"Actually, you aren't the only ones who have been attacked over the past two days."
Liu Yunshuang's tone grew heavy as she slowly pulled a slightly curled list from her briefcase and pushed it toward the three of them.
"After ruling out the possibility of random incidents, we surmise that the targets of these sudden attacks are the survivors of the 'Anime Convention Incident.' The main basis for this is that the scope of the attacks is not limited to just the few of you."
Although there was no concrete evidence yet, this was undoubtedly the common thread among all those who had been attacked.
Liu Yunshuang paused, a look of gravity deepening on her face.
"The other survivors who were lucky enough to live are now all missing, their fates unknown. Even more suspiciously, quite a few ordinary people who were in the process of recovering have also vanished without a trace..."
Cipher raised an eyebrow, her expression visibly stunned. "All of them? Not a single one left?"
Liu Yunshuang nodded instinctively, but then, as if suddenly remembering an oversight, she immediately shook her head, her expression becoming complicated.
"Come to think of it, there is one more thing. Besides the few of you, it seems an Ability User named Ye Chen was also attacked. I heard he was in a sorry state at the time, covered in wounds, but he managed to save his life."
This unexpected news left the group stunned for a moment, but they didn't pay it much mind.
Liu Yunshuang's gaze sank, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
"But so far, these are the only clues we have."
She looked up at the three, her brows slightly furrowed. "The current situation is too passive. We are in the open, while the members of the Church are hiding in the shadows. Heaven knows what kind of crazy stunt they'll pull next..."
Meanwhile, Silver Wolf had finished reading all the information on the list.
As one of the "heroes" from back then, she still had some impression of the information on the list.
Combined with the situation regarding the missing ordinary people, the previous speculation that "the targets of the attacks are the survivors of the Anime Convention Incident" suddenly became infinitely more credible.
However...
Silver Wolf tossed the list onto the table, tapped her fingertips carelessly against the surface, and looked up at Liu Yunshuang.
"So? You went out of your way to tell us all this—surely it wasn't just for idle chatter, right?"
Liu Yunshuang choked on her words. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She just lowered her head and stared at the table, momentarily unsure of how to respond.
Seeing this, the three of them—Silver Wolf and the others—did not urge her on. They simply rested their calm gazes upon her, leaving only silence to flow slowly through the air.
How could Silver Wolf and the others not see through Liu Yunshuang's little scheme? It was nothing more than hoping they would offer their help.
By deliberately laying out all these inside details, she was essentially trying to appeal to their emotions and reason, hoping to wear them down until they agreed.
However, although the three of them had different thoughts, they tacitly agreed not to speak, all quietly waiting for what would come next.
Silence spread through the room, as if the air itself had frozen.
Liu Yunshuang's fingers, hanging at her sides, curled slightly. After a long while, she gently relaxed them, looked up, and wore a trace of apology on her face.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think this through. That was abrupt of me."
Communication between intelligent people is often just this simple and unadorned.
Liu Yunshuang could be one hundred percent certain that the three had long since heard the subtext in her words.
And their behavior was undoubtedly a silent refusal to wade into these muddy waters.
The three of them were "outsiders" from a different realm and not citizens of the Dragon Kingdom; there was no deep friendship to speak of between them.
Therefore, being willing to help was a favor, while standing by and watching was simply expected.
She had neither the right to force them nor the ability to demand their assistance.
Silver Wolf didn't respond to that, instead unable to resist retorting, "I have to say, isn't your Ability Bureau just a bit too incompetent?"
Faced with the other party's simple and direct retort, Liu Yunshuang was silent for a moment before finally sighing softly—she couldn't deny it; the current situation was indeed a result of the Ability Bureau's insufficient capabilities.
If one only looked at raw strength on the surface, the official Ability Bureau was actually slightly superior to the Church.
But the Church had been hiding in the shadows from the very beginning, mysterious enough that no one could figure out their true depth, and no one knew how many trump cards they still held.
It was precisely this "enemy in the dark, us in the light" situation that made it difficult for the Ability Bureau to root them out entirely, forcing them into a stalemate.
Furthermore, with the mystic realm appearing more and more frequently, the situation was already precarious. Even worse, the inside of the Ability Bureau was not a monolith, and undercurrents had long been surging.
Cipher raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're having those kinds of internal problems?"
"What exactly went wrong inside?" Firefly couldn't help but be a little curious.
Regarding the internal situation of the Ability Bureau, Liu Yunshuang looked troubled, clearly finding it difficult to explain much. Still, she gave a brief explanation.
"The number of Ability Users has only started to surge in the last few years." She paused, weighing her words. "For now, you can just understand this as a 'drastic change of the era'—many things cannot be explained in just a few words."
"Freelancers who accidentally gained powerful Supernatural Abilities, hidden families who suddenly appeared... with various forces stirring things up, it's become a complete mess. Unless another existence like Flame Heart appears, this intense upheaval of the landscape cannot be temporarily stabilized."
To put it bluntly, it's completely different from the past when Ability Users were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; for a time, the national leadership simply couldn't form an effective check and balance on everyone.
Coupled with the growing threat of the mystic realm, the Ability Bureau's recruitment speed cannot keep up with the pace of the pressure, and the shortage of personnel is getting larger and larger.
Even trickier is that the stance of many high-end combatants within the Ability Bureau is wavering. Within the massive base of Ability Users, it is inevitable that there are some who are cowardly and selfish.
They might be able to fight side-by-side on ordinary days, but when it truly comes to a life-or-death moment, no one can say for sure what choice they will make—whether they will step forward or flee—no one dares to guarantee that.
If it weren't for the witch "Flame Heart" having the overwhelming strength to hold down the fort, I fear some would have already become restless, attempting to imitate the "Game Guild" model to raise their own factions and break away from the control of the Ability Bureau.
These various situations are difficult to avoid in the short term.
After hearing this, the three of them suddenly realized, finally understanding why Liu Yunshuang had gone to such great lengths to recruit them.
With things said to this point, Liu Yunshuang took a deep breath and once again solemnly extended an olive branch to the three, her tone filled with earnestness.
But regrettably, after the three exchanged glances, they still gently shook their heads—their attitude had not changed at all.
Cipher (눈_눈): "This cat has no interest in standing in the spotlight to be some 'idol.' That kind of flashy trickery is tiring just to look at."
Silver Wolf (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ): "Too much trouble."
Firefly (๑ ò ᆺ ó ๑): "Sorry, I have already chosen the path I want to walk. But if there really is something urgent, I can lend a hand."
In this lifetime, Silver Wolf and the others had clear goals: to live according to their own thoughts. As for trivial matters like national justice or world peace that had nothing to do with them, they could all step aside.