Regarding the matter of awakening lightning abilities after transformation

After walking for another ten minutes or so, the black fog in front of her grew thicker and thicker, so Su Wanxi stopped.

"Occupy the high ground first." The three received the order and tightened their formation, heading up the nearest tall building.

......

Upon reaching the top, Su Wanxi took out a pair of binoculars from her backpack, brought her eyes close to the lens, and peered into the distance from the eaves.

The road was rugged and uneven, with many bottomless potholes. Groups of hyenas deliberately detoured around it, as if they were afraid of something.

Could it be in the sewer...? Just as Su Wanxi was about to ask Gu Cheng, she made a new discovery in the hole in the upper right corner.

It was a small section of reddish-brown carapace, followed by two segmented tentacles.

Centipede? She examined it carefully for a moment, roughly determining the distance between them, and then handed the binoculars to Qin Kexin.

"The opponent is an arthropod resembling a centipede. Once the battle begins, Qin Kexin will be responsible for relaying messages from the second floor..."

Considering that the effective range of "spiritual communication" is no more than 100 meters, the second floor of the building is the most suitable choice, as it is safe, open, and convenient for observing the overall situation.

"Gu Cheng, how are you doing right now?" Su Wanxi looked at her a few more times, as if she had something to say.

"Everything is normal." Gu Cheng waved her hand, indicating that she was fine.

"...Be careful." Su Wanxi took out a few small metal lumps from the interlayer and gave a few to Gu Cheng and Zhou Li.

"The logistics department's miniature bombs have an effective kill radius of twelve meters." The two of them had practiced the specific operating procedures no less than a hundred times. Because of the EMP effect inherent in the crack, they could only use this cumbersome method to carry out the blast.

"Understood." Gu Cheng took the bomb and took out the matching launcher from her bag.

The three of them went downstairs one by one and slowly approached the edge of the pit. Su Wanxi reduced the weight of everyone to a minimum, and her heels barely made a sound when they stepped on the ground.

Perhaps sensing the chilling atmosphere, the monster's tail tentacles twitched slightly, while its other legs waved impatiently back and forth.

"Behind you!" Just as Qin Kexin warned, Su Wanxi turned her head and pulled the trigger.

The centipede emerged from a hole behind it, its saliva dripping onto the blue-gray cement pavement with a sizzling sound.

"Bang!" It hit the bullseye. The bullet pierced the centipede's mouthparts, splashing green juice. The sturdy carapace stopped the bullet inside the centipede, preventing any penetrating wound.

The centipede's head was about the size of a well cover, with a pair of thick mandibles underneath. Where the bullet had passed, two more pairs of thin mandibles were exposed, covered with dense white hairs.

It leaned back in pain, its many feet reflecting a cold light in the sunlight.

Zhou Li raised his Tang sword and rushed forward in one stride, the blade pointing directly at the centipede's abdominal cavity.

The centipede began to move slowly, and half of its body sank into the ground.

Su Wanxi frowned slightly. She had used all her abilities, but the results were not ideal.

From near to far, from inanimate objects to living beings, the extent to which an ability can be applied decreases sequentially, and even she, as an A-level Awakened, cannot reverse this pattern.

Moreover, the other party is a creature with supernatural powers... Su Wanxi would need to touch it directly to completely imprison it.

The blade was held firmly against the centipede's abdomen, unable to advance an inch, its sharp legs pressing tightly against the blade.

"Hiss!" A stream of eerie green liquid spurted from the centipede's fangs, shooting towards Zhou Li.

Just as it was about to hit, the liquid fell straight to the ground, corroding the cement and creating holes.

Zhou Li's body also lit up with tiny particles of light. The blade deflected and twisted the surrounding limbs into several pieces. The tip sliced ​​through the carapace, and the centipede's abdomen was split into two sections from top to bottom.

"Bang...bang." The bullet grazed the wound and pierced the flesh, the azure lightning bolts streaking wildly within the cracked carapace.

The centipede howled in agony. Instead of retreating underground, it crawled on the road and charged toward Gu Cheng at an incredible speed.

"Orange, be careful!" Qin Kexin's warning echoed in her mind. Gu Cheng hurriedly dodged to the left, pressing herself against the pit. The centipede still held on to her, desperately twisting its jaws.

The 9mm bullet struck Gu Cheng's jaw again, and Gu Cheng could even see the sparks that flew up when the two collided.

Her body felt lighter, and the electric current surged again. This was the second time she had strengthened herself, and her body began to tremble involuntarily.

Taking advantage of the gap, Su Wanxi ran to Gu Cheng's side, pulled her out of the pit, and fired with one hand at the same time.

"What's wrong with you?" Su Wanxi felt a slight tremor in Gu Cheng's palm. Instead of using the public channel, she asked Gu Cheng in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"I'm a little exhausted, but it doesn't affect me..." Trembling as she was, she was far from losing her ability to fight. Gu Cheng gave a nonchalant smile and raised the gun again.

"...Keep backing up, its tail is coming out!" A tail tentacle extended from the pit next to them and stabbed hard at the two of them.

Su Wanxi and Gu Cheng moved backward at the same time, and the scattered rubble was bound to the spot by gravity.

"Huh?!" Su Wanxi suddenly hugged Gu Cheng, her arms wandering around her waist.

“This…” She took out the metal block from the other person’s belt, pressed the button, and pressed it against the centipede’s jaws.

"Go!" With a light push off the ground, freed from the influence of gravity, the two leaped up three or four floors, Qin Kexin's voice becoming intermittent.

After a brief delay, the centipede's head and back burst into intense flames. Zhou Li, who was hiding behind a nearby wall, seized the opportunity when the monster attacked Gu Cheng and planted explosives all over the centipede's back.

The crimson carapace was scattered all over the ground, and the liquid from the venom glands flowed into the ground through the pit.

"Dead?" Su Wanxi fired a few more shots, and the monster's mangled head was completely separated from its body, rolling around on the ground.

Zhou Li slowly stepped forward, raised his long knife, and began to cut the corpse piece by piece. The remaining limbs twitched reflexively a few times, but quickly returned to stillness.

"No problem, he's dead." A calm male voice came from the communication channel. Qin Kexin ran down from the second floor.

My vision blurred, and the scorching sunlight was replaced by lamplight...

Section 73, Chapter Seventy-Two: Missing

Night fell, and the branches and leaves swayed.

In a secluded alley in Changkou District, Gu Cheng lowered her head and gently touched her chest, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

The evening breeze made her skin ache slightly, and everything around her seemed to be stuck in glue, muddy and sticky.

This isn't a side effect of electrical stimulation...it's more like...being trapped in the air...

Su Wanxi held Gu Cheng's hand, the warmth between her fingers slightly dispelling her discomfort.

"Take a deep breath..." Su Wanxi whispered, a few strands of her hair falling onto her shoulder, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Okay." Gu Cheng obediently did as instructed, and it took her about a minute or two to return to normal. She looked up and met the other person's gentle eyes.

Su Wanxi has classic fox eyes, long and narrow with upturned corners, exuding a captivating charm.

Her cherry blossom-colored lips complemented her fair skin, and paired with her long, black hair, softened the allure in her eyes, giving her an overall aloof and cool demeanor.

Gu Cheng blinked twice, then turned her head away, not daring to look at the other person any longer.

"How about it?"

"I feel much better..."

Even with her eyes fixed on the ground, those dark pupils still lingered in Gu Cheng's mind, as deep as the night, their gaze adorned with twinkling starlight.

Su Wanxi did not let go, but turned around and looked around.

"All done." Upon receiving Su Wanxi's message, the plainclothes police officers organized a team to remove the roadblocks and lower the cordon.

Before long, only the four of them remained at the scene.

"Qin Kexin... how do you think the mission went?" Zhou Li took out bandages from the trunk and wrapped them around the blade.

He disobeyed orders and acted recklessly; he simply didn't have time to investigate the rift thoroughly earlier.

"...Here! Mission accomplished!" Qin Kexin raised her arm high, sticking out her tongue at the same time.

"The training load will be doubled this week, and I will personally supervise it. In addition to the combat report, you also need to write an extra self-criticism, one copy for me and one copy for Captain Su..."

"Put the knife away," Zhou Li ordered expressionlessly. It wasn't that he was blaming her for acting alone; Qin Kexin's mistake was disobeying orders and becoming complacent when the risks could have been avoided.

There's still a long way to go before she can fix the cracks. If she doesn't change this bad habit, she'll suffer a great loss sooner or later, and it won't just be her who gets implicated.

"I'm sorry..." Sensing that Zhou Li was really angry, Qin Kexin cleared the passenger seat and sat in the back seat with a wronged look on her face, her arms wrapped around the back of the seat.

"...I just want you to remember this." This wasn't the first time, and Zhou Li felt it was necessary to talk to her about this issue.

"Hmm..." Qin Kexin straightened her plaid skirt and slowly took off her ripped white stockings.

Watching the two leave, Su Wanxi turned her head and quietly looked at Gu Cheng.

"Get in the car first, your clothes..."

The shirt cuffs were stained with mud, and the blue jeans had small holes worn through, revealing her fair and pink knees.

"It's too dirty... I'll take the subway back." Although she was in a mess, with her coat even stuck in the crack, at least she wasn't exposed. Gu Cheng shook her head and refused Su Wanxi's offer.

"Huh?" The pressure on his hand did not decrease, but instead increased significantly.

Su Wanxi: "Then let's walk a little longer."

They were just taking a walk when they were disturbed by the sudden appearance of the crack.

Gu Cheng: "...Okay."

All she wanted now was to find a public restroom quickly so she could clean the stains on her sleeves.

......

It was nearly nine o'clock when Gu Cheng came out of the bathroom. Su Wanxi stood under a street lamp, looking dignified and elegant.

"Get in the car, I'll give you a ride home." Su Wanxi said with a smile after knocking on the car door.

"...Mm." Seeing such good intentions, Gu Cheng couldn't bear to refuse.

She carefully sat in the passenger seat, trying to keep her wet sleeves away from the seat cushion.

Gu Cheng: "Su Wanxi..."

Su Wanxi: "Hmm?"

"How do I write that combat report?" This was Gu Cheng's third time dealing with the rift, and she knew nothing about writing related documents.

"The report doesn't need a fixed format. Just indicate when the crack occurred, where it appeared, the person in charge, and a general handling process..." Su Wanxi tossed her hair to one side and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

“The intelligence department has more detailed information; we are mainly responsible for describing the internal conditions of the rift.” After saying that, she added a few more points.

"I see..." Gu Cheng nodded in understanding.

The vehicle started moving. Changkou District is located in the eastern part of Xicheng District, not far from the city center, about seven or eight subway stops away.

Su Wanxi simply dropped Gu Cheng off at her apartment building.