Elder Lin still had confidence in Gu Shenghui's abilities. After surveying the battlefield, his gaze landed on Su Xiang and the two others by the river. He stared at them for a long time before regretfully sighing.

Leng Yang, who approached and followed Elder Cen's line of sight, frowned as he remembered that these three were remnants of the Divine Desire. With that in mind, he signaled to his subordinates while moving closer to Elder Cen and whispered, "Should we capture them? They seem to have a close relationship with the Origin body and are converted Origin Ability Users!"

"Don't bother; the ones left here are no longer the real people, just three puppets," Gu Shenghui, squinting his eyes beside him, remarked coldly after staring for a while.

"What? Puppets?" Leng Yang asked incredulously, then ordered his subordinates to probe. Sure enough, after Liu Xuan and Dong Shigang approached to initiate a probing attack, the bodies of the "Su Xiang" trio began to swell and then exploded.

"Alas! It's unlikely to have a big effect, but begin a search in the vicinity and list them as key wanted figures," Cen Xiaoran shook his head. He hadn't expected these small fry to escape the net. Moments ago, he had been fully absorbed in the battle with the Origin body, leaving no room for concern about anything else. The others present likely had the same focus on the battle, which gave these three the chance to escape.

"Yes!" Gu Shenghui responded loudly, waving his hand and shouting, "Combat personnel on site, continue searching the periphery to check for any escaping Divine Desire members. Maintain constant communication between groups and remain vigilant to prevent the criminals from turning back in desperation. The Three Pristine Department, clean up the site and obliterate any battle traces. Have a group fill the pond formed by the battle, and Lao Liu, clear an area to create a platform for the helicopter to land."

Under Gu Shenghui's command, the scene once again became bustling. Groups, arranged systematically, each performed their duties, while Gu Shenghui and Cen Xiaoran discussed the next steps of their plan.

As the two were talking, the sound of helicopters resounded in the sky. Hovering over the improvised landing ground below with ground personnel's guidance, they lifted Pei Yan, seriously injured and unconscious, onto the aircraft. After Elder Lin and Pei Jin also boarded, the helicopter roared and flew off into the distance.

An hour later, as the investigative department personnel finished clearing the site and withdrew from battle, local armed police units, alerted to the disaster, entered the deep mountains to begin rescue operations. Just as a large engineering team prepared to commence relief work, a bloody puddle in the bamboo grove slowly bubbled up, eventually forming a human shape.

"Cough, cough. It was truly a brush with death. That woman and those who came afterward were terrifyingly powerful," Du Guangyuan sighed with lingering fear as he leaned against a tree. If he hadn't foreseen the danger early and used a blood clone to hide the real body, he might have ended up among the corpses carried away by the investigation department.

Watching the flickering shadows beyond the woods, Du Guangyuan knew this place couldn't be stayed in any longer. With a thought, he activated the Blood Escape Technique, disappearing from the spot.

Late that night, outside the surgical corridor of the armed police hospital closest to the scene, aside from the anxious Pei Jin, Ye Jiumu, Xia Yu, and Wang Wenze also arrived as team representatives, granted special permission to await news here.

Gazing at the bright red light over the surgery room, Wang Wenze paced impatiently back and forth. Ye Jiumu, sitting aside, outwardly composed but equally anxious inside, responded sourly to his restlessness, "Can't you sit still for a moment? Watching you pace is nerve-wracking!"

"Pei Yan's been in there for so long, almost a day now! Is something wrong? Last time, you and Old Qi had an incident, and it didn't take this long! Several high-ups from the department are here; why is it taking so long?" Wang Wenze sat down dejectedly, expressing his discontent.

"No news is the best news right now. Be patient. Pei Yan braved the most dangerous phase; we must have faith in him now!" Xia Yu said sternly with her head down.

As time passed from fervent anxiety to fatigue, nearing dawn the next day, the surgery room's indicator switched from red to green. By this time, Ye Jiumu and the others, groggy and nodding off, were only disrupted from their sleep by Pei Jin, who remained red-eyed in vigil.

Hearing the surgery room door open, the three of them were startled awake. Wang Wenze, rubbing his sleepy eyes, followed closely after Pei Jin to Elder Lin's side, where Pei Jin anxiously inquired, "How is my brother?"

"He has been saved!" Upon hearing the news, including Pei Jin, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, Wang Wenze nodding repeatedly and muttering, "Thank goodness he's saved, thank goodness!"

"What's the situation exactly?" Pei Jin pressed further.

Elder Lin's face turned grave as he solemnly responded, "The injuries are severe, with multiple comminuted fractures and internal bleeding. If it wasn't for the power given by a predecessor that protected him at a critical moment, and later being repaired by the Origin body, even I wouldn't have been able to save him. Despite this, he remains in a coma, and when he'll wake depends on his own will. Full recovery will take at least one to two months, and also..."

"And also what?" Pei Jin pressed on, voice choked with emotion.

"His left arm was amputated!"

"Why! Why! How could this happen?" Wang Wenze asked incredulously before expressing his bewilderment, "His arm was even broken before when mechanized, and it recovered fully then!"

"This time is different from before. The problem at Pei Yan's wound site is significant; not only was his entire left arm necrotic, but it was also beset by a strange Curse Power, with the potential to spread to other parts of his body. Coupled with such severe injuries all over his body, the Origin within can support his life and heal his body; that's already a miracle. It has no strength to further contend with the wound here. Considering all pros and cons, for his life's safety, we had no choice but to painfully...," Elder Lin trailed off, lowering his head in regret.

"Tsu, Do, Ryu, Shi!" Pei Jin spat out these four words emphatically, declaring enmity with this R B man for crossing the Pei Family. She regretted not putting an end to it when her brother wanted to before.

The three beside her, Ye Jiumu included, sighed collectively. Ye Jiumu felt inwardly frustrated, wondering if this was just an unlucky year; within half a year, their team already had two cases of disability. How would he explain this to the captain upon returning?

Thinking deeper, this was merely the first clash with Divine Desire involving such a price. If, as Divine Desire claimed, a large-scale cross-dimensional invasion event would happen next, what kind of price would he and his comrades have to pay then?

At the thought, he looked toward his two companions, seeing the same concern in their eyes as in his own.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.