Chapter 90: Anomaly
Soon, Truth Utterance discovered several suspicious targets, but after Mu Yang investigated further, these false targets were eliminated one by one.
These tents either hid crude traps or stand-ins for Wu Xi, who were similar in build to him; all were mere deceptions.
Finally, Truth Utterance locked onto an inconspicuous, dilapidated tent at the edge of the camp.
Mu Yang slowly walked towards that tent, his footsteps making no sound in the silent night, like a bodiless phantom.
As he got closer, he could clearly hear the low breathing from inside the tent; evidently, Wu Xi could no longer resist his drowsiness and had fallen into a deep sleep.
E-rank martial artists can stay awake for several nights in a row, but Wu Xi couldn't stay awake indefinitely; he didn't have that capability.
But just as Mu Yang approached the tent entrance, Wu Xi was instantly startled awake for some unknown reason.
Although an E-rank martial artist's reaction speed far exceeds that of ordinary people, it's not fast enough to transcend time and outpace the attacker.
Mu Yang hadn't even made a move, yet Wu Xi had already burst out of the tent.
"Who's there?!"
Wu Xi growled, his voice tinged with a hint of panic, but his expression remained calm, clearly indicating professional training rather than being a wild martial artist.
Dressed in gray cloth with a black belt around his waist, he instantly channeled his strength into his fists upon attacking, then delivered a straight punch directly at Mu Yang's chest.
The punch whizzed, faintly creating a sonic boom, its force enough to shatter a stone wall.
Mu Yang hadn't expected to be inexplicably exposed; he hadn't made a single sound from beginning to end, and the off-road vehicle was at least 2 kilometers away from the gathering place—
But there was no time for him to think now.
Seeing Wu Xi's sudden attack, Mu Yang didn't panic; he merely tapped his toes on the ground, leaping backward, easily avoiding the straight punch.
Then, he lightly tapped his finger, and light elements quickly converged into a ball of light.
Next, the ball of light suddenly exploded in front of Wu Xi's eyes, emitting a dazzling shimmer.
Though small, the shimmer was exceptionally bright in the dark night, instantly causing Wu Xi to painfully close his eyes, unable to observe Mu Yang's actions.
Blinding enemies with light—this tactic was foolproof for Mu Yang; it consumed very little, yet the benefits it created were hundreds of times greater than the consumption.
Blinded by the light, Wu Xi instinctively tried to retreat, but for some reason, his retreating movement faltered.
He braced his hands on the ground and switched to a sweeping leg kick, attempting to repel the approaching Mu Yang.
"That's interesting. He can't see, and I made no sound, yet he can still pinpoint my location. Is it a mind's eye?"
Many thoughts flashed through Mu Yang's mind, but his body didn't forget to leap upwards, avoiding Wu Xi's attack.
Mid-air, he unleashed a quick and fierce whip kick, directly striking Wu Xi's waist, with such speed and force that it even broke the sound barrier.
This swift whip kick directly struck Wu Xi's waist, the intense pain from his nerves contorting his movements and twisting his expression, yet for some unknown reason, he endured it without making a sound.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Wu Xi, who knew he was no match for the assassin, showed despair.
Hearing the threats and urgings in his ear, he knew he had to die here today.
So, he prepared to bite down on the poison sac lodged between his teeth, taking his own life.
But the next second, a pair of blood-red eyes appeared in Wu Xi's vision, their eerie and profound crimson color causing him to lose his composure for a moment.
Even the movement of his mouth paused.
Mu Yang seized this opportunity to strike the target's temple, but he also remembered to control his strength, merely knocking Wu Xi unconscious.
He bound Wu Xi with a special rope, which had the effect of slowly draining his strength, much like the Sea Stone in One Piece, specifically effective against Devil Fruit users.
Mu Yang hoisted his prey and disappeared into the night in a few steps.
Minutes later, the low roar of the off-road vehicle's engine sounded two kilometers away, attracting some attention, but no wanderers realized that their leader, Wu Xi, had been captured.
The entire battle ended in mere moments, causing almost no commotion; not even the few nocturnal birds nearby were startled, let alone the night watchmen scattered throughout the gathering place.
Or perhaps they noticed, but seeing it wasn't commotion from within the inner area of the gathering place, they didn't investigate, fearing to invite trouble upon themselves.
Soon after Mu Yang took Wu Xi, a dark figure quietly appeared at the site of their battle.
Seeing no bloodstains or traces of poison on the ground, the black-clad figure hidden in the darkness turned pale, muttered "Useless," and then vanished from the spot.
Mu Yang, who was driving, naturally noticed the many irregularities in this operation and had considered pretending to leave to lure out the mastermind.
However, as soon as he started the off-road vehicle, several gunmen, hidden in the darkness with heartbeats and pulses almost at freezing point, suddenly "revived,"
And pulled the triggers of their guns.
"Clink, clink, clink."
Cold muzzles spat fire at the off-road vehicle, bullets raining down.
Though Mu Yang was strong, he couldn't currently ignore the threat of bullets.
Therefore, he expended his mana, drew magical runes, and constructed several solid flame walls and light walls.
The barriers blocked the gunfire from the off-road vehicle; bullets still shot relentlessly, losing momentum after penetrating halfway and getting stuck between the barriers.
But even so, it greatly exceeded Mu Yang's expectations.
One should know that his light and fire element amplification far surpassed others of the same rank; ordinary bullets shouldn't be able to penetrate his flame walls and light walls so easily.
Evidently, these bullets were specially made by a Mechanic, and their price in Reincarnation Paradise might even be hundreds of paradise coins per round.
The current situation clearly wasn't suitable for Mu Yang to continue putting himself at risk.
Without hesitation, he slammed the accelerator to the floor.
The engine roared, and the off-road vehicle, like a wild horse unleashed, sped towards the Wu Xi outpost, leaving behind only the assassins' furious stares and a cloud of dust.
After smoothly passing through the outpost, Mu Yang, carrying his spoils, had just returned to the First District when an unfamiliar Thirteen Bureau member walked up to him.
"Team Leader Yang? You're back quite late."
To encounter a Thirteen Bureau member before even reaching Dragon Horn Building, and for him to coincidentally recognize him, the new airborne team leader, was a bit too coincidental.
"Yes, I just captured a mission target alive and am preparing to interrogate him; there might be unexpected gains."
Mu Yang noticed a hint of relief and nervousness on the face of the person in front of him, and his heart immediately felt a bit strange.
Although he suspected there was an internal mole in the Thirteen Bureau, possibly colluding with Wu Xi, thus exposing his whereabouts, Mu Yang hadn't expected this mole to have such poor psychological fortitude.
Upon learning that Wu Xi was captured alive, he immediately couldn't contain his nervousness and appeared directly in front of him like that.
If the spy's psychological fortitude was so poor, then wouldn't the organization that planted the spy be spending money to give others achievements?
Could it be that this world was just a huge makeshift operation?