Volume 4 Chapter 23: Escaping the Trap

“Your courage was admirable, but I hope you remember in your next life what happens to mice who provoke cats!”

Joey’s feet remained still, yet a strong gust of wind suddenly swept from his side. It was as if wheels were under his feet, allowing him to slide in a beautiful arc across the ground. Like an elegant and swift ice dancer, he glided behind the young man. The Dagger of Sin in his hand flashed a gleam of light in the air.

This was Qin Lun’s Wind Drift Art!

The young researcher had not even touched the water tank when he felt his body become very, very light. Then he felt himself leaping into the air, as if the whole world had turned upside down. Below him, a headless body was spraying blood wildly, flailing its limbs before collapsing to the ground.

“That body looks familiar…” The researcher’s eyes caught one last glimpse, then he sank into endless darkness.

“Thud!” The young face’s head hit the ground, rolled twice, and the wide-open eyes quickly lost their light.

“Cannon!” The young man’s death angered the last few young researchers. They stopped in their tracks and raised their pistols again, aiming at Joey and Grant.

“Fools!” Mira muttered angrily under her breath, but she had to refocus her attention to deal with Clown Grant, who had already closed in on her. However, because she was worried about the others’ safety, the black-haired girl seemed distracted.

She seemed to care a lot about those ordinary people… Normally, Grimms dealt with dark creatures regularly, so a little killing shouldn’t affect their combat rhythm. Unless these people were her acquaintances…

“Do you know them? Lovers, friends, or brothers?” A sly glint flashed in Grant’s eyes. He used a slash from the black-haired girl to leap upward, ignoring Mira’s attack from behind, and lunged directly toward those young people.

“Damn it!” The black-haired girl bit her lip tightly, her face turning pale. With a flick of one hand, her Blade Whip wrapped around the ceiling lamp in the lab. She swung over Grant’s head, landing in front of the clown, while shouting sharply at the people behind, “Run! Have you forgotten the rules of Grimm support staff?”

“So that’s it!” Grant’s eyes lit up; now he understood.

No wonder Kathleen, who had lost her weapons and equipment, chose this lab to defend. No wonder the black-haired girl came here first. Even though she was worried about Kathleen’s safety, she didn’t leave these people. The reason was not only that this lab had military researchers but also a large number of Grimm Academy support assistants.

The Allied Forces’ unconventional warfare power was a comprehensive plan. It included not only the “Manhattan Project” for the atomic bomb but also programs like the “Super Soldier Program.” Grimm Academy’s cooperation with the Allied Forces wasn’t just about sending combat personnel; they also sent their own support researchers to join Albert Einstein’s institute.

Grimm Academy was a hunter academy with a long history. It not only trained combat Grimms but also had many support staff serving the fighters. Since the Middle Ages, there had been Alchemists specializing in making magical weapons, pharmacists creating healing potions, and so on.

From the 19th to the 20th century, Grimm Academy introduced modern technology into magical martial arts, thus creating magical devices like those combined with firearms and cold weapons in the hands of Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White.

In a way, they played a significant role in the Allied Forces’ “Super Soldier Program.” This time, as the Allied Forces integrated unconventional warfare power, it was clear they couldn’t do without Grimm Academy’s magical technology.

Mira’s angry shout woke the remaining young people. Their faces turned pale, and they immediately realized they had made a big mistake. When Grimms carried out missions, support and intelligence personnel had strict rules; they were absolutely not allowed to participate in Grimm combat missions. The reason was their combat ability was very low, and rushing into battle would only hold the Grimms back.

However, these young people had been in the army for over half a year and had developed a soldier’s tenacious spirit. In the heat of the moment earlier, they had thrown all of Grimm Academy’s warnings to the wind.

After calming down, they realized the black-haired girl often had to intercept Grant’s attacks aimed at them to provide cover.

Originally, the black-haired girl moved like the wind, and the clown was now seriously injured, completely unable to keep up with her movements. But now, Grant only needed to pretend to attack them, and the black-haired girl had no choice but to actively engage him in direct combat. Because of this, she had already sustained several unnecessary wounds. If this continued, she might end up getting herself killed because of them.

“Miss Mira!” The young people exchanged glances, their faces showing determination. They threw themselves into the fray without regard for their own safety.

“What are you doing?” The black-haired girl was both shocked and angry.

“Miss Mira, it’s time for you to retreat. Don’t worry about us!” One of the young men turned back and said seriously, “The academy can manage without a few tech support staff, but the Fairy Tale Girls Team cannot be incomplete. Once you reunite with the other Fairy Tale Maidens, avenge us and Professor Kathleen!”

“Professor Kathleen?” Mira’s eyes widened, her pupils dilating slightly. “I don’t believe it!”

“It’s our fault; we hid part of Doctor Jones’s information earlier. Please report back to the dean that Professor Kathleen has fallen!” The young man watched as Grant chopped down others blocking his path like cutting vegetables, sounding anxious. After speaking, he too rushed forward.

“Miss Mira, go, go! Don’t let our sacrifice be in vain!”

The black-haired girl bit her lower lip tightly, a trickle of blood appearing at the corner of her mouth. She took one last look at the battle group, then resolutely turned and ran toward the secret passage.

“Joey, stop her!” Grant stared at Mira’s retreating back, his eyes blazing with fury. This was already the third time he had let prey escape. He madly swung his blade, sending one person’s head flying. But these young people were determined to die, almost recklessly using their shoulders and hands to drag him, holding him in place.

Joey glanced coolly in that direction, then turned his head back. Grant wouldn’t truly give the prey to him, and besides, he had little interest in the black-haired girl. He had no obligation to help the clown block anyone.

His gaze fixed straight on the large water tank in front of him. This tank was made of toughened glass, three meters high and over a meter in diameter, standing on the ground like a large thermos.

The water inside the tank was somewhat murky, as if mixed with a lot of sand. There was a rotating device at the bottom, like a huge mixer. Initially, that young man had rushed toward the tank, seemingly wanting to press a certain lightning-shaped button on it, but before he could do it, Joey had beheaded him.

Joey leaned his head close to the toughened glass of the water tank. The next second, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face, and he couldn’t help blinking.

Through the toughened glass, he had actually seen a twisted human face inside the tank just now. The face flashed by only briefly; when he looked again carefully, there was only violently swirling muddy water.

“No way, could it be…” Joey raised an eyebrow and looked around, quickly finding the tank’s power source. He unplugged it and forcefully lifted open the tank’s lid.

Then, something even more astonishing happened! As the mixer at the bottom of the tank stopped, the sand in the water climbed to the top of the tank like living jelly. It slid out through the opened lid, gathering into a mass on the ground.

The muddy water slowly coalesced into a slender female figure, even forming clothing.

“Madame Monica!” Grant had already finished the fight, shaking the blood droplets off his machete as he walked over from a distance.

“Thank you, Gerthard. You’ve finally come!” Madame Monica’s face was somewhat pale. She shook the water droplets from her hair and smiled weakly.

“This is… truly amazing!” A strange light flashed in Joey’s eyes as he looked at Monica, now restored to her courtly attire and holding a small parasol. He expressed sincere admiration.

“It’s nothing, just a little trick!” Madame Monica seemed indifferent to Joey’s intense gaze. Everyone had this look of disbelief when they saw her transformation.

“Madame Monica, how did you get trapped in this… large tank?” Grant asked cautiously.

Since Madame Monica had been imprisoned in the tank by the Allied Forces, she naturally couldn’t be the traitor. Yet, with her superpower, it was hard to imagine she could be captured alive by the Allied Forces.

“It’s all that little bitch Keller Robert’s fault!” For the first time, Madame Monica lost her composure, speaking through gritted teeth.

Madame Monica was the Queen of Sandstorms. Like Wurdenbeller, she didn’t need a parachute. After parachuting from the seaplane, Monica quickly realized the commando team was surrounded by the Allied Forces, though at the time she hadn’t thought there would be a traitor within the “Gentlemen Alliance.”

As the Queen of Sandstorms, she had already prepared for danger while still in the air. Everyone else in the “Gentlemen Alliance” had superpowers; her only concern was for the Roberts couple in the team.

Dr. Keller was the only ordinary person among them, tasked with interpreting documents on the Allied Forces’ unconventional warfare power. And Leo Robert was in poor physical condition and prone to losing control, so Madame Monica decided then to rescue these two first.

However, what Monica didn’t expect was that as soon as she met up with the two, she was ambushed by Keller Robert. Keller was the traitor within the “Gentlemen Alliance.” Dr. Keller was very clever; she knew that after parachuting, only two people could reach them before the Allied Forces.

One was Vampire Baron von Wurdenbeller, and the other was Queen of Sandstorms Madame Monica. Dr. Keller had prepared countermeasures for both of them. For Baron von Wurdenbeller, she prepared a vial of Holy Water; for Madame Monica, she prepared a special chemical injection.

This chemical could turn sand into something like cement, solidifying Madame Monica into a statue in just a short moment.

What happened next was simple: the Allied Forces found them. The strongest member of the “Gentlemen Alliance,” the Queen of Sandstorms, turned into a stone statue, becoming the Allied Forces’ first trophy. Then she was imprisoned in the water tank, brought into the laboratory, and became an experimental lab rat for the “Super Soldier Program.”

“Huh, I think I sense the Lieutenant Colonel and the others. They’re heading this way!” Madame Monica frowned and turned to look toward the passage outside the laboratory.