Shrouded Seascape

"I need you to help me raid the IMF's headquarters. A piece of myself is sealed there."

"That's too dangerous. I'm not going to go there and die."

The heavy furnace door opened and closed, illuminating and darkening the faces of Anna and her group. The jarring voice from earlier echoed from the bronze doll once more.

"Those words shouldn't come from the mouth of the famous 315, who had easily taken down two IMF sites. Not many figures have been able to cause them so much trouble since their inception, after all."

It seemed that Anna's reputation had far exceeded her actual strength.

"Spare me the goading. What do you think I am? A child? I'm aware of the limits of my own strength. Your request is just absurd. Why don't you ask me to snatch the moon for you while you're at it?"

Anna had benefited a lot from the two recent near-death experiences, but she had also paid a massive price for her success. At the polar site, she not only suffered immensely but had also lost an arm.

The incursion into the IMF's desert site resulted in Anna obtaining an additional fleshly body. There weren't any issues with it so far, but it was a ticking time bomb with an unknown timer; no one knew when it would explode.

Moreover, Anna had to have incurred not a small amount of enmity from the IMF after those two incursions. Anna despised the IMF, but she knew that she ought to conceal that hatred, as she was too weak to consummate it.

The IMF's headquarters. Even a child could tell that it was going to be an extremely dangerous place. If she were to go there, she'd face certain death.

She had been extremely lucky so far and had succeeded in bringing down two IMF sites, even though the odds were stacked against her. However, an assault on the IMF's headquarters would be akin to stirring up a hornet's nest.

The IMF would surely classify her as an extremely dangerous Anomaly, specifically an Anomaly capable of threatening humanity as a whole. Once she was classified as such, they'd undoubtedly put aside every task at hand and use every means possible to deal with her.

Anna had no plans of making an enemy out of the entire world just yet.

"Don't you want us to satisfy your conditions?" the incomplete bronze doll asked.

Anna looked at the incomplete bronze doll and shook her head slightly. "Of course, I want you to satisfy my conditions, but none of those are more important than my life except for my daughter."

"So you have no plans to work with us, Miss Anna? What a shame. Really."

The nearby machinery roared to life again. Scrap metals were transported and transformed into shiny and brand-new mechanical parts.

Wang Jianshe was a bit nervous as he stared at the conveyor belts and the nearby machinery. His intuition as a businessman was telling him that the other party was getting angry.

Realizing that the negotiations with the Shattered God were about to break down, Anna decided to salvage it. After all, they could surely meet her conditions.

It's a good thing I have more than just one bargaining chip. There's no need for me to risk my life for this deal. I'm not like that madman, Charles.

Anna stepped forward with her black high heels. She walked up to the bronze doll and pushed her charming face closer to the latter, whispering, "Life here must be difficult, right? These things are powerful against other humans, but they're useless against the IMF. They have Anomalies to wield, after all.

"I happen to have a method that will allow you to increase your strength rapidly. Perhaps you'll eventually grow strong enough to infiltrate the IMF's HQ by yourself using that method of mine.

"I'm not going to ask for more in exchange. I just want you to meet those three conditions."

The gears in the bronze doll's eyes turned to Anna. "I don't think you have anything that can help me except for your special abilities."

Anna revealed a charming smile. "What if I told you that I have a way to let humans absorb the special ability of Anomalies?"

The entire factory stopped working as soon as Anna's words fell. A few seconds later, the machinery roared to life once again.

The bronze doll nodded in understanding. "Now I finally know why the IMF had decided to send so many dogs to chase you. You are much more harmful to human society than me."

"You flatter me. With that method of mine, you won't have to hide in the future any longer. You can even confront the IMF if you wish," Anna said. There was another motive behind Anna's decision. The IMF had been chasing after her to obtain her method that allowed humans to absorb an Anomaly's special ability.

If that method became widespread, they would likely have little time for her.

"Let me think about it. Hm, if this deal goes through, then we'll be fighting them to the death, and you'll reap the profits from behind the scenes. Is that right?" the Shattered God said, accurately pointing out Anna's other motive.

"If you don't want this deal, then forget it. There must be other people out there that are willing to accept this deal. I believe you're not the only organization eager for that method," Anna said. She turned around and left with her group.

The conveyor belt on the left ran violently, and the scrap iron on it flew toward Anna, blocking her path.

"You won't be able to find them. The other organizations are hiding deeper than you think to ensure that no dogs from the IMF can infiltrate their ranks," the bronze doll remarked.

Li Lu's face was ugly as she held Tobba. Whenever the bronze doll referred to the IMF agents with the word "dog," her face would become uglier.

"State your conditions again," the bronze doll said.

Anna revealed a faint smug smile at that. The Shattered God had decided to yield.

"I need something capable of altering memories, preferably a controllable Anomaly, but other things are acceptable as well. I also need powerful Anomalies, at least ten of them.

"As for how you've been evading the IMF, you don't have to tell me about it." Anna looked up at the dilapidated roof and added, "You don't seem to have any good ways to avoid their eyes."

"We do have a way to avoid their eyes. At the very least, avoiding the IMF's mad dogs isn't an issue at all."

"Oh? What is it?" Anna was curious. They actually had a way to escape the eyes of the IMF's shadows.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Anna had already been stabbed in the back by 8 and 2—the IMF's shadows. They were just ordinary people, but if even one of them were allowed entry to an organization, the IMF's main force would eventually descend on that organization.

"Since they can send moles in our way, we can do the same as well. We have someone holding a high position at the IMF. He is privy to the locations and missions of the IMF's wild dogs.

"Wang Jianshe's abnormal desire to obtain that black diamond made the IMF suspect that his actions might be related to you. Our mole was the one who had dealt with the dogs that they had sent over to investigate.

"If we're going to work together, then I'm willing to share with you the intel we have about the IMF's movements from our mole.

"We can help you resolve small issues as well, but you're on your own when it comes to big issues."

No wonder they have been around for long; they sure have their way of dealing with the IMF, Anna thought. She could also sense a threat in the bronze doll's words.

The bronze doll had stated that they would share information about the IMF with Anna, but the latter knew that it wasn't as sweet as it sounded. After all, the service would certainly end as soon as their relationship soured.

Perhaps the bronze doll might even use their mole in the IMF to set a trap for her.

Anna trusted no one, so how could she trust a mere mechanical Anomaly with average intelligence? To ensure that she wouldn't get sold out, she had to be always vigilant.