The hospital corridor was a warzone. Chen Clan enforcers in black tactical gear exchanged fire with security bots. Dr. Liu cowered behind an overturned gurney.
"He's here! The monster!" someone screamed as Lin Mo burst through the stairwell door.
He didn't fight. He flowed. Void Fist pulses (costing precious 0.1 Units each) shorted weapons and comms. Reinforced shoulders smashed through barricades. He was a shadow trailing crystalline pollen.
Yu's room. Frost coated the inside of the window. Her body shimmered, skin turning translucent, revealing networks of glowing crystal beneath. [CRYSTALLIZATION: 89%]
Lin Mo slammed the Bloom onto her chest. The ring burned. [SYNTHESIZING… 87%...]
A golden fist punched through the wall. Chen Bailong stood in the hole, face a mask of pain and rage, his missing arm cauterized. "DIE!"
Ki blast. Point-blank.
Lin Mo threw himself over Yu. [FLESH INTEGRITY OVERDRIVE: 5 UNITS - FINAL RESERVES]
The blast hit. His back screamed. Chitin plates shattered. Skin burned. But he held. Shielded Yu. Shielded the Bloom.
[SYNTHESIS COMPLETE]
The ring pulsed. A wave of soft, counter-frequency energy washed over Yu.
The crystallization halted. Receded. Her skin softened, color returning. The Bloom in Lin Mo's hand crumbled to inert dust.
Yu's eyes fluttered open. "G… Ge?"
Chen Bailong roared, gathering ki for the killing strike.
A sonic boom shook the building. The wall opposite Chen Bailong vanished. Not destroyed. Vaporized.
Standing in the new opening, silhouetted against the city lights: Wu Gen. His rusted sword was drawn.
"Enough noise," the blind swordsman rasped. "You broke the canyon's peace. You woke them." He pointed his sword not at Chen Bailong, but at the sky.
Above Jiang City, three obsidian tetrahedrons hung silently. Each the size of a skyscraper.
[ANALYSIS: ENTITY SIGNATURE MATCH - BLACKWIND 'SLEEPERS']
[THREAT LEVEL: PLANETARY]