An unremarkable office worker walked toward them, talking on the phone, looking like a typical passerby who happened to be there.
The man's expression was normal. As he drew closer, he merely glanced at the slightly strange combination of Lin Wuming and the punk, then immediately withdrew his gaze, focusing on speaking loudly into his phone.
He even slightly moved aside, seemingly not wanting to get into trouble. It was a completely normal reaction for an ordinary person.
But to Lin Wuming, who was already in a state of high alert, this person was instantly judged to be an "enemy" the moment he appeared.
Out of caution, Lin Wuming restrained himself from initiating an attack, instead slowly driving his wheelchair closer to the man, then passing by him...
Suddenly, the punk walking ahead let out an "Aiya," and a jet of blood spurted from his neck. Only then did he belatedly raise a hand to cover the wound and stumble forward, collapsing.
Lin Wuming's attention was momentarily diverted by the sight. At that moment, the passing man in the suit darted forward, launching a sharp spike from his cuff, aiming straight at Lin Wuming.
"Hunters" were experienced in their trade. They already knew that Lin Wuming was a Level 3 "Psychic" and likely possessed some combat experience, making him a relatively fierce prey.
Given this, a simple, direct capture operation wouldn't suffice.
—When facing a fierce beast, you must first wound or even heavily injure it before you can capture it.
Hunter "Number Three" was doing just that.
As an experienced professional, he naturally knew how conspicuous his sudden presence was in this empty area, and that Lin Wuming must have been on guard against him.
Therefore, he had to find a way to distract him, and then seize the opportunity for a single decisive strike!
The specific method was to first kill the lackey leading the way—since he had already betrayed the organization, eliminating him was justified—this act of attacking an "ally" would inevitably cause confusion for the target.
—If the target were a more compassionate person, he might even attempt to rescue the lackey, which would make the subsequent action even easier.
Even if the target ignored the lackey's fate, a moment of distraction was enough for Hunter Number Three to complete his attack.
The spike from Number Three's cuff was propelled by high-pressure gas, giving it penetration power that surpassed a bullet at close range.
This was a specialized piece of equipment quite popular among Academy City's Anbu organizations, designed specifically to deal with Psychics.
Psychic ability offers excellent defense, but as a general-purpose superpower, its strength is somewhat lacking compared to abilities specialized purely for defense.
Unless the Psychic is Level 4, the psychic barrier is merely a resilient layer of defense. If the attack power is sufficient, this defense can be broken.
The spike, which concentrated destructive force onto a single point, was the best armor-piercing weapon, a Level 3 Psychic ability could not stop it.
And if he succeeded in wounding the target, the physical pain would disrupt his mental power, hindering his ability to continue activating his superpower.
Maintaining stable superpower output while enduring severe pain requires strong willpower and extensive professional training. Except for Anbu members, only a minority of Espers possess such qualities.
According to the data provided by the employer, the target had only recently awakened his superpower. Therefore, he was highly unlikely to be such a character.
Thus, as long as he hit the target, the mission could be declared a success!
Hunter Number Three's attack was ruthless and seasoned, and his timing was flawless. The feint plan to distract the target also achieved its expected result.
However, his attack ultimately missed.
Because Lin Wuming was not an ordinary Level 3 Psychic.
In addition to his psychic ability, he had a passive ability called "Bullet Time."
As the enemy's spike ejected from his cuff and closed in on his body, Lin Wuming once again felt the flow of time around him slow down.
This was the third time he had experienced this special state, and Lin Wuming was somewhat used to it. He knew this must be an attack that posed a substantial, potentially fatal, threat to him.
With the golden combination of psychic power and "Bullet Time," he was certain to save his own life and could even counter-kill the enemy!
Under "Bullet Time," Lin Wuming clearly felt the entire process of the spike penetrating his psychic barrier.
For a moment, Lin Wuming even thought he was facing Torami Toumi's rapier again!
Fortunately, with the experience from last time, Lin Wuming was no longer flustered but calmly took countermeasures.
If the psychic barrier truly couldn't stop the enemy's thrust, he would use the simplest, most direct method: stacking armor.
If one barrier wasn't enough, he'd use two. If two weren't enough, he'd use three, four, five, six layers...
The kinetic energy carried by the spike was ultimately limited—it was enough to stop it before it reached him.
The advantage of "Bullet Time" was that it gave Lin Wuming ample reaction time, allowing him to calmly manipulate his psychic ability to form new barriers to resist the attack.
Superpowers were completely dependent on the Esper's reaction speed. Therefore, as long as Lin Wuming's thoughts were fast enough, he could stack enough defensive barriers!
Furthermore, Lin Wuming wasn't just meeting the spike head-on. While blocking the attack, he was also using his psychic power to deflect the spike's trajectory, and at the same time, launching a counterattack against the enemy.
The man in the suit was hit by a psychic block and involuntarily flew backward. His retreat also canceled out part of the spike's piercing travel distance.
The final result was that Lin Wuming was safe and sound, completely unharmed.
The enemy, however, clutched his abdomen and stumbled backward, finally falling to the ground on his backside.
But "Bullet Time" did not deactivate. So, in slow motion, Lin Wuming saw the black muzzle of a gun emerge from the phone in the enemy's other hand, and a pointed bullet shot out from the muzzle simultaneously.
This attack was sudden and well-disguised. If Lin Wuming had only relied on luck or his own reaction speed to neutralize the previous move, he likely would have struggled to evade this shot.
This thrust-and-shot combination was Hunter Number Three's favorite chain attack, which had been unfailingly successful in previous capture operations. Like the spike, the bullet he fired was a specially made armor-piercing round targeting psychic barriers, with astonishing penetrating power.
But unfortunately, Lin Wuming was not relying on mere reaction speed, but the special ability of "Bullet Time."
In the face of slowed time, all things are equal. Every detail of Hunter Number Three firing the gun and even the bullet leaving the muzzle was clearly presented to his eyes.