Under the Veil of Night

With his trained body, Jason didn't find it hard to cross the pool using the hose. Tommy hid among the pile of boxes as the other two reached the other end of the floor.

"The hook you made is quite firm," Jason tested the hose once again.

Kanae nodded. "We're quite lucky that this place has suffered barely any damage."

"If the people before us didn't use our method, how did they cross the pool?"

Looking down towards the pool below, it would be quite amazing if anyone managed to get past it. After all, the deadly acid nearly killed them just now. Anyone who dared to attempt crossing the pool without proper equipment would only meet with death.

Kanae looked towards the pool for a few seconds. "I have a guess, but I'm not sure if I should say it."

"Why?"

Kanae looked into Jason's eyes, "Because it's very cruel and inhumane."

At that moment, Jason realized what Kanae meant. It was not completely impossible to use the bodies of teammates or even enemies to cross over since the acid didn't destroy them immediately. It took time. With enough coordination, it was possible. However, this was truly a cruel way to cross the pool.

They literally stepped on the corpses of their friends to get past this obstacle.

Jason smiled wryly. "I think, we're pretty lucky that we weren't at the very front of the batch."

Kanae nodded. She didn't think it was possible that the people at the very front managed to reach this far without losing anything. The battle must have been extremely dangerous to the point that no ordinary person could survive.

"Brother Jason, f there comes the time when we stand at the very front, do you think we can do it?" Kanae asked slowly.

Jason gazed at the young lady before him. From what he had seen so far, the word impossible was clearly not in the girl's dictionary. Besides, her fighting prowess was already up to par with those talented fighters of Black Street. Her hesitation had already washed away in a matter of hours or probably days since stepping into this place.

Right now, he had the complete confidence to say that Kanae would surely stand on par with those monsters.

However, her growth was not entirely complete. She could only reach this state right now because of the harsh experience she had along the way. For her to continue maintaining this kind of excellent fighting prowess, she would need more time to stabilize everything, especially her mental state.

"I think you're going to be ready, Captain."

"I'm not asking about me," Kanae looked at Jason. "I'm asking about you."

"Me?" Jason chuckled. "I'm already used to living with the threat of being targeted every single day, little lass. There's no way I'm going to have trouble keeping up like this."

"That's not what I mean. Can you keep up even when maintaining your prestigious identity as the young master?"

Jason's pupils dilated for a moment. He stared at Kanae solemnly before a smile appeared on his lips. "We shall see about that later, little girl. Right now, it's not of any importance at all."

"If you say so," Kanae turned her head around. As she gripped the handle of the door leading to the stairs, she felt tremendous pressure looming down on her. They were already nearing the top floor, so the famous fighters should be close.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Slowly, the two of them climbed the stairs. When they reached the end of the stairs, they could see several people facing off with weapons ready. Their clothes were disheveled and blood once again was everywhere. The condition of the 22nd floor was nothing but a mess.

"Oh, I never thought that someone would get past the pool of blood after us," the leader of Lore Group, Dean, remarked in surprise.

"You should focus on me, Dean. Do you want to die?" the man opposite him sneered.

Dean arched his eyebrows. "You might be the leader of Oval Group, but I never pay attention to weaklings."

"You can stay arrogant all you want, Dean. But let me tell you one thing: today, this weakling is going to beat you and send you to your grave," the man sneered.

Dean frowned. If not because Oval Group relied on the two groups at the front to get this far, the overall strength of this group was actually rather weak. He and his teammates were already quite battered because of the numerous battles they went through to reach this far. Right now, his fighting prowess could barely reach half of his usual.

'These newcomers sure came at the wrong time.'

Kanae observed the men in front of her with furrowed brows. She could guess that the pressure she sensed as she climbed the stairs was because of the tense atmosphere between the two groups. They were already ready to fight with their all.

"Hey you two, pick a side," one of the men yelled. "Or else, we're going to kill you when we're finished."

Those who could come this far were definitely not ordinary people, but they couldn't recognize these two. This caused them to involuntarily think of them as lucky people, who managed to get to here without possessing real strength.

"There's no need for them to participate," Dean chuckled. "Do you want to rope in people to side with Oval Group again?"

The Oval Group Leader frowned. "So what? Those weaklings are useless even if they manage to come this far. Helping out before their death is their best worth."

"That's only your opinion," Dean shrugged.

BANG!

One of them suddenly fired a shot. It marked the beginning of the battle as everyone moved towards their opponents. They were determined to fight with their all. Sounds of clashing metal, gunshots, and screams filled the area in an instant.

Jason's face paled immediately when he noticed how the situation took a turn for the worse. Because he was still standing near the door, he was not involved, but from the side, he could clearly see how fast they moved.

'Can I move as fast as them?'

Even if his eyes could follow but his body couldn't, it was the same as being useless. This made him worry that they might truly kill him and Kanae once the battle was over. After all, their fighting prowess couldn't compare with the fighters before them.

"Rei, what should we do?" Jason eyed the young girl beside him.

Kanae's eyes were fixed on the battle in front of her. She didn't even turn her head when Jason asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" her pitch turned lower as her body tensed up. By her side, Jason suddenly felt immense pressure. He nearly stepped back before he heard her soft voice traveling to his ear. "We fight."

"Which side?"

This time, Kanae didn't answer. Her body bolted towards the two leaders as she agilely evaded the other fighters in the way. Within seconds, she reached their side and swung her sword down extremely quickly.

As a girl's strength could never compare to a man's, she instead trained at what could give her an advantage: speed. By now, her sprint was not on the same level as normal people's anymore.

SLASH!

Her attack reached the hand of the Oval Group Leader.

"You–!" he turned around and attempted to attack the girl beside him.