# 398
Chapter 398 – Found You
Downtown Gusu.
On a broad, deserted avenue, the bright street-lamps suddenly dimmed. Across the asphalt shot a shadow like an arrow, racing through pools of light at terrifying speed.
Overhead, a swarm of bats wheeled, tailing that shadow into the distance.
Under the night sky a goshawk sliced through the air. Its razor eyes locked onto the speeding shadow; with a faint tremor of its wings it stooped into a dive.
The hawk was shockingly fast, a black lightning-bolt skimming beneath the lamps, almost grazing the ground, closing the gap to the shadow in heartbeats.
Suddenly blue sorcerous light burst from the hawk, reshaping it into a black-haired youth. His eyes were ice-cold as he pulled a Straight Blade from behind his back.
Clang—!
The blade quivered, tore through the air, and stabbed straight into the road just ahead of the shadow. The mirrored lamp-light flashed off the steel, throwing a bright spot onto the ground.
The shadow solidified, leapt from the smooth asphalt, and became a man in a dark-red cloak. His toes lit lightly on the Straight Blade’s hilt and he flickered forward.
Ink-black tendrils spread from his body—he was about to melt back into the play of light and shade.
Lin Qiye frowned and recited softly:
“I’ve heard the cock crow and seen the sun rise.”
A blinding shaft of sunlight lanced from the sky, flooding the entire road. The asphalt glared; not a scrap of shadow remained.
The ink on the man’s body vanished. He landed on the road, unable to merge with it again, and slowly straightened, turning to face Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye knew that face—Qian Haoran.
Back on the transport plane they had studied every file of Team 017. They knew their Forbidden Ruins by heart. When every other member of 017 had appeared except Qian Haoran, it wasn’t hard to guess how Bell Cranel might be hiding: using Qian Haoran’s ability to lurk in moving shadows, always keeping his distance from Lin Qiye’s squad.
During the dragnet search he and An Qingyu had paid special attention to every patch of darkness—and now they had actually located him.
“Bell Cranel.” Lin Qiye pulled the Straight Blade from the road and walked calmly forward. “Where will you run this time?”
Qian Haoran’s eyes stared blankly. Then his mouth opened slightly; on his tongue crouched a tiny golden insect, motionless.
“How are you here?” A stiff voice vibrated from Qian Haoran’s vocal cords. “You should be hunted by that damned Proxy.”
“A golden-cicada shell.” Lin Qiye’s tone was flat. “You spread the battlefield so wide you lost control of it. He’s never seen my face. Put my mask on someone else at the right moment and I can slip from every surveillance net—switch from light to darkness.”
“You never had shape-shifting before,” Bell Cranel said through Qian Haoran.
Lin Qiye’s lips curled. “People change.”
Silence. Then the voice came again, colder.
“You really think you alone can beat me? Once I control you, all these pawns are meaningless…”
The golden bug on Qian Haoran’s tongue spread thin wings and flicked them once, shooting through the air like a sliver of gold lightning.
So fast that even Lin Qiye’s monstrous dynamic vision almost failed; he jerked his head aside and the golden spark merely grazed his cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.
No time for relief—Qian Haoran had already drawn his own Straight Blade and slashed at Lin Qiye’s throat.
Clang—!
Steel rang on steel; sparks flew. Darkness bled along Qian Haoran’s blade, and under the control of Darkest Invasion the weapon tore itself from his grip.
Lin Qiye kicked him in the chest, caught the now-enslaved Straight Blade, spun, and slashed at the air.
Bell Cranel’s golden bolt struck the crossed blades; the impact hurled Lin Qiye backward, both swords nearly torn from his hands.
A “Sea” realm outsider after all, Bell Cranel—even weak in direct combat—outclassed Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye twisted in mid-air and landed steady. A violet whirlwind of fog roared straight at him.
He sensed it and his face changed. They already stood inside mental-contamination mist, but this tornado was a hundred times denser. A “River” could endure normal fog for twelve hours; inside this vortex he would last minutes—and the longer he stayed, the faster his mind would fray and his combat power plummet.
The instant the vortex swallowed him, the Azure Heart on his chest glowed blue, raising a barrier that held the fog at bay—for moments only. A mere “Pool” to “River” grade artifact couldn’t withstand a “Sea” realm Bell Cranel’s full corrosion for long.
Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes, grim.
In that condensed purple haze the naked eye could barely see a metre; finding a tiny insect was impossible. Anyone else would be ground to death, but Lin Qiye had mental perception—he could still lock onto Bell Cranel.
Golden fire ignited in his eyes like twin furnaces. The two Straight Blades quivered and screamed together into the spinning fog.