He was like a ticking time bomb!

"Lockdown!!"

Lei Zhen roared, the iron-blooded ferocity of a retired soldier erupting from him.

"Wang Defa!"

"Take your men and seal every exit to the farm, now!"

"No one in or out!"

"Turn on all searchlights and life detectors!"

"I want every rest area, warehouse, and even the sewers searched inch by inch!"

"I don’t care if he’s a man or a ghost. Even if we have to tear Golden Ears Farm apart, we’re finding that bastard tonight!"

Lei Zhen’s voice, filled with killing intent, echoed through the empty warehouse.

The bonfire banquet in the square, which had been filled with celebratory cheer just moments ago, came to an abrupt end.

In its place were jarring alarms that blared across the entire farm.

And beams of light from searchlights tearing through the night sky.

On the fifteen-meter-high composite alloy walls surrounding the farm, the faintly shimmering Rune Arrays suddenly blazed with light.

The high-voltage electric grid let out a sizzling hum.

The "Fire Rain" close-in weapon system arrays deployed at the four corners of the wall also activated.

Their cold muzzles slowly swiveled in the darkness, entering automatic targeting mode.

In just one minute, Golden Ears Farm transformed from a joyous party into a heavily fortified fortress.

"Everyone, listen up!"

Zhang Hao’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it cut clearly through the distant alarms, reaching the ears of every Sharp Sword Squad member.

He carried his signature heavy assault rifle, his eyes frighteningly cold.

"The target is a cultist from the Blood Feeding Sect. Extremely dangerous!"

"These bastards will do anything to feed the Blood Gu inside them!"

"If you see anyone suspicious, or anyone with dark red, blood-like markings on their body, fire a warning shot immediately!"

"Never act alone!"

The squad members below responded in unison.

One second they were drinking and eating, the next they had already switched into combat mode.

Every trace of their earlier laziness had vanished without a trace.

"Wang Meng, take your men and block the eastern exit."

"Old Liu, you go west and assist the guards."

"Gu Yun, Lin Qing, you two take a team and patrol the outer walls. Don’t let so much as a mouse get out!"

Zhang Hao’s orders were delivered rapidly, without a hint of hesitation.

"Han Feng."

"Here."

Han Feng stepped forward, carrying the Thunder Fire-3 rifle he had just bought from the old cripple.

Zhang Hao glanced at him, his gaze lingering on the rifle in his hands for a second.

The memory of the Tier Two Alloy Plate that had been shot through that afternoon flashed through his mind.

He pointed to a distant, abandoned water tower.

"You’re a good shot. Get to high ground point three."

"It has the best line of sight over the entire residential area."

"If that guy tries to slip away over the rooftops or through the alleys, I want you to pin him to the ground."

"Understood."

Without another word, Han Feng slung his rifle and broke into a run.

His movements were light as he tapped his toes on the ground and leaped onto a nearby container crane.

After a few bounds, he vanished into the darkness.

Watching Han Feng’s retreating figure, Gu Yun subconsciously tightened his grip on his rifle, his lips moving slightly.

In the end, he swallowed the words, ’Be careful.’

He just snorted disdainfully, turned, and led his men toward the wall.

High ground point three was the top of the abandoned water tower.

The cold wind howled.

Han Feng knelt on the rusty iron plating but didn’t rush to set up his rifle.

He closed his eyes, then snapped them open.

[Talent: Spiritual Vision (Activated)]

The pitch-black night instantly transformed before his eyes.

Buildings became translucent outlines of lines.

Water pipes under the ground emitted a faint blue glow.

The guards running in the distance were clusters of moving white halos.

This perspective consumed an immense amount of Spiritual Power.

A sharp, needle-like pain pricked the depths of his mind, but he didn’t care.

The black hole in Uncle Qian’s chest just now had left too deep an impression on him.

He remembered the residual energy fluctuations from that hole with perfect clarity.

It was foul, viscous, and carried a nauseating, putrid stench.

As long as the murderer was still on the farm, this unique energy signature would have nowhere to hide from his "Spiritual Vision."

Han Feng’s gaze slowly swept over the dormitory area below.

That was where the farm workers and their families lived.

It was densely populated with complex terrain, the perfect place to hide.

Dozens of fully armed guards were searching door-to-door.

Cries, shouts, and the sound of doors being broken down rose and fell in waves.

’Nothing.’

’Not this one either.’

Han Feng’s eyes scanned building after building.

Most rooms only contained the faint gray light that represented ordinary people.

They were all trembling with fear. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Just as his gaze swept over an old barracks-style apartment building in the northernmost corner, his pupils suddenly contracted.

’Found him.’

In the innermost room on the third floor, a mass of dark red energy was huddled in a corner.

The energy was extremely unstable, constantly pulsing with a blackish-red mist.

And next to it were two extremely faint, small points of light.

’Those are two children.’

’Dammit.’

’He has hostages.’

"Three o’clock, North District, Building Seven, third floor, west side, innermost room!"

Han Feng pressed his earpiece, reporting the coordinates with extreme speed and clarity.

"Anomalous Energy Source detected. It matches the residual energy from the victim’s wound."

"There are two civilians near the target, suspected to be children!"

"I repeat, suspected children!"

The comms channel went silent for a moment.

Then, Zhang Hao’s voice came through.

"Copy that."

"All guard units, converge on Building Seven!"

"Maintain cover. Do not alert the target!"

The search teams below immediately changed direction.

They silently surrounded the apartment building.

However, the cultist was clearly more perceptive than they had imagined.

The instant the first guard approached the entrance to the stairwell, the mass of dark red energy suddenly surged.

BOOM!

The third-floor window exploded outward, sending shards of glass and a wave of red energy blasting out.

A dark figure shot out of the window.

But he wasn’t holding the children; instead, he charged directly toward the encirclement below.

"We’ve been discovered! Fight your way out!"

It was a scrawny man wearing ill-fitting farm work clothes.

His face was covered in strange, purplish-black veins that looked like crawling earthworms.

Facing the dark muzzles of the guns ahead, not only did he not dodge, he grinned.

He revealed a mouth full of sharp, yellow teeth and let out a bizarre laugh.

"Fire!"

A guard squad leader roared.

RAT-TAT-TAT!

Several assault rifles simultaneously spat flames.

A dense spray of bullets showered the scrawny man.

At this close range, such concentrated fire would have turned even an iron-skinned boar into Swiss cheese.

But what happened next made everyone’s eyes go wide.

The scrawny man was not torn to shreds by the bullets.

Just as the bullets were about to hit him, the skin on his body suddenly began to squirm.

A viscous, dark-red bloody light seeped out from his body.

It formed a hemispherical [Blood Light Shield] in front of him.