The special attack forces who thought they would surely die suddenly saw the infected bodies at zero distance explode for unknown reasons.
"Reorganize the defensive line, take turns on guard duty, the idle group take anti-stress medication." Jin Yulu's voice, shaken but still calm, pulled them back to reality. After a brief period of confusion, they steadily held their position again.
Only then did people discover the ground was full of broken throwing knives, precisely corresponding to each infected body corpse—the murder weapon's truth was revealed.
"This thing saved us? It's actually cold weapons."
"I feel like I was dazed for a moment just now, as if I forgot some segment."
"Right, right, right, the scene flashed and then it was gone."
"Let me see." Just as Jin Yulu curiously leaned forward, she saw her subordinates struggling to hold back laughter. She blinked her big eyes in confusion for a moment, then reacted and took out her personal mirror to look. On her left cheek was clearly a thumbs-up cartoon pattern, quite comical and cute in style.
When did this happen? As the person with the best reflexes in the guard unit, she had no awareness at all. It probably happened at the same time as the infected bodies exploding—who could do this?
Though she was reluctant to believe it and didn't want to admit it, probably only that masked customer had this kind of mischievous atmosphere. That ability to suddenly disappear in front of everyone was indeed unique, absolutely immediately effective against infected bodies.
"Captain, that should be squid ink, just wash it off a bit."
"No need, continue holding position. Until all civilians are evacuated, there's no moment of respite."
Jin Yulu silently thanked them. Being saved by the target of their investigation was ridiculous enough, but she'd remember this favor. This little joke made the pressure in her heart suddenly drop and she breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other side.
The cold wind made the taxi engine completely immobile, and the penetrating cold wind made Nan Zhiyi shiver all over.
In the driver's seat ahead, after the driver lost his breath, his whole body was covered with a layer of ice, the corpse making the girl turn pale. She instinctively kicked open the car door. Logically, a door frozen solid should be very hard to move, but Nan Zhiyi had no time to think carefully. Her destination was Hibiscus's home, but not long after leaving she encountered a Disaster Beast attack. Currently she was halfway, in a dilemma.
The girl was just about to turn back home when she encountered a sight that made her breath stop: sharks with legs were wandering around, growing more human legs from their bellies as they devoured flesh and blood.
The infected body monster has targeted me!
Nan Zhiyi was very clear about this, but why wasn't the other party taking action?
She tried stepping toward home, but the slightest movement attracted the other party's attention, eagerly following. Like a hunter deliberately playing with prey, if the quarry dared flee back to its nest, they'd exterminate the whole family. Her rash retreat would instead harm her family.
Though terrified to the point of trembling all over, Nan Zhiyi had never had such clear thinking. Normally she should cry and make a fuss to go home, but at this moment she had to stay calm.
When panic was temporarily suppressed, her body gradually calmed down too.
It was that mysterious power helping her. Nan Zhiyi was very clear that her body was undergoing some unknown change, otherwise being exposed outdoors in sub-zero temperatures should have caused hypothermia and fainting long ago, but the crisis was not resolved.
Crack!
The girl found a private car with a baseball bat in the back seat along the way and smashed the window, gripping the weapon to barely boost her sense of security.
What disturbed her most was the complete absence of any human figures around. Though the blizzard had receded for an instant just now, the dock area was still heavily shrouded with extremely low visibility. Sounds of tearing and biting, crying and smashing came to her ears in chaotic cacophony—so noisy yet with so few people visible. At the critical moment, she alone faced it all. Does adversity strengthen a nation? Actually, the continuous Disaster Beasts had long made the world cold and silent.
What meaning was there in gripping a weapon? Even the frequently ringing gunshots didn't frighten the monsters.
Nan Zhiyi knew fear was meaningless, forcibly summoned strength and ran toward the inland direction. At least the closer to the city center, the stronger the defense—maybe there was a glimmer of hope.
She had only run halfway when she had to stop.
In front of her, a shark infected body leaped out with its bloody maw wide open. At the critical moment, the girl used the baseball bat to block and immediately let go, rolling away on the spot. Sure enough, when she got up she saw the other party eagerly devouring and chewing up the weapon.
Without any pause, the still-unsatisfied infected body pounced toward Nan Zhiyi, blood and stench rushing from its bloody mouth.
Crack!
The moment she closed her eyes, a tremendous noise came, but her body didn't experience the imagined pain.
She opened her eyes to see a black-haired, black-eyed girl in beige home casual wear. At this moment, Hibiscus slowly stood up and didn't forget to give the shark in the ground crater another kick.
"...Where to next?"
No need for any unnecessary questions because Nan Zhiyi believed her childhood friend would explain everything afterward, and no need for thanks either—they had helped each other too many times. It was nothing more than handing over her life. In the face of crisis, no mistakes could be tolerated. The girl's determined gaze conveyed this sentiment, and Hibiscus naturally understood, nodding and lifting Nan Zhiyi's delicate body horizontally.
"The Third Street already has troops establishing a defensive line, relatively safe. You run too slowly, I'll just send you there."
Before finishing, one stride brought wind pressure that gave Nan Zhiyi a feeling of suffocation. She saw the surrounding scenery seemed to become a line rapidly retreating—one could imagine how fast it was.
"Can I be like you someday?"
"Your intuition is very accurate."
"I just don't want there to be another layer of separation between us."
Suddenly the whirlpool rising high from the sea surface finally shattered and a black Three-Eyed Cat leaped out, massive in size with strong muscular lines, wearing a layer of metallic lustrous cuticle, roaring skyward almost piercing eardrums. The Vanguard Disaster Beast thunderously landed at the harbor, shaking out a deep crack belt—the greatest enemy had officially landed.
The Disaster Beast targeted Hibiscus across two streets, just one glance making the girl feel cold all over, understanding she was locked on. This battle was unavoidable.
She carefully set down Nan Zhiyi and instructed: "That guy's target is me. Leave quickly."
"Okay..."
Before the girl finished speaking, the distant Three-Eyed Cat's body was like a drawn strong bow, gathering power like an arrow leaving the string, whooshing across houses and buildings. Claws comparable to a small car carried tremendous wind pressure striking fiercely, the target being Nan Zhiyi who had just separated from Hibiscus, so fast it exceeded everyone's dynamic vision.
In an instant the world lost color, but the sharp cat claws had already poked into the girl's clothes about to disembowel her—hanging by a thread.
"You beast!"
Hibiscus deeply realized that even time magic needed a strong reaction ability to support it. What seemed like stopping was actually almost too late—the next moment Nan Zhiyi would be dismembered before her eyes.
If there was the slightest mistake she would probably die on the spot, and she could maintain the pause for what felt like currently 9 seconds based on body sensation.
She actively contacted Nan Zhiyi to lift her from the paused state and then threw her into the stairwell. Because she had to maintain contact, she wasted several seconds. When she returned to the rooftop, her whole body ached and magic power was depleted—already at the limit. Though she successfully saved the person, she probably couldn't dodge the next attack.
Hibiscus immediately took the enhancement potion while the magic was lifted.