STRIKER: Independent Beast Tamer-Chapter 685: Part 2: First team mission

Park

Melinda understood something, there was an underground tunnel beneath the park.

She was aware of the fact that underground tunnels are well-known hiding places for small-time criminals.

She thought that Jeremy Night could be suspecting this place, because she knew there were records of city officials arresting dozens of people there before.

"Well, I too think it’s necessary to search the tunnel," she thought before walking up to him.

Jeremy saw Melinda coming towards him, so he withdrew his gaze from the hatch.

"Come with me," Melinda said all of a sudden.

Hearing that, Jeremy nodded his head and stood up to follow her. He was wondering where she was taking him.

But then he saw she was going towards the access hatch. His mouth twitched; he didn’t expect her to have monitored his movements earlier.

She must have seen him looking at the hatch. They arrived in front of it.

"I saw you looking at this place. It reminded me of something. Criminals usually use these types of tunnels to hide from officials," Melinda said.

"It’s possible," Jeremy uttered. He was not going to say that he had just spotted two people walking through the passage.

Melinda then nodded her head before contacting the other members. Soon, everyone arrived in front of the tunnel.

Seeing that she was going to inspect the underground tunnel, most of the members rejected the idea.

They thought Team Leader Melinda was searching at random places. However, since she was the team leader, they couldn’t deny her orders.

The hatch was opened. There was a ladder leading to the tunnel. Everyone entered one by one; Jeremy was the last one to enter.

"Let’s split the team and search in two directions," Melinda said.

She then asked Freya, Theo, and Jeremy to join her, while the other two Tier-5 Beast Tamers led the Tier-4 Beast Tamers.

The Tier-4 Beast Tamers were against the tunnel search, so Melinda ignored them and took the Tier-3 members instead.

Jeremy started using his eye ability. He also unsheathed his blade and held it in his hand. Theo and Freya saw this, and their eyes flashed with disdain.

As the seconds passed by, they went deeper. Jeremy used a single starlight thread to cover the blade’s edge.

Suddenly, he felt movement from the water. He saw something lurking beneath the surface. It could be the criminals.

"Be careful of the water," he said in a serious tone.

Melinda turned around to face the water. Theo and Freya reacted slower.

Boom!

A criminal launched a sneak attack. His dagger was about to stab Freya. Jeremy appeared in a flash and slashed down.

Pfff!

The blade easily severed the arm from the criminal’s body. The man fell to the ground with a scream. Only then did Freya come to her senses; she retreated as Theo broke out into a cold sweat.

Melinda arrived in front of the middle-aged man and knocked him unconscious. She then turned towards Theo and Freya, her eyes flashing with anger.

"You guys are really careless. Despite being higher ranked, you couldn’t sense the presence of the criminal," she said in a stern tone.

Hearing that, Theo and Freya became quiet. They didn’t know what to say.

"You guys are lucky. If he had used a lifeline beast to attack, one of you might have lost your life here," she added.

After saying that, she told both of them to take the unconscious person back to the surface. She then told them to inform the city officials and hand him over.

Theo and Freya were unwilling; they wanted to finish the mission. But unfortunately, their careless attitude had pissed off the leader.

They could only go back now. Freya looked at the newcomer, her gaze softening. If not for him, she would have been stabbed to death.

Theo didn’t say anything. Then, both of them left, carrying the unconscious man.

Melinda’s eyes flashed with curiosity. She looked towards Jeremy and asked, "How did you find out?"

"I kept my eyes on the water. Then I found a shadow underneath the surface," Jeremy told her. He did not expose his true ability.

"Let’s go," Melinda said before resuming the walk. "The underground tunnel connects to other tunnels. It’s a network down there. I won’t be surprised if there are members hiding here."

"Why don’t the officials take action?" Jeremy asked.

Melinda smiled and said, "They must have known already, but they didn’t want to do it alone. That’s why they assembled Beast Tamers from major forces for this mission."

Hearing that, Jeremy understood.

Time went by.

Splash!

A poison rat made a sudden attack on them. They easily killed the lower-tier beast, but there was no sign of the criminals.

Jeremy started to realize that they were going way too deep. If they encountered a massive group, it would become difficult to escape.

"Senior sister, the tunnel is going deeper. We should return now," Jeremy said to her.

Melinda was convinced that criminals were hiding in the underground tunnel; the man from earlier was proof.

"Just a few more minutes. If we capture one more person, then we can leave," Melinda replied.

Jeremy frowned. He could survive, but he doubted she would escape unharmed because one couldn’t use a lifeline beast here, it would hinder its mobility.

Suddenly, his senses picked up something. They had reached the end of the tunnel, but there were two more tunnels branching to the left and right.

He felt something wrong coming from the right. He looked towards his senior sister; he didn’t know whether she had sensed it or not.

"Sister, I’m going forward." After saying that, Jeremy tried to walk past her.

"What are you doing?" Melinda asked.

Jeremy ignored her. He slowed his pace and raised his katana blade. Then, he used his second eye ability to see through the tunnel wall. He saw four people lying in wait for an ambush.

He then checked the left side of the tunnel; there was no one there.

Swoosh!

He made a right turn and launched a precise strike. The blade cut through the heads of two people lying down.

Pfff!

In a flash, Jeremy appeared in front of the third man. His blade stabbed into the person’s heart.

He then made a back-strike without turning around. The blade sliced through the chest of the fourth person.