Kim Min-sae's body was limp in Xiao Yan's arms, her breathing shallow and ragged. The brutal wounds on both wrists were still bleeding fresh red. Without hesitation, he brought her back to their base in Crafter at maximum speed, then shouted orders at the top of his lungs.
"Get the equipment ready now!" He placed Kim Min-sae's body on the emergency medical bed as gently as possible before turning to the medical team that came running in panic. "Take over as fast as you can!"
Xiao Yan's sharp eyes followed Kim Min-sae's form as she was wheeled into the operating room with a worried look, before catching sight of Leon standing at the entrance to City A, not far from Unit Four's base. He made an instant decision and shot toward Leon like the wind.
"Leon!" Xiao Yan called out loudly. "Tell everyone in the unit to contact the other districts immediately!"
Leon looked startled by the sudden order, but could only nod quickly.
"I'm going after them," Xiao Yan declared, his eyes flashing with determination.
"Wait... Chief!" Leon exclaimed in shock, but before he could say another word, Xiao Yan had jumped onto his trusted sword and shot away in the same direction the mysterious woman and Ling Tian had disappeared, leaving only dust and countless questions in Leon's mind.
"It'll follow soon enough," Ling Tian said calmly as he and the white-haired woman walked through the dense forest paths connecting to various abandoned towns.
"That stubborn fool, especially when it's something like this..." Ling Tian's black eyes glanced toward the direction Xiao Yan had just left, an unreadable gleam in them.
"Good," the white-haired woman smiled thinly, that smile chillingly unsettling. Both continued their journey without hurry, as if waiting for something.
Xiao Yan rode his sword in relentless pursuit of his enemies' trail, all his senses alert to the maximum. Before long, he sensed that familiar strange energy.
"So that's where you are..." the young man muttered to himself before forcing his sword to descend rapidly. He jumped down from the blade, landing firmly on the ground below.
On Leon's side, after receiving orders from Xiao Yan, he quickly gathered the Unit Four members who still had some strength left—Shion, Cyrus, and the others—to relay the message and try to contact other districts as ordered.
"Damn! Can't reach a single district!" Cyrus swore in frustration after trying to communicate through their devices several times without success.
Shion frowned. "Maybe... they've already cut the communication lines."
"Then... we'll have to travel to the other districts ourselves to report," Leon suggested, his eyes serious.
"We need to try other methods first," Cyrus argued. "Right now we should join up with the other units still in Crafter district. And more importantly... we need to wait for Chief Kim to recover."
Just then, certain thoughts popped into Leon's head. What should he do next? Return to River Bend as originally planned, or continue following Xiao Yan's orders? Since those test results were fake... was he still wanted by the Witherborn? Confusion flooded his mind.
"Hey! Leon! Are you listening or not?!" Shion's voice snapped, breaking Leon's train of thought and making him jump.
"Ah... uh... what were you talking about just now?" Leon asked awkwardly, his face reddening slightly.
Shion crossed her arms and turned away with a pout. "Hmph! I don't know anymore!" She flipped her hair and walked ahead.
Cyrus, who was watching, scratched his cheek and laughed dryly. "Well... for now let's wait for Master Xiao Yan to come back, and for Chief Kim to wake up too."
Xiao Yan faced off with Ling Tian again in the silent depths of the dense forest, the atmosphere thick with invisible killing intent.
"What the hell do you people want!" Xiao Yan demanded angrily, his eyes boring into his former junior disciple standing before him.
"Easy there, senior brother," Ling Tian smiled mockingly, that grin so irritating it made Xiao Yan's anger flare even more.
This is your weakness, Xiao Yan, Ling Tian thought to himself, his eyes gleaming with cunning.
Before long, Xiao Yan sensed sharp killing intent from all directions, like dozens of assassins surrounding him!
"So you came here to die like this?" Ling Tian drew his long black sword again, the blade pointed straight at Xiao Yan.
"You're really an idiot... senior brother," his voice was cold, brimming with complete confidence.