Inside an off-road vehicle.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Luo Lin stared anxiously at the road ahead. After a moment, she turned to the woman in sunglasses behind the wheel.
"Sister Zhaoran, can you go any faster?"
"Xiao Lin, you've already asked me that several times. My foot is floored. I can't make it go any faster than it's already going," the woman known as Zhaoran replied with a helpless expression.
"Then how much longer until we reach the warehouse?"
"Don't worry, we're almost there. We'll arrive in about twenty seconds."
"That's good. Sister Cipher, please be okay..."
Hearing that, Luo Lin let out a small sigh of relief. It had only been twenty minutes since they left. With Sister Cipher's abilities, she had to be holding on!
The twenty seconds passed in a flash. Accompanied by the screech of brakes and a sudden sense of weightlessness, the car performed a perfect drift, swinging its tail around before coming to a precise halt to the left of the warehouse's main entrance.
"We're here. Everyone out."
The woman was the first to open her door and step out, followed closely by Luo Lin, Lin Wei, and Xiong Lei.
'I want to see for myself just who this Cipher person is—the one Xiao Lin was practically begging me to save. No matter how many times I offered my help before, Xiao Lin always refused it.'
With these thoughts swirling in her mind, the woman strode toward the warehouse doors.
However, the moment she stepped inside, the scene before her caused her to freeze in her tracks.
In the center of the warehouse lay a mountain of corpses. Not far from the pile, a catgirl was leaning against the wall, watching her with a look of pure annoyance.
★ ★ ★
After tidying up the firearms and the bodies, Cipher had leaned against the wall to wait for the vehicle to arrive.
It wasn't long before she heard the screech of brakes, followed by the sound of four sets of footsteps hurrying toward the warehouse. Then, a woman appeared at the entrance.
"Are you one of the Countercurrent—"
"Sister Cipher! You're safe!"
Before Cipher could finish saying "Countercurrent Coalition," a familiar figure appeared at the door, cutting her off.
Under Cipher's slightly stunned gaze, Luo Lin rushed forward and threw her arms around her.
"Luo Lin? Why are you guys back? I thought I told you to leave first," Cipher said, surprised as she looked at Luo Lin and then at Lin Wei and Xiong Lei, who had reached the doorway.
"I... I was afraid something would happen to you, Sister Cipher. So I went to find someone to help right away," Luo Lin answered timidly.
This time, Cipher didn't push her away. Instead, she reached out with a sigh and ruffled the girl's hair.
"I told you, this cat is plenty strong. Do you really have that little faith in me?"
"I'm sorry..."
Seeing Luo Lin look so dejected, Cipher was about to say more when she was interrupted by a sudden, poorly-timed exclamation.
"Hiss... Chu Ke the 'Extreme Cold,' Cheng Che the 'Heavy Pressure,' and Li Ying the 'Psychokinesis' from the Countercurrent Coalition. And even 'Undying' Tan Rui?!"
The woman rattled off their names like she was reciting a menu while inspecting the injuries of the fallen.
"Judging by their physical reactions, all four used Potential Stimulation Mediums. Even so, they were defeated in a single strike. Well, except for Tan Rui—he looks absolutely pathetic."
When she got to Tan Rui, she made a show of covering her eyes, though her fingers were spread so wide apart they looked like the East African Rift Valley.
After finishing her inspection, she dragged Chu Ke and Tan Rui out from the pile and turned to Luo Lin.
"Xiao Lin... it seems you really have no concept of just how strong this 'Sister Cipher' you wanted me to save actually is."
Luo Lin was a bit dazed by the statement. She let go of Cipher and asked hesitantly, "No concept?"
"Exactly." The woman pointed to the mountain of bodies. "These are all Countercurrent Coalition members. Among them, two had B+ rank strength and two were C+ rank. Despite that lineup and a bunch of guys with guns, they couldn't touch your Sister Cipher."
At this point, the woman took a deep breath, her gaze turning solemn as she looked at Cipher.
"Furthermore, based on their wounds, they were all killed in a single blow—except for that thick-skinned Tan Rui. Luo Lin, do you know what that means?"
"That... Sister Cipher is strong?" Luo Lin tilted her head, answering tentatively.
"Wrong!" the woman countered. "She is incredibly strong! Even with my A- rank strength, if I faced this many people at once, I could win, but I'd have to pick them off one by one. It would take me at least half an hour."
The woman began to pace, shaking her head slowly with her hands behind her back.
"One-shotting them all... it's terrifying. Therefore, your Sister Cipher must have at least A+ rank strength!"
The moment she finished speaking, she seemed to blur, appearing instantly in front of Cipher.
Before Cipher could figure out what the woman was up to, the stranger dropped into a crouch. She grabbed Cipher's hand, looking up at her with eyes full of deep respect.
"My name is Lu Zhaoran. O' Great One! Please, take me under your wing!"
"...Huh?"
★ ★ ★
Inside the off-road vehicle, Lu Zhaoran took the wheel while Cipher sat in the passenger seat. The three members of the Spark Team occupied the back.
As for Tan Rui and Chu Ke, they had been tossed into the trunk. According to Lu Zhaoran, the two were merely heavily injured and not yet dead, meaning they still had "utility value."
"Sorry, sorry! It's been so long since I've met a powerhouse who is also so approachable. I couldn't help myself—my instincts just told me to cling to your greatness!" Lu Zhaoran apologized with an awkward laugh, scratching her cheek.
Cipher continued to stare at Lu Zhaoran with a bizarre expression. She was starting to think this woman might be a few screws short of a hardware store.
After a moment of thought, Cipher asked dubiously, "Why do you say I'm 'approachable'? This is the first time we've met."
"Because of what Xiao Lin said," Lu Zhaoran replied with a grin. "While I was driving here, Xiao Lin wouldn't stop talking about how wonderful you are. Just by listening to her, I knew exactly what kind of person you were. Though, based on her description, I thought you were B+ rank at most. I never imagined you'd be an A+ rank powerhouse!"