Chapter 513: Aurora Appears

Ten minutes ago.

Guest room.

Yang Xiao sat cross-legged on the bed with his phone placed right in front of him. Bright light filled every corner of the room. He stared at the phone, lost in thought.

"Chen Ling and I can both perceive magnetic fields... So, theoretically, what he can do, I should be able to do as well..."

"But how?"

"I can perceive the surrounding magnetic fields, but I can't manipulate electronic devices with the same precision he does, nor can I interfere with communication signals... Is my mental energy still too weak?"

Yang Xiao closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on mobilizing the surrounding magnetic field, trying to make his phone unlock automatically...

But in the end, the phone screen only flickered on and off, as if there were a loose connection. It nearly went dark, then flared with blinding light. With a faint sound of electricity, the screen went pitch black.

A faint smell of burning drifted from inside the device.

Yang Xiao froze for a moment, then picked up the phone with both hands and tried to turn it on, but it was as unresponsive as a brick... The battery had completely fried.

A look of heartache appeared on Yang Xiao’s face.

He tossed the phone aside and paced the room, sighing. Just then, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of several stealthy figures flickering past the building below.

"Huh?"

Yang Xiao became alert immediately, hiding against the wall to peer downward.

There were eight figures in black, split into four groups, spreading out along the outer wall as if looking for an entrance to the museum. Two of them pointed at the side door below his floor, pulled guns from their clothes, and slipped inside silently.

"Assassins have found us?" Seeing this, Yang Xiao’s expression turned grave.

Yang Xiao had witnessed the entire infiltration. At this moment, he was likely the first person in the museum to realize the crisis. He reached for his phone to call Chen Ling, but seeing the "brick" on the bed emitting black smoke, his mouth twitched violently.

Yang Xiao decisively abandoned that idea and dashed out of the room, intending to warn Su Zhiwei and the others so they could evacuate. But just as he reached the stairs, he heard footsteps creaking on the wooden boards as someone approached the second floor.

Is it an assassin?!

Yang Xiao’s brain raced. He turned to head down the other staircase, but immediately heard the crisp sound of a bullet being chambered from that direction as well.

"Two people coming up from two different staircases... Are they trying to seal off all exits and catch us like turtles in a jar?"

The guest room was in an independent wing on the east side of the museum. The second floor had only one straight corridor with ten rooms. With both staircases blocked, Yang Xiao was forced to retreat back into his room. If he stayed in the corridor, the moment the assassins stepped onto the second floor, they would see him immediately.

Just as Yang Xiao pulled the door shut, one of the assassins stepped onto the second floor. He scanned the floor coldly, exchanged a nod with the other assassin who had just arrived, and they began their search.

By now, the two assassins realized this building seemed to be all guest rooms. Since that was the case, there was a high probability that Su Zhiwei was staying here. Their eyes lit up.

They started from both ends, searching room by room. Their guns were always pointed forward, their eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly. Their movements were extremely practiced, as if they had done this many times before, leaving no corner of the rooms unchecked.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

The dull sound of doors being kicked in echoed through the corridor. Yang Xiao’s heart hammered.

Chen Ling hadn't returned yet, and Su Zhiwei was busy with her evening meditation; he was the only one on this floor... At this rate, they would break into this room sooner or later, and he would surely die.

"No... I can't just sit here and wait to die."

Yang Xiao regulated his breathing to calm himself quickly. His eyes scanned the room, searching for a way to break the deadlock... Finally, his gaze locked onto the lightbulb overhead.

Light... illumination??

Yang Xiao’s eyes brightened. He looked at the brightly lit museum, and an idea surged into his mind.

"This is the only way. I hope it buys them some time."

Yang Xiao hid behind the door. The sound of doors being kicked in continued from both sides, and it seemed they would soon reach his room. He slowly closed his eyes, using all his consciousness to perceive the surrounding magnetic field. The lightbulb above him gradually became like the phone battery from earlier...

Perceive, touch, manipulate, and then...

Zzz—

Zzzzzzz—!!

A faint electrical hum sounded from overhead. The next moment, all the lights in the museum suddenly flared with blinding intensity, and with a soft pop, they all short-circuited!

Snap!

The entire museum was plunged into darkness.

The sudden darkness caught the two assassins off guard. Their movements paused, and they instinctively gripped their guns tighter.

If they had been able to search recklessly with their weapons before, now that their vision was obscured, their situation had become unknown... They were forced to slow down, using more energy to confirm their surroundings, as if they were in an unknown dark jungle.

"It worked..." Yang Xiao muttered to himself.

This attempt had allowed him to grasp something vaguely; his understanding of the magnetic field around him seemed to have changed...

In the darkness, Yang Xiao’s eyes narrowed, faint glimmers surging in his pupils. He instinctively raised his hands, grasping at the void.

"Damn it, why did the power go out?" an assassin cursed in a low voice outside the door.

"I don't know... Could something have gone wrong on the others' end?"

"Do you feel like there was an earthquake?"

"That wasn't an earthquake. Didn't you hear the sound from the main entrance? It seemed to come from there."

"The main entrance? Isn't that... What on earth is happening??"

"Anyway, let's find Su Zhiwei first. How many rooms have you searched?"

"Four. You?"

"I'm searching the fifth... Only one left."

As they spoke, the two arrived at Yang Xiao’s door, aiming their guns at the dark doorway. One of them kicked it open with a thud.

The lack of resistance made the assassin pause, and he shouted:

"This door wasn't locked! It was open!"

Both raised their guns, aiming into the dim room. Through the faint light from the window, they could barely make out the silhouette of a figure standing by the window, hands raised as if grasping something in the air.

The next moment, sewing needles began to float up from outside the window behind him, suspended in the misty night rain. Along with them were countless scissors, table knives, and even rusted metal shards...

By the window, the dim figure slowly opened his eyes. A pair of pupils surging with faint aurora light stared coldly at the two.