Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

But the price of this victory was almost depleted mental strength.

A sharp, stabbing pain, like needles, emanated from deep within my brain—a warning sign of mental exhaustion.

The two forced uses of [Void Imprisonment] just now, especially the last one against the frenzied outburst of two strong men at the same time, almost drained most of her mental energy.

However, death did not give her a chance to catch her breath.

"Da, da, da..."

Footsteps.

There seemed to be urgent noises coming not only from the front, but also from behind and even from the awning overhead.

The man called "Iron Hand" has arrived.

And he wasn't the only one.

Judging from the footsteps, there were at least two more people following.

Should we use [Imprisonment] again?

It's impossible.

The throbbing pain in her mind told her that if she forced herself to work harder, her own blood vessels would probably burst before the enemy even fell.

Then the only option is to escape.

But where can we escape to?

Both the front and back are blocked.

This alley is like a rat trap with only two ends, and she is the prey with nowhere to go.

Xu Suyuan's gaze swept around.

On both sides are old brick walls that are four or five meters high, with slippery surfaces covered in moss and no footholds.

With her current physical strength, there's no way she could possibly get over it.

Am I really going to die here?

Will they be captured by these evil spirits and turned back into meat on the chopping block?

"No... absolutely not!"

Xu Suyuan gritted her teeth, her gaze finally settling on the wall to her left.

It was the exterior wall of an old building right next to the alley. The old-fashioned red bricks were mixed with concrete, and the surface was mottled and cracked by the passage of time.

Judging by visual inspection, the thickness is approximately twenty centimeters.

She remembered the limits of [Void Travel].

During laboratory testing, she was able to barely penetrate a wall of that thickness when she was at her peak.

Although his mental energy is almost exhausted, he cannot use [Imprisonment], but he can still squeeze out the last bit of energy from [Travel], the ability he first awakened.

This is gambling with your life.

If she runs out of mental energy halfway through the journey, she will be trapped in the wall, growing together with the pile of bricks and stones, and will die a more miserable death than anyone else.

But if you don't gamble, the only outcome will be a fate worse than death.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer; there was no time to hesitate.

Xu Suyuan lunged at the wall on the left, pressing her hands firmly against the rough brick surface.

"We have to get through...we absolutely have to get through!"

She screamed wildly in her heart, pouring all the last remaining thoughts from the depths of her soul into her palms, like squeezing the last drop of water from a sponge.

hum-

My vision instantly became blurry and distorted.

The originally hard wall rippled with strange water-like patterns when she touched it.

That familiar sticky feeling enveloped my entire body once again.

This time, the resistance is greater than ever before.

My body felt as if it had been filled with molten lead, and every inch of my skin was subjected to tremendous pressure as I passed through the brick and stone structure.

The three-second journey felt like three centuries to Xu Suyuan.

She could feel the rough gravel scraping against her internal organs and the hard steel bars piercing through her bones.

"ah--!"

She screamed in the silent void, mustering her last bit of willpower, and pushed herself forward with all her might.

puff.

The suffocating feeling of being enveloped vanished abruptly.

Xu Suyuan felt like a jujube pit that had been spat out and had fallen heavily to the ground.

excruciating pain.

Her bones felt like they were falling apart, and the complete exhaustion of her mental energy caused her vision to go black in waves. Her ears were filled with a sharp ringing sound, as if thousands of cicadas were chirping at the same time.

Where is this place?

Xu Suyuan forced her heavy eyelids open and looked around blankly.

She didn't make it into the courtyard; instead, due to the difference in elevation, she fell directly into the semi-sunken basement of the building.

The air was filled with the smell of paper and ink.

A few faint rays of light shone through the gaps in the air vents close to the ground, barely outlining the shape of the space.

This is a narrow space of only a dozen square meters, crammed with tables, chairs, and miscellaneous items.

Footsteps!

It's just outside the wall!

The sound of those heavy leather boots pounding in the mud could be heard clearly, even through just one wall.

They arrived.

Xu Suyuan quietly moved backward, groping around in the dim space, and finally shrank behind a pile of cardboard boxes in the corner.

Just as she had concealed herself, her gaze inadvertently swept across the wall directly opposite her, aided by a sliver of light.

The next second, her pupils suddenly contracted.

That wall was covered with things.

The room was filled with photos, newspaper clippings, and intricate diagrams drawn in red pen.

This is just like the secret hideout of a serial killer or a mad detective in a movie.

Xu Suyuan instinctively covered her mouth.

What did she see?

At the very center of that enormous network of relationships was a photo clipped from a press conference.

He was a middle-aged man with a dignified appearance.

Below the photo, three large characters were written in bold black marker: Wei Donghai.

Next to Wei Donghai's photo was another photo marked with a large "X" in red pen.

The name Wei Zixuan is marked below.

The red lines, like blood vessels, extend from Wei Donghai's photo, connecting shocking nodes such as "Wei Group," "high-level executives," and "list of victims."

The blank spaces on the wall were covered with insane and hateful words written in red paint or some other pigment:

"A blood debt must be paid in blood!"

"Hell is empty, and demons are on earth."

"Leave no one alive!"

"Waiting for the right opportunity...waiting for the right opportunity..."

The murderous aura that swept over them was even more intense and enduring than the hatred in Xu Suyuan's heart.

Who owns this basement?

Why would he gather so much intelligence about the Wei Group in such a dark and gloomy place?

Although Xu Suyuan was unaware of the true significance behind the words "Wei Group," she was also unaware that this behemoth was behind the scenes controlling the laboratory where she was imprisoned.

But at this moment, looking at the photos on the wall, looking at those shocking blood-red characters.

A strange sense of dread spread throughout my body.

She realized that she might have inadvertently stumbled into a den of avengers.

……

Separated by a wall, inside the alley.

The powerful flashlight instantly illuminated the narrow area.

Iron Hand's face was ashen. The eldest and fourth brothers, each wielding a riot baton and a net gun, surrounded him from different directions.

As the beam of light swept across the ground, the sight made the desperate men's eyes twitch.

"this……"

The eldest brother gasped.

On the ground, the third brother lay sprawled in the mud, white foam still clinging to the corners of his mouth, his neck charred black—burn marks left by a high-powered electric shock.

Not far away, the second-largest of the men also lay on the ground, his chest and neck bearing horrific scorch marks. Although he was still slightly undulating, he was clearly in a deep coma.

"Don't move! Be on guard!"

Iron Hand let out a low growl and quickly stepped forward to check the two men's breathing.

"He's still alive, but his heartbeat is erratic; he's in severe shock."

He stood up, his gaze sweeping across the empty dead-end alleys like a razor's edge.

"The second and third brothers are both skilled fighters, and they even had weapons, yet they were taken down by that woman alone in less than half a minute?"

"Boss, is this woman really that female anchor?" Fourth Brother gripped the net gun tightly. "Her methods... are even more ruthless than ours."

Iron Hand did not answer.

He walked to the end of the alley and carefully examined every inch of the wall and floor with a flashlight.

"The bloodstains stop here."

He stared at the base of the wall where Xu Suyuan had just disappeared, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"The second and third brothers are flanking her from both sides; she has no way to escape. If she tries to climb over the wall..."

Iron Hand suddenly looked up, his powerful flashlight shining on the high walls on both sides.

The moss on the wall was intact, with no signs of climbing or trampling.

"We didn't climb over the wall or get on the roof."

Iron Hand muttered to himself, his eyes filled with growing doubt.

What about people?

Could it possibly just vanish into thin air?

He turned around and kicked over the trash can next to him, spilling rotten garbage all over the ground.

"search!"

Iron Hand gave the order, his tone sinister, "She's definitely still nearby. Maybe she's hiding under some garbage dump, or in some blind spot. She was injured and fought desperately with Second Brother and the others, she couldn't have gone far!"

"yes!"

The eldest and fourth brothers immediately dispersed.

Bang!

The leader kicked open the lid of the nearby trash can and shone his flashlight inside.

Whoosh!

The fourth brother used a stick to pry open several rotten wooden planks piled up in the corner, and even tried to pry open the manhole cover to take a look.

Iron Hand stood still, his eyes fixed on the two walls that seemed to have nothing unusual about them.

He had a gut feeling that the woman was nearby.

They might even be being watched from within just a few meters by something.

But he never imagined that his prey was hiding "inside" that solid brick wall, huddled in a basement accessible only from another street.

Five minutes passed.

"Boss, no."

The eldest brother came running back, panting heavily. "This alley is only so big. I've already poked all the rat holes, but there's really no one here."

"I haven't found her either." The fourth brother's face was grim. "That woman is too strange. Could she have already slipped away in the chaos?"

Iron Hand stood still, his gaze sweeping around with a sinister look.

His intuition told him that the woman was nearby, perhaps even right under his nose, watching him.

But reason told him that he couldn't delay any longer.

This place is only a few hundred meters away from the Eighth District Police Station.

Although the commotion wasn't loud, it might have attracted attention.

More importantly, Li Wei's body was still lying in the alley outside, and there were two other wounded men who were half-dead.

If the police arrive, or even if a passerby calls the police, this group of people will have to go inside.

The Wei Group is currently going through a turbulent period, and the boss absolutely cannot allow such a mess to occur at this critical juncture.

Damn it.

Iron Hand spat fiercely and made his decision.

"We can't search any further. This place is not safe to stay any longer."

He pointed to the wounded on the ground: "Boss, go carry the third brother on your back. Fourth brother, help the second brother. I'll go outside and get Li Wei into the car."

"withdraw."

Iron Hand took one last deep look at the empty alley, his gaze lingering for half a second on the wall through which Xu Suyuan had pierced, before finally looking away.

"Bring the dogs tomorrow at dawn." Iron Hand's voice was ruthless. "Bring even more men and turn this place upside down. I don't believe she can fly to the sky."

"Walk!"

After a flurry of hurried footsteps and dragging sounds, the alley returned to deathly silence.

Only the faint sound of car engines starting in the distance signaled that the hunt had temporarily come to an end.