"And if we die, who warns Trevor? Who stops whatever they're planning?" Thomas didn't wait for her moral epiphany. He hauled her through the stone archway and into the chaos of the stalls.
He knew the logic was grim: if the agile woman caught them, she would pin them down just long enough for the other four to arrive. His only hope was to turn the marketplace into a chaotic, multi-layered trap—a place where the villains' long-range superiority was neutralised by a thousand screaming obstacles.
"She's coming!" Thomas roared, his voice nearly drowned out by the thunderous pulse of his own blood.
Behind them, the agile villain—the "Pouncer"—had realised their intent. She knew that once the two investigators vanished into the labyrinthine marketplace, the trail would go cold. In response, she pushed her internal Qi to the breaking point. Her movements became a series of jagged, violent strobes, her body flickering through space with such speed that the air groaned around her.
