Not knowing the cybernetic’s level of power or the capabilities of its equipment, Yvette chose not to use her spell abilities directly but instead relied on her pure white tendrils.
Using this method, which was meant for dealing with leader-level beings, against human traffickers made her feel somewhat guilty. It was truly a waste of her tendrils.
But the results were exceptional; in just a second, there were several hissing sounds, like the sharpest of threads slicing through thin paper. Among the three traffickers, two appeared to be mere lackeys, unmodified youths, who were instantly pierced through the forehead and fell to the ground.
Only the cybernetic was “lucky.” The tendrils accurately wrapped around his core, severing his arms and legs, revealing his glowing magical circuits and cold mechanical structure underneath. At the same time, a thin layer of ice instantly covered half of his face, choking off any potential screams.
The cybernetic crashed to the floor with a heavy thud, his metallic limbs clanking against the ground. His head wobbled slightly, and his remaining dull eyes rolled back in confusion, seemingly struggling to comprehend this sudden upheaval, not understanding why he had suddenly fallen or why his limbs no longer responded… What was happening?
The room fell into an even eerier silence than before. The three young “piglets” tied to iron-frame beds stared blankly.
Previously, they had thought that this pretty little girl was doomed, caught in the hands of these demons, likely facing horrifying humiliation, and had been unable to bear looking away. But who could have predicted that this silver-haired girl was a formidable mage whose power was unfathomable? They hadn’t even seen what happened, and this group of traffickers, along with that fearsome cybernetic, had all been dispatched in mere seconds!
Who exactly was she?
Why was she here?
Where did such terrifying power come from, and what were her intentions?Was she perhaps a special forces operative sent by the Federation to rescue them?
With their mouths taped shut and hands and feet shackled, the three young victims couldn’t speak, only watch anxiously.
Yvette looked at them, thought for a moment, and said, “I’m called Nameless. I’m a mercenary and a bounty hunter. I will save you, so stay calm and don’t panic.”
After saying this, she used wind magic to tear away the tape from the mouths of the eight people, continuing to ask, “Who knows what year and day it is now?”
Closest to her was a red-haired youth, who took a moment to compose himself and blurted out, “It should be 2130… April 22… it should be!”
April 2130—that was the spring of the second year after the Agarsha incident? What a relief; the time difference wasn’t too significant…
Yvette pondered for a moment, then heard the red-haired youth suddenly speak again, his tone filled with excitement and disbelief: “Uh… Miss Nameless, are you that Miss Nameless? The one who captured the wolf killer and exposed the conspiracy of the big companies, the hero?”
Yvette paused, letting out a soft “Ah?” Although she had only evaporated for a year, she had lived more than ten years in reality. After a few seconds of reflection, she nodded, “…That should be me, yes.”
“It really is Miss Nameless! My goodness! You’re still alive! I’m your fan!” This time it wasn’t just the red-haired youth; the other two victims, a high school student and a tough-looking middle-aged man, also expressed shock and joy.
After the wolf killer incident, public dissatisfaction against big corporations erupted in New Eden, leading to large-scale protests that lasted three full months, referred to as the “Wolf-Werebeast Storm” incident. It became one of the most significant and well-known international news stories in New Eden throughout the entire previous year.
After that incident, the stock price of Linde Development plummeted, with one-third of its market value evaporating. The founder, Old Cyrus, who had already stepped down, was forced to return and apologize to the public repeatedly.
Though the eight big companies remained powerful, this event severely compromised Linde Development’s position, sinking it from a top contender to the bottom, even below the Gravity Group, resulting in quite substantial damage.
Additionally, due to the disappearance of the key figure “Nameless,” speculation arose surrounding this mysterious hero—many questioned whether she had been retaliated against by Linde Development; otherwise, why hadn’t she made an appearance for so long?
Yet, who would have thought that in this nauseating, despair-filled cage of human traffickers, the legendary hero would appear like a divine soldier to rescue them from their dire situation? The dramatic reversal brought such a tremendous shock that their minds seemed to stall, nearly causing them to faint from sheer joy.
Yvette, of course, was unaware of the extent of the aftermath and merely considered herself fortunate to have run into a few familiar fans.
After a slight nod, her gaze fell back on the cybernetic reduced to a limb-less stub on the floor. Once the trafficker boss came to recognize the situation, displaying signs of fear and panic, she lifted the ice spell sealing his mouth and asked coolly, “Answer me, where are other places where similar people are being held?”
Rescuing victims abducted by traffickers in the Rust Bone Free State could earn rewards from the federal government—10,000 credit points for each person saved.
Since this operation began at a trafficker stronghold, she planned to scale up her efforts and free as many people as possible in the vicinity. It aligned perfectly with her bounty hunter survival path, allowing her to claim a substantial reward from the federal government.
Rescuing ten people meant 100,000 credits; it seemed far more efficient than executing mercenary contracts…
“I… I won’t say anything!” The cybernetic strained his neck defiantly, his tone laced with feigned bravado. Clearly, he had come to understand that he wasn’t far from death; not speaking might grant him life, but speaking would lead to certain doom. “I’ll tell you what, the ‘General’ won’t let me go… unless you guarantee that I’ll live!”
“Then you can go die.” Yvette, unwilling to waste time with him, sent a wind blade directly through his head and then used the key on his waist to unlock the handcuffs of the three victims.
After a brief exchange, Yvette learned about the identities of the three victims.
The leader, the red-haired youth, was named “Daniel Matt.” He had been tricked into getting onto a van while travelling with his girlfriend in the border city, subsequently falling prey to human traffickers and was forced to follow their smuggling route into the Rust Bone Free State.
The second youth, a little younger, was named “Reese Bean.” He was just a high school student who had fallen for a bait-and-switch scheme on an online forum and had obstinately insisted on going to the Rust Bone to earn big money despite countless warnings along the way. After meeting the contact, his passport was snatched from him, and within just a few hours, he experienced the harsh reality that would take an ordinary person many years to endure.
The third was more unusual; his name was “Cromwell Hardy.” He turned out to be an undercover journalist and also a moderately skilled mage. His body had been infused with active sigils from Black Tower Pharmaceuticals, granting him about 200 points of mana and the ability to cast some low-cost, medium-level combat spells—a small master by mercenary standards.
After being rescued, Cromwell immediately said to Yvette, “Miss Nameless, you need to be careful. The handcuffs used by these traffickers are special—they’re ‘Anti-Magic Handcuffs.’ Once shackled, all spellcasting and mental connections will be severed.”
Yvette nodded. Anti-Magic Handcuffs were a mage’s bane and employed a unique material proprietary to Lingmant Company. Utilizing them, even powerful individuals attempting to infiltrate the camp under disguise could face dire consequences.
It was uncertain whether Anti-Magic Handcuffs had an effect on aberrant powers…
She then looked at the three and said, “You’ll split up now and find out the locations of all the rooms holding captives in this building. Keep a low profile and don’t reveal yourselves. I’m going to check upstairs to see if I can catch the leader here.”
“Are you going alone?”
“That’s too dangerous!”
Upon hearing this, both Daniel and Reese nearly shouted in unison, their expressions anxious.
Cromwell, who had a broader perspective from his experiences, also looked worriedly over. After observing the setup, he had realized that all the traffickers here had undergone cybernetic enhancements and were armed with heavy weaponry. This wasn’t just a gang; it was a warlord operation. Even the cybernetic lying on the floor was merely a typical member here.
A base of traffickers hiding high-grade weapons was something even the legendary Nameless Hero, who had captured the wolf killer before, couldn’t possibly take down alone.
The only right choice for them now would still be to escape quickly while the situation remained undiscovered and seek help from the federal government!