Meryl led the group to a glass door.
This was the lab’s inner chamber, separated from the outer area by a transparent glass wall.
Through it, Ming Yi and the others clearly saw a glass dome covering a circular platform inside. A pure white sphere rested quietly at its center.
“Is that… the White Bloodsource?” Chu Tong exclaimed softly.
The White Bloodsource’s appearance was utterly striking—holy, flawless, immaculate. It left everyone breathless, as if witnessing something that belonged only in the heavens.
“Something this beautiful… is actually a Blood Essence?” Xiao Chengcheng muttered, stunned.
Ming Yi, having seen it before, wasn’t overly shocked—but seeing it again still stirred a quiet awe within him.
So miraculous. It felt almost sacrilegious to even consider touching it.
“You’ll witness something even more astonishing soon,” Meryl said with a smile. She swiped her card, opened the door, and gestured inward. “Step inside and feel it.”
Xiao Chengcheng didn’t hesitate. He stepped through.
“Whoa! What the—?!” The moment he crossed the threshold, his eyes bulged wide with shock.
Chu Tong and Ming Yi followed—and froze instantly.
Without the glass barrier, up close with the White Bloodsource, they finally felt the change surging within.
Their blood rushed faster in an instant, heat flooding their bodies like boiling veins. A strange, stimulant-like euphoria sharpened every sense. Ming Yi could almost feel the faint, drifting currents of air around him.
At the same time, his blood screamed with thirst, hungrily drinking in the White Bloodsource’s scent through every pore. His very essence began shifting, subtly, relentlessly.
Chu Tong and Xiao Chengcheng felt it too. Almost instinctively, they bit their fingertips, summoned their Corruption Artifacts, and closed their eyes.
“You’ve felt it. No need for further explanation,” Meryl said calmly. “In thirty minutes, the sensation will fade—your Corruption Artifacts will have reached saturation. I’ll return then to escort you out.”
She turned and left without glancing back at the three motionless figures.
Ming Yi, Chu Tong, and Xiao Chengcheng stood perfectly still, eyes shut, immersed in the transformation within.
——
——
Right at the entrance where the three had entered.
Jin Xuanwen leaned lazily against the doorframe, eyes half-lidded, feigning sleep.
A faint, nearly imperceptible footstep echoed outside.
His eyebrows twitched—almost unseen. Eyes remained closed.
But behind his head, his hands slowly moved. A deliberate slice opened a cut across his palm.
Ten minutes of silence stretched. Just as patience frayed—
A large hand shot from the doorway, aiming to snap Jin Xuanwen’s neck mid-slumber.
But Jin Xuanwen’s eyes snapped open. He slammed a palm on the floor, flipped backward, and landed three meters away.
The attacker, exposed, didn’t falter. He pushed off and lunged forward.
Countless thoughts flashed through Jin Xuanwen’s mind—but none had time to form. He couldn’t even glimpse the man’s face.
He yanked his hidden Corruption Artifact from the shadows and hurled it fiercely.
“Shadow Pattern Wheel!”
The barbed wheel spun like a chainsaw through the air.
The man sidestepped—by a hair’s breadth.
He landed smoothly, balanced, and kept advancing.
*So strong!* Jin Xuanwen’s pupils tightened—but his gaze stayed calm. He swept his hand again. “Wheel Spin!”
A lethal gust swept toward the man’s back. Without turning, he flipped sideways—dodging the returning wheel.
But this time, his motion faltered for a split second.
*Now!*
Jin Xuanwen split his hands. The wheel fractured: one half shot forward; the other vanished.
The visible half whizzed past the man’s temple—*so close, yet missing*.
Then Jin Xuanwen smirked.
The man glanced at his shadow—just as the vanished half erupted from it, swelling in his vision.
If Ming Yi were here, he’d recognize it instantly: the very move Jin Xuanwen used to rescue Akiko.
Back then, the wheel had sliced through Mia’s waist, draining her life force in an instant.
*You can’t dodge this time,* Jin Xuanwen thought, relief flickering.
His signature technique. Who guards their own shadow? Silent. Close. Unavoidable.
Then—horror.
An ancient, tattered tome lay open before the man like a shield. Jin Xuanwen’s wheel was pinned fast between its pages.
*It won’t pierce!* Jin Xuanwen spun and ran.
He knew his Shadow Pattern Wheel—intangible as shadow itself. Only a Shatterborn far stronger could block it.
*Class S!*
Before he took two steps, a hoarse voice rasped behind him:
“Silent Codex—Body Bind.”
Invisible chains coiled around Jin Xuanwen’s entire body. He froze mid-stride, suspended, helpless.
*It’s over.*
Regret choked him. *I should’ve fled. Warned the captain.*
Now he could only pray Akiko in the monitoring room had seen everything.
“Your reflexes are sharp,” the hoarse voice continued. “Years of battle brought you to the peak of Class A… almost stepping into Class S.”
The man stepped into view.
“Pity. You’ll cross that threshold in hell.”
Only now did Jin Xuanwen see him fully: a middle-aged man, deep wrinkles etched on his face, gray cloak shadowing sharp features. Hawk-like eyes gleamed with arrogance. A dagger rose high.
“Say goodnight to this world, young man.”
——
——
Wiping blood from his blade, the man spoke into his earpiece: “Cleanup complete. One target eliminated. Proceed.”
“Copy. Second squad at rear entrance also clear. One target down. Simultaneous breach in sixty seconds,” a cool female voice replied.
“Understood.”
He glanced at Jin Xuanwen’s wide, lifeless eyes—and smiled cruelly.
This building would soon become a hunting ground.
Savor the final thrill before death, prey.
