"I forgot to tell you — I am a B-Rank Secret Keeper. I've undergone high-degree mechanization and am equipped with the latest smart-brain chip to assist in combat."
"So, that mind-control ability of yours might work on ordinary humans, but against me, it's useless."
"But I must admit, your skills are quite impressive. You dodged very quickly. It's just a shame my blade is faster."
Sword Heart was like a chivalrous hero carrying out heaven's justice and ridding the people of evil, blade in hand to deliver a sliver of fate's verdict, as he slowly approached Wang Miaoyin.
"So you admit it's a blade now?"
"..."
Sword Heart was speechless, because at this moment, Wang Miaoyin had lost a massive amount of blood and her face was somewhat pale — yet she was still fixated on whether his weapon was a blade or a sword.
"Sword Heart, how should we deal with her?" Zichen stepped forward and asked.
"I say we just haul her back to the station?" King of Strength interjected.
"No."
Sword Heart shook his head and pronounced Wang Miaoyin's fate:
"Her anomaly has already exceeded the Wraith rank. Execute her on the spot."
At the end, he added: "Though ideally, keep the corpse intact for the Bureau's research."
Wang Miaoyin gripped her severed wrist. Though gravely injured, her posture remained upright. Her face was stained with speckles of her own blood, and a tragically beautiful smile hung at the corner of her lips: "You can't execute me. You have no right to do so..."
"Apologies, but you are no longer human, and thus can no longer enjoy human rights," Sword Heart said flatly as he wiped the bloodstains from his weapon.
King of Strength and Zichen each took a step forward, one on the left and one on the right, closing in on Wang Miaoyin.
Sword Heart stepped forward as well. "The Secret Keepers Bureau has three attitudes toward anomalous creatures and humans contaminated by anomalies. The first is elimination. The second is subjugation. And the third..."
"Never mind, it's not important. What matters is — since your hands are stained with human lives, you cannot be spared."
"No, I don't want to die yet..." Wang Miaoyin murmured under her breath.
"I've read the files." Sword Heart's voice went cold. "He Jun, Zhong Hua... weren't these all people you killed? Do you dare claim you carry no sin?"
Seeing King of Strength and Zichen drawing near, Wang Miaoyin slowly began retreating as well. A look of recollection crossed her face as she shook her head in agony: "I had no choice."
"Those men... they all came to me of their own accord... aside from He Jun and Yichen, none of them treated me as a human being!"
"A week ago, to avoid harming anyone further, I once hid myself in the wilderness. But that thing inside me kept eroding my sanity, even causing me to lose my memory for a time... And then, by chance, I met Yichen, who brought me back."
"I don't want to hurt anyone... But there's something inside me driving me to do it. If I don't obey it, I'll lose control and turn into a monster."
Sword Heart nodded slightly: "Perhaps you are not at fault. But you have been contaminated by an anomaly — this is an irreversible fact. Therefore, we must end you here."
He leveled his dark green long blade across his chest and said calmly: "To some extent, I believe your words. Because you actually chose not to use the method of taking a hostage to escape."
Wang Miaoyin's mind surfaced that innocent face. She smiled bitterly to herself: "I've also never met a boy that timid. Originally, after recovering my memory, I had no intention of harming him. I was even preparing tonight to..."
"Such a pity..."
That sigh carried no one knew whether it was for herself or for that young man.
The next second, Sword Heart said grimly: "Do it."
The killing intent erupted!
In that split second, King of Strength had already charged before Wang Miaoyin. His iron fist raised high, carrying the momentum of routing a thousand troops — yet it was only being used against a woman who looked seductively charming and delicate.
Zichen parted her lips and exhaled a cloud-like stream of white airflow. The airflow formed into an arrow, leaving a white mist trail several meters long through the air as it shot straight toward Wang Miaoyin.
"Life and death, stand still!"
Wang Miaoyin's heart cried out unwillingly.
The iron fist and the qi-arrow abruptly halted. Even their masters — King of Strength and Zichen — were frozen, unable to move.
But a dot of bright green light reflected in Wang Miaoyin's eyes, completely unaffected.
"Indeed — that ability of yours also has a limit on the number of targets."
Behind that dot of green light was Sword Heart's figure, thrusting his blade toward her — a blade's edge cloaked in death's aura, stabbing straight at the space between her brows!
She absolutely could not let it strike, or death was certain!
A desperate thought flashed, and Wang Miaoyin forcibly transferred the target of "Life and death, stand still" to Sword Heart's blade tip.
But the price she paid was that the iron fist and qi-arrow resumed their normal motion — and the young woman's blood-moon eyes streamed two trails of bloody tears.
Crack!
Thwip!
After two muffled sounds, Wang Miaoyin felt the bones of one arm shattered to powder by King of Strength's punch, and her abdomen pierced through with a bloody hole by the qi-arrow.
It was as if death's whisper sounded beside her ear. The warmth in her body rapidly drained away with the massive blood loss.
The only thing worth celebrating was that her feet were still fine.
Gritting her silver teeth against the excruciating pain, her figure retreated explosively, sprinkling a trail of horrifying bloodstains across the ground.
"Hah..."
She gasped heavily, her gaze somewhat dazed. But through a layer of blood color, she could still see that more and more law enforcer mechanical beings were scaling the various rooftops all around, completely encircling her.
"I swear — I'll hide deep in the mountains and never come out to hurt anyone. I beg you!" Wang Miaoyin's voice was practically pleading.
Such a plea for mercy, paired with that jade face covered in bloody tears and mottled bloodstains, was unspeakably tragic and beautiful — so much so that anyone who saw it could not help but be moved, their compassion stirred.
"Apologies."
Sword Heart's blade's edge broke through the stasis and once again swept toward her, carrying irresistible, unstoppable killing intent!
King of Strength and Zichen, though their faces showed reluctance,
their bone-chilling fist wind and deadly qi-arrow still struck simultaneously! Resolved to force the seductively beautiful girl into an inescapable death trap!
Wang Miaoyin simultaneously felt the air being extracted from around her, and her movements trapped as if in a cage.
Right at that moment, a flash of blood light shone in the seductive girl's eyes. King of Strength's gaze dully followed suit. Then, his fist actually changed trajectory, smashing toward Zichen!
"What?!"
Zichen was inwardly shocked, never imagining that Wang Miaoyin could still manipulate King of Strength's mind at this point.
The force draining the air around Wang Miaoyin instantly dissipated. But Sword Heart's blade aura still remained, slashing toward Wang Miaoyin with a ruthless ferocity that seemed intent on cleaving her completely in two!
In this most critical moment, this life-or-death instant as fast as lightning.
Hsss hsss!
Several faintly translucent white threads shot through the air, precisely and skillfully coiling around the dark green blade body, like white serpents twisting and writhing upon the dark green long blade.
Clang clang!
The blade's momentum abruptly halted. Sparks scattered in all directions like bouncing pellets.
The deadly blade's edge came to a forced stop at a distance of one chi from Wang Miaoyin.
"Who is it?!"
Sword Heart roared, looking in the direction from which the silk threads had come.
Out of the quiet night came a clear young man's voice:
"Who I am is not important."
"You only need to know — I am the supreme deity's walker in the mortal world."
King of Strength instantly regained clarity and pulled away from Zichen, his wary eyes searching through the night sky.
"A deity? How could gods exist in this world? Why pretend to be some ghost or spirit — do you dare show yourself?" Zichen called out from afar.
A flicker of bewilderment passed through the seductive girl's beautiful eyes, yet she also felt relief at having temporarily escaped disaster.
"That woman — you cannot touch her," the clear voice in the darkness stated.
As he spoke, his mysterious silhouette gradually emerged beneath the moonlight...
The three could only vaguely make out that the person had an upright, well-built posture, muscles toned and robust — it should be a man.
The person stood atop a towering crane, then leaped down, passing through a hundred meters of sky, and landed with a "pat" — steady and firm beside Wang Miaoyin.
It was the crisp and pleasing sound of leather shoes touching the ground.
Only then did the three see that the newcomer wore a white mask, its surface covered with black web-like patterns.
"An anomalous human?"
"No — I sense an anomalous aura emanating from him..."
"You intend to save this woman?" Sword Heart asked coldly.
The webbed-mask man said flatly: "She belongs to Lord Bai Zhi. You mere mortals — cannot lay a finger on her."