Chapter 144: Eve of the Great Battle

"Ahem..."

As the young man's voice faded, the killing intent that hung in the air vanished like a wisp of smoke into nothingness. The woman in the raincoat collapsed onto the floor, gasping for heavy breaths.

"Th-Thank you, Elder, for sparing my life..."

Though her heart burned with hatred, she dared not let the slightest trace show on her face. Standing before her was one of the top ten elders of the organization, bearing the moniker "Executioner." Though his specific abilities remained unknown, rumor had it that ever since he joined the organization, he had completed hundreds of missions without a single failure. Anyone targeted by him invariably met the same end: death. Not a single person had ever escaped his pursuit.

The bomb-wielding man beside her was also drenched in sweat, keeping his head bowed in silence. In truth, the youth had hit the mark; he had indeed intended to use the other party's hands to eliminate that young man.

From the intelligence the rain-coated woman had intercepted earlier, the demolition man knew that their target was actively searching for them, though mere bad luck had prevented them from crossing paths thus far.

To be frank, even with the advantage of eavesdropping and knowing they were in the dark while the enemy was in the light, he still lacked absolute confidence in dealing with that young man. The mere memory of the emotionless gaze the youth had fixed upon him sent shivers of deep-seated panic through his core.

Right now, the target was unaware of their whereabouts. Yet he could already foresee that if they launched a preemptive strike tonight and failed to secure a kill, exposing their location in the process, they would undoubtedly face a tempestuous counterattack from the young man.

While the two of them alone stood no chance, the situation would change entirely if the young man standing before them intervened. Though he had never witnessed him in action, as one of the ten elders, his strength was beyond question.

Despite his frail and delicate outward appearance, the demolition man had no doubt that anyone who could attain the rank of elder within the organization possessed formidable power—at the very least, they would easily surpass the level of that young man.

Yet, to his astonishment, this young elder was not only immensely powerful but also acutely perceptive. Before he could even finish his sentence, the other had instantly pierced through the hidden meaning behind his words.

This left him profoundly unnerved, and he dared not even draw a full breath. He knew well that his earlier maneuver had already provoked the man before him.

The elders who spent their lives deep within the organization were notoriously fickle and volatile; who could say whether this minor transgression would prompt the man to strike them down on the spot? An elder executing a subordinate required no justification within the organization. To die here so pointlessly would be a most unjust end.

Just as the demolition man waited in anxious dread for the verdict:

"...Enough. I will let this matter pass for now."

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the young man standing up from the table and turning directly toward the wall.

"Considering our past ties, I won't report this mission failure to the organization... I have matters to attend to now. Do whatever you please, but do not bother me!"

"Understood!"

Though the tone was stern and reprimanding, the voice brought an immense wave of relief to the demolition man. It seemed the elder genuinely had pressing business and no time to deal with them, allowing them to escape so easily.

Taking advantage of the moment to wipe away his sweat, he stole a cautious glance upward. The slender figure opposite had vanished without a trace, yet the demolition man and the water-wielding woman still dared not speak, keeping their heads bowed in respectful submission.

Nearly a quarter of an hour passed, and the room remained silent save for the sound of their own breathing. Only then did the two raise their heads and exchange a glance.

"Has he... gone?"

"Mm... He should be gone..."

"Hah!"

The woman in the raincoat let out a long breath, straightened up, and massaged her aching neck. After a quick glance around the room to thoroughly confirm that no one else was present, a venomous look instantly twisted her features.

"Hmph! What's with that arrogant attitude? Just an elder, acting as if they're above the heavens!"

The demolition man sighed without responding, standing in place with a hand to his chin in deep thought.

"What are you pondering?"

Annoyed by her companion's silence, the woman rubbed her still-chilly neck and asked with a frown.

"Tell me, what do you suppose is the purpose of this 'Elder Executioner' coming here?"

The demolition man looked at her, his expression still troubled. "Normally, whenever an elder is dispatched, the organization sends prior notification to all regional operatives. Yet this time, before his arrival, we received no communication from the organization whatsoever..."

"Oh?"

The woman waved a hand impatiently. "Who knows? Perhaps the organization simply overlooked it..."

"Overlooked? ...Perhaps..."

The demolition man muttered under his breath. Despite his words, lingering doubts plagued his mind. Would an organization known for its meticulous precision commit such a rookie mistake? He shook his head; at least, he did not believe so.

"Besides, judging by his demeanor earlier, I had the distinct impression that he was in a rush, as if entangled in some urgent business... And on top of that, he showed no intention of participating in the Boss battle whatsoever. That is rather bizarre!"

Even for awakened ones like them, the loot dropped by awakened targets held immense value. Facing such a massive Boss, the rewards bound to be generated were undoubtedly extraordinary. Even if they couldn't use the items personally, trading them back to the organization would yield a hefty sum of contribution points. Yet the elder displayed zero interest in joining. It simply didn't make sense.

Could he have run into some troublesome issue that demanded an immediate resolution?

"Ugh, forget it! Maybe he had some private matters to attend to!"

Frowning in irritation, the woman grew weary of her companion's overthinking and reluctance to let trivial matters go.

Flexing her wrists, a cold sneer crept onto her face. "Once we complete this mission, our status in the organization will be on par with his. We'll never have to bow to these elders again."

"We have to survive the mission first... Arrogant as that elder was, we must admit he was right. We grew too impatient."

Pausing, the demolition man instinctively touched the empty sleeve on his right side, a deeply ingrained hatred flashing across his features. After a moment of flickering gaze, however, he shook his head and said in a low voice, "Even if we launched a sneak attack just now, we still wouldn't have the certainty to kill him. Our priority must remain the mission."

"What?"

Hearing this, the woman panicked, grabbing his sleeve. "Are you saying we're just going to let them off?"

"Let them off? How could that be?"

The demolition man sneered. "We are simply letting them live a little longer. Once we capture that semi-awakened girl, the mission reward will be enough to elevate our abilities by one or two major tiers. We won't have to fear him anymore, and returning to exact revenge then will not be too late... But for now, we need to coordinate our next steps. Detail everything you overheard once more. We must devise a flawless plan for tonight. Not a single mistake will be tolerated."

...

In a private room on the second floor of the Jincheng Sports City, Kong Zhe and the others sat around a table in discussion.

Hong Ling glanced toward a certain direction with a hint of suspicion.

"What is it?"

Noticing her anomaly, Kong Zhe asked.

"Oh..."

Withdrawing her gaze, Hong Ling spoke doubtfully, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but I felt as though someone was watching us..."

"Watching us?"

Xue Feifei glanced at her and smiled. "That shouldn't be possible, right? When we came in earlier, I checked—there are no surveillance devices in this room!"

Xue Feifei spoke with absolute confidence; she trusted the instruments she engineered.

"Ah, I see..."

Hong Ling nodded slightly. She placed great trust in Xue Feifei's words; after all, it was Xue Feifei's sealed chamber that had saved her life previously. She knew firsthand that the equipment the girl built possessed extreme precision and would never fail to detect something so simple.

Shrugging, Hong Ling said casually, "Then there shouldn't be any issue. It must have been my imagination just now, and the feeling is gone anyway."

With that, the women resumed their casual chatter, quickly putting the incident out of their minds.

Kong Zhe, however, cast a suspicious look in the direction Hong Ling had been staring. That area held a sink in the adjoining washroom.

"Could it be..."

Gazing at the calm, ripple-free surface of the water in the sink, a peculiar expression crossed Kong Zhe's face.

Then, shaking his head with a wry smile, he muttered, "Unlikely. No matter how you look at it, that's far too absurd..."

...

Once matters here were settled, Kong Zhe instructed the women to remain in the room and wait while he headed out the front entrance.

Although the plan for tonight was already set, several preparations still required his personal attention beforehand.

The crowds within the stadium were beginning to grow restless.

The recent system notification had broadcasted to everyone. Although vague in its phrasing, many ordinary people had already learned the specific details of the Boss battle from acquainted awakened individuals. Through word of mouth, such news spread rapidly through the dense crowds, invariably becoming exaggerated with each retelling.

Originally, only a single Boss was scheduled to appear, but with so many people passing the information along, the original message had mutated entirely. Aside from the awakened and a small minority, many now mistakenly believed that monsters were launching a massive siege. Though unaware of how so many monsters could flood into the safe zone at once, this did not diminish the terror people felt toward the prospect itself.

Those who had fled from the outside world into the safe zone possessed a deep appreciation for the terror of magical beasts, while those who had remained inside the safe zone continuously fed on the horrifying accounts brought by outsiders, fueling an ever-growing dread of the mysterious beasts lurking beyond the walls.