Chapter 44: Slipping Away

Shi Ji was now filled with fear and anxiety. Of course, his fear wasn’t due to the two ten-story buildings collapsing towards him. After all, someone who didn’t fear a near Devil-level anomaly wouldn’t be afraid of such things.

Without further hesitation, Shi Ji fled the scene immediately. 

His departure wasn’t just a simple retreat. He was making a complete getaway, not daring to stay a second longer.

The reason for his panic, ironically, was indeed related to the collapsing buildings. Shi Ji had only intended to engage in a fight and had not planned on bringing down the adjacent buildings.

Now, the anomaly was dealt with, but in the process, he had inadvertently caused the buildings to collapse. Given his penniless state, he couldn’t possibly afford the damages. If he were caught, his life would be over. Thus, escaping was his only option.

Back at the site where Tisila and Lin Xinyan had fought, the area was in ruins, utterly devastated. A vast expanse had turned into rubble.

Even though the group had joined forces, they were still no match for Tisila. After quickly knocking out Aunt Cai, Tisila broke through the sword formation of the Xuan brothers, defeating both. Then, during the combined assault of Hong Yao and Alloy, Hong Yao was again sent flying, this time crashing through over ten buildings. As for Alloy, after a brutal assault from Tisila, his armor disintegrated, and he lost consciousness. Despite his incredible speed, Feng Lin was also overwhelmed and crushed.

Lin Xinyan was the last one standing, but she didn’t flee. She bravely continued to attack Tisila, despite being gravely injured. Eventually, she too fell unconscious, severely wounded.

The battlefield fell silent.

Director Hei Long of the Anomaly Monitoring Center arrived at the scene shortly after the fight had ended. He was too late. Tisila had already disappeared.

During his journey, Hei Long had received the latest analysis from the monitoring center, which reported that this anomaly’s combat strength was near Devil-level.

Devil-level anomalies were extremely rare. From the beginning of anomalies’ appearances, only a handful of Devil-level ones had been recorded. No wonder Feng Lin, known for his speed, was beaten so severely.

Looking at the injured and scattered heroes, Hei Long sighed heavily.

“We don’t know how much trouble this will cause.”

Just as he finished speaking, a loud explosion was heard from the direction of the city center. Despite the distance, it was loud and clear.

Alarmed, Hei Long quickly turned. The massive commotion indicated that the anomaly had indeed headed in that direction.

He immediately connected to his communication device, “Investigate what’s happening in East District Four right now!”

The response was swift, “Director, the anomaly destroyed underground circuits while moving. East District Four has lost power, and the surveillance system is down. We currently have no information on what’s happening there.”

Hearing this, Hei Long said nothing more and sprinted towards East District Four.

As Hei Long departed, Lin Xinyan, stirred by his voice, slowly opened her eyes.

She was gravely injured, her beautiful face smeared with dirt and blood. Weak and in pain, she could barely move, but she mustered the last of her strength to lift her left hand.

She connected to a communication channel, but it wasn’t to her parents, Jing Xin, or any other classmates. She reached out to Shi Ji.