In the dark passage, several shadowy figures flashed by.

Glancing at the map, Jiang Bai slowed his pace and said in a low voice, "We're almost there."

He put down the Institute Director and instructed, "I'll go ahead to scout."

With that, he tiptoed and lightly jumped, his feet sticking to the wall as if magnetized. He ran along the wall, his footsteps making no sound.

Shan Hongyi raised an eyebrow, sensing something special about Jiang Bai's technique, but unable to understand the principle behind it.

"This is an ancient special use of abilities, which they called secret techniques. Many have been lost," the Director explained, leaning against the wall. "They manipulate abilities to circulate in the body in special patterns, producing different effects. Some can enhance physical qualities, some can control objects from a distance. I don't know much about these things, just a general idea."

Shan Hongyi looked somewhat disappointed. The Director saw her thoughts and patiently explained, "Ancient things aren't necessarily good. Learning secret techniques takes extreme time and ability, with high input but mediocre returns. Later generations found a better path - directly using abilities to strengthen oneself, cultivating Sequence Abilities to the master level, then generating Immortal Substance to achieve transcendence."

Hearing this, Shan Hongyi nodded thoughtfully.

All below transcendence are mere mortals. Legend has it that transcendent experts can achieve immortality!

In other words, the disappearance of secret techniques wasn't due to broken inheritance, but because they were obsolete!

As they talked, a dark figure returned. Jiang Bai's expression was strange.

The Director asked with concern, "Didn't alert the enemy, did you?"

"No, the situation may be different from what we imagined." Jiang Bai looked down at the information in the dictionary, his mouth twitching slightly.

The paper clearly stated: Highly aggressive, on the verge of losing control, carrying a deadly virus...

The Director's expression turned serious. "Sky Inquiry cannot be wrong!"

Even in his extremely weakened state, this information could not be mistaken.

"Sky Inquiry isn't wrong," Jiang Bai shook his head and sighed. "The enemy... is a wolf."

The Director and the little girl: ???

Highly aggressive, out of control - a mad wolf

Possibly carrying a deadly virus - possibly carrying rabies

Sky Inquiry indeed wasn't wrong, but it omitted the most crucial information.

Jiang Bai gestured, "That's right, an out-of-control blood wolf that has gained an ability. Standing up, it's as tall as Hongyi. There's a bowl-sized lump on its neck, which should be the cause of its loss of control..."

Jiang Bai shared the intelligence he gathered. The three fell into an awkward silence again.

A wolf accidentally entered the passage, biting through electrical wires in its out-of-control state...

Just for this small matter, the three had imagined all sorts of scenarios. The Director had even been prepared to sacrifice himself.

While their emotions were in place, it all felt somewhat wasted.

"Well, that's good, that's good." The Director let out a long sigh of relief, clearly unburdened, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily.

An out-of-control ability-wielding animal was better than an enemy attack.

"Alright, I have a plan. You two cooperate," Jiang Bai began assigning tasks.

"Director, I'll lure the blood wolf over here. When it arrives, you act as bait to attract its attention."

"Hongyi, remember, if I shout 'Holy Light', release it at the blood wolf. If I shout 'Heal', cast Holy Light on me."

"Hongyi, hide in the shadows. If I fail, find a way to escape with the Director. If he dies, run by yourself."

"......"

After confirming everything, Jiang Bai once again walked into the shadows.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

From deep in the passage came the beast's roars, running sounds, and breathing.

Before the blood wolf appeared, a foul stench hit them, putting the two on high alert.

Soon, a blood wolf rushed out of the shadows, appearing before them.

The blood wolf's appearance matched Jiang Bai's description exactly, with the lump on its neck pulsing with its heartbeat.

The moment the blood wolf appeared, the Director began tapping the ground to attract its attention.

Jiang Bai lay flat on the ceiling, hidden in the wolf's blind spot.

Soon, the blood wolf changed its target to the Director. In its out-of-control state, it wanted to tear apart everything in sight, howling as it charged forward!

Just as the Director attracted the blood wolf's attention, Jiang Bai released his grip, descending from above,

"Momentary Stop!"

This wasn't his first battle, nor his first time dealing with supernatural events. This level of combat was child's play for Jiang Bai.

However,

To everyone's surprise, the blood wolf didn't stop!

Shan Hongyi's pupils constricted, her face turning pale,

"Momentary Stop failed?!"

According to Shan Hongyi's thinking, Jiang Bai should have used Momentary Stop to interrupt the blood wolf's action, then take the chance to kill it.

Now, the blood wolf's movement wasn't hindered at all, clearly something had gone wrong!

The Director sitting on the ground showed no panic, his face exceptionally calm.

He trusted his comrade.

The next second, a dramatic change occurred!

The blood-red in the wolf's eyes dissipated, its consciousness seemingly returning to clarity. But the lump on its neck flashed with dangerous red light, threatening to lose control again at any moment!

The Director's eyes lit up, immediately guessing Jiang Bai's intention!

Jiang Bai hadn't used Momentary Stop to interrupt the wolf's attack, but changed his approach, using it to interrupt the wolf's ability loss of control!

The reason the blood wolf had such strong aggression was because it was teetering on the edge of ability space-time, losing its rationality.

Interrupting the loss of control would allow the wolf's rationality to regain dominance.

Jiang Bai's action could be called skillful and daring!

If any part went wrong, he could have failed, with unthinkable consequences... Wait!

Realizing this, the Director suddenly froze.

If this plan had failed, and the blood wolf remained out of control, it would have pounced directly on the Director to bite him...

In other words, if Jiang Bai's action failed, the consequences for the Director would be unthinkable?!

Even the Director couldn't help but roll his eyes at this moment.

This scoundrel!

The blood wolf, temporarily regaining consciousness, stood dumbly in place, as if pondering its wolf life - Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

In that split second,

Swish--

Descending from above, Jiang Bai's right hand held a pen, swift and fierce, slashing downward!

This recording pen was indestructible, itself an excellent self-defense weapon, shining even brighter in Jiang Bai's hands.

Jiang Bai's hand rose and fell, the pen-knife cleanly cutting off the lump on the wolf's neck, as smoothly as cutting through butter, the entire action fluid and unbroken.

The lump rolled on the ground, blood spraying wildly, and the blood wolf immediately let out a miserable howl!

Jiang Bai immediately shouted, "Holy Light!"

"Coming!"

The little girl instinctively wanted to cast Holy Light on Jiang Bai, but she immediately remembered his instructions. In the last second before release, she changed the target to the blood wolf.

Stimulated by the Holy Light, the wound on the wolf's neck quickly healed. Without the lump, there was naturally no risk of losing control. However, under the effect of Holy Light, the blood wolf was about to burst out with amazing combat power.

At that time, all three people in the scene would be its attack targets!

Jiang Bai slapped the wolf's head, "Momentary Stop!"

"Awooo--"

The blood wolf let out a howl, its spirit immediately wilting, the whole wolf lying flat on the ground.

A wolf, in Jiang Bai's hands, was forced to make a dog-like whimper.

The Holy Light was interrupted, the blood wolf entered a weakened state, easily subdued by Jiang Bai.

Seeing this scene, the Director and the little girl felt extremely complex emotions.

This guy had said earlier he could only use Momentary Stop once, but in battle he used it twice in quick succession...

Was it really necessary to hide like this?

The Director suspected that Jiang Bai was still hiding something.

Regardless, the result was good.

Jiang Bai had dealt with the out-of-control blood wolf without a scratch, and even captured it alive.

It's worth noting that the blood wolf possessed the strength of a mid-level ability user, on the verge of going berserk. In a direct confrontation, even a high-level ability user could suffer greatly if not careful!

Yet in Jiang Bai's hands, it was resolved so simply!

The weakened blood wolf's nose twitched, warily watching Shan Hongyi approach. It suddenly lunged forward, intending to bite her.

Just as it was about to open its mouth to bite, a large hand descended from above, gripping its entire wolf head, locking it tight like a vise.

Jiang Bai pressed the wolf's head, saying seriously,

"Shut up!"