“Good... very good... You turned into a girl and you’re still this cocky! Today I’ll show you who’s number one in the Shadow Division!”

Number Ten roared, anger flaring like sparks off steel, and a black Mech rose over him like ink boiling. He blasted off the ground toward Tang Coco.

“Xin, hit Number Nine. Yuting, take the speedster. Hawkeye, keep eyes on the one with the energy shield.”

“Yes!” Three voices snapped like arrows loosed.

“Then... I’ll play with you a bit.”

Tang Coco said it like frost on glass. She gripped her long blade and charged Ten, the air tense like a bowstring.

“Heard you’re fast?”

Meng Yuting blinked behind Number Three, a smile hooking like a cat’s claw. Three darted sideways, but the Phantom reappeared at his back the instant he landed.

“Boys... shouldn’t be too fast.”

Her long leg scythed out like a whip.

Bang—

Number Three hit hard, carving a long scar across the ground as he skidded.

“Cough... cough...”

He pushed up, dazed. That kick had been a hammer wrapped in silk.

Krak-krak-krak—

A rattle came from overhead. A dozen massive ice lances bloomed in the air and speared downward like winter fangs.

Thump—crackle—

A black energy shield snapped up in time, catching the strike like a midnight wall.

Boom!

A blue laser dropped from the sky like a falling star and punched through the black shield.

Elsewhere...

“System, how’s the data scrape?”

“Near completion. Information stored to database.”

“Then let’s end it fast. Dragging time draws eyes.”

Impatience pricked at Tang Coco. Ten’s greatsword came down like a guillotine; she raised her blade, caught it, then flowed back to open space.

“So this is all the mighty Asura can do? You’re not worthy of the princesses!”

Ten’s Mech shivered, seams breathing smoke like a venting beast. His greatsword split in two; he gripped a blade in each hand.

“Target’s Anomalous Energy level approaching S-rank.”

“...”

“Fine. Close-combat Mech, full systems online.”

“Understood.”

Her right wing unraveled into particles and sifted away like ash in wind. The left wing reshaped into black mechanical feathers, a raven’s pinions wrought in steel. Some Armor panels slid away; the whole Mech pared down to a clean, lethal silhouette, her original form outlined like a blade in a sheath. In her right hand, the black longknife flared blue along the edge, countless micro-particles humming at high frequency.

Coco’s gaze was cold as night water. Ten struck first, thrusters howling; he surged in like a meteor. Coco’s single wing twitched once, and she lunged to meet him, a dark streak.

Thump—

Blades crashed, a bell struck under storm. Ten had two weapons; his off-hand sword whipped toward her ribs.

“Got you!”

His confidence flashed—then widened into shock. The Coco before him vanished, leaving only drifting black feathers in the air.

“The weakness of dual blades... I know it better than you.”

Her voice breathed from behind him. A blue line flicked at the edge of his vision.

Szzzt—crack—

Her longknife carved across his back plate on a slant, splitting Armor like bark under an axe.

Boom!!!

The blast tore them apart like leaves in a gale.

“Skrrr—skrrr—”

Ten hung in the air, Armor spitting wild arcs like lightning in a cage.

“But... so what.”

His disdain was ice cold. His Armor crawled and knit like living shadow, slowly healing.

“...”

Coco’s brows drew tight, a ripple over calm water.

Swish—

Her body flickered out. Ten searched the air, breath harsh in his helmet—then a scream knifed up from the ground.

“Ah!!!”

He looked down. Number Three kneeled, both arms gone, blood pouring like spilled paint.

Not far off, Tang Coco and Meng Yuting stood before and behind him, statues cut from ice. A simple pincer, and their strike had come from both ends like a closing door.

“I told you... I’m no saint. Touch those beside me, and you pay in blood.”

Coco drove her blade back, straight through Number Three’s heart.

“Warning. Multiple Abnormal signatures detected nearby.”

The System’s alarm cut in. Hawkeye’s voice followed, wind in his mic.

“Captain, Huaguo’s Abnormal Organization is on the way. Ten minutes to you.”

“...”

Coco glanced up at Ten streaking toward her again, then at One and Nine laying down support in the distance. Her voice was wintry calm.

“Take them all out.”

Gu Xin and Meng Yuting surged at Number Nine, but Nine was a burr. His summons screened Gu Xin, and a summoning array at their feet pinned Meng Yuting, locking her blink.

Boom!!!

Ten slammed the ground again, soil lifting like surf. Coco’s long blade fell from above like a thunderbolt.

“Wailing Dead—Thousand Tendrils.”

A vast summoning array unfurled beneath them, and the world went dark violet, color drowned like dusk on deep water. Tendrils burst up in a forest of shadow, some thicker than a man’s chest.

“Xin! Yuting! Off the ground!”

Coco’s shout cut sharp.

“Hey! Don’t use that! I can handle it!”

Ten saw the array and snapped at Nine.

“Handle? Heh.”

Nine’s laugh was damp and cold.

In an instant, the massive tendrils wrapped Ten and One and dragged them into the portal like fish into a deep maw.

“Who are you...”

Coco’s frown sharpened at the mysterious Number Nine.

“Valkyrie... kekeke... we’ll meet again.”

Nine sank into the portal and vanished like ink in water.

“...”

“Detected pure dark Anomalous Energy on that one.”

The System’s reminder was a pebble dropped in Coco’s thoughts.

“...”

“Coco... you okay?”

Gu Xin stepped closer, worry soft as a hand on the shoulder.

“I’m fine.”

Coco shook her head, the motion a clipped leaf-fall.

“Captain, Huaguo Abnormals almost on top of you.”

Hawkeye’s report drifted from above.

“Retreat. Back to Ninghai.”

Coco touched down. Four figures lay on the ground. She looked at Five and Seven, each cradling an unconscious Number Four and Eight, her gaze unreadable as clouded glass.

“You... can kill us.”

Seven’s voice sagged, a thread cut. They were beaten, root and branch.

“...”

Coco looked at her and said nothing. She turned and walked away, footsteps light as falling snow.

“System, use the Mech to bring them back.”

“Understood.”

—

Far south on Earth, a vast ice field breathed white. A gigantic portal bloomed like a black flower on snow.

“Roar!!!”

Huge tendrils hurled Number Ten and One out like broken spears.

“Bastard! Who told you to act on your own!”

Ten hit the ice and rounded on Nine, fury snapping like fire.

“You think you could actually beat her?”

Nine’s tone was a blade dipped in mockery.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll know later.”

“Where is this? Why bring us here?”

“...”

“This is the place that will change you.”

A voice came from the other side, old as a winter wind.

“Hm?”

Ten turned. A black-robed figure approached, robe vast as night, face hidden in its hood. The voice carried age like dry leaves.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the one who will change you.”

He raised a hand. A rift peeled open at his side. A huge black claw thrust out and seized Ten before he could react, dragging him into the tear.

“Bastard!!!”

Ten’s shout tore and vanished.

“Status.”

The black-robed man stopped before Nine.

“They probably all know by now. The aura of the Fate Clock has vanished.”

“So he’s entrusted hope to her already, hm. Heh. We’ll make her realize how pathetic her destiny is.”

His laughter was thin and freezing, like wind over bones.

“...”

“Go. Follow the plan. We’ll have our fun with her.”

“Yes.”

—

Back in Ninghai, fatigue lay over everyone like mist. After settling Number Four and the others, they split up and went home to rest.

Hawkeye picked up a new post—bodyguard to Su Xinhua. She set him up with a new apartment.

The next morning, in a 27-floor apartment on the outskirts of Ninghai City, a girl with brown curls woke slowly on a bed, like a flower opening.

“Mmm... uh...”

“My head’s spinning...”

Number Eight rubbed her forehead and pushed up, then stared blankly into space like a stunned deer.

“Huh? Where is this? I... how...”

She was in a white nightdress now, and the room felt foreign, like a borrowed skin.

Click—

The door opened. Number Four walked in with a bowl, steam curling like ghosts.

“You’re awake. Seven called it exactly.”

“Four?! Weren’t you—”

Eight’s eyes widened. Shock pricked like needles.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain in a minute. Seven had me mix this antidote for you. Drink, you’ll feel better fast.”

Four offered the bowl, voice steady as warm tea.

“Antidote?”

Eight’s confusion thickened like fog. Then she noticed something.

“What’s that on your neck?”

Four wore a red, collar-like band at her throat—thin, rounded, more a ring than a buckle.

“This... just drink first.”

Four’s face dimmed, a cloud passing the sun. She shook her head helplessly.

“...”

Eight shifted under the quilt. The movement brushed her neck—there was something there too, cool and tight.

Half an hour later...

The four of them sat on the couch, threads of the story woven back together.

“So that’s how it was...”

Understanding settled over Eight like rain after dust.

“Sorry, Eight. I poisoned you and knocked you out.”

Seven’s apology was small and raw.

“It’s fine. You saved me after, right? We’re even.”

Eight waved it off, a smile easing the knot.

“Still... I didn’t think Ten and the others would become like that.”

“Yeah. This all traces back to Hongcheng.”

Five’s fists clenched, anger burning like coal.

“Hongcheng...”

The name dropped the room into shadow.

“This is on us too. Hong Wei took us in and treated us well. When he fell, we didn’t help... we believed Hongcheng’s lies instead.”

Four’s voice thickened with grief, like a cracked bell.

...

Knock, knock, knock—

Sudden knocking sounded from outside, sharp as rain on stone.