Chapter 154 Object Exchange and Free Torque

Xie Liu and the others had no idea that they had already become sitting ducks in the eyes of others, and they were currently struggling to pull Wendy out of the carriage. Although she had not sustained any serious injuries, Wendy looked quite disheveled at the moment, coughing loudly as she crawled out of the wreckage.

"The others are fine too, but the exit is pinned underneath, so Ye Leng and the others can't get out. You need to think of something." Wendy pulled her thigh out from where it was jammed in the carriage and jumped down from the roof.

"The Phoenix Girl is fine, but that kid seems to be injured." Wendy was referring to Wang Qi. Among all of them, these two possessed the weakest strength, naturally making them the primary objects of Wendy's concern.

"Can you lift this vehicle up?" Xie Liu looked around before turning to ask Wendy.

Wendy shook her head and said, "It's not impossible, but this car is severely damaged. I'm afraid that trying to move it will cause the body to collapse, which might instead crush them underneath and cause secondary injuries."

Xie Liu felt a headache coming on, and just as he was about to think of another method, A2 walked straight forward and said angrily, "Why bother with so much trouble? Watch this!"

Before her voice had even faded, a flash of white light sliced through the air, and the RV in front of them was cut cleanly into two halves. A2 strode forward imperiously and kicked the rear of the RV, sending the severed section flying and exposing the chaotic interior.

Ye Leng was pinned beneath a sofa. Though disheveled, she was largely unharmed. The real problem was Wang Qi; in order to protect his wife and daughter, he had shielded them and struck his head heavily. At this moment, he was clutching his head as blood streamed down his forehead.

"Phoenix Girl, heal him," Xie Liu instructed Ye Leng. With A2 still nearby, he dared not address Ye Leng by her real name.

Xie Liu and Wendy escorted Qili and her daughter out of the vehicle. Meng'er was still crying and making a fuss, while Qili ignored her own injuries to soothe the wailing child.

While Ye Leng was healing Wang Qi, Xie Liu wiped his mouth, removing a trace of blood. This minor action was caught by Wendy, who remarked, "You're injured too. Why didn't you let the Phoenix Girl heal you?"

Xie Liu shook his head. "Her healing consumes her own life force. If she performs massive healing for others in a short period of time, she won't be able to recover her own vitality. By then, we might be fine, but she could die first. Besides, my little injury is no big deal; I can push through it with my own recovery ability. Her power should be saved for important matters."

Wendy looked at Xie Liu with a skeptical gaze. As for the extent of Xie Liu's injuries, since he refused to say, she had no way of knowing. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, A2 let out a sharp cry, "Watch out!"

A bright light rose once more from the distant mountain peak, causing both Xie Liu and Wendy to narrow their brows—clearly, the enemy had fired another missile.

"Stop it!" Xie Liu knew how terrifying the firepower of Fantasy Metropolis missiles was. The lethal blast radius of these projectiles did not exceed ten meters, but within that ten-meter zone, even an immortal would be blasted into smithereens. Fantasy Metropolis had compressed the shockwave of the explosion to the absolute limit, eliminating enemies while causing the minimal amount of collateral damage.

The flame from the mountaintop approached with blinding speed, arriving in front of Xie Liu and the others in mere seconds. A2 made a decisive judgment, flicking the Black Contract in her hand as the spinning blade directly intercepted the incoming missile.

"Boom—"

A massive explosion erupted in front of Xie Liu. The hurtling missile was hacked into fragments by A2's blade, and the expanding flames scorched half the sky.

Xie Liu and the others covered their eyes, unable to face the blinding light. A2 also averted her gaze and shouted loudly, "Return!"

At her command, the hurled Black Contract pierced through the endless flames and flew spinning back into A2's grasp.

"Well done!" Even though A2 was an enemy, Ye Leng couldn't help praising her at that moment. Xie Liu, however, barked coldly, "Don't let your guard down. Watch out for a surprise attack."

Before Xie Liu's voice had even died away, the flames before them were violently blown apart, and countless compressed air bullets pierced through the burning fire, raining down upon Xie Liu and the others.

"Hum—" Accompanied by a long, resonant hum of a blade, the purple light sword in Wendy's hand flew outward, its violet radiance flashing as it shattered the incoming air bullets.

"Everyone, head toward the forest!" Xie Liu yanked Ye Leng away from Wang Qi's treatment, casually pushed Qili—who was still coaxing Meng'er—toward safety, and whipped out the knife at his waist.

"Where are they?" Xie Liu's gaze swept over the mountaintop, only to find that the previous three figures had vanished without a trace. He asked in astonishment, right before feeling a chilly breeze draft across his back.

"Right behind you!" A sneering voice rang out. Xie Liu was startled, spinning around instantly and bringing his blade up to block.

"Clang—" The sound of metal clashing was loud and crisp. Xie Liu felt as though he had been struck by a massive iron hammer, sending him flying backward while the folding knife in his hand vibrated so violently that the web of his thumb split and bled.

"So strong!" This was Xie Liu's first reaction. This person's physical strength wasn't overwhelmingly high—it didn't even surpass Xie Liu's own—yet Xie Liu distinctly felt a supernatural force infiltrating through his blade and blasting him away.

Xie Liu flew back two meters, tumbling twice before hitting the ground. By this time, Wendy had already moved; the moment the greatsword swung at Xie Liu, her purple sword qi had already slashed forward.

The wielder of the greatsword was a burly man. Having just batted Xie Liu away, he had no opportunity to parry Wendy's incoming strike. Just as it seemed he would be sliced in two by Wendy, the man vanished, replaced by a blonde youth.

"What!" Although surprised, Wendy did not hesitate for a fraction of a second; the sword light in her hand didn't waver in the slightest. It was merely a replacement of personnel, and she would simply cut down whoever was there.

Wendy's sword momentum continued unabated, thrusting straight toward the blonde man who had just swapped positions.

Then, Wendy felt the scenery before her eyes shift, and the space in front of her was completely empty!

"What!" Wendy's strike missed entirely, prompting her to utter a surprised exclamation before hearing the blonde youth smile gently from behind her: "I'm right behind you."

Wendy whipped around to see the blonde youth who had somehow reached her blind spot, raising her sword once more. Immediately, the golden scenery shifted again, and the blonde youth vanished from sight. Wendy felt a slight shock as a chilling wind brushed against her back.

"Not good!" Wendy cried out internally, spinning around sharply and slashing her sword backward. Yet the blonde youth had appeared behind her once more. This time, Wendy executed her attack at an even faster speed, unleashing a wave of sword energy that was on the verge of cleaving the blonde youth when the scenery shifted yet again, and he vanished once more.

"Behind me?" The thought flashed through Wendy's mind, and reality answered her immediately as a sharp pain lanced through her waist. A chillingly cold dagger had pierced directly into the side of her lower abdomen.

"Ah!" Wendy cried out in shock, reaching behind to grab the dagger that had stabbed her and twisting it with sheer force. The hardened blade was bent into an arc under her bare hands.

"You!" The blonde youth encountered such a ferocious opponent for the first time. Panic-stricken, he instantly released the dagger and leaped backward repeatedly. "Are you even human?"

The blonde youth could clearly see that the dagger had not actually penetrated Wendy's abdomen; it had merely broken the skin slightly. This defensive capability was simply astonishing.

"What on earth is your ability?" Wendy tossed aside the dagger, which she had twisted into a pretzel shape, and stared coldly at the blonde youth with her purple eyes. The several failed attacks she had suffered earlier were all thanks to this person's superpower.

"Teleportation? But it doesn't look like it. You even moved my position along with yours." Wendy glanced sideways at her surroundings. Over the course of several misses, when she lost her target, she had clearly felt her own position being shifted as well. Clearly, her opponent was far more than a simple spatial teleportation esper.

"Wendy, his superpower is [Object Swapping]!" Xie Liu sprung up abruptly, dodging a sweeping blow from the burly man's greatsword, and shouted loudly to Wendy after a series of evasive maneuvers.

Dawning comprehension washed over Wendy as she looked back at the blonde youth. "So that's it. Previously, you swapped my position with your own, which is why I always lost track of you while you always managed to appear behind me."

"Correct, that is indeed my ability. But so what if you figured it out? As long as I wish it, you can never harm me, and whenever I want, I can find your opening at any time."

The blonde youth sneered, tossing a small pebble that traced an arc through the air above Wendy's head.

"Watch out!" Wendy reacted instantly. The next second, the blonde youth swapped positions with the pebble above her, appearing directly overhead.

"Go to hell!" A red light sword materialized in the blonde youth's hand as he plunged downward toward Wendy. Raising her head, Wendy let out a cold hnh, her Star of Purple Radiance trembling slightly as she swept it toward the sky. "Do you really think you can hurt me?"

Before her voice faded, just as the blonde youth was about to collide with Wendy's sword qi, a faint smile curved the corner of his lips. "You've fallen for it."

The blonde youth vanished, replaced by the battered RV!

"What!" Wendy cried out in alarm as the wrecked RV came crashing down, pinning her underneath.

"I told you, whenever I want to deal with you, I can do it anytime." The blonde youth walked leisurely from the side, watching the RV pin Wendy to the ground. He smiled coldly, walked up to the vehicle, and tapped on its steel plating. "Well? Are you dead?"

"Wendy..." Xie Liu dodged the burly man's greatsword, turning his head just in time to see Wendy crushed beneath the RV, and panic washed over him. He yelled desperately at A2, "A2, what are you doing? Hurry up and save her!"

However, A2 remained unmoved, her gaze locked firmly on the dissipating flames ahead. A figure radiating golden light was sprinting forward from afar, heading straight for A2.

"Today, everyone here will be buried with her!" Xie Liu strained to block the burly man's greatsword. Face-to-face with his assailant, Xie Liu finally saw his features clearly: an Eastern face with a square jaw and a pair of thin mustaches that lent him an air of dignity. "That purple-haired woman is first, and you are second!"

With that, a faint luster flickered across the greatsword. Xie Liu's eyelids twitched slightly as he muttered, "An air-force user... [Free Torque]." He had evidently identified the man's superpower.

"Bingo, spot on!" The burly man laughed heartily. "I can amplify or reduce my strength by a dozen times! Let's see you try and take this!"

A brilliant flash swept across the greatsword as Xie Liu felt a tremendous surge of force wash over him. He let out a miserable scream on the spot, sent flying backward to crash through the guardrail behind him and tumble onto the opposite roadway, his condition unknown.