Chapter 162 Cleanup Complete

A curved ice shield materialized in front of her. Sharp metal blades struck the ice shield, producing a series of clanging sounds, but they could not penetrate it.

At the same time, she grabbed at the metal-type ability user in mid-air with her left hand.

"凝".

The air around the metal-type ability user instantly became saturated with moisture and froze!

He was completely encased in a block of transparent, solid ice, his face frozen in terror. Then, streaks of crimson blood seeped from the ice—his blood had been forcibly congealed by the low temperature, causing his capillaries to rupture.

The remaining one fire-type, one earth-type, and three ordinary people turned to run away.

Lin Yan blocked the back door of the warehouse. With a flash of light, an ordinary person clutched his neck and fell to the ground.

The fire roared, blocking another direction.

The earth-elemental ability user gritted his teeth, stomped the ground, and a wall of earth rose up in an attempt to block Ruan Ning.

Ruan Ning didn't even look at it, and pointed with his hand.

"break."

The water whip transformed into a high-pressure water blade, easily slicing through the earthen wall. The water blade continued its momentum, grazing the neck of the earth-elemental ability user.

The head rolled off.

Seeing his companion die instantly, the last fire-type ability user suffered a mental breakdown and turned to slam the flames at the nearby oil tank: "Let's die together!"

Ruan Ning's eyes flashed, and her mental power suddenly erupted!

Before the flames unleashed by the fire-type ability user even touched the oil tank, they mysteriously swirled back and engulfed him! He screamed and rolled on the ground, soon falling silent.

The three remaining ordinary people had already collapsed to the ground, trembling.

Ruan Ning walked over: "Who are the people on the list?"

A man pointed shakily to the warehouse: "Inside...inside, Manager Wang..."

Ruan Ning entered the warehouse. It was filled with wooden crates; prying open a few revealed guns, ammunition, and energy crystals. In the innermost compartment, a middle-aged, overweight man in silk pajamas was trying to climb through the window.

An ice pick pierced his calf.

The fat man screamed and collapsed.

Ruan Ning squatted down and looked at his face: "Wang Fugui, one of the key figures of the 'Business Alliance' in the Northwest?"

The fat man's face turned deathly pale: "Don't kill me... I have a lot of money, supplies... you can have them all..."

"What benefits did the Shen family offer you?"

“Thirty percent… no, forty percent of the capital's black market share, plus the secondary technology sharing from ‘Origin’… We helped them capture you, transport supplies, and provide cover…” the fat man stammered, “It was all the Shen family’s fault! Spare me!”

Ruan Ning stood up and said to Lin Yan, who had followed her in, "Disable her superpowers, tie her up, and hand her over to Qin Li's men along with the others outside."

"yes."

At 4:10 a.m., Grain Reserve Warehouse No. 11 in the South District.

Shen Yan and Zhou Min hid in the ventilation ducts on the top of the warehouse.

The warehouse below was brightly lit, and a dozen people were loading bags of "food" onto a modified truck. Gun parts were visible through the tears in the bags.

“Six ability users, three at level three and three at level two. Two are fire-type, one is metal-type, one is water-type, one is earth-type, and the other is a rare sound-type ability that can create noise interference.” Zhou Min lowered her voice, her mental perception becoming more refined.

“The sound system is a problem, let’s deal with it first.” Shen Yan removed the grille from the ventilation duct. “You control the situation, I’ll launch a surprise attack.”

Zhou Min nodded and focused her attention.

Below, a man wearing a headset suddenly looked up, gazing at the ventilation vent with a puzzled expression—he was from the sound engineering department.

At that very moment, Zhou Min was mentally shocked!

The voice-based ability user groaned as his headset shattered, and he screamed in pain, temporarily losing his ability to interfere.

"Let's do it!"

Shen Yan swooped down from the ventilation shaft like a falcon! In mid-air, he raised his hands, and all the metal items in the warehouse—trolleys, shelves, even nails on the wall—trembled and peeled away at the same time, turning into a metal storm that swept towards the few superhumans!

"Enemy attack!"

One of the fire-type ability users reacted the fastest, unleashing flames from both palms in an attempt to melt the metal fragments.

However, the metal fragments controlled by Shen Yan were covered with a thin, rapidly vibrating energy membrane, making it difficult for the flames to melt them instantly. The fragments pierced through the wall of fire, riddling him with holes.

The metal-type ability user roared, attempting to seize control of the metal.

Shen Yan sneered, unleashing his full power, the metal between them screeching as it scraped against each other. Less than two seconds into the stalemate, a steel bar controlled by Shen Yan suddenly changed direction, piercing the metal-type ability user's shoulder from the side!

Water-based and earth-based ability users joined forces, causing mud to gush from the ground and water arrows to condense in the air.

Shen Yan nimbly dodged, simultaneously manipulating metal fragments to form a shield for blocking. Zhou Min, above, continuously used mental attacks to disrupt him.

In the chaos, Shen Yan seized the opportunity, and several metal plates, specially polished to be extremely thin, silently slashed across the ankles of the water and earth elementalists, severing their Achilles tendons.

The two screamed and fell to the ground.

The remaining ordinary thugs tried to fire, but the bullets struck the metal armor that Shen Yan had temporarily conjured, making a clanging sound.

The battle ended quickly.

Shen Yan stepped on the chest of the person with the voice-based superpower: "Who's the leader?"

The other party gritted their teeth and remained silent.

Zhou Min jumped down, her mental energy piercing into his mind, and then pointed to a figure in the corner of the warehouse trying to slip through a hidden door: "Him."

Shen Yan raised his hand, and a steel pipe whistled through the air, piercing the man's thigh and pinning him to the wall.

At 4:30 a.m., Qin Li led his men in a surprise attack on the residence of a major in the General Staff.

The major was destroying documents when soldiers broke down the door and pinned him down.

"Qin Li! This is treason!" the major struggled.

Qin Li picked up a piece of paper that hadn't been burned completely from the ground. It contained the order to adjust the patrol routes for tomorrow, with several routes that Ruan Ning's team often took marked on it.

"Colluding with the enemy, aiding the enemy, and plotting to harm the base's superhumans." Qin Li slapped the paper in his face. "Take him away and deal with him according to military law."

At five o'clock in the morning, dawn was breaking.

After the three locations were cleared, the prisoners and supplies were taken to the military detention center.

Ruan Ning, Qin Li, and others met at the command center.

Qin Li: "The General Staff Major has been recruited. The Shen family promised him a safe evacuation to the capital and a high position. He is responsible for leaking our operational intelligence and preparing to cut off communications and power to a specific area during the 'exercise' at the end of the month."

Shen Yan said, "The three warehouses of the Chamber of Commerce were raided. We seized enough weapons and ammunition to arm a battalion, as well as a large quantity of controlled drugs and energy crystals. We also captured two leaders and four minor bosses."

Ruan Ning: "What about the remnants of the research institute?"

Qin Li pulled up an interrogation record: "According to the prisoners, the main remaining forces of the research institute are not in the Northwest, but scattered in several small and medium-sized settlements in the surrounding area, hiding under the guise of 'medical stations' or 'technical support teams'. Although Feng Yuanzhou was captured, he had previously transferred a group of core researchers and experimental equipment through the 'Business Alliance' channels. Their chief contact is codenamed 'Doctor', and his whereabouts are currently unknown."

“Continue the investigation.” Ruan Ning looked out the window at the pale sky. “The Shen family has suffered heavy losses this time and will not give up. They will come from the capital sooner or later.”

“A thorough purge is also needed within the Northwest Base.” Qin Li’s eyes were sharp. “General Luo has authorized the establishment of a special investigation team to thoroughly investigate all personnel associated with the Shen family, the Business Alliance, and the Research Institute.”

Ruan Ning added, "If the Shen family sends anyone else, kill them one by one. Continue until they dare not come again."