Chapter 216 The Undercover Agent
Watching the young Lu Chan disappear, I couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. Perhaps I would never see her again. Although our cooperation wasn't based on complete mutual trust, I felt that given enough time, we could become good friends.
The nearby demon hunters and freak guards all noticed that I had eliminated Dream Dragon, and the situation instantly reversed. The demon hunters, who had been incredibly frustrated just moments before, suddenly felt their morale soar, while the freak guards looked on with despair, their fighting spirit dwindling dramatically. If things continued this way, capturing them and the researchers alive wouldn't be too difficult.
It's about time to take Chang'an to the Black Mist Vortex Teleportation Portal and check on Ma Zao's condition. Although there's an item that can take over the burden of the soul for the user, it's still a long-term use of the Returning Power, and I'm still worried that she might not be able to handle it.
Suddenly, I realized that Mazao's current location was a bit strange; she seemed to be leaving the old base.
Almost simultaneously, a message entered my consciousness.
This is a message from a "firefly," specifically the one I left with Asahi. According to my pre-set instructions, it will only actively transmit information when Asahi is in danger.
I immediately tensed up, feeling something was off. The message it was sending felt ambiguous. Normally, a firefly would send a message saying "Danger!", but this was just "Danger?", conveying a vague and unclear meaning.
I saw the scene where the "fireflies" were and received the historical records stored inside them.
In an instant, I understood what had happened.
To sum it up in one sentence, Lu Youxun betrayed them.
This wording might not be entirely accurate; he was probably just being true to his own stance. But saying it this way better reflects my current mood.
Around the time I was fighting Silvermoon, Mazao was concentrating on maintaining the Black Mist Vortex portal while keeping a basic level of vigilance on those around him.
The so-called "side men" were Lu Youxun and several demon hunters from the sharpshooting teams. The former were not combat personnel, so they weren't on the front lines, while the latter were personnel temporarily assigned from the battlefield to protect the retreat route. In Ma Zao's view, both sides were likely to be people to be wary of.
Because of the sudden and unusual fluctuations of magical power in the distance, my aura was clearly drawn into it, and Ma Zao seemed to involuntarily shift her attention slightly. Perhaps it was in this instant that a slight opening was exposed, and Lu Youxun made his move without warning.
Go to sleep.
He suddenly said this to Asahi.
The words contained a magical power, a quick-acting hypnosis technique that the young girl Lu Chan had also used. With Lu Youxun's current magical power, this level of spell could probably only be used against bad-level targets at most. Ma Zao was about to retaliate immediately, but at the same time, the light emanating from the eye sockets of the wooden skull in her hand—the object that bore the burden of the user's soul—suddenly changed from red to blue, and she herself staggered, as if her consciousness became hazy and blurred, unable to control her body freely.
This item is clearly problematic; it will likely enhance Lu Youxun's rapid hypnosis, and since Mazao herself is using this item, she may be affected by it from within.
Ma Zao seemed to lose consciousness quickly and fell forward.
Meanwhile, the other demon hunters also sprang into action. One of them cast an illusion spell on the "firefly" next to him as the anomaly began, while another cast a spell that looked like it was creating ice on Mazao's left wrist, immediately freezing the red GPS bracelet.
The others coordinated perfectly around Asao, casting the same spell that appeared to be a seal. Numerous crystals materialized out of thin air, and before Asao could even fall, they sealed her inside like a coffin. The black mist vortex portal, having lost its maintainer, automatically disappeared.
Ma was taken down so early? I instinctively felt that something was wrong.
The crystal coffin could float and move in the air, and Lu Youxun and the others quietly left with Ma Zao. At this time, another nuclear explosion occurred outside, and Meng Xiangchenlong and Shenqiang, two Great Completion level cultivators, clashed. They could only lie in wait and act according to the situation. The "Firefly," who was under the influence of the illusion spell, was left behind.
I didn't expect the "fireflies" to be dealt with so easily, but upon reflection, they were ultimately just tiny fragments of my scattered consciousness. They had a history of being easily destroyed by the Zhu family mansion's barrier, so it's understandable that they couldn't withstand illusion magic. As for why they've become able to warn me again now, it seems to be due to changes in myself.
Having experienced the battle with Silvermoon, and especially after personally breaking Silvermoon's "illusion," ordinary illusion spells seemed to me to be full of flaws. Although this "firefly" was a tiny fragment of my spirit that had split off before, it still managed to synchronize with me to some extent and realize that it had fallen under an illusion.
However, this "firefly" was rather dim-witted. Even after realizing that it had been infected, it couldn't figure out what to do next. It took a while before it finally made the decision to "contact me first."
However, even without it, I have other backup plans, namely the thermal energy markers left inside Asahi's body.
Through thermal energy signals, I tracked Ma Zao's current location and obtained historical records of Lu Youxun and others after they took her outside.
At the same time, intense questions swirled in my mind like a hurricane.
Why would Lu Youxun betray them? How could he dare to betray them?
The old man believed I had the potential to become the Great Impermanence, and Lu Chan, the girl who knew me through Lu Youxun's memories, also referred to me as a candidate for the Great Impermanence. The term "candidate for the Great Impermanence" also appeared in Yin Yue's words; although the exact definition is unknown, its meaning is clear enough from the literal interpretation. In other words, Lu Youxun likely also believed I had the potential to become the Great Impermanence. He was also a staunch believer in the Transcendentalist movement, and had previously associated with me on behalf of the Transcendentalist faction.
Betraying me means he's giving up on our relationship and the efforts of the Transcendental faction to win me over. Even if he secretly kidnapped Asaho, given his position, he would inevitably be unable to clear his name afterward. Why would he make such a choice?
I don't believe he did this solely for his own benefit. Did he think the profits from kidnapping Asaho were greater than the profits from continuing our relationship? Or was he, like Shinsho, acting under orders from some unseen force? Or perhaps both?
In historical records, after Lu Youxun and his group moved to the old stronghold of the Humanitarian Division, they arrived at a secluded place where a demon hunter was already waiting. He had a lot of equipment beside him and had opened a portal—it was a door frame standing on the ground with a pitch-black center, which looked like a portal no matter how you looked at it.
Upon arriving here, these people seemed to relax considerably.
Lu Youxun said to the people around him, "As long as we get her to the other side of the portal, this mission will be over."
"What will happen to this girl?" one of them asked. "She's a crucial clue to curing the amnesia, but sending her to a place like that..."
“That heretic named Zhuang Cheng is also at the Great Completion stage, right? He seems to value this girl highly. If we do this now, what if he retaliates against us later…” another person chimed in.
“You’re all insignificant to him. He can’t even remember your faces or names. As long as you’re not caught red-handed, you’ll be fine,” Lu Youxun said. “Only Shenqiang and I know the details of the mission. I’m keeping it from you for your own good. But even if I don’t say anything, you already know certain things. That’s right…”
He glanced back at Mazao, who was sealed in the crystal coffin, and after a moment of silence said, "...She will be killed. It has nothing to do with curing the amnesia. Being sent to a place like that only has one outcome: death."
The others looked at each other, but no one showed any surprise; they all clearly knew what they were doing.
They then continued transporting the crystal coffin, and that was the end of their historical record. Now they were heading towards the portal.
In an instant, I processed all the information above and activated the Flame Teleportation without hesitation.
I arrived at the center of the procession transporting the crystal coffin. These men were all highly trained demon hunters, likely with considerable experience fighting strange creatures; encountering enemies without warning was not uncommon for them. The moment they noticed me, they instinctively and reflexively launched an attack.
Their movements were fast, but only by conventional standards. To me in my fire elemental form, they appeared to be frozen in mid-air. Some of them had already recognized my face; though their bodies continued to make attack motions, terror and despair slowly crept onto their faces.
Lu Youxun also saw my face. His eyesight was probably the best in the group, but his movements were the slowest. He was still standing still.
I did a quick count, and there were six demon hunters involved in the kidnapping of Ma Zao, excluding Lu Youxun. I'm in a terrible mood right now, and I want to kill them all in one go, but I still have some questions for them.
So let's just extract half of them first.
"wait--"
I won't wait.
Lu Youxun had barely uttered a single word when my flames ignited. Three of them were set ablaze, vanishing without a trace before they could even struggle, leaving only a wisp of black smoke. Watching them disappear, a thought involuntarily crossed my mind: although I had no interest in cruelty, wouldn't killing them so easily be too lenient?
As for the other three, I summoned three balls of fire, each forming the shape of a giant hand, and grabbed them all.
Then, I turned around and looked at Lu Youxun.
(End of this chapter)
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