Chapter 946: The Answer is Fear

Just as Lin Sanjiu had expected, Percival Levin, as the head of the Munitions Factory, had a clear sense of priorities.

Her "sorry" had evidently served as a timely reminder for him. With astonis.h.i.+ng agility, he twisted his body, and the blue glow that she had aimed at with her palm transformed into a protective screen. Lin Sanjiu quickly retracted her hand, narrowly avoiding contact with the screen. The screen immediately dimmed and was retracted into his wristband.

Even without the Special Item, a member of the Munitions Factory was equipped with various weapons and gear.

"Stop her! Send more people to block the person in the tower!" Percival Levin shouted in anger. Instead of continuing to engage with her, he lunged towards Gong Daoyi. He knew very well that compared to the few culprits who had caused significant casualties within the Munitions Factory, Lin Sanjiu was relatively insignificant.

And between Twelve and Gong Daoyi, it was clear that Gong Daoyi was the more dangerous one.

This was also the decision Lin Sanjiu antic.i.p.ated he would make—a decision that a good leader should make.

She had only a fleeting moment, as brief as the pa.s.sing of a white horse.

Lin Sanjiu turned her head and glanced at Twelve, abruptly halting her steps. Their eyes met, and just as Twelve was about to raise his hand in defense against her, he couldn’t help but freeze for a moment—because Lin Sanjiu’s gaze immediately pa.s.sed over his shoulder, as if she had no intention of attacking him. Immediately after, she slightly brightened and drew out the wolf tooth from her back, brus.h.i.+ng past him and charging towards the direction behind him. "Don’t touch him!"

There were enemies behind him!

Twelve also realized this at the same time. He curled the corners of his mouth and turned lightly on his heel, swiftly turning his body.

Yes, Gong Daoyi’s plan had succeeded. In order to capture them, Lin Sanjiu had to protect them first.

The person whose gaze he met was someone very close to him—Lin Sanjiu with a cold expression. There were no members of the Munitions Factory behind her. The nearest one, groaning on the ground, was about seven or eight meters away from them. More people had been drawn away by the tower.

Although she had only rushed past him for less than a second, it felt as if she had been waiting for him for a long time.

Mars drifted in the night breeze behind her, swirling into the dark sky. The blood-red color splattered on her all-black combat suit, as if it would ignite her body, transforming her into a burning war spirit. At this moment, at such a close distance, everything had already been decided.

Twelve watched helplessly as she held the circle of light that Percival Levin had just placed around her neck. The circle of light resembled a crescent moon falling from the sky, creating a surging shockwave as it approached the surface. He was almost powerless, completely unable to resist as the circle of light tightened around his neck. The tremendous force was so powerful that it caused a series of "cracking" sounds in his throat, as if it was about to shatter his cervical bones.

After the circle of light closed, Lin Sanjiu still didn’t let go. She gripped his neck tightly, like iron. Her amber eyes were reddened by the firelight, reflecting the bizarre colors of the battle in the dark night. She didn’t quite look human anymore.

Twelve struggled to force out a smile and slowly raised his hands in surrender.

"I... I heard him," he said, his windpipe compressed by Lin Sanjiu’s hand, his breathing heavy and unsteady. His face gradually turned purple. "I won’t... won’t make any sudden moves... you need to be rational..."

"You’re wrong," Lin Sanjiu said softly, each word as if it could be blown away by the wind. "You can’t be more than ten steps away from me now."

Fortunately, Twelve couldn’t tell that it was just a lie.

The effect of the time limit she had launched against Percival Levin, [Oh My G.o.d! My Wallet Is Missing!], hadn’t expired yet. In other words, the circle of light had no effect at the moment. If she hadn’t held Twelve’s neck with her hand, he could have easily struggled free from the circle.

It seemed that unless the owner voluntarily initiated a "transfer," the item would remain in its deactivated state.

With a successful strike, Lin Sanjiu knew she didn’t have much time to waste. Whether it was Percival Levin, Gong Daoyi, or the third person who had just emerged from the tower, they probably wouldn’t just stand by and watch her take Twelve away. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had to pretend to cooperate with Gong Daoyi. She had to take advantage of the moment when they were temporarily hindered and quickly leave with Twelve.

Fortunately, they were in the midst of a chaotic battle.

Amidst the melee, cries of pain, swirling flashlight beams, and the release of abilities... Amidst all the chaos, Lin Sanjiu even doubted if they had noticed that she was also an enemy. She tightly held onto Twelve, quickly reached out and snapped his two arm bones with a "crack" sound. As she crouched down and ran past several members of the Munitions Factory near the tower, it seemed like they didn’t even realize that the person running behind them might not be on their side. Moreover, those few individuals were too stunned and incredulous to turn around, as if their souls had been s.n.a.t.c.hed away.

Regardless, thanks to those dazed individuals, the third person who emerged from the tower didn’t notice her.

"Why don’t you let go?" Twelve asked, panting, managing to keep up with her pace. His speech was slurred, as if he found the current situation both tense and amusing.

Lin Sanjiu glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

The Munitions Factory uniform jacket had long been lost in the chaos, and now she could only evade the Munitions Factory reinforcements as she ran. The entire Steel City seemed to have been set on fire from the bottom, boiling and clamoring everywhere. In this situation, she had completely lost contact with Silvan. However, from another perspective, perhaps it was for the best.

"Do you know? Besides Luther on a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, I noticed something else," she said, running towards the Munitions Factory gate.

"What is it?"

Lin Sanjiu took a moment to steady her breath before speaking. Even just thinking about this question made her heart tremble, but she had to ask, "Are those the Chicky brothers who collect information also involved with you?"

Twelve chuckled in her hand.

"It seems like you’re not very sure," his tone was friendly, although his voice sounded as uncomfortable as he was. "If you’ve noticed, why ask?"

Something in Twelve’s voice made her heart sink.

A thought flashed through her mind — even if she rushed back immediately, would Exodus still be waiting for her there?

Lin Sanjiu had to adjust her breathing and suppress her emotions. She knew she couldn’t show any clues. With a forced cold expression, she said, "Because I don’t understand why they would willingly work for you."

"Ah,"

What made her uncomfortable was that Twelve laughed, as if he had gleaned some information from her words — something she didn’t even know she had revealed.

"The answer is fear, of course," he said vaguely, as the gates loomed in the distance. His strange rhythm and tone were different from those of an ordinary person. They had never been so clear before. "Just like Marcie, they have succ.u.mbed to fear."