Otherworldly Affairs Office

However, the battle situation did not leave Wang Tianlai puzzled for long. Seeing Shitang use borrowing the knife to kill two obstructive RB people, Su Xiang snapped his fingers at Shanhe. Shanhe, receiving the command, immediately understood and, along with Zhi Rou, rushed towards the three people from the Investigation Agency, joined by Hoshino Takeshi, who had lost his reason after losing his comrades.

Among his companions, two had died miserably, and one was trapped. The person screaming in agony from being burned was none other than Elder Ito, who had been kind to him since joining the organization. Now, seeing this outcome, Hoshino Takeshi was overwhelmed with grief and consumed by the flames of revenge. Losing his reason, he charged in regardless of the power disparity between the sides, swinging his long knife.

"Now it's the Investigation Agency's turn to be unlucky!" Su Xiang said as he pulled out three more azure light spheres from his bosom and threw them into the air with a smile.

Pei Jin casually put her phone into her pocket and spoke coldly: "If any one of them is in life-threatening danger, then don't expect anything to go your way today no matter what happens!"

Su Xiang tilted his head and looked at the woman within the light wall, frowning intensely as if engaged in a fierce mental battle, and finally shrugged helplessly, shaking his head: "OK, since it's Miss Pei's request, I'll do my best not to let them die! I'll try!"

With that, he gestured to Shanhe and the others. At this moment, Wang Tianlai and his three companions, who were preparing to face the enemy, finally understood what had happened inside Ito Shizuki; their internal source had also been locked from within!

In the moment they lost their internal source ability, despite the initial panic, the three quickly reacted, retreating wildly while pulling out guns from their pockets and frantically firing at the oncoming enemies. Although they had trained with firearms before, they never thought they'd use guns in a battle after becoming superpowered beings.

The bullets, with their small power, struck the enemies' thick internal source but stopped less than half an inch in, falling powerless to the ground and utterly failing to act as a deterrent. By this time, the enemies were already close in, and Han Bing and the others had to brace themselves for close combat.

The moment they exchanged blows, the three instantly suffered heavy losses. Wang Tianlai was hit in the stomach by Shanhe's stone-like fist and spat out a mouthful of old blood, while Han Bing faced Zhi Rou, and when their fists collided, Han Bing's fist drooped powerlessly as if anesthetized. In contrast, the other party's fist landed as solidly as a steel hammer, accompanied by the sound of bone cracking, leaving Han Bing cold with sweat and half his body numb as he fell backward.

The unluckiest was He Jiantao, who faced Hoshino Takeshi. The man, seeing his foes suffering similarly, couldn't care less about the original reason, slashing at He Jiantao rapidly and viciously, each cut aiming at his vital areas.

After a dozen slashes, the unarmed and powerless He Jiantao, with an unfortunate opening, was seized, and Hoshino Takeshi broke through his defense with a slash that traced from his left shoulder down across his chest, resulting in a gushing column of blood.

Seeing He Jiantao fall to the ground, Hoshino Takeshi was about to step forward and finish him off with another slash, but Shanhe blocked his path: "That's enough, spare those you can, leave some room for the future."

"How dare you! Get out of the way, you damned fool! When they were killing our people, why didn't they leave some room then!" Hoshino Takeshi raged, cursing in broken Chinese at Shanhe, who stood before him with a smiling face.

Shanhe's eyes turned icy at the words, mocking: "Don't forget the mission's purpose. We are here to capture Miss Pei. If you kill them all, how are we supposed to use them as hostages to force her compliance?"

"Just one hostage will..." Hoshino Takeshi began to argue, but before he could finish, a peal of thunder roared from behind them. Realizing the danger, both paused their argument and leapt out of the battle zone. The next instant, a blood-soaked figure appeared where they once stood — none other than Jiang Donghu, locked in combat with Shitang Longsi.

Even amid the fight, Jiang Donghu's gaze had never left the spot; he was delighted at the victory when Elder Ito and two RB people were eliminated. But who would've thought the situation would reverse so quickly, with his side suffering heavy losses one after another.

"Xiaohong, Xiaohong, how are you!" Jiang Donghu's tiger eyes welled up with tears as he cradled his unconscious comrade, pressing against his chest to stem the bleeding, calling out with sorrow.

"Mr. Jiang! You've disregarded your opponent over and over again! You will pay for your foolishness!" Shitang Longsi's voice came from afar, and Jiang Donghu turned sharply; his eyes were no longer human, but a pair of beastly dragon eyes emitting a captivating glow.

Yet Shitang Longsi in the distance remained unfazed; at some point, he had conjured a longbow, fully drawn, a long arrow of internal source nocked and aimed at Jiang Donghu, ready to release.

"Wait!" At this critical moment, Su Xiang's voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention. They watched him bow and make a gesture of invitation. Pei Jin sighed with resignation, shook her head, and walked out slowly from within the light wall.

"Cough cough cough!" Wang Tianlai, lying on the ground, saw this scene and shut his eyes in despair.

"You foolish woman! What are you doing! Didn't I tell you! No matter what happens, don't leave that circle! Get back in there!" Seeing this, Jiang Donghu felt a surge of blood and anger, thinking, it's a woman after all! Faltering at a critical moment, doesn't she understand that his brothers fought with their lives to protect her? If she steps out, everything they did would be for nothing.

But Pei Jin seemed not to hear his cries, walking slowly through the crowd to Jiang Donghu's side. Shanhe and the others automatically made way for her, while Shitang Longsi glanced thoughtfully at Su Xiang, then at Pei Jin, releasing his grip on the longbow, which transformed back into internal source and returned within him, watching with interest how things would unfold.

"He's seriously injured." Pei Jin crouched, placing her hand on He Jiantao, speaking softly.

Jiang Donghu gritted his teeth, questioning: "I know better than you! Why did you come out! We can handle this!"

"But you can't solve it; you should have a device to teleport me away, right? Take it out; it's time!" Pei Jin looked calmly at Jiang Donghu, her gaze meeting his fiery eyes until they gradually turned cold and disdainful. She remained unmoved, simply watching him quietly.

"Hmph! Ha ha ha," Jiang Donghu lowered his head, shaking it in self-mockery. Was he blind? He never expected her to be such a woman.

"Give it to her, Old Jiang, send her away! She's right; remember what was said when the Investigation Agency gave us the task. No matter what happens, even if the sky falls, her safety is the top priority!" Wang Tianlai, seeing the dejected and pained eyes of his close friend, loudly made a decision on his behalf.

Upon hearing this, Shanhe hastily stepped forward to intercept but was held back by Su Xiang, who caught up and placed a hand on his shoulder, motioning for him to keep watching.