The two of them emerged from the woods and continued walking forward. By now, dusk had nearly fallen, and a gentle drizzle misted the sky. Soon, the sound of crashing waves reached their ears. Through the hazy night, they could make out a villa near the beach ahead.
"There... that's where Luna Xiao lives," Rachel Sasaki said, pointing at the villa.
"Oh, is anyone else with her?" Shawn Young asked. He noticed that the sky was already dark, but almost no lights were on in the villa, which struck him as odd.
"No, according to the information I have, this villa was left to Luna Xiao by her father, and she lives there alone. She handles everything by herself—meals, daily routines, all of it. As the leader of the Thirteen Enforcers, she doesn't need anyone else with her. Besides, this area is controlled by the Thirteen Enforcers, so nobody else lives nearby. It's really strange..." Rachel Sasaki commented in surprise.
"Given the current situation, Daniel Feathercloud and his group are definitely trouble, and they've come prepared. Luna Xiao alone would have a hard time dealing with them. If Daniel Feathercloud's crew has backup plans, even the two of us might not be able to help her. I think we should call for reinforcements." Shawn Young said, pulling out his phone and dialing Yara Zen's number.
Unexpectedly, his phone couldn't get a signal at all—the screen suddenly turned to static. Shawn Young thought his phone was broken, but Rachel Sasaki tried her own phone and got the same result.
"Uh... it's busted. This whole area must be under heavy electromagnetic interference. Looks like Daniel Feathercloud planned ahead!" Rachel Sasaki realized, frowning.
Just then, a dazzling red flame shot into the sky, followed by the sounds of fighting and startled cries. A scream echoed from the direction of the villa, piercing the night with chilling intensity.
"Damn... those are our people! I had them tracking Daniel Feathercloud's group, and now they've been discovered..." Rachel Sasaki exclaimed, instantly rushing toward the source of the commotion.
Shawn Young froze for a moment before quickly following after her. The two arrived at the villa's outskirts, and at a glance, saw several men in black lying in pools of blood—clearly the Koga Ninja Rachel Sasaki had sent for reconnaissance.
At that moment, the two of them spotted several masked ninjas in black emerging from the woods. Their uniforms bore a strange swirling cloud insignia, and the ninja swords in their hands gleamed coldly in the night.
"Ah! The Iga Elite Ninja are here too—they've found us..." Rachel Sasaki recognized their rank and felt a chill; these ninjas were all high-level.
One of the ninjas gestured to the others, who instantly swung their blades. With a series of sickening crunches, they beheaded the Koga Ninja—blood everywhere!
"Bastards! I'll kill you!" Rachel Sasaki exploded with rage, drawing her ninja blade and charging forward with a fierce cry, engaging the Iga Elite Ninja in close combat.
Shawn Young noticed the Iga Elite Ninja were extremely skilled, especially in their teamwork. Every attack Rachel Sasaki launched was narrowly dodged! Their movements were bizarre, creating ghostly afterimages in the darkness, making Rachel's strikes miss again and again.
Startled, Shawn Young jumped up and rushed to help. But as soon as he moved, everything went dark—his vision spun, and suddenly it felt like he was stepping into a valley. Trees blocked out what little light remained, and he couldn't see a thing. He sensed himself charging downhill, footsteps pursuing him from behind.
Shawn Young saw the ground beneath his feet turn pitch black, yet somehow he could still see the path. The surface became a downward spiral staircase, at the center of which was a bottomless pit, utterly devoid of light. His steps grew lighter and faster, almost uncontrollably, as he raced down the stairs, the sounds of Rachel Sasaki and the Iga Elite Ninja fighting fading from his ears.
"A spiral staircase? Crap... This is a Phantom Array!"
Suddenly, Shawn Young realized this couldn't be real. There was no way a spiral staircase and bottomless pit would appear outside the villa—this was an illusion!
Even knowing it was an illusion, Shawn Young didn't dare stop. He knew the person chasing him was likely a powerful enemy. If he stopped, the foe lurking in the darkness would strike. Now, a light appeared at the bottom of the staircase—Shawn Young knew what that meant. If he fell in, he'd be trapped again, and this time, he might not be so lucky.
With the situation critical, Shawn Young snorted coldly, planted his feet, and formed a 'Calm Mind Seal' with his hands. He chanted the Thunder Spell: "Robe of Mystery, seven spirits protect my life, decree of the Three Pure Ones, divine thunder shield my heart—break!" His palms struck in four directions—east, south, west, north—and thunder roared. Saplings snapped, leaves flew from the big trees, and a burst of violet light exploded around him.
Boom! The scene before Shawn Young returned to normal: the dark sky, swaying tree shadows, broken saplings with sparks and rising smoke—as if a cannon had just blasted through. His mind cleared completely, and he saw Rachel Sasaki still locked in combat with the Iga Elite Ninja.
This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Click next page to continue reading the exciting story!
Suddenly, Shawn Young saw five more masked figures in black surround Rachel Sasaki like ghosts. Two of them held strange guns, while the other three joined the fight, circling her in a fan formation. The gun-wielders hung back a little, keeping their distance.
Despite the extra attackers, Rachel Sasaki didn't panic. With a sharp cry, she shook her hands and sent waves of black mist sweeping toward the masked figures. They leapt, turning into shadows, dodging her attack effortlessly.
Then, one of the masked gunmen aimed at Rachel Sasaki and fired—bang! Instead of a bullet, a large white net shot out, quickly covering her. It turned out to be a net launcher, a device special police use for catching fugitives. Rachel was startled and leapt high to dodge.
But her movement had already been predicted. The other masked gunman fired too, and another white net flew toward her from behind. At that moment, Shawn Young sprang into the air, grabbed Rachel Sasaki's slender waist, twisted midair, and landed on a nearby sapling. Using its trunk for leverage, the two bounced several meters away. The net landed harmlessly on the tree.
Shawn Young and Rachel Sasaki barely regained their footing when a disk-shaped flying device, half a foot wide and glowing black, suddenly appeared overhead, buzzing as it hovered.
Shawn Young felt dizzy again and quickly realized the strange flying disk was emitting a bizarre electromagnetic wave—directly affecting his mind! Their opponents had some seriously advanced tech.
Shawn Young grabbed Rachel Sasaki and ran toward the edge of the woods. He realized they'd fallen into a carefully laid trap. But before they could get far, six or seven more flying disks appeared, quickly surrounding them. Shawn Young and Rachel Sasaki stopped and stared intently at the hovering devices.
(Irrelevant filler, can be skipped.)