Shrouded Seascape

They're using the Fhtagnists to draw the sacrificial array that I used back then, Anna thought. She could clearly see what they were doing through the clear glass.

Carrying the small metal case containing Tobba, she circled the circular clearing and quietly observed everything inside.

After a brief scan, Anna finally saw her mission objective—Wang Sheng. Wang Sheng's head was hanging low in front of his chest, and his eyes were filled with a reluctant gaze as he stared at Li Long.

Li Long was twitching incessantly on the ground. His face was flushed red, and his veins were bulging as he grabbed the metal collar around his neck and struggled desperately against it.

A high-voltage electric current was being administered to him through the metal collar, and the voltage was so high that he lost control of his bladder.

This punishment lasted for five seconds. Once it was over, Li Long was left quivering on the ground, panting heavily from the punishment. Moments later, a stern male voice echoed from the speaker nearby. "5127! Stand up!"

Li Long desperately attempted to stand to his feet. It became clear that failing to do as instructed would likely result in more severe punishment.

He had just been electrocuted, but Li Long dared not disobey. He forced his trembling body to stand up and walked toward the array to continue with his work.

Despite having located her target, Anna didn't act rashly. It was too bright, and there were surveillance cameras all around her. It'd be too risky to go in and grab Wang Sheng.

"Tobba, do you have anything to say? Have you seen any future scenes or anything like that?" Anna asked, looking down at the case in her hand.

A young, muffled voice echoed from inside the case. "I haven't seen anything like that, but I know that I'm going to die of suffocation if you don't let me out soon."

Tobba had to be let out, or he would die in the metal case. While Anna was busy thinking of solutions, she ended up attracting the attention of security.

A tall man in a black uniform walked up to her. "Excuse me, Ma'am. Can you please show me your ID card? And which department are you from?"

The clothes that Anna had "borrowed" had a so-called "ID card" attached to them, but she absolutely couldn't show it to the tall man, as the photo on it looked completely different from her current face.

"Okay, give me a moment," Anna replied with a gentle smile. She reached into her clothing and casually asked, "How's the experiment going? Any new developments?"

The security personnel shook his head and extended his right hand to receive Anna's ID card. "I'm only responsible for the security here. I have no authority to inquire about anything else. If your clearance is high enough, you can submit a request to Dr. Luvlyn."

A few seconds later, Anna's hand was still rummaging through her clothes.

The security personnel seemed to have noticed something amiss just then as he frowned and raised the walkie-talkie in his right hand to his mouth.

"Ah, I found it," Anna exclaimed before the security personnel could say anything into the walkie-talkie. Then, she smiled and apologized, "I'm sorry I often misplace things."

She pulled out something from her clothes, but instead of an ID card, it was a hideous clown mask. Before the tall man could even understand what was going on, Anna had already shoved the mask to his face.

A crisp noise echoed as the walkie-talkie fell to the ground. The man grabbed the mask on his face and struggled violently against it."Mmph! Mmmph! MMMPH!!!"

However, his struggle lasted only for a few seconds. He lowered his hands slowly and bent down to pick up the black walkie-talkie.

Anna's face turned cold. She patted the man's shoulder and said, "We can't stay here for too long. Go create some chaos out there. In the meantime, I'll take Wang Sheng out of here. Meet me at the elevator; I'll leave an opening for you to run."

The man wearing the clown mask nodded silently and walked down the curved corridor. He placed the walkie-talkie at his waist and flipped his hand, revealing two playing cards depicting the King and the Queen between his index and middle fingers.

Anna turned and walked leisurely toward Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng was supporting Li Long, who was bending over to draw the array using flesh and blood. Anna recognized the array. It was the sacrificial array for the Primordial Fire.

However, the IMF was making multiple mistakes. In addition to the array being perfect, one's emotions when chanting the incantation were important as well.

Unless the IMF corrected that, they'd never succeed in their attempts to replicate the ritual.

Anna couldn't help but frown as she looked around. She couldn't see any attempts to replicate the relic fusion ritual. Logically, the IMF had to be interested in a ritual that would allow human bodies to absorb an Anomaly's special ability.

Why weren't they conducting any experiments based on that?

Before Anna could figure out the answer, a violent explosion sounded behind her.

The clown had finally made its move.

"Everyone, follow me! Quick!" Rapid footsteps reverberated, and combat teams emerged from out of nowhere to respond to the commotion with weapons in hand.

Boom!

There was another explosion, and the lights on the ceiling flickered as the site's power supply became unstable. It seemed that the clown had somehow inflicted some damage on the site's electric distribution lines.

Everyone's attention was on the commotion, so Anna decided to take advantage of that opportunity to make her move. She pressed one hand on the wall and created a hole in it using her corrosive, green flames.

A U-shaped tunnel was made, and it was connected to the circular central plaza.

Just then, the Fhtagnists craned their necks, staring at the distant commotion. They were so engrossed in the commotion that they failed to notice Anna standing right behind them.

Before Wang Sheng could figure out what was happening, a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him into the U-shaped tunnel.

Wang Sheng turned and was instantly agitated upon seeing Anna. He was so agitated that he looked like he was going to cry anytime soon. "High Priestess! So you finally came to save us!"

Wang Sheng had almost fallen into despair at the thought that he'd spent the rest of his days here. He truly didn't expect that the High Priestess would come here and save him.

"Shh! Quiet! For now, I can only save you," Anna replied. Rescuing so many people at once would draw too much attention; it'd be impossible for them to slip away unnoticed.

Wang Sheng was elated, but his smile quickly faded.

"No, I can't leave, High Priestess. This thing on my neck is constantly tracking me down. If I walk too far from where I'm supposed to be, it'll inject anesthesia into me."

Instead of replying, Anna reached toward his neck. Wang Sheng stepped backward with a hint of fear in his face. "It's not going to work! This thing will inject poison into my carotid artery if you attempt to destroy it by force!"

"Relax. I've worn one, too, and I know it better than you." Anna put her hand on the collar, and her figure vibrated at high speeds. The metal collar on Wang Sheng's neck vibrated along with her, and it eventually phased through his neck before falling to the ground with a loud clang.

"Let's go! We've got to go fast!" Anna exclaimed, pulling him toward the stairwell.

Anna's destination wasn't far, so they arrived there in no time.

When the elevator doors opened with a ding, Wang Sheng instantly felt as if he had fallen into a thousand-year-old icy cavern. The spacious elevator was packed to the brim with fully armed Mobile Task Force members clad in black uniforms.