Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The searchlights in broad daylight were more blinding than the sun, isolating her figure with nowhere to hide.
The dust kicked up by Arahato's ascent danced wildly in the light, revealing the fractured shape of the light, just like her shattered heart.
The noise of the world—the wail of sirens, the stern warnings, the chaotic footsteps—all faded into a blurry background noise.
In her world, all that was left was the slow, heavy beat of her own heart and the void that was about to swallow her.
Just as an officer tentatively stepped forward, his hand about to touch her shoulder.
Yae Sakura's fingertips unconsciously touched a cold, hard object.
It was a USB drive.
It lay there silently, as if it had been waiting for a long time.
The moment she touched the USB drive, the seemingly ordinary device suddenly unfolded in a sci-fi manner, projecting a line of text at an angle that only she could see.
[Yae Rin is safe now, but we've run into trouble. To protect Yae Rin, we had to isolate her. If you want to join us, come to the Taixu Martial Arts School before 12 PM.]
The text only appeared for a moment, but Yae Sakura still caught it.
Like grabbing a straw in the endless deep sea, even knowing it might lead to deeper darkness, the instinct for survival and her obsession with her sister still drove her to react.
The line of text was like a searing brand, lingering briefly on her retina before extinguishing.
The USB drive returned to its cold, ordinary appearance, as if everything just now was a hallucination on the verge of her collapse.
But the name Yae Rin was like a shot of adrenaline, instantly piercing through the numbness and emptiness that surrounded her.
In that fleeting moment, Yae Sakura moved!
She did not choose to attack, nor did she try to explain.
The moment the information entered her mind, a clear and singular thought had already formed—she had to go to the Taixu Martial Arts School! Before 12 PM!
And the current time—was eleven in the morning!
To get from here to the Taixu Martial Arts School in an hour was already a very demanding condition, but she had no choice.
This was her only chance to see Yae Rin, and her last chance.
At this moment, she felt as if Rin would be completely gone from her if she were a second late.
As for the comforting words Kallen had left, they had no effect at all. She didn't know what trouble they were in, nor did she know what "isolation for protection" meant.
She just wanted to see Yae Rin!
"!" The officers who were about to make the arrest were taken aback by Yae Sakura's sudden change in demeanor, their movements hesitating for a moment.
Her figure abruptly shrank back, like a startled civet cat, narrowly avoiding the officer's reaching hand.
At the same time, she swiftly scooped up the USB drive from the ground and clenched it tightly in her palm. Its cold touch was her only support at this moment.
"Stop!" "Don't move!"
Shouts erupted as the police officers who had come to their senses quickly closed in.
But Yae Sakura's goal was not to break out and fight to the death.
Her gaze was as sharp as a knife, quickly scanning the chaotic surroundings—this was a narrow alley, with tall buildings rising on both sides, and the alley was filled with air conditioner units and exposed pipes...
And the dust kicked up by Arahato's ascent had not yet settled, slightly obscuring the view.
These were her opportunities!
She instantly threw out several small black balls. The next moment, the sudden explosion of smoke made the surrounding officers' footsteps falter.
All the officers whose vision was obscured immediately fired tasers and capture nets into the smoke. The dense trajectories of attack left almost no room for dodging in the smoke-filled area.
Unless—
Everyone saw Yae Sakura leap up from the top of the smoke cloud, which was several meters high, still holding the sheathed Sakura Fubuki.
In full view of everyone, she continuously flipped and jumped in the narrow alley, using the air conditioner units and exposed pipes as footholds to quickly climb to the rooftop, finally disappearing from sight.
Chen Hai, who had gestured to stop the action when Yae Sakura broke out of the smoke, watched the direction she disappeared in, was silent for a moment, then turned and gestured for the officers to regroup.
"Captain Chen, why don't we..." an officer beside him hesitated. Although what Yae Sakura had just done was outrageous, their heavily armed officers were not to be trifled with. If they really wanted to catch her, she would definitely be caught.
Chen Hai shook his head. "I know you're not afraid and dare to face danger, but this matter is too big."
Just now, he had received a call from his superior.
On the phone, his superior had gravely asked about Arahato and specifically asked if they had done anything too drastic.
The City of the Future had suddenly intervened in the affairs of Sapphire City and promised to bear all their losses.
Although the other party clearly stated that they didn't need any green lights, that they should be arrested if they should be arrested, and that the laws of Shenzhou were the top priority, their intention to protect the person was already quite obvious. They even said things like "bear all the costs."
Did they not know how many new technologies Shenzhou could extort with such a sentence?
But they still said it, and added "arrest if you should"... so, were they not trying to protect the person's safety, but what the person was doing?
What were they doing, fighting crime?
Obviously not. And at this moment, considering Arahato's sudden change in attitude and targets, the answer was already obvious.
A major event was about to break out in Sapphire City, and Arahato, or rather the force behind Arahato, was already laying the groundwork for it, and these mission targets were the sacrifices.
This happened suddenly, or rather, Arahato suddenly discovered it. It hadn't happened yet, but time was already very tight. As for what this matter was, Chen Hai couldn't figure it out even with three brains.
But he could profile the nature of this matter.
This unhesitating purge was obviously targeted. So what was the goal? Or rather, what obstacles would these people cause?
Was it the "monopoly" of these people in their industries? Or the high amount of "wealth" they had accumulated? Or was it the mess they left behind, the resentment between the victims and these people?
Hiss...
Chen Hai frowned deeply. Recalling his superior's instruction to "expand the influence of this matter," an absurd idea suddenly jumped out.
This kind of event that could almost reshape society... could it be—
Society is really going to be reshaped?!!