49 Apocalypse Rules

Besides, North Star was currently the safest place in the world. If she left the country, she would face the dual threats of a global manhunt by North Star’s government and the dangers of the new rules and environment.

This wasn’t what she wanted, which was why she had secretly contacted Shadow and the station chief, hoping to trade information for her freedom and survival.

But now, it seemed that attempt had ended in failure.

’In that case, once I get outside, my only choice is to...’

"BZZZZ!!!"

"PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!"

Suddenly, a piercing whine erupted, accompanied by the low, dense reports of gunfire.

Flashbangs and suppressed rifles!

"Enemy attack!"

"Find cover!"

"Protect the Commander-in-Chief!"

Several women on the perimeter were taken down. The ones who reacted quickly dove for cover inside the vault’s entrance.

Commander-in-Chief Jiang Lanying, who had been resting with her eyes closed, snapped them open at the commotion outside.

’Why today of all days?’

She glanced at the mechanical watch on her wrist. Her contact was due to arrive in ten minutes. She hadn’t expected a complication at a time like this.

Just then, a voice shouted from outside.

"Listen up, everyone in the vault! We are an official special pursuit team. You’re surrounded. You have no choice but to come out and surrender. If you resist, you will be annihilated!"

’It’s Dragon Soul...’

The moment Jiang Lanying heard the voice, she identified the speaker. Back when she was still in her former position, she naturally had the authority to review the files on the official Ascender teams, so she knew the Dragon Soul Squad all too well.

"Commander-in-Chief, what should we do?"

Including Jiang Lanying, there were only nine of them left in the vault. Five others had already been taken down outside.

If the enemy’s assault was as fierce as it seemed, holding their ground would be difficult.

"How did the enemy find this place?"

"We must protect the Commander-in-Chief and get her out of here!"

"What’s all the panic about?" Jiang Lanying said calmly, retrieving an item from a storage box. It looked like a bell.

"Stay within eight meters of me."

After Jiang Lanying spoke, her subordinates immediately gathered within eight meters of her. She then spent some Psychic Power, and the bell in her hand rapidly expanded, transforming into a giant, translucent bell that enveloped everything within an eight-meter radius.

"With this bell, they can’t touch us for the next eight minutes."

Having said that, Jiang Lanying looked at her trusted confidants and spoke slowly.

"One of you has betrayed me."

「Outside the vault.」

The moment the translucent bell appeared, Dragon Soul gave the order to attack.

A barrage of heavy personal firepower and powerful items was unleashed, but the bell’s translucent form stopped everything.

"Dragon Team, it looks like some kind of defensive Barrier Item."

"Correct." Dragon Soul stared at the translucent bell. "Judging by its defensive strength, it must be a top-tier Barrier Item."

Barrier Items were rare to begin with, and top-tier ones were astonishingly expensive and hardly ever seen.

But before she was exposed, Jiang Lanying had used her position and authority to acquire Sublimation Coins through various channels. Combined with the Qingmei Association’s illicit gains, she had amassed a massive fortune in Sublimation Coins.

Items with astronomical price tags that were out of reach for ordinary people were well within her budget.

Therefore, she didn’t just have one top-tier item; she had many.

However, many top-tier items required an enormous amount of Psychic Power to activate, so Dragon Soul and his team weren’t overly concerned.

"Barrier Items typically have a short duration and a long cooldown. We just have to wait it out." As he spoke, Dragon Soul asked, "Is the teleportation lock in place?"

"It’s done." A young man was holding a Compass, its needle spinning continuously.

"As long as the needle on my Compass is spinning, no teleportation items can be used in this area."

It wasn’t a problem if the enemy decided to turtle up. The real trouble would be if they tried to escape using a teleportation item while they were holed up.

With that in mind, the team had specifically brought along this young man who possessed the "Locking Compass" item.

The ability of his Compass item was to block teleportation. Once the needle began to spin, no one could teleport within the area as long as his Psychic Power held out.

"Dragon Team, is our only option to wait for the barrier to expire?"

"Correct."

Dragon Soul ordered his men to stay alert. He hadn’t forgotten that the enemy might have reinforcements on the way.

Time ticked by, and the massive bell’s ethereal form gradually weakened.

After about ten minutes, the illusion vanished completely.

In that instant, both groups—inside and out—sprang into action.

The team, led by Dragon Soul, charged the vault, while Jiang Lanying’s subordinates charged out to meet them. The two sides clashed instantly, items and abilities flashing as blood splattered everywhere.

The advantage for Dragon Soul and his people was their professional Ascender combat training, making them superior individual fighters.

Jiang Lanying’s subordinates, on the other hand, had the advantage of wielding numerous high-lethality items and being utterly fearless in the face of death.

After being knocked to the ground by a member of the Dragon Soul Team, one short-haired woman, rather than crying out in pain or begging for mercy, detonated a hidden bomb item, instantly killing them both!

This scene left Chen Na, who was watching from the sidelines, completely stunned. She finally understood what someone on the plane had meant by "Death Warrior."

Beside her, Silver Fox—who was tasked with protecting her and also not involved in the fighting—wore an extremely grave expression, her eyes filled with worry.

"PFFT!"

Dragon Soul used his personal Psychic Power item, a Triangular Military Dagger, to kill the enemy before him.

He looked up. All the women who had charged out of the vault were down. But his side had also suffered losses: three dead and two wounded.

Just then, Jiang Lanying walked out.

She was flanked by only two remaining bodyguards, while Dragon Soul still had at least eight combat-ready members on his side. The disparity in strength was obvious.

"Jiang Lanying, stop your pointless resistance," Dragon Soul said.

Jiang Lanying looked at Dragon Soul’s group, her expression unreadable. "The signal jammer is off," she announced. "I need to contact your superior."

Dragon Soul’s heart skipped a beat. He glanced at his own wrist device and, sure enough, saw the signal indicator.

"Captain, she’s stalling. Ignore her. Take her down now."

Silver Fox’s voice came through Dragon Soul’s earpiece. He nodded slightly and gave the order, "Apprehend the target immediately."

He and several others charged forward. Jiang Lanying glanced at her two remaining subordinates. One stepped forward to intercept the attackers, but the other suddenly turned and fled in the opposite direction!

Not even Dragon Soul and his team had anticipated this. After the bloody battle they had just witnessed, they never expected one of her own would choose to betray Jiang Lanying.

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiang Lanying’s face as she watched the woman’s retreating back. "So you were the one who betrayed me..."

Desperate fled at top speed. Long before entering the vault, she had secretly planted her micro-network device on someone else.

That was how she had escaped detection when Jiang Lanying was hunting for the traitor inside the vault. An unsuspecting subordinate had been executed in her place.

’Now, backed into a corner, she knew what the Commander-in-Chief’s look meant: the two of them were to buy time with their lives.’

’But she didn’t want to die at the hands of Dragon Soul’s team!’

She had used an acceleration item before making her break. In just a few breaths, she covered a hundred meters, her speed astonishing.

Caught by surprise, Dragon Soul and his team could only watch as she broke through their encirclement. They didn’t give chase, however. They knew she couldn’t get away, and their priority was still capturing Jiang Lanying.

With only one subordinate left to buy her time, Jiang Lanying’s defense was significantly weakened. The woman lasted only a dozen seconds before falling to the Dragon Soul Squad’s assault.

Jiang Lanying was alone. It seemed she had no choice but to surrender. Even if she had more items, she lacked the Psychic Power to use them effectively.

"Silver Fox, is the mission almost over?" Chen Na asked.

"Yes... Watch out!"

Silver Fox’s expression suddenly changed. She shoved Chen Na aside.

The next moment, a black shadow flashed past. Her right arm instantly separated from her body and fell to the ground. After a brief pause, blood sprayed from the wound!

"Silver Fox!" Chen Na screamed.

Just as he was about to apprehend Jiang Lanying, Dragon Soul was startled by the scream in his earpiece. "What happened?! Chen Na! Silver Fox!"

"AHHH!!!"

"There’s an enemy!"

"He’s—"

A series of agonizing screams followed. Dragon Soul’s mind went blank. When he snapped out of it, he saw five of his team members lying dead on the ground.

The perpetrator had already drifted down to land beside Jiang Lanying. His ghastly white face held a bloody chill. "Ms. Jiang, you failed to mention that your extraction involved me fighting your battles."

Jiang Lanying smiled. "I’ll just pay you more."

Dragon Soul stared at the tall man, at the pair of pitch-black wings on his back. A notorious name struck him like a bolt of lightning, and he forced it through his teeth, "Lucifer... So you were her contact..."