# 116
Chapter 116
The Assailants
“Hello.”
“Hi, I’m here to see a friend.”
“May I have his room number?”
“9039.”
“Certainly, I’ll put you through—”
BOOM—!!
Before Lin Qiye and the receptionist could finish, a deafening explosion ripped through the ceiling, followed by shrill screams from every direction.
Lin Qiye’s face darkened. Without a word he spun on his heel, sprinted out of the lobby, and craned his neck toward the sky.
The summit of the cloud-piercing tower was already a sea of flame.
He didn’t need to count—he knew that was exactly the floor Baili Pangpang was staying on. In this entire hotel, only that guy could attract an attack this outrageous.
Just as Lin Qiye was about to charge back inside and race up ninety flights of stairs, he caught a fleeting glint of gold in the night sky.
“That is…” Lin Qiye’s eyes narrowed.
He hesitated only an instant, then, clutching the two black cases, elbowed through the panicked crowd and bolted toward the spot where the gold had flashed.
After threading several broad avenues, he reached a relatively secluded block—few pedestrians, even fewer cars.
He closed his eyes and swept the area with mental power. Suddenly his body tensed.
Eyes snapping open, he strode to a narrow crossroads and stopped dead, expression grim.
At the far end of the street stood a placard bearing four bold characters:
ROAD CLOSED AHEAD
No-Entry Domain!
Lin Qiye’s brows knitted. This was definitely not the No-Entry Domain of Squad 136. And the placards used to deploy it were issued only to Night Watch teams stationed in each city.
Which meant… Night Watch from another city was involved.
Were they here to protect Baili Pangpang—or to kill him?
The odds of protection felt microscopic. If they were guardians, why appear now? And why deploy the domain in secret?
Eight hundred million was enough to sway the weak-willed—Night Watch who’d steal a placard, desert, and claim Baili Pangpang’s head.
How many attackers? Did they bring the placard themselves, or steal it? Would high-realm experts show?
Questions swirled. He stood before the sign, lost in thought.
Enter—or walk away?
The old him would’ve fled from anything this uncertain. But now…
Perhaps without noticing, he had changed.
What had changed him?
Maybe the warmth of Squad 136—Hongying’s passion, Wen Qimo’s gentleness, the captain’s fierce protectiveness, the vice-captain’s tsundere pride, Leng Xuan’s softness, Zhao Kongcheng’s resolve…
Or the shared trials of the training camp, the tiny, everyday details hidden in ordinary life.
Once, his world held only his aunt and A Jin. Now, unconsciously, many more stood beside him.
Under the night, resolve flared in his eyes, a speck of gold igniting within them.
Half a year ago, he had torn open a No-Entry Domain to save the hero who’d guarded his world.
Tonight, he would tear one open again…
To save his friend.
…
“This is…” Baili Pangpang looked around, rare gravity on his face.
“No-Entry Domain.”
“Friend or foe?”
“What do you think?”
Cao Yuan’s gaze fixed on the street ahead. Beneath the dim sky, lamps flickered. Far along the asphalt, a burly figure approached with slow, heavy steps.
“Behind us too.”
Baili Pangpang glanced back. At the opposite end stood a man carrying three blades, watching them with mocking eyes.
“Just two?”
“No—at least one more outside maintaining the domain.” Cao Yuan shook his head.
Baili Pangpang gave a cold laugh. “Since when does Night Watch turn bandit?”
“We stopped being Night Watch long ago,” the burly man rumbled. “We’re from the Purification Chamber.”
“Purification Chamber?” Baili Pangpang shot Cao Yuan a questioning look.
“A prison for Forbidden Ruins users who commit crimes,” Cao Yuan said evenly. “Half its inmates are ex–Night Watch struck from the rolls. Had the commander-in-chief not sent me to Mount Jiuhua back then, I’d be locked inside too.”
“Fresh out of jail, huh.” Baili Pangpang nodded. “But if you want me dead, why blow up the hotel? What about innocents? People who once swore to protect the nation now trade lives for profit?”
“Don’t lump us with rabid dogs.” The three-blade man bristled. “We were Night Watch—bottom lines remain. We kill you to repay a debt—”
“To whom?” Baili Pangpang raised a brow.
“No questions. You only need to know: tonight, you don’t leave this domain alive.”
The burly man roared. Ferocity blazed in his eyes; muscles writhed. His frame shot up half a meter—then shrank fast—
Ending as a skinny, meter-tall runt who looked as if a breeze could topple him.
“Conan?” Baili Pangpang blurted.
“Forbidden Ruins Sequence 214—【Muscle Recombination】. He can compress muscle at will. Looks like a grade-schooler, but speed and strength are terrifying.” Cao Yuan’s tone was grave.
The wiry man smirked, stomped the asphalt—leaving a deep dent—and shot across half the street like an arrow!
A tiny fist ballooned in Baili Pangpang’s vision.
“Yaoguang!”
Golden light solidified into a shield. The fist slammed it head-on; a dull boom echoed as cracks webbed across the surface.
“Holy—!” Baili Pangpang yelped.
A whip-like kick followed, scattering shards of gold!
While frantically rummaging beneath his bath-towel, Baili Pangpang shouted over his shoulder:
“A little help here?!”
Cao Yuan, arms folded around his blade, kept his eyes on the three-sword man. “Busy.”
Under the moon, that man expressionlessly drew one blade; the other two levitated free of their sheaths as if gripped by invisible hands!