The Creatures that We Are

[Nine Frost: Stop standing there! Move!]

[Qing Ling: Little Qing Ling, go back!]

From his perch on the signal tower, Nine Frost started—Qing Ling was talking to her sister! Through his binoculars, he spotted the problem. His crows responded instantly to his command, two breaking from their circling formation. One swept past her calf, wings brushing away the partial talisman. The other drove its beak into her shoulder.

Sharp pain cut through Qing Ling's personality clash, shattering Personality Kill's influence. Before she could process what had happened, she launched into retreat—only to feel her body turning leaden, as if sinking into hardening butter.

Qilin had seized his chance. Even while directing Puppet Azure Dragon against War Tiger, he'd spared enough willpower to trap her in Psychic Shackle.

She fought the restraint, broke free—and instantly froze as her senses went dark.

Colorless's Petrify had struck.

Under the moonlight, gray spread across Qing Ling's fair skin like frost, rough and hardened. Capillaries dried and cracked like riverbeds in drought. Her floating hair and clothes suddenly stilled, turned into stone in mid-motion.

[Nine Frost: Hold on, Qing Ling!!]

Qing Ling could no longer hear Nine Frost through Telepathy. In six seconds, her everything—skin, blood, organs, bones included—had turned into stone.

She fell toward the bridge.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

Air blades materialized, slicing toward the Ocean River Union. Surnamed Li's warning came just in time for Flower to strain his Telekinesis to halt them.

"Go away!" Veggie's newly acquired Lion Roar shattered the suspended blades.

But Nainai's attack was a mere distraction. Heavenly Dog, Hong Xiaoxiao clinging to his back, streaked invisibly through the chaos. He snatched Qing Ling's stone form, her figure vanishing at his touch as they shot skyward at level 6 Fly speed; it was too fast for the enemies to give pursuit.

"Time Reset!"

Hong Xiaoxiao triggered Gamer without hesitation. The Black Gold hairpin in Qing Ling's hair—Nine Frost's mandatory insurance for their vanguard on a suicide mission—gleamed as time rewound around her.

[Nine Frost: War Tiger, can you keep Azure Dragon occupied?]

[War Tiger: Count on it!]

[Nine Frost: Execute the plan! Don't let Surnamed Li breathe! Anyone without a hairpin, stay clear of Qilin!]

[White Rabbit: Copy that!]

[Heavenly Dog: Copy that!]

[Zhong He: Copy that!]

[Chen Ying: Copy that!]

[Zhang Wei: Copy that!]

[Nine Frost: This part of the plan has nothing to do with you, Zhang Wei. Stay hidden!]

...

Five seconds later, Surnamed Li opened her eyes and said seriously, “Nainai turns into a giant and throws!”

As soon as she said that, golden energy rippled across the river's surface. Bam! Water exploded skyward as Nainai rose from the depths—a purple-haired colossus in a sailor uniform, the bridge barely reaching her waist. River water cascaded from her form as she seized the empty truck from the water's surface and hurled it at the cluster of Union members on the bridge.

From above, the scene might have seemed absurd: a girl playing with a miniature bridge, tossing a toy truck at tiny soldier figures. But for those "toys" on the bridge, the approaching vehicle was apocalyptic.

Flower's Telekinesis couldn't halt the accelerated mass; Wandering Tune's Portal was exhausted.

"Split up!” Colorless shouted the only viable response.

The formation fractured instantly. Veggie's hair writhed into black tentacles, whisking Surnamed Li's wheelchair to safety. Qilin needed no protection, using his cane to propel himself to the bridge's edge.

Bam! Creak—

Metal screamed against asphalt as the truck plowed through their original position, spewing sparks and forcing them to further scatter.

Then two hands emerged from the truck’s hood. White Rabbit materialized after hiding in the truck with Intangibility, each fist clutching a pulled grenade. She hurled them at the divided groups.

Bang, bang, bang!

Bullets sought her, but she'd already phased away, letting the truck's momentum carry her out of the danger zone. As it slowed, she ghosted through the chassis, vanishing into the bridge itself.

Harvest Song's boomerang intercepted one grenade, triggering a harmless detonation in the air. Flower caught the other with Telekinesis, freezing it mid-explosion and lifting it skyward for safe disposal.

Swoosh!

A bullet shot from a sniper rifle meant for Flower's temple found Jing Ke's forehead instead. Jing Ke had quickly taken the hit for his teammate. His head snapped back, then slowly righted as the crushed bullet fell from unbroken skin—his Bone Growth rendering him bulletproof.

"Watch out," Jing Ke warned, but Flower didn't respond.

He turned to see Flower's eyes wide with shock, blood trickling from his mouth. A black thread, like a shadow-spun shoelace, protruded from his chest.

Phantom had struck. Zhong He, hidden on the construction ladder beneath the bridge, had waited patiently for this moment. His level 6 Phantom skill, Reaper's Thread, could reach fifty meters. It was perfect for assassination. Although useless against high Willpower targets like Qilin or the prescient Surnamed Li since they could easily spot the threat, Flower...

Nine Frost's order had been clear: eliminate Flower to open a path to Qilin. With the members of the Union split into groups to dodge the truck, Zhong He seized his chance.

"Scatter!" Jing Ke's shout came too late.

Boom!

The suspended grenade, freed from Telekinesis's grip, detonated before it reached a safe distance in the air.

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