Chapter Eighty-Five: A Split Second From Disaster

After a fierce struggle, Wujue used a thunderous move to seize the man by the throat and wrench it with brutal force, snapping the neck of the Tier Three warrior in several sharp cracks.

Before another assailant could pounce, his heavy machine gun was already blazing. A burst of deafening shots sent the creature flying backward, slamming it into the operating table and knocking Xiao Han, who had been lying atop it, straight to the floor. Rolling aside, Wujue saw at once that it was indeed Xiao Han. He rose without hesitation, fired once at the monster on the ground, and finished it cleanly.

He then strode quickly into the warehouse, where more than a dozen crystal coffins were arranged inside, each containing a different kind of creature. It was clear they were all intended as research subjects.

There was no time for unnecessary words. He leveled his gun at the head of the last remaining foe and said, “How do we save them? Tell the truth, and you may yet live!”

The man stepped back, seemed to shake his head, then suddenly grabbed hold of a device and activated it.

At once, eerie light burst out from every direction in the warehouse. Seeing that something was wrong, Wujue threw himself forward, ducked beneath the operating table, and then aimed at the device the creature had triggered. He fired three times in rapid succession, finally blasting it apart.

The blinding radiance around them vanished at last, and the final opponent collapsed dead. Wujue cautiously crawled out to inspect the scene, only to see Xiao Han sitting on the floor, his expression becoming terrifyingly strange.

“Xiao Han, what’s wrong? Are you all right? I’ve dealt with all the enemies,” Wujue asked carefully. But Xiao Han only shook his head, saying nothing.

Wujue stepped forward, trying to comfort him, but Xiao Han suddenly went berserk. In a fury, he shoved Wujue aside and sprang up into the air.

Then the mirror on his chest began to emit a blinding light. His body slowly turned transparent, as if he were about to explode, radiating a bizarre brilliance from within.

The light was so intense that Wujue could barely keep his eyes open. He could only shield himself from the glare and step forward, shouting, “Xiao Han, come to your senses! Don’t let your inner demon control you. We’ll all help you!”

He rushed in and repeatedly used pressure-point techniques, trying to restore Xiao Han’s clarity of mind, but his force passed straight through Xiao Han’s body and had no effect at all.

Xiao Han then charged at him, and a single flash from the mirror sent Wujue flying. He was knocked back more than thirty feet before someone caught him.

A voice called from behind: “Honestly, such a huge matter and you didn’t even think to ask me for help. Wujue, I’m going to punish you for this later.”

It was Princess Anyi, coming to lend a hand. She flew up at once, wrapped her arms around Xiao Han, and forced him down, shouting, “Enough! Stop this nonsense. Xiao Han, you can do it. Believe in yourself, and don’t let everyone down!”

“I...” Xiao Han seemed to hear Anyi’s voice and briefly came to himself, but then his head looked as though it might split apart, and he fell into madness again.

This time, his body seemed to turn into countless streaks of mirror-light. He slipped right past Anyi, pierced through the roof, and flew outside.

Seeing this, Wujue hurried after him, shooting down two blocking enemies along the way.

When he emerged, he saw Xiaoyang in midair, locked in a fierce battle with Xiao Han.

The two were evenly matched. After several upgrades through the network of the Heaven-Punishing Clan, Xiaoyang’s armor had become extraordinarily powerful.

Only now did its true strength show itself. It could wield force exceeding ten thousand newtons, move at a third of the speed of light, and absorb any ordinary energy in the world through its two palms to replenish the armor’s power.

In other words, every burst of mirror-light Xiao Han unleashed could be absorbed by Xiaoyang.

His armor happened to counter the divine mirror’s power perfectly. Wujue and Anyi could not help but breathe a sigh of relief below, and then they turned to deal with the remaining enemies in the factory.

Seeing the tide had turned, the surviving foes began to withdraw decisively. Anyi noticed that someone had slipped into an underground passage and quietly escaped.

Wujue said there was no need to pursue the fleeing remnants; first they should look after the captives who had been taken for experimentation.

The two returned to the warehouse and cleaned up the aftermath. Fortunately, the three monsters there had already been dealt with, leaving little obstacle.

They searched the warehouse carefully and found a total of thirteen crystal coffins. It would take some effort to free everyone inside.

Anyi said, “There are so many. Aren’t you exhausted? Maybe we should take it slowly.”

“No. Now is not the time to hesitate. We don’t know what the Heaven-Punishing Clan will do next. We need to save them as quickly as possible and get out of here.” Wujue wiped the sweat from his brow. “By the way, how’s the fight between Xiaoyang and Xiao Han outside?”

Anyi glanced back and said, “It should be over by now. I’ll go check.”

She turned and went out to look, and after a short while returned with Xiaoyang and Xiao Han.

At this point Xiao Han had been completely subdued. His spirit was somewhat weakened, and he sat to one side without saying a word.

Seeing this, Xiaoyang said, “So many people... what a haul. What do we do now?”

Wujue had just saved two more people and was catching his breath when he said, “Take them all back and see what condition they’re in. Hopefully they can become a force for us against the Heaven-Punishing Clan.”

Just then, one of the rescued people had already awakened and exclaimed, “We were actually saved... This is unbelievable. Who are you people? Thank you so much.”

Anyi smiled back. “It’s nothing. We’re just helping each other. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I hope you’ll also help us deal with the Heaven-Punishing Clan.”

“The Heaven-Punishing Clan... those fiends are truly hateful. We’ll fight them to the end.” Some of the rescued people came from other star domains, and like Huron, they carried the hatred of having seen their races annihilated. Naturally, they stood united in common outrage.

As for a few others, they said they wanted to return to their homelands first and then decide.

“It’s only natural for people to disagree,” Xiaoyang said. “We just want to tell everyone that the Heaven-Punishing Clan has become the public enemy of the cosmos. There can be no peace with them.”

Everyone nodded. Some even declared that they would join Wujue and the others, and the mood rose sharply. At this point, Wujue also began rescuing the last target.

However, this time there seemed to be a problem. Wujue said to Xiaoyang, “No, I’m too tired. I have to rest for a bit. You’d better take everyone back as quickly as possible. It may not be safe here.”

Anyi nodded. “All right. We’ll take them away. Hurry and catch up when you can. Xiao Han, let’s go.”

She led Xiao Han away, and Xiaoyang also urged the others to withdraw at once. In the end, only Wujue remained facing the final crystal coffin.

Before the strange alien lifeform within it, Wujue simply sat down slowly, as though taking a breath, and did not rush to act.

About half a minute later, he suddenly said, “Here they come. This is the target you were looking for, right? I hope I haven’t disappointed you.”

The mysterious figure he had once encountered in the tavern slipped quietly inside and nodded. “Correct. You’ve done very well. Would you like to witness something marvelous?”

The stranger walked up to the crystal coffin, produced an unusual key, and easily opened it. The creature inside then slowly stepped out, and in front of the two of them it shed its disguise, revealing a seven-colored pearl hidden within.

The pearl reflected a bizarre sheen, as if casting some miraculous image. The mysterious man reached out and held it in his palm.

“This is one of the keys to unlocking the treasure of miracles. We went through untold hardship to bring it back from beyond the galaxy, nearly losing it to the Heaven-Punishing Clan. Fortunately, you helped us enormously.”

He put the pearl away and turned to face Wujue, revealing his true appearance: a refined middle-aged gentleman, dignified and well-formed.

He spread his arms and said, “Well? Do you want to join our organization? I am opening my arms to you.”

But Wujue felt a sudden stirring in his heart. The treasure of miracles... was that not the very thing spoken of by the guardian he had met earlier?

Yet he showed no sign of it. Instead, he stood up and walked out, saying, “No need. My life does not require this kind of darkness.”

The End of Chapter Eighty-Five: A Critical Moment