Just as Lidi was struggling with his predicament, night had already fallen outside, and the time had reached 7 PM.
Lidi’s previous idea of leaving was actually right, but it was a pity that the opportunity had passed.
Several hover vehicles silently parked themselves at every blind spot along the street, all lights turned off, leaving only the faint cold glow of instrument panels flickering inside.
“Report in.
The target is still inside the house.
No suspicious activity detected for the moment.” A low report echoed through the earpieces, transmitted simultaneously across multiple channels.
At the corner of the street sat a larger van, but inside it was packed with surveillance monitors like those often seen in movies.
Operators wearing headsets continuously communicated with various squads within the cramped space.
This was a mobile command vehicle.
And none of this had been improvised.
The moment Wency purchased a box of medical supplies from the pharmacy, they had already been exposed.
After the Black Guard confirmed the situation, they avoided alerting the targets and quietly evacuated all nearby residents one by one.
Several kilometers around the area had already been sealed off with barriers, prohibiting all vehicle access.
At this point, only the two of them remained anywhere near Wency’s house.
“Senior, even if the target is classified as a Level Two Dangerous Entity, he’s still just an unarmed red fox.
Is it really necessary to go this… ‘all out’ for him?” One of the otter officers typed commands to the other squads while turning toward a bespectacled red-panda colleague beside him.
The red-panda shrugged.
“He killed people, especially Black Guard personnel.
This setup… is already considered light.” “And the crow inside that house isn’t simple either.
She’s one of the core executives of San Shen Technologies.
The things she can access are probably far beyond what we imagine.” The otter frowned and gestured toward a special unit displayed on one of the monitors.
“But deploying them still seems excessive, doesn’t it?” On the screen stood a fully equipped squad whose gear was clearly far more advanced than that of ordinary Black Guard troops.
Even their visors looked different, and every weapon they carried was an unfamiliar model.
The red-panda adjusted his glasses, the monitor’s pale light reflecting off the lenses as he spoke confidently.
“Who knows.
Personally, I think that fox is probably the product of some scientific organization’s enhancement drugs.
That’s the only explanation for how he managed to kill Black Guard officers.” “And he even used a riot shield like a throwing weapon.
Maybe he’s got some old teammate with a metal arm too…” BAM!
Before he could finish, a massive fist slammed onto his head.
His entire body nearly collapsed onto the control console.
“The hell you are imagining, Jeremy?!” The burly gorilla officer withdrew his fist, face dark with irritation.
“Less nonsense during operations!” The red-panda,Jeremy hurriedly adjusted his crooked glasses and glared back in pain, only to realize the one who hit him was the commissioner of the black guards, his highest superior..
He immediately shut up.
The commotion left the van briefly silent.
Sensing the timing was right, the gorilla commissioner issued a cold command into the communication channel.
“Outer perimeter secured.
Begin operation.” …
Inside the house, Lidi sat at the dining table after setting down the plates, quietly waiting.
His eyes lingered on the familiar room, especially the framed picture hanging on the wall.
It was a graduation photo of himself holding his diploma beside Wency.
“Let’s eat.” Only after Wency spoke did Lidi snap out of his thoughts.
The table was already filled with food.
A standard three dishes and one soup, though for just two people it was far too much.
“That’s way too much food, Aunt Wency.” “It’s fine.
Whatever we don’t finish can be reheated tomorrow morning.” The two chatted while eating, talking about recent events, work matters, company gossip, and everyday trivialities.
Wency eventually noticed Lidi repeatedly glancing toward the photo on the wall.
“What?
Feeling nostalgic about the old picture?” “No…” Lidi slowly chewed a piece of meat before speaking.
“I just think my smile looked fake back then.” Wency glanced at the photo herself.
Indeed, only his mouth was smiling while his eyes looked completely lifeless.
She couldn’t help laughing.
“Hah, yeah, it does look fake.
You should practice smiling more.” “Then why’d you still have it printed?” “Well, the photo was already taken.
And retaking it costs money, so I figured we might as well keep this one.” Lidi stared at the version of himself in the picture.
No matter how he looked at it, that smile seemed ugly to him.
Perhaps noticing his dissatisfaction, Wency said, “If you don’t like it, we can always take another one and print a new photo.” “…Not sure I’ll ever get another chance.” Thinking about his current situation, he doesn’t even know if he could live a normal life anymore.
He might never have the chance to come back here again.
And once he found that organization connected to the black-clad woman, who knew what awaited him?
Recruitment?
Exploitation?
Maybe they’d drag him somewhere for fraud operations and harvest his organs after they were done with him.
He don’t know.
Uncertainty was exactly what Lidi hated most.
Nothing was under his control anymore.
Everything had become unpredictable.
All he could do was drift wherever fate carried him.
Seeing his dejected expression, Wency raised her voice slightly.
“What kind of thing is that to say?
Nobody knows the future.
You should think positively.” “As long as you’re alive, you can always keep moving forward, right?” Listening to her sound like she was giving another one of those “employee motivation speeches,” Lidi could only nod absentmindedly while eating.
Maybe this was just how family nagged the people they cared about.
Yet beneath her voice, he heard something else.
A rhythmic pattern of footsteps.
His ears twitched.
His hearing sharpened again, far beyond merely “hearing clearly” like before.
This time he could directly sense vibrations through the ground and pinpoint locations.
Windows.
Front entrance.
Back door.
Roof.
Three to four people stood at nearly every entrance.
Roughly twenty in total.
And their scent— “Shit!” The instant he shouted, canisters of tear gas smashed through the windows and rolled into the room.
The spacious house was instantly swallowed by thick white smoke.
The choking chemical burn made both Lidi and Wency cough violently as tears streamed down their faces.
But strangely, this time Lidi’s body didn’t react as severely as expected.
It was as though his body was gradually adapting to the irritation.
But seeing Wency collapse onto the floor, nearly unable to breathe, sent him into panic.
The tear gas might not affect him much anymore, but Wency was already in her fifties.
This kind of exposure could kill her.
Then a squad of beastmen in black tactical armor stormed through the doors.
Their equipment far surpassed standard Black Guard gear.
Full-body ballistic armor.
Tactical helmets capable of environmental scanning.
Pulse flashbangs.
Tear gas.
Electric batons.
And energy shock rifles with three different firing modes.
These were not the ordinary Black Guard the public knew.
They were the anti-terror rapid response unit known as Rift Fang.
Seeing that Lidi had not collapsed—and was still holding the dinner knife from the table—all Rift Fang members immediately raised their weapons and aimed at him, every movement tense with caution.
“Get down!
Drop the weapon!” “No—wait!
There’s an elderly person here who needs help!” “Drop the weapon!
Kneel and get on the ground!” The lingering tear gas continued interfering with Lidi’s hearing, preventing him from clearly understanding the commands being shouted at him.
Seeing him refuse to comply, one Rift Fang operative spoke into his communicator.
“Target refusing compliance.
Requesting instructions!” Meanwhile, inside the command van at the street corner, the gorilla commissioner monitored everything through the live feeds from the Rift Fang body cameras.
After receiving the request, he coldly issued an order.
“Use non-lethal mode.
Suppress the target first.” “Understood!” The operative adjusted the rifle settings, faint blue arcs of electricity crackling across the weapon.
Pew—BZZZT!
“GAAAHHHH!!” A blue electrical arc struck Lidi’s body at a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye.
The violent current spread instantly through his entire body, locking him into agonizing paralysis.
Compared to the tear gas exploding in his face before, this pain was magnified thousands of times over.
Saliva dripped uncontrollably from his mouth.
Blood vessels swelled across his reddened eyes.
Every strand of fur on his body stood upright.
Yet the attack—which should have dropped even a fully grown elephant beastman—did not bring Lidi down.
He remained standing, gasping heavily, maintaining himself not to collapse.
Trying desperately to recover from the nerve-shredding agony.
But in the eyes of the Rift Fang unit, he now looked even more like a terrifying monster on the verge of rampaging.
“The target’s response is abnormal!
Continue firing?” Even the gorilla commissioner watching through the monitors was stunned.
In thirty years leading anti-terror squads, he had seen all kinds of dangerous criminals and terrorists.
But a fox seemingly resistant to electrical weaponry?
That was a first.
“Proceed!” The operative aimed again at Lidi’s chest, preparing to fire a second shot.
“No!” At that exact moment, Wency—who had been lying on the floor—finally regained part of her vision through the tear gas.
And she saw the operative about to fire at Lidi.
Without hesitation, she threw herself in front of him.
But the operative’s finger had already pulled the trigger.
The electric arc flashed through the air.
Pew—BZZZT!
There was no scream.
No struggle.
Wency’s height reached only about Lidi’s chest, and the electric arc struck her directly in the head.
The instant the energy shock hit, her brain was overwhelmed by violent electrical current.
Like being strapped into an electric chair.
And at her age, there was no surviving it.
That single strike was fatal.
“Aunt… Wency?” As he caught Wency collapsing into his arms, he saw what the electric shock had done to her.
Her eyes bulged outward, blood vessels ruptured from the surge.
Her facial muscles were twisted unnaturally.
There was no life left in her at all.
And what terrified him most— He could no longer feel her heartbeat.
“Aunt Wency…?
Wency?!
WENCY!!” Lidi broke down, shaking her desperately, refusing to accept reality.
“This isn’t real!
This isn’t real!
Please wake up!
PLEASE!!” But no matter how hard he shook her, the one who had already left could never answer again.
“WHAT THE HELL?!
WHY DID YOU SHOOT THE CIVILIAN?!” The gorilla commissioner roared furiously through the comms, his voice rattling every operative’s earpiece.
“WELL STOP STANDING THERE YOU MORONS, USE THE BATONS AND SUBDUE HIM!” The Rift Fang operatives holstered their shock rifles and drew electric batons, preparing to close in.
But just as they moved forward, every operative stopped.
People who lived by the blade and the gun possessed extremely sharp instincts toward danger.
And the Lidi before them radiated an overwhelming killing intent.
“You… you… YOU!” Lidi’s voice trembled violently.
His eyes locked onto the operative who had fired the shot.
This was not fear.
Not cowardice.
It was rage pushed beyond its absolute limit.
“I!
WANT!!
YOU!!!
DEAD!!!!”