Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Dark Boundless Realm, Part 52

The effectiveness of guns varies; some high-performance sniper rifles can easily penetrate solid concrete walls, while others fall short.

Tonight’s events were sudden, and Kui Xin had no time to prepare. She hastily grabbed an ordinary gun from the Narwhal’s inventory.

The first shot was aimed at the chest because she was unfamiliar with this type of sniper rifle and couldn’t guarantee her aim; thus, she chose the larger target area—chest—to ensure a hit. However, the second shot intended for the eyes was blocked by Silverface.

Kui Xin hastily relocated through the spatial vortex, not daring to delay for even a moment.

“Impact trajectory calculated,” Eden reported. “Straight-line distance is 0.3 kilometers. Firing position is on the rooftop of Building 369 on Blue Street.”

Thorn Rose responded, “So close! Let’s go after them!”

“Guider is wounded.” Silverface tore open Guider’s shattered armor, retrieving a bullet fragment from his chest, then pulled out a healing potion and administered it to Guider.

Though severely injured, Guider did not make a sound. Lying on the ground, Silverface busied himself with treating him.

“You don’t need to chase,” The Night Cicada instructed in the communication channel. “I will send someone else.”

Less than five seconds after Kui Xin left her sniping position, another blue space vortex opened.

A few fully armed combat personnel burst through the blue vortex. Holding various types of weapons, they surveyed the entire rooftop. “No one up here. The sniper has evacuated! Ground-level shell casings found, from the Type 92 sniper rifle. No other footprints or signs.”

After a moment, Tho Night Cicada’s voice emerged from the vortex: “Understood. Spread out, continue investigating the surroundings. Search everything closely. Don’t miss any details.”

Night Cicada contacted Thorn Rose: “How is Guider doing?”

“Breathing okay. After administering the healing potion, recovery time is estimated to be six hours. If he lies in the treatment pod, recovery could be shortened to three hours,” Thorn Rose replied.

“Good. Just make sure it doesn’t interfere with our next move,” Night Cicada said. “For tonight, rest up. I’ll open a vortex at a designated location soon for you to meet there, and escort Guider back to the branch for treatment.”

“Yes sir,” Thorn Rose affirmed.

She watched as Silverface carried Guider, and sighed, “Damn, just a bunch of trouble every day.”

…

Returning to the outpost, Kui Xin heard Adam say, “Amber is gone, he avoided surveillance.”

She sighed at the bad news.

“Your disappointment is less than I expected,” Adam added.

“Such is life. We’ve already gained useful information tonight. If we eliminate the adversary, it’s an added bonus; if not, no regrets… both the Resistance Army and the Mechanized Dawn are formidable enemies. It would be unusual if they could be disposed of easily,” Kui Xin rubbed her sore neck, the joints cracking with tension, “I’m exhausted.”

“This has been a tough period,” Adam replied. “Since I met you, you’ve always been busy. You’ve had no time for leisure.”

Originally, Kui Xin wanted to pursue Amber, but within two minutes, she detected the presence of the Mechanized Dawn. Along with familiar faces like Silverface and Thorn Rose, there was also an unfamiliar figure among them. This newcomer unsettled Kui Xin.

After weighing her options, she decided to temporarily abandon pursuit of Amber, return to observe, and use Investigative Eye to confirm their abilities. She feared the Mechanized Dawn members wouldn’t stay long on the scene, so she couldn’t afford to chase Amber before returning to the hideout. Missing this opportunity to verify with Investigative Eye might never come again.

Using shadow transition, she stayed concealed near the casino. When the Mechanized Dawn member appeared, she successfully identified the newcomer.

The newcomer’s ability code simply read “Guider”. There was no detailed description, just these two simple words signifying their status as an A-class extraordinary ability user.

Guider – zero symbolizing nothingness and nonexistence. Did this mean becoming nonexistent? Erasing something’s existence?

Kui Xin was startled but intrigued by this notion.

If Guider did possess this power, he would certainly become her biggest threat. Her vigilance skyrocketed as she prepared her plan, eager to take action.

The two rounds of gunfire were both to eliminate the enemy and test them.

Kui Xin drank some water and ate at the temporary outpost to replenish her energy.

She sat down to rest her eyes and organized the intelligence gathered tonight:

1) Ghost can indeed sense her via mental coordinates, but this detection has a range limit of only 100 meters.

2) The Narwhal, the Resistance Army, and the Mechanized Dawn all have connections. This likely means Ji Xuan, who fosters the Narwhal’s growth by cultivating subordinates, is probably a double agent caught between these two organizations.

3) The Mechanized Dawn knows she isn’t dead, and Guider, who is a newly added member, seems to be a secret weapon prepared by Eve to target her.

Reorganizing her thoughts, rubbing her temples, Kui Xin began strategizing.

“Are you planning to sleep?” Adam asked. “Without knowing where Ghost is if he’s nearby…”

“There’s no truly safe spot in the city. I’ll switch resting locations every two hours,” Kui Xin replied.

Her communicator beeped twice, and looking down, she found a message from He Kangshi.

He posted a selfie and sent the photo to her communicator.

He Kangshi: “Sis, look! My new look isn’t too shabby, right? The整形 doctor designed a new face for me, though it’s not exceptional, it’s quite approachable. Even though the surgery’s not fully healed yet, the facial stiffness will subside over time!”

Kui Xin responded: “Alright. You can leave now. I’m tied up here.”

He Kangshi: “Got it.”

Kui Xin put away her communicator and stood up soon thereafter.

“Don’t you need rest?” Adam inquired.

“No. Tonight, I need to take Su Rong for plastic surgery,” Kui Xin replied. “Ghost lost his body and will find a new one soon. This chaos is only a temporary reprieve before more intense confrontations arise.”

After activating the spatial vortex, she arrived at Su Rong’s underground rest room.

Su Rong was sleeping under a blanket, having exhausted herself with Shadow Double.

The moment Kui Xin approached, Su Rong awoke. Shadow tendrils coiled around, poised for defense, but relaxed upon recognizing Kui Xin.

“You’re back!” Su Rong sprang up. “Did I make it to my surgery?”

“Yes,” Kui Xin stated briefly. “Let’s go.”

“What if the整形 doctor sees my face…” Su Rong expressed concern. “Gossip rags spread tales that Dmytro and a female celebrity were kidnapped, painting me as missing in action.”

“Do not worry, he won’t reveal it,” Kui Xin assured her.

Su Rong felt relieved and stepped into the spatial vortex.

When they arrived at the整形 clinic, Kui Xin waited outside for half a minute before entering to hypnotize the整形 doctor, eliminating exposure risk.

On the operating table, Su Rong looked at Kui Xin and said: “Still feels strange…Mom and Dad said I inherited all their good traits. In the future, when I look in the mirror, it won’t show me—I’ll see a different person.”

“As you wish,” Kui Xin said. “In this world, Su Rong ceases to exist. You become Shadowless.”

“Hmph!” Su Rong nodded emphatically.

…

Ji Xuan remained puzzled about how Ghost suddenly appeared in front of him.

A familiar logistics worker from the Mechanized Dawn said “goodnight” to Xuan as they passed one night after Ji’s late work.

Entering a dream, Ji met Ghost, realizing the worker was possessed. It was all part of the plan.

Amber, familiar with everything related to the Mechanized Dawn, targeted peripheral members working at Techno Creation Corporation, allowing Ghost to possess one of them temporarily.

“I need fixed and powerful body. Willpower should be weak, but capability high…”

Ji recalled the person Kui talked about fitting this description.

“I need to meet you and temporarily borrow your body and permissions to infiltrate Mechanized Dawn’s inner circle.”

“Are Mechanized Dawn doubting you?”

“The coincidences surrounding Narwhal incidents make them suspicious, unless a third party causes disturbances, leading to confusion.”

Ghost chuckled.

“Don’t worry, we can blame Amber. Your task is minimal, provide intel. They haven’t explained why they’re chasing ‘Lady Fortune.'”

“No, merely betrayal,” Ji shook his head.

“Fine,” Ghost nodded. “Leave your room and enter the elevator as if going out. We’ll meet inside.”

“The logistics worker you possessed…”

“Amber modified his memories. Once I leave his body, he’ll remember nothing, nor will he trigger Mechanized Dawn’s alarm.”

“That’s great.”

Awakening, Ji followed Ghost’s instructions.

As the elevator descended to the fifth floor, Ghost possessed a logistics worker inside.

Briefly touching, the possession was complete.

The worker froze, confused, asking, “What was I doing? To buy snacks.”

Seeing Ji, he added, “You shopping too?”

“Yeah, worked late.” Ghost puppeteered the response.

Patiently, Ghost bought snacks and went about their business until working hours. Dressing, adjusting their tie, the infiltrator moved freely in Mechanized Dawn’s branch with logistics supervisor rights.

Finally, they reached their objective.

The fifteen-year-old boy, actually younger, doggedly followed Silverface.

Ghost approached, nearly brushing against Guider’s hand.

Guider stopped walking.

Silverface turned concerned, “What’s wrong? Too weak to walk?”

“Starving,” Guider slowly raised his head and answered.

“I am too,” Silverface cheerfully, “Come on, let’s eat.”