She was being hunted down, so she became a magical girl.

On the high platform, the cult leader discarded the ritual dagger, picked up the gun left behind by the gangsters, and pointed it at Luo Ruoshan's head.

Judging from his nimble movements, he was completely unaffected by EMP.

Bonebreaker is Viper's direct subordinate. Like the security guards at Viper's mansion, his brain-computer interface should have an emergency isolation function, which would sever the connection with the brain in a way that minimizes the impact in the event of an anomaly.

But Po Gu was also clearly impacted, and his counterattack was noticeably slower, which is why Xu Ting was able to take him down first.

There are only two possibilities for a situation like the cult leader's, where he was completely unaffected by EMP.

Firstly, his brain-computer interface has an anti-EMP coating specially supplied to employees of a large corporation.

Secondly, like Xu Ting, he did not have a brain-computer interface installed.

The cult leader's next words revealed which category he belonged to:

"Young lady, being able to remain unaffected within the range of EMP's effects suggests that you, like me, have abandoned brain-computer interfaces."

"It was a wise choice. Brain-computer interfaces have brought many conveniences to mankind, but they have also brought countless hidden dangers. It was by taking advantage of those hidden dangers that I established the Gift-Giving Cult today."

After speaking, he led the immobilized Luo Ruoshan to the center of the platform and said:

"Let's talk."

Xu Ting knew exactly what the other party was planning—the cult leader wanted to buy time, waiting for the gangsters and cult members on the ground to recover from the impact of the EMP.

However, she also needed time to prepare in order to rescue the hostages held by the cult leader.

"Okay, what would you like to talk to me about?"

"Let me talk about the divine power that the Lord has bestowed upon me."

To Xu Ting's surprise, the cult leader did not ask about her purpose, nor did he offer any conditions for Xu Ting to stop.

Instead of discussing constructive topics, they choose to engage in superstitious practices—that's truly the style of cultists.

"I haven't seen any divine power in you. You're not going to talk about your so-called 'resurrection of the dead,' are you?"

"Emptying out the corpse, filling it with robots, and then using blue smoke to impair the judgment of bystanders. That's your ridiculous trick."

"I see no supernatural power in it."

Faced with Xu Ting's questioning, the cult leader did not get angry, but calmly replied:

"You haven't seen through everything yet."

"Blue smoke can indeed impair people's judgment, but it can't make believers see the illusions I want them to see. They will talk nonsense and won't be able to corroborate each other. My deception will be exposed sooner or later."

"So I added some hacking techniques as an aid."

"With the hacking skills of that 'Viper' over there, I can implant customized illusions into the brains of believers. With the help of blue smoke, they will be easily deceived by the illusions."

"You don't have a brain-computer interface, so you can't be deceived by hallucinations, which is why you can stand in front of me and talk so fluently."

Xu Ting sneered and said sarcastically:

"So? You're trying to prove your trick is brilliant?"

"The viper is dead. How long can you keep up this act?"

"You're right." The cult leader moved back a small distance almost imperceptibly.

"Without Viper, I can only hire a second-tier hacker. Although he can also help me implant illusions in ordinary followers and gangsters, he can't deceive those big shots like before."

"He is indeed a great partner, possessing superb skills and holding a significant position within the Blackwater gang."

"But Viper's personal quirks do make things a bit difficult for me."

"He made me search for all sorts of women for him and then brainwash them. These pointless actions wasted too much of my time and energy."

"Moreover, his level of perversion is too high, and his mental state is far different from that of a human being. I have thought about it for a long time but I still can't think of a way to turn him into a believer."

The cult leader gestured with his elbow to the side, where Broken Bone was beyond repair, and said regretfully:

"The Viper is dead, and his successor has come to me wanting to continue the cooperation with the Gifted Cult."

"This showed me an opportunity."

"Compared to Viper, his successor is obviously easier to control. I originally planned to reveal the 'resurrected Viper' to make him believe in my divine power, and thereby implant my own power into the Blackwater Gang."

"Unfortunately, with your arrival, I could only hastily dispatch the 'Resurrected Viper,' which resulted in the situation we see now."

Upon hearing this, Broken Bone twitched twice on the ground. He glared angrily at the cult leader who intended to control him, only to receive a contemptuous look in return.

"Oh right, your partner is Luo Ruoshan, so your purpose in coming here must be to rescue Luo Ruowei, right?"

"She's a good girl. I just remotely implanted a recording made by her sister and a gunshot, and she actually thought her sister was being chased by me, so she ran outside the store to ask her for help."

"Once she also becomes a follower of the Lord, I will bestow upon her the title of Holy Maiden of the Gifted Church."

"The Lord will surely be pleased with her and bestow upon her great divine power."

Luo Ruowei remains unconscious on the high platform.

She had no obvious external injuries, and the cult leader hadn't had a chance to do anything to her yet.

"Now that things have come to this, do you still expect your cult of gift-giving to continue?"

Xu Ting also quietly closed the distance to the platform, speaking as he moved carefully.

"You yourself have admitted that you're just faking it, yet you keep claiming to have divine power. Don't you find that laughable?"

The cult leader laughed heartily and spoke with absolute certainty:

"I did manipulate believers with illusions, but I have never denied the existence of divine power—"

— "Elbow him in the groin!"

Xu Ting interrupted the cult leader's words and suddenly shouted loudly.

Luo Ruoshan, who should have been unconscious, suddenly woke up. Without hesitation, he carried out Xu Ting's order and elbowed the cult leader in his most vulnerable spot.

While the cult leader was talking eloquently to stall for time, Xu Ting was also doing his own thing.

She was trying hard to recall the state she had just experienced when she successfully used her innate magic, attempting to restore her connection with Luo Ruoshan.

She had just succeeded and immediately gave the order to take control of Luo Ruoshan, who was stunned by the EMP.

At this moment, she and Luo Ruoshan are in the same room, in close-range control mode, which allows them to input new commands.

The cult leader, whose vital points were attacked by Luo Ruoshan, immediately put on a mask of pain, and the gun barrel inevitably deviated.

boom!

Xu Ting seized the opportunity and fired, the bullet piercing the cult leader's arm and leaving a hole the size of an orange.

With his arm severely injured, he could no longer hold the gun, and the cult leader lost his only weapon, thus freeing the hostages.

But he did not surrender.

"Hold this woman down!"

The cult leader uttered a vague instruction and then fled to a small room behind the platform.

All the believers were terrified by EMP. Who was he giving orders to?

The next moment, Xu Ting received an extremely ominous answer.

One after another, the short figures crawling on both sides rushed towards Xu Ting. Some grabbed Xu Ting's arms, some hugged Xu Ting's thighs, and some even tried to grab the muzzle of the gun to shield their leader from bullets.

All the believers who had been implanted with brain-computer interfaces were no longer able to move.

These cult members who came to stop Xu Ting were all those who, due to physiological limitations, had not received brain-computer interfaces.

Children.