NOVEL WEB Chapter 165: Back to Civilization
Her mouth was empty, completely hollow. Her entire tongue had been cut out. Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire
"Damn… No wonder she didn't make a sound when she was burning. What do we do now? If she can't speak, even drugging her won't work," Leo said, releasing her jaw.
Everyone knew what Leo meant by "drugging." It was a common tactic during interrogations.
The woman kept her head down, seemingly indifferent to her current predicament.
"Out of the six of them, three had their tongues removed, including their vocal cords," Ethan explained.
The three who had been mutilated were:
1. The bear-paw mutant Leo had taken down first.
2. The hand-blade mutant Ethan had slapped into oblivion.
3. And now, this woman in front of them.
Crack!
Before Ethan could finish speaking, the woman's head suddenly exploded.
Whoosh! Something shot out of her skull.
No one had expected this. They were all standing close to her, and now they were covered in a gruesome mix of blood and brain matter.
Ethan fought back the urge to vomit and immediately expanded his heightened senses, pushing them to their maximum range.
But all he caught was a glimpse of a tail before it vanished beyond the reach of his senses.
The speed was unbelievable. It had taken less than a second for the creature to escape his detection.
Ethan quickly shifted his focus, scanning the area with his senses. He checked the locations of the hand-blade mutant and the bear-paw mutant Leo had killed earlier.
Both bodies were gone.
He relayed this information to Victor and the others, who were equally stunned.
The bodies that had disappeared were all from the mutilated individuals. And now, with the woman's head exploding and something escaping from it, it was clear this was no coincidence.
"Could it be that the creature felt trapped and decided to shed its host?" Ethan speculated.
His theory made sense to everyone.
Ethan retracted his senses and took a deep breath, glancing in the direction the creature had fled.
"Let's get out of here. We need to head back to Ember City," he said.
The others nodded in agreement. This mission had taken too many bizarre turns, and they'd been ambushed on their way back. If it hadn't been for Ethan's sudden surge of power, the three of them might not have made it out alive.
The four of them moved quickly, heading straight for the spot where they'd parked their vehicle.
As they walked, Ethan turned to Victor. "Victor, you've always wanted to join the Ninth Division. Do you know what they actually do?"
Victor nodded. "Yeah, the Ninth Division has two departments. One handles regular cases in the mundane world, and the other deals with supernatural phenomena. I applied to the regular department."
He chuckled bitterly. "Who knew my first mission would be this… weird."
Ethan nodded, finally understanding. So the Ninth Division was divided into specialized units. But where did Celeste's Emver City M-Squad fit into all this? Given the alphabetical ranking, their team probably wasn't at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Celeste wouldn't be able to return with them, and Ethan wondered how the rest of them would be reassigned once they got back. Celeste had suggested they all leave the Ninth Division, but Ethan doubted it would be that simple.
For now, they could only take things one step at a time.
They took another break during the journey and finally emerged from the mountains by noon the next day. Using the GPS coordinates from their device, they had taken a direct route out of the forest. As soon as they cleared the trees, they spotted their Hummer parked not far away.
It had been sitting there for days, untouched.
Ethan let out a long sigh of relief, tilting his head back to soak in the sunlight.
Victor and the others approached the vehicle, and Leo immediately crawled underneath to check for any tampering.
Williams popped open the hood of the Hummer and began inspecting the engine. After a thorough check, both he and Leo gave the all-clear.
"Everything looks good," Leo said confidently.
Ethan walked over, raising an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
His question made Leo and Williams pause. They exchanged a glance, then went back to double-checking the engine.
A few minutes later, they stood up again, looking at Ethan with puzzled expressions.
Ethan grinned and pulled open the driver's side door.
Victor and the others gathered around, and Ethan said casually, "Let's go home."
"Wait, what?" Victor hesitated, his face full of confusion.
Leo and Williams were equally baffled. Ethan chuckled and explained, "I just wanted to make sure they checked everything properly. That's all."
"Ugh…" Leo groaned, opening the back door and tossing his backpack inside.
Williams had been holding his breath, waiting for Ethan to point out some critical flaw. Now he exhaled sharply, shaking his head.
Victor let out a tired laugh. "Ethan, you're something else."
"Just trying to lighten the mood," Ethan said with a smirk. "Alright, let's get out of here."
Once inside the vehicle, everyone changed into clean clothes, and they drove back to Terracotta City. They parked the Hummer in the same spot as before and decided to stay in the city for a day to rest. They booked a hotel and slept for what felt like an eternity.
By evening, Leo was adamant about going out for a "feast." He insisted it was his treat and dragged everyone to a bustling street food stall. His idea of a feast turned out to be an all-you-can-eat skewer buffet, with a time limit and a per-person charge.
Sitting there, surrounded by the noise and chaos of the city, Ethan found himself oddly comforted. After days in the mountains, the urban clamor felt almost welcoming.
His mind drifted to the last time he'd taken Celeste out for seafood. He wondered where she was now—still in that desolate village, or back in the city? He had no idea what their next meeting would be like.
And then there was Lyla. Why hadn't she answered his calls? According to Victor, who had heard from Celia, Lyla had left for her family home in the capital the day after they'd departed. She hadn't returned since. Ethan couldn't shake his worry about her.
"Do any of you know about the Silverwood family in the capital?" Ethan asked.
All three shook their heads.
Leo tried to reassure him. "Don't worry, Ethan. Lyla's fine."
Victor and Williams nodded in agreement.
Ethan forced a smile, but a sinking feeling lingered in his chest.
The four of them ate until they could barely move, just as the time limit ran out. They returned to the hotel and collapsed into bed once more.
The next morning, they boarded a plane back to Ember City. As the city of Terracotta shrank beneath them, Ethan felt a sense of closure. The mission was finally over.
As the flight progressed and they drew closer to Ember City, Ethan's excitement grew. Despite Lyla's absence, he had received a brief call from her that morning. Their conversation had been short but sweet, and it had eased his mind somewhat.
When he asked her when she'd be back, Lyla said it might be a while, but she promised she'd return.
That reassurance was enough for Ethan. Over the time they'd spent together, he'd learned a bit about her family. Her father was going through a turbulent period, with other family members trying to oust him from his position as head of the household. Lyla's return home was likely to support him.
But what Ethan didn't know was just how much effort Lyla had gone through to make that one phone call to him.