Chapter 19: Patrol Mission Within the Central City

After resting for a while, Xia Xingli and Erin, having recovered some of their stamina, walked towards the place where the team was gathering.
The students, who had just finished their three-kilometer run, had also just finished resting and were lining up there.

Sven, who had run off somewhere just now, was now striding towards the team.
Xia Xingli and Erin quickly ran to their spots in the line.
To the concerned inquiries from the students next to them, they just shook their heads to indicate that they were fine.

“Emergency situation. Everyone, go back to your dorms now. A teacher will be taking attendance later, so don’t run around. Xia Xingli, you stay. The rest of you, dismissed.”

Before he had even reached the front of the line, Sven was already loudly giving instructions.
Although they were very curious about what had happened, the well-trained students still carried out Sven’s instructions immediately, dismissing the line and heading towards the dormitory area.

Xia Xingli gently patted Erin’s back, not giving the worried Erin a chance to ask anything, and walked straight towards Sven.
She naturally knew what had happened, although she hadn’t expected it to be at this time.

“I was planning to tell you in a couple of days, but I didn’t expect things to change so quickly.”
Sven’s face no longer had its usual frivolousness, but had become extremely serious.
“For a period of time after the Aberrant Beasts’ rest, the beasts will leave their gathering points and scatter. During this time, there usually won’t be any high-level beast tides, but the central city will be easily attacked by a continuous stream of small waves of beasts. During this period, all stationed B-rank and above ability users must gather and head outside the central city to snipe the beasts.”

“The Aberrant Beasts’ rest period… shouldn’t there be two more days left?”

Sven glanced at Xia Xingli in surprise, seemingly not expecting her to know the specific time of the beasts’ rest period.
But he didn’t dwell on it and nodded, saying, “That’s right, but the abnormal super A-rank beast tide a while ago already indicated the abnormality of the beasts’ behavior. Just now, the higher-ups forcibly activated the ‘Kadras’ of each central city, and it was discovered that there were already signs of beast activity in multiple areas, so this sniping operation has been moved up.”

“I see…”
Xia Xingli nodded to show that she understood.
“So, am I to participate in the sniping now?”

Sniping Aberrant Beasts generally required the participation of all stationed B-rank and above ability users.
As an A-rank ability user, Xia Xingli should theoretically participate as well.

But unexpectedly, Sven gave a negative answer. “You don’t have to participate. And speaking of which, you can’t participate, can you? Judging by the physique you showed earlier, you probably can’t even lift a giant blade right now.”

“Mmm…”

Sven’s words were blunt, but Xia Xingli couldn’t refute them.
He was right.
If the current Xia Xingli were to participate in the sniping, not only would she not be of much help, but she would likely drag them down.
After all, the beasts’ attacks at this time were completely illogical.
Xia Xingli, who couldn’t fight in close combat, wouldn’t even be as useful as the Aberrant Core cannons on the city walls.

“But you have another mission.”
Sven’s words took a turn, making the somewhat dejected Xia Xingli suddenly look forward to it.

“What is it?”

“The mission is to patrol and stand guard within the central city.”

“Huh?!”

For a moment, Xia Xingli suspected she had misheard.
Patrolling and standing guard within the impregnable central city?
You might as well call it shopping!

“Don’t think this is a mission to pass the time.”
Seeing Xia Xingli’s “are you kidding me” expression, Sven had no choice but to patiently explain to her.
“You know that in this world, besides the ability users who protect humanity and fight Aberrant Beasts, there are also some evil ability users, right?”

“I’ve heard of them…”

“Those anti-human, anti-social ability users are not all a disorganized mess. They actually have an organization called ‘The Purge.’ The ability users in that organization are a bunch of lunatics. They kill Aberrant Beasts, but they also kill humans. They don’t seem to care what happens to the world. In fact, they’d rather both Aberrant Beasts and humans go extinct, and the world be destroyed.”
Sven said, shaking his head.
“What’s even more ridiculous is that they call their actions ‘purification.’ They want to purify this world and let it be destroyed. A bunch of lunatics.”

“They are a bunch of lunatics… but why are you suddenly talking about this?”

Xia Xingli naturally knew about the organization “The Purge.”
After all, Xia Lixing had fought with members of this organization before.

“Now that the sniping has been suddenly moved up, the defensive forces in the central city are bound to be much weaker than before. The members of ‘The Purge’ hiding in various places probably won’t let such an opportunity slip by. You are not suitable for participating in the sniping due to your physical condition, but as an A-rank ability user, patrolling and standing guard within the central city to prevent the people of ‘The Purge’ from causing trouble is more than enough.”

Sven’s explanation made Xia Xingli suddenly realize, and at the same time, she understood why the security forces in the central city were much higher than usual during the sniping of Aberrant Beasts in the past.
It turned out they were on guard against the people of “The Purge.”

“But this happened so suddenly. Right now, you don’t even have a dedicated weapon, and you can’t even use a standard-issue weapon…”
Sven said, frowning, seemingly dissatisfied with the higher-ups’ arrangements.

But Xia Xingli didn’t care at all.
At least she was an A-rank ability user.
Not having a weapon to use against Aberrant Beasts wouldn’t affect her combat power against humans.

“Alright, I understand the mission. As for weapons and such, do you think an A-rank ability user needs them when fighting against people?”

“That seems to make sense… then go back and change into your uniform and patrol the designated area. I have to hurry and gather outside the city.”
Xia Xingli’s confidence also put Sven at ease.
After telling her the patrol area she was responsible for, Sven immediately rushed outside the city.

Only Xia Xingli was left on the empty training ground.
She looked towards the direction outside the city walls, her gaze filled with some disappointment.

“So I can’t even participate in the sniping…”

“The streets are really deserted at this time.”

Walking on the empty street, Xia Xingli murmured to herself.

At this moment, Xia Xingli was wearing a special long coat.
Due to her height and figure, this long coat had obviously been specially adjusted.
And under the open black long coat was a very ordinary-looking combat suit.
Although it looked no different from a school uniform, it was indeed a combat suit with a certain degree of defense and anti-corrosion properties.
On her lower body was a light purple school uniform-like short skirt, and on her feet were a pair of dark purple high-top boots.

If this outfit were worn before, Xia Xingli would have felt some resistance and awkwardness.
But after living with Stephen for a few days, wearing such clothes now, Xia Xingli’s heart was completely calm.

The dress-up hell of those days had already made her numb to these clothes.

However, a trace of conservatism that remained in the girl made Xia Xingli wear a pair of safety shorts under her skirt…
At least this way, she wouldn’t have to worry about accidental exposure…

For ease of movement, Xia Xingli had tied her long black hair into a simple ponytail.
Compared to before, she had a little less tranquility and a little more competence.
She walked unhurriedly on the empty street with her hands in the pockets of her coat.

The shops on both sides of the street had long been locked.
During these two days of sniping Aberrant Beasts, basically all ordinary residents would temporarily live in the underground shelters for two days to avoid any accidents.
This arrangement also made it much easier for the people patrolling and on guard in the central city.
Although it was difficult to find the members of “The Purge” who were hiding, under these circumstances, as long as they dared to show their faces, they would definitely be discovered.

“Although it’s important, it’s also a boring mission…”
Walking on the street with nothing to do, Xia Xingli muttered to herself out of boredom.
“How long has it been since there was news of ‘The Purge’ causing trouble during the sniping period? Ordinary people have already gone to the shelters. They can’t sneak into those places, nor can they break in. Basically, everyone outside is an ability user, and the central city is heavily guarded. If they still come out to cause trouble at this time, they’d really be brain-dead.”

As an A-rank ability user, Xia Xingli was responsible for an entire area by herself, so no one would respond to her words.

“It’s so boring. I really want to go outside the city to participate in the sniping… why is my physique so bad, it’s so annoying…”

The bored Xia Xingli muttered to herself as she walked.
In the end, her mission still turned into “shopping,” and shopping on an empty street at that.

“Hehehe, little girl, it’s not a good habit to reveal your weakness so defenselessly.”

Suddenly, a somewhat sinister voice came from an unknown location.
This voice chuckled strangely, and the source of the voice was erratic, making it impossible to tell where it came from.

Xia Xingli stopped in her tracks, but her expression did not change.
In the eyes of the hidden person, this little girl was completely stunned by the sudden voice and had not reacted.
But she would have no chance to react.

A dagger was pressed against Xia Xingli’s throat.
A tall, thin figure holding the dagger had abruptly appeared behind her.
This person was a member of “The Purge,” a killer called “One-Eyed Owl,” and also a C-rank ability user.

The moment One-Eyed Owl placed the dagger on Xia Xingli’s neck, he felt that this was too easy.
He had originally seen this little girl patrolling alone and thought she was a powerful ability user, but he hadn’t expected her to be a guy with a physical defect, and foolishly revealed her weakness.

Next, with just a little force from his hand, this little girl’s delicate throat would be slit.
Blood would gush out endlessly, and this little girl would die in a painful struggle.
Ah, everything was so wonderful, so wonderful that One-Eyed Owl was lost in the impending pleasure of killing.

And then, in this twisted pleasure, he lost all consciousness.

A muffled cry came from an alley not far away.
Xia Xingli paid it no mind, instead pinching the blade of the dagger and gently pushing it away from her neck. “How rude. It would still hurt a lot if you broke the skin.”

Behind her, One-Eyed Owl was already frozen in a purple crystal.
With Xia Xingli’s movement, it quietly cracked, turning into fragments that sublimated, disappearing completely from this world.

“I was just complaining about being bored, and now someone comes knocking on my door.”
Xia Xingli carelessly tossed the dagger aside and dusted off her hands, which had no dust on them.

“Alright, it’s your turn next.”