Chapter 53: The Invisible Force

Zhou Yang walked silently ahead, and soon the two reached the office at the end of the corridor.

The office was decorated in a retro style, ancient and elegant, with sandalwood incense curling gently in the air.

After pushing open the door, Zhou Yang pointed to the wall behind the sofa and said, “The money’s there. The mechanism to open the hidden compartment is complicated—I have to do it myself.”

“Go ahead,” Lin Qing said.

Only then did Zhou Yang step forward, gritting her teeth and striking the wall over a dozen times before opening the hidden compartment, revealing the safe’s door.

She then verified her fingerprint and iris, clenched her teeth, forced herself to exert strength, and with difficulty pressed the safety button on the safe door, finally opening it.

Inside the safe, indeed lay a large quantity of coins, all apparently made from rare metals brought by extraterrestrial civilizations.

“These coins are worth about forty-one million on the black market,” Zhou Yang said.

Lin Qing glanced at them, then kept his gun pointed at her and said, “Go get the Super Sensory Serum.”

But Zhou Yang turned to face him, silent, and made no move.

“Hm?” Lin Qing let out a questioning hum.

“...I know that once I take out the Super Sensory Serum, you’ll kill me,” Zhou Yang gritted out.

Lin Qing narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t want to die.”

Zhou Yang took a deep breath and said, “So... if you want the Super Sensory Serum, put your gun away and step back. After I complete the iris and fingerprint scans, I must get the serum first.”

She said in a low voice, “If I sense you intend to kill me, I’ll crush the serum immediately—it evaporates quickly. Once it’s spilled, you won’t have time to inject it.”

Lin Qing stared at her without expression.

“If you won’t agree, just kill me now.”

Zhou Yang acted as if she didn’t see the gun barrel, her gaze locked on his eyes. “Otherwise, the moment you open the safe, it’s still my death.”

Lin Qing said nothing, but slowly stepped back several paces and holstered his gun.

Zhou Yang exhaled slightly, then stepped forward and opened another hidden compartment on the wall, revealing the safe’s door.

After verifying her fingerprint and iris, she reached for the button—but her body swayed slightly, weakened by blood loss and pain.

In that instant of her slowed movement—

“Whoosh!”

Zhou Yang suddenly heard a rush of wind, then felt a force slam her into the wall beside her.

When she struggled to her feet, bruised and bleeding, she saw Lin Qing standing again before the safe, his revolver aimed squarely at her.

“You!” Zhou Yang’s face turned pale, her eyes fixed on Lin Qing as she trembled. “You broke your word!”

Lin Qing glanced at her. “I never promised you anything. And you were too slow.”

He had no intention of letting her live—but before killing her, he needed to confirm whether the safe truly contained the Super Sensory Serum.

Zhou Yang bit her lip until it bled, her eyes filled with regret and fury.

One hand still holding the gun on her, Lin Qing reached with the other toward the safe’s door button.

At that moment, though her face was ashen, Zhou Yang sneered inwardly:

“People always die from greed...”

She knew it well.

The safe did contain the Super Sensory Serum.

But it also held a small device.

Unless opened at the exact daily scheduled time, any other attempt to open it would trigger a high-speed burst of ultra-concentrated neurotoxin.

This toxin, developed by Zhi Star Group, was lethal to anyone who hadn’t undergone toxin-resistance gene modification or mastered the original Morning Practice—once exposed, death was certain. From the start, she never intended any deal for survival.

She could see the man wouldn’t trust her unless she was dead—and he was extremely cautious. So she had carefully lured him here, making him believe she truly wanted to retrieve the serum for self-preservation.

The money safe was real too, further strengthening his trust.

Just now, she deliberately feigned a delay from her injuries and blood loss, giving him the chance to strike.

Every step had been meticulously planned.

This entire procedure was a contingency she had long prepared for this exact scenario.

Unless a legendary Mind Power Awakened one directly infiltrated the safe with mental energy, failure was nearly impossible.

But her boss had said that Mind Power Awakened individuals with freedom were vanishingly rare, all hiding in the shadows, afraid to expose themselves—and she had no enemies at that level.

And now, this young inspector had fallen for it! As Zhou Yang watched Lin Qing’s fingertip slowly press toward the door button, her heart surged with anticipation:

“Open it—the moment you open it is your death!”

At that moment, Lin Qing suddenly stopped.

【Current Order Level decreased by 0.7】

【Current Order Level increased by 0.7】

A crimson alert and a green alert flashed consecutively before his eyes.

Lin Qing froze slightly.

Why had Order Level dropped so sharply, then immediately recovered? What was happening? He glanced at the woman beside him, Zhou Yang.

The underground arena was now empty except for him and Zhou Yang—everyone else had fled or died. But Zhou Yang had only lowered Order Level by 0.6 before, a threat at Captain level, and now she was crippled, no longer dangerous.

If another powerful enemy had caused the fluctuation, they wouldn’t have appeared and vanished so suddenly.

Unless...

Lin Qing suddenly turned his head toward the safe before him.

If the safe contained a triggered explosive, attempting to open it might cause a sharp drop in Order Level.

But... Zhi Star Group monitored the globe—weren’t explosives and similar tech weapons banned?

Lin Qing extended his hand again, attempting to open the safe.

But Order Level did not drop.

The inexplicable intuition did not warn him again.

Lin Qing grew even more puzzled.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yang grew anxious.

He had almost opened it—why had he stopped? Seeing Lin Qing remain alert, she grew more desperate; her condition was worsening, and she needed him to be poisoned and paralyzed before delivering her final strike.

But if he didn’t open the safe, she had no chance left.

“Only one option left...”

Zhou Yang took a deep breath, her eyes hardening with resolve. She used her tongue to twist and loosen one of her back molars.

Then she held it between her tongue and palate, and a mysterious energy began to flow through her body.

This was her final weapon.

—The “Tongue” technique from the Battle Art Divine Transformation series: besides its extraordinary taste perception, it could launch hidden projectiles from the mouth, with power near that of a bullet, extreme speed, and devastating surprise potential.

“Puff!”

The next instant, a white streak shot from Zhou Yang’s mouth!

Lin Qing, maintaining the Battle Art “Agility,” reacted instantly—but they were less than three meters apart. At this range, the tooth, fired like a bullet, would cross the distance in 0.01 seconds. By the time he reacted, he could only retreat.

Yet—

The bullet’s target was not him, but the safe’s door button!

“Success!”

Zhou Yang sneered inwardly.

She had seen the young inspector’s speed and reflexes—even at close range, she hadn’t dared hope to hit him directly.

So her target was the safe’s door button. If she could trigger it, the toxin would erupt at nearly a hundred meters per second under high pressure—even a trace inhalation would kill Lin Qing. “Clang!”

The white streak struck the button. The recoil forced the safe door to burst open violently!

Was there really something hidden in the safe?

Lin Qing’s expression changed instantly—he blurred into a phantom, retreating at maximum speed. As he fled, he pulled the trigger, firing at Zhou Yang.

“Bang!”

The gunshot echoed.

A burst of blood exploded from Zhou Yang’s chest—but she stared fixedly at the open safe, waiting for the purple-tinged toxin to erupt.

Yet—

The safe door opened silently. No anomaly appeared. Only a faint cold mist drifted out.

Zhou Yang froze.

Lin Qing retreated instantly to the office door, ready to shut it—but Order Level didn’t drop, easing his tension. He frowned at the open safe.

Inside, a pale blue syringe was fixed to a transparent base.

Nothing else.

Lin Qing glanced at Zhou Yang, frowning. What was this woman playing at? This attack just to open the safe?

Zhou Yang, shot through the chest, spat blood from her lips—but her eyes remained locked on the open safe, unable to believe what she saw.

Where was the high-pressure toxin? Where was her meticulously prepared toxin device?

Why hadn’t it triggered? No... impossible!

With trembling hands, she pushed herself up from the floor, swaying as she staggered toward the safe.

“Bang!”

A gunshot rang out. A blood hole exploded in her forehead. She toppled backward onto the floor.

In her eyes lingered profound terror—and a flicker of dawning realization.

In the final instant, she saw the reason.

On the spray nozzle of the toxic gas device, the piston, which should have been instantly ejected by the extreme pressure change, had just been trembling slightly.

It was as if…

An invisible force was forcibly suppressing its explosion.

(End of Chapter)