn't have the strong bloody smell of a normal person..."
"However," he said with a smile, "if I can't even smell the scent of someone who's injured, I might as well smash my head against tofu and call it quits."
"Here, he must be around here," said Huang Yu. "He must have stopped here."
Captain Lei turned his head to survey the surroundings, "Teams of three, spread out and search! If you find him, remember to signal and do not engage. We must capture him as quickly as possible; this person poses a great threat. If he decides to kill without restraint, there will surely be a great number of survivors injured or worse."
Another Captain from the Security Bureau, Captain An, nodded in agreement, "No one expected that someone with just the power of the Fourth Layer would be able to escape our encirclement, even old Xu..."
"Captain Xu has been sent to the hospital; we don't know if he can hold on."
"Old Xu must hold on," Captain An pressed his lips tightly together. "I can't quite understand; could that person be a Multi-Powered? A Transformation series ability, an Imprisonment Technique, and something that can shield against both vision and perception with a black fog…"
Captain Lei climbed onto the roof of a construction vehicle, looking around. Hearing Captain An, he raised his head towards the sky.
The clouds rolled and shifted unpredictably.
"... or maybe, it's not an ability?"
A member of the Security Team shouted from afar; the low yell mixed with static noise transmitted through the walkie-talkie.
Captain Lei and others rushed to the scene at top speed.
From a distance, he saw the one-armed target person, with countless threads flying out from his back, aiming at two little girls who seemed terrified and helpless.
"Crap, rescue them quickly!"
He shouted, darting forward swiftly.
His expression was filled with urgency, knowing that if the black threads that had left old Xu at death's door struck the two little girls, how could they possibly withstand?
He only hoped they could last a few seconds, long enough to rescue them.
This thought lasted less than half a second before crumbling.
An invisible, transparent barrier stood in front of the two girls, the sharp, eerie threads hitting it with a bang and being repelled.
"It must be some kind of treasure, or a special ability; it might not last long, but this time is enough for me to subdue the target."
Inside the transparent barrier.
Chen Xiaojia constantly reminded herself, 'Don't panic, it's not a big problem, just a small scene...'
Her pounding heart finally began to slow down.
'But I can't keep defending passively. Yes, that's right, I need to counterattack!'
She took out a scroll, thick as two fingers and about a dozen centimeters long, from her bag and was about to unfold it when she stopped abruptly.
'My cousin said that abilities need more training, and practical combat is very important. I'm now at the Third Layer, and wearing this ring should amplify my Wood Series abilities, probably I won't be weaker than this freak...'
She held the scroll in her left hand as a precaution.
Then, with her right hand, she stretched out her palm, aiming at Wang Ran beyond the barrier.
On her index finger, a ring embedded with a gemstone resembling an emerald, began to light up gradually.