Original and most updated translations are from volare. Please don't read elsewhere and stop supporting theft.

　　TL: Zhao

　　Editing: Krisaia

　　Lin Lu waited at the head of the evacuation file with angst, clenching her fists as she looked at the flas.h.i.+ng lights in the sky. After the destruction of all heavy weaponry fifteen minutes ago, the president ordered a general retreat at Li Yiming's urging.

　　"There's nothing you can do anymore. Leave," Li Yiming said bluntly.

　　To the surprise of the president, the spec ops division, comprised of vampiric super-soldiers, disobeyed the order. Most of them dove silently into the dark alleyways of the city, never to be seen again.

　　"They're soldiers too…" The president looked at the city behind him and sighed.

　　Looking at her demoralized troops, Lin Lu hated herself for her inability to contribute to the battle that would decide the fate of all.

　　"What?" Lin Lu suddenly noticed a van driving in the opposite direction of the retreat line.

　　"Stop!" Lin Lu rushed to the middle of the road. Most of the people that returned were the ones who had forgotten something important. Lin Lu figured that if she was unable to contribute to the fight, then the least she could do was to ensure the smooth sailing of the evacuation.

　　To her surprise, the van showed no intention of stopping — it swerved left and right and honked as it attempted to skirt past Lin Lu. Lin Lu pulled out her gun and shot at the empty pa.s.senger seat, shattering the window and forcing the driver to an abrupt stop.

　　With a loud screeching of the tires, the vehicle finally came to a halt about two meters away from Lin Lu.

　　"Get off!" Lin Lu shouted

　　The driver jumped down with his hands in the air. It was a very short man with a rather dirty face.

　　"Chen Quan?" Lin Lu recognized the man.

　　"Captain Lin?"

　　"I need to go to the city. What I have in my car is of utmost importance." Upon realizing that it was Lin Lu, Chen Quan turned around and walked toward his car.

　　"What do you have?" Lin Lu dashed forward and opened the door to the trunk.

　　"A rock?" Lin Lu was stunned by the object. She precisely remembered it to be the same rock that an officer under her command had been bribed to look for.

　　"I'm not sure what this thing is, but this might just be what Li Yiming needs," Chen Quan explained.

　　Ever since he returned from Mount Mu, Chen Quan had focused on doing what he thought could be helpful to Li Yiming, understanding that his place was not on the battlefield. He had been making every effort to find the stone tablets, but got his hands on the rock instead. He recognized the object as he had seen it once before at the jadeware shop and the other time on one of the stone tablets.

　　"Let me drive." Lin Lu hopped onto the car.