Just then, gunfire erupted from below—But since everyone was using electric weapons,They only caused the tent to resonate higher and higher.
As the weight of the tent became too light to hold itself together, the fabric tore apart—And they both plummeted toward the ground.
Lui grabbed the prisoner and clamped his hand over their mouth.
They slammed hard into a rocky outcrop.
"Catch them!""There's a traitor among us!""Where are the guards?""How could they let him escape?!"
Lui landed among distant boulders, scraped and bruised.He pushed himself up from the ground, pressing his wounded hand against the dirt.
Then he looked at the man before him.
He… looked familiar.
That face—those features.It brought him back to a snowy day years ago.
To a man carrying a sack full of cables over his shoulder.
That man…
That was Tian Yan.
"Uncle…" was all Lui could think.He stared at him with resentment.
As soon as this man had brought him to his father,Soldiers had ripped Lui away and taken him to the palace.
Lui's eyes filled with tears as he looked into Tian Yan's face.
Tian, through half-open eyes, stared back at Lui amidst the chaos and noise."Who are you?"
Lui gave a pained smile."You don't remember me…"
Do people not remember those they hurt?
Maybe the world doesn't work the way he thought it did.
Lui raised the electric weapon and aimed it at his chest.
"Tell me the purpose of the Lightning Council."
Tian blinked like a frog."No."
"This weapon will pierce straight through your chest," Lui said threateningly."You'll feel your body become a reservoir of electricity."
People were running toward them.Lui didn't know what to do.
He had only seconds to subdue the man and fulfill the capture mission.
He focused—Clung to the man with his mind—And imagined them lifting into the air together.
He hadn't expected that vision to become reality in mere seconds.
They rose into the sky.
Lui fired in mid-air, amplifying the resonance.
Loooooo!
"Tell me," Lui said as they soared higher into the charged atmosphere.
Tian Yan looked down at the crowd below, then at the hand gripping his throat.
"Tell me, or I'll let go," Lui warned.
"Why did you betray our kingdom?"
"W-who… how do you know?" Tian Yan rasped, struggling to breathe.
"I'm Lui," he said."Remember the little boy… the one standing with his father while you spoke to him that day?"His voice was swallowed by the wind.
"Remember the day you tried to tear him away from his father?Right after fate had already stolen his mother from him?And then the police came, and took that little boy away."
He fired upward again—The light he emitted from the sky knocked several soldiers to the ground.
Electrons danced along the defensive perimeter.
"I-it's in my pocket," Tian Yan said, reaching into his jacket mid-air."There's data on this flash drive…"
Lui took the object from his hand.But how could he know if he was telling the truth?
"If you're lying…"
"I swear I'm not!" Tian Yan pleaded. "I swear!"
Lui opened the system interface."I want to access the flash drive."
[Flash drive connected to the system.][Activating…][Please wait.][Activated.]
Dozens of tabs appeared on the screen.Attack maps, marked targets, folders full of jpgs, sound files, and more.
Lui imagined Tian Yan being lowered down to the ground.He dropped him onto a rocky ledge—then rose again into the air.
[Mission complete: 1/1][Would you like to view the files now?]
"No," Lui said. "Later."
[30 minutes remaining.If the mission is not completed, 1/4 of your population will be targeted with an aerial strike.Death or survival: Random.]
Lui continued gliding through the sky.
He was in agony—his heart torn by the thought of his people, and of his father.
"Show me the remaining two missions."
[Capture an enemy and deliver them to the Shadow Council.(The Shadow Council is the name for those who fight the Lightning Council.) (0/1)]
[Select at least one area of expertise:Frequency Crafting / Radio Bank Heisting / Radio Repair (1/3)]
"No…" Lui muttered helplessly."I shouldn't have let him go. I was supposed to bring him to the Shadow Council. How could I be so stupid? So stupid!"
How could he forget such a critical part of the mission?
He took a deep breath and looked down at the desert, where the tents were clustered.
He would take the cost of his mistake—Not his people.
At least he had completed the third mission.
Specialization: Frequency Crafting.
He didn't even know what it meant.
[Another mission completed.Frequency Crafting registration successful!]
Now, Lui needed to capture one more prisoner and deliver them to the Shadow Council.
He looked around.
Where was the Shadow Council?
[The Shadow Council map will unlock after a prisoner is secured.]
Lui shot downward like lightning.
He landed in a densely packed area of people.
Without hesitation, he grabbed someone by the shoulder and, channeling all of his mental strength, began to rise again.
"What?!""How—?!"
Someone clung to the man's legs.
Lui ignored it.He kept ascending, pouring every ounce of his capacity into the lift.
The captive screamed in terror—
"AAAAA!"
[Shadow Council map unlocked.Would you like to view the map now?]
Lui, exhausted and breathless, gave a weary nod.
One last mission…