A sharp, piercing sound of tearing air suddenly exploded! Before Amber even had time to react, a scavenger in tattered clothes and covered in wasteland dust violently lunged from the shadows. His eyes were blood-red, and his right arm was modified with a mechanical claw that gleamed with a cold, ruthless chill. "Let go of that girl!" The scavenger roared like thunder and sprinted forward, his legs driving into the ground. The mechanical claw carried a violent, wind-tearing force, aiming straight for Amber's throat. "Didn't you hear her say NO?!" This surprise attack was suffocatingly fast, targeted directly at a lethal spot. Amber’s pupils shrank slightly as she instinctively sensed a fatal danger. Without time to think, her body bent backward at an extreme angle into an iron bridge, barely dodging the gleaming alloy claws. Rrrrrip! The claw grazed her lapel, sending sparks flying and instantly tearing three deep gashes across the front of her black suit jacket. Having missed his target, the scavenger didn't pause for a moment. He spun his body smoothly, shielding the slumped Long Qianqian like a mother beast protecting her cub. He arched his back, his mechanical claw reflecting dangerous lethal intent under the dim light. A beast-like growl rumbled in his throat as he glared fiercely at the forced-back Amber. "Too slow." Amber's ice-cold voice echoed hauntingly. While the sound was still echoing where she had originally stood, her true self had already appeared ghost-like behind the scavenger. Her speed surpassed the limits of human vision, leaving only a violently torn afterimage in the air. Before the scavenger could even turn his neck, the hair all over his body stood on end. Swish! Amber formed a claw with her five fingers, the muscles beneath her sleeves instantly bulging. A fierce "Leopard Claw" swept across with violent kinetic energy, the tips of her fingers acting like unsheathed alloy blades. Blood flashed. This merciless strike instantly tore through the scavenger's throat. The scavenger's body stiffened abruptly, the anger and vigilance in his eyes freezing in a single instant. He clutched his throat tightly with both hands as warm, thick blood gushed violently through his fingers. Only broken, bubbling choking sounds came from deep within his throat. Then, his body collapsed heavily forward, crashing into the pool of blood at Long Qianqian's feet, devoid of any remaining life.
Long Qianqian sat crumpled in the pool of blood, panting heavily. She stared in shock at this total stranger who had just shielded her with his life. Beneath the horror in her eyes, an indescribable shock surged—for the first time in her life, a stranger had sheltered her under their wing without asking for anything in return. Amber slowly retracted her right hand, elegantly flicking away the residual blood droplets on her fingertips. Her eyes were devoid of any warmth, looking down coldly at the pale-faced Long Qianqian, her lips curling into a cruel arc. "What a disobedient girl. Since you're so uncooperative, I'll just chop off your hands and feet and pack you back to the organization." Before her words completely faded, Amber opened her hand again, her fingertips pulsing with the chill of death. This time, her target was straight for Long Qianqian's delicate limbs.
Just as the lethal claw was about to strike in that split second— Clang—! A sharp, ear-splitting metallic collision suddenly shattered the air, sparks bursting wildly into the night! Amber's seemingly certain lethal strike was forcefully knocked aside by a heavy metal object, the terrifying recoil forcing her to stumble back half a step. "What an ill-mannered big cat, daring to run wild on someone else's turf." A raspy, exhausted low voice came from the dark. Corvus was down on one knee, relying entirely on a heavy sword to prop up his battered body while gasping heavily for air. Barring the way in front of Long Qianqian was precisely his metallic prosthetic arm, gleaming with a cold luster—it was this very arm that had forcefully intercepted Amber's fatal move at the edge of life and death. Even though his injuries were bordering on critical, Corvus still resolutely shielded Long Qianqian behind him. His single crystal eye locked dead onto Amber, and his lips pulled back into a provocative, cold smirk, emanating the fierce tenacity of a hundred-battle survivor.
Amber shook her slightly numb palm, her sinister gaze sizing up this intruder, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "My, my, Detective... saving the damsel in distress looks cool and all..." Amber's sticky, cruel laughter echoed through the air. She stood casually in place, without even shifting her feet. "Too bad you're still... too slow." Just as Corvus tried to force himself up to fight, a strange sensation of emptiness shot through his left shoulder, followed immediately by an overwhelming wave of agonizing pain. Instinctively looking sideways, his pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpricks.
In Amber's thick, muscular leopard claw, she was casually playing with a metallic object embedded with complex gears and dark-gold patterns, which was flickering rhythmically with a faint light. "That's—?!" Corvus roared in utter horror and shock. Unbeknownst to him, his proud "Dark-Gold Arm," which had just blocked the lethal blow moments ago, had been forcefully ripped off his shoulder by Amber at an unfathomable speed! Electrical sparks sputtered wildly from the severed joint, and broken wires along with machine oil gushed out like a fountain.
"Detective, you shouldn't play with this toy for any more surprise escapes," Amber said with a malicious grin, holding up the dark-gold prosthetic right in front of Corvus's eyes like a trophy. The moment her words landed, her fingers snapped shut, releasing immense claw force that produced a sickening screech of twisting metal. Creeeak—Boom! Accompanied by the loud crunch of twisting metal and the violent explosion of core components, that rock-solid dark-gold prosthetic hand—the backbone of Corvus's combat power—was instantly crushed into a pile of scrap metal and fragmented parts, scattering loosely into the pool of blood.
Having lost his balance support, Corvus collapsed heavily to the ground, his face pale as paper. He pressed his remaining right hand tightly against the sparking, bleeding stump of his left shoulder. In this single moment, the situation plunged into absolute despair.
Witnessing this scene, Long Qianqian's mental defenses completely shattered. She collapsed into the bloody mud with a thud, tears streaming down her face as her delicate body trembled violently from extreme terror. Amber let out a delighted, soft chuckle. Crossing her arms, she enjoyed their desperate struggles like a cat playing with mice. In her world, this was nothing more than the meaningless wailing of prey before their demise.
At that moment, kneeling on the ground, Corvus bore the searing pain from his severed left shoulder and used his remaining right hand to firmly grab Long Qianqian's trembling wrist. His expression was as cold and hard as iron, his low voice carrying an unquestionable resolve: "Listen. If you want to live, do as I say." Long Qianqian looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. "Form a Mana Contract with me... Press your right hand against my crystal eye!" Long Qianqian's gaze fell upon that single prosthetic crystal eye glowing with a faint, dark chill. Driven by a powerful urge to survive, she no longer hesitated. Trembling, she extended her right hand, her palm pressing tightly against the ice-cold, piercing crystal sphere.
"Hummm—!" Accompanied by a deep, resonant soul vibration, the sensory link originally connected to the mana crow, Claude, was instantly severed. A miraculous leap occurred across the void—the mana synchronization formally transferred to Long Qianqian! "Mana Link, activate!"
A surge of ancient, vast magic flooded through her palm straight into her mind, instantly burning her fear to ashes. Long Qianqian's eyes changed dramatically; weakness and panic faded completely, replaced by a swirling glow of contract magic in deep blue. Under Amber's bewildered gaze, she actually stood up slowly, the magic ripples surrounding her body stirring up a heart-palpitating tremor.
To the side, Corvus staggered back half a step, covering his right eye heavily with his right hand. Even though his face was contorted in extreme pain, he gritted his teeth tightly and poured every last remnant of mana in his body into the crystal eye without reservation, providing a continuous flow of energy to support Long Qianqian.
"Game over." Before the words finished echoing, Amber's body had already turned into a blurry golden afterimage. Accompanied by a piercing sonic boom and a violent wind capable of tearing steel, she pounced at blinding speed toward the half-kneeling Corvus and the newly risen Long Qianqian. She was going to crush these two ignorant ants together with her own hands!
In this split second between life and death, just as Amber's claws were a mere few centimeters from Long Qianqian's throat, and the howling wind even cut a few strands of her hair— Long Qianqian's gaze turned as sharp as a blade. Powered by the immense magic of the crystal eye, her dynamic vision and neural reflexes were forcibly pushed to an unbelievable peak. The lightning-fast surprise attack became crystal clear in her eyes.
With a swift side-step, she dodged the lethal spot. Following through with a fluid twist of her waist, her slender right leg, wrapped in a deep-blue aura, whipped out like a bolt of thunder!
BOOM—!! This heavy kick struck Amber squarely and ruthlessly in the abdomen. A dull, explosive roar erupted, and a visible ring of magical shockwaves swept out in all directions. Before Amber even had time to form a terrified expression, her entire body was launched backward as if hit head-on by a maglev train at full speed. She slammed violently into the gray concrete wall in the distance!
Amidst the spiderweb-like cracks spreading crazily and the exploding cloud of debris and dust, Amber was embedded deep into the wall. The bloody, one-sided hunt was completely overturned by this single kick.
"Heh... how does it feel for a smelly cat to get kicked around like a ball?" Corvus pressed tightly against his right eye, squeezing out his depleted mana while pulling his lips into a cold, satisfied smirk. "Feel honored... you're not the first person to get kicked flying by this woman."
Long Qianqian gracefully retracted her right leg, the deep-blue magical flames flickering on her dress hem and fingertips. She stared cold-eyed at the collapsed, dented wall that was continuously dropping loose stones.
However, as the rolling dust was blown away by a gust of wind, the scene before them caused their smiles to instantly freeze.
Amber, who should have been embedded deep within the wall, had vanished into thin air. Only a massive "X"-shaped impact crater remained on the wall surface, with a few strands of blood-stained golden fur drifting in the wind. Aside from the rustling sound of rolling pebbles, the surroundings were suffocatingly silent.
"Did she escape?" Long Qianqian's delicate brows furrowed as she looked around vigilantly. The powerful perception provided by the crystal eye expanded completely, attempting to catch any lingering wild scent in the air. But the opponent's speed was too fast; the surrounding shadows seemed to serve as her natural camouflage.
Corvus's face darkened as well. Ignoring the electrical sparks constantly bursting from his left shoulder, he forcibly used his remaining vision to scan the ruins. Knowing Amber's cruelty and cunning, he understood that a woman proud to her very bones would never flee in disgrace after taking just one kick.
This eerie silence was instead the most lethal signal before the coming storm.
"We shouldn't stay here long." Corvus gritted his teeth against the searing pain in his left shoulder and spat out a heavy mouthful of blood. Even though Amber had concealed her presence, that sickening sense of danger still felt like needles against his back.
Everyone's nerves were stretched tight as they stood back-to-back, strictly guarding against the bottomless darkness around them.
"Come back with me to the detective agency," Corvus proposed to Long Qianqian through gritted teeth, maintaining the mana transfer from his crystal eye. "We have a base there, as well as a professional alchemist. I think... she can help treat your injuries."
Long Qianqian glanced at Corvus, who had just saved her and whose left shoulder was continuously spurting machine oil and sparks, and then at the scavenger who had died tragically on the ground. Knowing that staying here was no different from waiting for death, his base might be their only way out.
"Alright, let's go." Long Qianqian nodded decisively. She carefully supported the heavily injured Corvus, using the newly born contract magic within her body to sense every movement in the surrounding wind, guarding everyone as they slipped into the dim secret passage to make a swift retreat.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJ0V5CNSvb
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