Third-person POV: Thora's eyes went cold. She stared past Shirley. A bullet hung in the air half a foot from Shirley's brow. Its surface shimmered with a faint ripple of energy. Then, with a crack through the air, it reversed course. "Ah!" The bullet punched through the mercenary's forehead. He fell dead on the spot. Only then did Shirley realize what had just happened. "What was that..." Thora did not explain. She stepped forward, picked up the guns and ammo from the two dead mercenaries, and said, "A dying counterattack. Get ready for the next point." If Shirley had not been in danger, Thora would not have used her power so easily. Her strength was growing, but before Amie woke, her abilities were still a last resort. The college had been taken by greedy mercenaries. She did not know how many more powerful enemies like that woman they would meet. Their leader, Lance Wright, was an awakened wolf spirit ability user. If she met him while her mental energy was drained from overusing abilities, she would die. So she had to conserve her strength. Besides, ability users were rare in this time and world. She didn't want to draw unnecessary trouble by letting anyone notice her power. Shirley was curious, but she did not ask more. Long ago, when she was in the assassin group, she had seen people with special skills. Still, what Thora had done shocked her. She gripped the sniper and quickly vanished again, covering Thora from the rear.Even Shirley felt it was strange. She had never followed orders in her life, but now, without Thora telling her, she knew what to do. That silent teamwork felt good. And she felt Thora's unconditional trust. For the first time in her life, she felt trusted. ... On the roof. "Boss, the Astralis Army has surrounded Astralis College. What do we do now?" a voice asked. A boy who looked barely a teen stepped onto the roof. His face was pale. A band crossed his forehead. His eyes glowed a gray blue that did not look human. His voice was full of killing intent. "Why don't we just slaughter those students? Then our mission can be done." Lance toyed with the pistol in his hand. He did not answer the boy. He muttered, "We kept this operation secret. How did word get out?" His eyes narrowed. He looked toward the area outside Astralis College. "My ability will fade soon. Their security will be broken soon too. If we want to leave alive, those lambs must be our hostages. Send the message. If they make one wrong move, we will go down with Astralis College," Lance said flatly and smiled. "Yes." A mercenary moved to carry out the order. "Then start Plan B now." Lance's command went out. Just then, several mercenaries dragged in an injured Alissa. "Alissa!" Sharkie rushed forward. Julio, the boy with the dark aura, frowned. "Alissa was attacked?" Alissa held her arm, blood pouring out. "Boss, someone destroyed all our timers. That person was very skilled, and they had a sniper." Her words drained color from everyone's faces. Lance's eyes turned colder. If the bomb devices were destroyed, they could not destroy Astralis College. Those locations had been calculated by him. Even Alissa could only find them using the map he had given her. If his guess was right, the tip to the army probably came from that same person. "The two members with me were shot dead." Alissa's beautiful face twisted with anger. Julio stepped up and checked her wound. "The bullet is too strong to remove now. And this round..." He frowned. "It is our sniper's custom silver round." Lance's gaze turned icy. He strode forward. "Plans changed. Before Plan B, find them for me now."