Chapter 69: Artist

Bunny let out a scream and tried to fire a steel cable to catch the rock wall. She failed.

In despair and terror, she squeezed her eyes shut—yet the expected pain of being torn apart never came.

She fell into a pair of warm arms.

"If you don’t have the ability, don’t casually dispense sympathy."

The man’s cold reprimand sounded from above her head. When she opened her eyes, what filled her vision were Cyrus’s deep, narrow black eyes.

His gaze was icy—the kind of cold scrutiny and suppressed anger reserved for a subordinate who had disobeyed orders.

Cyrus had specifically ordered her not to concern herself with Hilan and the others.

She had failed to keep the promise she made to him. He was furious.

Her heart was still racing from the flood of adrenaline. Her mind, having just escaped death, was completely blank. Paying no attention to whatever sour expression Cyrus was wearing, she suddenly locked her arms around his neck and buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder. Her eyes instantly reddened.

Just now she had truly believed she was about to die.

The woman’s choked sob instantly drained Cyrus of all remaining temper. Even if he still wanted to scold her harshly, the words would no longer come out.

He lowered his gaze to look at the thoroughly frightened Bunny. Thick helplessness filled the depths of his eyes.

Tch. She really did love to cry.

At that moment, Xander and the other members also descended to the bottom of the cliff one after another and began destroying every egg in sight.

The juvenile aliens charged upward like mad things. Bunny was just about to ask Cyrus why he still hadn’t drawn his blade—when a violent vortex of black wind blades erupted outward with Cyrus at its center. Formidable, terrifying mental power crashed down like a towering mountain range, stirring up a devastating storm of destruction within the domain.

The aliens that had been lunging forward to bite were shredded as though they had been fed into a meat grinder. Blood mist and minced flesh sprayed in every direction, leaving Bunny staring in complete stupefaction.

Holy shit—this was the equivalent of a tattoo artist closing his eyes and still managing to ink her entire face with pure skill.

What kind of monstrous ability was this?

Only when a sentinel’s rank reached a certain level could mental power be directly transformed into a weapon that sliced enemies apart.

Bunny did not know this. She stared at Cyrus as though looking at a monster. The man calmly carried her as he stepped across the piles of corpse fragments.

He even kept one hand casually tucked in his pocket.

The members of the 616 squad divided the work and cooperated with perfect tacit understanding. In a short time they completely eliminated every last egg and alien body.

With Bunny’s mental barrier resisting the contamination and erosion, they were able to unleash nearly ninety percent of their full strength and finish the battle swiftly.

Xander put away his laser sword and walked over to Cyrus. "This nest is enormous in scale. Better to burn it completely so no eggs are left behind."

The two men were nearly the same height—both approaching two meters. Xander’s gaze landed on Bunny for a moment before calmly meeting Cyrus’s eyes again.

"Mm. Then burn it."

Cyrus’s tone was flat, without any detectable fluctuation.

Bunny was about to lean toward Xander’s side, because she did not particularly like being held by Cyrus.

Unexpectedly, Cyrus suddenly tightened his arms and turned to leave.

Xander stared at Cyrus’s gradually receding back and curved his lips into a cold smile.

What the hell was he pretending for?

With the help of the 616 squad, Hilan and the others quickly annihilated the queen-type alien that had been in the middle of laying eggs and rescued Lily from a pile of mucus-wrapped transparent cocoons.

Yet she remained unconscious. Her heart rate had already dropped below forty beats per minute; she was in a state of severe shock.

Hilan hurriedly injected her with two doses of regenerative serum and held the woman tightly in his arms to keep her warm.

Ten minutes later, Lily woke up.

The moment she opened her eyes and saw the purple-haired Hilan, she could not stop crying. Her entire body trembled.

Hilan did not mind the mucus covering her at all. He continuously kissed and soothed her:

"It’s all right, baby... don’t cry, don’t cry..."

Carrying Lily, Hilan brought his four teammates over to bow in gratitude toward Bunny.

"Thank you, Miss Bunny."

Without Bunny, they would never have been able to save Lily.

"In the future, if there’s anything we can help with, just say the word."

Astin gave a cold snort. "With combat strength as trash as yours, what exactly could you help with?"

Val looked ready to jump up and fight the green-haired man again. Bunny’s and Lily’s gazes briefly met. Although Lily was still terrified, she still managed to offer Bunny a grateful smile.

Tch... why did she feel that the guide’s mental power on this woman was a little strange?

A guide’s mental power was extremely sensitive to the scent of contamination.

Hilan was preparing to take Lily back to the West One when Cyrus suddenly raised the muzzle of his gun toward the two of them.

Hilan frowned. "What is the meaning of this?"

Cyrus gave a light glance at Lily in his arms. His tone was icy and completely merciless. "She has already been parasitized."

She would not survive.

Everyone’s expressions changed at once. Val was the first to explode. "You say she’s parasitized and that makes it true?"

Cyrus pulled the trigger of the gun with a soft click. "I’m not particularly fond of meddling in other people’s business. Either you deal with it yourselves, or I will deal with it for you."

This was the territory of the District 616. They would not let a single alien body escape.

Seeing both sides deadlocked, Arden spoke up. "Then give your guide a full-body scan."

Rain tossed the blue-light scanner to Hilan. He tightly gripped the instrument, gazing at Lily with complicated eyes.

Lily’s expression changed. She threw the scanner away and snatched the gun from Hilan’s hand.

"Lily, what are you doing?!"

The scorching noon sun burned like molten gold. On the desolate wasteland that had been utterly silent, a howling gale suddenly rose.

Lily stood barefoot on the searing gravel. The wind whipped her red hair into wild disarray.

She suddenly began to cry. The moment Hilan tried to approach her, she swept the gun in a spray of fire to force him back:

"Don’t come any closer!"