-59- Total Annihilation in Seconds

Upon hearing Irene’s voice, a complex mix of emotions flickered in the giant wolf’s agonizing eyes. Soon, the glow of magic circuits emerged across its body, and it began to shrink, transforming from a van-sized beast into a tall, slender man.

Perhaps as a manifestation of his ability, he retained a layer of dark wolf fur covering most of his body, preventing total nudity.

Yvette stood to the side, silently observing the wolf-assassin’s features. Without a doubt, this was Tennyson Norton, a black-haired young man with deep-set eye sockets.

Yet his gaze at the moment was somewhat bizarre—shifting between dullness and clarity, as if he were fighting for control against a secondary personality.

"Tennyson, what happened? Why did you become like this?" Irene asked anxiously.

Tennyson parted his lips, seemingly wanting to say something, but the next second, he abruptly clutched his throat and began to struggle violently. After Yvette pulled his hand away, he murmured with a dazed expression, "Kill me... I beg you... kill me..."

Irene froze. Having gone through so much trouble to catch Tennyson, she never expected his request to be this. It sounded as though... he had no control over his own actions.

"You can't control yourself?" Yvette detected the pain and struggle in his words.

"I... I am... No, I can't say..." Tennyson gasped heavily, staring at the ground. After a long while, he lowered his voice and said, "Kill me... This is... the only outcome I can control..."

Yvette’s fine brows furrowed slightly, as she began to understand why the giant wolf hadn't dodged or fled, but instead fought her to the death from the very beginning.

He had wanted to die from the start?

Irene pressed further: "Why? Is it the Shedding Organics? Did they force you?"

Tennyson did not answer, silently staring at the ground. But clearly, by failing to deny it, his silence could be taken as confirmation.

"Are you afraid to say it, unwilling to say it, or... unable to say it?" Yvette asked.

These were the three directional hints she offered. "Afraid to say" implied fear, "unwilling to say" suggested hidden grievances, and "unable to say" pointed to a different scenario entirely. Compared to the first two, the latter leaned more toward a coercive shackle, though the exact nature of that shackle remained unknown.

"Unable to say..." Tennyson muttered softly after a prolonged silence. "I am just a... testing tool... I can't say anything..."

Unable to say. It seemed there was indeed a special shackle in place. No wonder the Shedding Organics dared to let him roam the outside world and kill at will... A testing tool—this was as strong of a hint as one could get.

Understanding dawned in Yvette’s mind, though she had no intention of actually ending his life. She planned to hand Tennyson over to the AJSP. First, to claim the one-million bounty; second, because under these circumstances, it might actually protect him.

After all, Irene’s employer, "Bird News," belonged to the "Black Tower faction" of media, which was naturally at odds with the Shedding Organics. Furthermore, the wolf-assassin was top-tier breaking news that would never lack traffic. Combining the two, even if Tennyson had to spend the rest of his life in prison, it was still far better than remaining under the control of the Shedding Organics as a brutal serial killer.

Just as she made this decision, however, a series of footsteps approached from afar.

She raised her head and saw more figures appearing at both the front and rear of the highway. Every single one of those figures glowed with the light of magic circuits. Their expressions were dull and indifferent, as though they were all Tennyson's kind.

Irene covered her mouth in horror. She obviously recognized the meaning of the glowing patterns on these people, but the crucial point was—there were over a dozen enemies!

With so many people, if they were all like Tennyson, then no matter how strong Miss Nameless was, how could she possibly protect her?

"Hehe..." Following a round of applause, the wolf-assassins parted to let a middle-aged man in a white lab coat walk forward. Looking at the three of them, he said, "Incredible. A rookie mercenary actually managed to defeat a 'Beast Warrior' like this. Miss Nameless, just who on earth are you?"

Expressionless, Yvette looked at the middle-aged man and immediately performed a quick online search to retrieve his information. "Hewlett Shawn, bioengineering consultant for the Shedding Organics, and professor of runic biology at Agasha University?"

"Correct." The middle-aged man nodded without hesitation, pushing up his glasses to reveal his thick arms covered in runic markings.

"You are researching... the ability to cause human bestialization? Tennyson Norton is your test subject?" Yvette asked.

"Though it's obvious, Miss Nameless—or rather, Miss Yvette Sien... if you ask me like that, wouldn't I be at a huge disadvantage if I just answered?" Hewlett said with a smile.

Yvette frowned slightly, then heard him continue: "Why don't you answer a question of mine, and I'll answer a question of yours? An equivalent exchange."

"What do you want to ask?"

"Well, my first question is... Are you Number Zero?"

A deathly silence hung in the air. Meeting Hewlett’s bizarre gaze, Yvette’s initial reaction was one of utter bewilderment.

She asked, "What is Number Zero?"

"You aren't Number Zero?" Seeing the genuine, unfeigned confusion in Yvette’s eyes, Hewlett looked somewhat surprised. He asked again, "How old are you?"

"That's the second question."

"Fine, fine, fine... Go ahead and ask yours."

"Answer my previous question. Are you researching human bestialization abilities?"

"As for that question, unfortunately, the answer is no. Beast Warrior abilities are not within the scope of my research; I was merely running tests on them along the way," Hewlett replied with a faint smile.

Guessing the truth behind these words, Yvette said indifferently, "My age is 16."

Having answered, she continued with her next question: "What experiment did you perform on Tennyson Norton?"

"This is a technology still undergoing testing. I suppose I might call it the 'Soul Protocol.' This technology allows us to input specific instructions into a biological organism, much like programming the underlying protocol of a mind-core, to effectively constrain those otherwise unruly bioweapons. You can imagine the applications of this technology—such as breeding powerful war beasts and emulating the 'Three Laws of Mechanical Puppetry' by implanting the same content into them. That way, they would always prioritize humans above all else and obey commands just like puppets... What a perfect technology! Just thinking about it is exhilarating, isn't it?"

It was evident that Hewlett was deeply passionate about his research, rattling off a long explanation in one breath.

"Like hypnosis or cognitive modification?" Yvette asked.

"No, no, no. There is a vast difference. The brilliance of the Soul Protocol lies in using the spiritual body as an anchor to influence both memory storage and the physical body. For example, using this technology, even without altering any of the subject's cognition regarding 'bestialization,' I can lock that ability away. Both activating and deactivating it requires nothing more than setting a 'safe word.'"

Hewlett then added with a tone of regret, "Of course, as a technology still in testing, it still has many problems and is difficult to leave the laboratory. True large-scale application might still be a century away."

Using the spiritual body as an anchor? A thought stirred in Yvette’s mind, and she suddenly asked, "Are you also in collusion with the Holy Spirit Cult?"

Her words were merely a probe, but to her surprise, a strange smile appeared on Hewlett's face.

"Miss Nameless, your insight truly terrifies me," he said. "To realize so quickly that this is technology born from soul runes."

Without directly addressing the topic of the Holy Spirit Cult, he continued, "Very well, it's my turn to ask. Miss Nameless, according to our investigations, you and a little blonde girl appeared and vanished on Ish Island, evaporating for four years in between. Where did you go during that time?"

"I was in hiding for a while." Naturally, Yvette had no intention of telling the truth. After offering this perfunctory reply, she pressed on with her question, "What is this Number Zero you mentioned?"

"Hehehe... Number Zero, and Number One—aren't they you and your blonde-haired companion?"

Hewlett uttered words that baffled Yvette, then wore a self-proclaimed friendly smile and persuaded, "Miss Nameless, I hope you will actively cooperate with me. The Corporation harbors goodwill toward both you and Number One. Whatever you want, the Corporation can provide—just name it... Why not cooperate for mutual benefit?"

"You have the wrong person. I don't know what Number Zero and Number One are, nor do I know anything about this cooperation you speak of. I am still waiting for you to give me an explanation," Yvette said expressionlessly.

"You... really aren't?" Hewlett hesitated as well, murmuring to himself, "Though the age doesn't match up, aside from you, who else could it possibly be..."

His expression then turned cold. "Whether you are or aren't, the result remains the same. Miss Nameless, the Corporation has sincerity toward you, and I am sincere as well, which is why I've bothered to tell you so much. If you refuse peaceful cooperation, then I'll simply have to use a few methods of my own."

...

At these words, a chill swept through the entire area.

Miss Irene’s heart leaped into her throat as she anxiously glanced around, thinking: *If a conflict breaks out, won't Tennyson and I be dead for sure?*

Miss Nameless possessed a mysterious identity and formidable power, so she would undoubtedly be fine. But what about her? And what about Tennyson? Would they really be silenced by the Shedding Organics?

Then Irene heard Yvette say, "We can negotiate. Let the two of them leave first. Once Miss Irene and Tennyson Norton are far enough away, I will discuss this with you."

"Miss Nameless..." Irene couldn't help crying out, deeply moved.

Clearly, in her view, given Miss Nameless’s strength, she definitely had a chance to escape if she wanted to. Yet, she had chosen to look after her employer first!

What kind of kindness was this?

What kind of unwavering adherence to contracts?!

...

Miss Irene walked at a slightly slow pace, but fortunately, Tennyson still had a sliver of strength left. Transforming back into the giant wolf, he let her mount him and fled into the distance, vanishing into the end of the dark highway.

Seeing this, Hewlett’s expression remained unchanged. He didn't care whether Irene called the police, because before coming, he had employed certain measures to ensure that the AJSP's response time would be extremely slow.

"The irrelevant people are gone," Hewlett said. "So next, Miss Nameless, shall we be leaving as well?"

"Is that so?" Yvette said expressionlessly. "What if I refuse?"

"That would be a bit troublesome." Hewlett sneered. "Still, I hope you won't continue to test my patience. While I will ensure your personal safety, that doesn't mean the process won't be a little rough..."

His words cut off abruptly because he suddenly noticed that the whites of Miss Nameless’s eyes had turned pitch black at some point.

Against that backdrop of pure black, her two dark-red pupils seemed to ignite with striking crimson light, resembling an awakened demon god and radiating a heart-stopping, evil aura.

"You..." Hewlett’s heart skipped a beat, a sudden jolt of alarm gripping him as though some internal danger-sensing system had been triggered.

Yet, almost immediately, a sense of dissonance washed over him. As a senior consultant for the Shedding Organics, he was himself a powerful mage equipped with numerous concealed artifacts. He wasn't entirely without trump cards; why should he panic like this?

Before he could voice another threat, however, the silver-haired girl’s beautiful long hair—which normally shimmered with iridescent light—suddenly began to writhe and dance wildly like a swarm of snakes!

Immediately following that, those strands of hair suddenly elongated and, in the blink of an eye, pierced straight through the heads of every Beast Warrior around them. A small, bleeding hole appeared on each of their foreheads as they collapsed limply to the ground.

Hewlett’s pupils violently contracted.

One-shot?

An entire group wiped out in an instant?!

At that moment, the ability displayed by this young girl was utterly distinct from the means she had used to brutally defeat the wolf-assassin just moments before, completely shattering the boundaries of Hewlett’s imagination!

"You... You... How could..."

Watching the Beast Warriors fall like stalks of wheat, Hewlett felt a chill crawl up his spine.

Among mages worldwide, he considered himself part of the top tier—the strongest five percent.

Yet right now, facing those eerie, piercing silver strands of hair, he felt a creeping terror he hadn't experienced in years, to the point where the tactical rig hidden beneath his clothes failed to provide any sense of security.

As the black-eyed, red-pupil silver-haired girl approached with the aura of an evil deity, Hewlett trembled as he backed away, crying out in agitation, "This isn't human magic! You... You really are Number Zero!! And you claimed you weren't!!"

He spun around, attempting to take flight. Tactical rig components extended from beneath his clothing, morphing into a deep-blue combat suit reminiscent of Iron Man's armor.

However, the silver hair whipped forward like the hands of a demon.

It snared the armor's leg-plates and yanked downward. Hewlett, transformed into his blue armored state, crashed to the ground like a kite with a severed string. He scrambled forward frantically, only to be dragged right back to the girl's feet by the silver strands.

"Let—Let me go! You witch!!" As that beautiful yet terrifying face drew closer and closer, Hewlett screamed like a helpless girl being dragged into an alley by thugs.

He hurriedly unleashed several runic rings, each emitting a crimson energy pulse aimed squarely at the silver-haired girl.

These were 100k-specification military-grade spells, packing enough destructive force to threaten military vehicles. Yet, without exception, they were intercepted one by one by the silvery-white hair, bursting into fiery explosions.

This unbelievable sight filled Hewlett with gut-wrenching terror, making him feel as though he had stepped right into a nightmare.