Chapter Sixty-Seven: Composure! Composure!
Chapter Sixty-Seven: Steady! Steady!
The steel rod was slick with blood, dripping down onto Chen Xiao’s face. Despite the agony twisting his features, a trace of mockery still lingered in his expression. His muscles contorted in pain, but his gaze—his gaze filled Qiu Yun with an indescribable sense of loathing.
He couldn’t even pinpoint the source of this revulsion, only that he gripped the steel rod tighter, intent on driving it into Chen Xiao once more—
At that very instant, Qiu Yun’s body suddenly wavered. The steel rod clattered from his grasp onto the ground. Staggering sideways, he retreated two steps, feeling as though he’d lost his breath, his vision swimming with darkness.
His arms, his fingers, his legs—every muscle in his body seemed to be slowly succumbing to numbness and rigidity, as if even flexing a single pinky joint was slipping beyond his control.
Suddenly, he collapsed to his knees with a dull thud, both arms splaying helplessly for support. His breathing grew labored, but every breath he drew no longer translated into strength for his body!
His senses dulled, and soon, as if he were drunk, everything became hazy and indistinct.
“You… you… what have you done to me?!” Qiu Yun’s face twisted in terror.
Chen Xiao lay weakly on the ground, forcing a grim smile. Though his face was smeared with blood, his eyes remained bright and unyielding. Gasping, he managed to laugh, “Ha! Haha!! Just now… that wooden splinter—it had my… my… my blood on it.”
Qiu Yun felt even the muscles in his throat slipping from his control. The numbness sent a jolt of fear through his heart, and like lightning, a thought flashed across his mind!
Could it be? This little rookie—his blood is poisonous too? He has the same ability as Alice?!
Poison?!
Qiu Yun’s body slumped to the ground, but summoning all his remaining strength, he fumbled desperately through his pockets. After a moment, he finally retrieved a slender metal vial, didn’t bother unscrewing the cap, but smashed it against the ground. Without regard for the shards of glass, he brought it to his lips and quickly swallowed the liquid inside!
It was an antidote—being a top member of the Black Knights and Alice’s superior, he always carried a remedy specifically formulated to counter Alice’s venom. Though he didn’t know if Chen Xiao’s blood contained the same toxin, he had no other choice but to try.
The Black Knights’ secret antidote worked wonders. Within seconds, Qiu Yun felt the stiffness dissipating; control over his muscles and joints gradually returned. He could move his wrists and legs again. Still weak, he managed to rise to one knee, propping himself up with effort.
“Haha! Hahahaha!!” Qiu Yun laughed viciously. “A rookie is still a rookie! Did you really think a little poisonous trick would be enough to deal with me? Hmph, a C-class esper dealing with an A-class? Impossible!”
He took a deep breath, staggered, but at last stood up. “What else do you have left?”
Chen Xiao still lay weakly on the ground, his shoulder a mangled, bloody mess, a large pool of blood spreading beneath him. The stark contrast between his bloodless face and the vivid red made him look almost uncanny.
He panted, yet still mustered a feeble smile. “You… you think an antidote is enough? Heh…”
Qiu Yun once again gripped the steel rod on the floor. “So you almost got me, rookie. I’ll drive this through your belly and detonate it!”
But after only two steps, his face suddenly contorted in shock. His knees buckled, and once more he crashed to the ground!
This time, Qiu Yun’s face was stricken with horror, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
“How can this be?!” he shrieked. “How can this be!! Did the antidote not work?! What kind of poison is in your blood?!”
“I don’t know either,” Chen Xiao managed a wan smile. “Probably similar to Alice’s. But… maybe I can offer a guess. There’s probably another substance in my body.”
He paused deliberately, took a deep breath, and locked eyes with Qiu Yun.
“Have you ever heard of… purification?”
Qiu Yun felt strength draining from him—not just strength, but any hope of resistance! He still had metal in his hand, the steel rod was right there—he could detonate it! If he had to lose, he’d take this kid down with him!
Yet the miraculous energy he'd always relied upon was ebbing away like a receding tide! No matter how he struggled, his will no longer had any effect! The steel rod lay before him, but now it was nothing but dead iron—indeed, it was only ever lifeless metal.
“Ability… psychic power…”
Suddenly, a strange blue hue spread across Qiu Yun’s face.
This color was identical to what had infected “Black Seven” from the service club after being purified!
Qiu Yun’s body writhed and convulsed on the ground like a fish out of water, his hands clamped desperately around his own throat, unleashing animal-like howls of pain.
He was unwilling! How could it be! Rookie!
He—he was just a rookie!!!
Qiu Yun stretched out a trembling hand, as if grasping for something, his five fingers curled like claws, stiff and rigid. At last, with quivering fingers, he fumbled inside his jacket…
His eyes were hidden beneath his disheveled hair, but behind that wild mess, a final glimmer of madness flickered in his gaze!
“Huff, huff, huff…” he gasped, his voice harsh and strained from muscle rigidity. “Ha! Rookie… not bad! Then—let’s die together!”
He seized a syringe capped with rubber, bit the cap off, and plunged the needle deep into his carotid artery!
A jet of green liquid shot into his bloodstream.
Qiu Yun let out a piercing scream, its agony twisted and inhuman.
In an instant, the blue on his face shifted to a sickly green, and before the naked eye, his muscles— even his ten fingers—swelled grotesquely!
At last, Qiu Yun pressed both hands to the ground. When he raised his head…
Blood oozed simultaneously from his eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth!
And the blood was not merely red, but tinged with a ghastly green.
It was as if—jade blood!
“Die together. Die together!” Qiu Yun cackled, the sound no longer human.
A surge of strength seemed to come from nowhere. With a sudden burst of force, he clawed at the floor, sinking his fingers into the hard concrete. Stone chips flew, his hands mangled and bloody, but Qiu Yun seemed oblivious to pain.
On his face, only that crazed smile remained!
Chen Xiao watched, witnessing Qiu Yun’s body erupt in a cloud of green mist, his eyes turning a pure, unnatural green. Blood seeped from his face, arms, every patch of exposed skin, with each pore oozing horrifying crimson-green beads.
Finally—
Crack… crack… crack-crack-crack…
The walls of the abandoned factory creaked all around, twisting and shaking as if the steel bars within had come alive like serpents! The roof above shuddered and split, great sheets of asbestos, tin, lime board, and composite panels tumbling down!
Everywhere, thunderous rumbling echoed…
At last, Chen Xiao managed to curl himself into a ball—
And just as he did—
Boom!!!!!!!!!!
In the center of the abandoned warehouse district, a deafening explosion like a summer thunderclap tore through the air! Flames and a towering plume of dust engulfed the area; the huge factory was reduced to rubble, its walls and roof blasted apart! The shockwave swept out in all directions, collapsing the walls of four or five neighboring warehouses!
For a moment, even the ground itself trembled…
Amid the cataclysm, Qiu Yun’s crazed laughter rang out—until a massive beam crashed down, smashing his skull into pulp.
His laughter was abruptly silenced…
This renowned master of the international psychic world, even in death, could not believe that he—a top Black Knight—would fall to a mere rookie…
As for Chen Xiao, the first wave of the blast knocked him unconscious; countless fragments rained down, quickly burying him beneath the ruins…
The violence of the explosion roused a man hiding at the edge of the abandoned district. Curled up like a plump marmot on a dust-caked workbench in a derelict shed, the fat man woke with a start. He wiped drool from his chin, shook his head, and nervously hunched his shoulders.
His first instinct was to check his chest—a handful of crumpled cash was still there. Good, the money was safe.
But… could it be? I hid so far out here—are the police coming? What’s with all the commotion?
He poked his head out through a hole in the wall, staring dumbfounded at the distant, towering dust cloud rising from the explosion…
He swallowed.
“What a huge mushroom cloud…”
Meanwhile—
Officer Xu could only smile wryly. With great patience, he finally explained the meaning of “kidnapping” to Yaya, watching her reaction.
Yet the little girl showed not a trace of fear. Tilting her head thoughtfully, she said softly, “It’ll be fine. Chen Xiao will be all right—he’s really amazing, you know.”
“Uh?” Officer Xu was at a loss for words.
By rights, he should be comforting the victim’s family, reassuring them and easing their fears. But now…
The girl before him seemed to need no comfort at all.
As he hesitated, his phone suddenly rang. Answering, he heard his subordinate’s excited report:
“Boss! We found the victims! Just ten minutes ago, the Xu family boy and the female victim abducted with him showed up on a street not far from the old factory in the east of the city. They called for help, and I’ve already sent officers to the scene as fast as possible…”
Hearing this, Officer Xu jumped up. “What did you say?”
“The victims escaped!” the officer on the other end exclaimed.
“…” Officer Xu was silent for a few seconds. “You said two were found? What about the other one—the boy named Chen Xiao?”
The voice on the other end dropped. “Still missing… but just now we received a report of an explosion at the abandoned factory…”
After listening, Officer Xu’s face grew grim. He hung up, turned to look at Yaya—who still wore a blank, innocent expression.
His brow furrowed tightly. “Young lady… you’ll need to come with me. Since you’re now Chen Xiao’s only family, I’m afraid there are some matters that require your presence.”
He sighed inwardly—Explosion? That Chen Xiao boy, I hope nothing terrible has happened to him.
Looking at the delicate girl before him, he took a deep breath. “Come, I’ll take you to the police station. Just remember to stay calm—no matter what happens, you must stay calm, all right?”