# 80
**Chapter 80: Checkmate**
"Explosions?!"
In another dormitory building, several recruits jumped to their feet, looking toward the direction of the blast, their faces changing.
"Looks like they’ve made contact first. Should we go help?" one of them asked with a frown.
"You’d better worry about yourselves first."
A voice drifted over from afar. Then, a purple vortex rapidly formed beneath the building.
**Boom—!!**
Part of the explosion that had been sucked away earlier in the warehouse now burst out from the vortex, carrying terrifying shrapnel and flames. In an instant, half the dormitory building was blown to pieces!
Amid the ruins, a concrete sphere slowly unfolded, and over a dozen recruits shot out from within!
"We’ve been flanked! Attack together!!"
The lead recruit roared, his long blade glowing red as he charged toward the vortex, dragging a long trail of light behind him. A barrage of colorful attacks followed!
"Force field reversal."
A crisp clap echoed from afar. Tianping, hovering cross-legged in the air, pointed at the group from a distance.
Gravity on everyone instantly reversed. They felt their bodies suddenly lighten, then were yanked skyward by an invisible force. The entire attack formation collapsed in an instant.
Just then, a massive hammer shadow came crashing down from above!
Qiangwei was also suspended in the air, gripping a giant hammer, shouting:
"Take this!"
**Bang—!!**
The hammer sent the dozen or so floating recruits flying. Even those who managed to dodge the blow with their abilities were immobilized by Tianping’s force field and then smashed again.
From the vortex’s appearance to now, barely half a minute had passed—and the entire recruit squad of over ten had been wiped out.
**Boom—!!**
Another blinding burst of fire erupted from a different dormitory. Tianping and Qiangwei landed slowly, turning to look.
"Wasn’t Yuegui just supposed to stall the other group? Why’s it so loud?" the vortex muttered.
Wang Mian narrowed his eyes slightly. "Looks like Yuegui ran into a tough opponent. Let’s go."
The four of them flickered and vanished toward the direction of the explosion.
Once they left, Lin Qiye slowly lowered the binoculars in his hand, his expression grave.
"As expected, they lost—and didn’t even have a chance to fight back," Molly said calmly.
"Mask Squad is dead set on a blitzkrieg. Under this kind of fierce assault, these hastily formed squads can’t hold," Lin Qiye shook his head.
"So what now? Still staying out of it?" Baili Pangpang looked at Lin Qiye.
"No, we have to act now," Lin Qiye said, eyes fixed on the dormitory building still erupting in explosions. "If I’m right, the one fighting Yuegui is another ultra-high-risk. As one of the few remaining forces capable of standing up to Mask Squad, we can’t let him be eliminated just like that.
We’ll circle around behind Mask Squad. If there’s a chance, we’ll coordinate with that ultra-high-risk for a strike. If not… we’ll save who we can and run.
Of course, the premise is that we don’t get eliminated ourselves."
…
**Boom—!!!**
A blazing fireball burst from the dormitory, shattering all the windows on the floor. A blur of moonlight flickered from the rubble, with a young man in hot pursuit!
Yuegui lightly tapped the wall with his feet, flipping backward midair. The Short Sword in his hand suddenly flew out, trailing a faint afterimage as it shot straight at Shen Qingzhu’s neck!
Shen Qingzhu’s pupils contracted. He quickly raised two fingers and clamped!
The air around him solidified like iron, locking the Short Sword in place just inches away. With a flick of his fingers, he sent it flying dozens of meters.
Yuegui reached under his cloak and pulled out two more Short Swords. Just as he was about to act, Shen Qingzhu snapped his fingers again!
The air between them compressed rapidly. At the same time, a spark flashed from Shen Qingzhu’s ring!
**Boom—!!**
A scorching flame erupted. Yuegui’s body turned into moonlight again, flickering and retreating over ten meters.
"When the ratio of oxygen and nitrogen in the air is compressed to a certain level, it becomes flammable. Just a small spark can trigger an explosion," Shen Qingzhu said calmly, hands in his pockets. "My large-scale indiscriminate ability is your natural enemy."
"But you can only control the air within a ten-meter radius, right?" Yuegui gripped his Short Sword, staring into Shen Qingzhu’s eyes. "At your current level, you’re nowhere near large-scale indiscriminate destruction."
Shen Qingzhu’s eyes sharpened, a flicker of anger crossing his face. "More than enough to deal with you!"
Both charged at each other!
Just then, a giant hammer came crashing down from above!
Shen Qingzhu’s pupils shrank. He skidded to a halt, raising his hands to support the air above him!
The air within ten meters compressed rapidly, forming a wall of wind over his head.
**Clang—!!**
The hammer struck. The ground around Shen Qingzhu sank slightly, cracks spider-webbing outward!
He groaned, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Staggering, he collapsed.
The air wall shattered piece by piece. The hammer shrank rapidly and returned to Qiangwei’s hand, who twirled it like a toy.
"Forbidden Ruins Sequence 068, [Qi Min]—another ultra-high-risk Forbidden Ruins…" Tianping walked slowly beside the vortex, speaking calmly. "No wonder Instructor Yuan wanted us to act. This is tricky."
"Rumor has it, besides the Agents, there are three ultra-high-risk recruits this time. The woman with the katana, this air-controlling man… where’s the third?" the vortex looked around.
"Probably lying in ambush nearby. Stay alert," Wang Mian said flatly.
Just as he finished, the windows of the dormitory buildings on both sides exploded. Dozens of black gun barrels poked out—rifles, submachine guns, sniper cannons, even grenade launchers!
In the corridors, over twenty recruits stood, fingertips glowing with various colors, glaring at Mask Squad.
At the same time, four recruits appeared behind the two buildings, pressing their hands to the ground!
Walls of earth, barriers, vines, steel spikes—different types of walls rose from the ground, sealing off the path Mask Squad had come from. Combined with the three dormitory buildings forming a "pin" shape, they completely trapped Mask Squad!
In the ruins, Shen Qingzhu shakily stood up, wiping blood from his mouth. He looked at the five and smiled coldly.
"Checkmate, Mask Squad."