Chapter 853: Burning the Bridge After Crossing the River

The Black Epaulets never lacked manpower. Even if a few left, plenty more would fill their positions, so Xu Huo couldn't bypass the sensors outside the door either.

Just as he was about to stir up a commotion, commotion erupted from inside the courtroom instead. Within seconds, the signal for a Black Epaulets squad rotation echoed through the building, and the guards stationed outside immediately split up, with a third of them entering the building through different entrances.

What they didn't expect, however, was that some of these people would also suddenly collapse and die right at the doorstep.

The sudden deaths of their comrades made the Black Epaulets halt at the entrance. Thinking an enemy was waiting head-on, they deployed their items first.

But before they could get any results, the White Epaulets who were about to go in unhesitatingly withdrew and said, "Mr. Wilner and Captain Ran are inside. We'd only be dead weight if we went in!"

Several more Black Epaulets dropped dead in front of everyone's eyes, sending the surrounding onlookers into a panic. They scattered in all directions, and in the crush, a sensor got knocked out of position. Seizing that instant, Xu Huo slipped into the sensor's detection range and advanced slowly toward the courtroom behind the crowd of Black Epaulets.

He made it deep into the courtroom without encountering any trouble. Hiding in a corner to avoid the Black Epaulets rushing back and forth, he waited until the crowd thinned before moving again.

The commotion, as he'd expected, didn't last long. The Black Epaulets quickly regained control of the situation, though several of their members were carried out of the courtroom in a clearly disturbed mental state. After that came a mid-session break.

When that Holy Sword Society player emerged from the courtroom and headed to the lounge, the helmet on his head was gone, and fresh wounds marked his face.

Xu Huo was standing far away and only managed a brief glance, but after confirming the man's appearance, he slipped around to the cleaning staff changing room in the back.

Before long, voices sounded from outside—several more Black Epaulets had arrived. "The prisoner needs to use the restroom. We're here to check. Has anyone gone in?"

"No." The Black Epaulet guarding the area replied, "Only the women's restroom is usable."

"To be safe, check the men's restroom too." Several Black Epaulets went through both restrooms once more before reporting back to Ran Ying.

The distinctive slow footsteps soon arrived. Someone seemed to block him. "Go to the side."

The man spoke smoothly and chuckled. "A gentleman can't very well enter the ladies' restroom."

"The men's restroom has no water. Does a gentleman not need to wash his hands?" Ran Ying strode over and said, "You go in. I'll accompany you."

The man paused. "I don't think that's appropriate."

"If you think it's inappropriate, then just hold it in. I don't mind either way." Ran Ying said.

She was being shamelessly blunt, but he was no less so. "Do you still want me to talk later?"

Ran Ying quickly changed her tune and had two male subordinates accompany him inside.

It wasn't that she didn't want to pack the restroom full of people—it was that this Holy Sword Society player was highly uncooperative. He barely said a word and had already crippled several Black Epaulets. Those who'd dropped dead moments ago were most likely connected to him as well.

"Captain, this punk is way too arrogant." Someone said, "If you ask me, we should just cut out his tongue."

"No rush." Ran Ying said slowly and deliberately, "Once we've dealt with the Millet family, it'll be his turn."

When the Holy Sword Society member emerged from the restroom, Ran Ying left with several Black Epaulets.

Only then did Xu Huo come out of the changing room, dodging the two Black Epaulets left behind to slip into the women's restroom.

He used pollen to identify which stall had been used, then went in for a thorough inspection—the Holy Sword Society member had left nothing behind.

Last night, he'd left tiny restroom markers in the lounges on both sides. As long as the Black Epaulets didn't completely prevent the man from seeing things, spending a bit more time in there would let him spot them. Of course, it wouldn't matter if he didn't, but the fact that he'd specifically come to the restroom meant he had indeed seen the markers.

From here on, it was all up to individual initiative. If the man took the mark as something left by a companion sent to rescue him, all the better. With both sides never meeting face to face, there was plenty of room to maneuver.

Passing off an item—that was only one of the possibilities Xu Huo had guessed.

Since there was nothing, he came out and went to the restroom next door.

He had no idea what was happening in the courtroom at the moment, but the next hour was quiet outside. Half an hour later, the restroom welcomed Black Epaulets once more.

Several Black Epaulets cursing under their breath inspected the women's restroom and then escorted the Holy Sword Society member back in.

Xu Huo stood behind the same stall as before, opened his mental space, and pressed a train ticket against the wall.

He paused, then also placed the "Hungry Gluttonous Snake" on his person.

He kept his mental power contained within a certain range so as not to alert Ran Ying outside. To his surprise, a hand reached straight through the wall beside him, seemingly trying to take the train ticket—but at the very moment it was about to touch the ticket, it suddenly turned and grabbed at him!

Xu Huo was keeping a two-meter distance from the wall, but the instant the hand reached for him, the distance beneath his feet seemed to shrink on its own, pulling him toward the wall!

The "Like Repels Like" he wore on his person was useless through a wall. In the blink of an eye, he saw a brand-like sword shape on the palm of that hand and caught it with the diamond gloves.

The gloves weren't actually on Xu Huo's hands, so the moment the other party made contact, he immediately withdrew his hand and snatched the train ticket away at the same time.

Xu Huo glanced at the sword shape burned into the glove as well and couldn't help but shake his head slightly. But the next second, his expression changed, because several Black Epaulets came charging in—he'd never seen someone burn the bridge before even finishing the crossing!

Xu Huo opened his mental space while scrambling up toward the window. He leaped down, then tossed a bottle of gas toxin back into the restroom.

It bought him a little time against their pursuit. Wearing the Invisibility Cloak, he no longer bothered carefully concealing his tracks. Instead, he charged straight through the Black Epaulets' blockade perimeter and, under the chase of a swarm of Black Epaulets, was forced into the building across the way.

A huge plume of dust erupted. Xu Huo used the characteristic "Forced Forgetfulness" on those closest to him, then exploited "Regulated Weightlessness" to buy himself another three to five seconds. Under the cover of the chaos, he shed the Invisibility Cloak, revealing the Black Epaulets uniform underneath. With an ordinary face, he pretended to be someone coordinating from the side, shouting at the others, "He went that way!"

He led several Black Epaulets and the government players who'd rushed in as reinforcements straight toward the middle-aged woman's residence, racing to the destination at top speed. Bursting through the door, he made a beeline for the laundry room.

It wasn't a real laundry room—there was space behind the wall. Xu Huo shattered the wall with a single sword strike, and the middle-aged woman inside, who was busy destroying things on the table, whipped around and shoved hard at him!

From a distance, it was like being slammed by an invisible wall. His whole body flew backward, and the Black Epaulets behind him caught him. "Careful, brother!"