The communicator was state-of-the-art; once damaged, all communicators would emit a piercing screech. The signal was the strongest in the world, linked to the most powerful satellites, making it impossible for any corner to be without reception.
There was actually a device specifically designed to jam these communication earpieces?
Since they were being so audacious, she had to show them some real skill.
A cold light flashed in Bai Cha's eyes as she quickly typed on her tablet.
Water dripped from the dark ceiling onto the bluestone slabs, clearly audible to Yun He's ears. Looking up, she could see platforms and cracks crisscrossing the ceiling.
It was too quiet here, only the sound of water and soft breathing. The air carried a faint scent of decay and the smell of rust. It was hard to imagine such a scene within the tall and ornate haunted house.
Yun He had spent a considerable amount of time in basements before. She could clearly distinguish that the decay and dilapidation here were not disguises for atmosphere, but that the building was genuinely in such a state, with an outer shell merely covering the dilapidated structure.
Such a building, whether for safety or health, offered no guarantee to visitors. Why hadn't it been renovated?
Yun He found it somewhat strange. It wasn't just the building issues; she hadn't seen a single person since arriving. Although it was daytime, and tourists had dispersed while the night session hadn't yet begun, it was still unusual not to see any staff. Staff members worked in shifts; how could there be such a large gap?
"Rustle, rustle."
There was a slight movement not far away. Yun He leveled her breathing and drifted over.
In terms of martial arts in country Z, Yun He was undoubtedly exceptionally talented. Meng Qinghuan, who practiced Buddhism, had taught her some martial monk techniques after taking her in, seeing that Yun He's weapon was a gauntlet-like fist armor. Yun He's learning speed had indeed greatly surprised Meng Qinghuan.
The speed of a leopard, the ears of a wolf, the senses of a snake, the eyes of an eagle… Yun He had mastered these techniques one by one. Perhaps it was the mutation caused by the bloodline and flesh and blood from her father within her body that gave her half-dragon strength.
A blur of motion, Yun He bent down and sprinted towards the source of the sound, leaving a trail of afterimages without making a sound, like a cat, moving nimbly.
"But, Uncle, why are we talking here?"
The voice was somewhat familiar, that of a young boy. Yun He was puzzled. She hid by a doorway, listening intently.
"Xiao Ye, Uncle is busy, just finished inspecting the work here and it's convenient to call you here," a middle-aged man's voice sounded. "I heard you've been investigating the Ye Feng incident lately?"
Ye Feng? Wasn't that Miss Bai's father? Yun He perked up her ears.
"Yes, Uncle. I think there's more to that incident," the young boy's voice sounded again. "Xiao Bai isn't that kind of person. And why are you all being so secretive?"
"After all, it's a matter from the previous generation. We can't let your generation get involved," the middle-aged man's voice sounded a bit awkward. "Besides, you're still young. We're afraid you'll be deceived... Hmm? What is it?"
"Ah, nothing. Why do I sense a familiar aura?" the boy's voice sounded slightly puzzled.
As soon as he said this, Yun He by the door immediately felt something was wrong. It was a premonition; Yun He's intuition told her that the boy inside was referring to her!
"...Xiao Ye, let's talk outside. It's too dark here," the middle-aged man's voice wavered slightly before quickly returning to normal. "Don't worry, it's probably left by tourists. Maybe someone you know came to the haunted house to play."
As he said this, Yun He's heart sank again. She lightly pressed her earpiece twice, intending to notify Bai Cha, but unexpectedly found that the earpiece was completely unresponsive.
Broken? Impossible.
All the equipment had been personally checked by Miss Bai; there was absolutely no way it could be faulty. So, it must be a jamming device here, which was even worse. Perhaps the people here had already detected her earpiece signal and discovered her.
The situation was urgent. Yun He quickly calmed down. She was alone now. If she missed this opportunity, it would be very difficult to catch these two people again just by relying on sound!
With no time to think, Yun He flashed out and was about to rush into the room to attack the people inside. The iron door had already opened; it was the door leading outside. However, the boy beside the middle-aged man made Yun He freeze in shock.
"Mo Ziye!" Yun He exclaimed.
However, it was precisely because of this momentary pause that the roles of hunter and prey had completely reversed. Yun He felt a coolness on her left waist and instinctively dodged. A gleaming knife grazed her clothing.
Yun He turned her head and found someone standing beside her. This person was masked, with a somewhat strange appearance. Although described as human, they always gave Yun He a peculiar, distorted feeling, like mud in a swamp.
With a turn of her head, the iron door was closed, and the room plunged back into darkness. Yun He knew it was bad. If she hadn't hesitated for a second, she could have rushed forward to follow Mo Ziye and the middle-aged man.
It was too late to think about it now. The dark shadow lunged at Yun He. Yun He lowered her stance and quickly retreated. Her left hand transformed into a palm, creating a gust of wind that blocked the shadow's line of sight. Simultaneously, she removed her communication earpiece and swallowed it directly.
As long as the communicator was not destroyed, she had hope of getting rescued. Yun He knew the importance of the communicator very well. This person was very strange, making Yun He uneasy, so she had to resort to this desperate measure.
The next moment, something beyond Yun He's comprehension appeared. This person's arm suddenly stretched out a great length, like a spear, piercing towards her.
Yun He quickly dodged. The stretched arm immediately poked a hole in the ground. When she looked back, the dark shadow was actually stuck to the ceiling, like a gecko, showing no sign of falling. Its limbs were all stretchable like modeling clay.
What was going on? Was this not human?
Yun He was greatly alarmed. She could feel that this person was not a Dragon Rider; they lacked the unique aura that came with resonating with a dragon.
And this person…
Yun He's heart sank. A powerful wind surged around her, forming a vortex centered on Yun He that isolated the dark shadow. The shadow's limbs, like some strange soft rubber, desperately thrashed towards Yun He, but were each time blocked by the wind wall.
"The Taiji, from the Wuji it is born, the essence of movement, the mother of Yin and Yang. Yin does not leave Yang, Yang does not leave Yin; Yin and Yang interact, all reaching divine resonance."
A calm voice echoed in the dim room. Yun He's movements were slow but extremely rhythmic. Her palms closed together, then pressed outward. Her arms drew circles. Crimson energy from her palms gradually turned blue with Yun He's movements, becoming purer from its initial impure blue.
Extracting the pure energy from her bloodline was something Meng Qinghuan had taught her hand-in-hand.
Yes, it was truly "hand-in-hand."
Yun He had never used this ability since she learned it, not only because it required a long preparation time but also because of the embarrassing memories associated with it.
Back then, for the sake of "purifying the blood," Meng Qinghuan had removed her upper clothing and pressed her back against Yun He, who was only wearing a small vest. She had held Yun He's hand and guided her for several hours every day for an entire month.
It was incredibly embarrassing!
"Yin and Yang give birth to each other, transforming and nurturing with the seasons!" Yun He let out a soft cry, and the crystal blue energy abruptly spread. Under the cover of the blue light, the dark shadow vanished like a wisp of smoke. The ease of this victory made Yun He somewhat suspicious.
Was it truly not human?
Yun He's unease deepened. Before she could even catch her breath, a pitch-black fist shot towards her. Yun He quickly crossed her arms to block the punch. Fortunately, Yun He's body had been trained exceptionally well; this powerful punch only pushed her back two steps.
However, what Yun He didn't expect was that these two steps she took actually led her to step into nothingness.
Yun He was startled and instinctively looked back, only to find a large pit had opened up behind her, pitch-black inside, its depth indiscernible.
When had this pit appeared? Was the opponent prepared?
Without even time to think, Yun He had already disappeared into the pit. The ground, which had revealed a large opening, silently and swiftly returned to its original state, healing itself as if alive.
[Hmm?]
Meng Qinghuan, who was traveling rapidly, suddenly stopped and let out a soft exclamation.
"What's wrong?" Hearing the voice from the earpiece, Bai Cha's heart tightened. She had just traced Yun He's movement direction before her communicator disappeared. If anything else happened now, it would not be a good sign.
[Nothing, I sensed Yun He's energy fluctuations. She's alive, but she actually used that move. It seems the situation is not good.] Meng Qinghuan frowned, clearly surprised.
"Does this move have a special significance?" Bai Cha asked.
[Uh, it does have a special significance, I guess?]
Meng Qinghuan's voice sounded somewhat embarrassed. That voice always made Bai Cha feel that Meng Qinghuan was a bit mischievous and inexplicable.
[Her bloodline purification was extracted by me using essence of power, so I can sense it a little.]
"Gu Mingze, can you lock onto the target now?" Bai Cha asked again.
[I can, I can. I've received the data you sent me, but, but...] As he said this, Gu Mingze paused. Sweat had already beaded on his forehead. He said in a trembling voice, [But, Cang Liu ge's communicator seems to have become detached from the person.]
"...Detached?" Bai Cha frowned. She had a bad premonition. She felt a sense of disharmony constantly following her, just like that time during the Winter Olympics.
It was as if she had been lured into a trap.
[Uh, if the communicator's location is accurate, Cang Liu ge would be standing in the middle of the main road. Cang Liu ge wouldn't be in such a conspicuous place during a mission, would he?]
Gu Mingze's voice was weak, clearly lacking confidence due to his uncertainty. This was just his conjecture, but Bai Cha knew that what Gu Mingze said was absolutely correct.
"Meng Qinghuan, stop looking for Yun He immediately and go find Gu Mingze." Bai Cha pondered for a moment, as if she had figured something out, and decisively closed her tablet, dashing off towards the southwest. "Gu Mingze, give me the precise location before they disappeared."
[Oh, okay.]
Gu Mingze scratched his head. He had thought he was just a burden, but unexpectedly, he could still help. It seemed his time spent playing games hadn't been in vain.
"Master, have you got any leads?" Lucifer asked, following closely behind Bai Cha, his brow furrowed.
"Yes, I have a general idea of who it is," Bai Cha sighed lightly, her eyes showing some disappointment. "Some people are more muddled than I thought."
"Master?" Lucifer didn't understand.
"This mission was submitted by someone from the Neutral Faction, but the review was conducted by the Tu family from the Light Faction." Bai Cha's expression darkened, seemingly recalling an unpleasant memory. "And whoever could arrange such a precise plan must have a very unusual connection with Sky Island. It seems the Tu brothers fit the description."
[Little Bai, you might as well just say you're heartbroken. How many people have they killed?] Meng Qinghuan interjected lazily. [Be bolder, remove the "seems like," it's them.]
Bai Cha: "..."
You could have chosen not to speak.
"In any case, we should have been targeted by them from the beginning. However, their actions were a bit hasty. I estimate they didn't expect me to come and handle this matter so quickly."