The monstrous werewolf's chest was utterly blown through by a Gauss sniper round, the immense shock throwing him end over end. Zheng Zha and Zhao Yingkong, whom he had been holding aloft, were flung a considerable distance. The young monk standing at the gap in the wall immediately shouted, "Don't go out! Damn it, they have a sniper! Manavia! Deploy the shield!" As the words left his lips, the young monk raised both hands and swept them toward the colossal werewolf and the trio of Zheng Zha and Zhao Yingkong.

Above the young monk’s head, the massive twin-headed cobra reappeared, the head that Zheng Zha had previously blasted half off now fully restored. The monk’s eyes suddenly glazed over, losing all focus. This time, both heads of the twin-headed cobra moved: one lunged at the giant werewolf, while the other struck toward Zheng Zha and Zhao Yingkong.

Just as the massive serpent head was about to strike Zheng Zha and the other, a resounding boom echoed again. A slender, spirit-type Gauss projectile slammed into the surface of the giant snake head. A slightly translucent barrier materialized between the bullet and the colossal head, but the sheer power of the Gauss sniper round was terrifying; it held for barely an instant before the shield shattered like broken glass, the Gauss round finally boring into the giant snake head.

Behind the young monk stood two women. One was the beautiful Xue Nai, her eyes closed, and the other was veiled in the patterned foulard common in the Arabian world. She trembled violently, then murmured, "Captain, we can't stop that bullet; the power is too immense..." The monk’s eyes remained vacant. Without turning his head, he replied, "Correct, that power is too horrifying. Even I couldn't track the bullet’s trajectory... It must be super-technology weaponry. I hadn't expected the Central Team to possess such a talent for super-tech sniping. I was careless... Fortunately, with your shield at full power, you managed to reduce its penetration by about fifty percent. That should suffice."

As the monk spoke, one of the serpent heads had already bitten the giant werewolf and retracted back into the museum. The other head, struck by the spirit-type Gauss round, had one-third of its mass obliterated. It swayed precariously, unable to continue its lunge toward Zheng Zha and the other. Approximately seven or eight seconds later, another tremendous boom sounded. This time, no shield intercepted the spirit-type Gauss round; the immense power instantly pulverized the snake head completely.

"Seven seconds... Reload time is seven seconds. Xue Nai, enter my mental system and transmit everything I see to Lan Mu... Lan Mu, remember, you have less than seven seconds to aim and attack. If you fail, this sniper alone can wipe us all out. Remember, I'm entrusting my life to you!" The monk looked blankly at the man among the two women and one man. He was a handsome, brown-haired youth with slightly darker skin, clearly of local Indian descent. Hearing the monk, he nodded repeatedly, gripping a snow-white steel needle—the very instrument responsible for killing Qi Tengyi earlier.

"Go!" The monk silently counted the time. He watched as Zheng Zha struggled to rise from the ground. With a single wave of his hand, the other massive serpent head lunged again toward Zheng Zha and the other. Just as the head was about to reach its target, the spirit-type Gauss round struck again. Without the protection of a shield, the giant head was instantly blown to pieces. Simultaneously with the gunshot, the young monk sprang forward, rocketing out of the museum, spinning wildly to survey his surroundings.

"One!" "Two!" "Three!" "Four!" "Five!" "Six!" "...I see him! Lan Mu!" The young monk roared as he looked toward a tall building in the east.

The handsome brown-haired youth had kept his eyes closed. As the monk shouted, he violently threw the steel needle in his hand. The moment it was released, the needle vanished. At the same instant, a gunshot rang out from the tall building in the east, and a Gauss round struck swiftly near the young monk’s left shoulder, only a few centimeters from his heart. Even so, the immense impact sheared off his left arm at the shoulder, throwing him several meters back before he could stabilize himself. Zheng Zha, meanwhile, had already vanished, clutching Zhao Yingkong.

The brown-haired youth beckoned with one hand, and the steel needle reappeared before him. The snow-white needle was now stained with blood. The young man frowned slightly. "It didn't strike a vital spot. Just as it was about to hit him, my thoughts felt scrambled by something—as if... as if Xue Nai had taken control of me."

The young monk picked up his severed arm from the ground, murmuring, "That sense of danger is gone. Even if it missed the vitals, he should be severely wounded. For now, that sniper is no longer a threat... Xue Nai, you and Black Carbon stay here! Lan Mu, go pursue that sniper—bring me the body if you can't bring him alive! I'm going after that other man; I need to break through to the second stage of the Gene Lock—he must be the captain of the Central Team! Xue Nai, start tracking them; transmit their location map to our minds!" With his final command, the young monk, clutching his detached arm, sprinted toward the deeper recesses of the passageway.

At that moment, Zheng Zha was running step by step with Zhao Yingkong deeper into the alleyway. Rounding a corner, Zhan Lan stood waiting at the end of the passage. Her face was streaked with tears. The moment she saw Zheng Zha, she rushed over, taking Zhao Yingkong into her arms. "Come with me. O'Connell knows a shortcut here that leads straight to the Central Plaza... Are... are you alright?" Several surgical scalpels were still embedded in Zheng Zha’s back, which was now soaked in blood, but he managed a strained smile. "I'm fine... Wait a moment; let me stop Zhao Yingkong's bleeding."

Saying that, he retrieved a hemostatic spray from his storage ring and applied it to Zhao Yingkong's mangled shoulder.

Zhan Lan silently held Zhao Yingkong while leading Zheng Zha over several residential compound walls. Soon after, O'Connell and the others appeared in a small clearing. They immediately swarmed Zheng Zha upon seeing him. Eve, Jonathan, and the Museum Curator all began chattering questions, but Zheng Zha roared, "Don't stop! O'Connell, you lead the way! Move faster; we haven't escaped danger yet! Following us... there is still danger tracking us!"—(Damn it, I recommend an incredibly powerful book: Light of Destiny. A respectable author, millions of words in the public edition, and still updating without going VIP—truly respectable! Click the image link to view: cmfu/smenhu.cn?Bl_id=27225 Light of Destiny jump to)