Chapter 29: Overtime Is Out of the Question
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[Tyrant’s Fist: Weapon]
[Effect: Unleashes a crimson whip to ravage enemies; every strike causes the target to lose its mind.]
[The Tyrant’s Fist usually manifests in the form of a whip.]
Fu Qian studied his special kill reward.
In all this time, it was the first weapon he had ever received.
Unfortunately, its appearance was truly a challenge to the imagination.
With such an imposing name as the Tyrant’s Fist, how had it turned out to be a ring?
The ring was clearly not made of metal. It had been woven from countless lustrous, delicate strands twisted tightly together. Its entire surface was dark red, and it was even slightly warm to the touch.
Crimson Frenzy? It was hard not to associate it with that particular thing.
Fu Qian had grown this old without ever wearing a ring.
He picked up the Tyrant’s Fist, hesitated for a moment, then struck a suitably domineering pose with his right hand and slipped the ring onto it.
His blood surged. With a flick of his right hand, a long whip twisted from several blood vessels and sinews flashed through the air.
Its strength and speed were both impressive, and its activation was extremely discreet. It was practically an extension of his arm.
Not bad. It made up for his lack of mid-range attacks.
Previously, he had air bullets for long-range combat and feared no one in close quarters. With this thing, he could now extend and retract at will, lengthen or shorten as needed, and keep his golden spear eternally erect—bah!
As for the effect that caused the target to lose its mind…
Fu Qian thought for a moment, then swung his arm and lashed his own back with the crimson whip.
As blood sprayed through the air, a violent killing intent flashed across his heart and vanished.
Excellent!
After eating something so disgusting, this was at least some consolation.
Fu Qian nodded in satisfaction and reached out to touch the fog gate before him.
[Consume 1 point of SAN and attempt containment again.]
[…1%…5%…18%…50%…99.5%…100%. Containment scenario loaded.]
Now he had to get back to work.
Working overtime was out of the question.
[Skills: Air Bullets, Organ Critical Strike, Cat School]
[Weapon: Tyrant’s Fist]
[Current SAN: 32]
Rippling waters shimmered in the light, and the lakeside mansion of the Wen family once again came into view.
“Stop looking around!”
Facing Captain Gu’s solemn expression, Fu Qian patted the shoulder of this chieftain of the professional slacker faction.
“Got it.”
Sneaking in through the broken pillar, kicking down the door and smashing everything in sight.
With one kick, Fu Qian shattered the stone pillar hurtling toward him, hoisted Miss Wen up, and carried her all the way to the underground safe room.
At the instant the safe-room door closed, Fu Qian saw Young Master Ye, who had rushed over after hearing the news, being held back desperately by Mr. Ji.
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…
“How long do we have to stay here?”
Inside the safe room, Wen Li asked the question, and Fu Qian once again held up one finger.
“One week?”
“No. One hour.”
Fu Qian shook his head.
“If you haven’t reached the sixth rank in an hour, I’ll strip off your—skin!”
…
“I’m sorry, but that’s an impossible task for me. Perhaps you should simply kill me.”
Wen Li stared blankly at Fu Qian’s face. After a long while, she gave a bleak smile.
“This was never your task to begin with.”
Fu Qian blinked.
“Come out!”
“I don’t understand what you mean…”
Wen Li’s large eyes were filled with bewilderment.
Rip!
Once again, Fu Qian tore the thick metal tabletop free.
The next moment, he hurled it toward the ceiling. The mouth of the ventilation shaft was instantly smashed apart, and the tabletop lodged itself firmly across the opening.
A thunderous boom rang out, and the entire safe room trembled.
“You have fifty-eight minutes left.”
Fu Qian continued staring at Wen Li without expression.
She stared straight back at him. After a long moment, her face suddenly relaxed, and she broke into a smile.
“You really are impossible! But one hour truly isn’t enough!”
The pitiful confusion and helplessness from before had vanished without a trace. With graceful composure, Wen Li walked over and sat down nearby.
Just as I thought. I knew there was something strange about you.
“What should I call you?”
“Wouldn’t Wen Li do? After all, she and I are fundamentally the same person.”
“Wen Li” blinked and crossed her legs.
“Though I don’t know why you insisted on making me come out, it is rather nice to have someone to talk to.”
“Having a gift isn’t always a blessing.”
“Throughout the years of growing up, I was forced to listen to countless people’s innermost thoughts and sense their emotions. The voices were so noisy that eventually, you forgot what your own emotions had been in the first place.”
“Amid endless torment and confusion, one day, ‘I’ became ‘we’—”
“That is a nicely made-up story. Unfortunately, I hate people wasting my time.”
Before “Wen Li” could finish speaking, an air bullet skimmed past her forehead. Her scalp stung, and countless strands of black hair drifted down.
“You can be anything you like, but you are not Wen Li.”
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Fu Qian withdrew his hand and said lazily,
“Why do you say that?”
“Wen Li” sat up straight in a flash, her expression becoming solemn for the first time.
What nonsense. If you were merely a product of Wen Li’s split personality, I wouldn’t bother with you.
Whichever one of you reaches the sixth rank, my task will be complete. After that, you can do whatever you please.
The problem was that Wen Li had clearly succeeded in advancing to the sixth rank last time, yet the notification he received had said that the mission requiring Wen Li’s death had failed.
The only explanation was that, despite sharing the same body, this creature and Wen Li were two entirely different individuals.
That was why Fu Qian had given her only one hour this time, and why his threat had changed from stripping her naked and throwing her out to killing her outright.
When threatened with being stripped last time, this woman had never appeared, which meant she evidently did not care much about such things.
Sure enough, when Wen Li was faced with the prospect of being stripped naked and having her soul scattered, she had instead shown a willingness to die. This one, clearly more concerned with staying alive, had emerged at once.
Fu Qian naturally had no intention of saying any of this aloud. He merely gave a cold snort.
“I’ve roamed the martial world for many years and seen countless women. I’ve trained a pair of fiery, discerning eyes long ago. Do you really think these paltry tricks of yours can deceive me?”
“You may keep inventing stories if you like, but here’s a friendly reminder: you have only fifty minutes left.”
“You may call me Eve.”
The false Wen Li’s expression turned completely cold.
“You are truly rather unusual.”
“Thank you for the compliment. Can you tell me something about your true origins?”
That was precisely what Fu Qian wanted to know. Instinct told him that this was the key to Wen Li’s connection with the containment object.
[2-292: Cocoon Room]
“You guessed correctly. Although I was born from her, I am indeed not her.”
“But what I said earlier was not entirely false, either.”
“The pain and confusion Wen Li experienced were real. I was born from the violent surge of those emotions, which could never be dissolved. Of course, she has never known that I exist. In a sense, I am the supernatural power itself, while Wen Li is merely the soil in which I grew.”
“Because of this, as long as she advances to the sixth rank, I will be able to awaken completely within her, and she will vanish forever.”
“I believe what I’ve said demonstrates sufficient sincerity, does it not?”
Eve fixed her gaze on Fu Qian.
“Whatever your purpose may be, I must make one thing clear: advancing to the sixth rank within an hour is impossible.”
“Now that I have completely taken control of the body, and my accumulated power has reached a bottleneck, you need only give me one more day—no, five hours. Then I can attempt to fulfill your request.”
Eve revealed a sweet smile, seized Fu Qian’s hand, and pressed it against her dazzlingly pale thigh.
“I don’t need to remain so quiet during the process. You may make whatever use you wish of the extra time.”
Her skin was as smooth as congealed cream. Fu Qian examined it carefully and found not the slightest flaw, even under the strictest scrutiny.
“What a coincidence. I happen to have some special techniques for putting it to use.”
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