Chapter 116: The Assailants
"Hello."
"Hello, I'm here to meet a friend."
"May I have the room number, please?"
"9039."
"Okay, I'll call them right now—"
Boom—!!
Before Lin QiYe could finish his conversation with the receptionist, a deafening explosion erupted overhead, followed by the piercing screams of people around him.
Lin QiYe's expression changed instantly. Without hesitation, he turned and sprinted out of the hotel lobby, looking up toward the sky.
The top of the towering hotel had already become a sea of flames.
Without needing to count, Lin QiYe knew that the floor in question was definitely where Bai Li Tuming was staying. The scale of the explosion could only be linked to him.
Just as Lin QiYe was about to rush into the hotel and run up to the 90th floor, he caught a fleeting golden flash in the sky!
"That's…" Lin QiYe's eyes narrowed slightly.
Without a second thought, he grabbed the two black boxes, pushed his way through the panicked crowd, and ran swiftly toward the location of the golden flash.
After cutting through several streets, Lin QiYe finally arrived at the vicinity of the golden flash. It was a somewhat isolated area, and it was late at night with very few pedestrians or cars on the road.
Lin QiYe closed his eyes, using his spiritual power to carefully scan the surroundings. Suddenly, his body jolted slightly.
He opened his eyes and quickly walked to a narrow intersection, his expression darkening instantly.
At the end of the street, a sign was posted, and on it were four large characters:
"NO ENTRY AHEAD."
The Unsealed Space!
Lin QiYe's brow furrowed tightly. This wasn't the "Unsealed Space" created by Team 136. The signs used to open the Unsealed Space were only carried by the Night Watch teams stationed in various cities!
In other words... Night Watch teams from other cities had gotten involved in this?
Were they here to protect Bai Li Tuming, or… were they here to kill him?
Lin QiYe felt the chances of it being the former were very slim. If they were here to protect him, why show up at this moment? Why open the Unsealed Space secretly?
Eight hundred million—enough to tempt those with weak resolve in the Night Watch to steal the sign, defect from the Night Watch, and take Bai Li Tuming's life!
How many of them were there? Did they bring the sign with them, or did they steal it from the Night Watch? Were there high-level experts involved?
A series of questions filled Lin QiYe's mind as he stood silently in front of the sign, lost in thought.
Should he go in, or not?
In the past, Lin QiYe would have run as far away as possible from such an unknown, dangerous situation. But now…
Maybe even he hadn't realized it, but over time, he had changed.
What had changed him?
Perhaps it was the warmth brought by Team 136, Hong Ying's enthusiasm, Wen Qimo's kindness, the captain's protectiveness, the vice-captain's arrogance, Leng Xuan's tenderness, and Zhao Kongcheng's resolve…
Or maybe it was the trials and tribulations of the training camp, or the countless small details hidden in daily life.
Once, he had only Auntie and Ah Jin in his life. But now, without realizing it... there were many more people by his side.
Under the night sky, a sense of determination appeared in his eyes, and a golden glow slowly flickered within them.
Six months ago, he had broken the Unsealed Space to save the hero who protected his world.
Now, he was about to break the Unsealed Space again...
To save his friend.
...
"What's going on...?" Bai Li Tuming looked around, his expression unusually serious.
"The Unsealed Space."
"Friend or foe?"
"Which do you think?"
Cao Yuan's gaze was fixed on the street ahead. Under the dim night sky, the streetlights flickered, and in the distance, a tall figure was slowly walking toward them.
"Someone's behind us too."
Bai Li Tuming turned around. At the other end of the street, a man carrying three swords was already standing there, watching them with a mocking look in his eyes.
"Only two people?"
"No, there's at least one more, someone else has opened the Unsealed Space outside," Cao Yuan shook his head.
Bai Li Tuming chuckled coldly. "Since when did the Night Watch start doing bandit work?"
"No, we're no longer Night Watch," the tall man coming toward them spoke in a low tone. "We come from the Abstinence House."
"Abstinence House?" Bai Li Tuming looked confusedly at Cao Yuan.
"The Abstinence House is where those who have committed criminal offenses and are holders of Forbidden Ruins are locked up. Half of them are former Night Watch members who were expelled for misconduct," Cao Yuan replied calmly.
"If it weren't for the Night Watch commander saving me and sending me to Jiuhua Mountain back then, I'd be locked up there as well."
"So, you guys just got out of the prison," Bai Li Tuming said, understanding. "But even if you want to kill me, why blow up a hotel? What about the innocent people? You swore to protect this country, and now you care more about your own interests than the lives of ordinary people?"
"Don't compare us to those wild dogs," the man carrying three swords growled. "We may have once been Night Watch, but we still have some basic principles. We want to kill you, but it's to repay a debt of gratitude..."
"Whose debt of gratitude?" Bai Li Tuming raised an eyebrow.
"Don't try to extract information from us. Just know this: tonight… you won't leave this Unsealed Space alive."
The tall man growled, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. His muscles rippled violently, his body growing half a meter taller before rapidly shrinking…
In the end, he turned into a weak, emaciated little dwarf, barely a meter tall, his body looking fragile as if the wind could blow him away.
"Conan?" Bai Li Tuming asked, stunned.
"Forbidden Ruins Sequence 214, [Muscle Restructuring]. He can freely compress his muscle tissue. Don't be fooled by his current appearance; his speed and power are terrifying!" Cao Yuan's expression was tense.
The thin man smiled coldly. He stomped his foot on the asphalt, leaving a deep indentation, and then shot forward like a bolt, crossing half the street in an instant!
A tiny fist rapidly enlarged in Bai Li Tuming's vision!
"Yao Guang!"
Golden light instantly solidified in front of him, forming a shield. The man's fist collided with it, and a dull thud echoed, cracks appearing on the golden shield.
"Damn!" Bai Li Tuming exclaimed.
A whip-like kick followed, striking the shield and dispersing some of the golden light!
Bai Li Tuming frantically reached into his towel, seemingly searching for something, while shouting to Cao Yuan behind him:
"Are you not going to help me?!"
Cao Yuan, still holding his sword, kept his eyes fixed on the man with three blades. "No time."
Under the moonlight, the man expressionlessly drew a sword from behind him, and the other two swords seemed to be pulled by an invisible hand, simultaneously unsheathing!