Chapter 98 Sneaky

Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Sneaky

Pea-sized raindrops pelted the water’s surface at the docking area, sending up tiny splashes.

A dark figure swam silently toward the Wind Chaser sailboat, cautiously breaching the surface.

He wiped the rainwater from his face, looked around stealthily, and reached into his jacket to pull out a small glass bottle.

Almost at the same time, a ferocious head breached the water not far behind him with a loud SPLASH.

Snow Cake quietly watched the man and opened its mouth.

Tri-colored light Gathered.

Sensing something, the man glanced back.

He saw a monster resembling a Crocodile Lizard, yet significantly larger than a normal one, looming behind him out of nowhere.

An energy brewing within its mouth sent a violent shiver down his spine.

GASP.

His pupils contracted, his heart nearly stopping. He hadn’t sensed the ferocious beast’s approach at all.

The dark figure instinctively tried to dive underwater to escape, but the tri-colored scales on the strange white lizard’s forehead suddenly flashed.

An invisible wave smashed into his mind like a sledgehammer.

RING.

The world spun around the dark figure. He saw stars before his eyes, his mind instantly going blank.

THWIP.

In the next instant, a highly condensed Tri-Colored Beam shot from Snow Cake’s mouth, piercing straight through the man’s forehead.

Snow Cake’s vertical pupils swept over the sinking corpse. Emitting a low purr from its throat, its body silently submerged back into the depths, as if it had never been there.

...

In a relatively quiet suite inside Biyun Resort.

Han Ning opened his eyes from his bed.

Through their Soul Link, he had clearly perceived Snow Cake’s encounter.

"Another unfamiliar Awakened approached the boats," he wondered. "Could it be Lei Gang’s accomplice? And what was that in his hand?"

Han Ning considered waking the others, but what if the intruders escaped by the time everyone was mobilized?

Time was of the essence.

He sprang up from the bed, first issuing a command to Snow Cake. "Snow Cake, grab that item, then search all the boats for any other infiltrators. Don’t kill all of them; keep one alive."

Bare-chested and clad only in a pair of shorts, he threw open the balcony door, vaulted over the railing, and leaped into the rainy night.

...

Moving like Spider-Man, Han Ning shot out vines to grapple onto the ruined buildings. He swung gracefully through the rubble, arriving near the temporary docking area in just a dozen leaps.

Instead of charging recklessly into the docks, he perched atop a half-submerged heap of concrete ruins like a night owl.

From his high vantage point, a Molten Gold light swirled in his eyes. Piercing through the darkness and the dense curtain of rain, he surveyed the scene below.

His enhanced vision minimized the visual obstruction of the mist and rain. The entire docking area—the water’s surface, the silhouettes of the boats, and even everything up to a few feet underwater—became starkly visible.

With a razor-sharp gaze, he swept over every vessel, refusing to miss even the slightest anomaly.

Meanwhile, Snow Cake darted rapidly underwater, carrying out its master’s orders to inspect the docked boats one by one.

Gradually, Han Ning noticed something amiss.

Near a few boats somewhat farther from where Snow Cake had made its kill, a few unusual, faint ripples appeared on the water’s surface.

Three blurry figures swam under different vessels, hovering right next to the submerged hulls.

They, too, held small bottles and cotton swabs, stealthily attempting to swab something onto the boats.

"Hmph, they really did have accomplices," Han Ning thought with a cold sneer.

He scanned the area a few more times. Once certain there were no other anomalies, he locked onto the positions of all three targets simultaneously.

Through their link, he commanded, "Snow Cake, there’s a guy fifty meters to your front-left. Subdue him, but don’t kill him.

"The other two... leave them to me!"

Before his thoughts even settled, Han Ning’s legs erupted with explosive power.

BOOM.

He kicked off so hard that the concrete ruins shattered, sending debris flying.

He launched himself from his high vantage point like an arrow released from a bowstring.

In mid-air, his bones cracked with a rapid series of loud pops. Dark Gold fur rapidly sprouted over his body as he transformed into his half-human, half-beast Molten Gold Battle Tiger form.

Bouncing off the jutting protrusions of the surrounding ruins, Han Ning vaulted over the open water right between the three target boats.

While still suspended in mid-air, he raised his arms.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Dozens of dark green vines exploded outward from his body.

They shot straight toward the two intruders swabbing the hulls below.

SQUELCH!

One of the men remained completely oblivious. Submerged in the water, he was intently smearing a cotton swab soaked in a dark red liquid onto the hull.

A vine instantly pierced squarely through his back, pinning him to the muddy riverbed.

He didn’t even have time to scream. His body convulsed violently for a moment before going completely limp, the glass bottle slipping from his dead grasp.

"Huh?!"

The second man, however, was exceptionally alert.

A split second before the vines could strike him, he reacted as if he had eyes on the back of his head. Defying the laws of physics, his body suddenly accelerated, lunging diagonally forward.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Several vines merely grazed his afterimage, piercing into the water and kicking up massive splashes.

The figure twisted bizarrely in the water, his silhouette instantly blurring as he smoothly slipped right through the gaps of the vines’ deadly Array.

"Trying to run?"

Golden flames flickered in Han Ning’s eyes, mildly surprised by the evasive capabilities this Awakened had just displayed.

This was definitely no ordinary Awakened.

After breaking free from the vines’ reach, the figure didn’t pause for even a millisecond. The blurred silhouette tapped lightly against the water’s surface, executing a few agile leaps as he sped toward the deep-water zone away from the resort.

His speed far exceeded that of an average Awakened.

But how could Han Ning let him escape?

He chased closely behind. As he pursued, he drew a deep breath into his lungs and unleashed a mighty roar.

"ROAR!!"

A tiger’s roar shook the heavens.

Invisible sound waves rippled outward. Wherever the shockwave passed, the dense raindrops were Scattered, and chaotic ripples churned across the water, sweeping directly over the blurry, fleeing figure.

"Argh!"

The man recoiled as if struck by a heavy blow. His high-speed movement faltered, his speed dropping sharply as his silhouette resolved into the lanky outline of a man in a black bodysuit.

Simultaneously, the earth-shattering tiger’s roar shattered the silence of Biyun Resort’s rainy night.

"What was that sound?!"

"A tiger’s roar! It’s Mr. Han Ning’s roar! Enemies are here!"

"Get up, quick!"

Aboard the boats in the docking area, the Awakened who had been resting or keeping watch were jolted awake.

Inside the resort’s main building, candlelight flickered to life one window at a time as silhouettes scrambled into action.

...

Han Ning gave his target zero room to breathe.

The instant the man stumbled, Han Ning lunged like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey. He leaped through the air, extending a massive tiger claw to grab the infiltrator by the back of the neck.

Sensing the fatal threat creeping up from behind, the man’s body once again began to blur.

But Han Ning was far too fast, his momentum too ferocious.

SPLASH!

The tiger claw slammed down from behind, tightly gripping the back of the man’s neck.

"Urgh!"

The lanky figure let out a short, choked cry of pain as Han Ning violently dragged him under the water.

Meanwhile, Snow Cake transmitted a Spirit message, signaling it had successfully "taken down" its target.

Han Ning shot out vines, tying up his struggling captive so securely that only the man’s head remained above the surface to gasp for air.

Dragging his prisoner in tow, Han Ning headed back toward the docking area.