The sky collapses

Frovich tilted his head to the left and looked at the gun tip that pierced 07's heart with a gloomy look.

"Please don't be impatient, President. Have you forgotten the most basic etiquette of letting people finish their words?" 07 stretched out his right hand with a normal expression and grasped the shiny black gun handle. "This is also one of your collections, what a nice gun." Although it was clearly a word of praise, his tone did not contain any meaning.

Flovitch's instincts were off, and by the time he was about to pull his weapon back, it was too late. The entire gun, from the point where he gripped it, crumbled into ash in mid-air. 07 brushed off the dust that had stained his body, lowered his eyelashes, and looked at the damaged clothing. "What a shame," he said.

Frovitch released his grip before the embers spread to his fingertips. "Honkai Impact? A rare supernatural power." Without giving the other party time to speak, he grasped the straightened end of the chain and leaped upward, landing firmly on Lin Yan's shoulders. The two of them retreated a distance backwards as one. He pointed his left palm forward into the void, unleashing energy.

A cage appeared out of nowhere between heaven and earth, locking 07 inside.

Frovich spread his right palm upwards, and after a dazzling flash of light, a small high-dimensional factor cannon appeared beside him.

Shi Youchen had only recently witnessed the power of this weapon, and now, seeing someone wielding such a terrifying weapon with their bare hands, he was shocked. At this moment, the only Level 7 Healer in the team beside him said, "This is bad. That direction is..."

Before he could finish his words, a black beam of light suddenly shot out from the muzzle, tearing the night sky apart. The cage holding 07 was swallowed up entirely, and at the same time, a huge crater was smashed into the foot of the southern mountains.

"Boundary Mountain!" the old man exclaimed in horror, "Fortunately, if it was a little off, it would have penetrated the mountain." He swallowed his saliva and sighed in fear, and at the same time his heart tightened. He did not expect the president to make such a risky move, using such a high-risk weapon in a place with complex terrain without a barrier and with ordinary people nearby. It seems that the danger of the 07 is far beyond everyone's imagination.

At this moment, countless people around the world were watching the same scene. Most of them breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the black beam of light, thinking that 07 would have nowhere to escape.

After the light fog dissipated, the cage and the people inside disappeared together, making them more convinced that the enemy had been annihilated.

Flovitch gazed solemnly into the void, sensing the energy within, only to discover that the two unidentified energy sources had vanished. He immediately rushed to the ground, carrying the chained Lin Yan, landing in front of Shi Youchen and his group. The image on the screen magically shifted with his movement, locking onto everyone.

"Where's the body we dumped here?" Flovitch asked them, sensing a foreboding premonition. Behind him, Lin Yan began to wail. "On the second floor," Ying Yungui replied. Flovitch locked the chains in place, saying, "Keep an eye on him," before entering the house.

Several people looked at each other, at a loss as they saw Lin Yan's wailing becoming more and more distorted, and they didn't dare to touch the instruments left by the president.

The images on the thirteen screens stopped at the seven people and Lin Yan, and then fell silent as everyone waited quietly. A few minutes later, Flovitch appeared at the door with a serious expression and said, "He was taken away."

"How could this happen? We have never left here and haven't heard any movement." Everyone was shocked.

Flovitch shook his head. "It's probably a spatial ability that allows him to act so quietly. It's no wonder you can't stop him." His gaze fell on Lin Yan, whose face was beginning to turn blue. "There's no trace of them in the area anymore. It seems we can only spare this guy's life and bring him back for further interrogation."

He walked up to the dying Lin Yan and pointed his index finger at his temple. After a flash of light, Lin Yan stopped struggling and wailing, his face turned pale in an instant, and he lowered his head silently.

"Let's go back to the 9th District Branch Base first." Frovich understood that 07 and the other black-robed man had probably snatched the fugitive's body and ran away. Although it was hard to let the tiger go back to the mountain, the awkward location here was not convenient for large-scale fighting, and with prisoners in hand, it was best to leave first.

Shi Youchen felt a sudden sharp pain on the back of his forehead, and his knees buckled, nearly causing him to fall to the ground. Ying Yungui hurriedly supported him. Following the president's instructions, the others got into the car, but Yan Zhiyuan paused in his tracks, looking back at Shi Youchen out of concern.

After locking Lin Yan into the carriage, Frovich looked up at the light curtain that had not yet disappeared. He was thinking about what kind of torture method he would use when he returned. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of the moon shadow in the distance, and then someone pushed him hard from behind.

At this time, Ying Yungui was supporting Shi Youchen in the same place. Yan Zhiyuan was standing two meters away from the car door and looking back. Frovich was pushed a long distance away without any preparation.

Black rods grew out of the ground around the car body, instantly extending upward and inward to form a simple cage. Almost at the same time, a black beam of light shot out from the ground, swallowing up the space inside the cage.

The incident happened so suddenly and instantly that even Frovitch didn't notice it.

The scene on the light screen changed. As the dark beam of light shot up into the sky, the thirteen light screens switched back to their respective areas.

After the beam of light dissipated, the cars and people inside also disappeared, replaced by a pit like an endless abyss. A faint light flickered in the air, soaring upwards and taking away the last breath of life.

Everyone was stunned, unable to react to this sudden change. At this moment, 07's cold voice came from the sky: "President Flovitch, watch the scene that follows carefully. This is Lin Yan's return gift with his life." In the light curtain, large-scale disasters began to occur in various regions, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, extreme weather and so on. From the perspective of several people, it seemed as if the world was collapsing.

07's voice grew fainter. "This is the energy he's absorbed and accumulated over half his life, the energy of the superpowers in your association. Don't you love to advocate for peace and order? Go, save the ordinary people who value you more than your own lives, and tell the world that you are the saviors."

Each word was colder than the last, yet Shi Youchen could hear the ambiguous sarcasm in the last one. 07's voice faded completely, and the next moment, a loud rumbling sound erupted from the bottom of the southernmost border mountain. The mountain unexpectedly split open, tilting and falling towards the village.

Frovitch clenched his teeth, it was too late to close the distance. He spat and supported himself on the ground with both hands, injecting half of his remaining energy into the ground, activating his supernatural power - Summoning: Seven-Layer Rashomon.

The numerous huge vermilion gates rising from the ground blatantly separated the rocks from the village and also supported the fallen half of the mountain. Frovich breathed a sigh of relief, "Huh, luckily I renewed the contract some time ago." He originally thought that he would never be able to summon this thing in his lifetime, and he wanted to keep some contract quotas and sign some more practical tools instead. Fortunately, he was busy and forgot about finding new tools. Later, he simply renewed all the tools he had signed before, and the Seven-Layer Rashomon was naturally included.

Ying Yungui's face was grimacing. If the nightmare hadn't drained nearly all of his energy, how could such a commotion have occurred in just half a mountain? Frovitch noticed his gloomy mood, glanced at him, and said, "Don't worry, young man. Once you're well, you'll be able to contribute someday." He glanced at Shi Youchen and Yan Zhiyuan. "This incident happened suddenly. It's a relief that you're still alive. You'll be needed in many places when you return."

He nodded in the direction of the light curtain and said, "I have to go clean up this mess. I have to take back the territory here. You guys should find a way to get back."

"Please wait a moment, Guild Master!" It was actually Shi Youchen who spoke. "I have a friend who was attacked and taken away by the enemy. His whereabouts are unknown now. Could you please help me?"

Frovitch frowned, thought for a few seconds, then said helplessly, "Although this may disappoint you, I can't track this with my abilities. You should go back and seek help from those with special abilities. I wish you good luck."

Before leaving, Frovich stated that he would leave the Sevenfold Rashomon here until the District 9 branch had dealt with all matters.

...

The three of them finally borrowed a small passenger car from a family in the village, and first went around to the foot of the mountain in the east, trying to find the mission vehicle that the team had brought, but in the end they found nothing. So they had to accept their fate and drove the car that creaked and seemed to be falling apart after running for a while, and decided to spend two or three hours to run back to the branch base.

The three of them were exhausted physically and mentally but did not stop talking during the journey.

Yan Zhiyuan: "...I didn't expect the situation to turn out like this. I think our mission vehicle was destroyed by the escapees along the way."

Ying Yungui hammered the steering wheel, and the sound of the horn "beep" spread across the deserted road under the dark night sky. "Damn nightmare." Yan Zhiyuan echoed, "It's damned true. Not only did he absorb our energy, but he also attacked us in various districts. Without him, we wouldn't be in this situation now."

By the time the three of them left, the time curtain had vanished. The final image showed that the disaster in some areas had been effectively controlled with the assistance of the association's branch. "I've contacted Lin Zhouze. District 8 suffered significant damage, but fortunately, he's safe and sound. He even asked if we could return safely," Shi Youchen said, looking up and rubbing his eyes wearily.

Ying Yungui frequently glanced at the rearview mirror, observing his expression. "It won't go so smoothly. We'll definitely have to deal with the aftermath of the S-rank mission here. Besides, there's also He Xian's situation..." He paused before continuing, "Preparing for the worst. The Maintenance Bureau took him away in public, and they've directly declared war on the Association. There's no guarantee they won't use him as a sacrifice."

"No matter what, I will definitely look for him." Ying Yungui, unaware of the conversation between He Xian and Shi Youchen in the courtyard, assumed he was blaming himself. "He Xian isn't stupid. He'll at least do his best to protect his own life, even if it means temporarily bowing to the other party. Don't worry too much. He's my closest friend, and I can't let him disappear without a clear explanation."

Shi Youchen lowered his eyes and rubbed his brows in circles with the base of his palms.

He Xian's whereabouts, Jiang Da's entrustment, Lu Shen's wife and children, Wu Yan's life experience... Faces floated before his eyes. Finally, before his temples began to ache again, he stopped thinking, lowered the car window a lot, and decided to rest for a while and wait until dawn to talk about everything.

Before he closed his eyes, he heard a soft sigh from someone unknown, and then he fell asleep.