Chapter 47: Hanhang

He slowly raised the dark blade in his hand, and a brilliant, multicolored radiance instantly surged across the sword body.

"Get back, all of you!!!"

Wu Que roared at the top of his lungs, and hearing his cry, the others retreated backward in quick succession.

Gripping the blade with both hands, Wu Que instantly flashed to "its" side. Seeming to sense that the power of this strike was not to be underestimated, "it" did not meet the attack head-on this time. Instead, "it" began to writhe its form, attempting to evade the blow.

Just as the blade was about to hit "it", Wu Que abruptly shifted his angle, freeing his left hand to slam a palm against "its" back.

"Combat Imprint!!"

An imprint carrying a shroud of dark, necrotic aura appeared simultaneously on the necks of both Wu Que and "it", locking them in a battle to the death with no retreat.

Simultaneously, wielding the dark blade, Wu Que unleashed an unstoppable, ultimate strike.

The tentacles and scales that were originally as indestructible as steel turned as soft as freshly made tofu the moment they came into contact with the dark blade.

In the blink of an eye, they disintegrated completely!

"Did... did we succeed?"

Everyone stared blankly at "its" mutilated body beneath the blade, their hearts seemingly suspended in their throats.

The two veteran members were the first to react.

"No, that's not right! The system's prompt tone and the dream-entering exit haven't appeared yet!"

"“It”... is still alive."

Just as the others were still dazed, the Overseer suddenly charged forward, crying out at the top of his voice.

"Watch out!"

The Overseer lunged fiercely at "it", and at the same time, his entire body burst apart.

This was an explosion unique to the Overseer—brilliant, dazzling, and magnificent.

In an instant, flames soared into the sky, the earth cracked, and the colossal shockwave of fire even scorched the walls of the operating room pitch-black.

Blasted flat against the ground by the searing heat wave, everyone had just barely managed to struggle back up when several sharp spikes shot out from deep within the center of the smoke, thrusting straight toward their chests.

"Squelch!"

"Ugh..."

As the thick smoke dissipated, "it" was revealed to be completely unscathed, appearing even stronger, more robust, and more full of vitality than at the very beginning.

"It" had been toying with them all along. "It" was invincible.

Wang Shuhan was the worst injured; that long, piercing spike was driven straight through her abdominal cavity. She could only grit her teeth and use ocean magic to sustain her own life and the lives of her teammates.

"It" seemingly had no intention of executing everyone outright; instead, it wanted to slowly torture them to death.

It was just like a game of cat and mouse, where the cat has driven the mouse into a corner yet refuses to swallow it down at once.

Over and over again, the cat releases a tiny opening only to bat the mouse back, waiting until the mouse's gaze shifts from terror to numbness and dullness, and its flesh goes from tense to loose and soft, before the cat can finally take ultimate satisfaction in biting through that throat that no longer cries out.

"Huhan, come out quickly! The Olympiad competition is about to start. Don't overthink it, my precious girl will definitely take first place again. Mommy's precious is so brilliant."

"Huhan, come out quickly, the piano teacher will be here any minute now. Today's task is to practice the piano for eight hours."

"Huhan, come out quickly, the television station has come to our house to interview us! Mommy has dressed you up so prettily; our Huhan is going to be a big star!"

"Huhan, come out quickly, the uncle from the talent agency wants to meet you. Mommy has already signed your name for you."

"Huhan, come out quickly, your fans are all waiting. If you keep hiding away, we'll have to pay a huge penalty for breach of contract."

"What? Impossible!!!! My daughter is a genius! You're saying her intelligence is below the normal average? Do you have any idea how many awards my daughter has won?"

"Huhan, come out quickly, Mommy bought you your favorite strawberry cake and got you a pretty little dress."

"Huhan, come out quickly. What? Your head hurts? What is wrong with you, child? Day in and day out, you're either out of sorts or complaining of a headache?"

"Huhan, come out quickly, don't you like pretty dresses anymore? What about the family trip we promised you? When do you think this is, why are you being so unreasonable?"

"Wang Shuhan, come out quickly! We're catching a flight to City X tonight, if you don't come out right now, we're going to miss the plane!"

"You cursed, damned girl, come out! If you don't come out this instant, I'm going to smash this door down!"

"Huhan, Mommy's baby, Mommy is begging you. Huhan is the goodest child, you always listen to Mommy. Just come out, won't you let Mommy take you on a trip?"

"Come out! Come out!! Come out!!!! Come out!!!!"

"Huhan, please come back, won't you come back to me? Sob, sob, sob, my precious baby, Mommy is sorry, Mommy will never force you again..."

Mommy, if I can make it out of this space and return to your side, will you still treat me merely as your instrument to gain fame and amass wealth?

As for Chen Tianyu, he was pinned to the wall of the operating room by a crucifix, the bone-deep, piercing agony wringing a cry from his lips.

"Golden Finger, you went running to hide at your mom and dad's house again, huh?"

"What Golden Finger? He's just a useless stutterer who only managed to build up that charlatan reputation because of a bit of blind luck in the past few times."

"You can't even string a sentence together properly, now pay up! Pay the money back!! Pay the money back!!!!"

"Golden Finger, aren't you supposed to be a fortune teller? Well, go on and calculate this: can you walk out of this door in one piece today or not?"

"I'm begging you... I'm begging you, that was the money for my father's medical treatment, the money for my son's college tuition! You guessed right so many times, you must be very wealthy, won't you please give the money back to me? I'll kowtow to you... I'll kowtow to you."

"Look, Golden Finger's parents are back! Quick, surround them and make them pay up!"

"I heard Golden Finger is a mama's boy, a wet-behind-the-ears kid who has never truly faced the real world. Can't really blame him though, if I had a mother that pretty, I'd want to be a mama's boy too."

Listening to his father's arguments and angry rebukes, and hearing the heartbroken weeping of his mother who was shielding him behind her, Chen Tianyu felt as though his heart were being torn to shreds—the exact same feeling he had experienced just before his death.

It was as if he were reliving the memories before his demise. He smashed his fists against the door in a frenzy, shouting toward the outside, "Le-... let go of my parents, I'm- ... I'm going to go die!"

With that, he dashed in two strides toward the window, flung it wide open, and prepared to leap down. Gazing at the familiar ground below—the very ground where he had once plunged to his death—Chen Tianyu fell into a momentary trance. Gathering all his strength, a loud "bang" echoed out.

This time, Chen Tianyu did not jump. Instead, he slammed the window shut with fierce finality.

He brushed the dust off his suit, straightened his disheveled hair, forcefully threw the window open once more, and leaped down.

"Twilight Spell—Barrier!"

A golden semicircular barrier materialized in front of Chen Deshuai, but under the onslaught of those sharp spikes, it violently shattered, turning into fine dust.

"Twilight Spell—Blade!!"

Chen Deshuai dodged continuously while launching counterattacks, yet every single move of his was suppressed and anticipated; he could not escape "its" tracking and binding.

Chen Deshuai was the "mouse" that put up the fiercest resistance, and consequently, he was the cat's favorite toy.

Within his line of sight, the flames raging inside that fire-bathed monster seemed inexhaustible as countless fiery serpents lunged and snapped at him, leaving him with nothing to do but struggle to evade them.

Finally, at the moment when Chen Deshuai was completely exhausted, a serpent of fire pierced straight through his body.