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After discovering their patrolling companion knocked unconscious, lights swiftly came on throughout the Happiness Cult compound as believers spontaneously walked out of their houses to search for the culprit.

About twenty or so followers and guards of the Happiness Cult came in groups, surrounding the Shrine.

It wasn't because they were efficient and quickly realized that the attacker's target was this place, but more to protect Komori Ai, the highest asset of the sect.

Trouble could happen anywhere in the compound, but not here, so the number of people dispatched to this location was also the greatest.

However, when they arrived to inspect the area around the Shrine, they quickly realized that all the guards were missing, found unconscious in various concealed locations, and the locks of the Shrine's main gate had been picked open.

Clearly, the worst had happened, and the Shrine had been invaded.

The believers immediately wanted to storm into the Shrine.

At that moment, the main gate of the Shrine was suddenly kicked open from the inside.

"Nobody move!!"

A man's shout echoed through the air.

The guards, shining their flashlights, saw three figures against the light coming out of the Shrine.

To be precise, it was two masked men and women taking the Happiness Cult's Shrine Maiden Serizawa Mai as a hostage.

The masked man held a small knife at the Shrine Maiden's throat and, flanked by the masked woman on either side, supported her.

The guards of the Happiness Cult instantly raised their Taser guns with caution, but because the Shrine Maiden was taken as a hostage, they dared not act rashly and subtly lowered their aim a bit.

"Who are you?! Let go of the Great Shrine Maiden!!" The lead guard shouted urgently.

"I won't let her go, what can you do about it, you x cult dogs? Hahahaha!"

The masked man laughed wildly, filled with strong vengeance and malice, furrowing brows.

"Ah~~ I've been captured! What should I do~~" The petite Shrine Maiden stuck out her tongue without any grace, chanting in a sing-song voice.

The guard glanced at her and raised the Taser gun, shouting, "What do you want to do!?"

"What do I want to do? Is it any of your business!" The masked man flipped his middle finger with the hand holding the Shrine Maiden, then shoved her forward, the blade pressed against the girl's pale neck, "Back off, everyone back off! Or I'll do it!"

The malicious thug's demeanor made Ayakoji Chiyoko want to cover her face.

The pair of masked men and women were none other than Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko.

When they were about to be surrounded, Kagura Hikaru thought of a harmful strategy.

If going out meant being captured, then the only option was to take Komori Ai as a hostage and flee.

Hence the current situation.

The reason for covering their faces and impersonating criminals wasn't just to hide their identities; it was more important to maintain a strong position and intimidate them.

Having a hostage meant the more ferocious the display, the better.

True to form, the Happiness Cult believers, seeing their own Shrine Maiden in the hands of criminals, dared not defy them. Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chi carried Komori Ai between them, passing through the crowd and then started running toward the exit at an increased pace.

The path was smooth, with nobody daring to block their way.

But no matter how fast they ran, there were always people following behind, and the number kept growing.

They finally arrived at the Happiness Cult compound's main gate.

Master Tanaka, whom they had seen before, led a group of believers, blocking the way with a furious expression.

"Stop—"

Kagura Hikaru didn't listen to him, firing a Taser gun shot unexpectedly, directly knocking Master Tanaka down. Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

The corpulent man thudded to the ground.

At that moment, the crowd of believers were stunned.

"Make way!" Kagura Hikaru demanded vehemently.

They looked at Komori Ai being held hostage and then at Master Tanaka lying on the ground, unable to speak or rise.

With the decision-maker taken down, they could only silently clear a path.

Of course, the key factor was that Kagura Hikaru had control over the believers' lifeline, that is, Komori Ai, the 'Shrine Maiden'.

From the moment they left the Shrine, Kagura Hikaru noticed that the Happiness Cult's people were exceptionally nervous about Komori Ai being taken, it went beyond just 'sect asset endangered' level, it was almost as if their own mother was being lured away by a scoundrel.

Fury filled them, but they dared not say too much, fearing trouble.

And it wasn't just one person; everyone felt the same way.

Even including that Master Tanaka.

This realization struck Kagura Hikaru, they must have, like him, consumed honey mixed with Komori Ai's blood, and were likely sincerely worshipping her as the Shrine Maiden.

But even so, they still disregarded Komori Ai's wishes and imprisoned her.

Thus, in the end, desire had triumphed over love, such was the complexity of human nature.

After clearing the last obstacle, Kagura Hikaru and the two others ran down the mountain along the path they had come.

A swarm of people rushed after them, and shaking them off seemed impossible.

But as long as they didn't block the way and just followed, it didn't matter; Kagura Hikaru planned to immediately call the police once he reached an area with a signal for support.

"Do we just keep running towards the city?" Ayakoji Chiyoko asked while running.

"Yes," Kagura Hikaru answered succinctly.

Although somewhat distant, being able to leave safely was already a very good outcome.

However, they had only run a short distance when they encountered another group of people led by the sect hierarch's deputy, the bucktoothed man they had seen earlier at the entrance of the encampment.

They had blocked the road with several jeeps, turned on the headlights for illumination, and were holding weapons in their hands.

Guns.

Kagura Hikaru signaled for Ayakoji Chiyoko and the others to slow down. Before they could take further action, that group of people raised their guns and shot towards them.

Bang!

At the sound of gunfire, Kagura Hikaru's adrenaline surged crazily, and he knocked Ayakoji Chiyoko and Komori Ai to the ground at top speed.

"Have you been shot?!" he quickly asked after they fell to the ground.

"Not at all!" Komori Ai shouted back with a smile.

"No!" Ayakoji Chiyoko said in alarm, "They're shooting?! Where did they get the guns?!"

"Don't panic, there was no muzzle flash—that was an air gun!"

Once he confirmed that the two were unharmed, Kagura Hikaru quickly pulled them up and ran towards the woods, off the road.

Staying in place would only get them caught in a pincer attack; he preferred to risk being hit and run into the mountains.

Under Kagura Hikaru's lead, they split up and ran at different distances.

Frantic voices and a second round of gunfire came from behind them, delayed.

But they managed to dodge behind trees in time and escaped once again.

In fact, even if they were hit, it probably wouldn't affect their ability to move—Kagura Hikaru had deduced from the sound that they were low-pressure air guns used for hunting, shooting lead pellets. At close range, it would struggle to penetrate a rabbit's skull, much less kill a person.

However, the behavior of that group was indeed very unusual, different from the cult followers they had encountered at the encampment; they had dared to shoot at Komori Ai.

Even if a low-pressure air gun was unlikely to be lethal, a strike to the eyes could still cause serious problems if they were unlucky.

Kagura Hikaru couldn't help feeling there were things about the Happiness Cult he didn't fully understand yet.

The trio quickly disappeared into the shadows of the mountain forest, vanishing under the cover of the night.

The people from the Happiness Cult didn't plan on giving up; they formed teams and continued to search along the mountain path.

After half an hour, they still found nothing. Their flashlights were out of power, but they refused to give up. They had batteries delivered and continued the mountain search, gradually expanding the range.

By this time, Kagura Hikaru, Komori Ai, and Ayakoji Chiyoko were hiding in a spot that was difficult to detect, a corner concealed by trees and underbrush, watching them from a distance.

"What do we do now?" Ayakoji Chiyoko crouched beside Kagura Hikaru, whispering in his ear.

The way down the mountain was completely blocked, and a forceful breakthrough would lead to a chase; if this continued, they would eventually be caught.

Kagura Hikaru pondered for a moment, looking up the mountain.

Under the moonlight, the Shrine of the Happiness Cult's encampment was faintly visible.

He turned his head and said, "Let's head back."