Chapter 33: At the Mercy of Others

Anders’s vines braced him like the legs of a spider, slowly reaching out over the edge of the platform.

His emerald eyes gleamed coldly in the shadows, scanning inch by inch along the exterior of the statue tower—

No one was there.

“Tch.”

Anders frowned, then turned to check the other directions of the platform, but saw no sign of any human presence.

From his earlier vantage point, he hadn’t noticed the slender thread Ye Mi used to emerge from beneath the ground; it seemed more like the three members of the Gray Hawk squad had chosen to drop from the platform to save themselves, after all, everyone knew Red could fly.

“Damn it.”

Annoyed, Anders spat. With the Gray Hawk squad down a member who could use defensive shields and now hiding below to avoid battle, it would take him some time to track them down.

Ye Mi, whom Anders presumed dead, was right before him now, concealed, silently observing him.

Thanks to the God’s Mask and its silent invisibility, even her breathing was masked by some force. She watched Anders rise and leave, returning to the Defense Bureau’s team, a faint smile at the corner of her lips.

Within a hidden window on the tower’s middle floor, Red and Raj kept their lips tightly pressed together, while Keira’s throwing knife was poised against the window frame, ready to strike at any moment.

Silence enveloped them.

They waited for Ye Mi’s signal.

Until a black thread slowly descended before the three, prompting them to exhale in relief, their bodies relaxing considerably.

“Captain, what now?” Raj whispered, the bandages on his amputated arm starkly conspicuous.

Red pointed upward, gestured briefly, and said, “Wait.”

On the platform.

Anders returned empty-handed. Darwin narrowed his eyes, the flame at his fingertips crackling twice.

“You didn’t find them?”

His voice carried clear dissatisfaction.

Anders shook his head, helpless: “A few rats, cowardly, won’t dare to come up anytime soon.”

The Defense Bureau didn’t have time to waste; the city was too vast for them to squander manpower searching every corner.

The implication was clear: he’d come back empty-handed.

Darwin glanced at Anders, his voice layered with meaning: “Letting a civilian squad escape you twice, losing a member—Captain Anders, your 13th squad isn’t so impressive after all.”

Anders’s expression froze for a moment, showing a hint of displeasure, but he quickly masked it, replying, “Captain Darwin, instead of wasting time here, why not focus on solving the matter at hand?”

He turned away, cursing Darwin in his heart—always seizing resources outside, and now, in the ruins, taking every chance to kick him when he’s down.

Yet, infuriatingly, the man spoke the truth, leaving him with no retort.

Anders felt stifled, his anger toward the Gray Hawk squad—the root of all this—growing ever more intense.

Once he caught them, he would “reward” these damned rats well.

He then addressed the others, “Gray Hawk squad has a bell that causes mental chaos. Don’t look directly if you see it. I’ll guard the passage, leaving no opportunity.”

Darwin impatiently interrupted, “Enough!”

He pointed the flame in his hand toward the stone monument at the center of the platform, the dark lines nearly crawling up the last bit of the stone.

“The priority is opening the passage. No time for your vengeance plans.”

All the D-rank members of the Defense Bureau looked grim.

Anders had given them hope, only to plunge them back into despair.

Now, all they could do was pray that all the dark lines would light up with only a person or two sacrificed—and that they wouldn’t be chosen for the offering...

The youngest-looking C-rank psychic’s hand shook slightly around his gun: “Is it really necessary? We’re comrades in the Defense Bureau…”

Anders glanced at the young man—vice captain of the 21st squad, less than half a year in the exploration division—clearly not yet accustomed to the brutal ways of the Radiant Ruins.

Otherwise, he would not have uttered something so naive.

“Shut up,” Darwin barked, the flame in his palm condensing into a blazing spear. “No time to waste. If you wish to exchange your life for another, step forward now.”

The vice captain’s face turned instantly pale, until his captain glared at him, signaling him to keep quiet.

He opened his mouth, said nothing, and quietly stepped back.

Anders was pleased with their compliance, scanning the other C-rank psychics—they showed no objections.

“Captain Darwin is right. Someone must be sacrificed…”

His words had barely fallen when the vine suddenly lashed out, binding a D-rank member of the 21st squad—the candidate Anders had chosen, who happened to be the teammate of the speaking C-rank psychic.

Darwin’s 09th squad, being veteran explorers, would never be targeted—and Darwin wouldn’t allow it; Anders wouldn’t sacrifice his own men either. So, the offering would naturally be the weakest, newest member of the 21st squad.

The chosen member’s face filled with despair, the thorns on the vine piercing deeply into his skin, his eyes bulging, throat emitting a raspy gargle, hands clawing madly at his neck.

“Captain… I… don’t want… to die…”

He squeezed out a few words, foam already seeping from his lips.

The captain of the 21st squad’s face was dark, saying nothing.

The vice captain turned away, unwilling to witness the scene, but did nothing.

No one would help him.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much,” Anders said gently, and the vine abruptly tightened. “We’ll remember your sacrifice.”

The sound of bones breaking echoed harshly across the silent platform; blood gushed from every orifice, streaming along the altar’s engravings toward the stone monument.

The final ring of dark lines at the monument’s base lit up, but failed to climb the stone.

This meant at least one more person had to die.

The captain and vice captain of the 21st squad’s faces turned ashen in an instant!

They’d lose another comrade!

Due to her invisibility, Ye Mi’s prosthetic eye saw everything from the platform’s edge.

“These people working for the Defense Bureau—don’t they seek their own opportunities?”

Though resistance was pointless against so many C-rank psychics, if she were one of the 21st squad, she would have immediately killed Anders’s teammate to ensure her own survival.

After all, the dead are dead; why incur more meaningless sacrifice?

Yet they just stood there, praying, doing nothing, like fish awaiting slaughter.

She was full of doubt—had these people grown accustomed to being psychologically manipulated by OC Corporation?

Isn’t survival the most important thing?