Chapter 33

The long eyelashes trembled slightly, and the girl slowly opened her tightly closed eyelids.

*Pound pound* "Hey, how do you open this?"

Levi knocked on the transparent outer shell of the cultivation tank, trying to talk to the girl inside.

In the girl's ruby-like pupils, Levi saw his own reflection. But perhaps the girl had just opened her eyes to face him. No matter how loudly Levi called, the girl remained motionless.

Levi tapped the cultivation tank a couple of times, estimating the thickness and hardness of the outer shell. It shouldn't be difficult to forcibly destroy it, but the problem was that he couldn't prevent the flying shards from injuring the girl inside. If fate played a trick on him and a shard cut the girl's major artery, Levi wouldn't be able to find any medicine to stop the bleeding; he had never carried such things.

"Hmm?"

Levi shifted his focus from the outer shell of the cultivation tank, unsure if he had heard something. It sounded like a machine starting up, but it was too faint. If it was some kind of insect invisible to the naked eye, that would be more likely.

When Levi followed the source of the sound and refocused his attention on the girl, he suddenly noticed something he had overlooked.

The girl's long hair, which was as tall as her, had lost the buoyancy of the liquid, but many of the ends still floated unnaturally in the air. Upon closer inspection, the fine strands seemed to have a life of their own, slowly wriggling like countless tentacles.

At first, the movements were sluggish and aimless, but after a while, the strands moved more smoothly, and as if seeking each other's help, they tightly entwined into several thicker braids.

*Bang!*

The girl's braids suddenly accelerated, and several golden braids lashed out at the transparent outer shell of the cultivation tank.

Feeling that things were not quite as he had imagined, Levi stepped back a few paces, alertly observing the bizarre scene before him.

*Crash!* The glass-like outer shell of the cultivation tank shattered, and the scattered shards made Levi fumble, nearly tearing his clothes and embarrassing himself.

Stepping out of the cultivation tank, the girl stood barefoot on the ground, her golden hair not stopping even after the outer shell was destroyed. The braids, in Levi's eyes, were like venomous snakes given life, flicking their bright red tongues in search of their next prey.

"Hello, can you understand me?"

Levi had a small translation device, but to save money, his machine could only translate text, not directly convert sound into understandable language. He wasn't sure if the girl could understand the common language.

It was said that snakes had extremely poor hearing and could only react quickly to vibrations from the ground. If the girl's golden hair was really snakes, they clearly defied this theory.

As soon as Levi spoke, the girl's hair braids immediately stopped moving, as if they had locked onto a target, all turning toward Levi.

Sensing something was wrong, Levi immediately tensed up. The girl's braids spun and twisted in front of him, then suddenly shot at Levi like several spears.

Though surprised by the girl's method of attack, Levi, who was prepared, managed to dodge in time. Seeing that the reinforced floor, which should have withstood heavy weapon attacks, was easily pierced by the girl's hair, Levi was grateful for his quick reflexes. Otherwise, his body would have had several more holes.

Levi was about to move forward to control the girl, but she didn't give him the chance. The hair strands embedded in the ground did not retract, and the remaining golden hair behind her head transformed into several sharp blades in a way Levi couldn't understand. The hair, now with blades, attacked Levi with movements faster and more agile than any human hand.

The girl's speed, angle, and reaction were all executed to perfection. The blades grazed his skin several times, and Levi, having lost the initiative, could only desperately dodge.

The laboratory, which had seemed spacious, now felt cramped to Levi. Indoors, he couldn't create enough distance, nor could he reduce his energy consumption by maneuvering over a wide area. If he stayed here, he would eventually be sliced into thin pieces by the countless blades.

—If that happened, he'd never have the heart to eat sashimi again.

If there were someone who could read minds, they might admire Levi's composure in the face of danger or mock him for being an idiot.

Levi quickly retreated to the door of the laboratory. With no time to turn the handle, he kept his eyes on the approaching hair strands, already holding the black decorative gun in his hand, but aiming it behind him. Without needing to aim, he relied on memory to judge the position, and several 'air' bullets accurately hit the lock. Then Levi kicked off with both feet, using his back to crash through the door that had lost its lock.

After rushing out of the laboratory, the girl, perhaps confused by Levi's sudden actions, didn't immediately chase after him. But Levi wouldn't stop to rest just because she wasn't pursuing him.

Following the corridor back, he soon jumped out of the hidden door he had already smashed into scrap metal, returning to the ground.

The place where Levi now stood was originally a storage room, but now only a damaged wall remained. The entire space looked like part of a yard, and it was hard to imagine it had once been a secret room. He must have had an intense battle to destroy the large villa like this.

Leaning against the only remaining wall, Levi took out a cigarette case from his pocket, lit a cigarette, and took a few puffs.

—When did he start smoking?

The past was too blurry, almost fading into oblivion. He felt it was to commemorate someone that he had gotten used to the smell of cigarettes.

He extinguished the cigarette, which he had only smoked for a few puffs, on the wall and put it out, pushing aside the melancholy that had nothing to do with the present. He could already hear clear footsteps coming from the underground passage. The golden head would soon emerge from the exit.

Unfortunately, today was not a lucky day for the assassin. Just as Levi guessed the girl was about to appear, the ground he was standing on suddenly began to shake violently.

*Boom!* It was as if it had exploded from the inside. The entire floor cracked into several pieces and was thrown high into the air. Levi, marveling at the girl's surprise, quickly jumped far away, stepping on the flying soil.

Before he landed, he saw the girl fly out of the large hole, along with the soil being sprayed into the sky.

Yes, she was 'flying.'

The girl, who had been naked, was now wearing a black dress that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. But this wasn't what Levi focused on; what caught his attention was the pair of wings that had grown on her back.

White wings, golden hair, and a black dress. The girl, like a fallen angel, dove at Levi from the sky.

Every part of her body was a weapon—though it might sound ungraceful, it was the most fitting description of the girl.

Her flying golden hair turned into fists and sometimes into hammers. Sharp blades grew from her wrists, and even a casual kick turned into a giant axe that could split Levi in two.

Levi was forced to dodge frantically by the girl's endless weapons and ever-changing tactics.

It wasn't that he was helpless against the girl's attacks. If she were a hired assassin from an organization, he could use the fastest and most effective method to end her life, though he would inevitably be injured himself.

But Levi couldn't do that.

From the beginning, he had noticed that the girl was not awake. Her eyes were fixed on him, and she continued her storm of attacks, but Levi could feel that this was not her own will.

It was as if she was under hypnosis, or her mind had been controlled after being transformed into a human weapon. The girl's actions were merely subconscious.

Moreover, Levi believed that this round of instinctive attacks would not last long.

Soon, as Levi had expected, the girl's attacks suddenly slowed down. Like a robot with low battery, the attacks continued, but in Levi's eyes, they had lost their initial sharpness, becoming sluggish and mechanical.

Then, the girl seemed to reach her limit. The wings on her back suddenly burst like bubbles. Losing her ability to fly, the girl fell straight into the ground where the soil had been turned up.