Sirita clambered up from the ground. The Grim Reaper was just by her side and yet fear was absent from her eyes.

She reached an arm into the pocket of her shirt.

Xia Lei cautiously halted, aiming his Gust assault rifle at her chest. He warned, “Put your hands down!”

“Ptui!” Sirita spat a mouthful of blood and spit onto the dirt. “Coward! You’re nothing but a sly rat!”

“Allow me to take her out. That would teach her some manners,” offered Yelena.

Instead, Xia Lei raised a hand to decline Yelena’s suggestion. Sirita’s hands were basically useless now. Her fiery front was just to mask her inability to fight any longer.

With furrowed brows, Sirita trembled as she reached her somewhat movable left hand into her pocket to retrieve a single photograph. In that photo, she and Dark Mona hugged each other’s shoulders with radiant smiles.

Sirita studied the photo, her gaze softening and a small smile forming. “Dark Mona, just you wait for me. I’ll be there with you very soon.” She landed a chaste kiss on the photograph, losing all of her fire to let deep feelings seep through its corners.

Xia Lei had to admit he was surprised. “You’re lovers?” And then he broke into laughter. “Are you the top or the bottom? Judging by Dark Mona’s physique, you’re probably the bottom, right?”

Sirita ignored his jeers as she continued to train her gaze on the photograph. Before long, her blood had soaked through the printed sheet. Despite that, she couldn’t bear to put it down.

Clang!

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Hattori Hyakusai and Tsukino Kyoko’s battle was fervent.

Though Hyakusai had declared that he would kill her within less than ten seconds, their battle had already gone on for a good full minute. Yet, Tsukino Kyoko was still well and very much alive. Hyakusai was certainly impressed by this young female ninja.

In the midst of exchanging attacks, Hattori Hyakusai realized something. “Your master... Your master is Yagyu Yuichi!”

That seemed to enrage Tsukino Kyoko, she delivered a harsh blow with her katana. “The Hattori clan has no right to say his name!”

Hattori Hyakusai continued defending himself and then charging forward with an aim to Tsukino Kyoko’s small waist. His vehement force was filled with determination to cut Tsukino Kyoko in half!

Tsukino Kyoko quickly leapt backwards, successfully dodging the incoming danger while thrusting her katana forward.

As Hattori Hyakusai’s katana pierced the air, his revert was slowed by a millisecond.

Stab! Tsukino Kyoko drove her sword deep into his chest, letting it exit through his back.

“You...” The older man’s words came out as a quiet groan. He crumbled forward towards Tsukino Kyoko.

The woman drew her bloodied sword away and stepped aside.

Hattori Hyakusai fell to the ground with his face down. It was then that she noticed the needle at the back of his neck.

Tsukino Kyoko whipped her head around to glare at E’er Demutu dangerously.

The man only shrugged in return. “The boss gave you a minute.”

Tsukino Kyoko could only continue to glare at him. But she was clear that if it wasn’t for E’er Demutu’s help, there was no way Hattori Hyakusai could be defeated. If the older man had a dying wish to kill her. It wasn’t impossible

Xia Lei returned his attention to them, expression displeased. “What the hell is wrong with you two? Didn’t I make myself clear? We’re supposed to catch them alive. Why did you kill him?”

E’er Demutu and Tsukino Kyoko were quick to reply. “It’s not my fault.”

“So it’s mine?” questioned Xia Lei.

E’er Demutu stayed silent.

Tsukino Kyoko was already avoiding his gaze.

But things had already turned out this way. If it wasn’t for E’er Demutu’s help that numbed Hattori Hyakusai’s senses, Tsukino Kyoko would not be able to take him out with a stab. But the cause of the man’s death was not due to E’er Demutu’s tranquiliser, so it was only fair for both of them to not take responsibility.

“She better not die,” huffed Xia Lei, reverting her gaze back onto Sirita.

The team members surrounded Sirita closely, making sure to leave no room for escape.

Sirita remained motionless in the middle of the circle. She looked to be at peace but the lack of fear was almost scary. As the Zodiac team members continued to close in, there was a ghost of a cold smirk on her lips.

The shift in her expressions was brief but Xia Lei caught it. It made his heart sunk with insecurity, prompting him to activate his X-ray vision. Sirita’s clothes were immediately dissolved away to give way for a full-body inspection.

Other than her impressive rack, there was something else. She was wearing a bomb vest!

There was a timer on the vest and when Xia Lei found it, the numbers were already ticking!

Xia Lei finally understood it. Sirita was retrieving the picture earlier as a front to trigger her bomb vest!

The recognition settled in and Xia Lei exclaimed urgently. “Lay flat!”

Everyone in the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team was a veteran at war. The urgency in Xia Lei’s voice had told them what they needed to know. They immediately threw themselves onto the ground. Without the need for Xia Lei’s reminders, they were already rolling themselves to hide behind the nearest tree.

However, the Russo and Grey sisters were slower to respond. They still had no idea what was going on. They were taken aback for a bit before realizing that they should do the same.

Sirita let out a shrill scream and lunged towards Xia Lei.

Bang! Xia Lei fired the Gust assault rifle once, allowing the bullet to hit Sirita’s forehead. Her blood splattered around messily. The damage to her brain ceased all control of her body and Sirita slumped onto the ground.

Xia Lei rolled around and hid behind a tree.

At this moment, three seconds had passed and the time shown on the vest was 00:00.

Ka-boom!

The earth-shaking explosion sent violent shockwaves in all directions, breaking all the trees within its five-metre radius in halves!

If it weren’t for the vegetation, the aftershocks would’ve travelled more than tens of metres away.

The soot lingered in the air after the explosion. The trees in the centre of the explosion were hung limply with a mix of Sirita’s disembodied flesh chunks splayed around. Some of her body parts had even flown to tens of metres away.

Though the sturdy tree trunks had absorbed most of the shock, the noise and impact it emitted were far beyond human tolerance. Human organs and the brain would face damages inevitably under such shock. Xia Lei was the first to recover from the effects, but even that took him five minutes to achieve.

The first thing that welcomed him the instance his eyes were blinked open was double vision. He shook his head hard to regain his focus. In the distance, he spotted a red uniformed ninja along with E’er Demutu and the others. Thankfully, no bloodstains were seen on their bodies so they were probably unharmed. Lastly, his gaze fell onto the Grey and Russo sisters. The sight of their state immediately clenched his heart.

Obvious bloodstains were seeping through their backs, their clothes were torn apart by the myriad of wooden splinters. Giovanna looked the most pitiful among them all, the explosive impact and splinters ripping her pants apart to reveal her vulnerable bottom. Her plush pale flesh was bleeding. It made her bottom appear like a mushroom and that poor fungus had a larger wooden splinter stabbed into it. The location of the injury was close enough to be inappropriate.

Xia Lei clambered over to Giovanna’s side. He reached an arm over to her neck. Ah, thank goodness she still had a pulse. He then went to check on Stella, Theresa and Rosa. Their conditions were alright, sustaining only slight injuries. Everyone had survived the impact.

Sirita might be dead but jogging his memories of earlier sent chills down Xia Lei’s spine. If he hadn’t caught the hint of a smile on Sirita’s lips, he wouldn’t even be alarmed. Her palms were totalled and she wasn’t able to continue her fight. However, if things had gone unnoticed for another three seconds, he and the entire Chinese Zodiac Battle Team would be dead!

Dark Mona and Sirita were the best assassins the FA Organization had. While the former was a better fighter than the latter, the latter was much more cunning and cruel!

Who would’ve known if this was part of Sirita’s plan? Could she be waiting for him to capture her deliberately?

If that was the case, then Sirita’s was not only cruel but also terrifyingly intelligent. Sadly, the only thing she hadn’t expected was Xia Lei’s X-ray vision.

Xia Lei took off his jacket and tied it around Giovanna’s waist. The fabric acted as a skirt to give Giovana’s exposed bottom some modesty.

At this moment, the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members had begun to clamber up. They first shook their heads hard to regain their bearings.

“Is everyone alright?” Xia Lei asked with concern.

“I’m alright.” Tsukino Kyoko barely stood up when she lurched forward to puke a stream of red.

The same thing had occurred on the other members, everyone had a small stream of blood flowing through the corners of their lips. Xia Lei’s body was stronger than theirs combined, they were already lucky enough to have survived the explosion.

Studying the conditions of his subordinates, Xia Lei couldn’t help but feel anxious over the female knights. He quickly held up his communicator to call for help. “We’ve got casualties here, please bring medical help over immediately!” Then, he instructed, “Yelena, fire the signal!”

Yelena heeded his instructions and brought out a signalling gun. She pulled the trigger and let the red smoking signal head to the skies.

“Assess their condition, I’ll go look after Giovanna. Her injuries seemed to be the most severe.” Xia Lei hastily arranged.

“That woman was planning for this to happen.” Tsukino Kyoko limped over. “The fact that she wore a bomb vest is clear that she wasn’t planning to leave this place alive. She was just waiting for us to capture her because she knows we will.”

Tsukino Kyoko’s identity gave her the qualification for such deduction.

Xia Lei could only reply with a forced smile. He instructed her, “Help me cover her for a bit.”

Tsukino Kyoko’s eyes landed on the jacket around Giovanna’s waist, immediately understanding what Xia Lei meant. She quickly stood over to the side, shielding Giovanna away from the other men.

Xia Lei peeled his jacket away to reveal her bloodied bottom. With a strong grip, he pulled the splinter upwards.

“Ah!” Giovanna moaned in pain, her eyes remaining closed. Her moan had sounded rather suggestive as if the splinter had gone inside instead of getting removed.

That attracted the attention of the men.

“Boss, that’s unfair.” The monkey complained, “You let Kyoko stand in our way but you get to enjoy the view of the knight’s ass.”

Xia Lei was rendered wordless.

It was possible that he spoilt these bastards too much.