Chapter 435: The Night of the Bombing: Encirclement and Escape

“Caw—”

Hiding in the tree, the Brain-Evolved Crow spotted another eagle owl gliding in and lifted its head, pointing the camera at the newcomer. It quietly reported the situation to Xin Yu.

Inside Territory Eight, Xin Yu immediately radioed Yang Jin. “The eagle owl from Territory Nine is in position. Xu Pin is hiding three hundred meters to your nine o’clock, right behind a big boulder. Force him out into the open so he can’t keep dodging.”

“Got it,” Yang Jin replied, sprinting straight toward Xu Pin’s hiding spot.

Xu Pin, lurking in the shadows, realized he wouldn’t be able to kill Yang Jin tonight and started plotting his escape—only to suddenly sense a chilling wave of hostility.

He barely managed to roll aside before the boulder he was hiding behind was kicked flying. Every hair on Xu Pin’s body stood on end as he spun around and ran.

Xu Pin was a high-level Evolver too, but with six times endurance. His speed and reactions were nowhere near a top Speed Evolver like Yang Jin. No matter where he ran, Yang Jin was there to cut him off and send him flying with a savage kick.

This wasn’t a fight between equals—it was a one-sided beatdown. Speed Evolution simply crushed Endurance Evolution.

Back in Territory Nine, Dan Ying stared eagerly at the camera feed from the evolved eagle owl. “Lower the owl’s altitude all the way down!”

A scouting team member cautioned, “Dan Ying, if it flies too low, the eagle owl might get caught or killed by someone with Evolved Elasticity from the Azure Dragon Squad.”

“Getting rare footage is its whole reason for being,” Dan Ying said, eyes glued to the Speed Evolver’s moves. “Drop lower. Even lower.”

Watching the eagle owl from Territory Nine swoop down to about ten meters, Xin Yu quietly ordered, “Gua Gua, take out the bomb. Make Owl sneak away from that big bird’s line of sight—head for high altitude.”

Gua Gua immediately hopped onto the evolved eagle owl’s back and tapped at it with its claws, making it soar upward, straight above the eagle owl from Territory Nine.

The eagle owl was Blue Star’s largest owl species. And when they slow their flight, they’re practically silent—almost impossible to notice.

In Territory Nine, Xin Yu, earpiece on, calmly gave instructions. “Gua Gua, grab the bomb. Owl, descend.”

The owl dropped to an altitude of twenty-five meters. Xin Yu radioed Yang Jin, “You have twenty seconds to retreat—countdown starts now.”

“Copy.”

Yang Jin switched on the camera, lunged forward, and grabbed Xu Pin by the collar of his Protective Suit, forcing him to look away from whatever was happening overhead. “Xu Pin, why did you try to kill Luo?”

“Heh.” Xu Pin, coughing up blood from Yang Jin’s strikes, sneered. “Why? Because he sided with you and Xie Yu instead of joining my team. Because ever since you showed up in Hui Three, you keep crossing me at every turn.”

Yang Jin punched him hard. “You’re out of your mind. Your squad’s notorious for scummy deeds—nobody wants to team up with you!”

“Gua Gua, drop the bomb!”

Time’s up! Yang Jin, fist still raised, suddenly sensed something and glanced up at the sky.

“No, Yang Jin’s—”

The Territory Nine scout didn’t finish the sentence before the feed went black. A massive explosion shook the windows.

“What’s going on?” Dan Ying frowned and asked.

The scout felt his heart shatter. “The eagle owl is dead. Cause unknown. It’s probably Xu Pin who detonated explosives he had on him.”

“Send out speed evolvers to investigate right now. If Yang Jin’s dead or badly hurt—we need his body back, whatever it takes.” Top-tier Human Evolvers are priceless research material, dead or alive.

In Section Three, Xia Qing felt her whole attic shudder from the explosion. Old Goat and Er Gou jumped to their feet, paws on the window sill, leaning out on both sides of her.

Xia Qing’s stomach clenched. She whispered, “That explosion wasn’t like the others. This one’s definitely different.”

It probably meant Xin Yu made her move. But did it work?

“Baa.”

“Woof.”

Old Goat and Er Gou each chimed in.

But by the look on their faces, the human, goat, and wolf were worried about totally different things. Old Goat was just annoyed at being disturbed. Er Gou had picked up on Xia Qing’s anxiety and was responding to her.

“Bzz.”

Her phone started buzzing in her pocket. Xia Qing grabbed it and found a two-word message from Xin Yu: “Done.”

The deal was complete. Xu Pin was dead!

Xin Yu really was incredible!

Xia Qing replied with a quick thank you, then asked, “How’s Yang Jin?”

Xin Yu responded, “Already told him to clear out ahead of time.”

By “ahead of time” she probably meant by a good dozen seconds or so—more than enough for a top Speed Evolver to dodge the blast.

Right now, Xia Qing couldn’t reach out to Yang Jin directly. He’d soon be under investigation for Xu Pin’s death. Contacting him now might expose their joint plot to bomb Xu Pin.

In Territory Two, Tang Zhengsu’s face turned dark. “Damn it, no reply! Keep trying. Get a surveillance drone in the air! Now!”

Bao Zhengchao stood in the yard smoking, staring due north, lost in thought.

A drone from Territory Two shot skyward, racing toward Hill Fifty-Two where the incident went down. On its way, the drone caught sight of people. “Captain, three senior Speed Evolvers are making a beeline for the site.”

Another scout zoomed in on the feed and quickly judged, “Not from the Azure Dragon Squad!”

The drone tracked after Third Brother and the other high-level Evolvers, soon capturing live footage of the blast site.

In the video, Wang Liang had the unconscious Yang Jin slung over his back. Tang Zhou was checking the area. No sign of Xu Pin.

The drone started to turn to search for Xu Pin, but Tang Zhengsu gave the order: “Lock onto Yang Jin.”

“Yes, sir.” The scout quickly adjusted the drone by remote control, making it circle back fast.

“What a waste.”

Too bad their drone was strictly for recon and couldn’t carry missiles. If it could, Tang Zhengsu could’ve eliminated Yang Jin—his biggest threat—then and there.

“Azure Dragon—ah!” The scout gasped before he could finish, watching as their drone was blasted out of the sky!

“Who the hell did that? Who?!”

Just last night, his helicopter in Territory Two had been blown up by someone, costing a bunch of surveillance birds. Tonight, Xu Pin’s fate was unknown and now his drone was shot down. Tang Zhengsu’s heart ached—he had no clue how he’d explain all this to his brother.

The head scout zoomed in on the final frame. “Judging by the attack’s angle, it had to be those three speed evolvers. Looks like they were after Yang Jin’s team.”

Tang Zhengsu’s eyes never left the screen. “Enhance that image.”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in the Lords’ channel. “Captain Tan, you there?” It was Hu Zifeng.

“Here,” Tan Junjie instantly replied.

“Our captain was ambushed on the way back to base with evidence. Deputy captain Xu Pin from Territory Two led the interception. There was a massive explosion and we’ve lost contact. We urgently need the Inspection Team to assist with the investigation.”