Chapter 1134: Within the Ripples
"Son of a bitch..."
Ma Twelve of Teleportation looked like he couldn't run much longer.
In order to successfully lead the Xuanwu behind them into the "Cat's" encirclement, he, Wu Thirteen of Levitation, and Luo Eleven of Oblivion had been running with her practically the entire way.
During that time, they heard many chaotic explosions and sounds of fighting coming from the distant square, and could only silently pray that "Extreme Path" would be lucky enough to snatch that giant bell from Baihu's hands.
"Eleven... are we not at the 'encirclement' yet?" Ma Twelve asked.
"Don't... don't talk... use that energy to keep running..."
The marker rounds on Xuanwu kept erupting with thick red smoke, transmitting signals to all nearby "Cats."
More and more people began to converge on the red smoke, but it was taking far too long, making the backs of those leading Xuanwu feel colder and colder.
Fortunately, today's Xuanwu seemed to be suffering from some kind of affliction, obediently following behind the group the whole time. She clearly had "Leap," yet she never appeared beside them, just shifting forward in segments.
During that time, she never used her "Reach" to attack them either, as if she too was waiting to see how things would develop.
They said they were leading Xuanwu into an "encirclement," but to Xuanwu, these people seemed to be just aimlessly running around with her. After all, they had been circling among the small buildings the whole time, and her patience was about to run out.
After circling through the low buildings a few more times, Xuanwu realized they still showed no intention of leading her out. She could only sigh, used "Leap" to instantly appear before them, blocking their way.
Luo Eleven and the other two hurriedly braked, then gasped for air.
After all, Xuanwu could "Leap," but the three of them had been running for their lives for over ten minutes.
"Why don't you come and kill me?"
Xuanwu's ethereal voice drifted out from her figure, but the three people in front of her just bent over, panting heavily, unable to answer a single word.
Luo Eleven lowered his head and waved his hand left and right: "Let us rest for a bit first... Jeez, I'm fucking exhausted..."
"Come kill me." Xuanwu said again in a tone that brooked no argument.
"In a minute..." Luo Eleven finally managed to steady his breathing, "Can't kill yet, you need to wait a while. Wait until we reach the encirclement, and then..."
"We've been going in circles. How can we reach an encirclement?"
Xuanwu was clearly puzzled, feeling she had been toyed with.
"On our way to the encirclement..." Luo Eleven slowly raised his head, "Even if it looks like we're going in circles, we'll be there soon..."
"Rash."
Xuanwu extended her pitch-black, shiny arm, clearly about to enter an attack state.
"I can allow you to kill me, but I will not allow you to stall for time. There are still many rules I must uphold, and many deaths I have yet to try."
"Who the hell is stalling..." Luo Eleven shook his head. "We've all thought up so many ways to lure you into the encirclement, isn't it just to kill you?"
"Oh...?"
As his words fell, red signal flares suddenly shot into the sky from the low buildings all around.
"Whoosh!"
First one, then quickly a second, a third—a total of eight flares soared into the sky one after another, like eight tiny suns shimmering against the dark crimson sky. The positions of these eight flares perfectly formed a circle.
And Xuanwu was the center of that circle.
"An encirclement..." Xuanwu murmured. "So it wasn't that I was looking for the encirclement, but that the encirclement was looking for me."
"Doesn't that count as being surrounded?" Luo Eleven laughed. "Xuanwu... now we're going to do everything we can to kill you."
On the rooftops of the low buildings, familiar figures kept emerging.
Song Seven, dressed in black, walked to the edge of the rooftop while removing a hair tie from his wrist to tie up his disheveled hair. He stared down with a heavy expression.
"Sister Six said this Xuanwu was unusual, but I didn't expect it to be this outrageous."
From then on, Wang Eight, Bai Nine, Jiang Ten, and other members each appeared on different low rooftops with two or three people. Everyone from the "Cat" team ranked up to twenty-one had shown up except for Qian Five.
With Qian Five and Zhou Six absent, Song Seven was the highest-ranking on the field.
Xuanwu slowly turned her body, scanning the people surrounding her. She could clearly sense that everyone here possessed considerable "Echoes."
It was a situation that felt disjointed to Xuanwu. Most of these people didn't look crazy, yet a seasoned, battle-hardened aura radiated from them. Their mastery of "Echoes" couldn't be classified as "powerful"—it should be described as "ingenious."
They had accumulated a vast amount of practical combat experience, allowing each of them to use their "Echoes" with perfect timing.
Xuanwu lowered her head and saw a few people in black leather jackets standing on the ground in pairs and threes.
It seemed the other side had indeed formulated a strict plan to kill her, with some responsible for long-range support and others for ground combat.
After all, in her memory, she had never been surrounded in the center by so many people with such murderous intent.
"So, what's the verdict?" Xuanwu swept her gaze over the crowd. "Will I attack first, or will you?"
Song Seven frowned as he looked down at the pitch-black Xuanwu below. Although Zhou Six had only briefly described Xuanwu's appearance, Song Seven already knew many parts of the plan could no longer be carried out.
He turned to look at the man and woman standing behind him, then asked the man: "Fourth Brother, you're older than me, are you sure you don't want to take command yourself?"
Officer Li lowered his head, lit the cigarette in his mouth, and gently blew out a puff of smoke. "I don't know everyone's abilities. It's better for you to command."
"Alright." Song Seven then turned to look at Su Shan. "So... what's the situation with Xuanwu now?"
Upon hearing this, Su Shan took a step forward, also coming to the edge of the rooftop and looking down.
Her eyes instantly became as dazzling as gemstones, with a faint glow swirling around her pupils.
Everything within Su Shan's line of sight began to change abruptly. They still looked like their original selves, but faint halos would materialize out of thin air.
She stared at Xuanwu, scanning her up and down, and soon a troubled expression appeared on her face.
"Can you still see the 'eyes'?" Song Seven asked.
Su Shan sighed and continued to squint as she swept her gaze over Xuanwu, top to bottom, like a precision scanning instrument.
"Forget about 'eyes'..." Su Shan said softly. "That weird thing... I can hardly tell if she's even 'human.'"
"What do you mean?" Song Seven asked.
"Her entire body is covered in 'ripples'..." Su Shan explained. "How should I describe this feeling... Originally, you'd see 'ripples' on a person. But now, I'm barely making out a person within the 'ripples.'"