novelraw Chapter 324: A Warm Ray of Light
Chapter 324: A Warm Ray of Light
Chapter 324: A Warm Ray of Light
Human Genius? Sorry, I’m a Deviant
Just an eighth-stage and another seventh-stage alone could not hold back the enraged Qin Bai for long.
Had the mission... failed?
This thought made him extremely unwilling, but the urgency of reality forced him to make a decision.
He glared fiercely at the seemingly endless forest beneath his feet, finally gritted his teeth, and abruptly turned, flying swiftly toward the direction of the chasm.
At the bottom of the chasm.
The battle was fierce.
The situation was already clear.
Qin Bai was thoroughly enraged, his Eternal Night Aurora Whip forcing the two Transcendence Society members into constant peril.
The Special-risk eighth-stage had several deep, bone-exposing whip marks added to his body; the power that stripped away perception made his movements increasingly sluggish.
The blade of the other seventh-stage was even more dimmed, almost destroyed, from being lashed by the whip's shadows.
"Pfft!"
The seventh-stage holding the blade finally couldn't hold on any longer, took a whip strike to the chest, spat blood, and was sent flying backward, temporarily losing his combat ability.
Only the Special-risk eighth-stage remained, struggling desperately to hold on; defeat was merely a matter of time.
Qin Bai's eyes were icy cold. He was just about to press his advantage and capture him, then immediately go up to check the situation.
In his mind, Bat-Wings pursuing a severely injured Su Zhan was absolutely a sure thing; by now, he might have already succeeded.
Although he couldn't capture him alive, at least the target was silenced, barely salvaging a shred of dignity... even though this still meant his complete failure in this operation.
Thinking of the fall of Han Xiao, Ling Shuang, and others, and the target ultimately dying at the hands of the Transcendence Society, the sense of defeat in his heart was about to consume him.
His myth of invincibility ended completely here tonight!
"Whoosh!"
A black shadow, accompanied by the urgent sound of wind, dove down from above the chasm.
It was Bat-Wings, who had left and returned.
Seeing Bat-Wings return, hope ignited in the eyes of the two Aberrants.
Taking advantage of the moment when Qin Bai was slightly stunned by Bat-Wings' return, the Special-risk eighth-stage hurriedly retreated, joining up with Bat-Wings.
The injured seventh-stage also struggled to get up and gathered around.
Qin Bai stopped his attack, his icy gaze immediately falling on Bat-Wings, especially his hands.
No severed head was being carried, nor was the target restrained.
Dead?
Body disposed of?
Qin Bai instinctively thought, asking in a deep voice, "Dealt with?"
The Special-risk eighth-stage also looked at Bat-Wings, his tone carrying certainty, "Well done! Even though we didn't capture him alive, killing him works too. When we get back..."
Before he could finish his words.
He was interrupted by Bat-Wings, "No! He's not dead! He... he disappeared!"
"What!?"
"Disappeared!?"
Two exclamations of shock rang out simultaneously.
One came from Qin Bai.
The other came from that Special-risk eighth-stage.
Bat-Wings hurriedly explained, "I chased him out of the chasm, and was just about to catch up, but after he rushed out of the chasm, he didn't continue flying into the distance. Instead, he plunged directly into the forest below.
I immediately chased down to search, but... nothing!
Couldn't find any trace of him at all.
It was like... like he evaporated into thin air.
I searched a large area nearby and found nothing!"
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Qin Bai's face revealed a furious rage of having been thoroughly played.
Not dead!?
Not only not dead, but he also successfully escaped under the pursuit of a fully intact Special-risk seventh-stage?
How is that possible?
He originally thought the operation ended in failure with "the target killed by the Transcendence Society."
Though humiliating, at least the target was dead.
But now, the target actually... got away?
With Qin Bai himself personally overseeing the situation, amidst the three-way melee with the Transcendence Society, a severely injured, nearly dead Aberrant miraculously escaped alive?
This was no longer just failure; this was blatant humiliation!
A complete trampling of his Qin Bai's ability and prestige!
The expressions of the Transcendence Society trio were also extremely ugly.
The mission target slipped away right under their noses, and in such an unbelievable way at that.
If this got reported back to the organization, they would undoubtedly face severe punishment.
Qin Bai suddenly raised his head, staring fixedly at the Transcendence Society trio, especially that Bat-Wings:
"You... very well. Now, it's time to settle the score between us!"
...
Su Zhan's consciousness drifted in darkness and excruciating pain. He forced his heavy eyelids open once more.
What greeted his eyes was a low ceiling.
He was lying on a hard plank bed, with a rough sheet beneath him.
The intense pain from his right leg and left ribs reminded him of the previous brutality, but they seemed to have been roughly bandaged and treated by someone; the bleeding had stopped.
That corrosive poison was also temporarily suppressed by a gentle external Spiritual Energy.
Where was this?
Su Zhan laboriously turned his neck, his gaze sweeping over this cramped, dim room.
Peeling wall plaster, a single window boarded up with planks letting in slivers of moonlight through the cracks, illuminating the dust floating in the air.
Then.
Su Zhan's gaze fixed on the center of the room.
Three people stood there.
Feng Jue leaned against the mottled wall, his eyes firmly locked on him.
Liu Ziming sat on a dilapidated wooden crate, his face showing relief, his hands unconsciously rubbing together.
Xu Hao stood closest to the bed, fatigue on his face.
It was them... it really was them!
The string in Su Zhan's heart that had been stretched to its absolute limit suddenly slackened.
A massive wave of sorrow washed over him, breaking through the mental defenses he had forcibly erected.
He understood.
He understood why that Transcendence Society flier had lost track of him.
When he rushed out of the chasm.
That figure that suddenly appeared and then carried him through consecutive, ultra-long-distance spatial jumps... it was Xu Hao!
His teammates not only recognized him but, at the most critical moment, took enormous risks to rescue him right from under the noses of Qin Bai and the Transcendence Society!
They had clearly witnessed and confirmed his identity as an Aberrant with their own eyes.
Yet they still chose to save him!
The room was silent.
Liu Ziming couldn't hold back anymore. He suddenly jumped up from the wooden crate and rushed to the bedside in a few steps.
He wanted to say something, his lips trembled a few times, but all he managed to choke out through reddened eyes was a curse mixed with a sob, "Damn it! Brother Su... you bastard... why the hell didn't you come find us sooner if you weren't dead! Do you know we... we thought you..."
He couldn't continue, forcefully wiping his face and turning his head away.
"We accepted the mission to capture Chen Qing. Teacher Wang Mingyuan hinted at it. During the earlier encounter, Feng Jue already suspected your identity.
Later, seeing the scales on your body... and some details during the fight... we were basically certain."
Xu Hao took a deep breath, his eyes clear, "No matter what you've become, Brother Su, you will always be our captain, always our leader.
You've saved us so many times.
This time, it was our turn."
Feng Jue finally spoke, "Qin Bai, the Transcendence Society, both are troublesome. You need to recover as soon as possible."
Lying on the hard plank bed, listening to his companions' words, looking at their familiar and resolute faces, Su Zhan's throat felt tightly blocked by something, his eyes growing hot.
He opened his mouth. A thousand words churned in his chest, ultimately condensing into a single word of gratitude:
"...Thank you."
These two words carried the weight of a thousand pounds.
Containing too many unspeakable emotions.
Liu Ziming turned his head back and forcefully punched the edge of the bed, "Thank you, my ass! If we're brothers, don't say crap like that!"
Xu Hao revealed a relieved, gentle smile.
Feng Jue, holding his sword, gave a slight nod.
In the dim rental room, the atmosphere remained heavy.
The road ahead was still fraught with thorns, but a bond that had endured hardships yet remained unchanged quietly spread through the air at this moment.
Becoming the warmest ray of light in this desperate predicament.