Sky-cracking Rider

"Greatsword" appeared beside Akim, lowering its head cautiously for a closer look.

The life force of a Wood System Ability User was incredibly tenacious; to prevent any sudden resurgence, the huge sword, resembling a door plank, was always ready to be swung down forcefully, bisecting the foe with a single strike if necessary.

After observing for a moment, the psychic communication from "Greatsword" finally rang out.@@novelbin@@

"The target is dead!"

Akim's expression froze, his eyes bulging roundly in shock and disbelief.

No one had expected that the mission target, Akim Vasily Ulyanov, would ultimately be killed by a single cannon shot.

It could be assumed that "Greatsword" was experiencing a complex mix of emotions at the moment, probably thinking that man's plans are no match for fate.

"Did you stop it?"

Miss Susanna was on the verge of collapsing, her face deathly pale as she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

Inside her thick down jacket, she was drenched in sweat as if she had just been fished out of the water. She ignored it, wishing she could find a warm cotton blanket to burrow into right now.

"It should be a success!"

Adrian also breathed a sigh of relief. As part of the peripheral interception Team 04, it was somewhat embarrassing that they all made their move but still couldn't detain the enemy, not even slowing him down.

Chen Fei said despondently, "We failed!"

Adrian, puzzled, said, "How could we have failed? You took out that Akim, that's a huge achievement!"

The explosion outside the manor was clearly a result of the mobile base vehicle's railgun launching a 152 Demolition Bomb; the credit for the final strike was indelible, marking a significant contribution to Team 04's record.

With the range of the railgun, it could launch projectiles to a maximum distance of about 50 kilometers. If the distance was sufficiently short, it could guarantee a high degree of firing accuracy.

For a heavy hit like the 152 Demolition Bomb, even if it deviated by ten meters or so, there would almost be no difference in effect.

Without any protection, within the lethal radius, running was futile. The only thing one could do was try to make their death look a little bit better, if possible.

Chen Fei said listlessly, "I wanted to capture him alive!"

The loss of three thousand Energy Points felt like a blow of three thousand points of damage.

This damn system had finally succeeded!

"Heh!"

What the "Summoner" didn't say out loud was essentially "Look how capable you are!"

A Wood War Professional with combat strength evaluation of at least Fifth Rank Earth Order was not something a mere B-class Metal Ability User could stop. The former didn't even have to move; just by activating the Life Drain skill, it was akin to standing on invincible ground.

"Confirmation, the mission target Akim is dead!"

"Cornered Beast" also arrived next to Akim's body, even rifling through the corpse a few times, ultimately confirming the death.

"Sheltering" is over!

"Forbidden" also ceased the skill usage, after all, enclosing this entire Space Series ability around the manor to block all sound and light disturbances was no easy task.

"Sleep Demon, tally the attack assessment!"

The "Summoner" looked around, making sure there were no stragglers.

Finally, this guy no longer accused Chen Fei of redundancy; it was precisely this "redundant" action that brought the mission to an end.

"Seventeen people killed in total, three Earth Order Spellcasters, two Earth Order War Professionals, four A-rank supernatural power users, two B-rank supernatural power users, six armed civilians, and the mission targets Akim Vasily Ulyanov and his daughter are both dead..."

"Sleep Demon," who shrouded every inch of the manor with immense spiritual power, drew up an attack assessment report at the earliest opportunity.

Energy Points +3000!

Energy Points: 19123/20000

"Ah!~~~"

Chen Fei suddenly noticed an information notification pop-up flashing through his field of vision.

Was the damn system acting up again?

He hurriedly opened the "Individual Information."

State: Larval Form

Physical Energy: 70/81

Burst Strength: 155/163

Fullness: 84%

Active time: 139 hours

Energy Points: 19123/20000

Electric Energy Reserve: 5000 kWh

The Energy Points had risen back up, inexplicably.

He looked at the "Mission List" next.

Chen Fei found it hard to believe, as if time had rolled back somehow.

The mission that had been declared a failure for not capturing Akim Vasily Ulyanov alive — which should have disappeared from the list — "Capture Akim Vasily Ulyanov the police chief of the Tunguska Region alive for an Energy Point reward of +3000, or a deduction of -3000 for failure!" — was now hanging on the "Mission List" again, accurately placed at the fourth spot.

"What's wrong?"

Feeling that something was always amiss with this "Rookie," the "Summoner" showed a rare instance of inquiring further.

Chen Fei, puzzled, said, "Akim isn't dead; wait, we didn't catch him either!"

"What?"

"Who did you just take out? Was it a bystander?"

"It's definitely Akim, no mistake about it!"

Whether it was the Sovereign Squad or the members of Team 04 who had rushed over from their defensive positions, everyone unanimously expressed their confusion. Chen Fei's words made no sense; he was the one who had taken down the person, so how could it not be Akim?

Who, then, had been in that relentless battle with the "Greatsword"?

"'Rookie', has your malevolence started to affect your ability to make logical judgments?"

"Sleep Demon" was quite baffled by the out-of-the-blue remark from Chen Fei.

"No, this isn't Akim, it's not him!"

Based on past experience, the Dog System, although bastardly, provided highly reliable intelligence information. Chen Fei felt that even the Dog System was nearly duped by this Akim, but he quickly discerned the truth.

Although 3000 Energy Points were deducted just now, upon discovering the mistake and correcting it, the points were immediately replenished.

Thus, there could only be one truth: this "Akim" might not be the real deal.

"Are you joking? 'Rookie'!"

"Summoner" thought that the young man from Team 04 was deliberately causing trouble, as if it weren't enough to achieve a great feat, he seemed unsatisfied and wanted to play monkey tricks—what a terrible taste for mischief.

The Sovereign Squad wasn't the Neanderthal's Supreme Council and wasn't so easily deceived.

Chen Fei persisted and said, "No, no, no, I'm not joking. I have a premonition, a strong premonition, we need to verify the identity."

The other members of Team 04 immediately surrounded him to prevent the people from the Sovereign Squad from accidentally hurting Chen Fei in their carelessness.

After all, messing with the Sovereignty took quite a bit of gall, especially since Chen Xiao'er had a history of previous offenses, and more than just one.

"The fingerprint of all ten fingers verified correct, the retinal pattern of both eyes verified correct, it's the genuine Akim. 'Rookie', your spirit seems a bit unstable."

"Cornered Beast" took out a device and manipulated it over Akim's body for a while before reaching a conclusion.

It was indeed the genuine Akim, and he was beyond dead.

The youngster from Team 04 had obviously overthought it, leading to delusions.

"No! I still think there's a problem."

Chen Fei shook his head resolutely, refusing to acknowledge the authoritative test result.

"There won't be a problem, you're overthinking it."

"Summoner" shook his head, not intending to argue with Chen Fei.

Poor kid, his brain must have short-circuited.

"Then let's collect DNA samples; results will be out in eight hours."

The mental communication from the "Captain" resonated in everyone's minds. The DNA sequence code is inherently unique and almost impossible to forge. This was beyond the technical standards of current human civilization, whether on Blue Star or Cangqiong Star.

"Alright! Let's draw a tube of blood and pluck a few hairs!" Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

"Summoner" nodded, accepting the suggestion and entrusting the task of collecting biological samples to "Cornered Beast".

The "Black Albatross Number" had equipment to test DNA sequences and could provide results immediately.

Then, addressing the members of Team 04, he said, "Since your Mobile Base Vehicle has arrived, you may leave on your own. Before you go, please return the pendant. From here on, this matter will be handled by a specialized department."

A dismissal was issues right to their faces without even a word of thanks.

Regardless of the sudden complication introduced by Chen Fei, the collaboration between the two parties had concluded, and the likelihood of future interactions was virtually nil. Therefore, "Summoner" saw no need to be courteous to Team 04 any longer.

Dammit!

The minds of Adrian and the others involuntarily echoed with this disgruntled thought.

It probably even transmitted into the minds of others through the mental communication.

"Summoner" and his group seemed to have not "heard" it, indifferently taking away the black pendants hanging from everyone's necks.

Seeing the Mobile Base Vehicle racing towards them, Mouri Misono contentedly said, "Our own Mobile Base Vehicle is the best!"

The "Black Albatross Number" airship hovered above the mansion, showing no intention of giving them a lift back.

If it weren't for the Mobile Base Vehicle, the Sovereign Squad would probably still ruthlessly send them away, right?! In this cold, snowy night, where the hell could they find a ride? Getting back to the villa would surely be a tough trek, with every one of them freezing like dead dogs.

Having used them and not needing them anymore, the folks from the Sovereign Squad really showed how stony-hearted and callous they were.

Without the black pendants, the members of Team 04 felt free to voice their complaints unheard, until they boarded the Mobile Base Vehicle's cabin, as warm as spring.

Susanna was the first to forfeit the kerosene heater and blanket given to her by Adrian and rushed ahead into one of the two bathrooms of the Mobile Base Vehicle. The rustling sounds of undressing and splashing water started, followed shortly by a moaning sound.

"Ah! Saved at last!"

The B-rank Ice Ability User collapsed into the constant temperature bathtub, weakly splashing water around, her face filled with relief at being alive.

"What the hell kind of mission is this!"

The Holy Knight, after being frozen for more than an hour, felt truly sympathetic towards his mount partner. He led the Blue Scaled Colt to the back of the cabin, took out a dry cloth to wipe its body, and turned on the heat, hoping it would warm up quickly.

"These guys sure aren't easy to deal with."

Adrian shook his head, knowing that the other party simply looked down on Team 04 and wouldn't show any respect—and there was nothing he could do about it.

Chen Fei sat at the driver's seat, an electric cable latched to his back continuously drawing power to make up for the earlier expenditure. His attention, however, wasn't on driving; he left that to "Adam" for automatic driving, while the "Mission List" unfolded before his eyes, and he muttered under his breath, mulling things over and over.

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