Chapter 980

The night wind in the Kuroshio Strait was much colder than during the day.

Under the moonlight, the sea surface shimmered with a layer of silvery-gray oil sheen, and the island outlines on both banks lay like sleeping beasts in the darkness.

On the deck of Flight Bird 1, there were almost no passengers left; everyone had been sent back by the ship's broadcast announcing, "Tonight there is equipment maintenance, please stay in your cabins."

Uesugi Muneyuki stood in the shadow of the 12th-floor observation balcony, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand, his gaze fixed on the direction of the lower deck.

He was waiting.

Since the first message from Miyawaki Sakura, he had been waiting for the other side to reveal all their cards.

He could not determine how many crew members on the ship had been bribed or infiltrated—perhaps three or five, perhaps half; if they acted early, any that slipped through might detonate bombs or open fire in the dark.

He needed a moment when "everyone is gathered on the deck."

Mai Xuejie stood beside him, having changed into clothes more suitable for movement.

That pearl-white coat had been put away in the wardrobe, replaced by a dark gray high-neck thin sweater and black long pants, with flat black short boots on her feet.

Her weapon was hidden in a slender black cylindrical cloth bag—usually it looked like a painting tube, but now it contained the Breaking Evil Bow from the shrine.

It was also the sacred object of the Kantō Shinai, the Azumayama Divine Bow.

But upon hearing this name, Uesugi Muneyuki always couldn't help but think: Azusa had been adorable since childhood—

"Sakura's last message came back twenty minutes ago." Mai Xuejie said softly: "She said they were sending her up to the deck."

"Time is almost up." Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at the satellite time on his phone: "Moonrise is at 21:47. Now it's 21:35."

"Come on, we can win!" Mai Xuejie exhaled lightly.

"It's fine, treat every shot as the last one, and then don't fear losing!" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at the senior student, but still couldn't help saying: "I really didn't expect to encounter something like this—these lunatics, actually wanting a Sewol-go 2.0?"

"You haven't thought of many things!" Mai Xuejie's face was very serious: "The most important thing is to prevent them from truly communicating with the Old Gods; although the Logic Tide is stable, extreme rituals or frenzy occasionally disrupt the blockade, and our advantage lies in————you might be closer to the Old Gods than all of us!"

"Me?" Uesugi Muneyuki blinked in confusion.

"Anyway, I'm standing firm and outputting." Mai Xuejie said expressionlessly: "You just need to protect me and keep people from getting close."

"Understood."

The walkie-talkie carried Asuka's voice, pressed low: "Mr. Uesugi, I saw four people patrolling near the top-deck lifeboat. They have something on them, with bulges on the sides of their belts."

"Long or square?"

"Long, like a baton. One person's waist outline showed a pistol."

"Got it. Don't get close, keep observing."

"Sakura's side—"

"Sakura Meeting will handle it." Uesugi said: "She's better than me at not being noticed."

"Your task is————Asuka, when we fight the enemy, you bring Village Flower Sister to defuse the bomb."

"Received, received, received!" Asuka nodded seriously, transforming into an angry little bird: "Watch me!"

They fell silent for about two minutes.

The sea wind on the deck suddenly picked up a bit, blowing the distant, faint chanting into their ears.

"It's started." Mai Xuejie said.

Uesugi Muneyuki pushed open the small door on the side of the balcony, moved quickly along the outer passage toward the lower deck, and Mai Xuejie followed closely behind, her steps light and soundless.

The lower deck was an open area at the ship's stern, usually used for storing spare mooring ropes and lifesaving equipment, but now it had been cleared.

Moonlight shone on the metal deck, moonlight light heart-pounding.

Four black-clothed people stood at the four corners, each holding a dark red lantern, the candlelight swaying in the wind but not extinguished. In the center was a temporarily erected metal platform, covered with dark cloth—Miyawabi Sakura lay flat on it, her wrists and ankles still bound with leather straps, but the cross had been removed, her whole body in a supine position, face up, eyes fixed rigidly on the black sky above.

Nothing was stuffed in her mouth. In fact, she was speaking—her voice hoarse but emotions stable: "Do you think this is useful? Using me as a sacrifice? I tell you, if the Old Gods truly exist, the first ones they'd take would be you lot who only bully the weak."

No one responded to her.

She wasn't speaking to them; she just needed to make a sound to confirm she was still alive.

The man in the black hunting robe, whom they called the "Watchman," stood at the head of the metal platform, holding the original edition of the Bible of the Flesh in his hand.

Behind him stood Fang Tang Cheng Yi, who had finally removed the guise of a financial analyst, his eyes no longer polite or gentle, only retaining a near-fanatical focus. The tall, thin man with gold-rimmed glasses stood on the left, gripping a black pistol. The other two black-clothed individuals stood guard on the periphery.

No one noticed how, originally four people stably positioned at four points, an extra person had appeared, but no one paid attention; seeing an extra person, the old gentleman then stepped into the center.

The old gentleman opened the book.

He began to recite a passage written in archaic English, his voice low and rhythmic.

"He is the breath in the night wind. He is the gravity of the tides. He is the echo deep in the bones and blood."

At that moment, a tearing wind sound came from ten meters above!

A golden arrow pierced the night sky, accurately penetrating the dark red lantern held by the black-clothed person at the right corner.

The lantern exploded instantly, sparks flying, and the man shouted in surprise as he retreated.

"Who is it?" the leader exclaimed.

"I am the one who walks the Way of Heaven, the ruler of all things!" Mai Xuejie stood on the railing of the upper deck, the bowstring still faintly trembling. Her voice was calm, like asking in a tea room, "Is this tea hot?"

The second arrow was almost simultaneously shot—it didn't hit anyone, but was nailed into the floor beside the metal platform, the fletching on the arrow shaft trembling in the wind like a warning boundary: "Stop! You heretics! In all of Japan, no one understands the New Gods and Old Gods better than I! Your exchange will result in an uncontrollable existence! You will destroy the modernized life you now enjoy!"

Fang Tang Cheng Yi reacted quickly: "Shut up! You godsmen! You dare not cast us out, monopolizing the interpretation of antiquity and mystery! If it weren't for you godsmen monopolizing the right to interpret scriptures, how could we have groped forward in corruption and decay for so long? Someone has already become a New God! We can too!"

"Our temples and shrines are the products left by Tōshō Daigongen and Nankōbō Hall, used to isolate the darkness of chaos—you, don't persist in delusion!" Mai Xuejie shouted angrily.

However, the other side did not accept it; he suddenly turned, pointed his gun toward the upper deck, and fired two shots in succession with the silencer.

But Uesugi Muneyuki was faster than him.

Uesugi Muneyuki stepped out from the shadow on the side of the deck, his overcoat's hem lifted by the sea wind, his pace neither fast nor slow, his expression no different from when he stood before the autopsy table; the bullets struck his body, eliciting no reaction.

Uesugi Muneyuki, again him!

How is this guy so hard to deal with?

Poison, faked accidents, seawater decompression sickness, hypoxia, bullets—this legendary unkillable king fears nothing!

I really fucked Matsui Jurina!

At that moment, the old gentleman's lips stopped chanting.

He closed the book, raised his head to look at Uesugi Muneyuki, the fanaticism in his eyes slightly receding, revealing something even more dangerous—a calm of "I already expected this would happen": "Uesugi Muneyuki, I know you. Your reputation in the police system is well-known; we should have thought of it earlier—you are also an existence of the inner world—since that's the case, do you understand why we chose to act at this time?"

"Because the water depth of the Kuroshio Current?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned.

He indeed did not know some of the other party's affairs.

"Because the moment of moonrise today coincides with the third night of Chi Rui An being accepted." The old gentleman put the book back into his bosom, "You may not fear guns, you may not fear poison, but you guess—do the people around you fear them?"

Before his words finished, a black-clothed person on the periphery suddenly pulled out something resembling a remote control from his bosom, his thumb pressing a red button.

"The bomb in the lower cargo hold." The old gentleman said: "I don't need to detonate it. I only need to tell you—it's there. And you cannot simultaneously defuse the bomb, save people, and protect four individuals. How do you intend to choose?"

Uesugi Muneyuki stopped at a position about seven steps from the metal platform: "I have already arranged people to deal with this problem!"

"You underestimated the amount of explosives we deployed." The old gentleman coldly snorted: "And also underestimated one"

He suddenly raised his hand, his fingertips condensing a mass of dark black energy, like thick ink dispersing in water, hurling it toward Uesugi Muneyuki's chest.

That energy mass moved extremely fast; when it landed on Uesugi Muneyuki, it emitted a heavy "hum" sound, like striking an invisible wall, instantly dissipating into wisps of black smoke.

The old gentleman's expression finally showed a crack: "————What?"

This guy still isn't affected by sorcery!

Then what does he actually eat?

Just like the rumors, does Uesugi Chief only eat stockings?

At this moment, Uesugi Muneyuki moved.

His speed was so fast it didn't seem like something a forensic pathologist should possess, accompanied by the burst of spiritual energy, Uesugi Muneyuki's body completed an impossible turn in midair, dodging the second bullet, his right fist bringing a wind sound as it struck Fujido's wrist.

The gun flew from his hand, hit the railing, and bounced onto the sea surface.

Fujido Chengyi let out a painful groan, retreated two steps while covering his wrist, his joints emitting a crisp dislocation sound.

The tall thin man nearby tried to draw another gun, but Mai Xuejie's third arrow had already pierced his chest, pinning him entirely to the iron railing erected on the deck beside him, the arrow shaft buzzing and trembling, blood seeping from beneath his hunting robe.

"Don't move, oh." Mai Xuejie's voice came from the upper deck: "The next one is for the head!"

Mai Xuejie's close combat is indeed not strong, but her suppressive ability from a high position can be called terrifying.

Now no one else dares to move again.

The situation appears to already be in an advantage.

At this time, Xiao Ying in the dark closely monitored everything, she had always maintained the state of psychological invisibility, like a transparent wind weaving through the edge of chaos.

At this time she saw Uesugi Muneyuki had already controlled the situation, Mai-sama's arrows blockaded all threat directions, Fujido's wrist had been relieved of force and he knelt on the ground, the tall thin man was pinned by the arrow in place and dared not move—everything was about to end.

Advantage is mine!

The girl couldn't help but let out a relieved breath, thinking this group of heretical cultists was finally doomed!

This feeling of relief let her whole body slightly relax, as if finally able to take off the disguise of the heart.

She forgot, once relaxed, the invisibility state would become unstable, and moreover the outbreak of emotion let her aura fall into disorder.

Among the remaining four people, the young woman responsible for holding the lamp turned her head and gazed toward the shadow on the deck, her gaze precisely landing on the position where Sakura stood.

"You————you are who?"

"Who?"

"When did you come in?"

"Miyawaki Sakura? Why————"

There's an internal spy?!

Damn it! Uesugi Muneyuki and Mai Xuejie couldn't help but feel their hearts jolt.

And the reaction of the watchman old gentleman was astonishingly fast.

He almost didn't think, his figure flickered, a withered hand had already grabbed Sakura's wrist, another hand clamped her neck. His strength, under the support of the Dharma Image, was astonishingly great, Xiao Ying was pulled and dragged by him, half-kneeling on the edge of the metal platform.

At some point, his right hand held a black small pistol, the muzzle pressed against the side of Sakura's jawbone—that position, once fired, would sever the brainstem within zero point several seconds.

"Don't move! Nobody move!" The old gentleman's voice was hoarse, having lost his earlier composure: "She is in my hands. You come over and try?"

"!!!" Sakura felt the gun barrel pressing against her chin, her small face instantly turning snow white.

It's a gun!

It's a real gun?!?!?!?

The girl had never experienced such a scene, she instantly had her legs go weak, her pupils violently tremble, her vision went dark.

Damn it!

Uesugi Muneyuki stopped his steps, his spirit sphere already raised halfway, now slowly lowered.

Mai Xuejie's bow and arrow also retracted half a point, her arrowhead still aimed at the old gentleman's direction, but if fired, the bullet might very well be triggered first.

Uesugi Muneyuki considered the risk, however, since someone must real-time gather information, Xiao Ying had to take the risk—this is unavoidable.

No one had thought they had already initially controlled the situation, Xiao Ying seeing the advantage is mine, couldn't help but have emotional fluctuation leading to invisibility failure!

The old gentleman dragged Sakura step by step retreating toward the deck's edge.

Behind him was the metal railing of the ship's side, outside the railing was deep black, moonlight-unpenetrable Setouchi Sea water. The sea current at the hull made a guttural gurgling sound.

"You lost." The old gentleman said: "The ritual has already been activated. The bomb I can detonate at any time. And this little girl will become my final insurance."

Uesugi Muneyuki stepped forward one step: "Stop, if you stop now, I can consider letting you go!"

"Don't come over!" The old gentleman gripped Sakura's shoulder, pulling her back half a step. Her back had already pressed against the railing's iron rod, the gun continued to press hard: "Otherwise I'll shoot!"

Uesugi Muneyuki stopped again.

At that instant, the old gentleman did something no one had anticipated—he laughed, suddenly flipped his body and flipped over the railing.

Just like that, carrying Miyawaki Sakura, together they leapt into the sea.

"Plop~"

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