Chapter 64
The cold combat uniform clung to the skin, outlining every inch of the tight lines.
The silver whip, like a dormant silver snake, coiled tightly around my waist, within easy reach. I took a deep breath, the icy air piercing my lungs, suppressing the burning anxiety in my chest.
Walking out of the small room that served as a makeshift dressing room, the oppressive silence outside was almost suffocating.
Everyone's eyes were focused on him.
I walked straight up to Eiko Atobe.
Although she remained strong, her face was pale, and her eyes were a mixture of extreme worry and hope. I reached out my hand, and in my palm lay a delicate golden butterfly bracelet, shining warmly under the dim light of the warehouse.
"Auntie," I said in a calm voice, yet with an undeniable solemnity, "This was given to me by Jingwu. I'm afraid I might damage it while climbing. Please keep it safe for me."
Atobe Eiko reached out and carefully took the bracelet, as if holding a fragile treasure. She nodded vigorously, her lips moving, but no sound came out.
Finally, she walked around behind me, and with a mother's tenderness, she gently gathered my long hair. I could feel the trembling of her fingertips, and every time she combed my hair, she was praying silently.
Soon, a strong and neat centipede braid fell down my back, tightly binding all the hair that was in the way.
After tying her hair, she turned back to me and held my hands tightly. Her palms were cold, but held a resolute strength.
She raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Her voice was choked but clear:
"Xiaoyin... Jingwu... I'm counting on you. You all... must all... come back safely."
I met her tearful gaze, without any extra words, just shook her hand firmly and nodded heavily.
A promise weighs more than a thousand pounds.
Turn around and take a step forward.
Walking towards the darkness at the warehouse door that swallowed up the light.
His eyes swept over a wooden table next to him that was piled with miscellaneous items. There were some scattered odds and ends on it, including a brightly wrapped fruit candy mixed in. It was probably left by the child of the farm owner.
For some unknown reason, I paused, reached out to pick it up, and stuffed it into the chest pocket of my combat uniform. The hard candy stabbed against my chest through the thin fabric.
No looking back.
Race against time!
The figure sank into the cold night, merged with Chuyi, Shiwu and those "Water Ditherers" who seemed to have merged into the shadows, and quickly disappeared on the path leading to their respective battle positions.
The plan began to mesh like precise gears.
In the distance, from the direction of the moat, a huge sound like a water explosion suddenly came! Then, a sharp whistle-like sound ripped through the night sky!
"Enemy attack! There are people underwater!"
"Shoot! Shoot!"
Dadadada——!
The dense sound of gunfire exploded like popcorn! Bullets poured madly onto the churning water, splashing higher and higher! Firelight flickered on towers and city walls, briefly illuminating their hideous outlines!
Almost at the same time!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Our deployed firepower points also opened fire fiercely! Bullets whizzed over, and the sound of gunfire, shouting, and water mixed into a clamor of death!
Now is the time!
Under the cover of deafening chaos, Chuyi, Shiwu and I slipped silently into the icy moat on the side of the castle like three ghosts blending into the night.
The "fish skin" coating took effect instantly, insulating the body from most of the cold, making it incredibly slippery. In the murky water, Liangzi's eyes pierced the darkness, clearly catching the tangled weeds and jagged abandoned rocks at the bottom.
We quickly swam to the foot of the towering city wall, the cold river water lapping against the rough, ancient stone. Chuyi and Shiwu gestured to me, indicating that the left side was safe.
I nodded and looked towards the almost vertical cliff on the right, covered with slippery vines and moss, and dotted with cracks and signs of weathering.
The target is behind this high wall!
I took a deep breath, and the cold river water with a fishy smell rushed into my nostrils.
His body suddenly shot up, rushing out of the water like an arrow. His hands stretched out like lightning, and his five fingers were like hooks, accurately digging into a deep crevice in the stone. His toes touched the root of the slippery vine, and he used the force to pull his body up!
Gecko on the wall!
The tracking skills passed down by Yun Shisan Niang were brought to the extreme at this moment.
My body seemed to have lost weight and merged into one with the ancient stone wall.
Every force exerted by the fingertips and toes is extremely precise, looking for the smallest and most stable point of leverage.
Slippery vines? They're natural ropes!
Those flaking gravels? They're steps!
A deep crack? That's a perfect grip!
I am like a real gecko, or more like a spider weaving a web on a cliff. My movements are swift and strange, yet with a rhythm like flowing water.
Clinging to the cold, rough stone wall, he scrambled upwards through the slippery moss and tangled vines. Broken stone chips fell, and occasionally a loose rock would crack underfoot, making a subtle sound that was immediately drowned out by the deafening roar of gunfire in the distance.
Memories came flooding back like a tide.
It is no longer the sea of questions in senior high school, nor the smoke of battle in the board meeting, but the ancient trees and thick vines that block out the sun in the deep forests of the southwest.
The master's cold voice seemed to be right beside her ear: "Nannan, look carefully!"
"Power rises from the ground, energy flows through the fingertips! The body is like duckweed, the mind is like a rock!"
At that time, I was also climbing among the towering trees and slippery vines, my clothes soaked with sweat, and my skin scratched by branches, just to catch up with my master's elusive figure.
A sharp stone edge scratched the back of his hand, and warm blood oozed out, instantly absorbed by the cold stone wall, leaving only a dark red mark. A protruding broken stubble scraped his calf fiercely, causing a burning pain.
But I can't feel it.
All the senses, all the will, are focused on the subtle touch of the fingertips, on the burst of force from every pedal stroke, and on the faint flickering light in the mind - Atobe!
Inside the base, the air froze in front of the huge thermal imaging screen.
The Atobe couple, Oshitari, the Hiyoshi father and son, the butler, the British police officer... everyone's eyes were fixed on the edge of the screen, the extremely tiny red light that represented Kiriyamagakure.
It was moving upwards tenaciously and bit by bit at an astonishing speed, along the almost vertical blue edge line that represented the towering city wall.
Every tiny pause made people hold their breath, and every rapid leap made everyone clench their fists even tighter.
The trajectory of the light spot's movement completely defied common sense and exceeded their understanding of the limits of the human body. It was like a gecko climbing on a vertical ice surface, or a spider weaving a web in a storm.
"Oh my God..." A British special police officer couldn't help but exclaimed in a low voice, and was glared at by his companions.
Finally, under everyone's almost suffocating gaze, the red light representing Kirishanyin steadily and silently crossed the blue boundary line that symbolized the top of the city wall.
Successfully reached the summit!
"Go up!" There was a barely perceptible tremor in Atobe Tatsumi's low voice.
Almost at the same moment when the light spot disappeared on the thermal image——
On the castle's tall, slippery walls covered with deathly vines, a slender yet extremely agile figure silently climbed over the battlements like a ghost and landed lightly on the rubble-covered wall.
Up ahead, the sounds of gunfire, flames, and shouts were still deafening. The guards on the tower were frantically pouring bullets into the moat, their attention drawn to the loud noise made by the first team of "water shakers".
No one noticed that on the most remote and darkest flank of the city wall, a deadly shadow had silently sneaked into the interior of this death fortress like a drop of water merging into the sea.
I quickly retreated into the shadow of a collapsed watchtower, the cold stone wall pressing against my back. My gaze, like the most precise radar, instantly scanned the surroundings—the ruined passage, the dark windows, the flickering flames and figures in the distance...
Without any pause.
His toes tapped the gravel, and his body transformed into a blurry black afterimage. After a few rises and falls, he completely merged into the deeper, more unknown darkness within the castle. His heart beat heavily and powerfully in his chest, carrying with it a cold murderous intent and endless anxiety.
Jingwu, here I come!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
