"Duan Chen, it seems your strength grows daily."
Jia Yunlian wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, a brilliant smile gracing her lips.
"Thanks to you," he replied, a hint of resentment in his tone.
Jia Yunlian’s smile faded, and she stared at him sternly.
"I'm sorry, I had to."
"I don't understand."
Jia Yunlian offered a bitter smile. She didn’t need anyone to understand.
As her whip moved, the thorns on the blood vine whip slowly extended, eventually transforming into countless sharp barbs. These barbs could not only injure but also absorb the spiritual energy of the wounded. With Duan Chen's current spiritual energy reserves, he absolutely dared not take a direct hit.
Swift Steps!
Activate!
Duan Chen’s eyes narrowed as he carefully observed the trajectory of the blood vine whip. His feet moved ceaselessly, gradually closing in on Jia Yunlian amidst the onslaught. To his surprise, as he got closer, Jia Yunlian revealed a faint smile.
"Blood Thorns!"
Barbs grew from her body, one of which suddenly elongated and lashed out at Duan Chen. He couldn't dodge in time and could only extend his left hand, gritting his teeth to endure the blow.
*Screech!*
His spiritual energy began to drain, but not in large quantities. This was only the first instance. If several such injuries were to accumulate, the lost spiritual energy would significantly impact Duan Chen.
Duan Chen held Qian Huan Pandora, transforming it into its blade form.
"Slash!"
The blade gleamed with a cold light, and without hesitation, he severed one of the blood vine whips. Duan Chen retreated rapidly.
"Decisive!"
It took a considerable amount of spiritual energy for Jia Yunlian to condense a blood vine whip. She admired Duan Chen's courage and resolve.
The salty sea spray hit Duan Chen’s face. He licked his dry lips and, without giving her time to reform the whip, charged forward again.
"Tricky!"
"Once I capture you, I will get a clear answer!"
Duan Chen shouted, unleashing a swarm of dark crows to obscure Jia Yunlian's vision.
"Naïve!"
"Explode!"
*Boom!*
Crow feathers scattered, successfully blinding Jia Yunlian. However, she was still a high-ranking agent and Duan Chen’s former close friend, meaning she had some understanding of his techniques.
"Myriad Thorns!"
Sharp barbs grew from the seawater around Jia Yunlian, blocking Duan Chen's advance. The crow feathers dispersed, but Duan Chen failed to seize the excellent opportunity. The thorns at Jia Yunlian’s feet formed an impenetrable wall, preventing him from getting close.
"Tsk..."
The Myriad Thorns required spiritual energy to maintain. If Duan Chen simply stalled, Jia Yunlian would eventually have to retract the technique. However, neither of them was one to wait idly.
"Sequence 016: [Fae Law]!"
To break through the Myriad Thorns, Duan Chen spared no expense, employing the highly spiritual-energy-consuming Fae Law. His internal spiritual energy dwindled to a mere third. Jia Yunlian possessed no Black Chess pieces, meaning she lacked their augmentation. Having consecutively used Blood Thorns and Myriad Thorns, her remaining spiritual energy should be comparable to Duan Chen's, who possessed a King Chess.
A flash of golden light streaked past. Jia Yunlian only saw the light emanating from Duan Chen’s fingertip. She tried to dodge, but found herself locked on.
*Screech!*
A hole was pierced through her fair arm. Jia Yunlian gasped in pain, no longer having the energy to maintain Myriad Thorns. But once Myriad Thorns was retracted, defeat would follow.
"No!"
A child's voice and a deep, boyish tone intertwined, causing Duan Chen to freeze. The voice… sounded familiar? In the next second, a blurry figure appeared in the seawater behind Jia Yunlian. The figure extended its right hand and directly pulled Jia Yunlian into the depths.
"Don't run!"
Duan Chen wanted to pursue, but it was too late.
"Duan Chen, until we meet again!"
*Whoosh!*
Duan Chen's Void Domain dissipated. He looked at Hill and the others before him, momentarily stunned.
"Captain!"
The group crowded around him, relieved to see that aside from a large hole in his palm, Duan Chen was otherwise unharmed. Hill quickly bandaged his hand.
"Where is that woman?" she asked.
For some reason, Duan Chen detected a sense of a wife discovering her husband’s infidelity and catching him in the act from her expressionless face and placid tone. The thought made his face twitch.
"She escaped, likely rescued by an Apostle."
Duan Chen found it strange. Apostles rarely intervened directly. Furthermore, based on their previous encounters, he considered Apostle 05 to be a cold and ruthless individual, even less likely to save someone. After all, weren't Tian Mei and Qi Hang Zhi among Apostle 05’s subordinates? Yet, why would he specifically rescue Jia Yunlian, and with such urgency in his voice? Duan Chen suspected he had overlooked something crucial. Perhaps there was an unknown connection between Jia Yunlian and Apostle 05. He needed to find the answer.
"Let's go find those police officers. I wonder if they..." Deng Lin patted his pants and walked over, his voice trailing off.
"I have a way to know."
Duan Chen also stood up and asked, "Does anyone have a coin?"
"I do!" Yuan Qingqing raised her hand and handed him a one-yuan coin from her pocket.
"Why is it you again?" Duan Chen said, a mixture of amusement and exasperation. He remembered needing a coin last time, and it was this little girl who provided it. Who carried coins around nowadays? Yuan Qingqing gave a shy laugh.
"What do you need a coin for?"
"To flip."
"Flip?" You Jiawei didn't understand. Qin Nanyuan’s mouth twitched. "Captain, you're not trying to ask the coin if those police officers are alive, are you?" As soon as she spoke, the others stared at her as if she were an idiot. Was she joking? Their valiant and mighty captain, who could confront Apostles head-on, would be so childish? No, so unintelligent? It was inconceivable! To their surprise, Duan Chen actually nodded, gazing at Qin Nanyuan with an appreciative look.
"Smart!"
"Whoa!" Yuan Qingqing suspected Duan Chen was possessed by a sea monster and wished to distance herself from him by several feet.
"Are you serious?" Hill's expression also turned peculiar.
"Of course!" Duan Chen blinked. This was Qin Ze's ability; why would he not be serious?
"As you wish..." Jun Ci chuckled dryly.
"Will it work?" Deng Lin and the others were highly skeptical.
"Don't worry." Duan Chen offered a reassuring smile and then silently asked in his mind: Are the police officers inside the Ice City Police Station still alive… He had once warned Qin Ze not to use words with strong causal implications like "alive" or "dead." Yet, he himself used them without much concern. He was powerful enough to withstand such causality.
*Snap!*
The coin landed in his palm and was covered by Duan Chen's hand. Everyone watched with bated breath. Duan Chen's expression, however, was somewhat strange.
"Captain?"
"Let's go! To the third floor!"