Right on Target (TARGET)
The space within the shield was cramped, and the temperature continued to rise from the scorching flames. The hot wind seeping in felt like crashing waves, lashing against Su Heting’s damp forehead.
This distance was dangerous.
So dangerous that Su Heting could see every detail on Inspector’s face.
Inspector’s pupils were slightly dark, appearing calm and indifferent amidst the swirling fire and smoke. The sharp outer corners of his eyes slanted outward, leaving only a faint shadow at the end, as if concealing some obscure emotion. Raindrops slid down the straight bridge of his nose, yet his gaze remained lowered, locked with Su Heting’s.
That look was utterly detached, as if he hadn’t come to rescue Su Heting but had merely been passing by.
Su Heting said, “…That was fast?”
He expected no reply, but Inspector answered, “Average.”
Su Heting: “…”
Inspector retracted his arm, and the black shield disassembled on the spot, transforming into countless diamond-shaped fragments that covered his right forearm, resembling a steel gauntlet at a glance.
The blast from Bifang’s beak cannon had left a crater, leaving the two with minimal room to maneuver, as they were now encircled by fire.
Inspector spoke to the communicator, “Report the numbers.”
“Yes, sir!” The voice on the other end was nervous but fluent, without hesitation. “A total of four Bifang detected—three remaining on this street, with one moving eastward. Additionally, fifty-six Nightwalkers are converging nearby.”
“Split the team,” Inspector ordered. “Hua Zhi and Dong Fang will intercept the Bifang moving east. Xiao Gu stays to protect civilians.”
“Copy that!” The voice paused before asking, “What about the Bifang on this street?”
Inspector replied, “I’ll handle it.”
“Sir—”
“I have backup.” Inspector casually pulled off the communicator and pushed it toward Su Heting. “Say something.”
Su Heting froze. “Huh—?”
The moment he spoke, Inspector unilaterally muted the line.
“Who?” The voice on the communicator was caught off guard and stunned for a moment before belatedly realizing, “A newbie???”
Su Heting locked eyes with Inspector again, and was half-tempted to reintroduce himself. He muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
I’m an undercover agent.
Inspector said tersely, “Here they come.”
Two Bifang converged overhead before diving downward, with their beak cannons glowing brightly as they opened their mouths mid-plunge.
Su Heting squinted against the blinding light of the cannons and shouted, “Where’s your shield?”
Inspector replied, “Cooling down.”
The Bifang let out a piercing “screech,” and their beak cannons detonated the street, sending debris flying as the blasts shot straight toward them.
Sparks erupted from Su Heting’s right hand as flames surged between his fingers that instantly consumed his entire arm. He raised his right hand—his fingers had already morphed into a crimson cannon barrel.
“Hey.” The wind swept Su Heting’s bangs aside, the “X” in his right eye flashing momentarily. The cat took aim at the beak cannons, brimming with arrogance. “Let me show you the most invincible thing in the universe—”
Before he could finish—
A crimson projectile blasted forth!
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted as the crimson projectile collided midair with the beak cannons, scattering sparks in all directions.
The shockwave swept through like a tidal force and hurled Su Heting straight into Inspector’s arms.
Inspector raised his arm in response, and the black diamond fragments tightly wrapped around his forearm reacted instantly. With a rapid series of clangs, they interlocked seamlessly, assembling in the blink of an eye into a cannon barrel identical to Su Heting’s.
Ahead, the raging waves of fire surged relentlessly, blocking Inspector's line of sight. He raised the cannon barrel and said to Su Heting, "Give me the target location."
Two Bifang birds circled and turned, soaring side by side into the sky. Raindrops, like scattered pearls, bounced chaotically between their wings.
Su Heting's cybernetic eye locked onto the Bifang, while his right field of vision displayed information prompts.
[X-target locked. Hostile units fleeing.]
[Distance: 279 meters.]
[Distance: 305 meters.]
[Distance: 481 meters.]
Su Heting grabbed Inspector's gun barrel and tilted it upward slightly. "Fire—"
Before he could finish, the barrel scorched his palm, and an earth-shaking BOOM erupted. The shockwave sent him tumbling back into Inspector's arms.
The Bifang on the left was hit first. This time, there was only a sharp beep—no beak-cannon. Its head exploded, sending it crashing into its companion.
Inspector didn’t stop. He fired again.
The second Bifang shrieked and blasted a shot skyward before its wings stiffened, its neck twisted, and it plummeted alongside its companion in a fiery rain of sparks.
Inspector's diamond-shaped fragments scattered and reassembled into a black shield, firmly protecting the two beneath it.
A torrent of fire and rain poured down, hammering against the shield. The massive shadow of the creatures plummeted violently before crashing between the towering buildings of the street and sliding further amid the collapse and kicking up clouds of dust.
Under the shield, the two stood close—closer than before, in a somewhat ambiguous position.
Inspector held the shield with one hand while the other wrapped around Su Heting to prevent the cat from being blown away. His chest was broad, firm enough to rest against. His shirt brushed against the back of Su Heting’s neck, maintaining a polite, restrained distance—but the faint sway of his cross-shaped earring accidentally grazed the tip of Su Heting’s feline ear.
Su Heting couldn’t suppress a shiver as his ears flattened into alert airplane mode.
An extremely delicate atmosphere.
Inspector released him. "It's over."
Su Heting wanted to bolt, but his right wrist clicked—locked in place by handcuffs formed from black diamond fragments.
He turned his head: "?"
Inspector fastened the other end to his own wrist and said calmly, "You're under arrest."
Su Heting: "..."
Are you serious?
Su Heting had been arrested.
Goddammit.
Now, he sat beside Inspector.
"My name is Dong Fang," said a handsome young man leaning over the car seat and currently grinning as his gaze lingered on the handcuffs binding Su Heting and Inspector. "And you are?"
Su Heting replied, "Your dad."
"Ah," Dong Fang didn’t take offense, "feisty."
The car door opened, and a beautiful girl climbed in. She had long, straight black hair and looked about seventeen or eighteen. Her expression was serious, mature beyond her years, but even she couldn’t resist glancing at the handcuffs.
"Zhizi," Dong Fang propped his chin on his hand, "could you—"
Hua Zhi raised a report folder and smacked Dong Fang back into his seat. Without turning her head, expressionless, she said, "Sir, the Bifang analysis report is ready."
Inspector, who had been resting against the window with closed eyes, opened them and took the report.
Hua Zhi continued, "This time, they were just ordinary Bifang. No cameo from the Main God."
Su Heting’s cat ears twitched, drawing the attention of everyone in the car. He offered a sincere suggestion: "You guys should probably silence me first."
"Silence who?" A head popped up outside the car—a bespectacled guy whose voice matched the one from the communicator earlier. He asked in confusion, "Isn't this our new recruit?"
I'm not.
Su Heting tugged at the handcuffs.
I'm an undercover agent.
Inspector's hand was pulled along by Su Heting as he continued reading the test report before casually saying, "Give him a jammer."
Dong Fang rummaged around in the car for a moment before pulling out a small bell and handing it to Su Heting. "This is all we have left."
Su Heting tilted his head slightly. "What's this for?"
"The most powerful jammer," Dong Fang said. "Prevents the system from eavesdropping—and stops Xingtian too."
Su Heting suddenly realized something—his message notification hadn’t gone off since logging in today. He had assumed that the Chief had heeded his warning.
When Inspector noticed Su Heting hadn’t moved for a while, he took the bell for him. It was tiny and jingling when shaken, with a built-in tracker to prevent them from getting lost in the dark if they split up.
Su Heting frowned, catching onto something crucial. He stared at Inspector and asked, "You’re not the Punishment Zone’s reconnaissance system?"
"Nope," Inspector dangled the bell while locking eyes with Su Heting. "Do I look like a recon system?"
Su Heting abruptly leaned in, scrutinizing Inspector’s face.
It looked indistinguishable from a real person’s.
But this was the Punishment Zone.
Here, everyone could be a data construct and molded by the Main God System. Just think about earlier—Bifang, Nightwalker—none of those things existed in the real world.
"Don’t blindly trust Xingtian’s lies," the bespectacled guy said softly. "We’re just people."
"What do you mean?" Su Heting said. "You all snuck in here for a team-building retreat?"
"We’re not human survivors who snuck in like you," Dong Fang said, bracing against the seatback. "We’re prisoners who never escaped the Light Rail District."
After the old world collapsed, the Main God System Alliance took over the Light Rail District, the symbol of humanity’s technological peak. There, hundreds of thousands of humans remained imprisoned by artificial intelligence.
"You know about the farms, right? You must," Dong Fang continued. "Our bodies are still in the farms. Our consciousnesses were exiled by the Main God System—we’ve been wandering the Punishment Zone for two or three years now."
Outside, the rain kept falling, droplets streaking the windows in chaotic trails.
In the silence,
Su Heting poked Inspector’s lower back with his tail.
"Prove to me you’re human," he said.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Advanced chapters are now available up to chapter 110 on my Ko-fi page!
If you appreciate what I do, please consider supporting me on kofi. Thank you!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•