Bronx Dog-Faced Man

Tang Qi tried hard to maintain a calm demeanor as he casually looked toward the last box.

Inside lay a handgun with an unbelievably exaggerated design.

Its caliber was terrifyingly large, its body black as ink, and its grip equally pitch-black. A blood-red pattern stretched from the barrel all the way to the end.

If not for the obvious wear and age marks in its details, its design alone would have surpassed most of the antique guns on display.

Beside him, the shop owner's voice came with deep regret.

"Monster Firearms Company was dissolved a hundred years ago. Their final production line made only ninety-nine Blood Python No. 1 pistols. A true monster-class weapon—human skulls were as fragile as tofu before it, and its power was great enough to kill a rhinoceros at close range."

"Every Blood Python No. 1 killed countless people in war. This one was even rumored to have killed a real monster."

"Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, it has lost its function as a firearm and can only be appreciated as a work of art."

As the shop owner's voice reached his ears, a Special Interface emitted a faint ghostly glow beneath Tang Qi's lowered eyelids.

Curio: Blood Python No. 1.

Information Fragment One: Once an ordinary weapon, it successfully transformed into a Supernatural Weapon after being stained with the blood of a monster it killed. However, because the transformation process was interrupted, it is currently sealed and can be deciphered.

Information Fragment Two: Deciphering method: apply Supernatural Blood. It can be restored after Three Seconds.

"Supernatural Blood?"

Tang Qi murmured, seemingly recalling something as his eyes lit up slightly.

On the surface, Tang Qi smiled shyly and said to the shop owner, "My Father likes weapons that have endured blood and fire the most. Do you have any more like this? I'd like to see them all. If not, I'll buy this one."

As he spoke, Tang Qi pointed at Blood Python No. 1.

Seeing that Tang Qi had already chosen an item, the shop owner was reluctant to haul out more of his collection. Still, for the sake of "Divine Grace," he called for the sexy waitress to make another trip to the Backend.

This time, however, she brought out only a few boxes.

Once opened, they indeed contained weapons brimming with the aura of war. There was even a machine gun that was nearly falling apart.

Unfortunately, none of them met Tang Qi's requirements.

"Last month, an identical Blood Python No. 1 sold for one thousand Divine Grace in the firearms hall at Messer Auction House. I'll give you a ten percent discount. Nine hundred gold coins, kid, and you can take this beautiful treasure away. I'll even throw in three boxes of original ammunition."

"Charge the card."

Upon hearing the price, Tang Qi immediately handed over his gold card.

A moment later, amid the shop owner's radiant smile and several customers' envious looks, Tang Qi left the unusual gun shop carrying a box.

It was not until Tang Qi boarded a bus and found a seat that the Corner of the Mouth finally curled upward.

Nine hundred Divine Eagle Gold Coins was an expensive price, nearly equivalent to a normal family's yearly expenses.

But to Tang Qi, it was nothing.

Especially when the item bought with those gold coins had changed from an ordinary antique gun into a Curio, the price was practically a steal.

His original purpose had been to find a weapon for self-defense, but even if he bought a firearm, Tang Qi had not been sure whether it could harm monsters of the Supernatural Realm.

But now, Tang Qi felt that he had exceeded his goal.

Ordinary firearms might have posed that question, but if it was a Supernatural Firearm, the outcome would surely be different.

What Tang Qi needed to do now was find a way to decipher it.

The bus merged into traffic and soon followed the signs in different directions. Tang Qi's home was now the Brick House at St. Thorn High School, so there was naturally no need to head toward the suburban villa. Before long, he arrived at the stop closest to Thorn High School.

With a creak, Tang Qi got off the bus carrying the box and slowly walked toward the campus two streets away.

After passing through one brightly lit street, he found that the streetlights on the next street were broken, creating a large patch of darkness.

Crack!

The instant one of Tang Qi's feet stepped into that area, a familiar sensation—at least ten times more intense than last time—suddenly surged over him.

The hairs on the back of his neck and the Back of the Hand stood on end. The intense warning of danger made Tang Qi leap backward, and he instinctively looked toward the end of the darkness.

"Buzz."

"Tap... tap tap."

With just one look, Tang Qi saw it.

A mottled stray dog with a bizarre shape slowly emerged. Its original body had perhaps been so thin that it was nothing but skin and bones.

But now, as if it had been inflated, it expanded Bit by Bit beneath Tang Qi's gaze.

As it walked, its limbs trembled and twisted. Disgusting saliva dripped constantly from its mouth, yellowed fangs protruded, and a pair of Dim Yellow pupils mixed with blood-red stared directly at Tang Qi.

"Hiss... what is that?"

Tang Qi retreated as uncontrollable shock appeared on his face.

It was not because of the stray dog, but because at that moment, Tang Qi saw a human face on its body.

To be precise, it was the face of the Drug Addict Ghost whom Tang Qi had killed not long ago.

Only, growing on a dog's face had made it incomparably twisted and venomous.

As it walked toward Tang Qi step by step, the sense of danger and strangeness surged in an instant.

"Roar!"

A howl rang out, and the mad dog lunged.

What Tang Qi saw was a black shadow rushing at him so quickly he could barely track it. Its foul breath was mixed with an overwhelmingly thick stench of blood, nearly making Tang Qi faint.

At that instant, Tang Qi's Eyes widened, and beneath his eyelids, a Special Interface unexpectedly appeared once more.

Supernatural Creature: Bronx Dog-Faced Man

Status: Growing.

Information Fragment One: A starving stray dog, three enticing corpses, and a venomous soul combined into a Bronx Dog-Faced Man when the Spirit Tide arrived.

Information Fragment Two: It is still growing. If allowed to continue devouring flesh and blood, it will gain even greater power.

"Whew..."

The moment the two Information Fragments came into view, Tang Qi's pupils contracted sharply. Yet his feet moved like those of an antelope on the plains; with one backward step, he spun around and hid behind a lamppost.

Tang Qi's movements were derived from the Chaga Combat Technique and had already reached the utmost speed.

Yet he still heard a ripping sound as half his sleeve was torn away, followed by an icy sensation.

Another gust of force came from In Front Of him. Tang Qi did not need to open his eyes to imagine it: a foul-smelling, yellowed dog mouth, perhaps still smeared with strands of human flesh, was biting toward his throat.

Bang!

Tang Qi's body pulled back impossibly once more. As he avoided the dog's mouth, one leg lashed like a whip toward the mad dog's waist.

Like wolves, the waist was its most vulnerable spot.

Tang Qi's all-out kick could kill even a real wolf.

But what reached his ears the next moment was a dull reverberation, along with piercing pain shooting through his toes.

"Run!"

After only one exchange, Tang Qi confirmed that he was no match for this bizarre mad dog.

Suppressing the pain that felt as though his toes had fractured, he turned and fled toward the campus Without Hesitation.