“Covered in ‘ripples’…?” Song Qi was slightly puzzled.
“‘Ripples’ must be what you call ‘echoes,'” Su Shan explained. “I can see tangible ‘echoes,’ which appear to me as wave-like ‘ripples.'”
“You mean Xuanwu is now…”
“She’s entirely enveloped in a ripple called ‘Indestructible,'” Su Shan said. “That ripple is so powerful it’s even starting to emit faint vibrations…”
After hearing this, Song Qi carefully considered the situation.
Xuanwu was completely wrapped in “Indestructible,” but was “Indestructible” some kind of physical entity?
How could it encase an entire person?
“This complicates things…” Song Qi furrowed his brow. “So, Xuanwu’s ‘eye’ is most likely hidden beneath ‘Indestructible.’ To attack it, we’d have to break through ‘Indestructible’ first.”
Su Shan nodded with a troubled expression. “That’s pretty much it.”
“But the reason it’s called ‘Indestructible’… is precisely because it can’t be broken,” Song Qi said. “From now on, all our attacks might as well be throwing stones into the sea.”
Officer Li and Su Shan’s expressions darkened at Song Qi’s words. After all, killing Xuanwu was only the first step—next, they still had Vermilion Bird waiting for them.
On the surface, the mission assigned to “Cat” seemed far more difficult than that of “Extremists.” They simply couldn’t afford to lose.
With a team of fewer than twenty people, losing even one at random would be a devastating blow.
So, unlike the Extremists, they couldn’t rely on sheer numbers. Their only option was to take down Xuanwu through precise coordination.
Unfortunately… every tactic they’d devised revolved around attacking every inch of Xuanwu’s body.
Now, forget locating the “eye”—they couldn’t even see her skin anymore.
Would their wide-range assault strategies still work under these circumstances?
“If we really can’t be sure, we should stick to the original plan,” Officer Li suggested. “From an investigative perspective, once a strategy is set, it shouldn’t be constantly revised. If the enemy’s defenses strengthen, our only option is to escalate our firepower accordingly.”
“Firepower escalation…” Song Qi nodded. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Exactly,” Su Shan agreed. “Right now, I can’t spot any more weaknesses. But once the fight starts, I might be able to analyze further.”
“Alright.” Song Qi raised his voice to the group. “Stick to the plan. Whatever this thing is, we hit it harder than before.”
“Got it,” Luo Shiyi replied from the ground, then turned to Xuanwu. “We’re finally ready to kill you together. How many chances are you gonna give us?”
Xuanwu tilted her head slightly, as if confused.
*Chances…?*
“Yeah,” Luo Shiyi said. “There should be some back-and-forth, right? If we can’t kill you within a certain time, we fail, and you get to kill us.”
*Unnecessary,* Xuanwu shook her head. *If you truly wish to kill me, I’ll wait as long as it takes. But if I see you can’t do it, then it’s my turn.*
A bead of sweat rolled down Luo Shiyi’s forehead. *So that’s how it is.*
In Xuanwu’s eyes, everyone she’d killed so far had died for one reason—*incompetence.*
“At least let us try,” Luo Shiyi pressed. “A large-scale assassination like this must be something you’ve dreamed of… right?”
*Correct. I want to die.*
“Then we won’t hold back.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, *Silence* descended—a strange force enveloped the entire space.
Bai Jiu swiftly cast a large net from above, which Wu Shisan suspended midair with *Hover*. Ma Shier then expanded it using *Displacement*.
Working together, they spread the net across the sky before simultaneously withdrawing their *echoes*, letting it drift downward.
Then, thorny vines began sprouting from the net—Liu Eryi had activated *Overgrowth*. As the thorns emerged, Ning Shiba’s *Rampant* took effect, causing them to rapidly spread across the ropes.
Before the net even reached Xuanwu, Wang Ba’s *Gigantify* amplified every single thorn, turning each into a dagger-like spike aimed straight at her.
Seeing this, Xuanwu instinctively moved to dodge, but Feng Shiqi unleashed *Flashbang* from the ground. Though she had no eyes, the burst of light forced her back—right into the net’s grasp.
Every giant thorn plunged into the void surrounding Xuanwu, knocking her to the ground.
But it wasn’t over yet. A moderate whirlwind began swirling around her, twisting the net tighter in a spiral motion, the thorns slicing into her form with increasing ferocity.
The net constricted until it clung to Xuanwu’s body, contorting her beyond recognition and rendering her immobile.
Had Xuanwu not been in her *Indestructible* state, “Cat” might’ve succeeded right then.
Perhaps one of those thorns would’ve struck her hidden eye in the chaos. But as things stood, their combined effort was utterly futile.
Seeing this, Song Qi pulled out a bag at his feet, and together with Officer Li, they flung its contents—a cascade of small stones—into the air.
As the stones fell, they began to shift, liquefying under Bai Jiu’s *Fluidify*. They didn’t melt into water or magma but retained their stony texture while flowing like oil.
Instead of scattering, the stones adhered to Xuanwu and the net before Bai Jiu canceled his ability, solidifying them into a lifelike stone statue of her.
Song Qi narrowed his eyes—sparks erupted across the statue before a meticulously controlled explosion engulfed Xuanwu. The net’s thorns were sent flying, and thick smoke billowed into the sky above the alley.
*BOOM!*
Just as they’d planned, if Xuanwu still had a physical body, this assault would’ve surely injured her eye.
But no one celebrated. They simply watched as Xuanwu emerged from the smoke, tilting her head once more in confusion.
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