# 75
**Chapter 75: Showdown**
The moment Wang Mian finished speaking, over a dozen recruits charged forward—flames, frost, wind, lasers… all kinds of attacks surged in like a tide!
The training ground’s atmosphere was like a powder keg with a lit fuse—**boom**—it exploded!
Baili Pangpang shouted twice and tried to leap into the sky.
Lin Qiye grabbed him by the collar without a word, spun around, and sprinted straight for the edge of the training ground!
“Qiye! What are you doing? We’ve gotta fight!”
“And die in the first thirty seconds?” Lin Qiye yelled back while running. “You got a weapon on you? Our gear was confiscated the second we entered boot camp, but every member of Mask Squad is fully loaded. You planning to head-butt them to death?”
Baili Pangpang froze, instinctively patting his pockets. “Actually—”
“Besides, they’re called a ‘special squad’ because their combat power is miles above ours. If we don’t even know their Forbidden Ruins or fighting styles, rushing in is just suicide!”
Lin Qiye glanced over his shoulder—as if to prove his point, the drill platform erupted.
A deep-purple vortex bloomed mid-air, blocking the Mask members and swallowing every incoming attack.
The next instant, a pink war-hammer two stories tall materialized, whipping up a roaring gale and smashing every airborne recruit flat to the ground!
By now most recruits realized something was wrong, but when they spun to flee, it was already too late.
Vortex snapped his fingers; the purple swirl re-appeared above the crowd.
“Running now? Too late!” he sneered.
The flames, frost, and other attacks previously devoured sprayed back like a hailstorm, detonating across the platform in a chain of explosions!
Scorching fire and thick smoke billowed skyward. Baili Pangpang, still tailing Lin Qiye, gulped, cold sweat drenching his back.
“That’s the power of a ‘Lantern’ realm? If they went all-out… how strong would they be?”
“That’s why they’re a special squad.” Lin Qiye exhaled. “Less than a minute in and we’ve lost nearly half our numbers… this is bad.”
He wasn’t the only smart one. The moment he and Baili Pangpang bolted, plenty of others followed, escaping the blast radius. Without Lin Qiye leading the charge, the casualty count would’ve been even higher.
Through the rolling smoke, five figures in gray cloaks strode out. Vortex looked at the unconscious recruits around him and grinned.
“Bunch of idiots… Looks like this farce is in the bag.”
“Don’t celebrate too early.” Wang Mian stared calmly at the distant stragglers, then turned to the crescent-masked man. “Next target’s the armoury. Moon Ghost, block the entrance; we’ll flank from outside.”
“Got it.”
Moon Ghost flickered and vanished.
……
Underground base, boot camp.
Instructors sat before banks of monitors, files in hand, shaking their heads.
“Ninety-plus eliminated in the first clash—we over-estimated them.”
“At the end of the day, Mask is just too strong,” another instructor sighed. “Using a top-tier squad that’s killed Infinity-realm mysteries to test rookies is outright dimensional bullying.”
“They’ve suppressed their power to Lantern realm, so it’s not unfair.”
“But their experience and teamwork leave these greenhorns in the dust. Three of them wield ultra-high-risk Forbidden Ruins, and one’s a god’s proxy.”
“True…”
“No need for gloom.” Yuan Gang spoke slowly. “The rookies look battered, but every candidate with a real shot at standing up to Mask got away. Clearing out the chaff might actually help them.”
An instructor blinked. “Chief… you actually want the rookies to win?”
“No. With that guy around, they can’t win,” Yuan Gang answered. “I just… want to see a good fight.”
……
“Qiye, slow down! I can’t keep up!”
Baili Pangpang, dragged along by Lin Qiye, was drenched in sweat and gasping.
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow and simply let go. “Then fate decides—see ya!”
Watching Lin Qiye abandon him without hesitation, Baili Pangpang froze for a second, then sprinted after him with everything he had.
“No—no way! Alone I’ll be caught for sure!
Qiye! Brother Qiye!
Wait for lil’ me!”
Finally, Baili Pangpang tumbled after Lin Qiye to the armoury door—then stared at the sealed metal barrier.
“Why’s it shut? They told us to collect our weapons!”
Lin Qiye frowned. “They said collect, not that they’d open the door for us…”
“So we’ve to break in?” Baili Pangpang knocked. “What alloy is this? Tough.”
Lin Qiye circled the building; his expression darkened.
He turned to Baili Pangpang. “What’s your Forbidden Ruins?”
“Me? Don’t have one!” Baili Pangpang declared proudly.
Lin Qiye: …
How the hell did this fatty get into Night Watch?
“Problem,” Lin Qiye muttered. “My Ruin hasn’t got mass-destruction power—can’t open it.”
Baili Pangpang scratched his head. “Oh, that? Actually—”
“Move.”
A cold female voice cut in. Baili Pangpang turned.
A tall woman stood behind him, hair a waterfall of scarlet to her waist. Even the plain recruit uniform couldn’t hide her striking figure.
She shot Baili Pangpang a disdainful glance, stepped past, and placed her palms on the armoury doors.
“Molly,” she answered flatly.
The entire warehouse shook violently!