Inside the van, Liu Xiu's heart leapt when he heard Meng Ran's voice. He opened his mouth to call out, hoping to get Meng Ran's attention.
The man beside him noticed Liu Xiu's intentions but didn't stop him—there was no point. The Evil Ghost already knew he was here.
And the key problem right now wasn't that anyway.
Outside, Meng Ran let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Liu Xiu's voice. It seemed Xiu'er hadn't lost consciousness and was still alert.
The man sitting next to Liu Xiu ignored his shouting and bowed his head in thought.
Of course, he had heard the voice from outside. Before this mission, he had already studied the Evil Ghost's abilities in detail.
Without hesitating, the man turned to the two people sitting behind him—a man and a woman.
The man had a buzz cut and tattoos on his face, his sullen expression complementing his appearance, making him look like no good at all.
Beside him, the woman had long, curly, ash-blonde hair. Her delicate, beautiful face and cold gaze made her seem like a block of millennia-old ice—completely untouchable.
She nodded to the man who had turned his head, then held up a hand, fingers splayed, signaling the number five.
The man understood immediately, then opened the van door and stepped out.
The man and woman behind him followed, leaving only a few low-level henchmen on the van, keeping watch over the bound and immobile Liu Xiu.
They knew the power of the metal net, so there was no need to divide their strength to watch him. Their main enemy was right in front of them, and they couldn't split their forces.
As the three stepped out, Meng Ran, standing not far away, coldly watched them.
"Just three of you? What, are the other vans full of air?" Meng Ran sneered upon seeing only three step out.
The lead man's expression didn't waver. "No need for these meaningless games, Evil Ghost. The three of us are enough. There's no point in the others coming down."
He wasn't lying—the other vans were indeed full of people.
But those people were roughly at the same level as the ones Meng Ran had just smashed with a single punch.
Against someone of Evil Ghost's caliber, there was no point in sending those cannon fodder.
Meng Ran laughed scornfully. "At least you have some self-awareness, knowing that rookies like that aren't even worth being cannon fodder."
The man didn't react and simply said, "Before we start moving, let me introduce myself. My name is Lang."
After that, the man and woman behind him introduced themselves sharply: "Magician." "Singer."
The first was the man's name; the second was the woman's.
After their introductions, Meng Ran teased, "Even assassins are polite these days? You guys have etiquette training in your organization, don't you?"
Before they could reply, Meng Ran's smile vanished. He coldly said, "Enough polite introductions. Now comes the punishment."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Meng Ran disappeared and instantly reappeared behind them.
Lang and his companions' eyes widened as they instinctively scattered in different directions.
As they dispersed, a thunderous impact shook the ground—the spot they had just been standing on was smashed by Meng Ran's punch.
The punch's immense force cracked the ground outward like a spiderweb.
Seeing their swift reactions, Meng Ran smirked, letting out a hoarse, terrifying laugh.
"Ha ha ha, not bad, not bad. Now this is interesting!"
Lang and his companions, now firmly on their guard, felt a chill run through them.
Under the heavy night, a terrifying figure stood there. Under his hood, his face was pitch black, only his narrow, pale eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth visible.
From that monstrous mouth, a crimson tongue flicked like a small serpent. The hoarse, terrifying laugh came from the same mouth.
Seeing Evil Ghost like this, Lang felt a sudden, uncomfortable sense of confusion.
Why did a hero-level figure like Evil Ghost have such a horrifying appearance?
Ignoring everything Evil Ghost had done, just looking at him, he could have been a supervillain straight out of a movie—scarier even than those villains.
Before Lang could dwell on these thoughts, Evil Ghost made his move.
As Lang and his companions jumped away, Meng Ran extended tentacle-like appendages and ripped the roof off the van they had been using.
The low-level henchmen inside hadn't even reacted before Meng Ran snapped their necks and tossed them out of the van.
Then, with deft precision, the tentacles pulled the metal-net-bound Liu Xiu to Meng Ran's side.
Lang was frustrated. He had hoped the three of them could tie down Evil Ghost long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
But Evil Ghost didn't play by the rules. A sudden punch scattered them, clearing the way to rescue Liu Xiu.
Frustration was useless. Lang could only watch as Meng Ran freed Liu Xiu. The pressure from Evil Ghost was overwhelming—anyone hit by that punch without dodging would have been seriously injured.
Dodging was instinct, honed over years of battle.
Meng Ran looked at Liu Xiu, still tightly wrapped, and extended his right hand.
It transformed into a black claw, the fingertips gleaming with metallic blades.
He swung sharply at Liu Xiu, slicing the metal net into pieces that fell to the ground.
Freed from his restraints, Liu Xiu stood and yanked the towel from his mouth.
His eyes burned with anger as he stared at the three enemies. Today's ordeal made him feel true humiliation.
He wanted to crush these three into paper. Had they captured him, there would have been no good outcome.
As the lead man had said, after exploiting all his value, he would have died horribly.
Meng Ran sensed Liu Xiu's fury and patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.
No words were needed—Liu Xiu understood.
Impulsiveness led to losing reason and judgment. He needed to cool down, or even in battle, he would be at a disadvantage.